《Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword》 CH extra 1 The Spring rain in Dajing was extraordinarily heavy. The monk was wearing a bamboo hat and walking barefooted on the green paved floor. Fine and dense raindrops rustled down, wetting the corners of his clothes. Suddenly, a stone-like hard object was thrown at the monk¡¯s hat, he raised his head and saw the smiling Prince sitting in the loft. ¡°Monk Xuan Qing, why are you here?¡± The Prince was holding a glass of wine in one hand, leaning down to look at the monk, as the other hand weighed a piece of silver with interest. It seemed that just now, this thing was used to throw at the monk¡¯s hat. The monk looked up at him and some of the rain fell onto his eyelashes. He blinked and the rain turned into droplets of water falling down his cheeks. At first, it looked like a tear and when the Prince took in this scene, he chuckled and yelled at him: ¡°Monk, do you want to drink?¡± The monk shook his head, saying he did not touch such things. ¡°Then come up, sit and chat with me for a while.¡± The Prince¡¯s fingertips hooked the wine glass as he lazily said, ¡°When the rain stops, I will take you into the palace.¡± The monk folded his hands and nodded his head slightly. A few moments later, the monk reappeared in front of the Prince and took off his straw coat. His shoulders were already wet from the rain, but he did not care. He put the straw coat aside and slowly walked to sit in front of the Prince. ¡°Long time no see.¡± The monk smiled, his appearance was born delicate and pretty with his half-lidded eyes. Looking at it this way, it gave off a somewhat compassionate taste. However, the Prince did not like this appearance of his. With his hand tilted, the cup of wine was poured all over the monk. The monk was surprised at his sudden actions and raised his gaze to look at the Prince. He was somewhat puzzled by the Prince¡¯s action and asked: ¡°Your Highness?¡± ¡°Call me by my name.¡± Bai Tianrui looked at him and said seriously. Xuan Qing sighed, ¡°Bai gongzi¡­¡­¡± ¡°Annoying.¡± Bai Tianrui threw that wine glass to the side. The wine glass rolled down the table and onto the floor. Despite making a few crunching sounds, it did not break, ¡°Since the wine is on your body, it is also considered breaking a restriction.¡± Xuan Qing quietly looked at Bai Tianrui, silent. Bai Tianrui gave a somewhat indecisive tsk, ¡°Alright, alright, I was just joking with you. I haven¡¯t seen you in so long, how come you¡¯re getting more and more boring?¡± As he said this, he propped up his chin and narrowed his eyes. According to Xuan Qing¡¯s understanding of Bai Tianrui, whenever he revealed this expression, it meant that he was probably angry. However, Bai Tianrui was perverse in nature, and often got angry for countless reasons, so this time Xuan Qing just sat still, waiting. Sure enough, Bai Tianrui was annoyed only for a while, before he started to smile again, asking, ¡®Did my brother tell you about the matter carefully?¡¯ Xuan Qing replied: ¡°Most of it.¡± Bai Tianrui asked: ¡°What can be done?¡± ¡°Still have to go see in order to know.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Where is the woman now?¡± Bai Tianrui answered, ¡°Imprisoned in the palace. You know, my Father said that if she really is a rabbit spirit, after a few days, her head will be cut off.¡± He smiled, ¡°My brother was so anxious that his eyes were almost even redder than that rabbit¡¯s. But you¡¯re in a good position that you didn¡¯t even bother hurrying over.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Xuan Qing replied, ¡°There were some things on the way, and I was delayed.¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°What was it?¡± Xuan Qing smiled: ¡°An old matter.¡± Bai Tianrui persisted, ¡°Whose old matter?¡± He stared at Xuan Qing, his tone tightening, wanting to get to the bottom of it. Faced with this aggressive Bai Tianrui, Xuan Qing didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of getting angry. He sniffed the rich wine smell emanating from his outfit, sighed, and responded, ¡°Old friends I met in the past.¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°Oh, you have friends?¡± Xuan Qing smiled: ¡°The world is big, who doesn¡¯t have a few friends.¡± Bai Tianrui replied, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± In the end, Xuan Qing was reluctant to say anything. Although they were waiting for the rain to stop, the Spring rain didn¡¯t seem like it had any intention to stop. Bai Tianrui didn¡¯t mention anything about leaving so Xuan Qing found it quite difficult to bring the topic up. He just watched as he drank cup after cup. Xuan Qing had seen this Prince¡¯s wine capacity before, he was a very good drinker. Just these several drinks wouldn¡¯t even get him drunk. So he continued to drink and only until the sky was dark, did this Spring rain finally stop. A carriage came from outside the inn and when Bai Tianrui noticed it, he put down the wine cup in his hand, dusted off his clothes, and stood up: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Xuan Qing got up. Bai Tianrui gave him a sidelong glance and said with a smile, ¡°But before you face His Holiness, monk, you should come with me to my residence.¡± Xuan Qing asked, ¡°Why?¡± Bai Tianrui replied, ¡°You are covered with the smell of alcohol. Wouldn¡¯t it be a little bit disrespectful if you met my Father like this?¡± He laughed and came towards Xuan Qing¡¯s ear, murmuring, ¡°This smell of alcohol, you best be careful. Otherwise, they will treat you as a drunken monk.¡± That look and the tone of speech, was like a smug child who had done bad things. Xuan Qing had always been very tolerant of children, so he just smiled and said okay in a gentle manner. The carriage went all the way forward, through the heavily guarded palace gates and into the palace. Bai Tianrui very quickly found new robes for Xuan Qing. At first, Xuan Qing thought they were casual clothes, but after putting them on, he realized that they were also monk¡¯s clothes. They were almost identical in style to his, except that the color had turned white. When Xuan Qing was changing his clothes, Bai Tianrui was watching from the side. He was muttering something and although it was done so quietly, it was still heard by Xuan Qing. What Bai Tianrui had said was that white really suited him. Xuan Qing, however, did not say a word. After changing his clothes, he muttered Amitabha Buddha to Bai Tianrui, indicating that he was ready to leave. Bai Tianrui turned around to lead the way for Xuan Qing. The two followed the long corridor all the way forward and along the way, he noticed that the corridor still hung with fiery red palace lanterns. It was probably from the New Year and had yet to be taken down. However, at this time, the red didn¡¯t look lively and instead exuded a lonely taste. After walking for a long time, they finally arrived outside the study of the current emperor. Bai Tianrui called someone to go in to inform of their arrival, and then stood outside with Xuan Qing, waiting. ¡°Master Xuan Qing, His Holiness invites you.¡± The palace attendant serving the emperor soon delivered the news. The two entered together and saw the emperor sitting on the side along with a gloomy-looking Bai Jinglun. When Bai Jinglun noticed Xuan Qing¡¯s arrival, his expression was slightly relieved, but soon tightened up again. The emperor greeted, ¡°Master, you are here.¡± Xuan Qing smiled, ¡°I was delayed by some matters on the way and came a little late, I hope Your Holiness will not blame this monk.¡± ¡°How can I blame Master?¡± The emperor said, ¡°This time I invited you to come here because I have a request.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Your Holiness, please speak.¡± The emperor then pointed to Bai Jinglun, who was currently kneeling on the ground, and said in a cold voice, ¡°My son wants to marry a woman, which is a beautiful thing. However, an immortal master suddenly appeared and pointed at the woman and said that she was a rabbit spirit¡ª¡ª¡± His expression was extremely cold and he could hear the taste of anger in his tone, ¡°Countless people died at the hands of demons in Dajing that year and it was only thanks to the Heavenly Ruler that we were saved. Now, how could I allow a rabbit spirit to defile the imperial bloodline?!¡± Xuan Qing smiled, his expression looking light, ¡°I wonder where that immortal master is now?¡± The emperor said, ¡°Right inside the palace!¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Xuan Qing pondered for a moment before responding, ¡°I can¡¯t make a judgment without seeing the person. How about this, Your Majesty, you summon that immortal master and the woman here together¡­¡­¡± ¡°Alright.¡± With a wave of his hand, the emperor asked his subordinates to invite those two people here. Xuan Qing asked again, only to learn that the immortal master also resided in the palace. His origin was a bit bizarre, but he seemed to have some skills, otherwise, the emperor would not be so gullible to his words. Taking advantage of the time he sent his subordinates to summon the two people, the emperor asked someone to show Xuan Qing a seat. Not long after, the guards brought in a delicate girl and a man in Daoist clothes. When the two of them saw Xuan Qing, they were both stunned. The girl¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t too beautiful but won with her aura of pity. While the man showed a wary look at Xuan Qing. ¡°Master, I know you and Jinglun are close, but I think he has been hoodwinked by this matter.¡± The emperor¡¯s voice was cold, with a meaning that could not be denied, ¡°So, whether she is a rabbit spirit or not, I hope the master will judge properly.¡± The implication was that Xuan Qing should not bend the law for personal gain and deliberately conceal the truth. Xuan Qing nodded his head. He got up and headed over to the two people, observing them carefully. He then frowned and said, ¡°I do feel the demon Qi.¡± The breath in the room instantly became heavy. ¡°Demon Qi?¡± The emperor¡¯s tone was cold, ¡°Is Master sure?¡± ¡°Naturally, I am certain.¡± Xuan Qing smiled as he said this. ¡°Then how do we discern it?¡± The emperor asked. Before Xuan Qing could say anything, the Daoist Priest laughed, ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t worry, I have a method to make the demon reveal its original form.¡± The emperor asked: ¡°Oh? What method?¡± The Daoist Priest suddenly took out a blood-colored talisman from out of nowhere. When Xuan Qing caught a glimpse of this talisman, his eyes narrowed slightly. Just as he was about to speak, the Daoist Priest started chanting loudly, and then with great speed, the talisman was attached to Bai Jinglun¡¯s lover. The girl looked confused, but once this talisman was placed on her, she let out a harsh scream the next moment. She then shriveled up on the ground as her body suddenly shrunk and in full view of everyone, she turned into a snow-white rabbit. Everyone in the audience was shocked by this scene, especially the emperor. He slapped the table and became furious, yelling, ¡®this really is a rabbit spirit. Bai Jinglun, look at what you have done!¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty, wait.¡± Seeing that the whole situation would soon be settled, Xuan Qing suddenly spoke to stop it from happening. His voice was still gentle like usual and made the atmosphere, which was about to erupt, instantly calm down. The emperor said: ¡°Master Xuan Qing, what else do you want to say?¡± Xuan Qing smiled, ¡°Although I do not know the use of that talisman, to discern a demon with this method is not quite credible.¡± The Daoist Priest, however, didn¡¯t know Xuan Qing¡¯s origin. He smiled coldly and asked, ¡®this Master, you say this method is not credible, then I wonder what other methods you have in order to discern the demons?¡¯ Xuan Qing replied, ¡°Naturally, there is.¡± The Daoist Priest asked, ¡°What method?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°There are countless ways for demons to imitate humans in this world, but there is one method that is the most reliable.¡± The Daoist Priest seemed to have felt something and suddenly, he revealed a little bit of uneasiness. Xuan Qing smiled and asked, ¡°This immortal master, are you not curious about what method I¡¯m talking about?¡± The Daoist Priest forced himself to calm down and snorted, ¡°What method?¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°As long as the demon is dead, it naturally cannot imitate again and will definitely return into its original form.¡± Although his tone was as gentle as water, the words that came out were chilling, ¡°If you happened upon someone who you can¡¯t tell the difference, simply cut off that person¡¯s head. Then you will know right away, whether they are human or demon.¡± ¡°Be that as it may! But in case you get it wrong¡­¡­¡± the Daoist Priest immediately had back chills from Xuan Qing¡¯s stare. He also didn¡¯t know why this gentle-looking monk in front of him would give him such a strong sense of threat, but he continued anyway, ¡°In case you get it wrong, wouldn¡¯t it be a human life as a grass[1]?! ¡° But Xuan Qing simply responded indifferently, ¡°Immortal Master, your words are a bit heavy. Life and death are not as important as that. Early attainment of ultimate happiness, perhaps it isn¡¯t a bad thing.¡±¡ª¡ªas he said this, he drew the sword on the side of his waist. ******** The author has something to say: Taking my time to write extra-ing[2] ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idiom: Killing people like scything grass (i.e. a politician acting with total disregard for the life of his countrymen). [2] Might not make sense in English, but meaning as is (i.e. doing something) In Chinese, it is quite often used as a way of saying they are doing something (though not grammatically correct in English). So ¡°happy-ing¡± means being happy, and ¡°extra-ing¡± just means the author is writing the extras (despite it being redundant). CH extra 2 The Daoist Priest was startled at the sight of Xuan Qing¡¯s action and with a frightened look on his face, he turned around and took a few steps back, ¡°What are you going to do¡ª¡ª¡± Xuan Qing, holding his sword, smiled and replied, ¡°I have a good relationship with the eldest prince, so I know him well. However, there is a demonic aura in this room, which is really strange.¡± The Daoist Priest was furious, ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense, how can I be a demon!?¡± Despite having said that, his words didn¡¯t sound confident at all and he took a few more steps back. Now, on his side was the eldest prince, kneeling on the ground silently. The eldest prince had been looking very respectful as he knelt on the ground, but when the Daoist Priest retreated to his side, he suddenly rose up. Like Xuan Qing, he also pulled out his sword and slashed towards the Daoist Priest¡¯s neck. The Daoist Priest¡¯s attention was on Xuan Qing so he was not expecting the move made by the eldest prince. In the end, because of his ignorance, he was cut. He let out a miserable scream and simply fell to the ground. The sharp sword blade in the eldest prince¡¯s hand easily chopped off his head and the bright red blood splashed all over the room. Everyone in the room was stunned by this scene, but before they could react, they discovered something even more terrifying¡ª¡ªthe moment the Daoist Priest fell to the ground, a cloud of black smoke rose from his body and when the smoke dispersed, the Daoist Priest¡¯s body actually turned into the appearance of a demon. ¡°Jinglun!¡± The emperor was still shaking with anger because of Bai Jinglun¡¯s action, but when he saw the corpse of the Daoist Priest, he fell into silence. Bai Jinglun, whose body and hands were covered with blood, looked calm. He threw the sword in his hand aside, knelt heavily towards the emperor, ¡°Father, forgive me!¡± The emperor surveyed the corpse on the ground for a long time before saying sorrowfully, ¡°How did you know he was a demon?¡± ¡°Your son didn¡¯t know.¡± Bai Jinglun replied, ¡°Only after listening to Master Xuan Qing¡¯s words did I end up guessing a thing or two.¡± The emperor muttered, ¡°Oh?¡± Bai Jinglun continued, ¡°I know that my beloved one is not a demon. However, Master Xuan Qing said that he had smelled a demon, so there can only be one demon and that is the Daoist Priest who told the big lie.¡± His cheeks were still stained with blood and he had little to no expression etched on his face. He looked tremendously different compared to how he usually was, ¡°This demon Daoist Priest dares to deceive His Majesty, naturally, it is a death sentence. Your son simply took the courage to eliminate this demon for father.¡± The emperor looked at his son and for a moment he actually felt that his love was quite strange, but he did not hate this version of Bai Jinglun, instead, he smiled and said, ¡°But your beloved has already turned into a rabbit.¡± ¡°There are always ways in the world to turn people into something else.¡± Bai Jinglun replied, ¡°Your son does not know anything about this, but now that Master Xuan Qing is here, there will always be a way to solve it.¡± The emperor looked at Xuan Qing, who smiled and nodded, ¡°She has turned into a rabbit because of the talisman, so she doesn¡¯t need to do anything. In a few days, she should be able to recover.¡± The emperor gave a nod and accepted Xuan Qing¡¯s explanation. The corpse of the Daoist Priest, who had died suddenly, was still in the room. The emperor called in the guards and ordered them to take the corpse out. He then smiled and said he had already set up a banquet and invited Xuan Qing to go, as if just now that incomparably harsh attitude was only the crowd¡¯s imagination. Bai Tianrui also accompanied them to the banquet, but the blood-covered Bai Jinglun, holding his poor rabbit girl, retired first to head back to his residence. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. After the wine and food, Xuan Qing got up to say goodbye and got into the same carriage with Bai Tianrui to leave the palace. After the carriage drove out of the palace, Bai Tianrui, who had closed his eyes and leaned in the carriage to rest, suddenly re-opened them, ¡°They say that monks do not deceive. Xuan Qing, I think you aren¡¯t really a serious monk.¡± With an innocent face, Xuan Qing asked, ¡°Why does Your Highness say that?¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°The girl that my big brother likes, is she really not a demon?¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°But from the beginning to the end, I never said that she wasn¡¯t a demon.¡± Bai Tianrui smiled and froze. He thought carefully about what Xuan Qing had said after entering the palace, and then suddenly realized that the monk¡¯s words in front of him were rigorous from beginning to end. He did say that there was a demonic aura, but he did not say who the demonic aura was coming from. Bai Tianrui was speechless. Xuan Qing still had that gentle look, as if the first person who just drew the sword was not him. Bai Tianrui disliked his seemingly ¡°compassionate, but was actually heartless¡± look the most. His eyes darkened a little as he pursed his lips and kept quiet. Xuan Qing seemed to be completely unaware of Bai Tianrui¡¯s discomfort. He simply folded his hands with half-lidded eyes and gentle eyebrows. The carriage stopped and just as Xuan Qing was about to turn around and get off, he was grabbed by Bai Tianrui, who was behind him. Xuan Qing looked up in surprise and asked, ¡°Your Highness?¡± Bai Tianrui glanced at Xuan Qing¡¯s wrist, which he had just grabbed, and suddenly felt that he had been burned. He quickly let go of his hand and mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Xuan Qing looked puzzled. The two of them got down from the carriage and entered the residence. Bai Jinglun was already waiting in the residence. He had already changed out of the blood-covered clothes and was sitting in the study, holding the frightened rabbit spirit in his arms. The rabbit spirit in the arms of Bai Jinglun shivered with a pitiful look. Anyone who looked at her would feel their heart soften into mush. Xuan Qing laughed: ¡°Scared, right?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s quite scared.¡± Bai Jinglun replied coldly. ¡°Big brother.¡± Bai Tianrui smiled as he got together next to him, ¡°You are a big tree that attracts the wind[1]. Although we all know that you don¡¯t intend to be in that position, but other people, they don¡¯t necessarily know that.¡± Who wouldn¡¯t want to become the one above all others? Facing such a huge temptation, how many people could really give it all up? Therefore, probably not many people would believe that Bai Jinglun, who had prestige and was also the eldest son, had no interest in the throne. Bai Jinglun sighed, ¡°You are right.¡± Bai Tianrui continued: ¡°Look, if you don¡¯t fight, she will have to suffer such accusations. Any Tom, Dick and Harry, could call her a demon¡­¡­¡± Bai Jinglun¡¯s expression gradually turned cold. ¡°Besides, did you really think Father did not see that the Daoist Priest had a problem?¡± Bai Tianrui, in front of his own brother, had always gone with the flow with no restrictions and at this time, he was also the same. He was different from Bai Jinglun. Although he was only a teenager, his sword skills had been very outstanding. He did not have to be bothered by mundane matters in the mortal world and no one dared to plot against him, ¡°I think father just wants to take this opportunity to knock you out, the trees long for peace but the wind will never cease[2]¡­¡­¡± Bai Jinglun interrupted sharply, ¡°I know.¡± His expression became more and more gloomy, but when he lowered his eyes to look at the white rabbit in his arms, his expression became much gentler, as if only this cute rabbit in front of him could arouse the tender feelings in his heart. The rabbit was indeed cute, but it was born to be prey. Even if it became anxious, at most, it would only just give a bite. Bai Jinglun took in a deep breath, ¡°Master Xuan Qing has worked hard, why don¡¯t you go and have a good rest first. When tomorrow comes, we can catch up again?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Seeing that Bai Jinglun was not in good spirits, Xuan Qing also did not force him. He turned to follow the subordinates to his own resting room, leaving the two brothers, Bai Jinglun and Bai Tianrui, alone. In the end, they were blood-related brothers and they could already tell what was in each other¡¯s minds just by looking at each other. Bai Jinglun said, ¡°Tianrui, don¡¯t get in too deep.¡± Bai Tianrui chuckled, ¡°Brother, what do you mean by that? Bai Jinglun gave him a deep look and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t know what it means?¡± Only then did Bai Tianrui stop laughing. ¡°Monk Xuan Qing is not simple.¡± Bai Jinglun continued slowly, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where he came from, you and he are not the same.¡± Bai Tianrui clenched his teeth, ¡°I know.¡± He knew that he and Xuan Qing were not the same. This monk seemed gentle, but in fact, his eyes could not hold anyone. He was as compassionate as the Lord Buddha, but he saw all life as grass. No matter how powerful he, Bai Tianrui, was, in the eyes of Xuan Qing, he was about the same as a fish in the river. Bai Jinglun had still wanted to say more words to his brother, but Bai Tianrui no longer wanted to listen. He got up and left and his figure showed a few traces of loneliness. Bai Jinglun let out a low sigh, looking at the still-not-too-good little rabbit in his hands, his heart already had a decision. By midnight, there was another light rain. Xuan Qing sat on the bed, listening to the rustling sound of rain outside the window interspersed with the sound of breaking air¡ªit was the sound of sharp weapons stabbing. Xuan Qing tilted his head and through the half-open window gap, he saw a young man practicing sword in the rain. The teenager was seventeen or eighteen years old and although his body hadn¡¯t yet opened up, he was vaguely able to see the sharpness he would have in the near future. The long sword in his hand slashed out a piercing sword Qi and in the darkness of the night, it looked very conspicuous. The rain moistened the teenager¡¯s hair and forehead so that his sharp face was somewhat a bit softer. Xuan Qing took a look and then withdrew his gaze. The Spring night was long, he just didn¡¯t know when this rain would stop. The next morning, Xuan Qing was woken up early by Bai Jinglun. The eldest prince, who usually looked calm and unhurried, showed an unprecedented panic at this time. He rushed into Xuan Qing¡¯s room with his chest heaving up and down, panting sharply: ¡°Master Xuan Qing, Master Xuan Qing¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xuan Qing asked. ¡°She¡¯s gone, she¡¯s gone¡ª¡ª¡± Bai Jinglun didn¡¯t even have an outerwear over him as he came over in his pajamas, he could tell at a glance that he was self-disorganized. Xuan Qing instantly understood what Bai Jinglun meant and frowned, ¡°That little rabbit of yours?¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Yes.¡± Bai Jinglun exclaimed, ¡°Last night she was still sleeping well at the head of my bed, today when I got up, she was gone¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± Saying that, the two headed off to Bai Jinglun¡¯s room. After Xuan Qing carefully examined the area, he frowned. Bai Jinglun asked, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, did someone come and take her away??¡± Xuan Qing shook his head and replied hesitantly, ¡°There is¡­¡­.no third person¡¯s breath here.¡± Bai Jinglun exclaimed, ¡°How?! Someone must have gotten word from Father and knew how much I liked her¡ª¡ªthat¡¯s why¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°No, there is no third person¡¯s breath here.¡± Xuan Qing, however, figured out what was going on and sighed, ¡°If she was going to leave, it would probably be on her own will.¡± Bai Jinglun froze. Xuan Qing also revealed a helpless look. Bai Jinglun was stunned in place for a quite some time before he understood what Xuan Qing meant from his tone and demeanor. And with a look of disbelief in his eyes, he muttered in a trembling voice, ¡°She, left by herself?¡± His eyes showed panic, ¡°How could she leave by herself? She still looks like a rabbit, if others see her, won¡¯t she be hurt as a demon?¡± Xuan Qing called out, ¡°Jinglun.¡± Bai Jinglun looked up. Xuan Qing sighed, ¡°She¡¯s actually not as weak as you think.¡± Bai Jinglun looked at Xuan Qing expressionlessly. Xuan Qing continued, ¡°Since the Heavenly Ruler has laid the Grand Formation on Yaoguang, demons that are too weak cannot survive on Yaoguang, she¡­¡­may not need as much protection as you think.¡± Bai Jinglun¡¯s face was pale, he had wanted to speak out several times, but he could not say the complete words. Xuan Qing looked at him compassionately, until Bai Jinglun desperately grabbed the corner of his outfit. In the end, it was teenage Bai Jinglun whose tone carried a crying voice, ¡°Xuan Qing, I do not want her to go. Please, I beg you, help me find her, Okay?¡± Xuan Qing sighed, ¡°Okay.¡± Since taking Bai Jinglun¡¯s gold, he was destined to be entangled with the Dajing Imperial Family for decades. Whether it was fate or sin Xuan Qing couldn¡¯t say, but in the end, it had already happened so he could only let nature take its course. Although the white rabbit had left, it did not deliberately conceal its breath. Xuan Qing took some time before he ended up finding her in the outskirts of the Imperial City of Dajing. At this time, she had changed from rabbit form to human again. Her appearance was still charming and pitiful, but when faced with Bai Jinglun, who begged her to go back, she showed a different kind of determination. ¡°I won¡¯t go back.¡± She lifted the hair around her ears and whispered warmly, ¡°Although I like you, I don¡¯t like it there.¡± Bai Jinglun was dumbfounded. She continued, ¡°You can go, I won¡¯t go back.¡± Bai Jinglun hissed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid, I can protect you.¡± She asked, ¡°Protect me?¡± She skewed her thoughts and smiled, ¡°Well¡­¡­when you can protect me, come back and find me.¡± Bai Jinglun clenched his teeth harshly, turned, and then left. Xuan Qing followed behind and saw his fist clenched tightly. His nails probably pierced through the skin as a little trail of blood could be seen dripping down his fingers. Xuan Qing lowered his eyes and let out a low sigh of Amitabha Buddha. With wandering thoughts, he thought that people in the matter of love really made people feel troubled. And with troublesome matters¡ª¡ªhe would never touch them. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idiom: a famous person attracts criticism; If you¡¯re rich or famous, people will envy you. [2] idiom: the world changes, whether you want it or not. CH extra 3 A cold Spring day. Before Xuan Qing had left Dajing, Bai Jinglun invited him out to have a drink. Xuan Qing drank tea instead of wine, watching as Bai Jinglun downed cup after cup, drinking away his sorrow. Xuan Qing did not try to comfort him. Looking down at the table in front of him, he noticed a slow crawling insect. With the point of his finger, he blocked its way. The little insect was so frightened that it started crawling around in panic. The corner of Xuan Qing¡¯s lip hooked up as he gently pressed on its wings, letting it crawl along his fingertips to his finger. And then with a wave of his hand, the little insect started its wings up and headed off somewhere else. He played with such interest, as if he did not notice Bai Tianrui, who had been sitting on Bai Jinglun¡¯s side, casting a deep and meaningful gaze towards him. ¡°I thought if I didn¡¯t join in on the fight, everything would be fine.¡± Bai Jinglun had drunk too much and became more talkative than usual. He narrowed his eyes and the aura that came through inexplicably had a few similarities to the current emperor, ¡°Really annoying.¡± The emperor was affectionate, the more children he had, naturally the better it was. After Bai Jinglun, there were about six or seven of them being just sisters alone. Adding on his brothers, there were more than two dozen people. Some of the imperial princes and princesses were from palace maids and he couldn¡¯t even remember all their names. Many sons and daughters, for the emperor, it should be a good thing, but the children were quite pitiful. Bai Jinglun talked and Xuan Qing also listened. His eyes were smiling, but no words came out from his mouth. It was as if he was just a Buddha statue, listening to his believers¡¯ daily woes. But how could the Buddha comfort his believers? ¡°When will Master Xuan Qing leave?¡± Bai Tianrui suddenly asked. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving in a few days.¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°I¡¯m waiting until the rain calms down a little.¡± Bai Tianrui looked outside. This Spring rain was continuous. Even after a few days, he didn¡¯t see the sun. He would usually complain a few times but, today, listening to Xuan Qing¡¯s answer, he actually hoped that the Spring rain continued to fall. The three of them drank and chatted but the atmosphere wasn¡¯t considered lively. Xuan Qing always spoke very little and Bai Tianrui had something on his mind, so only Bai Jinglun was left to talk quietly occasionally. It should have been a lively banquet, but they ended up tasting a hint of loneliness. When the sun finally appeared in the west, Bai Jinglun fell down onto the table from drinking. Xuan Qing got up to say goodbye, saying he intended to head back to rest. ¡°Master Xuan Qing.¡± Bai Tianrui called out to him. Xuan Qing turned back. ¡°Have you ever had a very good friend before?¡± Bai Tianrui asked. ¡°Of course I have.¡± Xuan Qing replied with a smile. Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°What kind of person were they?¡± Xuan Qing thought for a moment, ¡°What kind of person¡­¡­if I must say, they are probably the heart of the world.¡± Bai Tianrui continued, ¡°What about you?¡± Xuan Qing inquired, ¡°Me?¡± Bai Tianrui asked him, ¡°Do you also have a heart for the world?¡± Xuan Qing blinked. He then shook his head and replied seriously, ¡°The world is so big, how can I, a monk, be able to care for it all?¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Then what is in your heart?¡± As he spoke, his eyes were dead set on Xuan Qing¡¯s body. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Xuan Qing faintly froze but then smiled again and answered in a warm voice: ¡°In the heart of this monk, naturally, it is filled with the Lord Buddha.¡± He then turned around and did not turn back. Bai Tianrui drank the wine in the cup and took a glance at his drunken brother on the side. Suddenly, he felt his body become a little cold. This Spring, it seemed to be a little colder¡­¡­.than in previous years. He didn¡¯t know if the thoughts in Bai Tianrui¡¯s heart played a role, but this Spring rain lasted for a full three or four days before it finally stopped. The maid complained that if this rain continued, the people were going to grow mold. Bai Tianrui listened to her words as his fingers hooked the teacup, taking a sip of hot tea. ¡°You¡¯re not going to go over and check?¡± Bai Jinglun happened to come in from outside and took noticed of his bored brother, ¡°He¡¯s leaving.¡± Bai Tianrui replied, ¡°If he leaves then he leaves, it¡¯s none of my business.¡± Having said that, he still got up anyway and took the oil paper umbrella he had placed next to him, and hurried out. When Bai Jinglun saw this, he helplessly sighed. Xuan Qing had already put on his bamboo hat and was walking towards the outside of the imperial residence. When he reached the door, he noticed Bai Tianrui holding the umbrella. Bai Tianrui gasped and questioned him, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would leave when it stopped raining?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know when this rain will stop.¡± Bai Tianrui frowned. Xuan Qing continued, ¡°I still have some things to do, if I continue to delay, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be good.¡± Bai Tianrui looked a little agitated. He held the umbrella handle with a death grip and muttered through clenched teeth, ¡°Then you should leave.¡± Xuan Qing folded his hands, bowed to him, and strolled out of the door of the palace, heading off towards the distance. A soft sound faintly came from behind him, as if the bad-tempered teenager had thrown the oil paper umbrella in his hand onto the ground and stomped hard on it a few times. Sigh, in the end, he was still a child, Xuan Qing thought, as his body was once again soaked by the rain. In the end, exactly how high was Xuan Qing¡¯s cultivation, even Bai Tianrui, who later reached the eighth level cultivation, found it difficult to tell. Just from the conversation he had with Xuan Qing, he perceived that this monk was not from the same dynasty as him at all since Xuan Qing even knew a lot of things regarding the Heavenly Ruler. But as with his cultivation, Xuan Qing came without a trace and only Bai Jinglun could find him. In essence, the origin of Xuan Qing and their Bai family was only because of that ingot of gold stuffed in his arms. However, the gold was stuffed into his arms by Bai Jinglun and had nothing to do with him, Bai Tianrui. Although Bai Tianrui was jealous to the extreme, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. During these ten years, the time Xuan Qing came to Dajing time could be counted with one hand. However, every time he came, he donned the same old expression. No matter how much Bai Tianrui provoked him, he would not get angry. Later on, Bai Tianrui also grew tired of this and he finally realized that Xuan Qing¡¯s heart really only had the Lord Buddha. If Xuan Qing treated everyone like this, then Bai Tianrui also resigned to his fate. But at this time, he suddenly found that someone, in Xuan Qing¡¯s eyes¡­¡­was special. Lin Rufei. This name was unfamiliar to Bai Tianrui. Although the Kunlun Lin family was very famous in Jianghu, he had never heard of Lin Rufei, this name. But such a person was able to enter Xuan Qing¡¯s eyes. The fourth son of the Lin family, Lin Rufei, had been weak and sickly since childhood and he had never even been down from Kunlun before. Now, assigned by the Lin family, he came to deliver the invitation to the sword competition¡ªBai Tianrui processed this information over and over again and could not find anything special from it. Now, he had seen Lin Rufei. He was a handsome and frail gongzi, just, his cultivation wasn¡¯t even as powerful as him. So exactly how did such a person enter Xuan Qing¡¯s eyes? Bai Tianrui could not understand. Annoyed, he crumbled and smashed all the wine cups and papers in front of him onto the ground. ¡°Xuan Qing, you monk, you really know how to cheat people.¡± Bai Tianrui laughed coldly, ¡°In your heart, do you really only have Lord Buddha?¡± He reached out with his hand, took his outerwear, and headed out the door with a gloomy expression. The maids on the side didn¡¯t dare to come out when they saw this scene. Now, Bai Tianrui was no longer a young prince, he was now the Prince. Along with the growth of his sword intent and hostile nature, it could be said that in the whole of Dajing, those that dared to provoke him were just a handful of people. Not to mention his powerful sword skills, just the fact that Bai Tianrui became the brother of His Majesty, was enough to block everyone¡¯s mouth. In the past few days, there were some accidents in Dajing. The princes and princesses were nearly killed, and for a time, the people of Dajing were in panic. It was only until Master Xuan Qing came to catch the murderer that the curfew in the Imperial City was finally lifted. By definition, this should have been a good thing, but looking at the murderous expression on Bai Tianrui¡¯s face, it was as if he had seen an enemy that had killed his father¡­¡­ At this time, the sky was dark and when the curfew was finally lifted, the Imperial City once again became bustling. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Bai Tianrui saw the person he was looking for in the crowd. Xuan Qing had a smile on his face and was saying something to the gongzi beside him. The two of them looked harmonious with the tenderness he had never seen between the corners of his eyebrows. Bai Tianrui was watching from afar and it seemed like he was gnashing his teeth. Xuan Qing was looking sideways at Lin Rufei as he(LRF) was looking down and picking out small objects. Suddenly, his(XQ) wrist was grabbed by someone and before he could react, he was dragged out of the crowd and into an alley on the side. ¡°Bai gongzi?¡± Xuan Qing was surprised. Bai Tianrui stared at him with hatred. Xuan Qing looked puzzled, ¡°Bai gongzi, you¡¯ve been drinking?¡± He smelled the strong scent of alcohol on Bai Tianrui¡¯s body. ¡°So what if I drank?¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to get drunk!¡± Xuan Qing sighed, ¡°This wine¡­¡­it¡¯s better if you drink less of it.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Bai Tianrui yelled, ¡°Who is he? Why are you so good to him? Didn¡¯t you say you only have Lord Buddha in your heart? This pretty little gongzi has only been here for how long? What makes you like him so much?¡± With an innocent face, Xuan Qing questioned, ¡°Bai gongzi? What do you mean by that?¡± Bai Tianrui gritted his teeth, ¡°Stop pretending¡ª¡ª¡± Xuan Qing only thought he was drunk and was so helpless that he had to stuff the candy person he had just bought into his mouth. As if coaxing a child, he said that once he ate the candy, he should stop making a scene. Bai Tianrui bit into the sugar and with a bitter smile, he said: ¡°Xuan Qing is actually sweet, I thought¡­¡­you would be bitter.¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°Monks are indeed bitter.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Yes, there won¡¯t be a more bitter monk than you in the world.¡± Xuan Qing smiled bitterly. However, the next moment, before he could say anything else, Bai Tianrui swallowed the sugar in his mouth, leaned down, and viciously covered his lips. This action came so abruptly that even Xuan Qing did not react in time. He felt that Bai Tianrui¡¯s lips, which were cold and soft and stained with wine, carried a childlike persistence. Xuan Qing reached out and pushed him away. Bai Tianrui took a few steps back as he stared greedily at Xuan Qing, ¡°Monk, does the wine taste good?¡± Xuan Qing frowned at him, like looking at a child who was fooling around. Bai Tianrui yelled angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me with such eyes, I¡¯m not a child!!!¡± Xuan Qing sighed: ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡± He slowly took a few steps back and whispered, ¡°Bai gongzi, in my eyes, you¡¯ve always been just a child.¡± Although Bai Tianrui¡¯s actions were too offensive, he was not going to be angry with a child so his expression was tinged with pity. However, he also did not want this pity to sting Bai Tianrui¡¯s heart viciously. Xuan Qing sidled out of the alley, leaving Bai Tianrui wretchedly standing in place. The corner of his lips was still stained with crystal sugar crumbs. A hundred years of time; the Heavenly Ruler was no longer the Heavenly Ruler, but Xuan Qing was still Xuan Qing. The vicissitudes of the world, whether it was Bai Jinglun or Bai Tianrui, in his eyes, were just newborn offspring. Xuan Qing naturally would not take it seriously and he also hoped that he(BTR) would not take it seriously as well. But now it seemed that this hope was destined to not come true. Xuan Qing headed back to the inn and wiped away the traces on his lips with his fingers a little by little; the wine, sugar, and the heat left by Bai Tianrui. The heat was unfamiliar, but it wasn¡¯t annoying. Xuan Qing lowered his eyes, folded his hands together, and looked out the window lights with no sadness, no joy as he simply muttered an Amitabha Buddha. CH extra 4 The sound of the phoenix flute moved, the light of the jade pot turned, and it was a night where the fishes and dragons danced. Bai Tianrui enjoyed drinking, but rarely got drunk. The moment he kissed the lips he had longed for, he wished that he really had been drunk. If he was drunk, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see the pity and mercy in Xuan Qing¡¯s eyes. If he was drunk, he wouldn¡¯t know that Xuan Qing didn¡¯t have a hint of affection for him. Being pushed away as a matter of course, Bai Tianrui took a few steps back and greedily stared at Xuan Qing. However, when he saw Xuan Qing¡¯s eyes clearly, the desire in his heart turned all into anger. ¡°Do not look at me with such eyes, I am not a child!!!¡± He angrily roared, but it seemed so powerless. Bai Tianrui just stared as Xuan Qing walked away. The monk¡¯s back was the same as when he had arrived; his spine was straight and his hands and feet were light and breezy. Bai Tianrui just watched as Xuan Qing left and stood alone in the alley for a long time. It was only until nightfall, when the lights of the whole Dajing gradually extinguished and fell into the boundless silence, that he turned to leave. That night, Bai Tianrui did not sleep. As long as he closed his eyes, what swarmed in his mind was the touch of Xuan Qing¡¯s lips. He didn¡¯t know if it was his own imagination, but he always felt that Xuan Qing¡¯s lips had a faint sandalwood scent to it. Bai Tianrui smiled bitterly and thought, this was probably Marauder¡¯s barrier. In accordance with past habits, Xuan Qing would head off to the palace before leaving to say goodbye to Bai Jinglun, therefore, Bai Tianrui was not too anxious. But who knew that this time Xuan Qing did not follow his usual rules and when Bai Tianrui arrived at the inn, he was actually informed that he had already left. Looking at Lin Rufei¡¯s innocent look, Bai Tianrui cursed in a low voice, turned around, and left with his back showing a bit of wretchedness. However, by the time he rushed to the city gate, the monk was long gone. Xuan Qing¡¯s trail became a mystery and as long as he left Dajing, it was impossible to find him. Bai Tianrui felt hatred in his heart as he stood at the city gate cursing. He did not care about the astonished and fearful eyes of the people around him. ¡°The monk can run away, but the temple won¡¯t run with him[1].¡± Bai Tianrui clenched his teeth and almost crushed the sword in his hand. In the following years, as Bai Tianrui expected, he could not find Xuan Qing¡¯s trail at all. Xuan Qing, this monk, had no name in Jianghu. Even if he did something, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily know that it was him. Wanting to find his whereabouts was like finding a needle in a haystack. But Bai Tianrui was not in a hurry, he knew where Xuan Qing would go. Four years later, at the Kunlun Sword Competition. With the invitation sent by Lin Rufei, Bai Tianrui headed off to Kunlun. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. At this time, four years had passed since the two last met. In mortal terms, four years may be very long, but for them, it was just a snap of the fingers. At the sword competition, Bai Tianrui really met Xuan Qing. Xuan Qing was smiling as he said something to the little gongzi of the Lin family. Both of their faces surfaced with a gentle look and at first, they looked extraordinarily similar. This gentleness was different from the compassion that he had used to view all objects; this gentleness carried real temperature. Even if Bai Tianrui didn¡¯t want to admit it, he was indeed jealous. He clasped the sword at his side with a deadly clasp and slowly stepped forward, walking up to Xuan Qing. Xuan Qing smiled and turned back. Just as he had when they parted four years ago, he called out to him tamely: ¡°Bai gongzi.¡± With his tone of voice and demeanor, there wasn¡¯t a trace of impropriety, as if he was just seeing an old friend who he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. Bai Tianrui greeted, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, long time no see.¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± Xuan Qing gently responded. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Master Xuan Qing to really come.¡± Bai Tianrui narrowed his mesmerized eyes, ¡°It seems that Master Xuan Qing and Lin gongzi¡¯s relationship is indeed good.¡± ¡°Lin gongzi is my friend.¡± Xuan Qing replied as he lowered his head. Thus, he did not notice that when he said the word ¡°friend,¡± the pupils of the powerful Prince of Dajing in front of him, contracted fiercely, as if he had heard something incredible. ¡°Friend?¡± Chewing on this word, Bai Tianrui laughed, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± He then turned around and left. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bad idea to stimulate him like this?¡± In the end, Lin Rufei noticed what was going on and hesitantly asked. Xuan Qing looked puzzled, as if he didn¡¯t know what Lin Rufei meant by this: ¡°Stimulate?¡± When Lin Rufei noticed that the confusion on Xuan Qing¡¯s face did not seem to be fake, he lost his smile: ¡°Has this monk ever liked anyone?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°Monks only believe in Lord Buddha, how can they be moved to lust.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Then it¡¯s going to be hard for that little Prince.¡± During the lively banquet, Lin Rufei, as the host, naturally had a lot of wine poured for him. However, Bai Tianrui did not join in on that lively party and simply sat on the side, drinking alone. Probably because the drinks on Kunlun were different from the mortal world, after he drank a lot, a slight drunkenness seemed to have also surfaced. It seemed that someone next to him was asking him something with a smile; asking if this gongzi had something unhappy and why he was sitting here drinking by himself. However, Bai Tianrui ignored it. Only until the banquet came to an end did a certain monk, sitting in the corner, rose to say goodbye. Bai Tianrui put down the glass of wine in his hand and also followed him out. The two walked outside. Xuan Qing noticed his movement, stopped, and turned to look at him. Four years had not left the slightest trace on this monk¡¯s face. He still looked the same as he did four years ago and still looked at him with the same gaze as he did four years ago. ¡°Xuan Qing.¡± He did not call him monk this time, but called him by his name. Xuan Qing raised his eyes and looked at Bai Tianrui. ¡°Four years ago, why did you leave without saying goodbye?¡± Bai Tianrui asked him. Xuan Qing smiled, ¡°This monk had already sent a letter to the emperor, how can you call it an unannounced farewell?¡± Bai Tianrui gritted his teeth, ¡°You sent a letter to my brother, what about me?¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Xuan Qing sighed, ¡°Bai gongzi.¡± Bai Tianrui, ¡°Mnn?¡± Xuan Qing asked, ¡°Do you like flowers?¡± Bai Tianrui frowned at him, ¡°So what if I do?¡± Xuan Qing continued, ¡°Have you ever planted any?¡± Bai Tianrui pursed his lips but did not say anything. Xuan Qing said, ¡°This monk likes flowers, but never planted any.¡± Bai Tianrui understood what Xuan Qing meant and he clenched his teeth once again, ¡°Just because the flowers will wither?¡± Xuan Qing smiled, ¡°No, only because flowers and grass look the same to the monk. Whether it blooms or not and whether it withers or not.¡± Bai Tianrui smiled miserably: ¡°So you use me as a metaphor for flowers, meaning that whether it is flowers or grass, or a stone on the roadside, in your eyes, there is no difference?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing¡¯s voice was still so gentle. However, for Bai Tianrui, that simple reply ¡°yes,¡± pierced through him as if blood had flowed everywhere. With his hoarse voice, he roared, ¡°What about Lin Rufei¡ª¡ªLin Rufei¡ª¡ª¡± Xuan Qing looked at Bai Tianrui strangely. Bai Tianrui questioned, ¡°Is he a stone in your eyes too?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°Naturally not.¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°Then what is he?¡± Xuan Qing blinked and smiled, ¡°He is¡­¡­the ruler of the world.¡± Bai Tianrui¡¯s eyes were red, ¡°Xuan Qing, you¡¯re not willing to give me even a single chance?¡± Xuan Qing, however, did not speak and just quietly looked at Bai Tianrui. Probably because Bai Tianrui¡¯s eyes were too desperate, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a low sigh, ¡°Bai gongzi, why are you doing this?¡± Bai Tianrui laughed miserably, turned around, and left. His steps looked a bit staggering as he walked away from him. Xuan Qing looked at him quietly before bowing his head and reciting, Amitabha Buddha. This was the last time they saw each other after more than a hundred years. Bai Tianrui left the sword competition, but did not return to Dajing and Xuan Qing also never saw him again. Until one day, when Xuan Qing went to pay respect to Bai Jinglun. At this time, Bai Jinglun had been dead for many years so Xuan Qing took advantage of the Qingming Festival to sweep his tomb in the light rain. In the end, he was the emperor so his tombstone was extraordinarily clean. However, Xuan Qing noticed that in the corner of the tombstone, a small white flower bloomed. Ghost messenger. Xuan Qing squatted down halfway and gently stroked the small flower that was trembling in the rain. He raised the oil paper umbrella in his hand and gently sheltered it. ¡°Xuan Qing.¡± Someone was calling him. Xuan Qing looked up, but saw nothing. Was it just his imagination? Xuan Qing thought. He felt that he heard the voice of Bai Tianrui. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idiom: ¡°I¡¯ll get you sooner or later.¡± CH extra 5 Even in the Bu¡¯e Continent, where great demons were prevalent, the Ye Mo was not a common demon. They were very few in number but were born to cultivate. As long as they grew into big demons, they would definitely dominate. It was just a pity that it wasn¡¯t easy to grow to adulthood on the Bu¡¯e Continent. Unlike Yaogang, the Bu¡¯e Continent was disorderly. Killing and being killed was common like eating, and because of this, every demon that survived was an elite among the elite. If they weren¡¯t too few in number, they probably would have long taken over the Yaoguang Continent. Chi Yu was young at the time but he knew some old stories from the past, such as the fact that the demons had already taken the lead on the Yaoguang Continent. However, who knew that a Heavenly Ruler had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and laid down a great formation to protect the whole Yaoguang Continent, completely stopping the invasion of the demons. This formation could stop most of the demons with lower cultivation and even if there were big demons that could enter Yaoguang through the formation, there were other cultivators to stop them which ended up being not a big deal. Because of this formation, the name Heavenly Ruler had not only spread throughout Yaoguang but was also known on the Bu¡¯e Continent. Just the demons weren¡¯t dumb. They knew that even if the Heavenly Ruler, such a powerful person, was able to lay down such a powerful formation that could protect the entire continent, he would have had to pay a painful price. ¡°No wonder the Heavenly Ruler disappeared after that day. Perhaps after laying down the formation, his vitality was greatly wounded.¡± ¡°Yes, such a powerful formation, I don¡¯t know how he achieved such a thing.¡± ¡°Maybe the Heavenly Ruler really is dead now, if so, it¡¯s a good opportunity for us¡­¡­¡± Such statements were very loud at that time that at a certain point, the demons were also quite restless. The Demon King also had some thoughts. After all, if the Heavenly Ruler was no longer there, once he arrived at the Yaoguang Continent, no one would be able to beat him. He just had to wave his hands and he would be able to destroy countless cities and take thousands of human lives. So the Demon King gathered his men and planned to have a long discussion on this matter. At that time, Ye Mo¡¯s cultivation had just begun and was fortunate enough to also join this discussion. He had thought that he could see the beginning of the demon¡¯s revival, but who knew that during the meeting, a red outfit floated past. Chi Yu was far away, so he only saw a back. That back seemed like a leisurely fall of red leaves overhead as suddenly the sword was unsheathed and a move was made. And it was only one move. After one move, the head of the Demon King, with his unbelievable eyes, fell to the ground with a thump as blood splashed out, reddening the morning sun. The whole room was silent and all eyes fell on the man in red, but his posture was lazy. He shook the long sword in his hand slightly, shaking off the residual blood on the blade, and then with a clank, he returned the sword to its sheath. His attitude was very relaxed, as if he did not feel at all the surrounding temperature of the burning gazes. Until the man in red left, not a single demon made a sound. The Demon King¡¯s head rolled to the ground and fell off the high platform as it became stained with mud. The man in red rode his sword and just disappeared from their views like that. Ten steps to kill one person, not staying for a thousand miles. That was about it. After the man in red left, the silence that had been maintained for a long time finally ended, and with it came a huge cacophony. Some were roaring, some were screaming, some were in distress, and all the demons were in chaos. ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that the Heavenly Ruler had been ruined? Why is he still alive¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°His cultivation level not only didn¡¯t regress, but it had also even improved!¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Demon King, Lord Demon King is dead!!!¡± ¡°Help, help¡ª¡ª¡± Chaotic voices filled the whole world and Chi Yu silently stood in the corner, quietly hiding his form. As soon as the Demon King died, a hundred-year-long chaos was ushered in. The warlords were divided, the whole continent was in disarray and no longer unified. Chi Yu also grew up. One hundred years was enough time for him to grow into a great demon from a small demon that had no self-protection ability. The Ye Mo tribe was rare and as soon as they reached adulthood, their strength would grow a hundredfold. After the turmoil in Bu¡¯e finally subsided, although there were no more demon kings, there were seven new kings, one of which was Chi Yu. Although the Ye Mo was divided into male and female, in fact, reproduction did not require a male and female to ¡õ¡õ. As long as their cultivation was high enough, they could divide a part of their body and turn it into a demon egg for reproduction. It was because of this that the Ye Mo had never had a strong desire to reproduce and it was after a long time of consideration that Chi Yu made this decision. However, the egg was stolen not long after it was birthed. Ye Mo was furious and headed to Yaoguang in pursuit of the trail. Who knew that he was one step too late and his stupid son had recognized someone else as his father. Pinching the flesh of the kitten¡¯s neck in his hand, Chi Yu looked at it straightforwardly with disgust and anxiety. The little thing was stubborn and refused to eat what he fed, helpless, Chi Yu had to follow Lin Rufei for a while. Who knew that as he followed along, he actually perceived an incredible thing. He actually felt the breath of the Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­ Although this breath was unfamiliar, it was one he would never forget. The accident a hundred years ago left an indelible trace in his memory. Even if he died, he would not forget. This Lin gongzi in front of him, could it be that he really had a relationship with the Heavenly Ruler? Chi Yu thought confusedly. He used the sword blade of the Heavenly Ruler and carried the aura of the Heavenly Ruler, this¡­¡­was probably not an accident. Until one day, he finally met the owner of the breath. It was still the same extremely recognizable red outfit. He stood at the Lin family¡¯s youngest son¡¯s side and with a slightly inclined head, the tender loving in his eyes almost turned concrete. Although Chi Yu had never seen his face, he still was able to learn of his identity from that familiar breath. This was the Heavenly Ruler who beheaded the Demon King with his own hands a few hundred years ago. Chi Yu revealed a look of astonishment. Seemingly sensing his gaze, the man slowly turned his head and looked at him. The two men stared at each other, one stunned, one flat. Then the man in red withdrew his gaze and his figure gradually faded away. Chi Yu anxiously rubbed his paws on the ground. This was his first meeting with Gu Xuandu. In fact, the two of them didn¡¯t meet very often since most of the time, his attention was focused on Lin Rufei. Who was Lin Rufei? Why was the Heavenly Ruler following beside him? He probably wasn¡¯t just the youngest son of the Kunlun Sect. Chi Yu felt some unusual flavor in this matter, but still could not completely figure out the overall context of it for a while. Until that day, when Chi Yu helped Lin Rufei and took him to see the dead swordsman. ¡°Why have you just arrived?¡± Standing at a distance and watching Lin Rufei trembling with the swordsman, Chi Yu coldly asked, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that your little gongzi will die like this?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°You know of my existence?¡± He spoke in a light tone, as if he hadn¡¯t even met Chi Yu¡¯s eyes. Chi Yu snorted and said that he wasn¡¯t a fool. Since Lin Rufei liked to talk to himself so much and he also wasn¡¯t suffering from hysteria¡­¡­ Gu Xuandu laughed but did not speak. Over there, Lin Rufei and the swordsman fought passionately. Chi Yu mulled over this thought for a moment, but still voiced the doubts in his heart, ¡°You are the Heavenly Ruler, right?¡± Gu Xuandu took a glance at him. Chi Yu continued, ¡°A few hundred years ago, you personally set up the Grand Formation and beheaded the Demon King, I was present at that time and remembered your breath.¡± He observed Gu Xuandu¡¯s state and narrowed his eyes, ¡°How come you only have your soul left now?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, ¡°Not telling you.¡± Chi Yu bared his teeth. Gu Xuandu laughed: ¡°Just kidding. I just ran into something and became this way, if you want to take revenge, I really can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Since Chi Yu was able to pass through the Yaoguang Grand Formation, his cultivation level must have broken past the eighth level. Now he was still in the state of soul, naturally, there was nothing he could do with this demon. However, who knew that Chi Yu smiled coldly at his words, asking since when did he and Gu Xuandu have a feud. ¡°I killed the Demon King of your Bu¡¯e Continent, am I not considered to be Bu¡¯e¡¯s enemy?¡± Gu Xuandu wondered. ¡°If you didn¡¯t kill him, how could I be a king?¡± Chi Yu smiled, ¡°In the end, I should also thank you.¡± Gu Xuandu raised his eyebrows. ¡°Who is this little gongzi to you?¡± Chi Yu asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s your disciple? No one would look at their own disciple with that kind of eyes.¡± He had seen that Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes carried a familiar greed, like a beast that had been hungry for a long time and suddenly saw a fresh piece of meat. Wanting to swallow it all in a few mouthfuls, but also didn¡¯t want to finish it too cleanly. It was best to find a place where no one was and to endure the hunger and discouragement. The best way, after all, was to chew slowly and savor the flavor. Gu Xuandu blinked: ¡°Guess?¡± Chi Yu said: ¡°Tsk, troublesome.¡± He didn¡¯t bother to guess, turned around, and walked away with his tail wagging. Gu Xuandu looked at his back and began to reflect on whether his look was really too obvious that even Chi Yu, an unreasonable demon, was able to see something from it. After that, Chi Yu saw Gu Xuandu a few more times. However, those meetings were all by chance, until one day, he had intended to leave. With the little cub in his arms, Chi Yu took on his human form and said to Gu Xuandu that he was leaving. Gu Xuandu said, ¡®If you¡¯re going to leave then leave, why have you come to greet me?¡¯ Chi Yu said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because your little gongzi seduced my son? Otherwise, why would I waste so much time here?¡± He grinned, revealing his sharp canine teeth, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the sake of you, the Heavenly Ruler, I would have swallowed him in one bite.¡± After listening to his words, Gu Xuandu looked at him seriously, ¡°Actually, there is one thing that I haven¡¯t told you.¡± Chi Yu asked, ¡°What?¡± Gu Xuandu sighed, ¡°I am not the Heavenly Ruler.¡± Chi Yu frowned at Gu Xuandu and just thought he was talking nonsense: ¡°If you are not the Heavenly Ruler, then who are you?¡± Gu Xuandu said righteously, word for word: ¡°The Heavenly Ruler¡¯s man.¡± Chi Yu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This person was probably psycho. Probably because the four words that this man spoke were too shocking, Chi Yu was silent for a long time and did not say anything. Gu Xuandu chuckled then waved his hand at him, signaling for him to hurry. Chi Yu cursed an expletive and then said, ¡®Gu Xuandu you really like to speak without thinking. All you like to do is make up nonsense and talk nonsense¡­¡­¡¯ Gu Xuandu was too lazy to defend himself and simply replied indifferently: ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you believe it or not.¡± Chi Yu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He wanted to say something else, but when the words came to the tip of his tongue, he swallowed them back down¡ªhard. Finally, he turned away in distress¡ª¡ªhe actually saw from Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression that this man was not joking and was very serious. Gu Xuandu was the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s man? But the Heavenly Ruler was originally a man, so wouldn¡¯t the two of them¡­¡­Remembering the way Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei, Chi Yu¡¯s ears inexplicably reddene. He then cursed lowly, thinking how in the world could there be such a lewd/mischievous thing. This group of human beings was not at all like their pure demon race! He had lived for hundreds of years, but had yet to even hold a girl¡¯s hand¡ª¡ª Thinking of this, Chi Yu suddenly regretted it. He shouldn¡¯t have left so fast. Although Lin Rufei was troublesome, his two maids were actually quite cute, ah. CH extra 6 The Autumn breeze was rising, the crab¡¯s feet were itching, and it was another golden Autumn. Lin Rufei unsealed the yellow wine he had brewed in the past few years and planned to have a sip while enjoying the moon. He was lowering his head to pat off the mud on the wine jug when he saw Gu Xuandu walking in slowly with a bamboo basket dripping with water. ¡°What is it?¡± Lin Rufei looked up and asked. ¡°Crabs.¡± Gu Xuandu replied with a smile. With a stretch of his hand, he placed the bamboo basket on the stone table in front of him and then took the wine jar from Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. Lin Rufei came over curiously. He opened the bamboo basket and saw the fresh crabs inside. He had a weak body and naturally had to eat less of this cold food, so he had only tasted one or half of them in the past and really couldn¡¯t taste anything special from it. Now that he had seen it again, he once again grew some interest in tasting it. ¡°Where did you catch them?¡± Lin Rufei poked the crab¡¯s back with his hand and stared as they waved their pincers in the bamboo basket with an aggressive look. He then chuckled and asked, ¡°So energetic?¡± There weren¡¯t any big lakes near Kunlun, and even if there were crabs, they were only small river crabs. The crabs in the bamboo basket were so big that they were definitely not caught nearby. ¡°Took a trip to the mountainside.¡± Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t even elaborate and just looked at Lin Rufei with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s eat crabs tonight?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and nodded, ¡°It¡¯s perfect with this yellow wine.¡± Today¡¯s weather was good. The sky was clear and the moon was hanging high in the sky at night. The osmanthus flowers in the courtyard were also in bloom, staining the breeze with a faint fragrance. Once the green crabs were on the steamer, they soon turned into an attractive red. The yellow wine was also warm and good. It had a delicate flavor as it entered the mouth and it didn¡¯t feel spicy at all. Lin Rufei sat in the courtyard and drank a cup, and soon, a sweet red surfaced on his pale cheeks. The sound of light footsteps came from behind him and then his shoulders sank; Gu Xuandu had brought a cloak over and carefully placed it over him. ¡°It¡¯s windy late at night.¡± Gu Xuandu sat down beside Lin Rufei and said with a smile. Lin Rufei nodded. Gu Xuandu picked up a crab and began to break it apart. Lin Rufei rarely ate this kind of stuff so he didn¡¯t really know how to eat it and simply watched with great interest from the sidelines. Gu Xuandu¡¯s fingers were slender and long and when he peeled the crabs, it was quite pleasing to the eye. The crab meat and the crab shell were easily divided into two parts at his fingertips, and the most eye-catching part was the golden crab roe inside. Gu Xuandu plucked up the crab roe, dipped it in the crab vinegar, and naturally fed it into Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth. Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth opened as he took the crab roe into his mouth. Instantly his eyes lit up as he praised: ¡°Delicious!¡± Gu Xuandu lowered his eyes: ¡°Previously, I did not know that Xiao Jiu likes to eat this.¡± Lin Rufei propped his hand on his chin, squinting his eyes with insatiable satisfaction: ¡°It¡¯s too troublesome.¡± The memories of the Heavenly Ruler were all about running around for the sake of the people of the world. Even during good times and festivals, there was little time to spare, so he rarely touched troublesome food such as crabs. Nowadays though, he felt that the taste was very good, especially the crab roe. It was fresh and soft and once it was dipped in some special vinegar, it was even more delicious. Gu Xuandu continued peeling as Lin Rufei sat on the side staring at him intently. He originally wanted to do it himself, but Gu Xuandu smiled and pressed his hand back, saying that things like peeling were troublesome. Xiao Jiu should just drink wine first and just wait to be fed. Lin Rufei could only give up. Lifting up the wine glass, he drank two mouthfuls of warm yellow wine accompanied by some side dishes prepared by Fu Hua and then proceeded to bite half of the baked puff pastry. He was indeed very satisfied. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The yellow wine tasted good and with Gu Xuandu¡¯s crab meat as a companion, unknowingly, he drank half of the jug. Not only were Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks red, but even his eyes surfaced with some light vapor. There was a vague sense of drunkenness in his expression. Gu Xuandu looked on from the side with a smile on his lips. He didn¡¯t say a single word and was only concerned with feeding him food. With three or four crabs down, Lin Rufei felt a little full so he stopped eating crabs and lowered his head to drink more wine. The moonlight was like a waterfall as the wind rolled the fine osmanthus flowers onto his hair and shoulder. He held the rim of the wine glass cup and vaguely chanted Gu Xuandu¡¯s name. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Xuandu turned his head and looked at him with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t want to eat anymore, I¡¯m full.¡± Lin Rufei chanted in a low voice, ¡°You also stop peeling, come and drink with me.¡± Gu Xuandu nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± The two men clinked their glasses and drank again. Lin Rufei was a little hot, so he casually untied the cloak draped over his shoulders. However, Gu Xuandu stopped him and said, ¡°Xiao Jiu is weak, be careful of catching a cold.¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he narrowed his eyes at him. His gaze carried a hint of provocativeness as his fingers reached up to Gu Xuandu¡¯s lips. He wiped away the wet wine and then placed it into his own mouth, seriously licking it clean: ¡°So what if I am weak. If I am weak does that mean that you have to treat me like a baby that you don¡¯t even dare to touch?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes turned dark and he was silent. ¡°Gu Xuandu.¡± Lin Rufei came forward and grabbed his collar, pulling him close to his face. Their noses were touching as breaths mingled with burning wine puffing out, ¡°I¡¯m not made of clay, I¡¯m not going to break from such things.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t break from such things?¡± Gu Xuandu repeated each word one at a time, as if chewing on these words, and there seemed to be a manic storm brewing in his eyes. Lin Rufei, however, was oblivious and was still provoking until he was met with a blur in front of his eyes. His vision turned and he then realized that he was directly princess carried off by Gu Xuandu. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lin Rufei asked blankly. Gu Xuandu smiled and said softly: ¡°Xiao Jiu shouldn¡¯t talk big.¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Since Xiao Jiu said that he won¡¯t break from such things, then I will test it out.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes opened slightly. It seemed that he did not expect Gu Xuandu to do as he said without giving him any opportunity to react. However, Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression actually made him worried and slightly fearful. Although he was confidently provoking him a while ago, he was now slightly timid. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out and pull on Gu Xuandu¡¯s sleeve, softly calling out ¡°Xuandu,¡± as if begging for mercy. But he didn¡¯t know that if he hadn¡¯t said anything, then everything would have been fine. But this begging for mercy was like a spark that fell into the woodpile and completely ignited someone who had been repressed for a long time. ¡°Today is a good day.¡± Gu Xuandu muttered, ¡°The moonlight is perfect.¡± After saying that, he took a big step forward and crossed into the room. The courtyard was once again quiet. Only the breeze, the moon, and the remnants of crab and wine remained. That night, Lin Rufei felt really regretful. He didn¡¯t remember how many times he begged for mercy and that he was going to break, but the person who had been repressed for so long, never cared about such stuff. The next day when he woke up, the sun was already high. Lin Rufei opened his eyes, only to feel as if his body had fallen apart while the culprit was sitting on the edge of the bed. Blinking at him, he raised the bamboo basket in his hand, smiling like a flower: ¡°Xiao Jiu, do you want to eat crabs again tonight? It¡¯s just caught so it¡¯s very fresh.¡± Lin Rufei buried half of his face into the bedding and his hoarse voice was as thin as a mosquito: ¡°No more, I don¡¯t want to eat crabs ever again¡­¡­¡± If he still ate them tonight, he was afraid that he would have to die in bed. CH extra 7 Since Gu Xuandu came to that cherry blossom forest, he rarely dreamed. The cherry blossom grove was located under the Kunlun Mountains. Counting carefully, it had a hundred years of history. The Kunlun Mountains were remote and had wind and snow all year round. Spring here was even shorter than it was in the Central Plains, therefore the blooming of cherry blossom blossoms was only for half a month. Fortunately, there were many people who loved flowers and the cherry blossom forest wasn¡¯t all too lonely. Since Gu Xuandu¡¯s body had been destroyed, he could only send his soul onto the cherry blossom tree. However, he was not lucky. The cherry blossom tree that he parasitized was only a small seedling, thin and small. Not to mention flowers, there were only one or two leaves on its branches and as the Spring breeze brushed past, the small cherry blossom tree would sway, so pitiful. Because of this, Gu Xuandu thought that his encounter with that person would take a long time. However, who knew that one Spring, a little gongzi in fancy clothes headed down the mountain to enjoy the cherry blossom on a whim and noticed his insignificant self on the roadside. The little gongzi was only seven or eight years old, but he could already see that he had good looks. However, his cheeks were small and too pale, and with the addition of the furry fox fur lining, he looked even more slender and thin. He stood in the luxuriant cherry blossom forest and his pair of black eyes seemed to reflect the pink bud. The cherry blossoms here were many and very beautiful. Who would pay attention to the roadside cherry blossom tree that seemed to be dying? Gu Xuandu¡¯s hands clutched his chest as he sat on a branch on the side with drooping eyes, his thoughts wandering aimlessly. As expected, the little gongzi was fascinated by the cherry blossoms. He circled the whole forest until he was bullied by the monkeys in the cherry blossom forest. Then, with an aggrieved expression, he muttered that he wanted to leave. The maid was laughing as she coaxed him, asking if he wanted her to go and catch the bullying monkeys and teach them a good lesson. The little gongzi sighed and waved his hand with little interest, ¡°No, no, let them go, what¡¯s the point of screaming with a group of monkeys.¡± The maid laughed and Gu Xuandu also laughed along. Some people, even after a hundred years, could be recognized at a glance. The little gongzi in front of him was him. The little gongzi lowered his head and walked back with his head hanging. Who knew that when he reached him, he suddenly paused and looked over hesitantly, ¡°Fu Hua¡­¡­¡± The maid named Fu Hua came forward to answer. ¡°This is a cherry blossom tree, right?¡± The little gongzi¡¯s eyes fell on the slender cherry blossom tree and asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t our courtyard happen to lack a cherry blossom tree?¡± Fu Hua asked, ¡°You want this one? But this one still looks so small, not even a single flower¡­¡­Why don¡¯t you choose a beautiful one, tomorrow I will have someone move the tree to the courtyard, so you can enjoy the flowers.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, thinking that the maid¡¯s words were not false. After all, who wanted to plant such a half-dead tree in their courtyard? Wasn¡¯t a more beautiful one better? But the little gongzi wrinkled his brow and said, ¡°No, I want this one.¡± ¡°Why?¡± His maid was surprised. ¡°This cherry blossom tree is a newborn, if it keeps growing in the cherry blossom forest, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t grow much.¡± The little gongzi said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a pity for it to die like this? Why not move it to the courtyard and raise it well, maybe in a few years it will grow and bloom.¡± At this time, the cherry blossom forest under the mountain had already flourished for a hundred years and for a new cherry blossom sapling to grow wasn¡¯t an easy task. The big trees that have grown up have taken away the sunlight and rain from the small trees and looking at the appearance of this small cherry blossom tree, there was no chance for it to grow and bloom. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Since his little gongzi said so, Fu Hua also could not refute. The next day, she sent someone to move the little cherry blossom tree to her gongzi¡¯s courtyard with its roots. Probably because this small cherry blossom tree was really pitiful, the people who moved the tree were very careful¡ªthey didn¡¯t even dare to touch a leaf. So, Gu Xuandu then headed off to the little gongzi¡¯s courtyard. The little gongzi was called Lin Rufei and he was the youngest son of the Kunlun Sect¡¯s Head. He should have been the prided son of Heaven, but he was weak and unable to wield a sword. Fortunately, his brothers and sister would spoil him with all their hearts. After a long time, Gu Xuandu finally met him again. Only, he could no longer remember the past nor could he remember him. The little gongzi was slowly growing up, but the cherry blossom tree still remained the same weak look. Ordinary cherry blossom trees would blossom and bear fruit in two or three years, but this one in the courtyard, after almost ten years, still had a pathetic look with sparse branches and leaves. Lin Rufei had grown from a handsome child into a charming young boy. His daily routine was to carry a watering can to water the cherry blossom tree. If it was Spring, he would have whispered a few words to it as well. ¡°How come it just won¡¯t bloom?¡± Lin Rufei frowned sadly as he looked at the slender cherry blossom tree in his yard. His fingertips nudged its trunk and he touched its leaves, sighing, ¡°Even the leaves are so few¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu stood across from Lin Rufei looking at his little gongzi. Only, unfortunately, the little gongzi could not see him at this time. He listened to the little gongzi¡¯s words, pondered for a moment, and wrinkled his brow, ¡°Then¡­¡­I will try harder?¡± It was as if the little gongzi heard his voice, he revealed a smile, and muttered to himself: ¡°Forget it, just do as you please.¡± Since his little gongzi wanted to see cherry blossoms, Gu Xuandu naturally did not want him to go to the bottom of the mountain to see those sultry ones. So he worked very hard and put in the effort to finally squeeze out a flower bud. The flower bud stood alone on the slender branch and at first, it looked very pitiful. But at least, it was considered a flower. When Lin Rufei saw his family¡¯s carefully raised cherry blossom tree finally bloom, he was naturally overjoyed. But just as the bud bloomed, suddenly rain and wind fell. The already soft petals were wet by the rain and in Lin Rufei¡¯s frightened eyes, it slowly floated down. The little gongzi was really scared by this scene. His eyes were round as he opened his mouth to shout. However, Gu Xuandu smiled brightly and with the raise of his fingertips, the falling petal blew with the wind towards Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks. Lin Rufei had no time to react before a pale pink shade entered his eyes. He seemed to be shocked by the suddenness of the situation as he covered his eyes and jerked back a few steps, missing the soft laughter in his ears. ¡°Xiao Jiu.¡± Someone was calling his name. Holding his body as he slowly slid down, the burning breath was in his ear. With a twist of the head, he would have seen, but Lin Rufei had already entered a chaotic dream world. In the dream, he saw a red outfit. At this moment, Lin Rufei thought this was their first encounter. But he did not know that this was a reunion after hundreds of years apart. (t/n): AND THAT¡¯S OFFICIALLY THE END!!!! Thank you guys for sticking until the end and please support the author if you can. I never would have expected to finish this novel in around 4 months, but I am proud of myself for being able to do so and not dropping it. If we are fated to meet again in the future, maybe I¡¯ll see you guys in another novel, but for now, Satsuki peace out~ ******** The author has something to say: And that¡¯s pretty much the end, I will see you guys in the next book ~ love you = 3 = CH 1 On the eighth day of the first Lunar month, there was heavy snow. The maid, Fu Hua, carried a large bamboo basket in her hand. She wasn¡¯t that tall and donned a simple cotton dress, trekking lightly on the steep mountain road. At this time, the snow fall started to intensify, and it covered the Heavens and Earth in a blanket of white. Upon the treetops was another thick layer of snow. The mountain road was steep, and Fu Hua¡¯s pace was not quick. She seemed to be hindered by the heavy snowfall, however, if one were to look carefully, they would see the distance between her footprints were all equal¡ªnot an inch farther and not a millimeter less. There were no birds or animals in the mountains, only the rustling sound of falling snowflakes. Not knowing how long she had walked, Fu Hua expressionlessly exhaled a mouthful of white wisp, and the corners of her mouth curved gently into a smile. She couldn¡¯t help but quicken her pace as she rounded a tall twisted pine tree. Soon a tall pavilion came into her view. The pavilion was built on top of a cliff, a direct contrast with the twisted pine trees surrounding it. The pavilion has two levels, and it was surrounded tightly by a bamboo curtain. The bamboo curtain looked ordinary at first glance, but in fact, it hid a small mechanism that shielded the pavilion from the cold, no matter how big the wind or heavy the snowstorm. Fu Hua walked to the front of the pavilion, her smile gradually widened. She reached out to lift the bamboo curtain, calling out in a sweet tone: ¡°Young master ¡­¡­¡± The moment she called out for her young master, she noticed that the pavilion was empty. The smile on her face froze, before turning into exasperation and worry. She stiffly placed the heavy bamboo basket on the ground, then turned around and started to make her way to the mountain behind her. Fu Hua held in her annoyance and followed the mountain path all the way up. Finally, she saw the person she was looking for on a large boulder halfway up the mountain. It was a young man draped in snow-white fox fur. The youth had his back turned to Fu Hua. He seemed to be gazing intently at something in the distance and was unaware of the presence behind him. His long black hair was held in place by a laburnum patterned hair stick with a few strands of hair that swayed along with the cold wind, hanging by his ears. He does not know how long he has been here. His head and shoulders have already accumulated a thick layer of snow, as if in the next moment he would melt completely into the white scenery surrounding him. Fu Hua furrowed her brows and softly called out, ¡°Young master.¡± The youth turned his head, revealing a handsome face. He had delicate features, thin lips, a fine nose, clear eyebrows, and dark eyes. His eyes should have been black, but the color was lighter than normal. At first glance, it gives people the illusion that his eyes were vacant. Maybe because he was in the cold for too long, his lips started to turn into a faint purple, though not unpleasant to look at, there was a kind of ink-like elegance. However, this elegance, made people feel like he was about to disappear. ¡°Young master!!!¡± Seeing the man¡¯s appearance, Fu Hua was annoyed, and without much thought, she quickly stepped forward to complain, ¡°How long have you been out here? With such cold weather, what would happen if you froze to death?¡± The man who was originally sitting on the boulder showed a somewhat guilty expression after hearing his maid reprimand him. He hastily stood up and brushed the snowflakes off of himself before saying in a warm voice: ¡°I stayed in the pavilion for too long and got bored, so I wanted to come out for a walk.¡± ¡°Young master!!!¡± The maid wanted to say a lot of things, but when the words reached the tip of her tongue, she forcibly swallowed them back down. Looking at the man¡¯s appearance, she could only whisper a couple of complaints before urging her young master to return to the pavilion quickly. Her young master responded, but didn¡¯t move his feet. He blinked his pale eyes and said innocently: ¡°Fu Hua, I found something interesting.¡± Fu Hua said: ¡°What is it?¡± The young master said: ¡°Come over and look.¡± Fu Hua pursed her lips and walked to her young master¡¯s side, she looked towards the direction he pointed at. What she saw was a boulder covered in snow. And a small beige flower on top of it. It was trembling and seemed fragile as if the next moment it would be uprooted by the bitter, cold wind. ¡°How can there be a flower?¡± Fu Hua questioned, ¡°It¡¯s the middle of winter ¡­¡­¡± ¡°I also felt curious about it.¡± Her young master smiled, ¡°So I stood looking at it for a while. Come, let¡¯s go back.¡± He said as he gently caressed the tender petals of the small flower with his delicate fingers. His action was gentle. Fu Hua saw her young master¡¯s action and furrowed her eyebrows, but she did not say anything. Instead, she quietly followed behind her young master, softly urging him to go back quickly. The beige flower still swayed in the cold wind, until out of nowhere, a sword Qi came out suddenly and sliced through the air. The flower was cut off at the root before crumbling into fine dust that was carried off by the wind. Her young master slowly walked back to the pavilion and lifted the curtains. He felt a wave of heat rushing towards his face. In the middle of the pavilion, several pots were burning with charcoal. This kept the entire interior of the pavilion dry and warm. But the smoke from the charcoal caused the youth to uncontrollably bend down and cough a few times. Originally, his face that was as pale as paper suddenly flushed into a dizzy red. Fu Hua looked at him worriedly with knitted eyebrows. ¡°Young master.¡± Fu Hua hurriedly said. ¡°I have prepared some pear water for you, it will help with the coughing. These pears are ones that I asked Yu Rui to buy yesterday, they are still fresh. Come, you should drink it while it is still hot.¡± The young master waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll drink it later.¡± He sat down on the recliner, casually placed the white fox fur onto the side, and propped his chin up with his hand. He carelessly observed the snowy scene outside through the gaps of the bamboo curtain. Although this bamboo curtain had gaps, the cold wind could not get inside. It was as if an invisible force had separated the outside from the inside. ¡°Young master.¡± Fu Hua said softly, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to eat.¡± She bit her lower lip, her delicate features twisted in concern, ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten anything all day.¡± The young master ignored her and asked, ¡°Has the sword competition started yet?¡± ¡°It has started.¡± Fu Hua quietly answered, ¡°Second young master said that if you want to go see it¡­¡­¡± ¡°Not going.¡± Her young master said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat¡± Fu Hua happily agreed and brought out the food plate by plate from the bamboo basket she carried and laid it out in front of her young master. In a distracted tone, she said, ¡°The cherry blossoms at the foot of the mountain have bloomed. However, the vendor, Old man Zhang, who sells candied hawthorn hasn¡¯t opened for a while. I originally wanted Yu Rui to buy two sticks for young master since the young master loves the one from this vendor. And then there¡¯s Chen¡¯s store white rice cake ¡­¡­ young master ¡­¡­ young master ¡­¡­¡± she repeated, but only to find that the man in front of her stopped moving his hands. His head was slightly tilted, and his breathing gradually evened out. Even his eyes were closed. Fu Hua opened her mouth but then closed it again. She didn¡¯t bother waking the man but sat quietly beside him. The food in front of them still scattered off a rich aroma, and the charcoal pots in the room occasionally emitted a crisp crackling sound. She stared at the person in front of her, suppressing the sigh that wanted to escape her chest. In the end, it was replaced with a dull ache. Kunlun Mountain has jade, which is famously known amongst the world. However, even more famous than the jade found on Kunlun Mountain was the swordmaster surnamed Lin who lives upon said mountain. Amongst the cultivators who seek the path of immortality, there were only a few elites. But the family surnamed Lin, on Kunlun Mountain, have been able to produce elites far beyond anyone¡¯s understanding, generation after generation, and will continue for thousands of years. Fu Hua¡¯s young master was the youngest son of the Lin family, named Lin Rufei. When Lin Rufei was born, the skies bestowed upon him a sign¡ª thousands of birds in the evening blaze took the form of a phoenix that encircled Kunlun Mountain until finally scattering at nightfall. As a result, the Lin family also had high hopes for their youngest son, thus bestowing upon him the name Rufei.[1] Fei, the king of all jades. They hoped that this child, like the most beautiful jade on Kunlun Mountain, would be as brilliant. However, things didn¡¯t go as planned. At the age of three, Lin Rufei was confirmed by the Lin family ancestors that he would be unable to practice the sword. His body was weak and even frailer than the common people. And he barely managed to walk at the age of two. At three years old, his first words were of his parents. Such aptitude, he could only be described as a fool. Lin Rufei slept lightly. With a tilt of his head, the weight could cause him to nod. As a result, he would wake himself from his shallow dream with a jolt. With sleep still in his eyes, he saw his maid Fu Hua half-kneeling on the cushion in front of the table. She was staring dully at the food that was still steaming. Lin Rufei shook his head to wake himself up from the sleep daze and lazily picked up the chopsticks to continue eating. Fu Hua also returned to her senses, her face showing joy. The food was intricately prepared, every dish was Lin Rufei¡¯s favorite, but he ate inattentively and seemed to be lost in thought. Fu Hua asked, ¡°What is young master thinking about?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Now that the cherry blossoms are blooming at the foot of the mountain, are the monkeys still there?¡± Fu Hua said in a warm voice: ¡°Naturally, the monkeys are still there. Does young master want to see the cherry blossoms?¡± Lin Rufei sighed defeatedly: ¡°Then I won¡¯t go to see them.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°If young master is unhappy, I will go to the bottom of the mountain and drive away the monkeys.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head and did not say anything. The weather was very different above and below the mountain. At this time, it was Spring at its foot and the plants are in full bloom. Near Kunlun Mountain, there is a cherry blossom forest at its most glorious. With the beauty of the cherry blossoms, it would attract a lot of visitors but this forest also had a group of annoying monkeys. The number was quite large and they would often disturb the passers-by. However, this group of monkeys was also very discerning. They would never harass the ones that they believed they could not handle, therefore they always targeted the weak, like scholars and young misses. ¡°You go ahead.¡± Fu Hua still wanted to say something, but Lin Rufei waved his hand as a signal for her to leave, ¡°I¡¯m a little tired¡± ¡°Young master, let¡¯s go down the mountain.¡± Fu Hua begged, ¡°This mountain is so cold, and your body is weak. If your health really deteriorates, the second young master would have my head.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll stop him.¡± Fu Hua continued to urge: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to stay in the mountains, we could walk around the area for a change of pace.¡± Lin Rufei did not move, but closed his eyes, indicating that he was going to sleep. Fu Hua saw the situation and felt frustrated with tears in her eyes. Only after a long time did she give in and say: ¡°Then Fu Hua will really go.¡± ¡°Go on, go on, remember to be careful.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Next time bring me some more books, I¡¯m almost done with the ones here.¡± Fu Hua mumbled an agreement and could only reluctantly get up and leave the pavilion. Lin Rufei closed his eyes as if he was truly asleep. Only when the figure of Fu Hua disappeared into the wind and snow did he reopen his eyes. What sleepiness did he have in those eyes, it was clearly full of deviousness. Lin Rufei casually picked up the fox fur next to him and draped it over his body. Without even putting on his shoes properly, he ran as fast as he could all the way towards the mountain behind the pavilion. Only, when he arrived at the place, he didn¡¯t see what he wanted to see. ¡°Huh, where did the little flower go?¡± Lin Rufei covered his mouth and coughed a few times, ¡°It was just here a while ago ¡­¡­¡± his eyes patrolled the boulder for a long time, but still did not find the small beige flower that was once there. It was strange, but before he could ponder too much about it, his shoulder was tapped gently. He turned and saw a man donned in green clothes. He had a long sword hanging by his waist and was looking gently at him. Lin Rufei¡¯s expression froze and only after a long time did he quietly call out: ¡°¡­¡­ brother.¡± This person was his second brother, Lin Bianyu. Lin Bianyu asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°¡­¡­ just looking around.¡± ¡°How long will you stay in the mountains?¡± The man asked again. Lin Rufei felt an itch at the back of his throat. He knew his current situation wasn¡¯t good and tried to cover his mouth with his hand to suppress it, but his body still shook violently. Lin Bianyu saw this and let out a soft sigh: ¡°Cough if you want, it¡¯s not like I can blame you.¡± Lin Rufei laughed bitterly and when his hand loosened, he coughed until he was out of breath and nearly passed out. ¡°The scenery at the foot of the mountain is good, and the cherry blossoms are in bloom.¡± Only when Lin Rufei had calmed down did Lin Bianyu continue, ¡°Go down and take a look, it¡¯s cold on the mountain, so it¡¯s not advisable to stay for a long time.¡± Lin Rufei knew in his heart that it was for his own good, so he could only nod his head in solemn agreement. Men aren¡¯t easy characters to fool. His brother raised his chin slightly, signaling Lin Rufei to pack his things, and then he would personally take him down the mountain. Lin Rufei had no choice but to slowly walk towards the pavilion. His brother did not urge him but slowly followed behind him. There was nothing to pack back at the pavilion. Lin Rufei looked left and right and finally only took a volume of ¡°Mountain and River¡± that he had just read halfway last night. Lin Bianyu looked at the book in his hand and asked him how much he had read. ¡°I¡¯ve read more than half of it.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and asked, ¡°When second brother went on his travels below the mountains, did he go to all the places written in the book?¡± ¡°Most of them.¡± Lin Bianyu said plainly, ¡°There wasn¡¯t much to see.¡± Lin Rufei just smiled and did not say anything. Seeing that Lin Rufei had finally packed, Lin Bianyu stretched out his hand and hoisted Lin Rufei into his arms to carry him. Lin Rufei was about to protest when Lin Bianyu gave him a look, ¡°Would you rather Fu Hua carry you down?¡± Lin Rufei was immediately speechless. Being carried down the mountain by a maiden was not any better. ¡°I am your brother.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s voice was as cold as ice, ¡°Anyone who dares to gossip, I¡¯ll cut off their tongue.¡± Lin Rufei could only keep silent and let Lin Bianyu do as he pleased¡ªhe knew that Lin Bianyu was not joking. Back then, because of his ineptitude, gossips emerged on Kunlun Mountain. And Lin Bianyu, who had returned from his travels, found all the gossipers, challenged them one by one, defeated them one by one, and cut off their tongues one by one with his sword, Tianxiao[2]. From then on, no one on Kunlun Mountain dared to say a word against Lin Rufei, even if he was a loser who couldn¡¯t even wield a sword. Lin Bianyu carried Lin Rufei out of the pavilion. With his toe pointed and steps light, he hurried all the way to the foot of the mountain. The wind and snow in the air were parted by a slash from a sharp sword Qi. Lin Rufei half-closed his eyes. His long eyelashes cast a faint shadow against his pale skin. The frost that tinged his nose gradually melted, and when he opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by a beautiful Springtime scene. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Rufei ¨C ¡°like jade¡± [2] Tianxiao ¨C ¡°Heavenly Night¡± CH 2 Lin Rufei¡¯s courtyard was very large and it was surrounded by wooden fences. The courtyard was home to luxuriant plants and trees. It was Spring, the black soil was covered with a layer of green grass, and when stepped upon, it felt as soft as a carpet. In the center of the courtyard, there were various trees with blooming flowers¡ªpears and cherry blossoms, all of which are in full bloom. It was such a lively scene. In a lone corner stood a cherry blossom tree that stood out compared to its surrounding. The tree was barely any taller than the average person. The branches were thin and dry and there was only one bud of cherry blossom hanging on the tree¡ªunbloomed. It looked particularly sluggish. Lin Bianyu had just placed Lin Rufei onto the ground and he immediately stepped towards the cherry blossom tree. He stopped in front of the tree and looked at the frail cherry blossom. He sighed: ¡°Just why won¡¯t it grow ¡­¡­¡± he reached out his hand, and stroked the rough tree trunk a few times. He sighed in a tone that was like coaxing a child, ¡°Oh well, oh well. If it can¡¯t grow then it can¡¯t grow. At least it has a flower bud now. Compared to last year, it has grown stronger.¡± This cherry blossom seed was picked up by Lin Rufei from the foot of the mountain many years ago when he was still a teenager. But time has passed and he is already a young man, yet the cherry blossom tree is still so thin and small that even a gust of wind could shake the poor tree to its core. After saying this, Lin Rufei remembered something and quickly looked to the side where Lin Bianyu was standing: ¡°Second brother, don¡¯t you dare change my cherry blossom tree.¡± Lin Rufei immediately saw through his second brother¡¯s intentions. Lin Bianyu was not surprised: ¡°This cherry blossom tree won¡¯t grow big, wouldn¡¯t it be better to change it?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Not everything can be changed.¡± Lin Bianyu laughed: ¡°I only know that anything that makes you unhappy is not a good thing.¡± Lin Rufei looked helpless and knew that some of his reasoning did not make sense to his second brother. Lin Bianyu might look like he has a mild personality, but was actually the most obstinate one amongst the four of them. Lin Rufei had to repeatedly reiterate that he loved this cherry blossom tree and told his second brother to never touch it. Lin Bianyu nodded slightly in response to Lin Rufei¡¯s words and Lin Rufei was relieved to see this. There was always someone in charge of cleaning the courtyard and loft and even though Lin Rufei had not lived in it in a long time, it was still neat and tidy like when he had left. Lin Rufei went into the loft and told his second brother to go about his business. Before Lin Bianyu left, he said there were some outsiders outside, and if Lin Rufei didn¡¯t like them, he would get someone to send them down the mountain. Lin Rufei was busy so didn¡¯t feel the need to. Lin Bianyu saw that his expression didn¡¯t seem fake, so he did not say any more. He turned around and went away. His expression seemed to darken a few shades and he looked quite unhappy. He just came out of the courtyard and muttered to himself, ¡°Is this how you spoiled him?¡± The moment the words left his mouth, a breeze brushed past his cheeks. The surrounding scenery seemed to be distorted for a moment as if burnt by flames. A man in a basalt-colored clothes suddenly appeared at his side. From the general facial appearance, he and Lin Bianyu did have some similarities. Only, the man had lines that were more cold and hard, and his black eyes cold like frost. ¡°Xiao Jiu¡¯s nature is like that.¡± The man said, ¡°Who in the family doesn¡¯t want him to be a stubborn, arrogant little ancestor?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s nickname was Xiao Jiu, from the meaning of long-lived leek[1]. Lin Bianyu said coldly, ¡°Then why isn¡¯t he?¡± The Lin family is very protective. As the youngest son of the Lin family, Lin Rufei was the most favored one of the Lin family. Even if he was an invalid who could not wield a sword, everything he uses and sees is of the best quality. He should¡¯ve grown into a brat with a carefree nature yet instead he was now nonchalant. Just looking at him(LRF) makes him(LBY) heartbroken and thus led to the rise of some inexplicable anger. The man raised his eyebrows: ¡°The dragon birth nine sons[2], each different. You have a domineering nature, we can¡¯t have Xiao Jiu act the same as you.¡± Lin Bianyu coldly snorted. He stopped talking, turned around, and left. The man didn¡¯t try and stop him, but only glanced in the direction of Lin Rufei¡¯s courtyard and let out another sigh. Lin Rufei did not know that his two brothers quarreled because of him. He is the youngest of the Lin family. He had two older brothers and one older sister, all different from his leisurely self. They were all one in a million¡ªprides of Heaven. The path of sword cultivation is a hundred times more dangerous than the ordinary path towards immortality. The things they experience are a million times more difficult. When Yu Rui, who was in the loft, heard that Lin Rufei had returned, she hurriedly carried her long skirt and ran to the front room with frantic, broken steps. ¡°Young master, young master!¡± The thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl was at her most lively. Her voice was as clear and gentle as an oriole and the mood of the people listening also followed. She screamed and laughed and pounced towards Lin Rufei, ¡°Young master, you are finally back!¡± ¡°Mn, I¡¯m back.¡± Lin Rufei said as he caught the maid who pounced on him, ¡°You¡¯re so big now¡ªI can no longer catch you anymore.¡± ¡°Young master!¡± Yu Rui pouted. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Quickly go and make me a pot of hot tea, young master is thirsty.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Yu Rui was a child at heart. After hearing Lin Rufei¡¯s words, she went to make tea with a bounce in her steps. Lin Rufei¡¯s personal servants were only those two maids¡ªFu Hua and Yu Rui. Fu Hua arrived first, older, and had a more calm behavior. This year, Yu Rui had not yet turned fourteen. From her personality, she is just a half-grown kid. Lin Rufei was already a gentle person. Plus, the two have a separate courtyard so the two maids¡¯ natures are more lively compared to the other servants. Not long after, Yu Rui came over with a pot of freshly brewed hot tea. She carefully poured the tea for Lin Rufei and raised her eyes to look at her young master who was in front of her. She pouted: ¡°Young master, you¡¯ve lost weight.¡± ¡°Have I?¡± Lin Rufei did not feel it. ¡°Naturally you did!¡± Yu Rui said unhappily, ¡°It was so hard to fatten you up little by little and after going to live in the mountains for a month, you lost all the weight.¡± Lin Rufei just laughed at her remark. The courtyard felt less lonely with Yu Rui chattering next to him. Lin Rufei took a sip of tea from his cup, his eyes fell onto the grass and trees in the yard, but his gaze seemed to pass through them¡ªlike he was looking at a completely different scenery. ¡°Yu Rui.¡± Lin Rufei suddenly spoke. His nose twitched slightly, ¡°Do you smell anything?¡± Yu Rui twitched her tiny nose and was full of confusion: ¡°What smell?¡± ¡°It seems to be the cherry blossoms¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei discerned carefully. ¡°Cherry blossoms?¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°How can there be the fragrance of cherry blossoms? That cherry blossom tree in the courtyard has only produced a bud. Alas, such a disappointment. Young master, you even watered it every day.¡± The maid stomped her feet in anger as if her young master had been greatly bullied, ¡°Even if it was poured on my head, I could at least produce two buds, right?¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded and laughed: ¡°How will you produce it?¡± Yu Rui shook her head thinking deeply: ¡°If not possible, just go ask second young master. There will always be a way.¡± There was some truth to those words. With Lin Bianyu¡¯s nature, if Lin Rufei really wanted to see people¡¯s heads blooming with cherry blossoms, he might really find a way. ¡°You can go about your business now.¡± When the Spring sunlight scatters onto a human figure, it¡¯ll always give off a smell of warmth. Sunbathing made Lin Rufei sleepy, he squinted his eyes and lazily said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a nap.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Rui saw that her young master was tired, so she quieted down her voice, and softly retreated. And so the loft turned quiet. Lin Rufei had his eyes half-closed and was in a trance. The scent of cherry blossoms became more and more intense and in a vision of haziness, he seemed to have seen a glimpse of an endless cherry blossom forest. And deep in the forest, stood a man dressed in red. The vision flickered and when Lin Rufei opened his eyes again, all that he saw in his eyes was the poor cherry blossom tree standing in the corner of the courtyard. He didn¡¯t know if it would live until next Spring. Lin Rufei decided. Tomorrow he would go down the mountain to the cherry blossom grove to see the primitive cherry blossoms. The next morning, Lin Rufei, who was draped with fox fur, led a white horse and left the courtyard in the drizzle. His maid, Fu Hua stood behind him. She was holding an oil paper umbrella with a landscape design. Her young master had refused to hide under her umbrella because he said his clothes were not wet with the rain of apricot blossoms[3], so the Spring rain that was as fine as dust, sprinkled a layer of light on her young master¡¯s black hair. The Kunlun sword competition was approaching. A vast number of strangers came to visit Kunlun Mountain, thus the surrounding became very lively. On the mountain road, a modest gentleman wrapped in thick fox fur led a horse. He was slightly thin, handsome, and had a pale complexion. He looked frailer than the ordinary people, but the most striking thing that drew people¡¯s gaze were his light-colored eyes. The eyes that should have been black actually seemed to be the same as diluted ink. Although the color is light, it was clear and bright. Light drizzle fell upon his long lashes that were like raven feathers. At first glance, it seemed to give off a light color. Behind the man walked a beautiful young maiden, she held an oil paper umbrella in her hand, but her expression was grim. She seemed to want to hold the umbrella for the gentleman but was refused. The muddy mountain road was slightly wet from the rain. However, on the mountain road, there was only one set of footprints and it belonged to the gentleman. Upon looking carefully, they realized that the maid¡¯s feet were actually floating in mid-air, about half an inch from the ground. The further down the mountain, the more people. When they left through the mountain gate of Kunlun, the surrounding area suddenly became lively. Although it was raining, the surrounding bazaar was not affected in any way. The cultivators who came for the sword competition, yet could not enter the inner court, took advantage of this opportunity to sell all kinds of things. There were spiritual treasures, weapons, and even all kinds of Daoist talismans. Lin Rufei grew up with a weak body and rarely went to crowded places, so at this time he was looking around with great interest. ¡°Yo, this young master, want to see my powerful talisman paper, ah. It¡¯s cheap and easy to use to ensure that you won¡¯t lose anything and won¡¯t be fooled, ah.¡± The vendor looked Lin Rufei up and down and yelled enthusiastically at him. Lin Rufei was dressed as a rich young master, but he did not carry a sword, so most likely he only came to see the fun. ¡°How powerful is it?¡± Lin Rufei asked with a smile. ¡°For example, this talisman. The moment you use it, you can sneak into other places! It can help you escape from a disaster!¡± The vendor gushed, ¡°And it doesn¡¯t require spiritual power so just about anyone can use it!¡± ¡°That amazing?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Then how are you selling it?¡± The vendor said, ¡°Cheap, very cheap.¡± With a twinkle in his eye, he laughed, ¡°Five spirit stones will be enough!¡± ¡°Five spirit stones, why don¡¯t you grab it.¡± Fu Hua was not as polite as her family¡¯s young master. When she heard the vendor shouting prices, her eyes narrowed in on the paper, ¡°This talisman paper is not even fully drawn, who dares to use it, ah. If used, it¡¯ll send your head away, and the body remains in place, can you afford to take the responsibility?¡± The vendor wanted to retort, but out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the sword hanging at Fu Hua¡¯s waist, and he immediately swallowed his words. His expression soon became more honest. He smirked: ¡°Hey ¡­¡­ in business, it is always about the process, young miss if you think it is not suitable, give a price, we can discuss it. ¡° ¡°Half a piece.¡± Fu Hua nonchalantly said, ¡°Nothing more.¡± The vendor yelled ¡°hey, hey¡± twice, then made a face with a painful expression, ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯m not even open yet today, I will take this loss. If you say half a piece of spirit stone then it¡¯s half a piece of spirit stone.¡± He finished and added, ¡°If there are any after-effects, I¡¯m not responsible for it.¡± Fu Hua glared at him, took out the spirit stone from her purse to pay, then took the talisman paper from the vendor¡¯s hand and carefully checked it to make sure there was no problem before handing it to her young master. Lin Rufei also bought it for fun. He took it, casually tucked it into his sleeve, and went toward other places. From outside the gate of Kunlun Mountain to the foot of the mountain, there were tourists and vendors everywhere. But the weather today wasn¡¯t all that good, so there weren¡¯t too many people. However, for Lin Rufei, it was enough to be lively. Lin Rufei walked towards the bottom of the mountain while sight-seeing. His mood was unaffected by the gloomy weather, on the contrary, it seemed to be better. When they reached the town, they were not that far from the cherry blossom grove. Lin Rufei stopped and pointed to the other end of the town: ¡°Fu Hua, I want to eat white rice cakes.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Then wait for me here, I will go over and buy it right away.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You go first, I¡¯ll go on ahead. Come to me when you have bought it.¡± Fu Hua handed the umbrella to Lin Rufei and frowned: ¡°Young master, please use the umbrella and please be careful not to catch a cold.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t say anything and just took the umbrella. He raised his chin slightly, indicating for Fu Hua to go quickly. Fu Hua turned around and tapped her toes like a swift swallow. A moment later, she disappeared at the end of the street. Lin Rufei did not open the umbrella, instead, he put it away on the back of his horse and walked slowly in the direction of the cherry blossom forest. Although it was raining, the town was still lively. The pedestrians were holding their umbrellas and walking through the streets paved with green stone. This town was dependent on the Kunlun Sword Sect and has been prosperous for a hundred years. The greatest wish of the townspeople was to pass the examination of the Kunlun Sword Sect, and even being the lowest outer disciple is something to be envied. If they can¡¯t do it themselves, they¡¯ll put their hopes on their son, grandson¡ªgeneration after generation, they will always have hope. Lin Rufei saw the cherry blossom grove from afar. The mountain was covered in cherry blossoms. And the passing wind picked up the fallen petals before scattering them on people¡¯s hair and shoulders. Lin Rufei saw this scene and his lips curved into a smile. With a brisk step, he hurried towards the depths of the cherry blossom grove. It was probably because of the rain, but the cherry blossom forest was not as lively as usual. The petals that fell to the ground, after mixing with the black soil, soon turned into Spring mud. The ground was slippery. Lin Rufei followed the small path and gradually entered the depths of the cherry blossom forest. The surrounding was quiet, and only the pitter-patter of the light drizzle could be heard. Lin Rufei was indulging in this tranquil, beautiful scenery when he heard a cry in the distance. The cry was very piercing and it was the cry of a monkey. When Lin Rufei heard this sound, his face instantly changed. He turned around and ran. But just by himself, how could he run faster than the monkeys? Not even a moment later, he was soon surrounded by monkeys. He didn¡¯t know what species these monkeys were but they were very different compared to ordinary monkeys. Not only were they tall, but they also had beautiful, gold hair¡ªvery dense and soft. You could not see any dirt on them that most wild animals had. The monkeys moved quickly to surround Lin Rufei¡ªbehind him and in front of him. They blocked every exit. Lin Rufei smiled bitterly at this and hastily spread his hands, indicating that he had nothing with him. He sighed helplessly: ¡°Did you guys memorize me? Every time I come here, I have to be blocked once¡ª¡± The monkey in the lead was very beautiful. It was bigger than the other monkeys and had beautiful golden eyes. It was now squatting on a cherry blossom tree closest to Lin Rufei, blinking and staring at the delicate gentleman in front of him. Lin Rufei also looked at it. As a result, one person and one monkey were locked in a staring contest. He didn¡¯t know if it was just his misconception, but Lin Rufei always felt that after he said this, a smile would surface in the monkey¡¯s eyes. ¡°I really don¡¯t have anything with me.¡± Lin Rufei reasoned with the Monkey King, ¡°There wasn¡¯t any time to buy the snacks you like, by the way, I didn¡¯t come alone this time, Fu Hua went to buy rice cakes¡ª¡± When the Monkey King heard the name Fu Hua, there was a reaction. The pair of golden beautiful eyes turned smartly, but in the end, they still stopped on Lin Rufei. Just then, outside the cherry blossom grove came Fu Hua¡¯s distant call: ¡°Young master¡ª¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°See, I didn¡¯t lie to you.¡± The Monkey King waved his hand and the monkeys began to retreat deep into the forest, but it did not move. It has been squatting on the branch, waiting for the monkeys to scatter until the very last monkey, also disappeared into the depths of the forest. The Monkey King that was squatting on the branch suddenly stood up and pounced towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was startled by the monkey¡¯s movement and took a few steps back reflexively, but the monkey swept over his head and disappeared into the cherry blossom forest at a great speed. Lin Rufei felt that it seemed to have patted his temples with its hand. He cried and laughed to himself, thinking that this group of monkeys really liked to bully people. Not getting their snacks? So be it, but they still had the audacity to smack people two times to vent their anger. ¡°Young master.¡± Fu Hua arrived behind Lin Rufei at some point. She was holding a few pieces of paper-wrapped rice cakes, which were still steaming hot and emitting a tempting sweet aroma. ¡°Fu Hua.¡± Lin Rufei turned around, ¡°That was fast.¡± Fu Hua saw Lin Rufei¡¯s slightly stunned face, only to notice the cherry blossom stuck near his temple, and quietly chuckled to herself. In the haze of smoke and rain, Lin Rufei looked like he came out of a painting. His body was covered in pale-ish black and white, except for the blossom near his ears. He was eye-catching and was really like a cherry blossom that had become a human. ¡°Fu Hua?¡± Seeing Fu Hua¡¯s absentminded gaze, Lin Rufei called out again. Only then did Fu Hua return to her senses and avert her gaze. She walked a few steps forward, carefully handed the rice cake in her hand to Lin Rufei, then said in a low voice: ¡°Young master never uses the umbrella, your clothes are almost soaked¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei just smiled. He opened the oil paper, bit a mouthful of hot and fragrant rice cake. His eyes pleasantly curved into an arc: ¡°Delicious.¡± Fu Hua tenderly gazed at her young master, took the umbrella from the horse, and gently brought it over the top of Lin Rufei¡¯s head. The rice cake was very fragrant. It was soft and glutinous in the mouth. It was the taste of childhood. Lin Rufei grew up in poor health. Before the age of ten, he had never been to the foot of Kunlun Mountain until a certain year of his sister¡¯s birthday. Without telling their parents, she quietly put the small Lin Rufei into a bamboo basket and carried him down the mountains. That day, Lin Rufei tried all the snacks in town; the Zhang family¡¯s candied hawthorn, the Chen family¡¯s white rice cake¡ªthey were all the children¡¯s favorite, Lin Rufei ate happily, however, on the night of his happy day, he had a high fever and the incident was also tragically revealed. Because of this, his older sister Lin Weirui was sent to the top of the mountain for three months to reflect. Lin Rufei begged but to no avail. Since that time, Lin Rufei knew that he and his siblings were different. If their lives were bright like a burning flame, he, himself, was a faltering candlestick. With a gust of wind, a flame will burn brighter, but the candlestick will only go out. The rain was getting heavier and the ground was getting muddier and muddier. Fu Hua politely asked Lin Rufei if he was alone here just now. Lin Rufei was very bewildered by her question and asked Fu Hua why she had asked this question. Fu Hua smiled and pointed to the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s temples. Lin Rufei raised his hand to touch it and actually felt a bunch of wet cherry blossoms. He immediately remembered something. It was angering but also funny; ¡°Those group of monkeys¡ªthey are such bullies!¡± ¡°That group of monkeys came again?¡± Fu Hua frowned at his words, her body was full of killing intent. Lin Rufei likes to enjoy the flowers. Every Spring he will come to this cherry blossom grove. It was just that they didn¡¯t know when it had started, but the monkeys in the cherry blossom forest had their eyes set on them. Once, Lin Rufei had snuck down the mountain and she had not followed, the group of monkeys not only stole Lin Rufei¡¯s food but also messed up his clothing. When he came back, the Lin family thought he was robbed. Fu Hua secretly gritted her teeth, thinking that it¡¯s also a good thing that second young master did not know of this matter, otherwise, this group of monkeys would have long lost their lives. Lin Rufei, who did not know what his maid was thinking, smiled and sighed: ¡°It¡¯s just a group of naughty monkeys, why be so serious?¡± ¡°But they are bullying young master.¡± Fu Hua was unhappy, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing young master didn¡¯t have any rice cakes in his hand, otherwise that group of beasts would¡¯ve taken advantage again.¡± Lin Rufei only laughed at her words and threw the blossoms in his hand to the side. The raindrops on the oil paper umbrella made a pitter-patter sound, Lin Rufei walked in front and Fu Hua behind him. She was holding the umbrella. It was unknown how long they had walked. Lin Rufei looked at the dark sky and knew that it would not clear up today. Thus with some regrets, he said that they should go back first. Fu Hua was happy to hear this, after all, Lin Rufei was soaked. She was afraid that her young master would catch a cold, but at the same time, she worried that if she said too much, it would annoy Lin Rufei. Now Lin Rufei himself proposed to go back, that is naturally the best. ¡°Young master, get on the horse.¡± Fu Hua said in a warm voice. Lin Rufei was not stubborn. He stepped into the stirrups and got on the tame white horse. Fu Hua then gave the umbrella to Lin Rufei and led the horse back towards Kunlun Mountain. When passing through the town, Lin Rufei heard the melodic sound of a flute. He tried to see where the sound came from, but only saw a small bridge and a swordsman wearing a bamboo hat[4] by it. The swordsman was leaning against the stones, the sound of flute was coming from his mouth. However, the strange thing was that only the sound of flute was heard but there was no instrument. Lin Rufei happened to pass by him. The swordsman reached out to pull down his bamboo hat and from the slit, it revealed a single, narrowed turquoise eye. Fu Hua looked at the swordsman with some caution in her eyes, but Lin Rufei nodded slightly at him with a smile in his eyes as a greeting. The swordsman did not return the greeting and let go of his hat. He acted as if he did not see Lin Rufei this person. Fu Hua, who saw this scene, was about to attack, but Lin Rufei softly called her name and shook his head. Fu Hua coldly snorted, but secretly remembered this person¡¯s appearance. From the color of this person¡¯s eyes, he was most likely not a race from their continent. Perhaps from another continent who came over to join the fun. But no matter where they came from, as long as they arrive at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, who dares not to give face to their Lin family? Lin Rufei listened to the sound of the flute, his mood was very good and he chanted a poem of the ancient predecessors: ¡°Spring is quiet, the night is long. The blue clouds of the sky, together with the Chu Palace are far away, the dreaming soul is used to no restraint, and then steps on the poplar flowers over the Xie Bridge ¡­¡­[5]¡° Fu Hua asked, ¡°Young master, what does this poem mean?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and said, ¡°A foolish man who had a Spring dream.¡± Fu Hua seemed to understand but also not understand. The sound of the flute faded away and Lin Rufei returned to Kunlun Mountain. By the time he reached the courtyard, it was already dark. Lin Rufei was a bit tired. Fu Hua was afraid that Lin Rufei would catch a cold, so she hurriedly went to boil water, and urged Lin Rufei to take a bath to get rid of the chill. Lin Rufei dawdled for a while before finally getting into the tub. The tub was big. The water was just above his chin when Lin Rufei sat down and Fu Hua deliberately closed the bathroom window when she left. Lin Rufei soaked for a while, but then felt a little dizzy, so he stood up again. Supporting himself, he opened the window. Outside the window was his flowery courtyard, set off by the surrounding scenery. The thin cherry blossom tree looked even more lonely. Lin Rufei soaked in hot water but found that at some point, the only bud on the cherry blossom tree actually bloomed into a small soft flower. The small flower only had five petals. The color was a light pink, not at all like the cherry blossoms down the mountain. Struck by the rain, it looked even more pitiful. Lin Rufei saw the flower bloom and his heart felt anxious. The rain was getting heavier, his family¡¯s cherry blossom tree had just barely bloomed. What if the moment the rain hits again, it suddenly goes back to being blossom-less? It really was the idea that whatever you¡¯re afraid of would appear. Lin Rufei just thought of it and a gust of wind started blowing. In the end, piece of petal from the small flower fell off. Wobbling against the wind, it will soon fall onto the muddy ground. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes became wide and was about to call out the maid¡¯s name when another gust of wind came and the petal ended up swirling towards Lin Rufei¡¯s side. Seeing this, Lin Rufei did not care that he was not wearing clothes. He hurriedly stood up and reached out his hand to catch the falling petal. The petal swayed and fluttered, and was about to fall onto Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. But another breeze rose and the petal was blown directly towards Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t react in time before he felt a pink shadow, that was coming close, blowing into his eyes. Lin Rufei reflexively covered his eyes with his hands. He felt something attached to his right eye. First it was cold, then it started to burn. ¡°Ah ¡­¡­¡± his scream was suppressed in his throat. Lin Rufei fell unconscious due to the sudden sharp pain. He collapsed softly into the hot water-filled bathtub and was immediately pulled into a weird dream world. In the dream world. It was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time seeing the fiery red cherry blossom grove. It was different from the ordinary pink. The color of the cherry blossom forest in front of him was bright to the point as if it was made by melted flames. Inside the forest, a shadowed figure stood in the depths. Lin Rufei could only see his back. The man was in red, with a head of black hair, and a long sword hung at his waist. The Heaven and Earth began to shake and cherry blossoms filled the sky. Lin Rufei looked up and saw the blood-colored sky before hearing a voice speak. Only that voice was not as confusing as the scenery in front of him. Instead, with a touch of anger, the voice said: ¡°How am I not better compared to those vulgar people at the foot of the mountain¡ªyou actually took the time to go see them¡ª¡± The next moment, Lin Rufei jerked awake from his dream and heard his maid knocking on the door outside. It seemed that she was about to break in. ¡°Young master¡ªyoung master¡ªif you don¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll really come in.¡± Fu Hua did not hear any movements made by her young master. Her first reaction was that her young master had fainted so she was anxious to come in and see what was going on. Lin Rufei hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t come in.¡± ¡°Young master! Why didn¡¯t you answer? You almost gave me a heart attack.¡± When Fu Hua heard Lin Rufei¡¯s voice, she was relieved and complained, ¡°Do you want to soak for a while longer?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Lin Rufei felt a little dizzy, ¡°I¡¯ll just get up.¡± Fu Hua mumbled in agreement. She was still a little uneasy and stood at the door to keep watch. From time to time, she would exchange a few words with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei knew what his maid had in mind, so he didn¡¯t get annoyed. He picked up a towel and wiped the water off his body, but he felt some discomfort in his right eye. He raised his hand and touched his right eye and thought of something. He got up and walked towards the glazed mirror next to him. This glazed mirror was his sister¡¯s gift to him. It was different from those ordinary copper mirrors. It can reflect a person very clearly. Lin Rufei borrowed the light from the candle and got close to the mirror. When he saw a clear picture of his own face in the mirror, he froze. He saw that his right eye, which was much lighter in color than the pupils of ordinary people, actually had a floating cherry blossom. It was light in color, and it felt as if it was really just a fallen petal that unintentionally blew into his eye. Lin Rufei harshly rubbed his right eye to make sure he wasn¡¯t being delusional. He hurriedly turned around, changed his clothes, and then said to Fu Hua, who was waiting outside the door, ¡°Fu Hua, where is my second brother?¡± Fu Hua was puzzled: ¡°Today the Yunan Gu family just arrived in Kunlun, the second young master seems to be greeting them right now. Young master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei took a deep breath, ¡°Nothing, you go down first.¡± He paused for a moment, ¡°Go and inform second brother, tell him to come over as soon as he is free.¡± Although Fu Hua did not know what had happened, she obeyed Lin Rufei¡¯s order, and left the courtyard to look for Lin Bianyu. Lin Rufei smiled bitterly and covered his right eye, hoping that things were not as bad as he had imagined. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Jiu in Chinese is part of the word Leek/Chives [2] ÁúÉú¾Å×Ó ¨C Chinese idiom, describing that siblings all have different traits, qualities, hobbies and characteristics whether good or bad [3] Õ´Ò²»ÊªÐÓ»¨Óê ¨C not too familiar with Chinese poems, but I believe it means he doesn¡¯t feel cold nor does he feel the rain. Please correct me if you know the meaning. [4] Bamboo hat [5] ¡°´ºÇÄÇÄ£¬Ò¹ÌöÌö¡£±ÌÔÆÌì¹²³þ¹¬Ò££¬Ãλê¹ßµÃÎ޾м죬ÓÖ̤Ñ¹ýлÇÅ¡­¡­¡± Here is the poem. CH 3 Although Lin Rufei had never practiced with swords, he had read many books. He knew that currently, there were four continents on the Divine Land, namely: North Xuandu, South Bu¡¯e, West Qionglong, and East Yaoguang¡ªseparated by sea and were ten thousand miles away from each other. Three of the continents were occupied by humans, but the most southern continent, Bu¡¯e, was occupied by a powerful demon race. This group of demons was strong and brutal. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were only a few in numbers, it would have become a big problem for the humans. The most terrifying thing about the demons was their extremely powerful primordial spirit. Even if they are separated from the **[1], they can still preserve most of their strength. Because of this, the demons have a technique that is difficult to learn¡ªpossession. If the ** is damaged, it will be replaced with a new one. Even if it floats across the sea for millions of miles, the primordial spirit can still easily attach itself to an ordinary human body, and only when the human¡¯s primordial spirit is sucked out, will it find another master. Lin Rufei has read many records in regards to the demon race, and they all emphasize that the demon race is very ferocious and cunning. They like to confuse humans with their appearance, and some of the paragraphs even describe their lasciviousness and savage ways. It can be seen that people are both curious and fearful of this different race. What happened in the room just now was too weird. Lin Rufei¡¯s first reaction was that he was possessed by the demon race, so he hurriedly asked Fu Hua to call Lin Bianyu over. But now when Lin Rufei stood in front of the mirror again, he found that the trace of cherry blossom in his right eye was gradually fading before finally disappearing completely in his light-colored eyes. ¡­¡­ What exactly is this, Lin Rufei thought with some bewilderment. Fu Hua had gone to call Lin Bianyu so Lin Rufei took the opportunity to go back to his bedroom. He sat at the table and picked up a book. Casually, he opened the book, propped up his chin, and started to absentmindedly breeze through it. Fu Hua came back quite a while later. Lin Rufei originally thought that she did not find Lin Bianyu, but who knew, she actually came back together with Lin Bianyu. ¡°Young master, young master.¡± Fu Hua knocked gently on the door with some gasping sound. It seems she had rushed home, ¡°Second young master is here.¡± ¡°Rufei.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s voice also came from outside. ¡°Brother, come in.¡± Lin Rufei said. Lin Bianyu pushed the door open and entered. After seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance, his eyebrows furrowed, and he turned around to leave. When he came back in again, he had a thick towel in his hand. He sighed and walked behind Lin Rufei and took the wet black hair that rested on his shoulders. He gently dried his hair: ¡°You are weak, and you don¡¯t know how to take care of yourself when it¡¯s cold in Spring.¡± Lin Rufei only smiled at his words: ¡°I am not that weak.¡± Lin Bianyu raised his eyebrows. He decided to give some face to his frail brother and did not continue, but instead said, ¡°What happened that made you call me here in such a hurry?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment before he started, ¡°I just had a dream when I was bathing.¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°A dream?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei considered his words carefully, ¡°I dreamed of a cherry blossom forest and there was a red-clad figure. I couldn¡¯t see the appearance clearly, but ¡­¡­ they were very beautiful.¡± Lin Rufei originally thought that when his second brother heard his words, he would also be nervous. But instead, Lin Bianyu¡¯s expression became a little strange. His eyes hid a smile, but soon that smile also melted away, rather, it melted into a smile on his lips: ¡°Well ¡­¡­ little brother has grown up. ¡° Lin Rufei said: ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Bianyu said: ¡°Is there a woman in your heart?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s expression froze, and only then did he understand why Lin Bianyu looked so strange. It turned out that he actually took this as a Spring dream. Lin Rufei cried and laughed: ¡°Second brother, I didn¡¯t mean that¡ª¡± and then he pointed to his right eye. ¡°Then I saw a cherry blossom in my right eye.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s expression froze: ¡°What?¡± When Lin Bianyu heard his words, he moved closer to Lin Rufei and carefully observed his eyes. The more he looked, the tighter his brows wrinkled. When Lin Rufei saw this, he also became anxious that he even held in his breath. ¡°Tell me the whole thing in detail.¡± Lin Bianyu said. Lin Rufei then told Lin Bianyu about the incident when he saw the petal falling from the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. He was bathing and when he saw the scene, reached out to catch the falling petal. But instead of catching it, it blew into his eye. After listening to this, Lin Bianyu pondered for a long time. Lin Rufei whispered: ¡°Second brother, is this related to the demon tribe?¡± Lin Bianyu looked up and made a gesture of silence at him: ¡°You can say those words to me, but never mention the demon race in front of outsiders. The cherry blossom was planted under my watch, there is no trace of demonic aura on it, so it should have nothing to do with the demon race, just ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Just what?¡± Lin Bianyu said: ¡°I¡¯ll ask elder brother to take a closer look for you tomorrow.¡± Lin Rufei felt that Lin Bianyu¡¯s expression was not quite right: ¡°Second brother, what did you see, is it very serious?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± Lin Bianyu sighed and looked at his brother with some sadness in his eyes, ¡°If I can¡¯t even see what is going on, then I think this thing is definitely not ordinary. You rest well tonight, don¡¯t think too much. Ah, it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m not going back today, let Fu Hua prepare a room, I¡¯ll rest here for the night.¡± Lin Rufei opened his mouth but did not know what to say. He didn¡¯t know anything about the path of cultivation. Thus, when he encountered such strange things, he was even more at a loss. Lin Bianyu did not say anything more, and after drying Lin Rufei¡¯s hair with sword Qi, he urged him to rest. Lying on the bed, Lin Rufei did not sleep. He looked at himself in the mirror, not a trace of cherry blossom on his face. Could it be that everything that he experienced during the day was just a weird dream? But how can a dream be so real? Lin Rufei tossed and turned and stayed awake all night. The next day, Yu Rui, who woke up early, was planning to prepare breakfast as usual. However, when she passed by her young master¡¯s room, she heard an intermittent coughing sound coming from inside. The owner of the cough tried to deliberately suppress the itch in his throat but failed. As soon as Yu Rui heard this sound, she knew it was going to be bad. She hurriedly went to the kitchen and called Fu Hua: ¡°Sister Fu Hua, sister Fu Hua, young master is coughing in his room.¡± When Fu Hua heard this, her expression changed slightly: ¡°Coughing?¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°Yes, I heard it from outside, the coughing is very strong.¡± Fu Hua put down what she was doing. Together with Yu Rui, the two went to Lin Rufei¡¯s room. They knocked on the door for a while before a faint ¡°come in¡± resounded. ¡°Young master¡ª¡± The maid¡¯s worried voice seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of fog, and couldn¡¯t be heard really clearly. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were half-open, his pale face was floating with a sickly red color from the high fever. He moved his lips with difficulty and spat out the word ¡°water¡±. Fu Hua hurriedly helped him up and pushed some warm water towards his lip. ¡°Why am I sick again?¡± Lin Rufei muttered with some childlike exasperation ¡°It was just rain, cough cough cough, don¡¯t tell my second brother, cough cough ¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua had a solemn look on her face and said: ¡°Second young master went out early in the morning, he will not know.¡± Even if he knew, he would certainly not blame Lin Rufei, but rather blame them, the maids, for not taking proper care of him. Yesterday, for the sake of viewing flowers, Lin Rufei was soaked in the rain. After he came back, he planned to take a bath to get rid of the cold. However, halfway through the bath, he suddenly met with an accident and suffered a scare for nothing. That night, Lin Rufei tossed and turned and could not sleep, and at dawn, he felt unwell. Not only was his forehead hot, but also the itch in his throat could not be suppressed, and finally was heard by the passing Yu Rui. It is said that people who are used to being sick should have gotten used to bitter medicine, but no matter how many times Lin Rufei smelled the bitter medicine, he wrinkled his face. Finally, he sighed and swallowed the mouthful of black medicine under the watchful eyes of his maids. All the medicine that Lin Rufei consumed was always the best. However, his foundation was poor. For ordinary people, the medicine was considered an amazing panacea, but if Lin Rufei consumed it, it had no effect. Today is no exception, Lin Rufei finished drinking the medicine and his mouth was stuffed with a piece of sweet and sour plum by the sulking Yu Rui. The bitterness in his mouth gradually faded. ¡°This medicine is too bitter.¡± Lin Rufei said. If he had not coughed while saying this, perhaps it would have been more convincing, ¡°Anyway, even if I drink it, or if I don¡¯t drink it, it¡¯s the same result. Even without drinking, I can get better¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua chided her young master, and Lin Rufei looked embarrassed. He sighed and compromised, ¡°Okay, okay, didn¡¯t I already obediently finish the medicine? ¡° Yu Rui grunted: ¡°Isn¡¯t that because we kept our eyes on you? Young master, if you continue to water the flowers and plants outside with medicine, I¡¯m afraid they will become Jing[2].¡± Fu Hua patted Yu Rui¡¯s head: ¡°Alright, the young master is sick, if you have time for sarcastic remarks, why don¡¯t you go stew the pears.¡± Yu Rui pouted and ran away in a huff. Fu Hua brought a warm towel to wipe away the sweat on Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks, and then replaced it with a clean one to cover his forehead. Lin Rufei is lying listlessly on the bed. At this time he didn¡¯t have the mood to think about cherry blossoms and whatnot. He only prays that his illness can be healed quickly, otherwise when the cherry blossoms at the foot of the mountain all thanked[3], he was afraid he would not be able to see it again. Fu Hua looked at her young master¡¯s sad face, and could not help but reveal a smile. She softly said: ¡°Young master, just focus on recuperating. Cherry blossoms and whatnot, they will bloom every year.¡± Lin Rufei mercilessly pointed out the maid¡¯s lies: ¡°You said the same thing last year.¡± Fu Hua was speechless. Lin Rufei said, ¡°The year before that too!¡± Fu Hua coughed dryly and was also a bit helpless: ¡°Who told young master to be sick every Springtime?¡± Lin Rufei immediately wilted like a frosted eggplant, unable to say anything to refute. Because of Lin Rufei¡¯s weak physique, even though the outside world knows that the Kunlun Sword Sect leader had a total of four children, most people do not know the name Lin Rufei. He was like a black stone in a pile of jade, and no one¡¯s eyes would fall on him. Lin Rufei was initially worried that if his coughing appearance was seen by his brothers, the maids would be blamed again, but soon he found that he did not have the energy to worry about such things. The fever and coughing quickly took away his strength, and he could only lie on the bed, heaving his chest with difficulty. His consciousness gradually blurred. Fu Hua kept watch beside him. Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance made her very worried, but she did everything she could do and could only pray in her heart. Lin Bianyu came back soon with Lin Minzhi in tow. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance, both of their facial expressions were not very good, but luckily they did not blame Fu Hua, and just simply asked her to leave. Lin Minzhi sat on the edge of the bed, took Lin Rufei¡¯s pulse, and examined it carefully. Lin Bianyu looked grave beside him, until Lin Minzhi¡¯s movements slowed down. He asked in a deep voice: ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°Xiao Jiu really said that?¡± Lin Minzhi asked. ¡°Naturally he did.¡± Lin Bianyu replied. Lin Minzhi shook his head: ¡°I did not find anything different, even if it is a big demon that took over, in such a short period of time it will certainly leave some flaws. He went to the cherry blossom grove in the morning, maybe he encountered something that scared his mind? ¡° Lin Bianyu pondered and did not say anything. Lin Rufei made another series of violent coughing sounds, his consciousness was a bit blurry, and it took him a while to realize that his big brother and second brother were beside him. He opened his mouth with great difficulty and called out a ¡°brother.¡± Lin Minzhi saw this and let out a sigh: ¡°Let Xiao Jiu rest first. Wan Yao will come out of seclusion in a few days, then I will let him come to give Xiao Jiu a diagnosis. These days, let Fu Hua keep a close watch, if there are any differences, immediately report.¡± Wan Yao is the most exquisite medicine master in Kunlun Sect. All the illnesses Lin Rufei had before were all seen by him. But he has been in seclusion for half a year in order to break through to the next level. Counting the days, he should be coming out of seclusion soon. Lin Bianyu sighed, knowing that this is the only way for now. Lin Rufei¡¯s current physical condition cannot withstand any torment. Lin Rufei was inherently inadequate, and his deficiency was not compensated. If a normal person¡¯s body is a bucket, as long as you add water to it, it will slowly get better, then Lin Rufei¡¯s body is a sieve with a lot of holes, no matter how much water is poured into it, it will all leak out. However, after Lin Minzhi confirmed that Lin Rufei¡¯s body is not related to the demon race, Lin Bianyu was slightly relieved. After all, the demons that can hide their movements on Kunlun Mountain were most likely different than the usual demons. The two people were afraid that they would affect Lin Rufei¡¯s rest. After making sure he didn¡¯t have any other problems, they left. They warned Fu Hua and Yu Rui to pay special attention to Lin Rufei¡¯s clothing, food, and shelter in the following days. And to not neglect him for even half a minute. Fu Hua and Yu Rui nodded yes. Lin Rufei was sick for three days, and it was only on the afternoon of the third day that his fever gradually subsided. He still was barely able to sit up on the edge of his bed. These days he hardly eats and has only relied on the medicinal soup to barely hang onto his life. Listening to Fu Hua¡¯s warm voice ask him if he wanted to eat something, he just shook his head. He didn¡¯t have any appetite. Fu Hua knew that Lin Rufei must have felt very unwell, so she did not ask more questions and left the room quietly. Lin Rufei sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the rosy Spring colors outside the window. The weather has cleared up. After a Spring rain, the flowers on the treetops have also fallen quite a lot. Being washed away by the rain, they all turned into Spring mud. Although Lin Rufei¡¯s fever had subsided, he still had a cough, and because he coughed so hard, his chest hurt vaguely. When Fu Hua came back, she had a bowl of soup in her hand, which had been de-frothed and sprinkled with a layer of green onions. It smelled very fresh and delicious. It was just that Lin Rufei drank too much medicine which left his mouth bland and tasteless. Even looking at the delicious soup, he still had no appetite. Fu Hua also did not try to persuade him, she simply put the soup down and sat next to him. She started to peel the fresh lotus seeds picked from the lake on the mountain. Lin Rufei felt that the room was a little too quiet. He suddenly remembered something and asked, ¡°Where is Yu Rui?¡± Fu Hua slowly said: ¡°Yu Rui ah, she was clumsy. Told her to boil some soup and she burned her hand. She is now crying and went to find Dr. Lu to get medicine for burns.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui have been trained. Thus ordinary fire would not be able to harm them. They probably wanted to make this special soup just for Lin Rufei so they used spiritual fire instead. Most likely, they had poor control over it and that¡¯s how she got burned. Lin Rufei smelled the soup and sighed: ¡°Bring it.¡± The corner of Fu Hua¡¯s mouth hooked up into a dark smile. She looked at Lin Rufei, who had a face full of disgust, but still swallowed the soup in one mouthful. Her expression became more gentle. Fu Hua knows that her young master and others are different. He could have been arrogant, could have been violent, could have had no qualms about venting his anger, but he did not. The taste of the soup was not as bad as he expected, Lin Rufei finished it and felt a warmth well up in his body. It washed away the discomfort in his throat, and the coughing ** faded a lot. ¡°The weather outside is good, does young master want to go out for a walk?¡± Fu Hua saw that it was a nice day outside and asked tentatively. Lin Rufei indeed felt frustrated at having to lie down for so long, but his body has little strength. He was afraid that he couldn¡¯t even walk a few steps, so he shook his head. How could Fu Hua not see what Lin Rufei was thinking at that moment. She got up and left the room, and a few moments later, she came back in with an intricate wheelchair. ¡°Young master, Fu Hua will push you out.¡± Fu Hua said in a warm voice, ¡°The house is stuffy, let¡¯s just go around a bit.¡± This wheelchair was personally made by Lin Bianyu and the materials were very special. The wheels were also engraved with special talismans, even without someone pushing, just a little force and it can easily climb over the mountain path. ¡°Good.¡± Lin Rufei has been lying in bed for three days. It¡¯s good to go out and get some fresh air. Seeing that Lin Rufei had agreed, Fu Hua smiled happily and helped Lin Rufei into the wheelchair. She took the white fox fur and wrapped Lin Rufei up tightly before the two of them slowly left the room. Lin Rufei¡¯s face was already bad beforehand, now it was as pale as paper, and even his lips were so pale that they seemed to be transparent. If ordinary people become sick like that, naturally they wouldn¡¯t look good. But it just so happens that Lin Rufei was born with very good looks, even though he was sick, he was still beautiful albeit more haggard. The people who have seen this could not help but feel more compassionate. Lin Rufei lives in a place where disciples of Kunlun Sword Sect were generally not allowed, so it is very secluded, only the birds and flowers. Therefore there was not a single trace of another living soul. Lin Rufei drank the medicinal soup, and he was already looking better than before. Sitting in a wheelchair that was pushed by Fu Hua, his mood was also more relaxed. ¡°That day after I had a fever, did big brother and second brother say anything to you?¡± Lin Rufei suddenly remembered the dream he had three days ago and the cherry blossom. These days he was so ill that his consciousness was all blurred, he had almost forgotten about it, and only remembered when he saw the plants and trees in the courtyard. ¡°He just told Fu Hua to take good care of young master and didn¡¯t say anything else.¡± Fu Hua did not understand what Lin Rufei wanted to ask. When Lin Rufei saw that she didn¡¯t know the situation, his eyes turned to the garden and landed on the cherry blossom tree in the corner. It was blocked by the other trees and flowers so he could only see a small corner of it, which was not very clear. Fu Hua saw the situation and pushed Lin Rufei towards the place, and finally stopped at the small, withered cherry blossom tree. Perhaps because of the Spring rain a few days ago, the only bud left on the cherry blossom tree has also disappeared. The tree has not yet drawn leaves. The bare appearance was like a thin child being bullied¡ªmaking it very pitiful. Lin Rufei looked at its appearance. He was confused for a while, the fallen petal a few days ago, was that a dream or not? Fu Hua saw the stunned look on Lin Rufei¡¯s face and thought he was sad about that one bud so she quickly changed the subject: ¡°Young master, I heard that second young master is going to have a sword competition today, do you want to go and see?¡± Lin Rufei heard this news and asked curiously, ¡°Which family?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Yunan Gu family that came a few days ago.¡± Fu Hua said. ¡°The Gu family?¡± Lin Rufei pondered, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of his family in this generation, what kind of powerful figures do they have, ah.¡± Fu Hua laughed: ¡°Yes, some years ago, probably not. However, in recent years I heard that the Gu family recognized a gifted, illegitimate son somewhere. In just a few years, he is much stronger than his brothers and sisters.¡± Fu Hua, in the end, is a girl who likes to hear some interesting gossip. So in regards to matters such as this, she was very clear about the situation. Then Fu Hua, in great interest, shared with Lin Rufei the matters of the Gu family. Like how the Gu family¡¯s head had married a pair of women who had really good relationships. He was expecting to enjoy his life and the blessings of the people. But the result was that when he came home one day, he saw his wife and concubine rolling in bed[4]. This wasn¡¯t even the most exciting part. The most exciting part was that the Gu family head didn¡¯t even have the chance to use their family law to punish his women when he found out that his wife and concubine were from a united family[5]. They put the Gu family head under house arrest and stripped him of all the power in his hands. ¡°That wife said to him, ¡®if you behave, I will keep you, there will be good food and drinks waiting for you. If you do not behave, I will poison you silly and turn you into a useless puppet until our son grows up¡ª¡¯¡± Fu Hua vividly described the secrets of the family in great excitement. ¡°The head of the family had no choice but to hold his nose and admit defeat! That wife is really not a simple character, I heard that the illegitimate son who is competing with the second young master today is the one she insisted on admitting back to the family.¡± Lin Rufei, who listened to Fu Hua¡¯s narrative, also revealed a smile. But compared to gossip and secret news, he was more interested in the sword competition. Now that Lin Bianyu¡¯s cultivation has reached the eighth level, the chances of seeing his sword skills are becoming less and less. Although if Lin Rufei really wanted to see it, Lin Bianyu would definitely show it to him. But a sword with an opponent and a sword without an opponent is completely different. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Lin Rufei tightened the fox fur covering his body and coughed lowly, ¡°Since second brother returned from his travels, I haven¡¯t seen him compete with anyone in a long time.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Fu Hua was naturally happy to do so, but on second thought, she worriedly said, ¡°But the competition field is a little crowded, young master you just got better ¡­¡­ to go to a crowded place, what if your sickness acts up ¡­¡­ ¡± She was so focused on changing the subject that she forgot about this. Lin Rufei smiled, light-colored eyes dropped halfway, revealing a slightly sad look, and said in a low voice: ¡°You¡¯re right ¡­¡­ you¡¯d better send me back to lie down, lest I get sick again and have to make you guys work hard to take care of me.¡± Fu Hua couldn¡¯t stand this pitiful appearance of Lin Rufei, it pained her greatly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem too serious, alright. Let¡¯s go and say hello in advance and let them empty out a viewing loft on the stands. We¡¯ll just watch it from the inside and not go out.¡± ¡°We really can?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyelashes trembled lightly and cautiously confirmed. ¡°Yes, naturally we can, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡± Fu Hua comforted, ¡°Even if young master wants the stars in the sky, Fu Hua will also pick them for you!¡± At her words, Lin Rufei smiled. He looked at Fu Hua with joy, but she did not notice. In the moment when her young master had his head down, the corners of the eyes showed a little deviousness. It was just a flash, and soon any traces of it faded away. ******** The author has something to say: Gong (seme): Squeezed out a flower with all his strength Lin Rufei: It¡¯s time to go down the mountain to enjoy the flowers. Gong (seme): ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] I didn¡¯t bleep this, it was how it is in the raws [2] I didn¡¯t really know how to translate this term, it¡¯s a term that can be used for plants/animals that cultivate into human beings. [3] Finish blooming [4] I¡¯m not entirely sure if this sentence was indicating that the 2 girls were in bed together, or if the two were in someone else¡¯s bed together¡­×Ô¼ÒµÄÒ»ÆÞһ檹öÉÏÁËÒ»ÕÅ´² @[email protected] [5] Honestly, I¡¯m not too sure about this phrase, but I did my best. Here is the original text: ÄÇÒ»ÆÞһ檾¹ÊÇÁªºÏĸ×å CH 4 On Kunlun Mountain, a large competition is held every four years for the disciples of a hundred sects to compete in swordplay. The winner will be able to obtain a sword blade forged by the best sword maker on Kunlun. The dream of countless sword cultivators was to obtain a sword from the Kunlun Sword Sect, but unfortunately, the biggest obstacle in obtaining said sword was the direct disciples of the sect. Lin Rufei remembers clearly, around twenty years ago, the ones who took the top spots were his eldest brother, second brother, and third sister. However, in the past few years, his eldest brother has been busy with sect matters and his third sister had left the mountains to travel, so only his second brother will participate in the sword competition again. This was clearly a sign to the outsiders that a sword from Kunlun Sword Sect was not that easy to obtain. Lin Rufei liked sword competitions the most when he was a kid because when the sword competition was held, Kunlun Mountain was different from the usual cold atmosphere. It became more lively. He could also go see a lot of rare things that he would not be able to see in his usual daily life and taste a lot of interesting snacks. After he grew up, he started to understand more and some things started to make more sense, in the end, he stopped going. If he hadn¡¯t heard from Fu Hua that he could see his second brother¡¯s swordplay, he would have most likely been uninterested. Fu Hua was worried that Lin Rufei¡¯s sickness would act up if he was in a crowd, so she sent a message first beforehand to let the disciples at the platform clear out a loft with the best view. The lofts were all suspended in mid-air with talismans, so that not only do they not have to worry about others disturbing them, but they also have the best angle to see the entire competition below. Today¡¯s sword competition was extraordinarily crowded. Most likely they heard that Lin Bianyu was going against the Gu family, so all the idle disciples and swordsmen all went to the stage early. They wanted to find a suitable place to witness the beauty and skills of Lin Bianyu¡¯s sword¡ªTianxiao. ¡°Little brother Tian, fortunately, you got the news and came early, otherwise with so many people, how can we squeeze in, ah.¡± Zuo Yuanbai looked at the sea of people behind him and sighed to his companion. His companion, Tian Yun, nodded proudly: ¡°It¡¯s thanks to the fact that I know a few disciples from the Kunlun Sword Sect. They have known for a long time that today Lin Bianyu will compete with the Gu family¡¯s disciple in a sword fight, so they told me in advance.¡± Zuo Yuanbai looked around and saw the loft floating at the side of the sword platform. He could not help but sigh: ¡°Alas if we can sit in the loft overhead to watch the competition how good would it be?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Tian Yun shook his head and told him the news he heard, ¡°This loft, ah. You can¡¯t go up even if you spend money. You have to be a distinguished guest of the Kunlun Sword Sect in order to go up. The Kunlun Sword Sect has always been very proud, so there are only a handful of people who can sit up there to watch the competition.¡± As he was speaking, a screech was heard from the back of the crowd. Soon a woman in a bright yellow, long dress appeared in mid-air. Her face was pretty, but her expression was as cold as ice. She was standing on a long, thin sword¡ªattracting everyone¡¯s attention. And even more striking was the wheelchair that she was pushing. In the wheelchair sat a youth covered with snow-white fox fur¡ªwrapped tightly around him. It revealed a handsome face but with extraordinarily pale cheeks. The adornments on the youth were only the black wooden hair stick that was used to tie up his hair. A noble aura surrounded his body and no one dared to look twice, for fear that if one were to look more than once, it would be sacrilegious. The woman pushed the wheelchair that the youth was sitting in and flew directly into the loft. She then pulled down the curtains of the loft, covering a cadre of probing eyes. Zuo Yuanbai, however, still did not come back to his senses. He continued to stare at the loft in a daze: ¡°Who is that person, ah?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t seen her before.¡± Tian Yun was equally stunned. ¡°This girl can already fly with a sword, so I guess she has already reached the sixth level.¡± Zuo Yuanbai said enviously, ¡°How nice ¡­¡­¡± The fifth to sixth level is the most difficult threshold for sword cultivators to cross, once they reach the sixth level, they can fly with the sword and their life expectancy will increase to as long as three hundred years. Tian Yun nodded approvingly: ¡°I wonder what her relationship is with that gentleman.¡± Zuo Yuanbai sighed: ¡°Whatever the relationship, it is not something we can covet.¡± Tian Yun also let out a sigh. Both of them were born to small sects, at this time they have just entered the fourth level. Being able to come to Kunlun Mountain to see the sword competition was already a great blessing. With some ripples in their heart, they knew that some things were untouchable with their fate. This interlude made Zuo Yuanbai and Tian Yun¡¯s hearts feel some inexplicable loss. Fortunately, the two protagonists of the sword competition soon expelled this feeling of loss from their hearts. The first to arrive was Lin Bianyu. He was walking towards the stage, donned in green clothes with a gentle expression. He had a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes[1], filled with an intoxicating smile like a Spring breeze, gently blowing past. The crowd¡¯s eyes were filled with fervor as they gazed at him and also the world-famous sword, Tianxiao, hanging on his waist. Lin Bianyu arrived on the stage, and the first action he did was to glance in the direction of the hanging loft. His lips moved slightly as if exchanging words with the people in the loft. A doting and helpless expression soon appeared on his face. ¡°He and the people in the loft know each other?¡± Zuo Yuanbai said, ¡°Could it be that the ones in the loft are also disciples of the Kunlun Sword Sect?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Tian Yun said, ¡°Lin Bianyu might look like a modest gentleman now, but I heard that his nature is the most domineering one in the sect. Even Lin Minzhi dare not provoke him. The ones that can be noticed by him, even in the sect, are only a few, ah.¡± Apparently, the two of them are not the only ones curious, people around also began to wonder about the identity of the people in the loft. Some guessed that it was a nobleman from Baiyu City, some guessed that it was an immortal from Wanle Valley. All in all, Lin Rufei was not able to hear the opinions of the crowd. As soon as the curtain was lowered, the room quieted down. Fu Hua bent down and poured a cup of hot tea for him, and took out a towel to carefully wipe Lin Rufei¡¯s fingers. She said in a warm voice: ¡°Young master, I asked them to prepare some desserts, if you are hungry, have a bite.¡± Lin Rufei nodded but did not have much appetite. Peering through the thin curtain, he looked at his second brother who was standing at the center of the stage. Lin Bianyu saw him coming and didn¡¯t say anything, he only urged Fu Hua not to let Lin Rufei freeze, after all, the Spring is cold, and Lin Rufei has just recovered from a serious illness. In case he falls ill again, it will not be a trivial matter. Fu Hua nodded, she took out a fleece blanket from out of nowhere and covered the bottom half of Lin Rufei¡¯s body. Lin Rufei looked helpless and wondered if only miscellaneous things were put into Fu Hua¡¯s dimensional ring. Fu Hua argued, ¡°If it¡¯s useful for young master, how can these items be miscellaneous?¡± Lin Rufei was at a loss for words. ¡°Hey, that kid from the Gu family is here!¡± Fu Hua saw someone flying up the sword platform, ¡°Young master, look!¡± Lin Rufei then raised his eyes to look, but he only saw a figure deftly jump onto the stage. Due to the far distance, Lin Rufei could not clearly see the person¡¯s face, but could clearly see the long black and messy hair that was on top of Gu family¡¯s fourth son. Behind him was a huge sword wrapped in black cloth. He wasn¡¯t tall, and the huge sword he was carrying almost dropped to the ground, making the people watching quite worried. ¡°My name is Gu Feiyu!¡± Gu family¡¯s fourth son¡¯s voice still had some of the crispness of a teenager as he turned to Lin Bianyu and said, ¡°I heard that your sword skills are very powerful!¡± Lin Bianyu smiled and said modestly, ¡°It¡¯s passable.¡± Gu Feiyu¡¯s eyes turned, ¡°If I win against you, will I be able to take one of my favorite swords away from Kunlun Mountain?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Lin Bianyu replied. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take your Tianxiao.¡± Gu Feiyu just uttered astonishing words with such carelessness. Once these words came out, the originally noisy stands instantly quieted down, and all eyes turned to Lin Bianyu on the stage. They wanted to see how he would react to the provocation of the newcomer. However, everyone was disappointed. Lin Bianyu was neither angry nor refuting, and his gentle smile remained on his face. His hand caressed the hilt of Tianxiao as if he was caressing his beloved lover: ¡°Want to take him away? That depends on whether you are strong enough.¡± Gu Feiyu laughed and drew his sword, but what he drew was not the huge sword behind him, but a plain blade slung around his waist. Once this sword was out, the sword stage surged with tumultuous sword intent, and the smiles on both faces gradually converged. The wind rose on the flat ground, and Gu Feiyu made the first move. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t see when Gu Feiyu drew his sword, he only saw a flash of light as bright as fire sweeping across the stage with great speed. In an instant, it arrived in front of Lin Bianyu. Lin Bianyu didn¡¯t dodge, his right hand went to draw his sword and Tianxiao was unsheathed. The sword emitted a low buzz. He seemed to casually raise his hand in a wave and the sword connected with the flash of light¡ªemitting the sound of gold and jade. Gu Feiyu¡¯s figure was revealed only then. He had a crazed smile, messy black hair scattered behind him. With a stomp of his foot, he rose up into the air in a flash and made a slash against Lin Bianyu. The air around him actually burst into flames from his action, it was accompanied by a crackling ear-splitting sound. Standing in front of Lin Bianyu, his face blurred. Lin Bianyu¡¯s blade is slightly horizontal, he actually intends to just take Gu Feiyu¡¯s blow full force. Gu Feiyu rushed down, the sword in his hand turned into a piercing white rainbow. The sword was neither sharp nor dexterous, but it had the power to shake the mountains and rivers. Manic and domineering sword Qi swept across the entire stage. A loud sound resounded through the clouds. A three-foot-wide crack appeared on the green stone sword platform, it was a crack that can break apart mountains and rivers. Crumbling and disintegrating, at once dust filled the sky, and chaos ensued upon the stage. Lin Rufei could not see what happened on the stage and Fu Hua looked slightly impressed. She softly said: ¡°This Gu family¡¯s fourth son is quite powerful.¡± The sword platform is specially made, each piece of green stone is carved with a special talisman. In the past ten years, sword cultivators who can leave such a mark on the green stones were already very few. The surrounding spectators had long been blown away by the strong sword Qi. Fu Hua had already expected this, so she stepped forward to block Lin Rufei. Her bright yellow dress blew strongly. In the dust, there was a glowing light. It was like the bright moon rising in the dark night, surging towards the great river. ¡°Good sword.¡± It was Lin Bianyu¡¯s voice. Gu Feiyu revealed a stunned look, he withdrew his hand, took a step back, and saw Lin Bianyu standing amongst the dust. Still in green and with a white sword. There wasn¡¯t a speck of dust on his clothes, like a relegated immortal. The huge crack that was split by Gu Feiyu, stopped in front of Lin Bianyu¡¯s body. The green stone beneath his feet was still intact, not even the slightest breakage. Gu Feiyu coughed lowly a few times, blood spilling out of the corner of his mouth. But he raised his hand and harshly wiped it away: ¡°You win.¡± Naturally, Lin Bianyu won. The sword in Gu Feiyu¡¯s hand has broken into several pieces, leaving only a lone sword hilt in his hand. Lin Bianyu sheathed Tianxiao and calmly said, ¡°This sword is not worthy of you.¡± Gu Feiyu said indifferently, ¡°Truly.¡± As he said this, he threw the broken sword in his hand to the side. Lin Bianyu said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you use the sword behind you?¡± Gu Feiyu was silent for a moment and said helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll snatch him away.¡± Lin Bianyu raised his eyebrows, seemingly amused by Gu Feiyu: ¡°Snatch? I¡¯ve seen countless good swords, if not 10,000 at least 8,000. Why would I snatch a sword from a child like you?¡± Gu Feiyu said seriously: ¡°It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t completely subdued him yet. This sword is a bit special, he¡¯s very philandering, when he sees a sword cultivator he likes, he can¡¯t stop his legs¡ªso I have to make sure that before completely subduing him, I can¡¯t let him see someone more suitable for him.¡± As Gu Feiyu said this, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh at first. His face was no longer hostile, instead, now it carried the teenage innocence and softness: ¡°But after fighting with you once, I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t like you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lin Bianyu was curious. Gu Feiyu smiled cheekily and said, ¡°That is a secret, I won¡¯t tell you.¡± As he spoke, he put down the huge sword behind him and gently touched it through the black cloth, adding, ¡°Can we have another fight, I haven¡¯t had enough!¡± Lin Bianyu smiled and nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Feiyu had heard of the rumors. Raising his hand, he began to untie the black cloth on the sword, and while doing so, he asked: ¡°Lin Bianyu, I heard that you are the most talented sword practitioner in the Kunlun Sword Sect, is that right?¡± Lin Bianyu said nonchalantly, ¡°At least for now.¡± Gu Feiyu said to himself, ¡°Then I¡¯m relieved, if the people around are all useless, then I won¡¯t have to worry that this philandering sword will look at them. With him, my strength can rise another 30%. And having another fight with you, worth it!!¡± Lin Bianyu just smiled, the corners of his clothes lifted even without the wind. Battle intent was once again ignited. Both of their eyes fell on the black heavy sword and began to look forward to the next match. But who knew that the moment Gu Feiyu untied the heavy sword from the seemingly ordinary black cloth, the heavy sword emitted a buzzing sound. Gu Feiyu heard this sound and was alarmed, he screamed ¡°this is bad!¡±, but everything was too late. The heavy sword did not need a person to control it and it just flew off. It plunged directly towards the direction of the suspended loft on the side of the stage. When Lin Bianyu saw the direction the heavy sword flew to, his face also changed dramatically. That loft was the one where Lin Rufei was sitting! Almost at the same time, both of them flew in the direction of the heavy sword, trying to stop the sword. But the distance between the two places was too short. In a blink of an eye, the heavy sword broke through the barrier of the curtain and plunged into the floor of the loft. And after the sword, Gu Feiyu saw a handsome young man sitting in a wheelchair with a pale face. He had a piece of mung bean cake in his hand. His (LRF) face was full of bewilderment and his eyes full of doubt. He obviously did not understand, this sword should have stayed on the sword platform, why would it suddenly appear in front of him, and also emitted a buzzing sound, simply as if it was a¡­¡­puppy trying to please its master. Fu Hua¡¯s face was blue, she stood in front of Lin Rufei protecting him. She sternly scolded Gu Feiyu: ¡°What are you doing! What if you hurt young master!!!¡± Gu Feiyu felt wronged to death that he almost cried out when he pointed at Lin Rufei: ¡°It¡¯s obvious that he seduced my sword¡­¡± Lin Rufei looked around in confusion: ¡°Huh?¡± ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei looks at the sword carefully and cautious: D-Do you want to eat a mung bean cake? Gu Feiyu: The sword is interested in you, hey, hey, wait. Zhongfeng what is wrong with you? ? Sword: Buzz, buzz, buzz (smells delicious) ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Peach blossom eyes CH 5 Let¡¯s go back in time. Lin Rufei was sitting in the loft and was looking at his brother who was chatting with Gu Feiyu on the wrecked platform. He noticed that Gu Feiyu seemed to be planning to take off the heavy sword he was carrying on his back. Lin Rufei felt bored, so he picked up a piece of mung bean cake and put it against his lips to take a bite. Just from the taste, he knew that Fu Hua had made it. It was moderately sweet and carried a light fragrance. Before he even had the chance to swallow the mung bean cake, Lin Rufei heard a long, sharp whistle of a weapon breaking through the air. It was followed by a residual shadow that suddenly appeared in front of him. With a muffled thud, the green stone flooring below Lin Rufei¡¯s feet was pierced. Under the golden sunlight with fine dust hovering in the air, Lin Rufei focused his eyes to see a giant black sword. It was stuck diagonally just an inch from his feet, body as black as ink, emitting a buzzing chirp. Then Gu Feiyu, who was originally standing on stage, sped towards him only to be stopped by Fu Hua. ¡°What do you mean my young master seduced your sword!¡± Fu Hua angrily rebuked, ¡°You are simply too rude.¡± Gu Feiyu muttered, ¡°How would I know that there was an expert sitting here ¡­¡­ Besides, your young master is powerful, how could he be injured by a sword?¡± He said and looked at the indifferent Lin Rufei, who was sitting in a wheelchair. He saluted with his closed fist. ¡°My name is Gu Feiyu. May I know this senior¡¯s name?¡± Although Gu Feiyu is straightforward by nature, he wasn¡¯t someone that was not knowledgeable. This Lin family loft above the stage was not a loft that just anyone could stay in. Although Lin Rufei looked young and didn¡¯t have a good complexion, his body was still surrounded by a noble aura. Not just any small family could possess that. Although Gu Feiyu could see that Fu Hua was a level six cultivator, he could not see the level that Lin Rufei possessed. But to be able to use a level six cultivator as a maid¡­¡­they are naturally someone that should not be provoked. ¡°This is my younger brother, Lin Rufei.¡± Lin Bianyu said indifferently. ¡°He has been in poor health since childhood and rarely sees people. Young master Gu, you¡¯d better quickly fetch your sword and leave here early.¡± Although Gu Feiyu was innocent, Lin Bianyu¡¯s face still showed some faint trace of displeasure. How could he not know about Lin Rufei¡¯s health condition, now that Gu Feiyu¡¯s sword had an accident, and was still addressing Lin Rufei as a senior it made people think that he was very rude. ¡°So this is the legendary Lin San Gongzi[1]. ¡± Gu Feiyu revealed a look of realization. He noticed that Lin Bianyu seemed to be a bit unhappy, so he said no more. He took a few steps towards his sword and chided: ¡°Zhongfeng[2], let¡¯s go!¡± He reached out to hold the hilt of the sword, wanting to ¡õ¡õ. However, no matter how much force Gu Feiyu exerted, the black-colored sword didn¡¯t move an inch. It even occasionally let out a few buzzing sounds, seemingly trying to provoke him. Gu Feiyu pulled for a while, however, no matter how much he pulled, it would not budge. His complexion finally turned ugly and started cursing. He was originally from the countryside, and only in recent years did he return to the Gu family. He was accustomed to those shrewd cursed words he heard on the streets, such as ones about trashy goods and other b***** related words. This made Fu Hua¡¯s eyes glaze around. She had never, in almost her entire life, ever heard such blatant cursing. However, the sword still did not budge. This angered Gu Feiyu to the point that he started stomping. Finally, Lin Bianyu couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. In a few steps, he grasped the sword hilt, wanting to end this farce. Gu Feiyu didn¡¯t bother stopping him, he just stood at the side howling and said: ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense, ah. I raised you for so many years, and just with one look, you took a liking to him. You, you thousand sword killer¡ª¡± Lin Rufei sat in the wheelchair, the mung bean cake in his hand was almost all melted. He felt that putting it down was no good, and eating it was also no good. Lin Bianyu gripped the sword hilt, and after exerting some power his face became more and more sullen. He was already in the eighth level of cultivation, had the power to move mountains yet this seemingly ordinary sword in his hand just would not budge. It was as if a thousand mountains were hidden inside. ¡°I can¡¯t pull it out, can¡¯t pull it out.¡± Gu Feiyu was not surprised by Lin Bianyu¡¯s lack of results. He squatted on the floor, pulling hard at his disorganized long, black hair, and said in pain, ¡°People are not as good as new, clothes are not as good as the old ah¡ª¡± Then he lifted his head and begged pitifully to Lin Rufei, ¡°Lin San Gongzi, there¡¯s a saying that a gentleman does not take away the love of others, so please help and tell him to give up on this idea.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, in the end, he put down the mung bean cake in his hand. He softly said: ¡°Young master Gu, it¡¯s not that I do not want to help. I was born weak and have never partaken in swordplay. If my second brother could not pull out this sword, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be of much help.¡± ¡°Lin San Gongzi, please don¡¯t tease me.¡± Gu Feiyu exclaimed miserably, ¡°If you had never practice swordplay, how could he have possibly taken a liking to you¡ª¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he looked at his second brother who was still wrestling with the sword. He gently coughed a little, and patted the crumbs from his hands before standing up, ¡°Okay, then I will give it a try.¡± Lin Bianyu heard Lin Rufei¡¯s voice and his face sank. He was about to speak but Lin Rufei spoke up first: ¡°Second brother, since young master Gu has already proposed this, I will give it a try, it¡¯s better to let him give up his affections.¡± Lin Bianyu frowned, but seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s frank look and that he did not seem upset, he finally let it go. ¡°Then try it.¡± The curtain was ripped, the loft was suspended in the air and it carried the Spring wind inside. Lin Rufei slowly got up, his originally neat head of black was blown into a mess by the wind. Zhongfeng was still buzzing. As Lin Rufei came closer, his buzzing was getting more excited, almost like he wanted to fly up from the ground and rub a corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes. Lin Rufei coughed weakly a few times and raised his hand to reposition the fox fur. Finally, he reached out his long, pale hand and gripped the hilt of Zhongfeng with heavy force. The hilt was cool and smooth to the touch, but the moment Lin Rufei gripped it, he felt as if he had grasped a piece of frozen ice. But in the next moment, a strange heat flowed out into his hand. This heat flowed through his entire body. Zhongfeng started buzzing even louder and on the hard green stone floor, an obvious crack started to form. Lin Rufei frowned and raised his hand to draw the sword. Gu Feiyu, who was standing on the side, sucked in a breath of cold air. He watched helplessly as Lin Rufei easily pulled out Zhongfeng, who was once unbudging, from out of the floor. The sword that was supposed to be heavier than a mountain, turned into a falling feather in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. It traced a gentle arc in mid-air. Several people in the room were not expecting this scene, even Lin Rufei himself showed a slightly bewildered expression. Gu Feiyu immediately burst into tears, he almost started rolling on the ground: ¡°Lin Er Gongzi[3] ¡ªyou have really cheated me!¡± Lin Bianyu had a complicated expression, he seemed to have wanted to say something to Lin Rufei but swallowed his words back. It must be said that the heavy black body of Zhongfeng next to the weak and frail Lin Rufei was really out of place. Lin Rufei¡¯s sword-holding posture was like a weak scholar holding a long burning stick. And on his handsome face, was a look of innocence. This scene made Gu Feiyu want to cry. ¡°Young master Gu¡ª¡± Lin Rufei was a little overwhelmed, he wanted to hand the sword to Gu Feiyu. Gu Feiyu saw the situation and quickly reached out to take it, but who knew that the moment the sword was in his hand, it would fall straight to the ground¡ªmaking another huge hole. No matter how much force Gu Feiyu exerted, the sword remained still. ¡°I¡¯m dead, I¡¯m dead! Zhongfeng you heartless son of a b****¡ª¡± Gu Feiyu sat down on his butt, hugged Zhongfeng like he was hugging his wife who just came back from her illicit lover, ¡°You heartless bastard¡ª¡± Lin Rufei looked helpless, he actually felt that he stole someone¡¯s wife. The atmosphere was frighteningly quiet in the loft, and only Gu Feiyu¡¯s crying could be heard. Lin Bianyu asked helplessly: ¡°Is there no other way?¡± Gu Feiyu wiped away his tears: ¡°Well, there is one.¡± ¡°What method?¡± Lin Bianyu asked. ¡°I would have to trouble Lin San Gongzi.¡± Gu Feiyu said, ¡°You just have to make it clear to him that you don¡¯t love him and it¡¯s fruitless with him¡ª¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Bianyu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The three of them¡ªmaster and servant, were all speechless by Gu Feiyu¡¯s unconventional words. It was Fu Hua who reacted first with a very strange expression, ¡°Can he understand human speech? Would it even be useful if my young master said those words to him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either, it was what my ancestor said.¡± Gu Feiyu sat on the ground and had no intention of getting up, ¡°It¡¯s just that my ancestor was on the verge of senility when he gave me this sword, so I don¡¯t know if he was talking nonsense or not.¡± As he spoke, he completely laid down on the ground and muttered. ¡°But that said, it¡¯s also the fate of Lin San Gongzi .¡± He turned his face sideways and looked at Lin Rufei anxiously. ¡°Lin San Gongzi , can you use Zhongfeng and give it a swing¡ªso I can completely give up on it?¡± Lin Rufei looked at Lin Bianyu, seeking his opinion. Lin Bianyu thought for a moment before nodding slightly and said: ¡°There is no harm in trying.¡± Lin Rufei did not have any cultivation in his body, lifting up the blade could be considered lucky, but if he could actually swing Zhongfeng, then it wouldn¡¯t be easily explained by ¡°luck.¡± Lin Rufei reached out and once again grabbed Zhongfeng¡¯s hilt. Like before, the heavy sword in his hand was weightless. He effortlessly pulled it from the green stone floor. The crowd¡¯s eyes all fell upon him. Lin Rufei felt a tickle in his throat again. He could not hold it in and ended up coughing a few times, a sickly blush soon rose onto his pale cheeks. Lin Bianyu saw this and was about to say something when the heavy sword in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand was already outside, swinging down at the side of the loft. Gu Feiyu waited with bated breath, but Zhongfeng still swung down. It was silent, even if he pricked up his ears, he could only hear the sound of the wind outside. Nothing happened. Gu Feiyu was thankful, but also a little upset. When the old ancestor passed Zhongfeng to Gu Feiyu, he had told him that Zhongfeng contained the power of creation. It could break mountains and cut yin and yang. Yet, when the first person recognized by Zhongfeng had swung it, nothing happened. Lin Rufei did not know what Gu Feiyu was thinking, he just lowered his eyes and gazed at the heavy sword in his hand. The last time he held a sword was more than ten years ago on the night of his tenth birthday party. He will always remember that memory. It was a clear night, he and his second brother sat on the highest pine tree on Kunlun Mountain. He pouted and begged his second brother to let him touch Tianxiao. Lin Bianyu was the one that spoiled Lin Rufei the most, how could he stand his brother¡¯s begging? So he handed Lin Rufei his sheathed sword. Lin Rufei gladly accepted it. But who knew that the moment Tianxiao was in his hand, Lin Rufei felt that the sword was as heavy as a thousand pounds. He failed to steadily hold it and tumbled down the tree. Good thing Lin Bianyu was there to save him in time, but he was also scared to the point that his whole head was covered in a layer of cold sweat. ¡°The better the sword, the heavier it will be.¡± ¡ªLater, Lin Rufei¡¯s mother said to him, ¡°Xiao Jiu, let¡¯s not touch any swords from now on, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei heard himself in his reminisce of the past. Lin Rufei could only hold the lightest sword, and in the eyes of a true sword practitioner, even the lightest sword on Kunlun Mountain was not worthy to be used as a toy for a child. ¡°I am not a swordsman.¡± The pale, handsome youth gazed at the heavy black sword in his hand. His voice was gentle as if it were whispering to a lover. He said. ¡°I ¡­¡­ am not suitable for you.¡± Zhongfeng buzzed loudly. ¡°Look, he¡¯s been waiting for you for so long.¡± The youth caressed the sword blade, soothing the restless Zhongfeng. When his white and slender fingers traced the black blade inch by inch, it inexplicably gave birth to a strange sense of beauty. Gu Feiyu, who looked at it suddenly had red cheeks and averted his gaze in a panic. ¡°If you go with me, he will be very sad.¡± Lin Rufei said in a warm voice, he had previously felt that the words Gu Feiyu said to him were somewhat incomprehensible, but now, he clearly realized that Zhongfeng could understand his words. ¡°My body is so weak, I have no way to use you. If you follow me, it would be too wasteful for you.¡± He laughed, and his eyes that were lighter than the normal person, also curved into a small arc. ¡°Thank you for liking me. You are the first sword that liked me ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, then opened his arms and gently embraced Zhongfeng: ¡°I am very happy.¡± Zhongfeng shook heavily, it seemed to have understood Lin Rufei¡¯s words and his buzzing gradually quieted. Gu Feiyu stood by the side and watched anxiously, like a child guarding a candy bar. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at him and blinked: ¡°Is it good now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Gu Feiyu rolled up his sleeves and took a deep breath, ¡°Baby, come back with me. I promise I won¡¯t scold you in the future anymore¡ªI¡¯ll treat you better than I would treat my wife! ¡± After he said this, his mouth continued to mutter words brokenly, mostly some nonsense for peace. Only when Lin Bianyu¡¯s eyebrow started furrowed did Gu Feiyu reach out his hand with fear. He was trembling and reverent when the hilt of the sword was handed over by Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei let go of his hand. This time, Zhongfeng did not fall to the ground. Gu Feiyu hugged Zhongfeng and cried with joy. The three people present were all relieved. Lin Rufei could not help but cough again. Lin Bianyu coldly raised his chin to Fu Hua, who then quickly pushed the wheelchair over and helped Lin Rufei sit down. ¡°It seems that we can¡¯t fight today, in that case, let¡¯s fight again some other day.¡± Lin Bianyu calmly said, ¡°My younger brother is a bit unwell, so I will send him back first.¡± Gu Feiyu was a bit embarrassed and nodded in agreement. He had caused so much trouble to others for no reason. Although he still had doubts in his mind, he felt too embarrassed to ask again. Lin Bianyu pushed Lin Rufei into the air and left, while Gu Feiyu, who was lost in thought, held Zhongfeng in the loft. The spectators watching the sword competition also gradually dispersed, and everything seemed to be returning back to a calm normal. However, at this time, the sky suddenly resounded with a loud sound. It was as if thunder was rolling, but also as if a million tides were surging¡ªcontinuously and from far to near. Gu Feiyu heard this daylight thunder and looked towards the sound. His eyes showed a stunned look¡ªthe northern peak of Kunlun Mountain had actually collapsed in half. He was first shocked, and then suddenly realized. His heart could not help but give birth to a sense of horror¡­¡­the direction where the north peak was located, was the direction that Lin Rufei had swung the sword. ******** The author has something to say: Zhongfeng: Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz (Is the beauty here? Does the beauty want to go on a date? Does the beauty want to eat? Does the beauty want to have a sword dance? Look at me beauty) Gu Feiyu: Where exactly am I not as good-looking as Lin Rufei, even my chest is bigger, right? ! Lin Rufei: ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Third young master of the Lin Family [2] ¡°Heavy Edge¡± like in the chapter title. [3] Second young master of the Lin Family CH 6 Lin Rufei began to cough again. This time, even drinking medicine did not help. Layers of itch wanted to spill out of his throat, causing him to shake his thin shoulders uncontrollably. Lin Bianyu sat on the edge of the bed looking at his frail and sickly younger brother. He ordered the maid Yu Rui to go to the pharmacy and fetch some flower dew. Flower dew is a medicine used for coughing, but it will upset the stomach. Unless it was particularly serious, it was usually not used on Lin Rufei. However, it wasn¡¯t possible to not use it today. Lin Rufei¡¯s throat had a fishy and sweet taste. He wanted to desperately suppress the rusty taste that was coming up but did not succeed. He could only use the silk handkerchief in his hand to cover his mouth. With a violent shaking of his shoulders, Lin Rufei finally caught his breath, so he rolled the silk handkerchief up and tried to hide it. However, Lin Bianyu was not easily fooled. His hand reached out and snatched the silk handkerchief¡ªseeing the dark red stain on it. When he saw this scene, Lin Bianyu heavily pursed his lips and his eyes darkened. Lin Rufei wanted to say something, but Lin Bianyu made a gesture of silence, indicating that he did not need to speak. Lin Rufei knew that his second brother was unhappy. When he was unhappy, he always looked like this. He wanted to coax him, but what came out was a continuous cough. Finally, he could only laugh bitterly and give up. Fu Hua stood by the bed, although she did not say a word, her expression was equally as ugly. Yu Rui came back quickly, holding the flower dew from the pharmacy. Lin Rufei drank the flower dew, the breath held in his chest had finally become smoother, and the itch in his throat gradually dissipated. ¡°Leave, let him rest.¡± Lin Bianyu got up. Fu Hua and Yu Rui nodded a yes, hung their heads, and left. Lin Bianyu helped Lin Rufei fix his blanket before he also left. Lin Rufei leaned against the bed. He looked sickly and was in a trance. He seemed to have heard a loud noise, but it did not feel real. As if it was just a figment of his imagination. Lin Rufei raised his eyes to gaze at the window. It had been closed by Fu Hua to prevent the wind from coming inside, so he could not see the courtyard, let alone the Spring scene. He was like a perch caught in a rut[1], trapped in one place. He didn¡¯t know how long he had slept, but Lin Rufei heard the sound of someone moving around in his room. He opened his eyes slightly and saw Fu Hua carrying a basin of water in. She carefully wiped away the sweat on his forehead, her eyebrows furrowed in worry. When she noticed that he was awake, she forced herself to smile before gently calling out a ¡°young master.¡± Lin Rufei asked: ¡°What time is it?¡± When he opened his mouth, he realized his voice was extremely hoarse. It was probably because he had coughed too much just now that his throat had gone sore. ¡°It¡¯s the 17th hour[2]. Young master, do you want something to eat?¡± Fu Hua gently asked. Lin Rufei shook his head and said: ¡°Open the window, the room is a bit stuffy.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s going to be night soon, the wind is going to be a bit strong.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Young master has finally stopped coughing, if the wind blows I am afraid you will start coughing again.¡± Lin Rufei said sickly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat anything.¡± After drinking the flower dew, although his cough had stopped, he had no appetite now. Even the thought of food made him feel sick to his stomach. Fu Hua bit her lower lip, but in the end, did not say any more words of persuasion. Although Lin Rufei had slept for a long time, he was still very tired, so he asked Fu Hua to leave, saying that he wanted to rest alone. Fu Hua nodded her head, then quietly left the room. The room once again quieted down. Lin Rufei leaned back onto the pillow, his eyes half-lidded. He didn¡¯t have any more sleepiness, but his body had no strength. Even the action of raising his hand was done with great reluctance. The sun was about to set, and the setting sun was spilling through the gap of the window. It scattered tiny bright lights onto the ground. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes slowly closed. His breathing was weak as he closed his eyes to recuperate. Yet, in a trance, he gave birth to a strange vision. In the room¡­¡­someone seemed to have arrived. Lin Rufei opened his eyes and saw a scarlet red that melted into the setting sun. The window was somehow opened and warm light enveloped more than half of the room. In the light, there was someone sitting sideways in front of the table by the window. He was in red clothes, a head of black, and he had a long and a small black sword hanging around his waist. Lin Rufei froze and opened his mouth: ¡°You¡ª¡± He wanted to ask ¡°who are you?¡± However, the man in red opened his mouth first. His voice was low with a hint of laziness. He asked Lin Rufei: ¡°Do you have any wine?¡± In his curiosity, Lin Rufei actually responded to the man¡¯s words. He said, ¡°What kind of wine?¡± ¡°Any kind of wine will do.¡± The man propped up his chin, ¡°Naturally, cherry blossom wine is the best.¡± From this angle, Lin Rufei could only see half of the man¡¯s face, but that was enough. The man was born extremely beautiful, his eyes are narrow and long¡ªit should be a pair of extremely beautiful phoenix eyes[3]. His eyebrows slanted and had a nose like a hanging gall[4]. If only the face was observed, it would have been hard to distinguish whether he was male or female. However, the man, who was dressed in red, did not look feminine in the slightest. He had elegant and strong angles, making it so that people dare not have any sinful ideas. Lin Rufei wanted to cough again. He covered his mouth and said in a low voice: ¡°Where did you come in from ¡­¡­ how did you ¡­¡­get into my room?¡± The man said, ¡°No wine? If there is no wine, I will leave.¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He wanted to laugh and cry at this man¡¯s straightforward attitude. Surprisingly, the man¡¯s words did not make people feel offended. On the contrary, a sense of guilt had formed. Rather, he felt rude that he could not satisfy this man¡¯s wishes. ¡°Fu Hua.¡± Lin Rufei spoke out. ¡°Young master.¡± Fu Hua answered from outside the room. ¡°Is there any wine?¡± Lin Rufei asked again. ¡°Wine?¡± Fu Hua was puzzled, ¡°Does young master want to drink?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Bring me a jug, preferably cherry blossom wine.¡± Although Fu Hua was confused, she still listened to Lin Rufei¡¯s instructions and brought in a jug of unopened cherry blossom wine. Lin Rufei¡¯s body was weak, so he seldom dabbled with wine and other things, but it was elegant to drink wine. Thus, Lin Rufei would occasionally drink a cup when he was in better health. But this time, Lin Rufei was still sick. Why did he suddenly want to drink? Fu Hua thought it was strange. She took the wine and warmed it up with hot water. Gently, she knocked on the door and entered the room with the wine. She noticed that Lin Rufei, who was still sickly just a moment ago, was now in better spirits. He was sitting at the head of the bed and gazed at the opened window. ¡°Young master.¡± Fu Hua spoke out. Lin Rufei turned around and asked Fu Hua to put the wine on the table, which Fu Hua did. But Lin Rufei noticed something strange. It was clear that the man in red was sitting at the table by the window, but Fu Hua walked over as if the man didn¡¯t exist and put down the wine in her hands. She said in a low voice: ¡°Young master, you¡¯re sick, You should not partake in wine.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Lin Rufei blinked, ¡°I¡¯m not drinking, just put the wine down and you can go.¡± Fu Hua felt that her young master was acting very strange, but before she could ask, Lin Rufei said, ¡°Go make some millet porridge and prepare some small side dishes. I¡¯m a little hungry.¡± When she heard Lin Rufei say he was hungry, Fu Hua pushed away the doubts in her mind. She happily hummed in agreement, carried the hem of her skirt, and ran out quickly. Originally, she thought that if Lin Rufei wanted to eat, it would have been early the next morning. But now that he has the spirit, it is naturally the best. The man in red did not look at Fu Hua. He took the wine and poured himself a cup. He raised the cup and then downed it in one go. This cherry blossom wine was brewed just recently by Fu Hua. It used the cherry blossom flowers from the grove below the mountain. The wine tastes sweet and mellow with some hint of bitterness and crispness unique to the cherry blossoms. It was very suitable to drink alone on a Spring day. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lin Rufei remembered something and he covered his right eye, ¡°Are you the cherry blossom tree in my yard?¡± The man didn¡¯t say anything and continued drinking the wine. Lin Rufei saw this and stopped asking questions. He quietly watched the man drink one cup after another until the bottom of the wine jug was noticeable, and only then did he reluctantly put down the cup in his hand. ¡°Do you want another jug?¡± Seeing the reluctance in the man¡¯s eyes, Lin Rufei asked thoughtfully. ¡°No need.¡± The man smiled, ¡°Slightly drunk is just right.¡± He slightly tilted his head, a slight smile surfaced in those narrow phoenix eyes, he asked, ¡°Have you counted cherry blossoms before?¡± This was a very abrupt statement with no end in sight. But Lin Rufei miraculously understood the man¡¯s meaning, he said, ¡°No.¡± With a soft sigh, he continued: ¡°The cherry blossom tree in the yard refuses to bloom, only the pear blossoms are willing to let me count them.¡± The early Spring night was cool and slow, he couldn¡¯t sleep, so he sat in front of the window and looked at the courtyard. The clouds were thick and there were neither stars nor moon. There were a few lanterns hanging in the courtyard but it wasn¡¯t bright enough. However, it was enough for Lin Rufei to see the trees in the courtyard clearly. Spring has been born, the treetops are full of lively flowers, Lin Rufei craned his neck, and counted them one by one. On this pear tree, there are eight hundred and seventy-nine buds. Lin Rufei remembered it in his heart as if he had written down a secret that only he knew. He likes cherry blossoms, but the cherry blossom tree at home refused to bloom. The pear blossoms will make up for it, comforting him in the long, cool night. The man smiled, the color like Spring flowers. It was extraordinarily moving. He said: ¡°You want to count the cherry blossoms?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes.¡± The man said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go together.¡± He suddenly got up, his wide red sleeves swung out in an arc like a bright flower, then turned around and extended his hand towards Lin Rufei who was lying on the bed, ¡°Come with me.¡± Lin Rufei was about to say something, but the man did not give him a chance to refuse. He went ahead and grasped Lin Rufei¡¯s hand that was placed in front of his body. His hand was cold and was actually colder than the sick Lin Rufei¡¯s by a few degrees. It made Lin Rufei slightly shiver. ¡°Come.¡± He said. Lin Rufei¡¯s body then rose up into the air and just flew out of the window, ¡°Wait¡ªwait a moment.¡± The man simply ignored him. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were wide, his light-colored eyes were stunned and his hair was dancing chaotically in the night wind. His other empty hand was holding on to the lapel of the man in front of him, afraid that he would just fall from mid-air. The man laughed loudly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here.¡± As he said this, he let go of his hand. Lin Rufei choked on his breath. He thought he would just fall down, but instead, he found himself stepping on something underneath his feet. He looked down, it was one of the swords that was on the man¡¯s waist. Lin Rufei was in a bit of a trance. What was sword cultivation? It was Lin Minzhi¡¯s long sword sweeping across the nine fields wearing the crown of conquest that is so high that it almost touches the sky. It was Lin Bianyu¡¯s prestige and outstanding martial arts. Lin Rufei does not recognize the sword. He could not lift the sword and could not learn the sword. He was born in a sword sect yet did not cultivate with the sword. But at this moment, he was stepping on a flying sword that he thought he would never be able to touch. The wind in mid-air was very strong, making Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes rustle loudly. Along with the man¡¯s laughter, he seemed to have seen the thousands of blooming flowers in the depths of the night. It was just that this flower bloomed differently than the one in the lonely courtyard, rather it was lively and brought people nostalgia. The sword is in the air, a long journey of a thousand miles. Leaving at the 19th hour[5] and returning on the 21st[6]. Lin Rufei felt happy in his heart. He could not help but laugh out loud and suddenly, he also wanted to drink a cup of warm cherry blossom wine. ******** The author has something to say: Gong (seme): If I don¡¯t show up soon, my baby at home will really be hooked away by the seductive jian[7] outside. Hahahahahahahaha, yesterday I saw a lovely reader¡¯s comment, ¡°Lin Rufei, alias: Sword hooker, another (courtesy) name: Peach, nickname: Monkey Attracter¡± ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Not the sexual one, it¡¯s those tracks/trails, like a wagon rut. [2] 5 o¡¯clock P.M. [3] Phoenix eyes [4] nose like a hanging gall [5] 7 o¡¯clock P.M. [6] 9 o¡¯clock P.M. [7] Written in English, means ¡°sword¡± referring to Zhongfeng. CH 7 The man rode a cloud dragon all the way down Kunlun Mountain. The cherry blossom grove at the foot of Kunlun Mountain that Lin Rufei often comes to, was somewhat unfamiliar in the night. After the Spring rain, the cherry blossoms have fallen a lot, the branches were not as lush as they had been and occasionally he would see slightly more abrupt branches sticking out. The man took Lin Rufei and stopped at a bunch of cherry blossom branches. His red clothes fluttered along with the breeze of the cool night, and his cold hand covered Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder again. Lin Rufei felt a slightly cool exhale against his ear. The man made a sound and said, ¡°Come.¡± After he finished speaking, he gave a push and Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened. He thought he would fall heavily to the ground, but his original bulky body turned into a wisp of Spring wind at this time, and with pointed feet, he landed steadily on the ground. Lin Rufei looked surprised and looked at his feet. ¡°Go, ah.¡± The man laughed lowly. His phoenix eyes contained a slightly drunken smile. He suddenly fell down in a smooth motion, causing Lin Rufei to cry in surprise. And the tree by his feet stretched out its branches, like slender hands of a young girl of sixteen. It softly wrapped the man in its arms. He just laid like that amongst the cherry blossoms. Red clothes and black hair with a sword hanging at his waist. Brightly colored clothes hung in front of Lin Rufei, swaying again and again, like a lake in which you could not see the bottom. The silver sword started circling around Lin Rufei again, like a curious child. It was sniffing left and right. Finally, it used its hilt to gently rub the back of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, signaling for him to grab it. Lin Rufei stretched out his hand. It all felt like a weird dream. He could no longer tell whether he was in the dream or outside the door. The moment his pale hand gripped the hilt of the sword, Lin Rufei felt his palm begin to heat up, and then, a raging hot current surged through his body. The next moment, Lin Rufei disappeared on the spot. The man was still leaning against the branch, his hand propped up his chin. He looked lazy as if he had just woken up from a long slumber and lazily yawned. He said to himself, ¡°Where would he go.¡± After a moment¡¯s pause, his half-hung eyes widened a bit and he laughed, ¡°It¡¯ll be interesting.¡± Lin Rufei flew out with the sword, he did not have time to react when it stopped again. In front of his eyes was still the cherry blossom forest, but also in front was a group of monkeys full of alarm. Lin Rufei stood where he was and stared wide-eyed. ¡°What did you bring me here for?¡± The situation was so awkward that Lin Rufei could only look back at the sword that had brought him here and asked. The tiny silver sword that had been unsheathed tilted a bit, it was enough for Lin Rufei to have a touch of doubt. The monkeys slowly faded to the sides, and from the back came out a big, beautiful monkey with golden fur, the same one that molested Lin Rufei. When it saw Lin Rufei, it squealed happily a few times. Lin Rufei immediately wanted to back up, he was scared since he was bullied by this group of monkeys. This monkey group probably moved into this forest around the time when he was twelve or thirteen. At that time he was just a short and small teenager, he didn¡¯t know how many times his snacks were snatched away. Later the Monkey King came, the situation was only slightly better. The snacks weren¡¯t snatched, but he will always be surrounded by a group of monkeys¡­¡­ Regarding the monkeys, Lin Rufei really had an endless history of blood and tears with them. The Monkey King blinked and looked at him, its beautiful golden eyes full of curiosity, wondering how Lin Rufei appeared in the forest in the middle of the night. However, after looking left and right, it actually did not see the maids who usually followed Lin Rufei. It reached out and scratched its head, then with a movement of its feet, jumped to the cherry blossom tree on the side and looked at Lin Rufei from a high position. Lin Rufei immediately remembered the other day when he was molested by the monkey, an incredulous thought came to his mind and he said with wide eyes, ¡°What are you going to do¡ª¡± The Monkey King screeched twice, then in a rush, directly pounced towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei¡¯s expression turned to that of horror. Fu Hua once said, this monkey has its own fortunate fate, its cultivation has reached the fifth level of sword cultivation, if it goes well, in a few years, it would most likely be able to speak. Faced with a level five monkey, Lin Rufei immediately felt fear that he would die here today. Just as he was thinking about it, the monkey had already pounced in front of Lin Rufei, although Lin Rufei knew he was no match, he still reflexively reached out his hand and scratched haphazardly. He felt a furry mass grasped in his hand. ¡°Screech¡ª¡± the monkey let out a miserable scream. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were full of panic, and he wanted to throw the object in his hand out, but he noticed something was wrong. He fixed his eyes on it, only to find that the golden Monkey King, who should be very nimble, was held up by the back of his neck and was struggling. Lin Rufei did not use too much force, but the monkey seemed to be holding onto his life. Not being able to break free from Lin Rufei¡¯s hand it kept screeching and screaming. Originally a very arrogant hairy face soon left behind only a face of indescribable grievance. ¡°Hey?¡± Lin Rufei came closer to take a look. The two stared at each other with an innocent expression. ¡°You¡¯re not running?¡± Lin Rufei touched him, feeling that the monkey¡¯s hair was really comfortable. It was thick and soft, but also very clean. Upon touch, it was also really fluffy. ¡°Screech.¡± The monkey didn¡¯t move. Lin Rufei said curiously: ¡°You want to run but can¡¯t, right?¡± The monkey actually nodded his head, and his eyes became more and more pitiful. Lin Rufei was puzzled: ¡°How can you not be able to run, I didn¡¯t use any force¡ª¡± he said and gently shook the monkey, but the monkey let out a scream and reached out to cover the back of his neck. It was trembling all over. Lin Rufei saw this and hurriedly stopped. He took a closer look, only to find that the hair on the back of the monkey¡¯s neck had a chunk missing, directly revealing the pink skin. Lin Rufei immediately had a guilty conscience. ¡°I really didn¡¯t use any force.¡± Lin Rufei explained awkwardly. The Monkey King did not believe it. Its eyes were like a resentful wife who was domestically abused by her husband, and even the corners of its eyes were flushed with thin tears. It made Lin Rufei, who was watching, have a toothache. He really did not use that much force, but when his hand was loosened, the golden hair fell out of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand¡ªrustling to the ground. The Monkey King also fell onto the ground, sadly covering the flesh on the back¡ªhis neck half bald. Lin Rufei coughed dryly and hurriedly explained: ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do it, I have not practiced martial arts, how strong can I possibly be.¡± He said and wanted to prove it so he gave a gentle push to the cherry blossom tree beside him. ¡°Crack,¡± a crunching sound. That cherry blossom tree with a trunk that was like an adult, just openly cracked. Following a creaking sound that made people grit their teeth, it fell to the ground with a bang. The Monkey King stared at the cherry blossom tree with round black eyes and looked at Lin Rufei in horror. Lin Rufei also froze. He was silent for a long time, barely able to squeeze a sentence out of his mouth, ¡°I really didn¡¯t use much force.¡± If he hadn¡¯t secretly rubbed the monkey hair off his hands, the words might have been more convincing. The Monkey King looked at Lin Rufei with a sorrowful expression and didn¡¯t say anything for a long time. Lin Rufei was very embarrassed by its stare and could only say: ¡°I really didn¡¯t mean to do it, besides you often bully me.¡± He thought about it, turned around, and picked a cherry blossom from the tree next to him. He bent down halfway and stuck the flower behind the Monkey King¡¯s ear. He blinked wryly, ¡°Mn, I¡¯ll gift you a flower, don¡¯t be angry.¡± The Monkey King¡¯s tears almost did not fall, it screeched several times. He didn¡¯t know what it said. Although Lin Rufei did not understand its words, but from the taste of some aggression in his tone, he could only use a fine voice to comfort it: ¡°Do not cry, do not cry. Even if the hair is gone it¡¯s okay, it will grow back sooner or later ¡­¡­¡± The Monkey King saw that he did not understand its own words, so it screeched again. It turned around with a downcast look, revealing that the back of its neck had a chunk that was made bald by Lin Rufei¡¯s grip. Although it was covered with golden hair, it just had to be its neck which now had sparse stubble and vaguely visible pink skin. It looked a bit pitiful. Lin Rufei pursed his lips. His thin shoulders were shaking slightly, trying hard to swallow back the laughter. The Monkey King was wearing the small flower given to him by Lin Rufei, and he took one step, then three, back¡ªwalking slowly. Lin Rufei suddenly felt something in his heart and said to the Monkey King in a warm voice: ¡°Go on, I¡¯ll come back again some time.¡± The Monkey King sighed and looked back at Lin Rufei one last time. The night was deep, hiding the fondness in its eyes. It turned around and with several leaps, it disappeared into the dense cherry blossom forest. Lin Rufei¡¯s smile faded, strangely giving birth to some loneliness. He had a feeling that it seemed to be his last meeting with this naughty monkey. Lin Rufei thought that at least he was able to get revenge for the previous molestation. After sending the mischievous monkey away, Lin Rufei looked at the cherry blossom tree beside him that he had pushed down, and chanted with a sad face that he was sorry. The cherry blossom trees here were a hundred years old and suddenly one cracked with Lin Rufei¡¯s slap¡ªreally an unwarranted disaster. It¡¯s a good thing he didn¡¯t reach out and give the Monkey King¡¯s head such a hit ¡­¡­ The silver sword that was quiet on the side began to buzz again, Lin Rufei, with smiling eyes, once again reached out to hold the sword hilt. The sword flew and once again took Lin Rufei out of the cherry blossom forest. This all seemed like a dream, but even if it really was just an unrealistic dream, it was still a beautiful dream. There were no regrets. But if it was not a dream, then he must have had some abnormal changes in his body because of that beautiful man in red. But it was just a daze of time. Lin Rufei once again returned to the dreary courtyard, the house lingered with the bitter scent of Chinese medicine. Fu Hua, who was carrying food, knocked on the door of the room. ¡°Young master, the porridge is ready.¡± Fu Hua reminded in a warm voice. Lin Rufei sat on the edge of the bed. He looked at the lines on his palm and suddenly remembered the criticism that the exquisite medicine and divinatory master of the sect, Wan Yao, had said to him¡ª ¡°On Kunlun Mountain, there is a person who calls out in the middle of the road, looking at the wagon ruts, there is a perch.¡± Since then, Lin Rufei understood. He was the fish that was trapped in the wheel tracks and could die of thirst at any moment. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: Poor, weak and helpless, but able to fight. CH 8 The porridge was millet porridge, made with the new rice harvested before New Year¡¯s Eve. Inside the porridge was the fine millet, boiled to a thick golden color. The side dishes included pickled radish and stir-fried seasonal vegetables. They were green in color, which aroused Lin Rufei¡¯s appetite. When Fu Hua saw that Lin Rufei was willing to eat, she was overjoyed and carefully helped Lin Rufei get off the bed to sit at the table. Her eyes suddenly stared at him and she noticed something. Half squatting down, she looked at the corners of Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes: ¡°Young master, why are your clothes dirty?¡± A dark stain on Lin Rufei¡¯s white outfit was particularly noticeable. Fu Hua was suspicious: ¡°You master, did you leave the room?¡± However, after she finished her sentence, she felt that she shouldn¡¯t have asked. After all, when she was cooking, Yu Rui was at the door, so if Lin Rufei had gone out, she would have known. Lin Rufei squeezed his chopsticks and said lightly, ¡°Well, I went out for a while. This side dish is well made.¡± Fu Hua had been serving Lin Rufei for so many years, so she knows that Lin Rufei does not want to talk about it. Although she had doubts in her mind, she still kept quiet and softly said: ¡°Then young master, would you like to take a bath before going to bed? It¡¯s best to change into clean clothes ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei nodded: ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Fu Hua smiled lightly. After Lin Rufei was taken out by the man in red into the night breeze, his appetite had miraculously improved. He drank a bowl of millet porridge and ate quite a lot of side dishes. While Lin Rufei was eating, Fu Hua got up and went to prepare hot water for Lin Rufei. The hot water was heated with a special charcoal fire, which can perfectly control the temperature, making it so that the water is not too cold or too hot. However, this charcoal fire must be generated with spiritual power or sword Qi, which is not something that was for ordinary people to use. When Fu Hua finished heating the hot water, she was about to go back into the room to tell Lin Rufei to come out to bathe. When she passed by the courtyard, she saw Lin Er Gongzi standing quietly in the courtyard. Donned in green, a long sword, not smiling and not speaking. His half-open eyes were gazing at the cherry blossom tree standing in the courtyard. Fu Hua understands the sword, so when she saw Lin Bianyu, she perceived a cold killing intent from him. Killing intent? In this entire Yaoguang continent, the people who can provoke Lin Bianyu¡¯s killing intent could be counted with one hand. Why did Lin Bianyu have this intent? Lin Bianyu had already noticed Fu Hua behind him. The coldness in his eyes melted away, and his thin lips curled into a smile. He once again became the gentle, jade-like second young master of Kunlun Sword Sect. He said: ¡°Xiao[1] Jiu came back?¡± Came back? Why was it ¡°come back?¡± Fu Hua was slightly frozen and she nodded blankly: ¡°Came back ¡­¡­ but when did young master go out?¡± Lin Bianyu did not answer: ¡°Take me in.¡± Fu Hua could only nod yes. She felt that Lin Bianyu¡¯s state was a bit strange, but in the end, she was just a maid. She knew that there were things that should not be asked, so she did not ask. The two entered the room and saw Lin Rufei sitting by the candlelight. He was leaning on a chair. His black hair was not tied up, it was just scattered messily on his shoulders. His face was a little pale in the candlelight, his long eyelashes trembled slightly, like a black butterfly that wanted to fly. Lin Rufei also heard the footsteps and looked up. He smiled lightly and called out a second brother. Lin Bianyu¡¯s expression gradually softened, and Fu Hua felt the hint of killing intent also dissipated from his body. ¡°Did Xiao Jiu eat properly?¡± Lin Bianyu came forward and sat opposite of Lin Rufei. ¡°Fu Hua made a bowl of porridge, I ate it all.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It¡¯s late, why did second brother come. Is there something wrong?¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°Nothing, I saw you coughing so badly earlier, so I thought I would come over again to take a look.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°After drinking the flower dew, I feel much better.¡± He was keenly aware of something in Lin Bianyu¡¯s gaze and called out softly, ¡°Second brother?¡± ¡°Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Bianyu suddenly got up and walked towards the window. He pushed the window wide open. Outside the window, was the cherry blossom tree that was an eye-sore. He laughed and asked, ¡°This cherry blossom tree is crooked and thin, it is really ugly. It¡¯s agitating to look at. Let¡¯s cut it down with a sword, shall we?¡± Lin Rufei was slightly stunned and was about to speak. Lin Bianyu then waved his hand, indicating to Fu Hua to leave. Seeing this, Fu Hua bowed and withdrew from the room¡ªgently closing the door. Lin Rufei and Lin Bianyu stared at each other for a long time, neither making a sound. ¡°Is that cherry blossom tree a demon?¡± Lin Rufei finally spoke. ¡°No.¡± Lin Bianyu replied. ¡°Then what is it?¡± Lin Rufei said. He had originally wanted to say what just happened a while ago, but looking at Lin Bianyu¡¯s appearance, the words that were at the tip of his tongue did not come out. ¡°It¡¯s your destiny[2].¡± Lin Bianyu said. Lin Rufei was puzzled: ¡°Destiny?¡± He noticed Lin Bianyu¡¯s wording, it was destiny, not blessing. Lin Bianyu said, ¡°Any more, Wan Yao will not be able to calculate.¡± Wao Yao¡¯s divination was not something to look down upon. On the whole Kunlun Mountain, if he was ¡°second,¡± then there was no ¡°first.¡± If it was something that even he could not calculate, then it must involve the laws of Heaven. Those that pry into the Heavenly ways will have their life shortened, fortunes broken, body in decline, unable to eat, and never reincarnate. Even someone like Wan Yao, who was a master at divination, did not easily dare to try. Lin Bianyu¡¯s hand was already on the hilt of Tianxiao, he said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, this tree may kill you. No matter what, I can¡¯t allow that.¡± When the words fell, Lin Rufei saw a white rainbow-like cold sword light. He knew Lin Bianyu had drawn his sword. Tianxiao was unsheathed. A biting sword intent gushed out, mixed with strong killing intent. It pierced in the direction of the thin cherry blossom tree. The tree was standing in the cool Spring breeze, leafless and flowerless. Its thin branches were drooping, looking innocent like a pitiful child. Lin Rufei was actually able to clearly see Lin Bianyu¡¯s movement. Lin Bianyu had lifted his hand, unsheathed the sword, and struck. Tianxiao¡¯s sharp edge melted into a stream of light. Lin Rufei even saw the seal engraved on the side of Tianxiao. The inscription was only two words; Tian Jue, which was Lin Bianyu¡¯s courtesy name. At this moment, Lin Rufei remembered the cherry blossom forest at the foot of the mountain, the golden-haired Monkey King in the forest, and the man who was more beautiful than a fox fairy. His mind hadn¡¯t returned, but his body had already moved. His originally heavy body was now as light as a feather and in an instant, he had stretched out his hand to block in between Lin Bianyu and the cherry blossom tree. ¡°Second brother, don¡¯t ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei spoke out. He was breathing heavily, hair scattered on his shoulders. There was no trace of red on his pale cheeks, but the corners of his eyes had a little abnormal flush, he called out, ¡°Second brother ¡­¡­¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s Tianxiao had not fallen. It was not because he(LBY) had stopped his attack in time, it was just that Tianxiao was caught by a pair of hands. Blood dripped little by little from Lin Rufei¡¯s palm, staining the snow-white sword blade of Tianxiao. Lin Bianyu¡¯s eyes were wide open. His chest heaved heavily and he stiffly suppressed the tumbling emotions and said in a weak voice: ¡°Xiao Jiu, let go.¡± Lin Rufei released the sword, he was at a loss. He didn¡¯t know how he had appeared in front of Lin Bianyu, let alone how he had caught Tianxiao. The only thing he knew was that he didn¡¯t want to see that skinny cherry blossom tree being chopped into several pieces by Lin Bianyu¡¯s sword. So he moved involuntarily. Lin Bianyu looked down at the wound on Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, although it was bleeding a lot, it was only a flesh wound. He sighed, opened his mouth, and sighed again. In the end, he said nothing, and only let out a sound to Yu Rui, who was silently standing outside the door, to fetch some medicine. ¡°Second brother ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei felt a little uneasy. Lin Bianyu instructed Lin Rufei to sit down. He reached out and squeezed Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist, helping him stop the bleeding. Because his body was weak, Lin Ru Fei¡¯s healing ability was also very poor. He was like a porcelain doll. Even a touch in his daily life can leave bruises on his skin, not to mention the current sharp wounds. Yu Rui quickly got the medicine. She pushed the door and entered the room. She saw the room in disarray but did not dare say anything. She put down the things and quietly retreated. Lin Bianyu lowered his head, dabbed Lin Rufei¡¯s hand with the medicine, and wrapped it with a clean white cloth, instructing him not to let the wound touch water for a few days. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Second brother ¡­¡­ I ¡­¡­¡± he wanted to apologize. Lin Bianyu sighed and stretched out his hand to pat Lin Rufei on the head, his expression had a touch of helplessness, ¡°In the end, Xiao Jiu has grown up.¡± ¡°I also do not know why I moved and caught Tianxiao ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei murmured. ¡°This is most likely the destiny Wan Yao had talked about.¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°I¡¯m a bit bewitched.¡± He bowed his head for a long time, and when he raised his eyes again, there was only the warmth of a brother in his eyes. He said, ¡°Second brother is just a little worried, worried that the destiny is not good for Xiao Jiu.¡± The cherry blossom tree that appeared inexplicably, the northern peak of Kunlun Mountain that was split by a sword. Lin Rufei had been swept into the center of the vortex but was unaware of it. Lin Bianyu raised his hand and waved a sword, wanting to cut off this karma. But the moment the sword fell, he suddenly understood. Some things even Tianxiao could not break. This time, it was Lin Rufei¡¯s hands that blocked his sword. If he persists in his obsession, perhaps the next swing will fall upon Lin Rufei¡¯s neck. This was Lin Rufei¡¯s karma, and he is powerless to change it. Lin Rufei was wounded and bled quite a bit. His brows wrinkled in tiredness and he tried to soothe his second brother with a few words. But seeing that he only smiled and did not say anything, he then realized some words were just a drop of water in the bucket, so he also obediently shut his mouth. ¡°You should rest first.¡± Lin Bianyu got up, ¡°I will come to see you tomorrow with elder brother.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and watched as Lin Bianyu turned to leave. Lin Bianyu exited through the door, but he did not immediately leave. He stood in the courtyard and stared at the cherry blossom tree for a long time until the light in Lin Rufei¡¯s room dimmed. He coldly sneered: ¡°I want to see exactly how powerful you are.¡± He raised his hand and fiercely broke off a section of the tree¡¯s branch. The tree did not react, as if it was just a poor innocent little tree. Lin Bianyu snickered and casually threw the branch to the ground: ¡°Nothing impressive.¡± He walked towards the entrance of the courtyard with big steps, but at the moment when he was about to cross the courtyard, his foot suddenly tripped over something. He stumbled a few steps before falling hard into the mud pit beside the road. ¡°You¡ª¡± In the moment when Lin Bianyu fell, his Dantian felt empty and he could not use a trace of sword Qi. It was obviously the cherry blossom tree that pulled this trick. ¡°Just you wait.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s face was blue and he said angrily, ¡°One day, I will chop you up and burn you for firewood!¡± The branches of the cherry blossom tree were tilted up slightly, and if there was an expression, it would have been a provocative one. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: ¡­.. Are you a kid, how can you use such a childish method to get revenge? Gong (seme) who feels wronged: It is still better than raging incompetently. Lin Rufei: Alas, then you have offended my second brother. Lin Bianyu: Who do you like? Xiao Jiu? Laozi[3] wants your life¡ª¡ª ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] I know that it is already 8 chapters in, but in case people didn¡¯t know, Xiao in this case means ¡°little.¡± [2] So the word here is »úÔµ, which can mean, opportunity, chance and destiny. I thought destiny would fit best for right now, but if in the future, chance or opportunity made more sense, I will go back to change it. [3] A haughty/arrogant way of referring to oneself. Makes it sound like they have more status, direct translation is ¡°this old one¡± CH 9 Although his hand was wounded, Lin Rufei had a dreamless night. He woke up the next day feeling refreshed and his cough was also much better. While Fu Hua was helping him get ready, Yu Rui brought over breakfast. Although Lin Rufei didn¡¯t feel like eating, he reluctantly drank half a bowl of porridge under his maid¡¯s scrutinizing gaze. He was being persuaded by Fu Hua to drink the rest when Lin Rufei heard a soft knock at the door. It was followed by his elder brother, Lin Minzhi¡¯s voice: ¡°Xiao Jiu.¡± ¡°Big brother.¡± Lin Rufei answered. Lin Minzhi pushed the door open and entered. He saw Lin Rufei sitting at the table frowning at the food, and smiled: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat, then it¡¯s fine not to.¡± ¡°But Da Gongzi[1], young master has been sick for the past few days and has barely eaten. If he doesn¡¯t eat some more today, I am afraid his body won¡¯t be able to hold up.¡± Fu Hua said quietly. Yu Rui also echoed, saying that our young master refuses to eat properly, they can¡¯t be lenient on this matter. Lin Minzhi said: ¡°No worries, I ordered Wan Yao to make some refreshing medicinal food, I¡¯ll take Xiao Jiu over there now.¡± When Fu Hua and Yu Rui heard this, they did not try to persuade further. Fu Hua bowed her head and then left together with Yu Rui. ¡°Xiao Jiu, let¡¯s go.¡± Lin Minzhi said in a warm voice. Lin Rufei pondered for a moment: ¡°Big brother, let Fu Hua bring the wheelchair in, I¡¯ll go over in the wheelchair.¡± Wan Yao lives on the top of the mountain, if one wants to go there, they would have to fly using the sword. If Lin Rufei does not take the wheelchair, he could only be carried by Lin Minzhi. In the end, he is still a man, being carried around will always be embarrassing. Lin Minzhi smiled and sighed: ¡°Xiao Jiu has grown up, brother is a little nostalgic about the days where he(LMZ) and Tian Jue will carry you around to play together.¡± (t/n: in case you guys forgot, Tian Jue is Lin Bianyu¡¯s courtesy name) Lin Rufei was speechless, although he knew that his eldest brother was teasing him, he was still a little embarrassed. When he was young, he was small and skinny, although there was only a small age gap between him and his two brothers, his body size was much smaller. Some areas on Kunlun Mountain could only be accessed by sword flying, so his two brothers would carry him and fly around. He didn¡¯t feel anything wrong at that time. It wasn¡¯t until Lin Rufei had gotten older that he started to realize that it was a bit inappropriate. Lin Minzhi did not tease Lin Rufei anymore and asked Fu Hua to prepare thick winter clothes and a wheelchair for Lin Rufei. The top of the mountain is different from the bottom of the mountain. Spring is in full swing down there, but the top of the mountain is covered in a blanket of white, with no one in sight for 10,000 miles making it very peaceful. With Lin Minzhi¡¯s sword Qi protection, Lin Rufei did not feel too cold. From the courtyard, the two left on the sword and soon arrived at where Wan Yao was. That courtyard is made of green stones. There was only one building and it was far away. Thus, amongst the blanket of snow, smoke could be seen rising into the air. It at least gave this cold deserted scenery some warmth. Lin Minzhi pushed Lin Rufei into the courtyard. Wan Yao had already been waiting inside the room, and when he saw Lin Rufei and Lin Minzhi coming, he smiled and said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, long time no see.¡± Lin Rufei called out a ¡°Mr. Wan.¡± Wan Yao and his father were about the same age, but if you only look at the appearance, he looked like a man younger than Lin Rufei. His looks are also quite different from ordinary people, with eyebrows and hair white, even the eyelashes were as white as the early winter snow. ¡°Eat something first.¡± Wan Yao made a gesture of invitation. The wooden table in front of him was decorated with all kinds of exquisite food, full of color and fragrance. It looked very appetizing. Although Lin Rufei had no appetite, he also did not want to refuse his senior¡¯s kindness so he lifted the bamboo chopsticks and ate a little bit of the food. Wan Yao and Lin Minzhi also moved their chopsticks and the two started talking about some of the sect matters, most of which were related to the sword competition in the next few days. Lin Rufei¡¯s father, Lin Qionglou, has been in seclusion for the last five years and still has not come out. Lin Minzhi as the eldest son, has taken over all the sect affairs for some years. The matter of seclusion, whether it was a few months or many years, it was unknown when someone would come out. They chatted and Lin Rufei slowly chewed the food. Wan Yao¡¯s cooking skills have always been pretty good. Bland and tasteless silk tofu stewed in chicken stock, accompanied by slightly sweet crushed herbs. The taste was fresh and smooth, but also delicious. But Lin Rufei has always had a poor appetite, so after he ate a small half bowl, he stopped his chopsticks. Wan Yao was talking to Lin Minzhi about Gu Feiyu, who had a sword fight with Lin Bianyu a few days ago. ¡°The Gu family¡¯s fourth son is quite interesting.¡± Wan Yao casually said, ¡°I also saw his heavy blade, it is a good sword. But since Tian Jue participated in the competition, the top place will certainly not fall upon his family, which makes it a bit boring.¡± Lin Minzhi nodded: ¡°Since Tian Jue participated, this sword competition should not have too many twists and turns.¡± Wan Yao said: ¡°In a few years, perhaps not necessarily.¡± Lin Minzhi: ¡°Oh?¡± Wan Yao laughed: ¡°I just got the news that the He family¡¯s Xuyu tree had given birth to six iron-gold walnuts.¡± Lin Minzhi raised his eyebrows: ¡°Really?¡± Wan Yao nodded: ¡°Naturally.¡± He then turned to look at Lin Rufei, who was sitting next to him, and said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, have you been out and about lately?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°These days I have been sick, so I didn¡¯t have the chance.¡± Wan Yao said to Lin Minzhi: ¡°You should have told Xiao Jiu earlier.¡± Lin Minzhi sighed slightly: ¡°It¡¯s Tian Jue who doesn¡¯t wish to ¡­¡­¡± Wan Yao said: ¡°He, ah. Thinks of Xiao Jiu as a glazed doll to love. If held in the hand he is afraid of it breaking. If put into the mouth he fears of it melting. Under his watch, if Xiao Jiu even had a small skin cut, he would make a scene for half a day.¡± Using his young looks, he said words that were full of bitterness. ¡°You need to stop letting him do as he pleases in the future.¡± Lin Minzhi was helpless: ¡°He has a strong mouth, I can not say anything to him.¡± Wan Yao said, ¡°Come on. On this Kunlun Mountain, the ones that are afraid of him cannot be compared to the ones who fear you more. ¡± Lin Minzhi was dumbfounded. Unlike Lin Bianyu¡¯s gentle demeanor, Lin Minzhi, who is the successor to the head of the sect, has a lot of authority. In front of outsiders, his emotions rarely show, and only in front of his relatives, will he show a little. But Lin Rufei knew clearly that his iron-faced brother was more soft-hearted than his second brother. Some things, it was easier to beg him rather than Lin Bianyu. But these things aren¡¯t worth letting outsiders know, so everyone thinks Lin Minzhi is not easy to get along with. Lin Rufei saw Lin Minzhi was dumbfounded by Wan Yao, so he also smiled. Wan Yao said: ¡°Xiao Jiu, you come with me.¡± He waved at Lin Rufei, indicating for Lin Rufei to follow him to the inner room. Lin Rufei got up, adjusted the fox fur, and followed Wan Yao inside. Lin Minzhi sat in place, picked up a cup of hot tea, and took a sip. He lifted his eyes towards the window. It was snowing hard outside, a blanket of white. The distant mountains were not visible and there was no essence of Spring. It was like Lin Rufei¡¯s light-colored eyes, never knowing when it would melt. Wan Yao¡¯s inner room was set up with a huge sand table, used for divination on weekdays. He stopped by the sand table and gestured for Lin Rufei to sit across from him. Wan Yao said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, look at the sand table and tell me what you see.¡± With a wave of his long sleeves, he spread the sand on the sand table into a thin layer. Lin Rufei was slightly nervous and said: ¡°Mr. Wan, are you going to tell my fortune again?¡± Wan Yao smiled lightly: ¡°Sort of.¡± Lin Rufei hummed an agreement then turned his eyes to the sand table. Gradually, the golden sand on the sand table began to slowly wriggle almost like it had a life. It slowly formed into some abstract patterns. Lin Rufei looked at it with some confusion, but as time passed, the picture also started to become more clear. Lin Rufei saw two fishes on the sand table. Two struggling fish, as if they were about to die of thirst. They were in a small puddle, wiggling their bodies and spitting out bubbles, trying hard to moisten each other. Lin Rufei was suddenly a little dizzy and reached out using the sandbox as support. The picture then shifted. One of the two fish leaped out of the puddle, it seemed to be swimming into the wide ocean. Its figure disappeared into the distance, gradually further and further away. The sand table calmed down. Lin Rufei¡¯s face was white, Wan Yao hastily helped him to sit down. ¡°Xiao Jiu?¡± He called out Lin Rufei¡¯s name with some concern. Lin Rufei forced a smile as he said, ¡°Mr. Wan, I don¡¯t quite understand.¡± ¡°What did you see?¡± Wan Yao asked. Lin Rufei described the scene he saw in detail to Wan Yao. The more Wan Yao listened, the quieter he got. After Lin Rufei finished, his eyes furrowed in sorrow. He said: ¡°Moistening each other, forget Jianghu[2] ¡­¡­ Xiao Jiu, which will you choose?¡± This is the story in Zhuangzi[3]. People help each other in humble circumstances, complimenting those in similar situations. The fishes that are trapped in the wagon rut can only spit bubbles between each other to moisten their bodies and survive. But he didn¡¯t know if the words after ¡°mutual help in humble circumstances¡± were worth forgetting each other in Jianghu. The sea is wide enough for the fish to leap. If you give up your attachment, you can see the ocean so you don¡¯t have to be trapped in the marks of a small wheel. Lin Rufei has read Zhuangzi and understands these truths. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Rufei smiled pale-y, ¡°But some years ago, didn¡¯t Mr. Wan divine my fortune for me ¡­¡­¡± Wan Yao said, ¡°Life and breath, the trigrams of all life. Some people¡¯s lives cannot be seen through divination.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened up a bit. Wan Yao said: ¡°Oh well. If I ask you now, you might not be able to understand.¡± He had a head of white and had a compassionate look, like the Buddha sitting in the temple, ¡°Go back. Thinking it through slowly might be best. Also, that cherry blossom tree is indeed your destiny. Although blessing and disaster are unpredictable, it is still better than the life of a pool of stagnant water.¡± Lin Rufei balled his hand into fists[4] and bowed. The two were still talking when a bird¡¯s song resounded from outside the house. Lin Rufei raised his eyes to see a beautiful green-feathered eagle resting on the edge of the window. He recognizes this eagle, it is Lin Bianyu¡¯s messenger. But nowadays, if something was happening, Lin Bianyu would tell him personally, he rarely used the eagle. ¡°Yo, Xiao Qingluan, why did you come over.¡± Wan Yao smiled and reached out, Qingluan then flew into the house and landed on his arm. Wan Yao said, ¡°Does Tian Jue have something urgent?¡± Qingluan opened its mouth and emitted a sound that was exactly like Lin Bianyu. Except, this voice was a bit more gloomy. It said: ¡°Immediately notify my elder brother to come back to the mountain. Someone has come with the Qiong Hua order.¡± When Wan Yao and Lin Rufei heard this, their faces changed slightly. Qiong Hua order. Only the Kunlun sect master can issue this order. The one who holds this order, regardless of identity or origin, the Kunlun sect must fulfill any of their requests. The Qiong Hua order has not been seen for a hundred years. Now that it has suddenly appeared, there was a sense of foreboding. ******** The author has something to say: The two brothers were sour: little brother has grown up, he won¡¯t let us hug him anymore. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­.. I am already twenty something! The two brothers: Even if you¡¯re twenty something, you¡¯re still our little brother. You¡¯ll always be our little brother. Lin Rufei: Why do I feel like you guys are cursing? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Eldest young master [2] Rivers and Lakes: basically a word for the martial arts world. [3] Daoist author (369-286 BC) [4] I think I forgot to footnote this last time, but here it is. CH 10 t/n) Just wanted to clarify some things, Kunlun Sect and Kunlun Sword Sect are both the same. Sometimes the author adds the ¡°sword¡± in the name, and sometimes the author doesn¡¯t. I just follow what the author has written. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Kunlun Sect has not seen the Qiong Hua order in a hundred years. Now that it suddenly appeared, there was a sense of foreboding. With the Qiong Hua order out, something big must have happened. Wan Yao looked grave and told this matter to Lin Minzhi. After Lin Minzhi finished listening, he got up to say goodbye. He looked towards Lin Rufei: ¡°Xiao Jiu, I¡¯ll send you back to the courtyard first, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with big brother.¡± Lin Rufei knew that the matter was urgent and could not be delayed, so he said, ¡°So as to not delay.¡± Lin Minzhi thought for a moment and then nodded his head. This was indeed an urgent matter, so there should be no mistakes. So he pushed Lin Rufei and went straight to the front mountain. At this time, there were already a lot of Lin children and disciples gathered in the front hall, and when they saw Lin Rufei and Lin Minzhi, they all bowed. But after the salute, many people¡¯s eyes quietly fell on Lin Rufei. In Kunlun Sect, although there is only Lin Qionglou who is with direct lineage, there were countless side branches of the family. These disciples knew that the Lin family has four children, but Lin Rufei rarely shows his face, so not many people have seen him. So when they saw Lin Minzhi pushing a handsome young man in fox fur with a pale face, they all more or less cast some curious glances. Lin Rufei was also used to such stares, so he looked indifferent as if he did not hear them. ¡°Why is Rufei also here?¡± In front of the people, Lin Bianyu did not call Lin Rufei by his nickname. He slowly walked out from the crowd, his black eyes were heavy, seemingly unhappy. ¡°I¡¯m the one who wanted to come along to take a look.¡± Before Lin Minzhi could answer, Lin Rufei spoke first, saying, ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about my second brother.¡± Lin Bianyu smiled as he swept away his displeasure and said, ¡°Second brother is fine, so there is no need for Rufei to worry.¡± Lin Minzhi said helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business first, is the Qiong Hua order true?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s voice turned cold, ¡°Would someone dare come to Kunlun with a fake Qiong Hua order to seek death?¡± ¡°Where is the person?¡± Lin Minzhi asked. ¡°In the tea room.¡± Lin Bianyu said, as he stepped forward and walked behind Lin Rufei¡¯s wheelchair, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Lin Minzhi sighed and did not argue with his brother. In the tea room, light incense curled. They pushed open the bead curtains and Lin Rufei saw the holder of the Qiong Hua order¡ªthe one who Kunlun Sect regarded as a big enemy. It was just that when he saw this man, he could not help but be shocked. Lin Minzhi also noticed. ¡°Rufei has seen this person?¡± Lin Minzhi asked in a low voice. ¡°When I went down to the mountains with Fu Hua once before, I had seen him once by the bridge.¡± Lin Rufei said. That day there was drizzling rain. With the sound of the flute, the swordsman wearing a hat was leaning against the bridge. He was singing to the rain in the cool breeze full of the remaining sword intent. The most impressive was his pair of blue eyes that peaked out through the bamboo hat. As if it was dipped in the water of the finest jade. It carried a hint of coolness¡ªreally beautiful. At this time, the swordsman by the bridge sat in the tea room of Kunlun Sect. He was still wearing the bamboo hat with a black veil and was holding onto the sword hilt at his waist. On the table in front of him, there was a small token made with a jadeite base and gold threads. This was the Qiong Hua order that Lin Rufei had never seen before. Lin Minzhi walked up to the swordsman and said, ¡°How should I address this honorable one?¡± The swordsman spoke, his voice hoarse: ¡°Wang Teng[1].¡± Lin Minzhi said, ¡°Since Mr. Wang has come to Kunlun Mountain with the Qiong Hua order, he is an honored guest of the Kunlun Sect. However, my father is still in seclusion, so if you make a request that is beyond my ability, you will have to wait until my father comes out of seclusion to fulfill the promise.¡± He had only taken over part of the affairs of the Kunlun Sect now, and there were still some things that were not up to him to decide. Wang Teng said, ¡°No need for him, you can meet my requirements now.¡± With these words, the atmosphere in the room instantly froze. Lin Minzhi and Lin Bianyu both looked quite grave. They stared deadly at Wang Teng. They vaguely sensed that Wang Teng¡¯s request did not seem to be as easy as he said. ¡°I want to compete with swords.¡± Wang Teng¡¯s tone was calm and sounded emotionless, ¡°With the most powerful swordsman on this Kunlun Mountain.¡± Lin Minzhi and Lin Bianyu were both relieved, this request was hardly a request. Kunlun Sect was known for its swordplay, swordplay was as common as drinking and eating. However, Wang Teng continued: ¡°This sword match, I will use all my strength. No matter life or death, no one is allowed to intervene.¡± Lin Bianyu felt something in his heart, with a smile he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know who Mr. Wang would like to have a sword fight with. With my father in seclusion, if my sword skills are number two, then no one dares ask who¡¯s number one.¡± ¡°Lin Bianyu!¡± Lin Minzhi scolded angrily in a low voice, ¡°Who gave you permission to interrupt!¡± Lin Bianyu smiled, ¡°Brother, are my words false?¡± Naturally, there was no falseness. However, this Wang Teng person in front of him did not know the advantages and disadvantages of things. When Lin Bianyu spoke out, he just wanted Wang Teng to direct his attention to himself. He did not feel comfortable letting Lin Minzhi go and Lin Minzhi did not feel comfortable letting his brother go. If the other could take out the Qiong Hua order, and make such a request, he was definitely not someone that was going to be easy to deal with. Wang Teng¡¯s gaze indeed fell onto Lin Bianyu. Although the black veil on the bamboo hat formed a temporary barrier, Lin Rufei could feel that the air was filled with anxiousness. ¡°It is said that the swordplay at Kunlun Sect is one of a kind.¡± Wang Teng said, ¡°Then I naturally want to find the most powerful swordsman on this mountain to compete with.¡± He spoke extremely slowly as if he was spitting out each word with all his might. Lin Bianyu smiled with relief and said, ¡°Naturally¡± Who knew that Wang Teng would change his tone and said coldly, ¡°Unfortunately, you are not the most powerful swordsman on this Kunlun Mountain.¡± The smile on Lin Bianyu¡¯s face disappeared instantly, and Tianxiao that was slung at his waist buzzed slightly. He said expressionlessly, ¡°Does Mr. Wang intend to wait until my father comes out of seclusion?¡± Wang Teng said indifferently, ¡°Foolish.¡± Lin Bianyu stiffly suppressed his anger: ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Wang Teng said, ¡°Lin Qionglou has been in seclusion for five years and has not even broken to the next realm, so is he still worthy of being called the number one swordsman?¡± He raised his hand, with a hint of excitement in his tone, ¡°Good thing you still have someone on Kunlun Mountain who won¡¯t let me down¡ª¡± he raised his hand and pointed to the person beside Lin Bianyu, ¡°I want to compete with him.¡± The person beside Lin Bianyu was not Lin Minzhi, but Lin Rufei, who was sitting in a wheelchair with a face pale like paper. All of a sudden, Lin Bianyu and Lin Minzhi¡¯s expressions turned as ugly as can be. Lin Minzhi said, ¡°Mr. Wang, my younger brother Lin Rufei is weak and has never practiced sword fighting. You want to compete with him? I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s not suitable.¡± Wang Teng said coldly, ¡°Lin Da Gongzi, is my Qiong Hua order fake?¡± Lin Minzhi¡¯s face turned blue, and the back of Lin Bianyu¡¯s hand that was holding the hilt of Tianxiao Sword was bursting with light-colored veins. He had obviously exerted himself to the extreme. He gritted out the words: ¡°Mr. Wang actually wanted to find someone who hadn¡¯t cultivated before to compete with swords?¡± Wang Teng replied: ¡°Yes.¡± If not for Lin Minzhi¡¯s quick eyes and hands holding down Lin Bianyu¡¯s hand, he was afraid Tianxiao would be unsheathed by now. Facing the murderous Lin Bianyu, Wang Teng snorted. He slightly held his hat, and his pair of turquoise eyes appeared: ¡°Lin Da Gongzi, I will ask once again, this competition, is it possible or not?¡± ¡°Possible.¡± Lin Rufei, who was sitting in a wheelchair, opened his mouth lightly. His voice was not loud, but it was like a drum that shook heavily against Lin Minzhi¡¯s and Lin Bianyu¡¯s chests. Lin Rufei had a gentle expression as if he was agreeing to something unimportant. He said slowly: ¡°According to the rules of Kunlun Sect, with the Qiong Hua Order in hand, Kunlun Sect will agree to all of Mr. Wang¡¯s requests. It¡¯s just that I have truly never practiced swordplay, so if I really compete, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to let you enjoy yourself.¡± Wang Teng said: ¡°Then I will have misjudged.¡± ¡°Rufei!¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s expression was extremely ugly. He grabbed Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t talk anymore, stop messing around!¡± ¡°Brother.¡± Lin Rufei twisted his head to look at Lin Bianyu. After clearly seeing the expression on Lin Bianyu¡¯s face, his heart ached a little. It has probably been many years and Lin Bianyu has never shown such a wretched look. Those eyes, which have always contained a smile, even took on some not-so-subtle supplication. He was praying, praying for his beloved brother to back down. As long as Lin Rufei did not agree, even if the rules of the Kunlun Sect were broken, he did not care. However, Lin Bianyu was destined to be disappointed. Lin Rufei¡¯s light-colored eyes held no signs of backing down. He looked at him and said word by word: ¡°Second brother, you must not forget that my surname is also Lin.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s body trembled tremendously. That¡¯s right. Although Lin Rufei was weak, he was also surnamed Lin, ah. On Kunlun Mountain, the people who were surnamed Lin did not fear life and death, nor did they cower away. This was the brother of Lin Bianyu, even if he had never learned the sword. Even so, was he supposed to just watch Lin Rufei die under Wang Teng¡¯s sword? Lin Bianyu took a step back and stopped talking. Lin Minzhi tried his best to control his voice, but his slightly trembling voice revealed his feelings at this moment: ¡°I wonder when Mr. Wang would like to have a sword competition with Rufei?¡± ¡°I have a lot of places to go and I¡¯m also very busy.¡± Wang Teng said, ¡°So tomorrow is fine. You guys set the place.¡± Lin Minzhi said okay. Wang Teng got up and was about to leave the tea room, but when he crossed paths with Lin Bianyu, he paused slightly and said seriously, ¡°Your killing intent is good, but unfortunately, your swordplay is still three points short.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s face was expressionless: ¡°Is that so.¡± Wang Teng said: ¡°In a few years, perhaps I would still be interested in fighting with you, but unfortunately.¡± He held his hat and said coldly, ¡°You are not worthy of my sword now.¡± Lin Rufei could see that Lin Bianyu was using all his strength to control the urge to draw his sword, and he didn¡¯t move a bit until Wang Teng walked far away. Lin Minzhi also stood still. The atmosphere in the tea room was frighteningly stiff. Lin Rufei had to wheel his chair to the tableside. He casually picked up the piece of Qiong Hua order, laughing: ¡°It is my first time seeing this thing, I did not expect it to be so beautiful.¡± ¡°Xiao Jiu¡ª¡± Lin Minzhi called out. ¡°Brother, I know what you want to say.¡± Lin Rufei said calmly, ¡°You guys have protected me for more than twenty years, I just want to protect you guys for once like you protected me.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Lin Bianyu: My brother is poor, weak and helpless. Someone actually wants to bully him ! ! ! ! Wang Teng: If you hadn¡¯t mention it, I thought the mountain peak was cut down by you. Lin Bianyu: My brother is poor, weak and helpless, he simply cut down a peak and someone wants to bully him! ! ! Wang Teng: ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Wang Teng means King dragon CH 11 The news about Wang Teng and Lin Rufei¡¯s sword competition was spread throughout the entire Kunlun Mountain in just half a day. When Zuo Yuanbai heard the news, he was eating the most famous rice cake at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. The rice cake was sweet and soft with crumbles of honey dates placed on top¡ªvery delicious. Zuo Yuanbai ate another piece when he saw Tian Yun hurrying over. He sat down beside him with an excited face. He slapped the table and said that he had big news to tell Zuo Yuanbai, telling Zuo Yuanbai to take out a low-grade spirit stone to treat him to a cup of freshly brewed Dukang[1]. Zuo Yuanbai chewed the rice cake. He chuckled and told Tian Yun to tell the news first. If the news was interesting, then he will definitely buy this cup of Dukang. Tian Yun said, ¡°Just this morning, did you know that a swordsman wearing a bamboo hat came to Kunlun with the Qiong Hua order¡­¡­¡± Zuo Yuanbai was shocked at the words, ¡°Do you mean that legendary Qiong Hua order?¡± ¡°How many other Qiong Hua orders are there in the world?¡± Tian Yun took a piece of rice cake from Zuo Yuanbai¡¯s hand and chewed it. He continued, ¡°A hundred years ago, a nine-year-old child took the Qiong Hua order and approached the then head of Kunlun, saying that he was a descendant of the Yan Kingdom and that his request was to restore the kingdom. At that time, who did not take this as a joke, the one who defeated the Yan Kingdom was the Great Chu, and at that time the Great Chu was so strong that it could only be a dream to restore the kingdom.¡± Tian Yun said excitedly, his spit flying everywhere, ¡°However, who could have imagined that after only twenty years, Yan Kingdom was actually restored¡­¡­¡± Although the word Kunlun was not mentioned at all from the beginning to the end, if one really wanted to say that there was no relationship with the Kunlun Sect, most likely no one would believe it. To this day, the Qiong Hua order was famous all over the world and everyone wanted to get a piece. However, a hundred years have passed, no second piece of Qiong Hua order had appeared, until today¡ª Zuo Yuanbai also followed the excitement, he said: ¡°Someone really took the Qiong Hua order to Kunlun? What did he ask for?¡± Tian Yun said: ¡°The best part is here, the one who took the Qiong Hua order to Kunlun is a swordsman. Once he arrived at the mountain, he said he wanted to compete with the most powerful swordsman on Kunlun Mountain¡ª¡± Zuo Yuanbai froze: ¡°What kind of request is that? Now that Lin Qionglou is still in seclusion, the most powerful, is it not the second son of the Lin family, Lin Bianyu?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s all, what am I excited about?¡± Tian Yun¡¯s spittle flew, ¡°Here¡¯s the problem, that swordsman actually said that Lin Bianyu was not the most powerful swordsman on Kunlun Mountain.¡± ¡°Then who is it?¡± Zuo Yuanbai froze again. Tian Yun said, ¡°The fourth son of the Lin family, Lin Rufei!¡± Lin Rufei? That is a good name, but he has never heard of it. Zuo Yuanbai thought about it, but nothing came to mind. ¡°The fourth son of the Lin Family?¡± Zuo Yuanbai wondered, ¡°How come I¡¯ve never heard of him?¡± Tian Yun said, ¡°If you never heard of it then that¡¯s the point! I also asked around for a long time before finally getting some information. They said that the fourth of the Lin family, ah, his body was born weak and since childhood, he has never held a sword¡­¡­ But if this is true, then it¡¯s really strange. Why would the swordsman say that he is the strongest on Kunlun Mountain?¡± Zuo Yuanbai said: ¡°It is very strange, ah.¡± Tian Yun said: ¡°But we just have to wait until tomorrow. Then we will know what is going on! Maybe ¡­¡­ that swordsman is not a powerful person in the first place and just grabbed a soft persimmon to pinch?¡± Zuo Yuanbai shook his head, thinking that there was little truth in those words. That Qiong Hua order was not something that you could just get your hands on, how could you use it to make such a joke. Speaking of which, Zuo Yuanbai suddenly murmured: ¡°To say powerful, I do think that, that day the swordsman who was in the loft above the sword competition was definitely strong. He was able to break the northern peak with one swing¡­..¡± That day, their position wasn¡¯t considered too far from the loft and they were able to clearly witness everything that had happened. The swordsman on the wheelchair, who had a pale face and was wearing fox fur, lifted his arm to swing the heavy sword. It was a light swing, but it split the north peak. After this incident, it became widespread but no one knew the identity of the swordsman. There were rumors that he was an immortal exiled from the nine heavens. Of course, the rumors could not be trusted. But a real immortal would probably look kind of just like that. Zuo Yuanbai was lost in his thoughts. Tian Yun also quieted down, he was probably the same as Zuo Yuanbai, reminiscing about that day. Besides, tomorrow on Kunlun Mountain will be the sword competition. However, Lin Rufei did not feel any restlessness, as if it was just another normal day for him. He could hold it together, but the young Yu Rui could not. After knowing this news, she has been crying nonstop with tears like broken lines of beads. She even soaked her entire front lapel but still couldn¡¯t stop. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know how to comfort her, so he could only take out two pieces of corn candy to coax her, but Yu Rui said in a huff that she did not want to eat the candy. She said that young master should not go to the sword competition tomorrow, but after she said that she realized that this request was destined to be unfulfilled and the tears came out again. Lin Rufei could not comfort her, so he had to watch her cry with a sad face. In the end, Fu Hua came in and pulled her out, saying fiercely: ¡°Young master is fine, why are you crying. If you want to cry, go out and cry! It¡¯s such an eyesore!¡± Fu Hua rarely was this violent, most likely it was also because she was upset about the matter of Lin Rufei being in a sword competition. Yu Rui went out crying, but before she left she did not forget to eat a piece of corn candy. Probably because the taste of sugar was good, the little girl could not help but release a smile. But then she quickly became sad again and left whimpering. Lin Rufei looked at her and had the urge to laugh. Fu Hua sullenly said: ¡°Today, whatever young master wants to eat, I will go to town to buy it for young master.¡± Lin Rufei turned his head to look at her: ¡°Fu Hua, you are not allowed to go to town today.¡± Fu Hua bit her lip heavily. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Fu Hua pouted, ¡°Young Master ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Throwing a tantrum won¡¯t work.¡± As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Fu Hua began to sob heavily. Her aggrieved look was somewhat similar to Yu Rui¡¯s. Normally, Lin Rufei really had no way to comfort them when they were like this, but in this case, Lin Rufei was not going to back down. He stroked Fu Hua¡¯s head, which was one head shorter than himself, and helplessly said: ¡°Be good, do not cry, since that person dares come to Kunlun, he naturally has his own ways of doing things. Your cultivation is only level six, how could you be his opponent?¡± ¡°Then what about young master?¡± Fu Hua¡¯s tears fell like rain, ¡°Can we only watch as young master you go to your death?¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Why be sad about death, it is better to look at it optimistically.¡± Fu Hua said with hatred, ¡°If anyone dares to sing with a drum[2], I will break their hand!¡± Lin Rufei laughed. But how could Fu Hua laugh, her tears were still dripping sorrowfully. Lin Rufei could not help it, so he found an excuse to say he was hungry to send her out to make some food. Once Fu Hua left, the room was quiet. Lin Rufei sat in front of the window, propped his chin up and looked at the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. The tree had not changed, it was still thin and small. No branches, no leaves, and the trunk still bare. It looked very pitiful. ¡°The year I turned sixteen, I was very sick. My second brother found Wan Yao to come and diagnose me.¡± Lin Rufei muttered to himself, ¡°Both of them thought I was sick to the point of being confused, so some of the words were said openly. Second brother asked Wan Yao how much time I had left. Wan Yao replied that I had less than a year standing.¡± Thirty years old. Wan Yao¡¯s words were to say that Lin Rufei would not live past thirty years old. ¡°I heard it all.¡± Lin Rufei very plainly talked about the matters of life and death, ¡°I was still young then. I was upset for a few days but then I figured it out.¡± He curved his eyebrows. In his light-colored eyes, the hidden cherry blossom revealed itself slightly, ¡°Matters of life and death shouldn¡¯t be held in such high regards.¡± The person will eventually die, fearless and also intrepid. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I am very happy to have such good brothers and such a good sister. I am also very happy to have met you.¡± That night, he will never forget. He later understood that the sword took him to where his fixation was. Lin Rufei¡¯s ** was already frail. Those days, he just wanted to be able to bully the monkeys who stole his rice cake at least once. He just wanted to see the Monkey King¡¯s aggrieved look, only to find that he bullied it a little too hard. When Lin Rufei thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help but smile lightly. The wind suddenly rustled in the courtyard. Upon taking a closer look, the cherry blossom tree actually sprouted a few bright green tender leaves. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°You ¡­¡­ how come you haven¡¯t bloomed any flowers but are already sprouting leaves. ¡° Naturally, the tree could not speak. But looking at its shaking figure, it seems to be kind of angry. Lin Rufei quickly said: ¡°No matter, no matter. I also like cherry blossom leaves!¡± Only then did the cherry blossom tree stop moving. Lin Rufei looked at the tree and felt some inexplicable sadness. This cherry blossom tree was unpleasant in the eyes of his second brother. If he really died, maybe his second brother would draw his sword and cut it to pieces the next moment. ¡°No matter, tomorrow I will remember to talk to second brother about this matter.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°Lest you be implicated with me when the time comes ¡­¡­¡± Time flowed, the moon was sparse, and it was yet another day. Lin Rufei reclined on the couch, smelling the cool breeze. He slept with the bright moon. The sky was cloudless, it will most likely be a clear day tomorrow. Good, Lin Rufei thought. He likes clear Spring days, the Spring breeze, the luscious plants and trees, and the cherry blossom trees with new leaves. All is well. The next day, the sky was clear. Fu Hua woke up early to prepare breakfast for Lin Rufei. She and Yu Rui both looked tired, probably because they had not slept all night. Lin Rufei had slept well, but he was inexplicably embarrassed by the grim looks of Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Fu Hua said: ¡°Young master, did you have a good rest last night?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Not ¡­¡­ bad?¡± When Yu Rui heard this she sniffed and cried again, saying that young master shouldn¡¯t try to be strong in order to keep them from worrying. He must have had a sleepless night but did not dare tell. Lin Rufei looked helpless, so he had to take out another piece of corn candy, and only then did he stop Yu Rui¡¯s sobbing mouth. After breakfast, it was almost time for the competition with Wang Teng. Lin Rufei summoned Fu Hua and asked her to push him to the place that had been decided on yesterday. This time, the sword competition was not on the mountain, but rather a sword platform deep in the forest. Most likely because of certain considerations, Lin Minzhi did not intend to make the competition public when he decided on this place. Fu Hua walked extremely slowly, while Yu Rui followed with her head hanging down. But even though she was slow, the road still had an end. Lin Rufei finally arrived at the place they had agreed. He saw Wang Teng standing in the middle of a clearing wearing a bamboo hat like yesterday. Lin Bianyu and Lin Minzhi were not far away from Wang Teng. It was just that Lin Bianyu and Lin Minzhi¡¯s expressions weren¡¯t too good, especially Lin Bianyu¡¯s. His face was pale and he was reluctant to look at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei called out to his big brother and second brother. ¡°Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Minzhi said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Why does second brother look so pale?¡± Before Lin Bianyu could answer, Wang Teng laughed. Only this laugh was icy cold, like a snake¡¯s hissing. He said, ¡°Of course that is because your second brother, for your sake, met me at night¡­..it¡¯s a pity. Wang Teng said coldly again: ¡°It¡¯s a pity he was half beaten to death by me.¡± Lin Rufei turned back, gathered his smile, and looked into Wang Teng¡¯s eyes¡ªno longer with a trace of warmth. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei rolled up his sleeves: You dare to beat up my second brother, I will make you bald. Wang Teng: ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Type of wine, also in reference to a famous Chinese winemaker. [2] Ok, this gets lost in translation because of how Chinese works. So the response before Fu Hua¡¯s, where Lin Rufei says to have an optimistic attitude, it uses the idiom ¡°¹ÄÅè¶ø¸è,¡± which means to see life and death optimistically. But also at the same time, the direct meaning is like the one Fu Hua says, ¡°Daring to sing with a drum.¡± So basically both sentences use the same phrase, but because of the meanings it¡¯s translated differently. Hope that clears things up a bit ^-^ CH 12 When Wang Teng said this, Lin Bianyu was not angry. He calmly said: ¡°Yesterday, you said so yourself, that you wanted to compete with the most powerful swordsman in Kunlun. If you couldn¡¯t even block my sword, how can you be qualified to face Rufei?¡± If Wang Teng only knew that Lin Rufei was weak and sickly and had not practiced swordplay. And was just using him to make a name for himself, even if he died under Lin Bianyu¡¯s sword, it would not be injustice. However, last night, Wang Teng proved his strength in front of Lin Bianyu. Wang Teng was indeed powerful, and his sword style treacherous. It was more suitable for assassins that sneaked attack rather than such an open and honest sword competition. If you say it was on the wide sword stage, Lin Bianyu still had a seven-point chance of winning, but if it comes to the complex night terrain, the chance of victory will only be three points. This was the case last night. Lin Bianyu was defeated. Wang Teng did not want to waste any more time. He turned his head to look at Lin Rufei and raised his hand to unsheathe his sword. That sword, Lin Bianyu had seen it last night. It was three feet long and two inches wide. Its body was blue with a black python pattern. Held in his hand, it was like a soft green snake¡ªable to easily take the life of a person. Last night, Lin Bianyu nearly died under this sword. Unlike ordinary famous swords, this was a murder weapon designed to kill. Once it was unsheathed, it would see blood. Wang Teng pulled out the snow white blade. There was a unique foul smell coming from it. It smelled like fresh blood. The Spring breeze carried the foul air and smacked Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks. Wang Teng smiled and said in a voice as gentle as that of a lover, ¡°It¡¯s named Qingji[1], please, Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Minzhi stepped forward and stood beside Lin Rufei. He whispered, ¡°Rufei, wait a little longer, I summoned Gu Feiyu to bring over Zhongfeng, he should be here soon.¡± Lin Minzhi didn¡¯t go meet with Wang Teng during the night. He was thinking of a more tactful method. That day, in the loft above the sword stage, Lin Rufei used Zhongfeng to split Kunlun¡¯s north peak. He thought that Zhongfeng and Lin Rufei at least had some affinity. Although he didn¡¯t know if Lin Rufei could still use Zhongfeng, it was still better than going to the sword platform empty-handed. But Lin Rufei knew that Zhongfeng was not his own sword. He was about to say something when he felt his wheelchair being pushed by a pair of hands, and when he looked behind him, there was no one there. ¡°Rufei¡ª¡± Lin Minzhi was stunned, he thought that Lin Rufei had slid his wheelchair by himself. ¡°Big brother, nothing is wrong.¡± Lin Rufei remembered something and softly reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Xiao Jiu¡ª¡± Lin Bianyu was anxious and even called out Lin Rufei¡¯s nickname. Lin Rufei turned his back to Lin Bianyu, waved his hand, and did not speak. He was afraid that if he said too much, it would let those two people worry more. Someone was accompanying him, although that person could not be seen, his heart was reassured. Even Wang Teng, who was on the sword stage and could take his life any moment, wasn¡¯t as scary anymore. Lin Rufei smiled lightly. Wang Teng really liked the expression on Lin Rufei¡¯s face. He had competed with many swordsmen and had taken many heads. Those people would show the fear hidden in their bones when they faced him. Wild beasts were very sensitive to these emotions, and Wang Teng could see through their disguise with a glance. But Lin Rufei seemed to be a little special. He looks handsome but was very thin. He could clearly see his neck¡¯s fragile curvature and the hidden light blue veins on top. His white neck was very tempting. Wang Teng really liked to watch it being gently cut, splashing out bright red liquid. This imagination makes him excited and also brings fear to the enemy. However, Lin Rufei seemed to feel no negative emotions from Wang Teng. He was calm. His pupils, which were lighter than normal people, stared coldly at Wang Teng. He was neither fearful nor excited, as if looking at some plain roadside weed. This indifferentness made Wang Teng very interested. He raised his hand to remove the bamboo hat, revealing a face belonging to a foreign race. This face was a little too young, it was about sixteen or seventeen years old, however, the most striking was the pair of ice green eyes. It was the first time Lin Rufei saw such cold eyes. It was like ice that sunk to the bottom of the lake and could not store a single trace of warmth. ¡°Twenty-three years ago, it was the birth of a son on Kunlun Mountain. That day the sunset turned into a phoenix and flew around Kunlun and only until night did it gradually disperse.¡± Wang Teng¡¯s voice was hoarse. He stared at Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes, like staring at a long-awaited prey. The only trace of reason left in his pupils began to gradually dissipate, only the excitement of the remaining beast remained, ¡°My master then told me that this world had another person who could take my life!¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face was expressionless. ¡°Ten thousand birds taking the form of a phoenix is the sign only when the Heavenly Ruler was born. And you Lin Rufei had this sign too. Even though you cannot compare to the Heavenly Ruler, I think you won¡¯t be too unsatisfactory.¡± Wang Teng said, ¡°That day when I saw you by the bridge, I knew I had found the right person¡ªLin Rufei, you are very strong!¡± Lin Rufei looked at Wang Teng. He was sitting in a wheelchair, his face as pale as the snow on the top of the mountain. He should be afraid. If the person in front of him could beat Lin Bianyu, it would certainly be an opponent that he could not defeat. But Lin Rufei was not afraid. Not only was he not afraid, he also raised his hand to support his chin. He just surveyed the enemy standing opposite to him indifferently. This was the first time Fu Hua saw this expression of Lin Rufei. Compared to his usual expression, this was more foreign. However, currently, Fu Hua could not think about it too much, she smelled on Wang Teng¡¯s body that increasingly strong smell of blood. It was almost as if he just killed countless wild animals, cut open their throats, and let their blood soak in the smell of the Earth. Yu Rui cultivation was the lowest and she already couldn¡¯t help but vomit. Fu Hua was also pale. But it just so happens that Lin Rufei, who was sitting opposite Wang Teng, remained indifferent. He indeed could not smell the fishy smell. All he could smell was the light fragrance of cherry blossom. The person who was accompanying him appeared behind him. His hand rested gently on his shoulder. His voice was slightly cool and he said: ¡°Xiao Jiu, angry?¡± Lin Rufei did not answer. He knew that everyone present could not see the person behind him, and could not hear his question. ¡°You¡¯re right to be angry, what kind of cats and dogs are worthy to speak out in front of you.¡± The man lowered his head and came close to Lin Rufei¡¯s ear. His black hair fell onto Lin Rufei¡¯s neck, bringing a few tickles. He whispered, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯m here.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned into a gust of wind, interspersed with rustling cherry blossom petals, which spread over the entire sword platform. The sudden appearance of cherry blossom petals spread its fresh aroma over the entire sword platform, strongly suppressing the rich smell of blood on Wang Teng. Wang Teng stared at Lin Rufei. There seems to be a fire in his green eyes. The fire gathered and tumbled in his eyes before finally brewing into a wave of monstrous anger. Qingjing[2] was unsheathed and Wang Teng made the first move. In a flash, four green sword lights spurt out. It was wrapped in the power of wind and thunder and it slashed directly at Lin Rufei. The raging sword power actually resonated with the sky and a thunderstorm erupted. The original clear sky was instantly covered with dark clouds, interspersed with golden threads. It was as if the world had turned upside down. The cherry blossoms that originally covered the sword stage were blown into mid-air by the wind. Lin Rufei sat amidst the rain of flowers petals, without sorrow or joy¡ªlike a sitting Buddha. The green sword Qi was like a predatory tiger. It was about to pounce on his face. This sword light was more terrifying than poison, as long as it touched even the slightest bit, they would be torn to pieces. The time in Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes froze. Wang Teng¡¯s movements were incomparably slow in his eyes, even the swift tiger-like green sword Qi, also seemed to just be wriggling. Lin Rufei raised his hand and his middle and index fingers gently caught a petal of cherry blossom that was blown upwards. He slightly tilted his head, then the petal in his hand flew out like a knife blade. The petal instantly turned into blood-red sword Qi and lunged towards the green sword Qi. The two swords Qi collided. First, a loud sound that could shake Heaven and Earth rang out, and then all was quiet. Standing at the side of the sword platform, Fu Hua¡¯s ears were buzzing. She turned her head in bewilderment and saw Yu Rui¡¯s mouth opening and closing, but there was no sound. After that, she felt as if something wet was flowing out her ears, she raised her hand to wipe and saw that her fingers were stained with bright red blood. Yu Rui at her side did the same. The level of this competition was not something they could watch. It was only the first strike, yet their ears were already deafened. On the stage, Wang Teng¡¯s pupils stood up, and inconspicuous scales began to faintly emerge on both sides of his face. He looked at Lin Rufei on the other side of the sword platform, his voice was hoarse: ¡°I just wanted to know why Master would praise a person he has never met before for so many years. Lin Rufei, it¡¯s just a name. A living human could not even compare to a name?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I don¡¯t know you, nor do I know your master.¡± ¡°You naturally wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Wang Teng said coldly, ¡°But I have known you for twenty-three years.¡± But Lin Rufei laughed and looked at Wang Teng like a child who was provoking a fight: ¡°So what?¡± Wang Teng seemed to be irritated by Lin Rufei¡¯s smile, and he hissed, ¡°So what? Just after today, after today, your Lin family disciples, the whole Kunlun Sect, will remember my name, Wang Teng! It was I who killed you, Lin Rufei, I am the most powerful sword immortal!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You have already made your move, now it¡¯s my turn.¡± He didn¡¯t intentionally emphasize the tone of his voice but Wang Teng¡¯s heart inexplicably shrank and his feet involuntarily took a step back. It was like a beast reacting involuntarily when it found a deadly enemy, and Wang Teng¡¯s green pupils contracted violently. A thin, slender cherry blossom branch appeared out of nowhere in mid-air. Lin Rufei understood it by heart and raised his hand to hold it. Standing beside the sword platform, Lin Bianyu¡¯s pupils shrank slightly, and his injured cheeks turned a few shades whiter. He recognized the branch, it was the one which he had secretly broken off the cherry blossom tree before. Because of this, he was tripped by the tree and fell. At this time, the seemingly unexceptional cherry blossom branch that appeared in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand turned into a fearsome existence. The thick dark clouds above Lin Rufei¡¯s head began to gather into a huge storm, and the gusts of wind even began to uproot the surrounding trees. However, Lin Rufei sat on the sword platform, as steady as a mountain. He raised his hand and lightly made a swing. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Qingji means Green Thorns [2] No clue if this is the author¡¯s typo but this was how it was writtened. Still means Green Thorns though. CH 13 Gu Feiyu arrived a little late. He was carrying Zhongfeng on his back and when he reached the sword platform, he just saw the cherry blossoms flying out of Lin Rufei¡¯s hands, breaking the green sword Qi that Wang Teng had cleaved. Panting, Gu Feiyu flew to Lin Minzhi¡¯s side and said, ¡°Finally, I found the place¡­¡­ Kunlun Mountain is too big, Lin gongzi, do you need me to send Zhongfeng to the sword platform?¡± Lin Minzhi said, ¡°No need.¡± Gu Feiyu frowned and said, ¡°But Lin Si Gongzi[1] is barehanded ¡­¡­¡± He was only able to say half when the rest of the words were stuck in his throat. This was because, on the stage, Lin Rufei suddenly raised his hand and pulled out a thin branch. The branch didn¡¯t have any flowers or leaves and it looked slender and fragile. But when held by Lin Rufei¡¯s pale hand, it vaguely let out a horrifying aura. Zhongfeng, which was on Gu Feiyu¡¯s back, suddenly began to buzz. At first, Gu Feiyu thought that Zhongfeng was excited, but when Lin Rufei calmly swung down the cherry blossom branch, he realized that Zhongfeng was actually terrified. Lin Rufei had never practiced with swords when he was young and therefore did not know any moves. He raised his hand and waved his sword as plain as a child. But Wang Teng, who was standing opposite him, showed a frightened expression. Wang Teng did not understand Lin Rufei¡¯s moves, but he felt a majestic and morbid sword intent that seemed to come out of Heaven and Earth. It gathered and boiled on Lin Rufei¡¯s branch, flowing back and forth before finally gushing out¡ªlike a huge river. It rushed towards Wang Teng with an unstoppable momentum. No moves, no techniques, just sword intent. Wang Teng shouldn¡¯t have been afraid. However, when the sword intent actually enveloped him, Wang Teng found himself unable to stand up straight amongst this intent. This overwhelming sword intent was like a high-end god looking down on him with coldness. Inch by inch, it bent his body. At first, he could barely arch his back. Then he was forced to kneel on one knee, but the special sword platform under his feet began to break, and he was about to lose support. Wang Teng vomited a mouthful of blood. He raised his head in hatred, looked at Lin Rufei, and swallowed back the blood that gushed out of his mouth again¡ªhard. He called out, ¡°Qingji¡ª¡± Qingji buzzed. ¡°Fly out of the sword platform.¡± Wang Teng spoke with difficulty, ¡°As long as we leave the sword intent ¡­¡­¡± He only got halfway through his sentence when he revealed an unbelievable look. He looked at Qingji, which was in his hand, with eyes full of bewilderment. Qingji, which has met countless strong enemies and beheaded countless heads, actually shrank in his arms at this time, trembling like a frightened little child. Qingji is Wang Teng¡¯s life-bound sword. He could clearly feel the fear that Qingji was feeling. It feared the opponent opposite of them. The one who was sitting in a wheelchair, the seemingly fragile Lin Rufei who looked unable to withstand a single blow. At this moment, Wang Teng remembered what his master had once said to him. The master who had picked him up and brought him home like his own son said that as long as you use Qingji for a day, you will never be able to beat Lin Rufei. Qingji was forged by a famous craftsman and was already one of the best swords in the world. Therefore, Wang Teng thought his master was just talking about his incompetent swordplay, but now he vaguely understood the words. The reason why as long as he uses Qingji for a day, he will never be able to beat Lin Rufei. No swords will appear in Lin Rufei¡¯s hands. Because he is the sharpest one. It is a pity that this sword has not been sharpened yet and his reckless self already became his first whetstone. Wang Teng laughed heartily. His body was pressed hard against the green stone of the platform by the sword intent. The bones of his body were crushed by the intent one by one and it emitted a tooth-aching creaking sound. Blood spilled out from his mouth and stained the white blade of Qingji. Even so, Wang Teng did not concede defeat. In his dictionary, there wasn¡¯t ¡°defeat¡± this word. Unlike the continent of Yaoguang, which was well endowed with the knowledge of etiquette. In the place where he lived, admitting defeat meant death. Since it¡¯s all death in the end, it¡¯s better to keep the last dignity as a loser. Perhaps because he was so badly injured, Wang Teng¡¯s consciousness gradually blurred, and some images of the past even flashed before his eyes. He saw himself riddled with scars as a young child and snatching food from a wild dog. But because his body was too thin, he was pounced onto the ground by the wild dog. Just as he was about to have his throat bitten off, a pair of white hands squeezed the back of the wild dog¡¯s neck. ¡°Poor boy.¡± A gentle voice resounded. Someone picked him up and swept him into their arms, ¡°Come with me.¡± That was the first touch of softness that appeared in Wang Teng¡¯s world. Before that time, everyone called him a wild child, just because he had green eyes. Later, that person took him onto the path of immortality and taught him how to train with the sword. He also gave him a gift¡ªQingji¡ªwhich was the same color as his eyes. He thought he was all that person had. Until a certain year, another name came out of that person¡¯s mouth. ¡°That boy will certainly be a powerful character in the future. Wang Teng, you should hide far away when you meet him.¡± ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°His name is Lin Rufei.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°The fourth son of the Kunlun Sect, Lin Rufei.¡± ¡°Lin Rufei? Is he very powerful?¡± ¡°You have to remember that name. Stay far away, as far away as you can.¡± As master had wished, Wang Teng remembered the name forever. The memories stopped there and Wang Teng felt his strength draining away as black spots started appearing in his vision. He stroked Qingji, feeling its cold blade, and whispered an apology. Sorry, ah. I was not able to let you win this round. I am a substandard master. The original buzzing sound from Qingji faded as if it sensed something. Suddenly it started chirping loudly, the hilt of the sword glued itself into Wang Teng¡¯s hand, refusing to slip away. It wanted him to grab it like he had always done. He seemed to have sensed the reluctance of Qingji. The terrifying sword intent came again. Fine cracks began to appear on Qingji¡¯s snow-white blade. Wang Teng¡¯s eyes opened, and his emerald green eyes were filled with the color of struggle. He uttered out with difficulty: ¡°No¡ªQingji, go away¡ª¡± Qingji still refused. Wang Teng¡¯s green eyes filled with tears, with his last strength he hissed: ¡°Go away ah¡ª¡± Qingji acted as if it did not hear him. For the first time, Wang Teng showed despair. If he died then so be it, but Qingji shouldn¡¯t have to follow him. It was a famous sword, so naturally, it could meet a more powerful master. Wang Teng hugged the sword, with his head dead against the hilt. He murmured softly: ¡°Qingji, only you guys, don¡¯t mind me ¡­¡­¡± Doesn¡¯t mind that he is a green-eyed monster. The morbid sword intent came to an abrupt halt. The powerful oppression disappeared instantly and air returned to Wang Teng¡¯s lungs again. He gasped heavily, coughing up heaps of dirty blood. He looked up and saw Lin Rufei sitting in the distance. ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me?¡± Wang Teng asked in a dumb voice. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you admit defeat?¡± Wang Teng smiled to himself, ¡°Naturally, I have lost.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It¡¯s just a sword fight. The point is if you admit defeat, why would I take your life? However, you have to promise to agree to my condition.¡± Wang Teng¡¯s face sank. He thought Lin Rufei was going to propose something untoward. His pupils stood up nervously like snakes and said, ¡°What is it?¡± Lin Rufei pointed to Lin Bianyu standing by the sword platform and calmly said, ¡°Apologize to my second brother.¡± Wang Teng was dumbfounded. His pupils then returned to normal and said, ¡°It was your second brother who came to me for a sword fight last night¡ªit¡¯s not me who should apologize, right?¡± Faced with Wang Teng¡¯s question, Lin Rufei¡¯s expression did not change. He raised the cherry blossom branch in his hand: ¡°Are you going to apologize or not?¡± He also inherited the Lin family¡¯s inherent protectiveness. Whatever the reason, he should apologize for hurting his second brother. Wang Teng was left speechless. Finally, he could only twist his head with difficulty and said sorry to Lin Bianyu. His body¡¯s recovery ability was very strong. The bones in his body were broken into many pieces, and within the time that he was talking, he was already able to get up from the sword platform. However, there was still a huge human-shaped crater left on the sword platform¡ªit was a really big eyesore. ¡°It¡¯s Lin Si Gongzi who won.¡± Wang Teng recognized the result of the competition. ¡°Wang Teng.¡± Lin Minzhi spoke out, ¡°You are Mr. Long¡¯s[2] disciple?¡± Wang Teng didn¡¯t expect anyone to know his master¡¯s name, so he was slightly surprised but still nodded his head. Lin Minzhi added, ¡°Is Mr. Long still well?¡± Wang Teng was silent for a moment and said in a low voice, ¡°He has been ill for a year.¡± Lin Minzhi looked regretful and said sorry. Wang Teng obviously did not want to talk more about this matter. His eyes searched the ground for a moment then limped to the corner and picked up the bamboo hat he had thrown aside before. He put it back on his head. Then he turned his head and looked at Lin Rufei: ¡°You spared my life, I owe you a favor.¡± Lin Rufei just smiled and did not say anything. Wang Teng said again: ¡°But a few years later, I will come back to challenge you. I will also be stronger by then, and I also hope that by then you¡­.¡± would have become a sharp blade. After he said this, he bowed to Lin Rufei and turned around to leave. Lin Rufei, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up and called out to him, ¡°Wang Teng.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Wang Teng turned his head. Lin Rufei said sincerely, ¡°Your green eyes are beautiful, like the most beautiful emerald.¡± Wang Teng was silent for a moment and muttered in a small voice. After a moment of hesitation, he removed the bamboo hat from his head and left flying on his sword¡ªswaying towards the direction of the front mountain. When he left, the pair of beautiful emerald eyes took on a slight smile. The man who had disappeared behind Lin Rufei reappeared and came to his ear, his breath burning: ¡°What, is that person¡¯s eyes more beautiful than mine?¡± Only then did Lin Rufei turn around. He looked at the man¡¯s beautiful side profile and slightly smiled. He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, a burning liquid gushed out. One mouthful after another, his white fox fur was instantly dyed into a piercing scarlet. ¡°Xiao Jiu¡ª¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s frightened cry also seemed distant. Lin Rufei¡¯s body swayed, his nose lingered with the man¡¯s cherry blossom fragrance. His eyes were half-closed and before he completely fainted, he answered the man¡¯s question with a faint voice, ¡°Naturally ¡­¡­ it is no match against yours.¡± Your eyes are the most beautiful ones I have seen in the world. CH 14 Lin Rufei completely lost consciousness. He did not know how long he had slept, everything around him became blurry. His eyes could only perceive darkness and his five senses plunged into a bottomless abyss. When he opened his eyes again, it was already a few days later. When Yu Rui, who was guarding his bedside, saw him wake up, she burst into tears and pounced onto his bedside, calling out to her young master. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were half-open and it took a while before he had the strength to speak again. It¡¯s just that the words he spat out were as indistinct as smoke and dust that easily dissipated in the wind: ¡°How long have I been sleeping?¡± ¡°Young master has been sleeping for three days.¡± Yu Rui rubbed her eyes and sobbed. ¡°Am I badly hurt?¡± Lin Rufei asked again. Yu Rui said, ¡°Dr. Wan said that young master was not injured, it¡¯s just that your foundation is poor ¡­¡­¡± She looked at Lin Rufei sadly, wanting to say something but then stopped. Lin Rufei understood her meaning, and lightly coughed twice: ¡°You and Fu Hua¡¯s ears are not seriously hurt, right?¡± ¡°Nothing serious, Dr. Wan Yao prescribed some medicine. Once we eat it, we will be fine.¡± Yu Rui dried her tears. She said brokenly: ¡°Since young master woke up, I will go inform sister Fu Hua and the other two young masters. They were guarding you earlier.¡± As she said this, she lifted the hem of her skirt and ran out in a flash. Lin Rufei opened his eyes and looked at the overhanging beam hidden in the shadow above his head. His body was now so weak and feeble that he could hardly move. After exchanging a few words with Fu Hua[1], a layer of itchiness floated up to his throat making him involuntarily let out a low cough. His body was no longer as light as it had been when he fought against Wang Teng a few days ago; rather it was now as heavy as stone armor. It really made him want to break out from it. ¡°Are you there?¡± Lin Rufei suddenly spoke. No one answered, only a clear breeze filled the room. This was not strange, but Lin Rufei¡¯s heart felt some disappointment. He gently pursed his bloodless lips, suppressing a low cough. ¡°Awake?¡± The man¡¯s voice suddenly came. Lin Rufei turned his head in surprise and saw the man sitting by the window. He seemed to like the wooden chair very much as he leaned on it with a lazy look. His hand propped up his chin and he looked at Lin Rufei from afar. ¡°Did you lend me your strength?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Lend? No, no, no.¡± The man said in a slow voice, ¡°It belongs to you.¡± He sighed sadly, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that the blade is too sharp, I¡¯m afraid there are not many sheaths in the world that can seal this sword of yours.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°The divine soul is the sword, the torso is the sheath.¡± The man said, ¡°How come you were born with such a shabby body.¡± Lin Rufei lost his smile, ¡°My parents gave me this body, I don¡¯t have the right to dislike it¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The man laughed, he suddenly turned his head to look outside the house and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave first, your brothers and the others are coming.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Lin Rufei hurriedly spoke out, ¡°I wonder if ¡­¡­ I can ask the name of this senior?¡± ¡°Senior?¡± The man thought over this honorific and a subtle expression appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Well ¡­¡­ that¡¯s not bad.¡± Lin Rufei was bewildered, ¡°Hmm?¡± Only then did the man spit out three words, ¡°Gu Xuandu.¡± He smiled, ¡°Remember, my name is Gu Xuandu.¡± Someone pushed the door in, and when Lin Rufei turned back again, the man¡¯s figure had already disappeared. The visitors were none other than Lin Minzhi and Lin Bianyu, as well as Fu Hua who was carrying a tray full of food with a tear-stained face. ¡°Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Bianyu saw him awake and hurried up to him. ¡°Second brother.¡± Lin Rufei said softly, ¡°How are your injuries?¡± Lin Minzhi sighed unhappily, ¡°You are still in the mood to worry about your second brother. He is very strong, he won¡¯t die even if he receives two more sword wounds.¡± Lin Bianyu helplessly called out an ¡°elder brother.¡± ¡°You still know that I am your brother?¡± Lin Minzhi said coldly. Lin Bianyu didn¡¯t dare argue again and obediently stood aside to listen. Luckily, Lin Minzhi was concerned about Lin Rufei¡¯s health and didn¡¯t say anything else. He told Lin Rufei not to worry about Lin Bianyu. His injury was serious, but his internal organs weren¡¯t damaged so he would be fine after a few months of recuperation. ¡°Counting the days, your sister will be back soon.¡± Lin Minzhi sighed, ¡°If she comes back and sees you in this tattered state, she¡¯ll make a fuss for half a day.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m not in a tattered state ¡­¡­¡± The moment he finished, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Fu Hua with a crying voice called out a young master. She hurriedly used a silk handkerchief to wipe the blood from Lin Rufei¡¯s lips. Lin Rufei immediately felt guilty. Lin Bianyu said, ¡°Look at you, you almost coughed out all your blood, and you still say you¡¯re not in a tattered state?¡± He continued brokenly, ¡°I have remembered that Wang Teng, next time don¡¯t let me see him again.¡± Lin Minzhi sneered, ¡°So what if you meet him, it¡¯s not like you can beat him.¡± Lin Bianyu: ¡°I can¡¯t beat him this time, but don¡¯t be so sure about next time.¡± Lin Minzhi sighed: ¡°You¡¯d better think about the He family first. From what Wan Yao said, their family¡¯s Xuyu tree gave birth to six iron-gold walnuts ¡­¡­¡± Lin Bianyu said: ¡°So what? One iron-gold walnut can¡¯t even compare to half a Wang Teng.¡± Lin Minzhi did not bother to say anything more. He only asked Lin Bianyu to take advantage of Lin Rufei¡¯s waking time to go to Wan Yao to get the medicine he was making. Lin Bianyu was still in the wrong so he did not dare refute anything. He just obediently left to go get the medicine. After Lin Bianyu left, Lin Minzhi sent out Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Lin Rufei looked at his elder brother and he knew that he must have something to tell him. As expected, Lin Minzhi reached out and patted Lin Rufei¡¯s head. His voice was low as he said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, would you like to leave Kunlun to gain experience?¡± Lin Rufei was a little surprised and even wondered if he had heard wrong: ¡°Big brother ¡­¡­¡± Lin Minzhi said: ¡°It means exactly what you think.¡± Lin Rufei had been on Kunlun Mountain for more than twenty years, and the farthest place he had been was only the town below the mountain. He had read many travelogues and had fantasized about traveling ten thousand miles with his sword in the air. He imagined carrying a pot of good Dukang wine around his waist and being able to drink a cup whenever he wanted to. That would be satisfying. But as Lin Minzhi said just now, Lin Rufei¡¯s body was in a tattered state and would fall ill when the wind blows. Where would he have the extra strength to leave Kunlun? ¡°You also know the rules of the Lin family.¡± Lin Minzhi said in a deep voice, ¡°Every Lin family direct disciple, after reaching adulthood, has to go out for some travel. I went, your second brother went, and now your sister will soon return ¡­¡­ the only one left is you.¡± He reached out and touched Lin Rufei¡¯s head, and said sadly, ¡°Xiao Jiu, if possible, us brothers and sister would like to protect you for life, but are you willing to be a canary in a cage?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s light-colored eyes lit up with a layer of light. He said, ¡°Big brother, can I really go?¡± ¡°As long as you are willing.¡± Lin Minzhi said. ¡°I want to go.¡± Lin Rufei gave an answer that did not surprise anyone. If this question had been asked half a month ago, Lin Rufei would have refused. He was not only weak, but also had no ability to defend himself, but after experiencing the sword competition with Wang Teng, he found that his body seemed to have a hidden power. Although he did not know how to use it, in the end, it gave Lin Rufei infinite hope. He didn¡¯t want to be powerful, he just wanted to have the power to protect himself and be able to see all the rivers and mountains on the Yaoguang continent. It was said that elder brothers were like fathers. Lin Minzhi and Lin Rufei¡¯s relationship was indeed more like that of an elder. Even though considerate, he wasn¡¯t like Lin Bianyu, who capriciously spoiled him. He said: ¡°If you want to, then go. The next sword competition invitations should also be sent out soon. This trip, take the invitations with you.¡± Lin Rufei was overjoyed, but as soon as his emotions fluctuated, his body reacted again and he emitted a violent coughing sound. His cheeks rose to an abnormal shade of red. Lin Minzhi wanted to say something but stopped. Lin Rufei said brokenly, ¡°No ¡­¡­ cough, nothing, I cough cough cough, I¡¯ll be fine in a while cough cough.¡± Lin Minzhi looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance and became sad, not knowing if he was regretting what he had just said. Lin Rufei coughed for a while before he finally suppressed it. He leaned listlessly against the bed, like a flower that had been knocked down by the rain. Lin Minzhi touched his forehead to make sure it was just a cough. After seeing that it wasn¡¯t a fever, his mind was at ease. Lin Bianyu went quickly and came back quickly. He hurried into the room carrying medicine. There were still beads of sweat rolling off his forehead, he said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, quick, drink the medicine.¡± Lin Rufei dutifully drank the medicine. Lin Minzhi saw that Lin Rufei was drinking the medicine, so he gave Lin Bianyu a look¡ªindicating that he should follow him out to talk about something. Lin Bianyu kind of guessed what Lin Minzhi was going to say and had a feeling that the situation would not be that easy. As expected, within a few moments, a fierce argument broke out outside the house, and the loudest and most intense voice was that of the usually gentle and jade-like Lin Bianyu. ¡°Elder brother, what are you talking about? Xiao Jiu¡¯s health is so poor, you¡¯re sending him to his death by letting him deliver the invitations!¡± Lin Bianyu said in a stern voice, ¡°Besides, you have seen his current state. He fainted for three days after using a single move, if he meets someone with no good intentions outside¡ª¡± Lin Minzhi whispered something. Lin Bianyu gritted his teeth and said, ¡°No, I won¡¯t agree, and neither will third sister¡ª¡± His voice shook in vain, ¡°Why would she agree, what the hell are you guys thinking? If Xiao Jiu met with some accident outside and never came back, you really won¡¯t regret it?!!¡± It was unknown how Lin Minzhi persuaded Lin Bianyu, but after he finished his sentence, Lin Bianyu turned around and left. He angrily slammed the wooden door of the courtyard. This was the expected reaction. How could Lin Bianyu be willing to let his younger brother, who he always spoils, go out and see the dangerous places of Jianghu. Lin Minzhi pushed the door in and said, ¡°He agreed.¡± ¡°Second brother agreed?¡± Lin Rufei was a little incredulous. ¡°Mn.¡± Lin Minzhi reassured. Lin Rufei said, ¡°But ¡­¡­¡± ¡°No buts.¡± Lin Minzhi raised his eyes to look out the window and saw the thin cherry blossom tree, he said, ¡°Xiao Jiu¡¯s destiny has arrived. It cannot be prevented by manpower. If you like the great mountains then there is no harm in going to see it.¡± After saying that, he revealed a helpless look, ¡°It¡¯s just that your second brother is really angry, when you come back, remember to coax him properly.¡± CH 15 Lin Bianyu rarely got angry, especially when the object of his anger was his most beloved brother, Lin Rufei. Now that Lin Rufei was sick to the bed, he also hardened his heart and did not come to visit. Even after a few days, when Lin Rufei recovered from his illness, he still did not see his second brother¡¯s shadow. Lin Rufei was a little worried. It was a good thing Fu Hua had a plan. She said that the pagoda trees[1] in town have just blossomed. The second young master loves dumplings flavored with the blossom, so why not take advantage of the good weather these days and go to town to pick some fresh pagoda tree flowers. Lin Rufei thought it made sense, so he agreed to Fu Hua¡¯s proposal. This was the time when Spring was in full swing and everything was coming to life. The trees had lost their flower petals and were drawing out their bright green branches. The green grasses were long and birds were flying. It was wonderful. Today the sun was just right. Lin Rufei finally changed out of the heavy fox fur and put on a single thin Spring outfit. The Spring outfit had a white base with gold patterns, and the cuffs were embroidered with a circle of fluffy white fur. The belt on his waist was a special turquoise jade sent by big brother, which was said to have the effect of calming the mind. As for the incense bag hanging on the side of his waist, it was hand-embroidered by his sister. Although the patterns were some strange shapes, Lin Weirui¡¯s handmade pouches were a rarity. Before leaving home, Fu Hua noticed that the wind was a bit strong so she gave Lin Rufei a black cloak to keep the wind out. Lin Rufei did not refuse, he was clear about his own physical condition. Even the smallest wind could make Lin Rufei catch a cold. After a long walk through the mountains, they finally arrived at the town. But today¡¯s town seemed different from the previous days. A group of people were around the bridge, seemingly praying to something. Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°What are these people doing?¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°I haven¡¯t been to town for a few days. Young master, please wait, I¡¯ll go over and ask.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Fu Hua turned around and went into the crowd. Lin Rufei wandered around alone, but before he walked two steps, he found something strange. The placement of this town allows people to see the northern peaks of Kunlun Mountain. However, when he looked up, he saw that the original neat and lofty northern peak seemed to have been flattened by something, exposing ¡õ¡õ rocks, which were abrupt and ridiculous. It was just like a handsome man in his prime, who had his hair cut for no reason. Speaking of hair, Lin Rufei inexplicably remembered the golden-hair Monkey King in the cherry blossom forest. A little bit of guilty conscience brewed in his heart. But the good thing was that this northern peak incident certainly had nothing to do with him, so when he thought about it, Lin Rufei¡¯s heart calmed down a lot. Fu Hua finished inquiring about the news and returned to Lin Rufei¡¯s side. She had a weird expression on her face and he didn¡¯t know what she had heard. Lin Rufei asked: ¡°What have you heard?¡± ¡°Well ¡­¡­ some days ago, the northern peak of Kunlun Mountain was suddenly cut down by a sword, many residents of the town saw the power of that sword and thought that only the gods could wield such a sword.¡± Fu Hua whispered, ¡°As a result, they started worshipping.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Rufei was interested, ¡°It seems that at this year¡¯s sword competition, there were indeed some powerful people. Do you know the person who swung this sword?¡± Fu Hua: ¡°¡­¡­ know.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Who is it?¡± He was very curious about this, ¡°But it¡¯s strange, casually cutting down a peak of our Kunlun mountain and second brother is not angry.¡± Fu Hua¡¯s face showed a difficult expression. Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fu Hua saw that Lin Rufei didn¡¯t notice anything wrong. His face was longing for the truth so she sighed and said, ¡°Young master, do you remember the time when second young master and Gu Feiyu had a sword fight?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and said, ¡°I do remember.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°On that day, young master held Zhongfeng and swung from the top of the loft¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei froze for a moment: ¡°Indeed, but what does this have to do with me?¡± Fu Hua looked at her young master who still had an innocent expression. For a long time, she did not say anything. She was thinking; if she was straightforward in telling Lin Rufei the truth¡ªthat he personally cut this peak into an unsightly flat head, would it not be too much of a stimulation for him? Good thing Lin Rufei also noticed some clues from her subtle silence. He looked at Fu Hua suspiciously, and even more suspiciously at the distant mountains. He raised his finger and pointed at himself: ¡°Me?¡± Fu Hua nodded. Lin Rufei: ¡°I splitted it?¡± Fu Hua hummed in agreement. Lin Rufei was shocked. Fu Hua couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh a little at Lin Rufei¡¯s amazing expression. She stifled her laughter and said: ¡°That day many people saw young master flying into the loft. And some people with really good eyesight also saw young master swing that sword¡­.it¡¯s just that not many people know young master so they began to spread rumors that there is an exiled immortal living on Kunlun.¡± ¡°Also a few days ago when Wang Teng and young master had a sword competition, it attracted heavenly thunder. And with young master¡¯s swing, the thunder cloud was split into pieces.¡± Fu Hua softly whispered, ¡°Although no one was present to watch the competition, that image was also seen by the people in town so¡­.¡± As she said this she could not help but chuckle. ¡°I just went to ask, the one they are worshipping is you.¡± Lin Rufei stood for a moment, then took a few steps towards the back of the crowd. He saw that those people really were worshipping a clay statue, but the statue¡¯s posture was formidable. It had a fierce face. The most terrifying thing was that the statue had two heads and four arms. The four arms all held a sword blade, almost like an Asura[2]. Two words emerged in Lin Rufei¡¯s heart: who¡¯s this? Fu Hua was laughing back and forth, wiping her tears she said: ¡°Few people in Kunlun have seen young master¡¯s appearance. The chaos of the rumors are really amazing. People say that someone who can use such a powerful sword must be gifted, unique even!¡± Lin Rufei said sullenly, ¡°Unique?¡± Fu Hua chuckled and said, ¡°There must be four hands to be enough, and two heads to be good!¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and finally said, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Fu Hua covered her mouth and laughed to the point of trembling. Lin Rufei looked despondently at the statue that did not match his figure. He thought for a while before turning around and took out a few copper coins from his pouch. He bought three incense from the old man hawking next to him. He bent down and devoutly worshipped, his mouth chanting: ¡°Next time never swing at a mountain.¡± Although there were many mountains, only a few were particularly beautiful. With this one swing, he was afraid big brother would be heartbroken for half a year. After worshipping the legendary four hands and two heads exiled immortal, Lin Rufei sat on his white horse and followed Fu Hua to pick pagoda tree blossoms. This year¡¯s Spring had little rainfall. The pagoda trees that bloomed were exceptionally good. They were densely clustered on the branch, looking very lively. Fu Hua took out a cloth pouch and in a few steps, she climbed the tree and started picking. Lin Rufei was standing at the bottom looking up at her, greeting the flowers at this end and the flowers at that end. The two of them were still picking flowers when Lin Rufei heard horse hooves galloping on the green stone paved street. He turned around and saw a young girl dressed in black riding a horse the color of red dates[3] through the town. The girl looked beautiful, but her face was cold. The large blood-red gourd[4] on her back was particularly eye-catching. When people saw the young girl riding on the horse, they all shied away to the sides to give way. Lin Rufei, however, brightened up and called out with a smile: ¡°Third sister¡­¡± The young girl turned around and when she saw Lin Rufei, the coldness on her face instantly faded away and she smiled sweetly: ¡°Xiao Jiu!!¡± The horse¡¯s hooves immediately stopped. She hopped off, turned, and ran wildly to hug her brother, whom she had not seen for several years. ¡°Xiao Jiu! Why are you here? Did you know I was coming back, but I didn¡¯t tell you guys in advance, how did you know? Are you picking pagoda tree blossoms? Look at you, have you not been eating properly, how did you lose weight again ¡­¡­ ¡± Lin Weirui, who never likes to talk much, was at this time like an uranium record with high-frequency mode unsealed and 5 sassafras[5]. One question after another made it very hard for Lin Rufei to answer. In the end, he decided to stop interrupting. He just let Lin Weirui continue on until she was tired. She wept: ¡°Xiao Jiu why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Big sister has been gone for only three years, and now you¡¯ve distanced yourself?¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Sister, you ask too many questions, how can I answer them. Ask slowly, ask slowly¡ª¡± Only then did Lin Weirui stop making a fuss. Fu Hua had picked a good amount of pagoda tree blossoms, so the three of them plan to go back. But as they passed through town again, Lin Weirui thought that the people who were devoutly kneeling were very strange. They said that they were worshipping and how that person also had four hands. Could there really be new powerful gods in this world¡­¡­ Lin Rufei looked helpless and he didn¡¯t really want to explain, so he signaled for Fu Hua to speak. Fu Hua tried to hold in her laughter as she explained in detail to Lin Weirui. Lin Weirui, who was listening, burst into laughter. She slapped Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder saying that their brother has finally grown to be outstanding. They should just announce to the public that the fourth son of the Lin family has four arms, and is an exiled immortal from the nine Heavens. Lin Rufei sat on the white horse, listening to Lin Weirui joking about himself. It gave him the feeling that he was back in his youth. At that time, he was weak and small and couldn¡¯t even step on the stirrup. Sister Lin Weirui held him in her arms. While walking, she talked about all the trivialities of sword practice. Lin Minzhi walked ahead with his horse, not saying a word. Lin Bianyu stood guard at his side, with a gentle smile at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. Lin Rufei was unfortunate. On Kunlun, which was famous for its sword, he didn¡¯t even have a sword of his own. But he was also fortunate, because from the moment he was born, his brothers and sister have protected him like a treasure. Now, he actually split a north peak with a sword and he still didn¡¯t know how he did it. But the future days were like a cold pool being stirred up, seemingly a bit angry. Let everything get better, Lin Rufei thought. This was probably the happiness of mortals. CH 16 Lin Weirui may look as cold as ice, but she had the hottest temper. When the disciples on Kunlun Mountain encounter her, they are eager to lower their heads and stay away from her. Lin Weirui was not as stable as Lin Minzhi and she was also not as knowledgeable as Lin Bianyu. It could be said that she was the most spontaneous person in the Lin family this generation. If she doesn¡¯t like someone, she will hate them to the bones. If she likes someone, she will be eager to pluck down the stars for that person. Lin Weirui was very fond of Lin Rufei. When Lin Rufei was twelve years old, their mother had died of an illness. At that time, the thin and small Lin Rufei almost fainted in her arms from crying so much. Lin Weirui was already a young girl at that point. She hugged her brother and what she thought in her heart was that she never wanted to see Lin Rufei cry again in her life. If she said it, then she will do it. Lin Weirui can thump her chest and guarantee that at this time on Kunlun Mountain, no one dares to bully Lin Rufei and no one dares to disrespect Lin Rufei. For as long as Lin Rufei could live, they would spoil him. But now, the grown-up younger brother was leaving Kunlun to go on his own. After reading Lin Minzhi¡¯s letter, a feeling of emptiness came over Lin Weirui. She spent three days¡ªday and night¡ªflying back to Kunlun with her sword, and finally exhausted her sword Qi, so she bought a good horse at a high price and rushed back. The journey was already very tiring, but all that tiredness turned into joy when they saw Lin Rufei. ¡°Did you miss your sister, Xiao Jiu?¡± She was like a nagging mother, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for three years, why have you lost weight again? Tian Jue didn¡¯t look after you properly when you were eating, when I get back, I will beat him up.¡± The youngest of the family listened to her nagging without the slightest impatience. She talked, he listened. The corner of his eyes and eyebrows curved tenderly. When Lin Weirui saw this kind of Lin Rufei, her heart started to ache. She really wanted Lin Rufei to be more heartless¡ªnot kind and understanding. People who were heartless actually lived a more comfortable life. Lin Weirui had long understood this truth. ¡°Before sister returned, did you go to Moyu and see Xie Zhiyao?¡± Lin Rufei chatted with Lin Weirui. ¡°I went, but I didn¡¯t see him.¡± Lin Weirui had a blade of grass in her mouth as she led her horse ahead. ¡°His family¡¯s servant[1] seemed to have caused a big ruckus. The whole Xie family is in a mess. I was in a hurry to come home so I did not wait.¡± ¡°The servant?¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Is it that servant with the particularly nasty mouth, Lv Er[2]?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Lin Weirui said, ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± She turned her head to look at Lin Rufei and said, ¡°The Xie family is also coming to the next sword competition, in a few days you will have to send invitations in the stead of the Lin family. You can go to Moyu first.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Xie Zhiyao was his childhood playmate. Back when the Xie family had some trouble and because the elders had a good relationship, they sent him to Kunlun Mountain for foster care. He and Lin Rufei¡¯s age difference was not big, and their personality was very steady. Only, Xie Zhiyao had a servant by his side named Lv Er. Not only did he have a bad temper, but he also had a nasty mouth. If he said ten sentences, nine of them made people want to beat him up. No one knew why Xie Zhiyao¡¯s elder left such a person at his side. That year, when Lv Er saw Lin Rufei for the first time, he said: Why is this person so skinny, he is like a poor monkey boy. Before Lin Rufei could react, Xie Zhiyao raised his hand and gave Lv Er a slap on the face. With a gloomy look, he made him kneel down and apologize to Lin Rufei. Lv Er cried and cried but refused, and finally, Xie Zhiyao kicked him in the knee, forcing him to kowtow to Lin Rufei several times. He apologized and only after Lin Rufei¡¯s forgiveness did he stand up. It was nothing but jokes between children and Lin Rufei did not take it to heart. But what happened afterward proved how far-sighted Xie Zhiyao was. When Lin Bianyu heard those words, he originally intended to go directly to Xie Zhiyao with his sword. He wanted to chop off Lv Er¡¯s head, but later he found out that Lv Er had apologized and Lin Rufei also expressed understanding, and the matter was finally forgotten. However, since then, Lin Bianyu never showed a kind expression towards Lv Er and also didn¡¯t really like Xie Zhiyao too much. Dianshan Xie family was a pretty well-known family. Their family¡¯s sword techniques were also one of a kind. It was just that, in recent years they have not produced any outstanding characters so their fame gradually declined. But the bottom line was there, otherwise, Lin Bianyu will never give Xie Zhiyao any face. Maybe because he did not have many friends when he was younger, Lin Rufei quite liked his playmate, Xie Zhiyao. When the two were teenagers, they often played chess at the top of the mountain in the wind and snow. Xie Zhiyao¡¯s chess style was fierce, he liked to go in for the big kill, only sometimes he would lose his direction. Lin Rufei¡¯s chess style was tame. He never missed a beat and would kill Xie Zhiyao¡¯s fierce moves often unknowingly. Lv Er did not understand how to play chess. So when they play chess, this child will feel particularly bored. He will anxiously look at Fu Hua who was sitting next to him, wanting to talk to her. However, Fu Hua also did not like this little boy, who did not have a plug for his mouth. So she sat by herself and read a book. ¡°Sister Fu Hua, what are you reading?¡± Lv Er anxiously looked at the book in Fu Hua¡¯s hand. ¡°Leisure books.¡± Fu Hua coldly answered. Lv Er quietly said, ¡°That¡¯s nice. I can¡¯t read and write, and no one taught me ¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua raised her eyes to look at him. She inwardly felt a moment or two of pity. But who knew the next sentence of Lv Er was: ¡°But knowing a few big words isn¡¯t that amazing, in the end, aren¡¯t you still here being a servant with me.¡± He laughed as he said this. Fu Hua¡¯s face was so angry¡ªshe was livid. Those who are pitiful always have some insufferable sides. Lv Er here was a good example. Xie Zhiyao¡¯s self-restraint was very good. Having such a servant at his side, nobody knew how many people he had offended. Lin Rufei asked him why had picked Lv Er. He said with a sullen look, ¡°He is someone mother gave me¡± Only then did Lin Rufei know that Xie Zhiyao¡¯s mother had also died. Before she died, she entrusted Lv Er to Xie Zhiyao, telling him to treat him well. Xie Zhiyao could not help but accept his mother¡¯s will and took Lv Er with him as a servant. No one understood why Xie Zhiyao¡¯s mother would deliberately give her son a hard time. However, now that this is the case, Xie Zhiyao could only accept. Later, he also inquired around, and some said that Lv Er was the offspring of his mother¡¯s friend. Thus, Xie Zhiyao¡¯s tolerance for Lv Er also grew a few more points. Most likely, Lv Er¡¯s obnoxiousness was too deep in everyone¡¯s heart, when they heard Xie Zhiyao¡¯s name even Fu Hua could not help but ask a question. ¡°That Lv Er, ah, seems to have caused big trouble and even disappeared. Xie Zhiyao, in order to find him, has been so busy that no one knows when he will be free.¡± Lin Weirui said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about him anymore, your big brother and second brother don¡¯t know that I am back, see me give them a surprise!¡± As she spoke, she reached out her hand. Smiling, she pulled out a soft, round package from her dimensional ring. Following the hem of her skirt, she directly stuffed it under her clothes, where her stomach was. Fu Hua and Lin Rufei were stunned at this action. ¡°What are you dumbfounded for?¡± Lin Weirui smiled delicately, ¡°Silly brother, hurry and come help support your sister.¡± Lin Rufei cried and laughed: ¡°If you were seen by big brother, he would have your legs broken.¡± Lin Weirui winked: ¡°He dares! Now I have two lives in one body.¡± Lin Rufei admired[3] his sister. He sighed and laughed helplessly: ¡°Okay, okay, the mountain road is slippery, you have to walk carefully. Do not twist your body and hurt my nephew.¡± Lin Weirui giggled and after she finished laughing, she folded a paper crane with a talisman. It was attached with a voice, telling Lin Minzhi and Lin Bianyu that she was back and asked them to wait for her in Lin Rufei¡¯s courtyard. After sending the message, Lin Weirui was excited and rubbed her palms. When Lin Rufei saw his sister¡¯s appearance, his mind would echo to when his big brother often said: your sister, three days without a beating, she will scale the roof and rip the tiles! Half an hour later, Lin Rufei helped Lin Weirui with her big belly to the courtyard. The door of the courtyard was open and just as they entered, they saw Lin Minzhi and Lin Bianyu sitting in the courtyard chatting. The two men were chatting amiably, but when they saw Lin Weirui trembling with a big belly, they were very shocked. Lin Minzhi¡¯s expression was livid, and Lin Bianyu¡¯s mouth was slightly open, obviously wondering what kind of wrong medicine his sister had taken. ¡°Brother¡ª¡± Lin Weirui called out delicately and sadly, ¡°Brother, you have to stand up for me.¡± Lin Minzhi gritted his teeth and almost drew his sword, saying, ¡°Who, who dares to do this to you!¡± Lin Weirui faked cried, ¡°It¡¯s that Shen family¡¯s Shen Wucui. Even though he is good-looking, he is not a good thing. He got me pregnant, but decided to marry another girl!¡± Lin Rufei listened and he almost gave himself away when he wanted to laugh out loud. Shen Wucui was also a regular visitor at Kunlun Mountain. He was born handsome and beautiful. His personality was gentle and elegant¡ªvery charming. Lin Weirui seemed to be interested in him, but Shen Wucui was somewhat afraid of this sister of his, who had a jumpy personality. Lin Minzhi said, ¡°This Shen Wucui, a human with dog behavior. He dares to do such a shameless thing!¡± He took a deep breath and said, ¡°I will immediately go and send a letter to the Shen family, this matter must not be settled like this!¡± After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave. Seeing that her prank had gone too far, Lin Weirui hastily covered her stomach and cried out. Lin Minzhi and Lin Bianyu were both shocked and rushed over to surround her, asking how she was doing. Lin Weirui cried out: ¡°Stomach, my stomach hurts¡­¡­.ah¡­.my stomach.¡± As she started crying vigorously, the package wasn¡¯t held properly and poof, it slipped onto the ground. Lin Minzhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Bianyu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui looked shamefully embarrassed and whispered: ¡°Why did it fall ¡­¡­ brother, I just wanted to give you a little surprise.¡± Lin Bianyu smiled: ¡°It really was a surprise.¡± Lin Minzhi was expressionless, he said, ¡°Lin Weirui, I haven¡¯t hit you in three years.¡± Lin Weirui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Minzhi gritted his teeth, ¡°Before you left, you split Wan Yao¡¯s medicine furnace in half, I whipped you twenty times. In these three years, I have been regretting that maybe I was too mean to you, now¡ªget your ass over to the ancestral hall!¡± Lin Weirui cried and looked at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei coughed twice and made a weak and frail appearance. Lin Bianyu saw the opportunity and hastily supported him, ¡°Elder brother, you go hit first, I¡¯m taking Xiao Jiu in to go rest.¡± Lin Weirui cried out and was grabbed by Lin Minzhi, who was livid, to the ancestral hall. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu looked at the fake-pregnant Lin Weirui and the ill-treated Lin Bianyu and fell into a contemplative mood. Lin Rufei: Wait! ! Wake up! ! You¡¯re a mannnnnn! ! ! Gu Xuandu say: That¡¯s not a problem. Lin Rufei: Huh ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] The word here is СØË which refers underage male servants. I didn¡¯t want it to be too wordy so I just wrote servant, but wanted to let you guys know he is a male servant. [2] Lv Er means Green Ear. I did not make a typo for Lv, in Chinese pinyin, the ¡°u¡± accent mark for Green is ¨¸ which you can¡¯t really type on a keyboard, so in pinyin, for Green (L¨¸) it is typed as Lv (It¡¯s actually the same thing for girl (n¨¸) where it is typed as nv) However it is pronounced the same as Yu, but just with a L, furthermore Lu is pronounced similar to You but with an L which is why I¡¯m not not using Lu. I hope this clears anything up [3] I don¡¯t think there is an English equivalent to this saying (or none that I know of). The word here is ·þÁË which has a sarcastic meaning, like ¡°I give in¡± or ¡°I submit¡± but also in like an admiration way(?) It¡¯s kinda hard to explain too but just know it¡¯s kinda sarcastic. ^x^; CH 17 Lin Weirui was dragged to the ancestral hall by Lin Minzhi and received ten full lashes. In this family, she was the one that was beaten the most. As a child, she often quietly slipped away while carrying Lin Rufei; if he didn¡¯t return sick, all was fine. But as soon as Lin Rufei returned home sick, she got a beating. Later, Lin Rufei did not want to involve her again but she still dragged Lin Rufei out with her. She would wink and say that elder brother never put too much force on the whip. It didn¡¯t hurt when he lashed at her at all, he was just trying to scare her. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s boring for you to stay in the garden alone.¡± Lin Weirui said, ¡°Even if Xiao Jiu does not want to see people, seeing the other sceneries on the mountain is also good.¡± She acted like that from young to old. It wasn¡¯t until a few years ago when Lin Weirui went out to travel that there was a lot of silence in Lin Rufei¡¯s garden. Lin Minzhi soon came back with Lin Weirui, who was limping. She was screaming with tears in her eyes and flung herself at Lin Rufei¡¯s side. She hugged her beloved brother and cried, ¡°Big brother, you are so cruel, I just came back and you¡¯re already going to beat me up.¡± Lin Minzhi said coldly, ¡°Otherwise, should I give you ten more lashes to help you fulfill this wish of being crippled?¡± Lin Weirui immediately stood up straight and said righteously, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be that serious.¡± Lin Bianyu and Lin Rufei chuckled lowly. Once Lin Weirui came back, the courtyard was indeed quite lively. ¡°Xiao Jiu, when do you plan to leave?¡± Lin Weirui turned around and hugged Lin Rufei, who was sitting in a chair, from behind. She noticed the unique, faint medicinal fragrance on him and said brokenly, ¡°I just came back, you can¡¯t leave right away. Jianghu is dangerous, there will always be some nasty people. Before you leave, ask them to prepare you some more talismans and spiritual treasures. Even if we can¡¯t beat them, we can at least use the treasures and smash them to death!¡± Lin Bianyu, who stood by and listened, had actually nodded in agreement. Lin Rufei was crying and laughing. The four siblings had dinner together before they dispersed. Lin Rufei was also a bit tired and after bathing, he sat by the window and looked at the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard that was starting to draw leaves. The tree was thin and small, with a few sparse leaves on its branches, making it even more pitiful. It was like a child with tattered clothes, trembling pitifully with the night breeze. Lin Rufei sent Fu Hua and Yu Rui to rest, leaving him alone in the room. He looked at the cherry blossoms in the courtyard hidden in the night, and softly opened his mouth: ¡°Is senior Gu here?¡± No one answered. Lin Rufei was slightly disappointed, he knew that only he could see Gu Xuandu. This person¡¯s origin was a mystery, but he seemed to have an inseparable relationship with the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. He was still deep in thought. When he turned around, he saw Gu Xuandu dressed in red and sitting at the head of his bed. He was staring at the wooden rack that was placed next to the bed. The wooden rack had a bunch of peony flowers that Fu Hua had gotten¡ªthey were very flashy. Lin Rufei took a look at the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard and gave birth to some guilty conscience Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Although the peonies are beautiful, they are too gaudy.¡± Lin Rufei could only echo: ¡°You have a point.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s phoenix eyes turned and landed on his body, saying, ¡°Nevertheless, cherry blossoms are more beautiful.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t dare brush off the beauty¡¯s thoughts: ¡°Right.¡± Who knew that Gu Xuandu¡¯s next words would be, ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have much time to bloom them either.¡± Lin Rufei almost choked on those words. Gu Xuandu sighed and frowned: ¡°It took several years to squeeze out such a bud, but it was blown away by the wind.¡± He suddenly got up and walked to Lin Rufei. He reached out and lifted his chin, gazing into his eyes, ¡°The good thing is that there is still one left.¡± Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes, feeling the cold fingers gently brushing over his right eye. ¡°It¡¯s also enough.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and said. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Senior ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°What?¡± Lin Rufei called again, ¡°Senior.¡± Gu Xuandu gave a subtle look: ¡°Senior what¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei felt his hair stand up due to Gu Xuandu¡¯s stare as if the word ¡°senior¡± provoked a certain kind of unspeakable interest of Gu Xuandu. His lips mumbled for a moment and he said in a low voice: ¡°Senior Xuandu, what is wrong?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and said, ¡°Nothing, call me senior again.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why did he get a feeling that he was being taken advantage of? Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment and whispered, ¡°May I ask how old senior Xuandu is this year?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression did not change: ¡°Not too much older than you.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How much is that?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Asking someone¡¯s age as soon as they arrive, is that not inappropriate?¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and felt that there seemed to be some truth to it, but obviously, Gu Xuandu¡¯s statement that he was not much older was not very credible. However, since he was willing to be a senior, Lin Rufei complied with his wishes: ¡°A few days ago, I had a sword competition with Wang Teng. Thank you senior for helping.¡± Gu Xuandu lazily said, ¡°I didn¡¯t help much. I just picked up a cherry blossom branch that was broken off by your second brother and sent it to you.¡± This Gu Xuandu tone of voice was light and breezy, but the way he talked was like a child complaining. How could Lin Rufei not hear it? He was crying and laughing and said tomorrow he will go talk with his second brother. ¡°These days my brothers have agreed to allow me down the mountain to travel. I wonder if senior Xuandu is willing to go with me?¡± He knew that such a request was a bit too much. Lin Rufei¡¯s pale cheeks floated with a sweet red from nervousness. He slightly pursed his lips and whispered, ¡°Of course, if senior is unwilling, I will not force you. Before I leave, I will instruct second brother, and will not let him touch the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard.¡± Who knew that after Gu Xuandu heard his words, he let out a faint smile: ¡°Naturally, I want to leave the mountain with you. My only petal has fallen onto your body, if I don¡¯t follow you, who do I follow. Furthermore¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Furthermore?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s tone became slightly more serious: ¡°Furthermore, I also have a favor to ask.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°May I know what it is?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°My soul is currently weak and I can¡¯t show up often. I want to retrieve some old items that I have lost in various places. I¡¯ll have to inconvenience Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Rufei was surprised, ¡°Old items? Do you know where you have lost them?¡± ¡°I can vaguely sense them, but it¡¯s been too long, so it¡¯s become somewhat fuzzy. I need to get closer to know.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But since you¡¯re going to travel down the mountain, it¡¯s still considered along the way.¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Then senior Xuandu has accepted my invitation to travel? I just don¡¯t know if I need to bring the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard with me?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled lightly, ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I have other ways.¡± Lin Rufei was slightly happy in his heart. On this trip, he was most worried that he would not be able to protect himself and cause his brothers and sister to worry. Although this Gu Xuandu had appeared abruptly and his origin was a mystery, in the end, he still helped him out in every way. According to his current life expectancy, if he stays on Kunlun Mountain he would not live past thirty and be left with a body that had no use. Being able to leave Kunlun Mountain and traveling around had been his life¡¯s greatest wish. If in the morning he were to gain knowledge of the correct path in life, he would be able to die at sunset without regrets[1]. That¡¯s probably about it. The night was getting darker. Lin Rufei lay down on the bed and Gu Xuandu sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against the wooden chair looking at something. Lin Rufei looked at him for a while then drowsiness started to envelop him. He lowered his eyes to the halfway mark. In his daze, he seemed to have heard Gu Xuandu whisper: ¡°Watching this scenery for a hundred years definitely gets tiresome.¡± A hundred years? Lin Rufei thought confusedly. He seemed to have remembered his mother saying that the cherry blossom grove at the foot of the mountain had appeared a hundred years ago. No one knew who planted them, nor did they know when they grew. But when people found out about it, it was already in the prime of Spring and there were already a dozen miles of cherry blossom. It made the mountain cliff red. The next day, it was sunny. Fu Hua washed the pagoda tree blossoms they had picked yesterday, grabbed some white flour, and decided to make pagoda tree blossom dumplings. Lin Weirui had just returned and the entire Kunlun Mountain knew. Last night she ran to the front mountain and found Lin Minzhi¡¯s disciples. She drank with them until dawn only to have Lin Minzhi seize her and throw her back into her room. This almost earned her another lash. Lin Minzhi¡¯s calm and steady personality was useless in front of Lin Weirui, and he almost wanted to grab the whip from the ancestral hall so he could lash out whenever. However, Lin Weirui also knows that Lin Minzhi was a lot of talk, but no action. When the whip strikes with a whooshing sound, it was as if her body was scratched to relieve an itch. But she was also smart, even though it did not hurt the slightest, she would still scream and even fake a limp for a few days. It was considered giving face to her elder brother. The dumplings stuffed with pagoda tree blossoms were a bit plain, so Yu Rui went to the kitchen to fetch a piece of pork. She also picked up two fresh cabbages, intending to make some pork with cabbage filling. The courtyard was very lively, Lin Rufei had nothing to do so he played chess[2] with his sullen second brother. Lin Bianyu was as good at chess as he was at swordsmanship, but today he was obviously not thinking about the match in front of him and lost three games in a row. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What is second brother thinking about?¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°In a few days, it will rain.¡± Lin Rufei was puzzled: ¡°So what if it rains?¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°After the rain, the mountain road is slippery and unsafe, so you¡¯d better go down on another day.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Second brother, I am not made of sugar, will I melt if I stand in the rain? This trip down the mountains won¡¯t take too long. I¡¯ll be back after I deliver the invitations.¡± Lin Bianyu was still sullen and unconsciously glanced towards the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. Lin Rufei hurriedly warned Lin Bianyu to not touch anything in his courtyard after he left, especially that cherry blossom tree¡ª Lin Bianyu said in a deep voice: ¡°Xiao Jiu, did you know that that tree isn¡¯t a good thing. It even made a move against me!¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was shocked: ¡°Made a move?¡± Yesterday, it was Gu Xuandu who complained, but today it was Lin Bianyu who complained. The two who were originally calm and steady seemed to have turned into childish children: ¡°He deliberately tripped me and caused me to fall.¡± He felt that saying it this way didn¡¯t make the situation serious enough so Lin Bianyu exaggeratedly added a sentence. ¡°Even now my leg still hurts badly.¡± Lin Rufei did not believe it. It was only a fall, at most, it would just be a little humiliating, and wouldn¡¯t be a serious problem at all. But he still patiently pacified Lin Bianyu. Only until the dumplings were cooked did Lin Bianyu¡¯s depressed look disappear a little. When the hot dumplings were served, the hungover Lin Weirui was dragged to the table by Lin Minzhi. The four of them sat down and raised their porcelain cups first. Lin Rufei toasted with tea instead of wine, and all of them laughed and raised their cups to celebrate. At this time, the Spring color outside the window was very apparent, and the cherry blossom branches were trembling slightly in the wind, as if in harmony. ******** CH 18 The date that Lin Rufei was going to leave the mountain was set. The most beloved younger brother of the family was going away, the older siblings naturally wanted to pile all the best things on him. Just a talisman that could transmit voice, they brought 500 of them. The price of this talisman was expensive, 500 could be worth a small sect¡¯s one-year expenses. Lin Bianyu even wanted to find a sword for Lin Rufei, but when Lin Rufei strolled around in their family¡¯s warehouse, he did not see one to his liking. In fact, it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t like these swords, it was just that he couldn¡¯t lift up any of them. Originally, an ordinary sword that was sheathed seemed to have been glued to the scabbard. Lin Rufei reached out to pull but it would not budge. Lin Bianyu was so angry that he almost broke all these swords that didn¡¯t give his brother any face. But even without a sword, it shouldn¡¯t be too big of a deal. Lin Rufei felt that the cherry blossom branch was quite useful so he opened his mouth to comfort Lin Bianyu, saying that with all the spiritual treasures he gave him, it was enough. Lin Bianyu was still sulking, saying that the idea of letting Lin Rufei leave the mountain was suggested by Wan Yao. Wan Yao said that Kunlun Mountain was just a pool of stagnant water for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei¡¯s chance of life was at the foot of the mountain. With these words and seeing Lin Rufei defeat Wang Teng, the older siblings reluctantly agreed to let Lin Rufei travel down the mountain. However, Lin Bianyu had something weighing heavy in his heart. Jianghu was dangerous, he was afraid that Lin Rufei would not return once he left, and that he would never see him again. Lin Rufei was well aware. He smiled at Lin Bianyu and said not to worry. Even with a few more Wang Tengs, he could still fight back. Furthermore, there aren¡¯t that many Wang Tengs in the world. Lin Bianyu sighed and said nothing. In these two or three days, Lin Rufei¡¯s dimensional ring was stuffed to the brim. The clothes that he was wearing were also replaced with spiritual treasures. Even his underclothes were wrapped in soft golden armor. Making Lin Rufei feel like a fully-armored big turtle[1]. Just from what he was carrying on him right now, if he encountered any cultivators, most likely they couldn¡¯t even break Lin Rufei¡¯s outermost layer of defense, let alone hurt him. But the older siblings were still very worried and he was warned of the rules in Jianghu. They said that if outsiders offered him wine, to not easily accept it. If he encountered any roadside travelers that could not easily be trusted or if he encountered people he couldn¡¯t beat, to immediately run. The items inside his dimensional ring were enough to get him back to Kunlun Mountain. Lin Rufei was taught a lesson by the three people in turn. His head was as big as a bucket and before he had even left he already wilted a lot. He sat on a chair and dozed off. As a result, he was woken up again by Lin Weirui pulling on his cheek. She started reciting the lessons again. Lin Rufei did not want to take Fu Hua and Yu Rui with him. The two little girls stopped talking and started crying tears. Yu Rui was easy to send off, he just had to shove two pieces of corn candy into her mouth and she couldn¡¯t cry anymore. But Fu Hua was not easy. She looked sadly at Lin Rufei and was crying while preparing Lin Rufei¡¯s travel bag. Lin Rufei¡¯s brain hurt from their crying and said, ¡°What are you crying about?¡± ¡°Fu Hua has been taking care of young master for more than ten years. When young master leaves, who knows when you will return. Are you still not allowing Fu Hua to shed a tear or two?¡± Fu Hua choked out a sob. Lin Rufei was in the wrong and he hurriedly shut up. Fu Hua said again: ¡°Why doesn¡¯t young master want to take us with him? We can also take care of young master along the way. Although we won¡¯t be of much help, but if something really were to happen, at least there is someone there to send for help.¡± Lin Rufei was about to say something, but Lin Minzhi, who was sitting next to him, opened his mouth and asked Lin Rufei to take Fu Hua and Yu Rui with him. The two of them had already passed the fifth level of cultivation, so they would not hold Lin Rufei back. And if Lin Rufei was sick, they could also take good care of him. Lin Rufei could not refuse and was forced to accept. So the originally planned chivalrous trip turned into a noble young master¡¯s Spring excursion. On the day of departure, it rained a little and the mountain path was a little muddy. Lin Minzhi and the others sent Lin Rufei to town and watched him get into a beautiful vermillion carriage. Fu Hua was the coachman. She was wearing a bamboo hat and straw coat[2] with a sword around her waist. She looked more like a chivalrous man than Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was dressed in a white Spring outfit, his black hair was held up with an ebony hairpin. As he sat in the carriage, he lifted the curtain and looked at Lin Minzhi and the two others standing on the roadside. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. All three of them did not have an umbrella and the rain dripped down from their hair¡ªreflecting shimmering light particles. They looked at Lin Rufei with a gentle expression of reluctance. ¡°Xiao Jiu¡ªcome back early.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s voice was hoarse. ¡°Yes, come back early!¡± Lin Weirui rubbed her red eyes, ¡°If you encounter someone bullying you, send us a message!¡± ¡°Go early and come back early.¡± Lin Minzhi also said. ¡°Okay¡ªyou guys wait for me to come back.¡± Lin Rufei had a sour feeling at the bottom of his heart, this was the first time he had left home in twenty years. Fu Hua swung the whip and the carriage gradually moved away. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t want to let down the curtain. He watched the three figures gradually become smaller, blurred, and finally merging into the turquoise mountains and forests. The rain gradually got a little heavier and fell onto the roof of the carriage with a crackle. Yu Rui sat on the opposite side of Lin Rufei. No one was paying attention so she continuously ate corn candy, stuffing her cheeks into a bulge. She was like a gluttonous little mouse and vaguely said: ¡°Young master, are we heading to Moyu first?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes, we are going to see Xie Zhiyao.¡± ¡°Moyu is close to Kunlun, it takes half a day to get there by sword, but by carriage, it will take more days, maybe a day or two.¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°But it¡¯s okay, we have a lot of things prepared. Even if we walk in the mountains and forests for six months, there is nothing to fear.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Your corn candy won¡¯t last six months.¡± When Yu Rui heard this, she immediately wrinkled her face. The corn candy was a specialty in the town below Kunlun. It was soft and sticky, sweet and fragrant. She liked it the most. If there wasn¡¯t any more corn candy, it would be a big matter. However¡­..if she could accompany her young master, then corn candy didn¡¯t seem as important. When her thoughts stopped there, Yu Rui was happy again. Her mouth was chewing the soft candy: ¡°No worries. If there is no more, then there is no more. If I want to eat then I just have to look at young master a few times, then I won¡¯t be hungry anymore.¡± (t/n: smooth Yu Rui, smooth XD) Lin Rufei laughed. The mountain road was sparsely populated and the road was bumpy. Good thing the carriage had a special talisman placed on it, so those sitting inside felt the road was as smooth as if they were on flat ground. Lin Rufei felt strange and curious about his surroundings from his first trip down the mountain. Sitting by the window, he couldn¡¯t look away until the depths of night. Yu Rui went out to switch with Fu Hua who came inside to rest. At the urging of Fu Hua, he was ready to go to sleep. The wind was a bit cool during the night, so Fu Hua added bedding for Lin Rufei. She burned a pot of charcoal and heated water for Lin Rufei to wash up. Lin Rufei finished washing up and lay down on the bedding in his single layer. After blinking his eyes he said, ¡°It seems to be no different from the mountains.¡± Fu Hua looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s cute face wrapped in the bedding and laughed, ¡°It¡¯s only the first day we¡¯ve left. Young master, don¡¯t be hasty.¡± Lin Rufei yawned and fell into a deep sleep. In the middle of the night, the rain gradually grew heavier. The mountain wind was cold, making the woods rustle. However, amid the rain and wind, there seemed to be another sound mixed in. This sound was like the sound of human music, it wasn¡¯t unpleasant, it was just that in this dark night, it felt ghostly. Lin Rufei was already a light sleeper and when the sound appeared, he immediately woke up. He saw Yu Rui lying on the table sleeping soundly. He softly called out to Fu Hua, and the maid answered, ¡°Why did young master wake up?¡± ¡°Do you hear anything?¡± Lin Rufei asked Fu Hua was silent for a moment and whispered, ¡°It seems like the villagers who live around the mountain path are holding a funeral.¡± Lin Rufei raised his hand and lifted the carriage curtain. Indeed, on the dark mountain path, he saw a string of bright and flickering fires. The figures walking through the lights were dressed in white, holding torches as they walked on the dark mountain path. A few people up ahead seemed to be carrying a black coffin. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°The pattern on the mourning clothes that these people are wearing look somewhat familiar.¡± Fu Hua murmured, ¡°I seem to have seen it somewhere.¡± Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°Familiar?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Xie family¡¯s pattern is very special. Many years have passed and I still remember it exactly ¡­¡­ the corners of those people¡¯s clothes are indeed embroidered with such a pattern.¡± The Xie family was a large family. They had strict discipline and a lot of rules. Especially the main family. Food, clothing, everything was strictly in accordance with the regulations. This group of people had the Xie family¡¯s pattern embroidered on their clothes, most likely they had a relationship with the Xie family. As the two were still talking, the funeral mourners on the mountain road noticed them and the firelight stopped for a moment before quickly gathering towards them. Fu Hua frowned. She gripped the sword at the side of her waist and said: ¡°Young master, wait a moment, I¡¯ll ask them what they want to do.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°There¡¯s no hurry, just let them come over.¡± Those people indeed quickly arrived at the front of the mountain road and surrounded Lin Rufei¡¯s carriage. ¡°Who are you guys?¡± The man at the head of the group asked in a stern voice, ¡°Why are you still on the mountain road at this time.¡± When Fu Hua heard his questioning tone, she knitted her brows and frowned heavily. She was about to attack, but she saw Lin Rufei shake his head, signaling her to back off. Lin Rufei lifted the carriage curtain and saw the person who had stopped the carriage. He said, ¡°I am Lin Rufei, the fourth son of the Lin family of Kunlun sect. I was ordered by the Sect Leader to deliver the invitations for the next sword competition to the Xie family.¡± Hearing this, the man looked slightly startled and looked carefully again before he balled his hand and bowed. He said, ¡°Sorry, Lin gongzi. It was our rudeness, but recently this area is not peaceful, so remember to be careful on your way.¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyes and looked at the dark coffin. He asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, you guys are¡­¡­¡± The man hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to say or not. Lin Rufei also did not force him to say: ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to say. You guys can continue on, I¡¯ll just continue on my way.¡± The man gritted his teeth and opened his mouth anyway. He said, ¡°We are burying the family¡¯s eldest son, Xie Kongcheng.¡± Lin Rufei was stunned: ¡°Xie Kongcheng?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The man affirmed. When Lin Rufei heard this, he knew that the Xie family must have gotten into big trouble this time. Xie Kongcheng was Xie Zhiyao¡¯s elder brother. He was arguably the most powerful person in the Xie family¡¯s younger generation, and with a cultivation level like theirs, it was never possible to die of illness and only possible to be injured by external forces. And looking at the wretched funeral the Xie family was holding in the middle of the night, most likely this bloodshed was not a simple rivalry feud. After bidding farewell to the Xie family, the carriage was once again on the road. The rain was still falling, making the Spring day somewhat cold. CH 19 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ The carriage traveled for another day before arriving at Moyu territory. If it was said that the Lin family was in charge of Kunlun Mountain, then Moyu was the territory of the Xie family. After a few days of walking on the mountain road, there was finally a wide avenue. The surrounding desolate mountains and forests receded and gradually there were people. When they entered the city, the speed of the carriage slowed down. Lin Rufei lifted the curtain and surveyed the stores and the people walking along the road. Moyu City was a prosperous business town with many merchants passing by. It was the westernmost commercial town on the Yaoguang continent. Lin Rufei saw a lot of unique things on the street that he had never seen before. The two maids also couldn¡¯t stop looking at them, especially the younger Yu Rui, who couldn¡¯t stop swallowing her saliva. The Xie residence was located in the middle of the street; the entrance had two tall and lofty stone lions. Fu Hua went to call open the door. Lin Rufei stood aside to wait but found that the two stone lions had their heads slightly deviated towards him. ¡°Ah, why did the stone move?¡± Yu Rui exclaimed. Lin Rufei observed for a moment and laughed: ¡°This is probably not stone. It¡¯s a stone beast.¡± ¡°Stone beast?¡± Yu Rui didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Mhmm. Auspicious beasts to guard the house.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Normally, they look similar to stone but it can ward off some evil spirits.¡± As the two were talking, the door to the Xie residence opened. Fu Hua explained their reason for arrival, but the doorkeeper looked hesitant and stared down at the three of them. Among these three, Lin Rufei was obviously the most conspicuous. He looked calm and was wearing a white-based Spring clothing with flowing cloud patterns made of gold silk. His right thumb had a turquoise jade. On his waist hung an incense bag with a pattern that no one could understand. He looked handsome but had a pale face and seemed to not be in good health. However on his face, the most striking was the pair of lighter than normal color black eyes. When the doorkeeper saw these eyes, he seemed to recall something. He immediately asked: ¡°May I ask if this is the fourth son of the Lin family?¡± ¡°Precisely.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°Please, please¡ª¡± the doorkeeper hurriedly said and instructed another person to help Fu Hua bring the carriage in. It turned out that after Lin Rufei and the Xie family met on the mountain road that day, someone sent a message back. The Xie family was prepared to receive a valuable guest. It was just that Lin Rufei had just entered the Xie house when he noticed that there was something wrong with the atmosphere inside the house. In the large Xie residence, he only saw a few people. Even if someone walked by, they looked terrified. After seeing Lin Rufei and his companions, who were strangers, their expression changed as if they had seen a ghost. The doorkeeper took the three of them, Lin Rufei and his maids, to a room and said that the Xie family head had some business to take care of so he went out and would only return at night. He said that they should rest for a while and when the time arrived, he would come to greet them. Lin Rufei thanked him and then hesitated for a moment. He asked if Xie San Gongzi was at home. When the doorkeeper heard Lin Rufei¡¯s inquiry, his expression stiffened and he sighed: ¡°Yes, he is here, it¡¯s just that ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Just what?¡± The doorkeeper said, ¡°Just that he is still being punished in the ancestral hall.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Punished? What did he do wrong?¡± The doorkeeper smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Sorry, Lin gongzi, it¡¯s not something we servants can talk about. If you want to ask, please ask our master or you can wait. In a few days, the third young master should be out.¡± Lin Rufei did not continue to make things difficult for him so he let him go. ¡°I always felt that the Xie residence was strange.¡± After putting away the luggage, Fu Hua and Yu Rui also came to Lin Rufei¡¯s room. The two maids apparently also felt that the atmosphere in this house was weird, muttering, ¡°Something is strange.¡± ¡°Indeed it¡¯s not quite right.¡± Lin Rufei sat on a chair with a cup of hot tea in his hand. He picked up the cup of tea and took a sip, whispering, ¡°The Xie family¡¯s eldest son died suddenly, the entire Xie mansion didn¡¯t even hold a funeral service¡ªnot even a white lantern was hung.¡± If he remembered correctly, Xie Kongcheng was the Xie family¡¯s most valued junior. He suddenly passed away and was hastily buried overnight. There was not a trace left in the entire Xie residence. ¡°No matter, let¡¯s wait until nightfall.¡± After a few days of travel and hardship, Lin Rufei also developed some tiredness. He said, ¡°Rest first, wait until the invitation is handed to the Xie family head before talking about other matters.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui said yes before they withdrew obediently. Lin Rufei casually ate some food, then casually flipped through some books that were placed inside the room and read them. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. A breeze swept through the window, and the man suddenly appeared beside Lin Rufei as usual. He opened his mouth: ¡°It¡¯s been hundreds of years, why is the Xie family still the same old.¡± Lin Rufei was almost used to his sudden appearance. He continued to look at the book without raising his head and casually said: ¡°The same old? Senior has been to the Xie family before?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu lazily leaned against the window, looking at the desolate scene in the courtyard, ¡°But I have heard a thing or two about it.¡± Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh,¡± he said: ¡°Then senior knows what happened to the Xie family?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I can guess some of it.¡± Lin Rufei blinked his eyes, then raised his head with some curiosity: ¡°Is it convenient to say?¡± Gu Xuandu forced out a smile: ¡°It¡¯s fine to say ¡­¡­ just ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Just what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that these things are all nasty things, your ears will feel dirty after hearing them.¡± Gu Xuandu said. Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°No matter, it¡¯s hard to tell how clean the ears are anyways.¡± Gu Xuandu stood up and walked to Lin Rufei¡¯s side in a few steps. He bent down close to Lin Rufei¡¯s cheek and whispered, ¡°From what I can see, isn¡¯t it quite clean?¡± The breath that was exhaled onto Lin Rufei¡¯s ear brought about some itchiness. Lin Rufei reflexively wanted to move away, but Gu Xuandu had already straightened up his body. He said: ¡°Every family that can pass on their legacy for hundreds of years always has some methods of their own. Your Lin family has the unparalleled sword technique and the art of sword-making, their Xie family also has its own method.¡± ¡°What method?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Do you know how the Gu King was refined?¡± Gu Xuandu asked. Lin Rufei instantly understood Gu Xuandu¡¯s meaning and was a little incredulous: ¡°Isn¡¯t such a method too harmful to the harmony of heaven?¡± ¡°What is heavenly harmony?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°For some people, the family¡¯s continuity and prosperity is the harmony of heaven.¡± His tone was lazy, ¡°There are many bones buried under the high position. There are many filthy things, it¡¯s better to get used to it earlier.¡± Lin Rufei was silent. He has seen some in books, but only text descriptions. How can it compare to the shock of seeing it with his own eyes? Plus, there was also the situation about his childhood playmate. He flipped through a few pages of the book and felt a little bored inside the house, so he casually picked up his cloak, put it on, and left the courtyard. He wanted to go to Moyu¡¯s streets for a walk. When the doorkeeper saw that he was going out, he eagerly opened the door for him and asked if he needed someone to accompany him. Lin Rufei refused his kind offer, saying that he just wanted to walk alone. Gu Xuandu followed Lin Rufei¡¯s side, but no one could see him except Lin Rufei. The streets of Moyu were flat and wide, it was a different scene compared to Kunlun. Lin Rufei walked on the street and soon found some interesting things. Things like painting small people on stone slabs using sugar water, crispy dough balls fried in the frying pan¡ªwhich seemed to be something that children like¡ªLin Rufei¡¯s eyes shone and he could not move his feet. The vendors were very smart. When they saw a noble gentleman stopped at the door of their stalls, they shouted loudly. Some enthusiastic vendors greeted Lin Rufei to first try a bite, if it wasn¡¯t delicious, he did not have to pay. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t resist the temptation, and from his pouch, he took out a few silver coins. He bought some snacks and other knick-knacks. He then went to the stall selling sugar painting[1] and asked the vendor to draw a cherry blossom. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s for you.¡± Lin Rufei took the sugar-painted cherry blossom branch, found a place where no one was around, and handed it to Gu Xuandu who was beside him. ¡°Can you hold it?¡± He didn¡¯t know if Gu Xuandu could touch physical objects. Gu Xuandu did not speak. He simply reached out and took it before taking a few bites with a crunch. After some chewing, he swallowed it. Because he ate too quickly, the dark sugar crumbs left some noticeable traces on his lips. Lin Rufei raised his hand and pointed to the corner of his own mouth and said: ¡°Here¡­..¡± Gu Xuandu raised his head and looked at him. ¡°Right here.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°There is ¡­¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Gu Xuandu¡¯s face actually came closer. His cold lips swept over the corner of his mouth as if it were a feather, startling Lin Rufei, who couldn¡¯t help but take two steps back. His pale face flushed red: ¡°You¡ªwhat are you doing¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu was full of innocence: ¡°Otherwise, what did you mean?¡± Lin Rufei was helpless: ¡°I mean you have sugar crumbs at the corner of your mouth¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu let out an ¡°oh.¡± He stretched out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth. He was born extremely beautiful and doing this kind of action also brought in some sexual feelings. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but avert his eyes. He even forgot to pursue the matter that had happened earlier and therefore missed the smile in Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes. Lin Rufei has lived for more than twenty years. Those that came into long-term contact with him, besides his relative, were only the two maids Fu Hua and Yu Rui. But he has never had any other thoughts about them, the feelings could be said to be blank. As he was being teased by Gu Xuandu, he felt embarrassed and also gave birth to some shame. He didn¡¯t know whether Gu Xuandu was unintentional or deliberately teasing for his own amusement. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The attitude of Gu Xuandu was still the same as before. He pointed to the dragon¡¯s beard candy[2] on the vendor¡¯s stall and said that it was delicious and to remember to buy some back. Lin Rufei then proceeded to buy two boxes. When the two of them finished shopping on the street, Lin Rufei¡¯s hands were full of large bags of snacks and all kinds of strange-shaped gadgets. Even after this much, the two were still not done. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they couldn¡¯t carry anymore, they would have continued to buy some more stuff. The day was also getting a little late. Lin Rufei slowly wandered back to the Xie residence. Fu Hua and Yu Rui, seeing Lin Rufei return from a rewarding journey, showed surprise. They rushed forward to take the things in his hand and said young master went out, how come he didn¡¯t call on them. ¡°I just want to go around by myself.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to be so nervous.¡± ¡°Just now, a servant from the Xie family came over and said that Master Xie had already set up a banquet, so if you come back you can go there directly.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Is young master going to go now?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Going.¡± It was only a matter of time. At this time, it was dusk, and the entire Xie residence was covered in the dusky sunlight of the evening. Except for the servant who led Lin Rufei to the main hall, there was not a single person in the large Xie residence, and it was terribly silent. Above the eaves, there were a few blackbirds. They looked like some type of crow and they did not chirp. They just quietly gazed at the Xie residence from high above, as if waiting for something. As they walked, Lin Rufei casually asked the servant a few words. The servant was docile and answered in a whisper. But any question about Xie Zhiyao would not receive an answer. Furthermore, after hearing the name Xie Zhiyao, his face even showed some trepidation as if the name Xie Zhiyao was something ominous. ¡°If Lin gongzi has anything he wants to know, then you can ask the family head.¡± The servant said trembling, ¡°There are things that are not meant for us underlings to say.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head and said yes. The Xie residence was so big that walking inside was like entering an endless maze. After walking for a while, they still did not reach their destination, and in the meantime, they even passed through a beautiful garden. The Spring garden should have been the most beautiful, but unfortunately, the Xie family¡¯s garden was not taken care of. It was overgrown with luxuriant weeds and it covered the planted flowers and trees. It was so deserted that even the pathway was almost flooded. The servant walked on it carefully, reminding Lin Rufei to be careful of the slippery ground. ¡°How much longer until we arrive?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Soon, soon. It¡¯s just up ahead.¡± The servant said, ¡°A few more steps and we will be there.¡± After he said this, he turned two more corners, and only then did Lin Rufei see the Xie family head and a group of family members sitting in the middle of the light waiting quietly. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: So sweet. Lin Rufei: The sugar painting is indeed sweet. Gu Xuandu: I mean you. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­ CH 20 The Xie family¡¯s banquet was laid out in the back garden. When the Xie family head saw Lin Rufei for the first time, his attitude was very eager. He enthusiastically invited Lin Rufei to sit at the main seat. ¡°Lin gongzi personally came to deliver the invitation, it is really a great fortune for my Xie family. It¡¯s just that these days our family has had some accidents, so our hospitality is a bit inadequate. Do please forgive us.¡± The Xie family head¡¯s cultivation was at the eighth level. He was more than two hundred years old and had a modest nature. He didn¡¯t have the slightest arrogance of an elder and his smile was harmonious. Lin Rufei nodded and said in a warm voice, ¡°Family head, you are courteous.¡± The Xie family head and Lin Rufei chatted about some Kunlun Mountain matters with smiles on their faces. Most likely he was curious about why the Lin family would send the seemingly frail fourth young master to deliver the invitation. So after a few more inquiries, Lin Rufei said that the Lin family has always had the rule that direct disciples must travel down the mountain. When the Xie family head heard this, he smiled and showed an expression that showed ¡°so that was the case.¡± He said, ¡°No matter, no matter. Moyu City is very safe. Lin gongzi can stroll around as he pleases¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei nodded with a smile and then asked why he hadn¡¯t seen Xie Zhiyao around. The Xie family head knew that Lin Rufei and Xie Zhiyao were childhood playmates. When he heard Lin Rufei ask about his third son, he was not very surprised, he just had a slight frown. He sighed and said: ¡°Zhiyao, this child, violated the Xie family¡¯s ancestral training. He was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days. However, since Lin gongzi is here, I will release him tomorrow so that he can catch up with Lin gongzi? ¡° Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then I will trouble the family head.¡± The two of them were eating and chatting, and the atmosphere was not bad. However, the women of the Xie family seemed very formal. From the beginning to the end, they simply lowered their heads to eat and didn¡¯t talk. After having a good meal, Lin Rufei took out the invitation and handed it to the Xie family head, saying that this was the invitation to the next sword competition. But who knew that when the Xie family head saw the invitation, he hesitated. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei was slightly surprised, ¡°Is the family head not going to participate in the sword competition?¡± ¡°No, no, no.¡± The Xie family head said, ¡°It¡¯s just that I remembered some things from the past.¡± He smoothly took the invitation and tucked it into his bosom. He then personally escorted Lin Rufei back to the room he was staying in, saying that the night was cold and windy, so Lin gongzi should try not to go out at night and be careful of catching a cold. Lin Rufei said yes, and only then did everyone turn and leave the table. When he returned to the room, Lin Rufei felt that the Xie family was really strange. Xie Kongcheng obviously died, but his father actually did not show a bit of sadness. No one in the residence was even mourning. It was as if Xie Kongcheng was a transparent person. At the banquet tonight, he also did not see any of the Xie family juniors, it was almost all women and on those women¡¯s faces, he could see a few colors of fear. Fu Hua made a cup of hot tea for Lin Rufei and said softly: ¡°What is young master thinking about?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about how strange the Xie family is.¡± ¡°It is indeed quite strange.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°The whole atmosphere in the residence is very strange.¡± Lin Rufei remembered some of the secret things Gu Xuandu had told him during the day, and after a moment of thought, he told Fu Hua and Yu Rui to go and rest first. He thought that he would talk about it tomorrow when he met Xie Zhiyao. Fu Hua said: ¡°Looking at this weather, it seems that it will start raining again. Young master remember to cover up at night.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s chilly.¡± Yu Rui joined in, ¡°If it¡¯s too cold, should we burn a pot of charcoal for young master in the middle of the night?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°No need, it¡¯s not that cold. You guys go rest, I¡¯ll call you if something happens.¡± Only then did the two of them retreat. When they left, they considerately closed the doors and windows for him. After Lin Rufei washed up, he didn¡¯t feel that sleepy anymore, so he sat on the edge of the bed with a candle and casually flipped through the books in the room. About a few moments later, the sky was really like what Fu Hua said. It had started raining. It wasn¡¯t even the 17th hour yet, but the courtyard was already empty and no one was in sight. (t/n: I will be putting all the times in the 24 hour format so the 17th hour is 5PM. This makes it easier for people to understand if it is AM or PM since putting ¡°1 AM¡± and ¡°12 PM¡± feels weird in a historical novel ^~^) Lin Rufei read a book for a while before taking out the trinkets he bought on the street during the day and fiddling with them. The town at the foot of Kunlun Mountain was so small that there were almost no craft items for sale. For example, this mantis made of bamboo in front of him looks to be alive and breathing, as if it were real. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Is it very interesting?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind him. Lin Rufei laughed and said, ¡°I have never seen it before.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I remember a place in Jianghuai, there is a very famous ghost market. The objects sold there are very interesting, if you have time to pass by there, I will take you to see.¡± After he said this, he remembered something else and paused for a moment, ¡°I just don¡¯t know if that place is still there after so much time has passed.¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°I hope it is.¡± The two of them chatted about other interesting things. It was getting late and Lin Rufei was getting a little tired. He was about to put down the things in his hand and go rest on the couch when he saw a black figure outside the window, slowly walking through the gurgling rain. Although it was a bit far away, Lin Rufei still recognized the person¡¯s identity, he abruptly got up and called out the person¡¯s name: ¡°Xie Zhiyao¡ª¡± The person in the rain paused and slowly turned their head. It was indeed Xie Zhiyao. It was just that at this time, standing under the night rain, he could no longer see the childishness and confusion from the time of his youth. He was dressed in black and looked cold like hard ice. Only this ice melted slightly after seeing Lin Rufei. Xie Zhiyao opened his mouth with some hesitation: ¡°Lin ¡­¡­ Rufei?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for more than ten years, you¡¯ve changed a lot.¡± Xie Zhiyao also revealed a smile. He slowly walked towards Lin Rufei and raised his hand to push open the door. He looked up and down at his childhood friend who he had not seen for a long time: ¡°You have not changed much.¡± When he finished, he smiled slightly. ¡°Why have you come here at this time?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it the custom of the Lin family to have its direct disciples travel down the mountains?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°My sister has returned so it¡¯s my turn.¡± Xie Zhiyao wanted to say something else but stopped. He was aware of Lin Rufei¡¯s physical condition, his body was too weak to practice swords and was almost the same as a mortal. No, it was even more fragile than a mortal at some times. If Lin Rufei was born to another family with this body, most likely he would have become a pawn at the mercy of others. But in the Lin family, he was like a pearl in the palms of their hand, and no one dared to bully him at all. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Lin Rufei said in a warm voice, ¡°After all these years of recuperation, my body is better, and there are still two maids following me, it shouldn¡¯t be a big deal.¡± Xie Zhiyao nodded and his expression eased a bit. ¡°I asked your father about your whereabouts during the day. Your father said that you were in the ancestral hall for punishment and I would be able to see you tomorrow.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But ¡­¡­ what happened?¡± Xie Zhiyao slightly pursed his lips. He seemed to be hesitating on whether to answer or not. It was raining outside. Xie Zhiyao was also not like the general sword cultivator who used sword Qi to block the rain, so his hair and shoulders all have traces of wetness. It was a good thing he was wearing black, so the traces were not as obvious. However, vaguely visible water droplets dripped down his cheeks slowly towards his chin. His face was pale, but his eyes were dark to the point of frightening. His hand gently held the silver-white longsword at the side of his waist. This longsword was quite unusual in appearance. On its scabbard, there were sharp protrusions and the blade was long and slender. It wasn¡¯t even unsheathed yet it carried an eerie coldness, along with Xie Zhiyao¡¯s calm temperament, it seemed very out of place. ¡°If it¡¯s not convenient to say, then you don¡¯t need to say it.¡± Lin Rufei also did not want to make things difficult for his best friend. He continued, ¡°This time I came here, one is to deliver the invitation, and the second is to see you.¡± Xie Zhiyao sighed: ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal, it¡¯s just that my servant, Lv Er, has caused some trouble.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Lv Er caused trouble?¡± Xie Zhiyao nodded his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I see him with you, is he being punished?¡± Xie Zhiyao exhaled a breath and said calmly: ¡°He ran away after he got into trouble, probably because he was afraid of being punished. The Xie family is in a lot of chaos these days, I wanted to wait for things to calm down before looking for him.¡± Lin Rufei was sensitive and noticed Xie Zhiyao¡¯s cold expression had some softness to it when he mentioned Lv Er¡¯s name. This was not strange, after all, it was a servant that has been by his side for so many years, naturally, their deep feelings were normal. However, Lin Rufei vaguely remembered that the young Xie Zhiyao didn¡¯t really like Lv Er, after all when the servant spoke, the words that came out were not very good. He didn¡¯t know what had happened in the past ten years to make him change his mind. Xie Zhiyao raised his eyes to look out the window: ¡°Today is a bit late, why don¡¯t we talk more tomorrow?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Sounds good.¡± Xie Zhiyao nodded slightly and then intended to leave, but when he was leaving, he paused at the door and turned back, ¡°It¡¯s raining heavily tonight, so it¡¯s better for Rufei to rest early.¡± This was no different from what the Xie family head said. It was as if they were hinting at something. Lin Rufei has always been a sensible and considerate person. He nodded his head at the words, responding to Xie Zhiyao¡¯s good intention of reminding him. Xie Zhiyao turned and left. His black clothes gradually merged into the dark rain, and the courtyard became quiet again. Lin Rufei closed the window, extinguished the candle, and intended to go to bed to rest. Who knew that when he turned his head, he saw Gu Xuandu lying on his side at the head of the bed. His hand propped up on his chin and he looked at him with interest. He openly listened to Lin Rufei and Xie Zhiyao¡¯s catch-up and said, ¡°This Xie Zhiyao, he¡¯s a bit interesting.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°A bit interesting?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°That sword of his, it¡¯s not an ordinary sword.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Aren¡¯t all the swords used by the Xie family not ordinary?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head, ¡°That sword isn¡¯t your usual iron sword.¡± Lin Rufei was curious, ¡°Then what kind of sword is it?¡± Gu Xuandu did not answer the question, instead, he patted on the soft bed and smiled teasingly: ¡°Come, come, come, lie over here and I will tell you slowly.¡± Lin Rufei had long discovered that this senior always liked to tease him, so he helplessly called out a senior Gu. Who knew that when Gu Xuandu heard the word ¡°senior,¡± he seemed to be more excited. He raised his hand and grabbed Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist, pulling him down. Their faces almost collided with each other. Lin Rufei propped himself up on the bed with his elbows and tried to move back, but Gu Xuandu leaned up and the tips of their noses touched. His thin lips opened slightly and he said, ¡°If I am not wrong, that sword of Xie Zhiyao should be made of the spine bone of a foreign beast.¡± When Lin Rufei heard the words, he was frozen in place for a moment: ¡°The spine of a foreign beast? But there are not many foreign beasts left in this world, how did the Xie family find it? Besides, in the Xie family¡¯s situation, even if they could find the spine of a foreign beast to make a sword blade, it wouldn¡¯t be Xie Zhiyao¡¯s turn¡­¡­.¡± Their situation was completely different from his family. Xie Zhiyao¡¯s family had a hierarchy. The most valued was still his elder brother Xie Kongcheng, and because of this, almost all the resources of the Xie family were put into Xie Kongcheng¡¯s pocket. From the year Xie Zhiyao was sent to Kunlun and was accompanied by a not very good servant, Lv Er, Lin Rufei understood a thing or two about their situation. ¡°That I don¡¯t know.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But that sword of his is not easy.¡± Lin Rufei fell into deep thought. Gu Xuandu looked at his slightly drooping light-colored eyes and suddenly blinked, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel uncomfortable when I¡¯m so close to you?¡± Only then did Lin Rufei return to his senses and hurriedly moved back a bit: ¡°Yes¡­¡­ a little uncomfortable.¡± Gu Xuandu hooked his lips up into a smile: ¡°Really, since it is uncomfortable.¡± Lin Rufei thought he would back up a little, but who knew that his next words would be, ¡°Then come a little closer, so you can get used to it sooner.¡± Lin Rufei was speechless. The good thing was that Gu Xuandu was just joking and continued, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. You¡¯d better rest early. Even though it has been so long, why is this Xie family still so troublesome.¡± After he said this, his body faded away, leaving only a room full of the light fragrance of cherry blossoms. Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure could not be seen by others and even the fragrance couldn¡¯t be smelled by others. Only Lin Rufei could see his shape and hear his voice. This was probably what Wan Yao had said, the destiny that belonged to him alone. Lin Rufei yawned. He listened to the sound of rain outside the window and fell into a deep sleep. It was a dreamless night. The next morning, a ray of sunshine woke up the sleeping Lin Rufei. Unlike the quiet Kunlun. It was very lively below the mountain. The day had just begun and there were already all kinds of small sounds. The Spring rain had been falling all night, but it finally stopped in the morning. A thin puddle of water had accumulated on the green stones in the courtyard and the servants had started to move around. Fu Hua and Yu Rui prepared hot water for him early and the Xie family brought over a hot breakfast. Everything was as usual and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any difference. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of the words Gu Xuandu said yesterday, but Lin Rufei felt that this Xie residence had a strange smell everywhere. After breakfast, Xie Zhiyao sent a maid over to invite Lin Rufei to his bedroom for a chat. Lin Rufei did not bring Fu Hua and Yu Rui, he simply followed the maid with his umbrella. Before entering the room, Lin Rufei smelled a strong smell of medicine. He pushed open the door and saw Xie Zhiyao nestled at the head of the bed. The upper half of his body was wrapped in thick bandages and his face was even paler than when he saw it last night. His lips did not have any color, as if he had just been very ill. Although his expression was poor, his spirit was still good. He leaned on the bed with a smile and greeted Lin Rufei: ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± ¡°How did you get hurt?¡± Lin Rufei said in surprise. He took a few steps forward and went to Xie Zhiyao¡¯s side. He saw that he also had a few blood marks on his cheeks as if they were bruised by sword Qi. ¡°Mnn, I met a few little thieves last night.¡± Xie Zhiyao smiled and said, ¡°Just a few superficial injuries, it¡¯s not a problem.¡± Lin Rufei did not feel that it was that simple. Xie Zhiyao¡¯s internal breath was weak, obviously, he was injured very seriously. However, he seemed to not care. His demeanor, compared to last night, seemed even more relaxed as if he had let go of something important. ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Have those little thieves been caught?¡± Xie Zhiyao said quietly: ¡°They have been killed.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good then.¡± Lin Rufei said. Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°You¡¯ve come at a bad time. The Xie family has been in turmoil these past few days so I cannot provide you with good hospitality. If you are not in a hurry, you can stay here for a few more days, and when things are settled, I will show you around Moyu. Would that be fine?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry. But just looking at your body injury, it doesn¡¯t seem very convenient.¡± Xie Zhiyao laughed, ¡°It¡¯s just a small injury.¡± The two of them talked about the old times, like the times that they had spent on Kunlun Mountain when they were younger. Seeing Xie Zhiyao¡¯s nostalgic expression, Lin Rufei smiled and asked him if he wanted to go back to those days, but Xie Zhiyao shook his head and said, ¡°No. It was hard to come this far, I don¡¯t want to do it again.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°There is a restaurant called Yue Lai outside the Xie residence, the lion¡¯s head[1] there is a masterpiece. If you have nothing to do, you can go and try it.¡± Although he was in good spirits, in the end, he was still injured. Xie Zhiyao recommended some famous stores near the Xie residence before showing some tiredness. Lin Rufei was not an insensitive person and soon got up to say goodbye to let Xie Zhiyao have a good rest. When he came out from Xie Zhiyao¡¯s place, Lin Rufei saw that the sky had cleared up, so he planned to go out for a walk. Who knew that when he reached the front door, he bumped into a group of people. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This group of people seemed to appear suddenly. They were more than two dozen and were all dressed in white mourning clothes, the most eye-catching was the huge coffin in the middle of the crowd. The rest of the Xie family also saw this sudden group of people, but no one cast a glance at them. They all lowered their heads and pretended not to see it. The group of people carried the coffin and were silent on their feet¡ªlike a ghost. They walked past Lin Rufei. Gu Xuandu¡¯s sly voice suddenly sounded in Lin Rufei¡¯s ears as he whispered, ¡°Want to see who¡¯s in the coffin?¡± Before Lin Rufei could say anything, a stone on the ground beside him shot out and hit the front man carrying the coffin straight in the arch of his leg. The man who was struck by this blow, shouted, staggered a few steps, and flung to the ground. The wooden coffin was extremely heavy. Once this person fell, the coffin would lose its center of gravity and would slide towards the front. ¡°Not good¡ª¡± in the crowd¡¯s cry of alarm, the coffin fell to the ground, making a loud noise. The coffin lid was not sealed, when it landed on the ground it would directly slide open and the person contained inside would also fall out. It was an ugly dead man in grave clothes. Logically speaking, the dead should be ugly, but this one in front of him was so ugly it could kill. His body was thin, only about the size of an eight or nine-year-old child. The body was tightly curled up and his exposed skin was full of exaggerated wrinkles to the point that the face had become indiscernible. And the most appalling was that person¡¯s eyes. It was wide open as if it were two unwilling black holes. Its stare was absolutely terrifying. Lin Rufei has seen dead people before, but he has never seen such an ugly dead person. The whole courtyard was frighteningly quiet because of this sudden accident until the voice of the Xie family head rang out. The Xie family head, who appeared behind Lin Rufei at some point, scolded, ¡°What are you doing, quickly clean this mess up.¡± The people who were carrying the coffin woke up from their dream-like state and hurriedly put the corpse back into the coffin. They carried the coffin again and hurriedly left through the back door. Lin Rufei looked up and saw the smiling expression of the Xie family head. But this smile compared to the previous few days, was fake. It was as if he was wearing a mask. ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± The Xie family head spoke out. ¡°Family head Xie.¡± Lin Rufei answered. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain soon.¡± The Xie family head said, ¡°When you go out, remember to bring an umbrella.¡± Lin Rufei said lightly, ¡°Thanks for your concern.¡± The Xie family head nodded and turned to leave. Lin Rufei stared at his back and murmured under his breath as if he was talking to himself, ¡°What was that?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Naturally ¡­¡­ that is a person.¡± Indeed, it was a person, but how can someone die in such an ugly way? Once the day cleared, the stores around the Xie family were bustling with activity. Lin Rufei stepped on the green stone and slowly walked on it. That day it was late and he shopped a bit carelessly. Today he had nothing to do so he could slowly look around. As Xie Zhiyao said, the lion¡¯s head in the old Yue Lai building next to the Xie family was indeed delicious. It had a strong and soft texture with a rich and fresh taste. However, Lin Rufei had always had a weak appetite. So after he tasted some, he placed the chopsticks down. He propped up his chin with one hand and slowly rubbed the tea cup on the table with the other, saying in a slow voice, ¡°Did the family head do this?¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± Gu Xuandu sat beside Lin Rufei, soothing the seemingly frightened Lin Rufei. ¡°Don¡¯t be too afraid, it¡¯s just a dead man.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of a dead man.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°Really not afraid?¡± Gu Xuandu seemed to have doubts and tilted his head. He stared at Lin Rufei, as if he wanted to see traces of lies on his face. However, Lin Rufei¡¯s expression remained unchanged. His light-colored black eyes were calm like a deep lake. He looked at Gu Xuandu and said, ¡°I¡¯m just worried about Xie Zhiyao, will he be the next one?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°No clue.¡± Xie Zhiyao was suddenly seriously injured last night and today a strange corpse appeared in the Xie residence. Looking at the attitude of the Xie family, this person obviously had some status in the Xie residence, otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be so many people preparing for his funeral. Lin Rufei said again: ¡°Or ¡­¡­ that person was killed by him?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It is not entirely impossible.¡± The two looked at each other for a moment. Lin Rufei blinked: ¡°Can¡¯t senior provide some of his opinions?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and said, ¡°If you call me senior Xuandu again, I will give you my opinion.¡± Lin Rufei got up and left. Gu Xuandu sighed behind him and said, ¡°Senior and senior Xuandu. It¡¯s only a two-word difference. Why are you angry?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You probably don¡¯t understand.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face was expressionless: ¡°What you said is indeed true, it¡¯s just your expression when you say it. It always looks like you are molesting a girl who is not yet married.¡± Gu Xuandu was silent for a moment: ¡°You¡¯re right. You are not a girl.¡± The corners of Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth hadn¡¯t even had time to curl up when Gu Xuandu continued: ¡°And it¡¯s true you¡¯re not married yet¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei felt gloomy. The longer the two of them got along, the more he found Gu Xuandu¡¯s mouth to be very powerful. At least, in the matter of quarreling, he was not able to take advantage. Well ¡­¡­ not only could he not take advantage, but he was also taken advantage of. After tasting the good taste of the lion¡¯s head, Lin Rufei went to a few more antique stores that looked closer. It was just that this store sold objects that ordinary people liked since most of them had little spiritual aura. The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes were vicious and after looking Lin Rufei up and down for a while, he greeted him with a smile and enthusiastically introduced the store¡¯s contraptions. ¡°This young master, you¡¯re not from Moyu, right? I haven¡¯t seen you before.¡± The shopkeeper enthusiastically said, ¡°This young master, the dragon cloud brocade you¡¯re wearing is beautiful¡­¡­ That year I saw a similar one afar in Kyoto, I didn¡¯t expect to see it again in the remote area of Moyu.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s food and clothing were always taken care of by his maids. He didn¡¯t understand anything about clothing materials and whatnot. However, he simply nodded his head casually to the shopkeeper¡¯s words. Although the store was small, the items were very complete. Lin Rufei spent some silver money and picked a hairpin for both Fu Hua and Yu Rui. The shopkeeper smiled brightly and helped Lin Rufei wrap the items up. When he was wrapping the items, Lin Rufei asked in passing about the Xie residence, saying how the Xie residence was so indifferent these days. ¡°Yo, you don¡¯t know this, right?¡± The shopkeeper lowered his voice, ¡°A few days ago, someone in the Xie residence caused big trouble.¡± ¡°Big trouble?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What kind of big trouble?¡± ¡°I have only heard about it.¡± The shopkeeper looked left and right to make sure there was no one else around before continuing, ¡°It is said that a certain Xie family¡¯s son¡¯s servant ran away with the Xie family¡¯s heirloom. This was such a big deal at that time and the whole Moyu City was closed for several days.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Has the person been found?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± The shopkeeper said, ¡°But there are also rumors that they have been caught and brought back. Hey, we just take it as interesting gossip to listen to, no idea if it¡¯s the truth or not.¡± After obtaining the news, it was obvious that the servant the shopkeeper was talking about, the one that stole the heirloom, was Lv Er. It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t know if he was related to the strange events that were happening in the Xie family these few days. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Is this young master going to the Xie family?¡± The shopkeeper asked again. ¡°Mnn.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°To visit some old acquaintances in the Xie family.¡± The shopkeeper said, ¡°Oh ¡­¡­ so that¡¯s how it is.¡± He wanted to say more, but in the end, he didn¡¯t. He just handed the wrapped hairpins to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei picked up the hairpins and got up to leave the store. The lively street in front of him and the gloomy Xie residence formed a stark contrast. Lin Rufei spent the whole day wandering outside until it was getting dark. He then returned to the Xie residence. The Xie residence had already prepared dinner, but both Xie Zhiyao and the Xie family head were missing, and the entire courtyard was empty. It was as if Lin Rufei and his maids were the only ones here. Lin Rufei had eaten a lot of snacks on the street and had little appetite now. He picked up the chopsticks and ate a little before putting them down. He turned his head to look at Fu Hua: ¡°Is there something you want to say?¡± Fu Hua bit her lower lips and whispered: ¡°Young master, during the time you went out, I asked around about the Xie family. Finally, I know why the Xie residence is so strange.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Oh? Tell me about it.¡± Fu Hua said: ¡°The Xie family head seems to have suffered some kind of disease, his body doesn¡¯t seem to be able to hold on much longer. They want to take advantage of the fact that he can still direct, to elect the next head of the family.¡± Lin Rufei fiddled with the porcelain cups on the table and said carelessly, ¡°The next head of the family should have been Xie Kongcheng.¡± However, Xie Kongcheng had died. ¡°Yes.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°This accident was very sudden and because of this the Xie family is in chaos. However, I also heard ¡­¡­ that this matter seems to also be related to Lv Er.¡± ¡°Lv Er?¡± Hearing this name, Lin Rufei stopped moving, ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°The Xie family head¡¯s study has a particularly powerful treasure. Lv Er took advantage of the fact that he had a good relationship with Xie Zhiyao, snuck into the study, and stole the treasure.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°It was such a big deal that the whole Xie residence knew about it.¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t been caught yet?¡± Lin Rufei was puzzled. Fu Hua shook her head, ¡°No.¡± That was a bit strange. Lv Er doesn¡¯t know how to use a sword, he was just a servant. In such a strict Xie family, there was no way he would be taught martial arts. Such a mortal with no strength could sneak into a heavily guarded study and steal the treasure¡ªunbelievable. Lin Rufei¡¯s fingers gently traced circles on the table. Fu Hua continued, ¡°But it was the same thing that young master was puzzled about. The Xie family is very strange, they even started to suspect Xie San Gongzi¡ªwhether or not he was involved with Lv Er.¡± If they didn¡¯t suspect then that would be strange. Lin Rufei thought. Fu Hua said, ¡°Because of this incident, the whole Xie residence was purged and many servants were expelled, thus it became so deserted.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Did you ask how Xie Kongcheng died?¡± It seemed that the shopkeeper at the store today did not know the news of Xie family¡¯s eldest son¡¯s death. Fu Hua shook her head: ¡°They were all very alert about this and I wasn¡¯t able to get a thing or two out of them. When the servants heard the name Xie Kongcheng, they would all bow their heads and walk away immediately.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You guys should be careful these days.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui nodded their heads and said yes. After Lin Rufei had eaten, he sent the maids off and smiled at the empty room: ¡°I was wondering why the Xie family head didn¡¯t accept my invitation. It turns out he is here to trip me up.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice came from overhead. Lin Rufei looked up and saw him sitting on top of the overhanging beam. He was looking out the window and said, ¡°Huh, why is there a fight?¡± Lin Rufei looked in the direction Gu Xuandu was looking but saw nothing. Gu Xuandu leaned down to look at him and reached out his hand, ¡°Come.¡± Lin Rufei felt his body lighten and he floated straight towards the beam. Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand that stretched out from above naturally wrapped around Lin Rufei¡¯s waist and swept him into his arms. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened and said, ¡°You¡ª¡± But Gu Xuandu shushed him and pointed to the distance: ¡°Look.¡± Lin Rufei looked up and saw a blaze of fire that rose into the sky. As the mountain wind spread into a vast ocean, the clouds were also reflected in a brilliant fiery red. There seemed to be a human figure sprinting in the clouds. The sword light swung in layers and seemed to have torn out a dark wound in the sky. Logically speaking, such a big movement should have attracted the attention of a crowd. However, the entire Moyu City was silent. Those majestic scenes were like a pantomime¡ªonly seeing the movements but couldn¡¯t hear them. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s your friend, want to go see?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Xie Zhiyao?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Who is he fighting with?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Don¡¯t recognize.¡± ¡°Can we go and see? Or will we give him trouble instead?¡± Lin Rufei slightly hesitated. Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei who was in his arms and laughed: ¡°Trouble? You, Lin Rufei, want to see him, that is giving him face.¡± After saying that, the scenery beside the two of them backed away rapidly. In a blink of an eye, they had reached the place of the fight. Before when Lin Rufei looked from afar, he saw a fiery red, so he thought it was a sea of fire. However, when he got to the scene, he realized that it was not a sea of fire at all. Rather it was just a deep lake of emerald green, and swirling on top of the lake, was a fire-like sword Qi. Xie Zhiyao was above their heads and was fighting a person to the point of wind and water rising. Gu Xuandu suddenly said, ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t met them yet.¡± Lin Rufei froze slightly, then understood what was going on and looked down at the two blades, one long and one short, hanging on the side of Gu Xuandu¡¯s waist. ¡°Gu Yu[2] is long, three feet and seven inches, and weighs around eight pounds and seven taels. Shuang Jiang[3] is short, only half a foot, and weighs around thirteen pounds and eight coins. Both have been with me for several hundred years.¡± Gu Xuandu gazed at Lin Rufei, tenderly introducing his beloved swords. Gu Yu and Shuang Jiang that were hanging on his waist also faintly buzzed as if to echo in response. Gu Xuandu continued in a soft voice: ¡°I also had another most beloved sword named Da Han[4], but it was a pity that it was lost that year and was never found again.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was slightly moved and said softly, ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes wavered and then he heard Lin Rufei say: ¡°You have so many swords, can your waist hold it?¡± When Gu Xuandu heard this, his gentle expression instantly faded. He was angered to the point of gritting his teeth and finally squeezed out a sentence: ¡°If I can¡¯t hang it on my waist I can carry it on my back!¡± Lin Rufei was puzzled by Gu Xuandu¡¯s glare. He thought that this senior¡¯s temperament was unpredictable and made it hard for people to figure out. While the two of them were talking, the fight overhead was nearing its end. Xie Zhiyao had the upper hand. The other person was losing. After another roundabout, Xie Zhiyao¡¯s sword pierced into the man¡¯s chest. And just like a falling star, he fell straight into the deep lake swirling with sword Qi. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. However, Xie Zhiyao still pursued. Following the trajectory of the man¡¯s fall, his sword flew into the lake, and then, from the lake picked up a half-dead man. ¡°Xie Zhiyao ¡­¡­ spare, spare my life.¡± The man¡¯s face was white, his breath was weak like a candle in the wind, ¡°I ¡­¡­ in the end, am still your brother ¡­¡­¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s face was expressionless. He used his hand to wipe away the blood-stained on his face and said indifferently: ¡°Xie Duyi, where did all this nonsense come from.¡± After he finished speaking, he raised his sword and swung, cleanly cutting off one of the man¡¯s arms. Xie Duyi let out a miserable cry, blood gushed out from his severed right arm. ¡°Shut up.¡± Xie Zhiyao said again. Xie Duyi immediately closed his mouth and looked at Xie Zhiyao in terror and despair. He seemed to have understood something and said in a trembling voice: ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­¡­ Don¡¯t kill me, I know where Lv Er has gone!¡± Hearing the name Lv Er, Xie Zhiyao¡¯s lips pursed up into a taut arc. His eyes narrowed slightly: ¡°What did you say? You know where Lv Er has gone?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I know where he went.¡± Xie Duyi endured the severe pain and said with difficulty, ¡°That day, he stole father¡¯s treasures and was chased to Canglan Mountain. Afterward he was rescued by someone. That, that group of people, they seem to be your mother¡¯s clan members.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°My mother¡¯s clan?¡± Xie Duyi continued, ¡°Yes, your mother¡¯s clan.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°How can my mother¡¯s clan be related to Lv Er!¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s mother had long since broken off with her clan in order to marry his father. In the past twenty years, there was hardly any communication. Even when his mother had passed away, they didn¡¯t send anyone to come visit. Until recently, when the Xie family was in turmoil did they suddenly and quietly contacted Xie Zhiyao and gifted him with a very precious sword blade made of a foreign beast¡¯s bones. Without this sword, he would never have survived this struggle. However, according to Xie Duyi, they actually saved Lv Er. Could it be that the treasure stolen from his father¡¯s study had something to do with them as well? It was said that the treasure was very special. It was just that since young, Xie Zhiyao had an average relationship with his father so had never seen it before. ¡°You¡¯re not lying to me are you?¡± Xie Zhiyao coldly asked. Xie Duyi smiled bitterly: ¡°I am already like this, what is the point of lying to you. However, at that time father did not know that those people were from your mother¡¯s clan, until these few days when he finally found out ¡­¡­¡± Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°So that means that Lv Er is still alive.¡± Xie Duyi said: ¡°He should still be alive ¡­¡­ your mother thinks so highly of him ¡­¡­¡± As he got to this point, his tone rose in indignation, ¡°So obnoxious that brat, only you would protect him for so many years¡ª¡± When he finished, he seemed to have realized something and started to openly mock, ¡°No wonder, no wonder. Even though he harbors such disgusting thoughts for you, in the end, in this entire Xie residence, the only person that likes you is him ¡­¡­.¡± As he said this he actually laughed out loud. It was just that this smile carried a madness that will soon die. Xie Zhiyao was still expressionless as he said: ¡°I wanted to leave you with a whole body, but now it seems that it is not necessary.¡± The next moment, Xie Zhiyao raised his hand and swung his sword. After a few sword lights, blood rained down from the sky. Xie Duyi¡¯s body just fell into the lake in pieces. Xie Zhiyao looked down at the green lake stained red with blood and slowly turned his head to look at Lin Rufei¡¯s location. He coldly said: ¡°After watching for so long, it¡¯s time to come out.¡± Gu Xuandu removed the camouflage and Lin Rufei¡¯s figure was gradually revealed. When Xie Zhiyao saw Lin Rufei, his expression showed amazement. He remembered that Lin Rufei always had a weak body and could not practice with the sword. But the person in front of him was dressed in all white, standing on a sword, and his long sleeves were billowing¡ªlike an exiled immortal. ¡°Xiao Jiu?¡± Xie Zhiyao arrived in front of Lin Rufei and said, ¡°When were you ¡­¡­ able to use the sword?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Not long ago I met a senior and he gave me some guidance. After that, I was able to use the sword.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. How long have you ¡­¡­ been here?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°A while ago.¡± Xie Zhiyao laughed: ¡°I¡¯m really sorry to make you see such a family scandal.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head and asked, ¡°How are your injuries?¡± When he saw Xie Zhiyao this morning, he was still pale and lying on the bed. And not long ago he had fought with someone, he was afraid that his injuries would deepen. But Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°It¡¯s not a serious injury. I have taken medicine and have gotten much better.¡± He casually shook the bloodstains on his shirt and tsked, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I will go back to change my clothes then we can slowly talk about it.¡± ******** CH 21 On the way back, Xie Zhiyao had a very complicated look on his face. In his heart, he was repeatedly thinking of how to explain the matter of killing his own brother to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei has lived on Kunlun Mountain since childhood and he was well protected by his brothers and sister. It was normal for him to not have seen these kinds of dangerous things. As Xie Zhiyao kept thinking about it, he grew more concerned. He kept looking at Lin Rufei and several times he debated on not talking. Lin Rufei¡¯s expression remained unchanged. He was looking around and took great interest in the surroundings. Xie Zhiyao sighed in his heart. In the end, Lin Rufei gave him face as a friend. In order not to embarrass him, he deliberately pretended to look interested in the surrounding scenery. He didn¡¯t know that Lin Rufei was currently in a good mood. The bloody scene he saw just now had long been put behind him. Lin Rufei, who had never traveled alone on his sword, was like a child who had found an interesting toy. His eyes and eyebrows dazzled with curiosity. He didn¡¯t even notice the strange look on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s face. They returned to the Xie residence by sword and the two of them landed in Xie Zhiyao¡¯s courtyard. Xie Zhiyao had a lot on his mind, but Lin Rufei was not yet satisfied. The servants in the house have long been accustomed to the appearance of their third young master being covered in blood. When they passed by Xie Zhiyao they didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid. During the time when Xie Zhiyao was bathing, Lin Rufei waited in the front hall. The servants brought him freshly brewed hot tea in a very respectful attitude. After about half an incense, Xie Zhiyao, who had changed into clean clothes, appeared in front of Lin Rufei. He sat down beside Lin Rufei, picked up a tea bowl, and downed it. He took in a long breath, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you had to see all these things in my family.¡± Lin Rufei said thoughtfully, ¡°Is it convenient to say?¡± Xie Zhiyao self-deprecatingly said: ¡°There is nothing inconvenient. If outsiders knew about this kind of vile family matter, it would just be shameful.¡± Lin Rufei had already known some of the old matters regarding the Xie family from Gu Xuandu so he was already prepared: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, you don¡¯t have to force yourself.¡± In the end, he was only an outsider. Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°There is no harm in talking about it.¡± He waved his hand and closed the door. He proceeded to pour himself a cup of hot tea and only then did he start talking about the Xie family. Xie Zhiyao spoke carelessly, making it seem like it was just a trivial matter. However, the more Lin Rufei listened, the creepier he felt. Miao Jiang refining Gu was taking a bunch of poisonous insects and putting them into a jar. The insects will kill each other and the one that survives until the end is deemed the Gu King. The Xie family also refined Gu, but the ones that they used were the descendants who wanted to become the Xie family head. (t/n: might not have explained it last time when mentioning the Gu king, but Gu is basically like a type of poison. You can read more about it here) ¡°It was probably hard for the Xie family ancestors to come up with such a method.¡± Xie Zhiyao said self-deprecatingly, ¡°Other families are counting on their children and grandchildren to branch out and spread leaves. Only our Xie family can¡¯t wait to have a few sons less¡ª¡± Although Xie Zhiyao¡¯s talent was good, his mother passed away early, and he even lost the power of his mother¡¯s clan. He was not favored by his father and barely received any attention in the Xie family. His food and clothing expenses were even less than the popular steward by his elder brother¡¯s side. Logically speaking, because of this, he should have nothing to do with the family head position, but the head of the Xie family said that as long as one of his sons could survive then he was the real head of the Xie family. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What your father means is that you must participate?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xie Zhiyao said in a deep voice, ¡°We don¡¯t have the right to withdraw.¡± He gritted his teeth and said in a hateful voice, ¡°Either you win or you die.¡± Lin Rufei was instantly dumbfounded. He still thought too well of the Xie family. He thought that as long as they didn¡¯t compete, then they were safe. Xie Zhiyao continued, ¡°The good thing is that soon everything will be over.¡± He smiled indifferently, ¡°Now there is only me and my youngest brother left. Either I kill him or he kills me.¡± After Xie Zhiyao finished talking, he let out a long sigh, and leaned back in his chair as if he had lost his strength. He turned his head to look at Lin Rufei: ¡°I¡¯m done talking about me, let¡¯s talk about you too. I haven¡¯t seen you for so many years, you have changed a lot.¡± Lin Rufei said vaguely that he had met a senior on Kunlun Mountain some years ago and after that, he was able to control the sword. However, he was still not considered a swordsman. Xie Zhiyao listened carefully and when Lin Rufei finished, he gave a self-deprecating laugh: ¡°Xiao Jiu, I may not have told you before, although you can not practice sword, on Kunlun, I envied you the most.¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°You also said ¡®on Kunlun.¡¯ If this was in Jianghu, would you still envy the me who can¡¯t even lift a sword?¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°You have a point.¡± As the two continued to chat, Xie Zhiyao¡¯s expression slightly changed. He said, ¡°Someone is here, Xiao Jiu should head back first.¡± Before he finished speaking, the wooden door to Xie Zhiyao¡¯s room slammed open and turned to dust. ¡°Xie Zhiyao.¡± The visitor was dressed in a black outfit similar to the one Xie Zhiyao was wearing and even his appearance was similar to Xie Zhiyao. He said nonchalantly, ¡°Father asked for you.¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s face was gloomy and he called out the name of the visitor: ¡°Xie Ji, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because father has orders so he sent me to call you.¡± Xie Ji was most likely the younger brother that Xie Zhiyao had talked about. He noticed Lin Rufei who was sitting next to Xie Zhiyao and unrestrainedly looked up and down. He probably noticed that Lin Rufei did not have any sword intent on him and was like a mortal, so a mocking laugh came out: ¡°Yo, you already found a new servant? His appearance is pretty good, much better than that Lv Er. But unfortunately, you will die soon, it is a pity that such a beautiful ¡­¡­¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Xie Zhiyao scolded: ¡°Xie Ji, shut up! This is¡ª¡± He did not finish his sentence when a sharp sound was heard slashing through the air. Xie Ji, who was arrogant a minute ago, let out a scream. He covered his mouth and fell to the ground. When he raised his head again, his whole face was covered in blood. A hideous cut was made on his lips, if he didn¡¯t close his mouth quick enough, most likely a piece of his tongue would have been cut off. This was a move made by Gu Xuandu. Only, no one was able to see the grim-faced man behind Lin Rufei. They only thought that Lin Rufei, who was sitting expressionlessly in his seat, was the one who did it. ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Xie Ji raised his head with difficulty. He looked at Lin Rufei with a frightened look and said vaguely, ¡°You dare to cause trouble in the Xie family ¡­¡­ ¡° ¡°You idiot!¡± Xie Zhiyao was livid. He really wanted to rush over and tear off the mouth from his blabbermouth brother¡¯s face, ¡°This is the fourth son of the Kunlun Lin family, Lin Rufei!¡± Xie Ji was stunned and he wretchedly got up from the ground. With great difficulty, he put on a pleasing smile. He was about to apologize to Lin Rufei, but he saw Lin Rufei raise his hand, indicating that he did not need to speak. ¡°Isn¡¯t the family head looking for you or something, you should go first.¡± Lin Rufei said lightly, ¡°Don¡¯t make your father wait.¡± That was an understatement. However, with blood on the ground, Xie Ji felt a sense of horror at the man in front of him. The handsome young man in front of him, who he couldn¡¯t see the slightest sword intent on, was pale and like an Asura who could take the heads of people while laughing. ¡°Go.¡± Xie Zhiyao also noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s displeasure. He walked forwards a few steps and reached out to subdue his brother. He turned his head to Lin Rufei and said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, I¡¯m really sorry, you should go back to your room first to rest.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. Xie Ji, who was arrogant and domineering a few moments ago, did not dare raise his head at all. He was carried away by Xie Zhiyao like a poor little chicken. Even when he left, he didn¡¯t dare look at Lin Rufei again. After the two left, Lin Rufei also prepared to go back to the room. Gu Xuandu said behind him: ¡°Is Xiao Jiu not happy? I was a bit heavy-handed, but that Xie Ji was looking for death when he dared to say such words. I have given the Lin family face by keeping him alive.¡± Lin Rufei was puzzled: ¡°Why should I be unhappy?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Xiao Jiu has lived on Kunlun since he was young, it¡¯s normal that he doesn¡¯t like these bloody things.¡± Lin Rufei thought for a while and said, ¡°Around the time when I was ten years old, people on Kunlun knew that the Lin family had a fourth son who couldn¡¯t wield a sword.¡± The Lin family¡¯s children, whether it was Lin Minzhi or Lin Weirui, were already amazing at swordplay when they were ten years old. Especially Lin Bianyu, who was hardly a match for anyone on the entire Kunlun Mountain. At the age of ten, when Lin Rufei was celebrating his birthday, the people who attended his birthday didn¡¯t see a trace of sword intent on Lin Rufei¡¯s body. It was because of this that the rumor of Lin Rufei being a waste started to spread on Kunlun Mountain. When Lin Bianyu knew this, he carried Tian Xiao and found all the people who had gossiped. He carried them to Lin Rufei and cut off their tongues one by one. That was the first time Lin Rufei saw blood and his sister was worried that he would be frightened. But in fact, looking at those wailing people and smelling the smell of blood in the air, Lin Rufei, who was held in Lin Weirui¡¯s arms, was indifferent. His eyes did not move away for a moment. Later, when he thought about it, Lin Rufei felt that it was probably because of the Lin family bloodline. However, he didn¡¯t know that when his second brother, Lin Bianyu, saw blood for the first time, he was stunned for several days before he recovered. After listening to Lin Rufei¡¯s story, Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression became a bit strange, ¡°That¡¯s right, you shouldn¡¯t be afraid of blood.¡± Lin Rufei blinked, revealing a bit of slyness: ¡°But in the end, Xie Ji is Xie Zhiyao¡¯s opponent. You have done my friend a favor by injuring him.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Oh. If I had known then I would have hit a little harder.¡± The two stared at each other and then laughed out loud. Lin Rufei slowly and leisurely returned to the room, but he didn¡¯t see Fu Hua and Yu Rui. After asking the other servants, he learned that his two maids had left to go shopping. It was a bit strange that the two went out without notifying him. Lin Rufei felt bored just sitting in the room. Originally, he wanted to go out for a stroll too but he was also worried that there might be accidents on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s side. Although Xie Ji didn¡¯t look like he could be Xie Zhiyao¡¯s opponent, he must¡¯ve had some means if he was able to survive for this long. Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei¡¯s restlessness and proposed: ¡°Otherwise ¡­¡­ Do you want to take a peek?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°We can still peek?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t want to, no one can see you. Do you want to go?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Yes.¡± A few moments later, Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu appeared on the beam of the Xie family head¡¯s study. They leaned down to look at the three people who were talking below. The head of the Xie family was named Xie Wanlin. His cultivation has reached the eighth level and has been the head for about a hundred years. Unfortunately, surpassing the eighth level was very difficult to achieve. In the past hundred years, he has been in seclusion several times and as a result, his life expectancy has been exhausted. No wonder they were busy at this time selecting the next family head. The Xie family had a large number of children. There were five people with direct lineage. However, the children often had an accidental death. Plus or minus, now the first son and concubine son, the total was only around six people. Xie Zhiyao was the third son and Xie Ji was the youngest. The two were currently standing in front of Xie Wanlin¡¯s desk. They had their heads bowed as they listened to him speak. Xie Wanlin most likely did not see the cut that Gu Xuandu made to Xie Ji¡¯s face, since he didn¡¯t even bother asking. ¡°Not only did you not search for Lv Er, but you also cover for him?¡± Xie Wanlin pointed at Xie Zhiyao and cursed, ¡°He is a scourge, you dare protect such a demon, I should really kill you!¡± Xie Ji hissed in pain but did not forget to pour oil on the fire. He smiled cheekily: ¡°Father, how can third brother have the heart to lay his hand on his servant. Although that boy has a nasty mouth, his appearance and body are one of the best. Third brother usually does not get close to women, having some fun with the servant is also a normal thing.¡± Xie Wanlin said angrily: ¡°Some fun? If it was just for fun, would he let him enter the Xie family¡¯s study and take away such a valuable thing?¡± Xie Ji said: ¡°Then I don¡¯t know. However, third brother, don¡¯t tell me you have your eyes on that cheap little plaything?¡± Xie Zhiyao listened to Xie Wanlin and Xie Ji one after another. His expression did not waver, he simply lowered his head and showed a tamed look. Xie Wanlin said coldly, ¡°If you can¡¯t find Lv Er, then you can stay in the ancestral hall for another night.¡± ¡°But father¡ª¡± Xie Zhiyao frowned, ¡°Tomorrow, I will have a sword competition with sixth brother, the ancestral hall ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Then find Lv Er!¡± Xie Wanlin roared. His fist came down heavily and broke the laburnum wood table into dust. He glared with red eyes, like an enraged beast, ¡°Otherwise, get your ass to the ancestral hall and reflect.¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s throat moved slightly and finally squeezed out the word okay from his mouth. Xie Ji was laughing gleefully on the side. ¡°Go.¡± After Xie Wanlin finished fuming, he reverted back to being an amiable father figure, ¡°Do your best in tomorrow¡¯s competition.¡± He said this lightly as if it was just an insignificant sword competition and not a battle of life and death for his only two remaining sons. Xie Zhiyao and Xie Ji both bowed and withdrew, leaving Xie Wanlin alone in the study. Xie Wanlin sat alone in the chair. He coldly looked at the broken desk in front of him and started quietly chanting some incomprehensible sentences to himself. It was like casting a vicious curse and anyone who saw this scene would feel uncomfortable. Gu Xuandu saw that there was no more drama to see so he took Lin Rufei and left the study. After leaving the study, the two went to Xie Zhiyao¡¯s courtyard and saw him sitting silently inside the room. His eyes stared off into the distance and no one knew what he was thinking about. Xie Zhiyao murmured, most likely he sensed Lin Rufei approaching, ¡°Actually, my father really doesn¡¯t want me to win.¡± Lin Rufei could see that Xie Zhiyao and his father did not have a good relationship. No, not even just a bad relationship. Listening to Xie Ji¡¯s tone, the ancestral hall was obviously not just a simple ancestral hall. It would certainly affect the next day¡¯s competition with Xie Ji. However, looking at Xie Wanlin¡¯s attitude, he did not care about Xie Zhiyao¡¯s life. In the face of such injustice, Xie Zhiyao behaved very calmly. His hand clasped the bone sword at his waist and said indifferently like a piece of ice: ¡°Rufei, you go back first, I still have some business.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You¡¯re going to the ancestral hall?¡± Xie Zhiyao was surprised: ¡°How do you know that?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I guessed.¡± Xie Zhiyao smiled bitterly: ¡°Yes. I will be going to the ancestral hall to be punished.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What exactly did you do wrong? Are you being punished because of Lv Er?¡± Xie Zhiyao said indifferently: ¡°Even if there is no Lv Er, there is still Hong Er[1] and Bai Er[2]. Give a dog a bad name, then hang him[3]. Lv Er is just an excuse anyway.¡± Lin Rufei could not understand why Xie Wanlin disliked his own sons so much. Tempting them to kill each other and also digging a hole for Xie Zhiyao. It looked like he really wanted Xie Zhiyao to die immediately. As a son, Xie Zhiyao was defenseless in the face of his father¡¯s recrimination. He stroked the snow-white bone sword at his waist as if he were drowning and grabbed the last straw. He should have died in this fight long ago, but only this sword, gifted by his mother¡¯s clan, gave him hope to live. ¡°I¡¯m leaving, and you should be more careful these days.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°I always feel that something is not right.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and watched Xie Zhiyao leave. He suddenly remembered something and asked offhandedly, ¡°By the way, the coffin that was sent out of the Xie residence this morning, which brother of yours was it?¡± ¡°Hmm? This morning?¡± Xie Zhiyao thought for a moment, ¡°It might be my fourth brother ¡­¡­ he was killed by Xie Ji just the day before, but I¡¯m not certain.¡± Lin Rufei was naturally unclear as well. He simply described the scene he saw this morning to Xie Zhiyao. However, who knew that Xie Zhiyao was also full of bewilderment after listening. He didn¡¯t know what had happened. ¡°Strange.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°The description you gave of the dead, I have no recollection of. My elder brother died under the sword and has been buried, naturally, it¡¯s not possible for him to be entirely dried up.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then why is it like this?¡± Xie Zhiyao shook his head. Both of them noticed the strange aura. The undercurrent in the Xie residence was surging. And under the calm and waveless surface of the water, lurked a human-eating monster, and it could swallow the entire Xie residence with one bite. The Xie Zhiyao on the mountain was hard to recognize and when Lin Rufei suddenly appeared, it seemed to have given him some warning. ¡°No matter, when I kill Xie Ji tomorrow, things will be over.¡± Xie Zhiyao let out a long sigh. Some fatigue surfaced between his eyebrows and he reached out to rub the corners of his eyes. He forced himself into high spirits, ¡°I will go first, Xiao Jiu, you should be careful tonight. It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t leave the room.¡± Lin Rufei said goodbye and didn¡¯t forget to ask Xie Zhiyao what was so special about the ancestral hall. Xie Zhiyao smiled bitterly and said that the Xie family¡¯s ancestral hall had always been used to punish people. Inside the ancestral hall, there was a special stone. Once a person enters, they would feel their meridians break followed by excruciating pain. When he spent the night inside, even if he did not faint, he would feel exhausted the next day. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei wanted to say something but stopped, Xie Zhiyao had already turned around to leave. His back carried indifference. When Lin Rufei saw this, he let out a sigh. ¡°Tormented by this Xie family, being able to still continue really isn¡¯t easy.¡± After Xie Zhiyao left, Lin Rufei started to complain. ¡°To continue a famous family, having heirs is important. However, for him to choose a family head, it was actually getting rid of a few sons.¡± Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Refining Gu isn¡¯t that easy, moreover¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei turned around: ¡°Moreover?¡± Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Moreover, this matter of the Xie family is not that simple.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°What does that mean?¡± Gu Xuandu did not answer but instead told Lin Rufei to go back into the house to see if Fu Hua and Yu Rui had returned. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t understand. Now that it was dark, the two girls who went out shopping should have come back, but after listening to Gu Xuandu¡¯s words, the situation seemed to have changed. Lin Rufei hurried back into the house and knocked on Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s door. No one answered so he forced the doors open. The rooms were empty, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were nowhere to be seen. When Lin Rufei saw this, he quickly released paper cranes that could contact them from his dimensional ring. However, who knew that when the paper cranes were released, they simply flew in circles and refused to fly out¡ªit was like they couldn¡¯t find their targets. Lin Rufei¡¯s expression sank. He knew that Fu Hua and Yu Rui must be in trouble. And it looked like since this morning, there had been no movements from them. He didn¡¯t know if it had happened inside the Xie residence or that they were taken captive when they were out shopping. ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, the people who have moved them are certainly not coming for them.¡± Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei¡¯s anxious look and spoke out to soothe him. ¡°Then they¡¯re coming after me?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t they just go after me? What¡¯s the point of moving my two maids?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, ¡°Of course it is because everyone knows that the fourth son of the Lin family has been unable to practice swords since he was young¡ªhis hands are powerless.¡± Lin Rufei frowned slightly. Gu Xuandu continued: ¡°The two maids have already reached the fifth level and cannot be handled by ordinary people. With the two of them protecting you, you can leave at any time. Now that the maids have gone missing, the you that cannot practice the sword, have been trapped inside the Xie residence. Look, even the paper cranes can¡¯t contact them, it seems that the person has made preparations for everything.¡± Lin Rufei also figured this out. He turned around, sat down in the room, and poured a cup of hot tea before taking a sip: ¡°What¡¯s the use of keeping me here?¡± ¡°This, I don¡¯t know.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed, ¡°There are always some ideas.¡± Lin Rufei smoothed his cuffs, ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t I be waiting for that person to come to me now?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Waiting for the rabbit[4] is a good method. That person is aiming at you so he will not do anything to those two young girls. Besides, once Xie Zhiyao wins tomorrow, the fight for the Xie residence¡¯s family head spot will be settled.¡± As long as Xie Zhiyao wins and succeeds in killing Xie Ji, even if Xie Wanlin was not willing, he would have to admit this fact. Lin Rufei also figured this out. In this residence, those that wanted to attack him could be counted with one hand. After a little thought, he could easily guess who did it. But even after he had guessed who did it, he did not understand why he had done it. After all, the Lin and Xie family were still considered old acquaintances. Once he made a move, it was like declaring war against the Lin family. ¡°Say, do you think Xie Zhiyao can win?¡± Lin Rufei suddenly asked. ¡°Win?¡± Gu Xuandu recalled the word for a moment and returned quite profoundly, ¡°As long as he still uses that sword, he will definitely win.¡± ¡°How can you tell?¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t understand. Gu Xuandu did not speak but gave a meaningful smile. Lin Rufei was puzzled by his smile: ¡°What are you smiling for?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I just remembered a poem.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What poem?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Nowadays I rely on my steed by the color of its hair ¡­¡­¡° Lin Rufei picked up the next line: ¡°Green-eared bay horse earns money to kill people?[5]¡° Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If only the color of the hair is used to identify the steed, even a steed like the green-eared bay horse will be omitted. Say, do you think Lv Er is actually a steed that is kept by Xie Zhiyao?¡± Lin Rufei thought for a moment and curved his eyes into a light smile: ¡°Then this steed of his, must have two horse bits[6] in his mouth.¡± Otherwise, he was afraid that the master would be angrily flung off this horse. ******** CH 22 The sky was getting dark. The birds still haven¡¯t returned to their nests and rested on the eaves, leaving behind a black silhouette. The watchman passes by and his sound echoes along the stone-paved street. The red candle in the room has already been burning for a long time, however, Lin Rufei did not feel sleepy at all. He leaned against the bed and took a breather. He had encountered too many things today and his fragile body couldn¡¯t withstand it. After the night began, he started to cough again. Good thing it wasn¡¯t too serious. He barely suppressed the itch in his throat since he didn¡¯t want to cough to the point of breathlessness. Gu Xuandu sat on the edge of the bed. He stared at the abnormal redness on Lin Rufei¡¯s pale cheeks and those thin shoulders that couldn¡¯t stop shaking. He thoughtfully asked, ¡°Do you want to drink some hot water?¡± Lin Rufei nodded. Gu Xuandu took the hot water and pressed it to Lin Rufei¡¯s lips. He watched him swallow it in one mouthful. Lin Rufei drank the water and the itch in his throat was slightly relieved. However, his body was still weak, and could only lean back against the bed to rest. He said quietly: ¡°Alas, this body of mine is really troublesome.¡± It was just a little bit of wind and he became sick again. Gu Xuandu did not say anything. He simply reached out his hand to probe Lin Rufei¡¯s forehead. His mind was finally at ease after he made sure that it wasn¡¯t a fever. When they descended from the mountain, the Lin family prepared a lot of medicine for Lin Rufei. Most of them were cough medicines. Lin Rufei took a dose with hot water and felt much better. ¡°Still not sleepy at this late hour?¡± Gu Xuandu asked. ¡°Well ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about Fu Hua and Yu Rui, so I can¡¯t sleep too well.¡± ¡°It will be fine.¡± Gu Xuandu comforted, ¡°That person is coming after you. Fu Hua and Yu Rui are just hostages to control you. If that person really wanted to take Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s life, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered taking them away silently.¡± As the two were talking, a thunderstorm rang out outside the window and it was followed by a sudden downpour. Together with the thunder, it enveloped the entire Xie residence in a curtain of water. The rain pitter-pattered, however, it could not conceal the slow approaching footsteps. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at the door. He saw the locked wooden door being pushed open. In just a few moments, the lock on the door could no longer withstand the huge force and broke off with a creak. The door was just opened and the violent wind and rain entered with great momentum. It turned the whole room into a mess. Lin Rufei raised his eyes. He saw a black figure standing at the door, but he couldn¡¯t see clearly against the light. However, Lin Rufei had already guessed the identity of the person. He calmly called out: ¡°Family head Xie.¡± The man stepped forward, raised his hand, and lit the candle that had been blown out by the wind and rain. The expressionless face under the candlelight was none other than the Xie family head, Xie Wanlin, whom he had seen in the daytime. ¡°Family head Xie is visiting at this late hour, I wonder what is the matter?¡± Although Lin Rufei had guessed a couple of things, he did not expect Xie Wanlin to visit suddenly at this time. Xie Wanlin said, ¡°I heard that the fourth son of the Lin family is weak and unable to practice swords since he was young. I thought it was a rumor and didn¡¯t think it was true until I saw it with my own eyes.¡± Lin Rufei coughed lowly and asked in a scratchy voice, ¡°So what if it is?¡± Xie Wanlin casually found a chair and sat down. His gaze unrestrainedly sized up Lin Rufei: ¡°Jianghu is treacherous. The Lin family has allowed a sick and weak son who knows nothing to travel to the bottom of the mountain, I guess they are also prepared for the possibility of accidents.¡± Lin Rufei calmly looked back. Xie Wanlin should have been full of confidence, but when he was stared at by Lin Rufei¡¯s light-colored eyes, he felt an inexplicable urge to retreat. This feeling of retreat came and went quickly therefore Xie Wanlin thought he was probably just overthinking it. After all, the youth sitting on the bed was still coughing and did not have any sword Qi. He was weak like an ant that could be easily crushed. ¡°There were indeed accidents.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It just never occurred to me that family head Xie was trying to be that accident.¡± ¡°Hahahahaha.¡± Xie Wanlin laughed, ¡°Lin gongzi is overthinking. In fact, as long as you cooperate, Xie mou[1] would naturally not make a move against Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What if I don¡¯t cooperate?¡± Xie Wanlin said indifferently: ¡°Those two beautiful maids have been following you for many years right? If they died, then Lin gongzi will certainly be sad.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze turned cold and he stared at Xie Wanlin in silence. Xie Wanlin didn¡¯t care and continued, ¡°In fact, I have to blame my unfilial son for this matter.¡± Outside the window, thunder still sounded and heavy rain continued to fall. The candlelight in the room was weak like fireflies in the grass as it flickered brightly. Xie Wanlin was originally born with a benevolent appearance, but at this time, this benevolence carried a hint of eeriness. Lin Rufei leaned against the bed with a restrained smile: ¡°Oh? Xie Zhiyao has to take the blame when you were the one who made a move against my maids?¡± Xie Wanlin said, ¡°That¡¯s just the way it is.¡± He took off the sword hanging by his waist and smashed it against the table beside him with a snap. He said in a cold voice, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the sudden appearance of Xie Zhiyao¡¯s mother¡¯s clan, then he would have long died under the sword of Kongcheng. I wouldn¡¯t even have to make my move.¡± This was a very interesting statement. If anything, it was the custom of the Xie family to let their sons kill each other, but Xie Wanlin was so biased towards his eldest son. If that was the case, then what was the point of having such a fight? Xie Wanlin obviously guessed what Lin Rufei was thinking about. His face grew fierce: ¡°Yes, if I could, I would like to kill him with my sword¡ªalong with that servant that he cares so much for.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze moved towards the window and saw the curtain of rain covering the sky amidst the rolling thunder, he asked, ¡°Lv Er? What exactly did he steal?¡± ¡°Ha, why don¡¯t you take a guess?¡± When Xie Wanlin finished this sentence, he started to laugh again: ¡°Steal? That servant is nothing but a mere mortal, what can he take from the study. He just heard something he shouldn¡¯t have thus ran away.¡± His tone was gloomy, ¡°They all should have died long ago, detestable, detestable!!¡± As Xie Wanlin kept talking, he became angry again and his eyes gradually reddened: ¡°My poor Kongcheng¡ª¡± ¡°I know what you guys are thinking. You guys think I¡¯m biased.¡± Xie Wanlin sneered and hammered his chest, ¡°But aren¡¯t human hearts biased anyway? Kongcheng has been by my side since he was young, I single-handedly brought him up. He should have been the next Xie family head. It¡¯s all because of that evil creature, Xie Zhiyao!¡± When he got to the emotional part, he actually roared. Then tears fell like rain and he cried out in sorrow: ¡°My Kongcheng¡ªnot even a decent funeral was held before he was hastily buried. My poor Kongcheng¡ª¡± If it was said that Xie Wanlin was cruel, then he was really cruel. He couldn¡¯t wait for Xie Zhiyao to die of a violent, immediate death. However, as far as Xie Kongcheng was concerned, Xie Wanlin was a qualified, kindhearted parent. Sadly, everyone has their own lives. Xie Kongcheng was unable to escape the calamity and had his life taken by Xie Zhiyao¡¯s bone sword. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. In order to keep others from knowing these nasty things about the Xie family, the family members that have died in this competition are not able to hold a funeral. They could only be hastily buried in the night and even their place of burial was not allowed headstones. This was a huge blow to Xie Wanlin, who cherished Xie Kongcheng deeply. Xie Wanlin¡¯s old and sad appearance looked a little bit pitiful. But in the end, it proves a sentence: Those who are pitiful always have some insufferable sides. In his heart, he had only Xie Kongcheng as a son, but Xie Kongcheng still died under the sword of Xie Zhiyao. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill Xie Zhiyao?¡± Lin Rufei saw that Xie Wanlin looked indignant and wondered, ¡°Your cultivation level is so much higher than Xie Zhiyao, it would be easy to kill him.¡± ¡°I would like to.¡± Xie Wanlin gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Unfortunately, there are some things that can¡¯t be done just because you would like to.¡± It seems that he may have some restrictions on his body making him unable to openly and honestly make a move against Xie Zhiyao. Instead, he will torment Xie Zhiyao even on the night before the duel. He drove Xie Zhiyao to the ancestral hall for punishment because he hoped that he would lose the competition with Xie Ji the next day. The thunder outside the window grew heavier. Bright golden threads cut through the dark sky. It fell one after another, stinging the people¡¯s eyes. The conversation inside the room continued. Lin Rufei said, ¡°You made a move against me just because I¡¯m Xie Zhiyao¡¯s best friend?¡± ¡°Oh, naturally it¡¯s not just that. For you, well, you have another use.¡± Xie Wanlin smiled slyly, ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d be hoping that the person who wins was Xie Ji.¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows slightly. Xie Wanlin said, ¡°If the person who wins is Zhiyao, then Lin gongzi, you will be accompanying me.¡± As he said this, he laughed again. His mental state was obviously on the verge of collapse. He was crying and laughing like a madman without any of the dignity and solemnity he had when they first met. Who would have thought that Xie Wanlin, who was praised by outsiders, would be such a person? Lin Rufei did not feel afraid, he simply just sighed. After Xie Wanlin finished his speech, his emotions gradually calmed down. He held his sword in his hand and looked far away. His gaze seemed to have passed through the rain curtain and into the distant night. Outside the room, the wind and thunder grew chaotic. Xie Wanlin suddenly murmured, ¡°Xie Ji, what a fool.¡± After he said this, Lin Rufei heard a miserable scream in the distance. However, this scream also felt like his hallucination since it was soon completely buried in the frenzied sound of rain. However, in an instant, Xie Wanlin seemed to have aged a few decades older. He stared out the window and rubbed his hand heavily on his sword. He gritted his teeth: ¡°How could I have given birth to such a foolish person?¡± It seems that Xie Ji had lost. Xie Zhiyao did not wait for the duel tomorrow. He had no respect for this father who wanted him dead. He did not obey his orders to stay in the ancestral hall all night. Instead, he took advantage of the fierce wind and rain to cut down Xie Ji with his sword, unexpectedly seizing the final victory. This was beyond Lin Rufei¡¯s expectations. At least in the daytime, Xie Zhiyao behaved respectfully to Xie Wanlin. But, obviously, the one that survived until the end was not as harmless as he appears to be. The rain was still falling. Xie Wanlin turned his head back and landed his gaze on Lin Rufei. If it was said that a while ago, he was looking at Lin Rufei like he was a piece of meat on a chopping board, then at this moment, Xie Wanlin was looking at Lin Rufei like he was a dead person. ¡°Alas, they¡¯re all lives. Lin gongzi, you can¡¯t blame me.¡± Xie Wanlin murmured, ¡°If you want to blame, blame that Xie Zhiyao ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei covered his mouth and coughed lowly. Xie Wanlin collected his expression and looked obsessively at the long sword in his hand. It was as if he was thinking about which part of Lin Rufei¡¯s body should this sword pass through so that Lin Rufei could die a painful death. The entire Gu residence was trapped in boundless darkness. Only Lin Rufei¡¯s room had a faint flicker of candlelight. It was like a trap to attract the fluttering moths. (t/n: no idea if the author made a typo on the Gu part¡­ ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ ) The moth in the rain ended up taking the bait. He was dressed in black and completely blended into the night. The fierce rain washed away the traces of blood on his clothes, but it could not wash away his intense killing aura. Under Xie Wanlin¡¯s hateful gaze, Xie Zhiyao appeared at Lin Rufei¡¯s door carrying the snow-white bone sword. His face was drenched into a deathly pale white by the rain, however, his black eyes were bright and frightening. Seeing Xie Wanlin sitting in front of Lin Rufei¡¯s bed, Xie Zhiyao was not surprised. He raised his hand and threw a round object into the room. The object rumbled and rolled towards Xie Wanlin¡¯s feet but was kicked away by Xie Wanlin¡¯s expressionless face. The object was Xie Ji¡¯s decapitated head. His eyes, which had lost their luster, were still reluctantly open and had panic and unease in them. Just like that, it rolled to the corner, picking up the dust on the ground. ¡°Father.¡± Xie Zhiyao called out the title, ¡°I won.¡± Xie Wanlin raised his eyes to look at his last remaining son. However, there was no hint of joy in his eyes, only a viciousness that was about to spill over. ¡°Why are you not happy?¡± Xie Zhiyao smiled, ¡°Everything is over. The Xie family will continue to prosper for another hundred years, shouldn¡¯t you be happy?¡± Xie Wanlin said, ¡°Happy? I should be happy, but this Xie family is really disgusting, it¡¯s better to be without it.¡± Xie Zhiyao laughed so loudly that tears seemed to come out of his eyes. Xie Wanlin was livid: ¡°What are you laughing at?!¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Father, you are really funny. If my elder brother had won the competition, I¡¯m afraid you would be so happy that you would want to celebrate with a banquet. Why is it that when I win instead, it becomes too disgusting for the Xie family?¡± He lowered his head and looked at the bone sword in his hand. He spoke in a warm voice, ¡°No wonder. After all, I am your least favorite son. It¡¯s just a pity¡­¡­¡± Xie Wanlin said, ¡°Pity?¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s voice turned cold as he looked at Xie Wanlin: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that with the current you, you can¡¯t possibly destroy the Xie family.¡± ¡°Hahahahaha, otherwise why do you think I would appear here?¡± Xie Wanlin started laughing loudly when he heard those words. ¡°I can¡¯t make a move on you, but there are always others who can, such as ¡­¡­ the Lin family on Kunlun Mountain. Say, if their family¡¯s most beloved youngest son died violently in the Xie residence, will Lin Minzhi and the others look for trouble with you, his childhood friend? ¡° Xie Zhiyao coldly said: ¡°You want to kill Lin Rufei?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good method, right?¡± Xie Wanlin smiled widely, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for a long time before I came up with it.¡± Xie Wanlin was really crazy. He actually wanted the whole Xie family to be buried with him. No one knew that he hated Xie Zhiyao to such an extent. Xie Zhiyao said coldly: ¡°I didn¡¯t know that my father was so fierce before. Since things have come to this, he wants to burn with the whole Xie family.¡± Xie Wanlin laughed again. While laughing, he unsheathed his sword. Xie Zhiyao choked slightly, his lips was pursed into a taut straight line. When he fought with Xie Ji, he also suffered some light injuries. Wanting to stop the crazy Xie Wanlin was not an easy task. As long as Xie Wanlin doesn¡¯t make a move against him, the ancestral restriction of the Xie family will not activate. If he wanted to kill Lin Rufei, it would be easy. Although Lin Rufei said he had an encounter and was able to use the sword. However, if he wanted to survive against Xie Wanlin, who was at the eighth level, it wouldn¡¯t be an easy task. If Lin Rufei really died under Xie Wanlin¡¯s sword, the Lin family¡¯s protective brothers and sister would turn the Xie residence upside down the very next day. Xie Wanlin sensed Xie Zhiyao¡¯s nervousness and let out a loud laugh. Xie Zhiyao gritted his teeth and said: ¡°Rufei, I¡¯ll stop him, you run outside. Run as far as you can¡ª¡± Xie Wanlin was enigmatic, ¡°Run? No one can run, no one can escape!!!¡± As soon as his words fell, he raised his hand and swung his sword. In the end, he was still a cultivator of the eighth level. This sword swing had all his strength, even if Xie Zhiyao was at his peak strength, he could not guarantee he could block it. Not to mention, he was currently heavily injured, wanting to stop Xie Wanlin was almost impossible. The sword Qi rolled and surged and in an instant, the snow-white sword light had already slashed down towards Lin Rufei¡¯s head. Xie Zhiyao shouted. He rushed forward to try and stop the sword, but everything seemed to be too late. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Xie Wanlin¡ª¡± Xie Zhiyao shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you¡ª¡± Xie Wanlin laughed wildly. The sword blade had swung down, but instead of the dull sound of a sharp weapon piercing the body, there was a crisp sound of gold striking stone. Xie Wanlin¡¯s smile froze on his face. He looked incredulously at the sword blade in his hand¡ªthe blade was actually held by Lin Rufei. The white blade pierced the fair skin of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. The bright red blood followed his wrist down to his arm and then hid into the wide cuff sleeves. The pale veins on the back of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand were slightly broken up. When he let go, Xie Wanlin¡¯s sword, which could break gold, broke into several sections. With a clink and a clank, it fell to the ground, turning into pieces of scrap iron. ¡°You ¡­¡­ you ¡­¡­¡± Xie Wanlin stared at Lin Rufei with wide eyes as if he had seen a ghost. He frantically said, ¡°Who are you?¡ª¡± Before Lin Rufei could answer, Xie Wanlin¡¯s body went limp and dropped down to his knees. He looked at the broken blade pieces on the ground. He was dumbfounded, ¡°Impossible, how is it possible. Lin Rufei is a useless person who can¡¯t do anything. How can he stop my sword¡­¡­ How is it possible¡­¡­.¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s voice came from behind him. It was as cold as ice, ¡°You call him a wastrel? If you can¡¯t even kill him, aren¡¯t you even worse than him? Xie Wanlin, you can¡¯t even protect your most beloved son, you are the one who should be a waste.¡± Xie Wanlin said, ¡°No ¡­¡­ No, it¡¯s not like that ¡­¡­ you ¡­¡­¡± He wanted to say something else, but he stopped. He stiffly and slowly looked down at his chest. A snow-white sword blade emerged from the location of his heart. It was stained into a blinding red by the blood of his heart . Xie Zhiyao¡¯s sword took Xie Wanlin¡¯s life. After the past few days, he had no love for his so-called biological father and his expression was as cold as ice. Xie Wanlin, who was at the eighth level, also did not resist. He just stared dully at the sword blade in his chest as his life rapidly escaped from his body. Yet this passing does not seem to be a normal death. The moment Xie Wanlin¡¯s breath was completely cut off, Xie Zhiyao¡¯s strength soared. He jumped from the fifth level straight to the eighth level of cultivation. Xie Wanlin¡¯s body began to dry up rapidly. The original smooth skin suddenly developed layers after layers of hideous wrinkles before finally turning into a skeleton. Xie Zhiyao mercilessly pulled out the sword. The body fell to the ground and turned into fine powder. This scene appeared suddenly and ended quickly and in a few breaths, Xie Zhiyao was already victorious. However, his expression was not happy, rather, it was gloomy. ¡°Rufei, are your injuries okay?¡± Xie Zhiyao asked. ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious.¡± Lin Rufei shook off the blood on his hand. When Xie Wanlin¡¯s sword stabbed him, he reflexively reached out his hand to grab. Who knew that he would actually catch the sword and easily twist it into several pieces. It was just that his hand was also cut, but the good news was that it didn¡¯t hurt anything vital and was only a superficial injury. Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°That really scared me. I haven¡¯t seen you in a few years, I didn¡¯t expect you to become so powerful. Xie Wanlin¡¯s move, even I may not be able to catch it. Who knew that you could catch it and break his sword ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said helplessly, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it would be like this either.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be modest with me.¡± He looked at Xie Wanlin¡¯s ashes on the ground and sighed, ¡°Great, I still have to clean up a bit ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Do the people in the house know that you have fought with each other?¡± Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°They do know. All the servants outside were cleared away by Xie Wanlin with excuses, but I¡¯m sure everyone was already aware of what was going to happen.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°How are you going to explain?¡± Xie Zhiyao showed an expression like he had a headache., ¡°Alas, there is always a way. This Xie Wanlin really knows how to find trouble for me.¡± Under normal circumstances, they would have a more formal handover process. After Xie Wanlin handed over the affairs of the Xie residence to Xie Zhiyao then Xie Zhiyao would finally take his life. However, Xie Wanlin did not take the usual path and had suddenly wanted to make a move against Lin Rufei so Xie Zhiyao was forced to make the first move. The good thing was that he inherited all of Xie Wanlin¡¯s cultivation at this time. Thus, no one would dare to speak out again in the Xie residence. Xie Zhiyao saw that Lin Rufei¡¯s hand was still bleeding and said that he would help him bandage up first. Lin Rufei casually wiped it with his sleeve and saw that it was not bleeding anymore, ¡°Just a small injury, no need to rush. Earlier, Xie Wanlin had taken Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Do you know where he had locked them?¡± Xie Zhiyao frowned: ¡°Probably in the dark room of the study. Should I go check it out for you?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You are too polite.¡± Xie Zhiyao sighed, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for involving you in our family¡¯s affairs.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°This isn¡¯t what you wanted either.¡± Xie Zhiyao turned to leave and Lin Rufei watched his figure disappear into the rain. Before he could return to his senses, he felt his hand being held by another pair of cold hands. When he turned around, he saw Gu Xuandu staring at the wound on his hand with no expression. For some reason, Lin Rufei felt guilty and mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s just a small wound.¡± Gu Xuandu raised his eyelids: ¡°A small injury? You knew that you could stop Xie Wanlin¡¯s sword with your own hand instead of having your five fingers chopped off by his sword?¡± Lin Rufei smiled embarrassingly, ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time to think too much about it ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Next time you can think more about it.¡± As he said this, he let out a sigh, ¡°In the future, when someone draws a sword at you, remember to draw the sword at your waist and not use your hand to block.¡± Lin Rufei was confused, ¡°But I don¡¯t have a sword at my waist.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can use my sword.¡± After saying that he shamelessly added, ¡°I¡¯ll also let you touch my waist.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Senior ¡­¡­¡± he always felt that something wasn¡¯t right. Who knew that Gu Xuandu was still able to speak with conviction: ¡°Don¡¯t be embarrassed. In such a critical time, if you accidentally touch more than once, I will not blame you.¡± Lin Rufei was choked speechless. When he finally reacted, he saw the smile on Gu Xuandu¡¯s face and realized that he had been teased by Gu Xuandu again. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Xiao Jiu, don¡¯t be courteous with me next time. Lin Rufei: Courteous? Gu Xuandu: I¡¯m sure I¡¯m better than your right hand. Lin Rufei: I suspect that you¡¯re driving[2] but I have no evidence¡­.. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Mou is like referring to a person, so when he adds mou to his surname, it is actually just another way to refer to oneself. I guess the best way I can put it into English is like when someone adds ¡°this¡± to their name. For example, ¡°This Xie¡± [2] Internet slang: (driver) the one providing the *** stuff, heh. CH 23 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Xie Zhiyao left for a while before returning. This time he was followed by Yu Rui and Fu Hua. The expressions on the two maids were both very ugly. While Fu Hua was still holding up, the younger Yu Rui had already started sobbing. Luckily, Lin Rufei was prepared and took out the corn candy and stuffed her mouth. Finally, the little girl stopped crying and smiled. But Fu Hua was so guilty of her own negligence that she knelt on the ground without saying a word and asked Lin Rufei to punish her. Lin Rufei tried to persuade her to get up, but the corner of her eyes also started to tear up. In a trembling voice, she said: ¡°It¡¯s all our fault for being too careless and letting that Xie Wanlin get away easily. If something really happened to young master, how are we gonna explain when we get back to Kunlun?¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°I¡¯m fine and you¡¯re also overthinking things. If I am gone, will that Xie Wanlin let you go back?¡± Fu Hua bit her lips and did not say anything. Lin Rufei asked her to tell him what had happened. It turned out that Xie Wanlin came for Lin Rufei in the beginning. However, when he saw that Lin Rufei was not in the room, he attacked the two maids. He knew that Lin Rufei had never practiced the sword, so he thought the two maids were playing the role of guards. Without the maids, Lin Rufei became a turtle in a jar[1]. Xie Wanlin¡¯s plan should have been seamless, but man¡¯s plan was not as good as God¡¯s plan. He did not expect that Lin Rufei would have a miraculous encounter; with a simple raise of his hand, he easily shattered his sword blade. In the end, he was killed by the sword of Xie Zhiyao. Xie Zhiyao brought the maids back and told Lin Rufei to rest well. The other matters would be discussed in detail tomorrow. Lin Rufei also nodded in agreement. Fu Hua and Yu Rui rolled up their sleeves. They wanted to help Lin Rufei clean up the messy house. Yu Rui got the broom. She only made a few sweeps before she let out a shriek of fright. With a frightened expression, she choked out: ¡°Young master, young master¡ªwhy is there a head here¡ª¡± Lin Rufei made an ¡°oh¡± sound. He remembered that just now Xie Zhiyao threw his brother¡¯s head in but forgot to take it away. ¡°Send it to Xie Zhiyao, that¡¯s his brother¡¯s head.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and instructed, ¡°And ¡­¡­ neatly pile the ashes on the ground, that is Xie Zhiyao¡¯s father. Together with the head¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yu Rui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Both of their expressions were distorted, it was quite complex. It was hard to imagine what kind of gruesome picture they conjured up. Lin Rufei saw this and smiled. He said in a warm voice: ¡°If you two are afraid, leave it for now. Tomorrow, I will come and clean it myself. Go rest first, if you guys don¡¯t sleep now, the sun will rise soon.¡± Fu Hua gritted her teeth. In the end, she rolled up her sleeves and picked up the head. But Lin Rufei was slightly shocked to see the appearance of the head. He didn¡¯t know when the head of Xie Ji had dried up. The skin was wrinkled together like a tight walnut. His appearance was very ugly, just like the person Lin Rufei saw in the coffin that day. While carrying his head out, Fu Hua asked Yu Rui to sweep the ash on the ground together, saying that later she will bring both over to Xie Zhiyao. Yu Rui¡¯s hand trembled as she swept the dust on the ground into the dustpan. She was crying and followed after Fu Hua. The two people also did not forget to considerately close the door and urge Lin Rufei to rest early. Lin Rufei sighed. He thought that he had really made things difficult for the two young girls. Gu Xuandu, who had been silent for the whole time, sourly said, ¡°Lin gongzi, you really pity the jade[2].¡± Lin Rufei twisted his head to look at him and said seriously: ¡°Yes, otherwise why would I bring you around.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was rare to see a defeated expression on Gu Xuandu¡¯s face. Lin Rufei was in a good mood. So many things have happened and he did not sleep the entire night. Lin Rufei tossed and turned but still was not sleepy. Plus, he kept coughing non-stop until dawn. He took a hazy nap for a moment and didn¡¯t wake up until noon when Fu Hua called him up to eat something. He was already sick and after tossing around all night, Lin Rufei¡¯s face was haggard. He had dark circles below his eyes and he couldn¡¯t stop yawning as he drank his porridge. ¡°Is there any difference in the Xie¡¯s residence today?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Fu Hua answered, ¡°Nothing is different.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where is Xie Zhiyao?¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and ask.¡± After a while, Fu Hua returned to the room and told Lin Rufei that the subordinates had seen Xie Zhiyao leave an hour ago and hadn¡¯t returned yet. Lin Rufei nodded, indicating that he heard her. The fact that Xie Zhiyao¡¯s cultivation had soared was certainly not concealable. But the good thing was that, on the path of cultivation, the strongest was always the most important. As long as his eighth level of cultivation was still there, no one would dare question him. However, he went out in such a hurry, no one knew what it was for. Lin Rufei yawned again, thinking that when he came back, he would give him the invitation to the sword competition. However, even until the afternoon, there was no sign of Xie Zhiyao in the residence. Lin Rufei took a nap after eating and woke up all limp and weak. He didn¡¯t have the energy to lift himself up. When Gu Xuandu saw him wake up, he sat on the edge of the bed with his head down and helped him change the medicine for the wound on his right hand. When he saw the wound across Lin Rufei¡¯s right hand, he looked quite upset. Lin Rufei knew he was in the wrong and obediently let him grasp his hand. ¡°Your body is weak. It¡¯s unknown when this wound will heal.¡± Gu Xuandu complained, ¡°That Xie Zhiyao is also unreliable. He wasn¡¯t even clear on what kind of person his father is.¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°One may know a person for a long time without understanding their true nature.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Gu Xuandu lifted his head to look at Lin Rufei, ¡°One may know a person for a long time without understanding their true nature.¡± Lin Rufei instantly understood Gu Xuandu¡¯s meaning. He slightly hesitated and said, ¡°Xie Zhiyao isn¡¯t easy.¡± Gu Xuandu sneered, ¡°No one is easy.¡± Being able to kill all his brothers, at this point is Xie Zhiyao really as innocent as he seems? If he really considered Lin Rufei as a friend, he should have asked him to leave when he first entered the residence. But Xie Zhiyao did not say anything. He pretended that nothing happened and caught up with Lin Rufei on their old friendship¡ªas if nothing would happen. Of course, it was possible that he didn¡¯t expect Xie Wanlin to make a move against Lin Rufei. But in the end, Lin Rufei was injured, this Xie Zhiyao could not escape suspicion. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu had always been a petty person. This time, he had given that Xie Zhiyao a mark in his book. Lin Rufei did not dare to persuade. He always felt that if he continued to speak for Xie Zhiyao, Gu Xuandu would be angrier. So he blinked his eyes and said he was thirsty and wanted a cup of hot tea. When Gu Xuandu heard this, he decided to skip the topic. He took a cup of tea and carefully fed it to Lin Rufei. After drinking the tea, Lin Rufei stayed in bed for a short while. There was a storm last night. The grasses and trees in the courtyard were viciously ¡õ¡õ. He lifted his eyes and saw that there were stumps everywhere. There were even small trees with shallow roots which were blown directly upside down. At this time, although the yard has been cleaned up, but compared to yesterday, it still looked wretched. The good thing was that after the rainstorm, it was all sunny. Today the sun was just right and the breeze was light. It was a good day for a walk. If Lin Rufei was not unwell, he would have gone around for a walk. However, he felt weak in his arms and legs so he could only sit on the edge of the bed. He propped up his chin and looked lazily at the not-so-exciting scenery outside the room. Xie Zhiyao went out for most of the day and came back during nightfall. He landed directly in front of Lin Rufei¡¯s door with his sword with an expression that was ugly as hell. This expression was even worse than last night when Xie Wanlin had threatened him. Using the words of Gu Xuandu, it was as if he lost three whole fathers. ¡°Rufei.¡± Xie Zhiyao called out, ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, just the same as always. But what happened to you?¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Why do you look so pale.¡± Xie Zhiyao wanted to say something but stopped. Lin Rufei said, ¡°If you have something to say, just say it.¡± Xie Zhiyao let out a breath: ¡°I¡¯ll go get some wine then we can talk.¡± He said and flew away again. Lin Rufei blinked his eyes. If he still had the heart to drink, then things weren¡¯t as bad as he thought. Gu Xuandu snickered saying that what should come will come in the end. The weather was good. Drinking outside also had its own appeal. Unfortunately, Lin Rufei was coughing quite heavily so he did not dare drink, instead he poured some tea. He watched as Xie Zhiyao filled up another cup. They all said one would drink their sorrows away. Xie Zhiyao drank several cups in a row before his movement slowed down. His brows were tightly knitted before he tentatively spoke up: ¡°Rufei, have you ever liked someone before?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Liked someone? Then there¡¯s a lot of people.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°I mean the ¡®like¡¯ that happens between men and women.¡± ¡°Between a man and a woman?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, ¡°Then no.¡± Xie Zhiyao smiled bitterly, ¡°Should have expected.¡± The Lin family treated him as the apple of their eye. How could they let a woman with other thoughts come near him? The two maids, Fu Hua and Yu Rui, were probably selected after innumerable choices. He was sure that the Lin family had a way to control them. Being able to use two people who have already reached the fifth level of cultivation as maids, Lin Rufei was probably the only one. ¡°What, did you find a pretty girl?¡± Lin Rufei heard the meaning behind Xie Zhiyao¡¯s words and became interested, ¡°Is it because they aren¡¯t interested in you? That¡¯s why you¡¯re so distressed?¡± Xie Zhiyao shook his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then why?¡± Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°I just don¡¯t understand what kind of thoughts I have about him[3].¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How so?¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Although he is sometimes very annoying, he does treat me very well. After my mother passed, no one has ever treated me that way.¡± He drank another cup and lowered his voice, ¡°But I couldn¡¯t respond to him. I couldn¡¯t understand ¡­¡­ whether I liked him or not.¡± Lin Rufei blinked. He felt that he couldn¡¯t give Xie Zhiyao any good advice in this type of matter. After all, he also had no experience. For Xie Zhiyao¡¯s distressing problem, he also felt confused. ¡°Like¡± this feeling, shouldn¡¯t it be very pure? However looking at Xie Zhiyao¡¯s appearance, it seems like encountering a big problem. ¡°So what do you want to do now that you¡¯ve figured it out?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°He won¡¯t see me.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°I have to say that I like him before he would agree to meet.¡± The more Lin Rufei listened, the more he felt that something was wrong. He dissected for a while. After he dissected some more, his eyes widened as he said out that name: ¡°Lv ¡­¡­ Lv Er?¡± Xie Zhiyao confirmed. Lin Rufei was incredulous: ¡°But isn¡¯t Lv Er a man? Could it be that he is actually a girl dressed as a man?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a man.¡± Xie Zhiyao frankly said, ¡°Men can also have love affairs between them ¡­¡­¡± As he said this, he was a bit fearful that he led Lin Rufei astray. He hurriedly added a sentence, ¡°Of course, this kind of thing, it is best not to try. ¡° Lin Rufei froze for a long time and did not react. In his understanding, men should be with women. Men and men ¡­¡­ this ¡­¡­ how would they ¡­¡­ as he kept thinking about it, he inadvertently glanced at Gu Xuandu, who was sitting next to him and staring at him with interest. The tips of his white ears inexplicably reddened. Lin Rufei would like for Gu Xuandu to not stare at him anymore. However, with Xie Zhiyao present, it was difficult for him to speak up. He could only embarrassingly pretend that he couldn¡¯t see. Xie Zhiyao did not notice Lin Rufei¡¯s strange expression as he continued: ¡°Now that the dust has settled in the Xie residence, I should be happy, but I can¡¯t let go of the matter with Lv Er. After all, he followed me for so many years¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where is Lv Er now?¡± Xie Zhiyao said he was hidden by his mother¡¯s people in a canyon on Canglan Mountain. Lin Rufei also couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this matter. Xie Zhiyao then drank his sorrows away while Lin Rufei tasted the tea and only felt bland and tasteless. He deliberated for a moment before picking up a cup of alcohol and carefully took a sip. The wine was good wine. It entered spicily but after passing through the throat, it brought up a mellow sweet aftertaste. Lin Rufei¡¯s pale cheeks floated with a sweet red. He lowly coughed twice and praised: ¡°Good wine.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Zhu Ye Qing[4] that Lv Er hid under the tree.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°He said that after I became the head of the Xie family, he would celebrate for me. At this time, I¡¯ll drink a jar with you. When he returns, I will drink the rest with him.¡± Xie Zhiyao usually doesn¡¯t talk much, but after mentioning Lv Er, he seemed to have endless topics to talk about. Lv Er was not likable, especially his obnoxious mouth. Even with Xie Zhiyao¡¯s calm nature, sometimes he would get pissed off as well. But since the death of his mother, he has lived with Lv Er for decades and they have been through countless storms. Lv Er said that his young master does not need to envy Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was the apple of the Lin family¡¯s eyes. Xie Zhiyao was the apple of Lv Er¡¯s eyes. Even though he doesn¡¯t have much use, as long as he still had one breath left, then he would use all his strength to offer Xie Zhiyao with the best. And because of this, after knowing Lv Er¡¯s mind, Xie Zhiyao still can¡¯t decisively refuse. ¡°No matter, let him stay there for a few days. After I straighten out the Xie family¡¯s affairs, then I¡¯ll take him back.¡± The wine jug reached the bottom yet Xie Zhiyao still couldn¡¯t think of a reliable method, ¡°Anyway, Xie Wanlin is dead.¡± There will be no one to threaten the safety of Lv Er. Lin Rufei thought that he had a point. Matters in regards to feeling was like cooking a small fish, it cannot be rushed. Who knew that Gu Xuandu, who was listening on the side, opened his mouth coolly, ¡°Xiao Jiu, you¡¯d better persuade this Xie Zhiyao to go see that Lv Er soon.¡± Lin Rufei looked confusedly at him. ¡°Lest you regret it for the rest of your life.¡± Gu Xuandu said. Although Lin Rufei didn¡¯t understand what was going on, he knew that Gu Xuandu would never make baseless claims. He must have known something for him to say such words. After thinking for a moment, he carefully said: ¡°Zhiyao, I think you should go see Lv Er again. That child is disagreeable. Leaving him be, you best make sure nothing happens.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Then if he asks me whether I like him or not, what should I do?¡± This was a difficult problem. Lin Rufei came up with a bad idea: ¡°Why not try and coax him first. Once you coax him back then you can discuss the other things.¡± Xie Zhiyao frowned. After a long moment of silence, he actually said yes. He seemed to have figured out something and put the cup of wine in his hand heavily onto the table. Carrying a strong smell of wine, he flew out on the sword. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded, he looked down at his own cup of wine and carefully said, ¡°Say¡­¡­such little wine, do you think Xie Zhiyao is drunk?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the wine that intoxicates but the drinker who gets himself drunk[5].¡± Gu Xuandu had no expression on his face, ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s good to get drunk.¡± ¡°Good?¡± Lin Rufei doubted. ¡°Naturally.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°At least you would have the courage to say something you normally wouldn¡¯t say and do things you wouldn¡¯t normally do.¡± Lin Rufei drank the rest of the wine in his cup. Xie Zhiyao¡¯s cultivation has reached the eighth level. His sword travels in a matter of moments to the canyon where Lv Er was hidden. His mother¡¯s clan people were a little surprised to see him return. They had just wanted to greet him when they saw that his face was serious. Without any regard, he headed towards the house where Lv Er lived. The house where Lv Er lived was a wooden house built only a few days ago. It was very simple as if a gust of wind could blow it down. When the Xie family chased after Lv Er, he also suffered a lot. This made Xie Zhiyao¡¯s heart soften a little. ¡°Lv Er¡ª¡± Xie Zhiyao called the servant boy¡¯s name. ¡°Why are you here again?¡± Lv Er was surprised, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you had to go back and think about it. It¡¯s only been so long and you¡¯ve figured it out?¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°I did figure it out.¡± Lv Er was silent for a moment and squirmed, ¡°Then do you like me or not? If you say you like me, only then will I let you in.¡± As he said this, he muttered a few words in a low voice, saying that all the Xie family members were no good, and only Xie Zhiyao could barely catch his eye. However, Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± When Lv Er heard this, he was furious: ¡°Xie Zhiyao, have you been kicked in the head by a donkey? Why is it so hard to use? If you don¡¯t know then why did you come here again? Is it just to piss me off this time?¡± He gritted his teeth, ¡°I¡¯m just asking for you to say ¡®like,¡¯ it¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to marry me. Why are you so afraid?¡± Xie Zhiyao slightly pursed his lips. ¡°Is it possible that you are still worried that I will delay you from marrying a wife and having children?¡± Lv Er¡¯s voice was sharp and piercing, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will never stop you from having children and grandchildren! Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡± Lv Er yelled angrily: ¡°No! You can¡¯t come in!!¡± But with this broken wooden door, how could it stop Xie Zhiyao? With a push from his hand, the wooden door opened. He saw Lv Er sitting on the couch inside the house. When Lv Er saw him enter, his angry face was full of scarlet. His body shook like a sieve: ¡°I hate you, I hate you! Xie Zhiyao, you get out, get out!!¡± Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Lv Er bawled. While crying, he scolded Xie Zhiyao, saying that Xie Zhiyao and the Xie family people were not good people. They only knew how to bully him. He just wanted to hear the word ¡°like,¡± is it so difficult, so difficult? Xie Zhiyao frowned in distress. He approached Lv Er and whispered: ¡°Lv Er, currently I still don¡¯t know if I like you or not, but you are very important to me. There is still a long time¡­¡­why are you so anxious?¡± Lv Er¡¯s sobs intensified. Xie Zhiyao stopped in front of him. He gently wiped Lv Er¡¯s tears with his fingers and said, ¡°Come back with me.¡± But Lv Er couldn¡¯t stop shaking his head. Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°Why won¡¯t you?¡± Lv Er said in a trembling voice, ¡°I won¡¯t go back with you unless you say you ¡­¡­ like me.¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s brows furrowed even more tightly. He looked at Lv Er¡¯s dirty crying face and thought for a while: ¡°Even if you do not wish to, it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m already a level eight cultivator, if I want to take you away, no one can stop me.¡± As he said this, he extended his hand to Lv Er. Lv Er screamed: ¡°You are not allowed to touch me¡ª¡± But it was already too late. Xie Zhiyao grabbed Lv Er¡¯s hand and pulled him into his arms. However, when his hand moved, he noticed something was wrong and blurted out, ¡°Lv Er, why are you so light ¡­¡­¡± Lv Er was pulled into Xie Zhiyao¡¯s arms. His chin was on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s shoulder. He was still crying and his cries grew more and more desperate: ¡°Xie Zhiyao, let go of me¡ª¡± Xie Zhiyao slowly lowered his head. He seemed to have perceived something. His whole body froze in place for a while. His hands shook like a sieve as he gently peeled off the outer layer of Lv Er¡¯s clothes. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The layer fell off gently and revealed the upper half of Lv Er. He noticed that on the originally white back of Lv Er, there seemed to be an addition of a hideous wound. The wound ran from the neck to the waist and he could almost faintly see the scarlet organs. Xie Zhiyao froze. He called the boy¡¯s name: ¡°Lv Er?¡± Lv Er wailed in Xie Zhiyao¡¯s ear. He angrily bit the side of Xie Zhiyao¡¯s neck. Only when he saw blood did he let go, ¡°Onlookers all say I¡¯m bullying you, but clearly you are the one bullying me. I just wanted to hear a ¡®like¡¯ ¡­¡­ just a¡­ ¡­just a ¡®like¡¯ ¡­¡­¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Your back ¡­¡­¡± Lv Er didn¡¯t speak. When he saw the blood on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s neck, he gave a heartbreaking lick. His hands and feet were unable to move and he relied on the inlaid talisman on his back to continue to live. It was a good thing Xie Zhiyao survived the fight within the Xie family, he now had a stable road for the rest of his life. ¡°Who did it, who hurt you.¡± Xie Zhiyao asked through clenched teeth. ¡°I accidentally fell down the mountain and got seriously injured and it just so happened that your mother¡¯s clan met me and saved me.¡± Lv Er said, ¡°Xie Kongcheng is so powerful, I thought you would die.¡± He fondly rubbed his against Xie Zhiyao¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Luckily you are alive.¡± Xie Zhiyao stared at Lv Er¡¯s wound and said in a quiet voice, ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± Lv Er was silent. ¡°You lied to me.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°You¡¯ve become bad, you never lied to me before.¡± Lv Er cried again. Xie Zhiyao hugged him and said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back to Moyu. If not, I will take you to Kunlun. Kunlun has that Wan Yao, who has excellent medical skills. Such a small injury, he will certainly be able to cure.¡± Lv Er murmured: ¡°It can¡¯t be cured, it can¡¯t be cured.¡± ¡°It can be cured.¡± Xie Zhiyao gritted his teeth. The little drunkenness from a while ago has now disappeared. He carefully held Lv Er, like he was holding fragile porcelain. Lv Er leaned into Xie Zhiyao¡¯s arms. He was no longer noisy and with a gentle gaze, he gazed at Xie Zhiyao. He knew that his time was running out. In that case, it was good to see Xie Zhiyao a few more times. The only pity is that he did not get the answer he wanted the most. Xie Zhiyao held Lv Er while flying on the sword. The wind was howling. He pursed his lips and was as stiff as a stone. Lv Er, who was in his arms, was still talking. Lv Er said, ¡°Young master, how nice. No one can bully you anymore.¡± Lv Er said again, ¡°Young master, Lv Er is really happy.¡± The corners of Xie Zhiyao¡¯s eyes finally flooded with water and he said, ¡°Lv Er, don¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°Okay, Lv Er won¡¯t leave.¡± Lv Er¡¯s voice has never been so gentle, ¡°Lv Er will always, always, stay with young master, Lv Er is not going anywhere ¡­¡­¡± ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: It¡¯s possible between a man and another man? Xie Zhiyao: Men are scary creatures, as long as you¡¯re idle, don¡¯t say men¡­¡­even a sword is possible. Lin Rufei: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Huh? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idiom meaning ¡°trapped¡± [2] Idiom meaning ¡°kind/compassionate towards the opposite sex¡± [3] For people who don¡¯t understand, the pronouns for him(Ëû)and her(Ëý) in Chinese both use the same pronunciation(ta), only different characters. So you really can¡¯t tell by ear unless you see the character too. That¡¯s why it¡¯s ¡°him¡± there, well Lin Rufei doesn¡¯t know until later heh. [4] Alcohol name ¨C direct translation is Green Bamboo Leaf CH 24 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Xie Zhiyao didn¡¯t return to the Xie residence. He carried Lv Er directly to Kunlun. When he left, he sent a letter to Lin Rufei. The letter gave a general explanation; Lv Er was seriously injured and in urgent need of medical treatment. Lin Rufei was a bit surprised when he received the letter from the paper crane. He turned his head to look at Gu Xuandu: ¡°How did you know that something had happened to Lv Er?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The ancient headed beast Lijin, whose shape resembles that of a man, and whose bone is so hard that it can shatter ten thousand blades.¡± Lin Rufei was stunned. Gu Xuandu continued, ¡°Therefore, the Lijin beasts were hunted down by the human race and almost exterminated. It¡¯s a good thing they looked like humans and learned human habits. As a result, they hid amongst them and were barely able to maintain their racial bloodline.¡± He sighed, ¡°This was only what had happened a few hundred years ago. Now that it has been so long, the Lijin beasts are almost extinct. However, I didn¡¯t expect to see one in the Xie residence.¡± The moment he saw the bone sword on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s waist, he guessed everything. Lin Rufei also understood the meaning behind Gu Xuandu¡¯s words. The servant boy, Lv Er, was the foreign beast Lijin. The bone sword in Xie Zhiyao¡¯s hand came from his body. ¡°The most precious thing in the Lijin beast is the spine that runs through the whole body. This bone does not need to be refined, it can be pulled out and made into a sword. The blade is sharp. It can shatter the stars and break the mountains.¡± Gu Xuandu carelessly talked about other people¡¯s stories, ¡°If not for that sword, Xie Zhiyao would have long died.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Can Lv Er still survive without a spine?¡± Gu Xuandu stared into Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes, ¡°Naturally, he cannot.¡± Lin Rufei felt a lump in his throat. He remembered the occasional tenderness in Xie Zhiyao¡¯s eyes when he talked about Lv Er, perhaps even he didn¡¯t notice. But now that the Xie family¡¯s troubles have just subsided, Lv Er was ¡­¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know what method the people over there have used to let Lv Er hang onto his life, but that servant won¡¯t live long.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Even if the best physicians in the world are invited, they can¡¯t save his life.¡± No living thing can live after losing its spine. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What should Xie Zhiyao do?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®what should he do?¡¯ ¡± Gu Xuandu said flatly, ¡°He got the family head title that he wanted the most and he is also on the eighth level of cultivation. He simply lost a foul-mouthed servant, isn¡¯t that a good deal?¡± Lin Rufei listened to Gu Xuandu¡¯s emotionless words and slightly wrinkled his eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Gu Xuandu asked rhetorically. ¡°Naturally, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Lin Rufei said disapprovingly, ¡°Lv Er has been with Xie Zhiyao for so many years, Xie Zhiyao must have some affection for him. Seeing Lv Er just gone like this, I¡¯m afraid his heart won¡¯t be able to handle it.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s attitude, however, seemed unusually cold. He did not sit beside Lin Rufei as usual but leaned against the beam. His hands were crossed on his chest as he slightly tilted his chin and looked down at Lin Rufei. He calmly asked: ¡°If you were Lv Er, what would you do?¡± Lin Rufei thought about it, ¡°If I were Lv Er ¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Before he could finish his words, he was coldly interrupted by Gu Xuandu. From the time Gu Xuandu arrived at Lin Rufei¡¯s side, this senior, who had never been serious, had never shown such a cold and icy look. He said, ¡°I know how you would choose.¡± As the words fell, his figure then abruptly dispersed, leaving a room full of silence. Lin Rufei was bewildered. He didn¡¯t understand why these words had touched Gu Xuandu¡¯s scales[1]. Without Gu Xuandu, the room was quiet and somewhat uncomfortable. After noticing his thoughts, Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but reveal a bitter smile. In his heart he thought that people were really greedy animals, it had only been a few days and he was already accustomed to Gu Xuandu¡¯s presence. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Xie Zhiyao spent the whole day and night rushing to Kunlun. Wan Yao received the paper crane beforehand. He knew Xie Zhiyao was coming so he arrived early at the mountain gate to wait. ¡°Quickly, put the person down.¡± After seeing Lv Er, Wan Yao instructed Xie Zhiyao to put the person on the prepared wooden bed. He raised his hand and took the pulse for Lv Er. Xie Zhiyao stood on the side. He was afraid to let out a breath and set his eyes dead on Lv Er. His chest could not stop heaving. Wan Yao figured out Lv Er¡¯s condition. His expression gradually turned serious and from his bosom, took out a few silver needles. He stuck them into Lv Er¡¯s body and Lv Er¡¯s expression finally looked slightly better. However, his breath was still very weak. ¡°Should we talk about this outside?¡± Wan Yao asked. Xie Zhiyao nodded. He was about to take a step out when he heard Lv Er¡¯s weak cry, ¡°Young master ¡­¡­ don¡¯t ¡­¡­ go ¡­¡­ ¡° Xie Zhiyao leaned down and whispered: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, you also know Wan Yao¡¯s medical skills, he will certainly have a way to save you.¡± However, Lv Er shook his head. He said with great difficulty: ¡°Just ¡­¡­.say it here.¡± His body couldn¡¯t hold on much longer but his heart was clear. It was naturally best if he could see his young master for a while longer. ¡°Okay. You can say it.¡± Xie Zhiyao held Lv Er¡¯s hand and looked up at Wan Yao. Wan Yao hesitated slightly. After seeing Xie Zhiyao¡¯s firm expression, he sighed and said quietly: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Lv Er ¡­¡­.won¡¯t make it.¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s expression instantly turned hideous: ¡°What did you say?!¡± Wan Yao said: ¡°His spine was taken out alive[2]. Being able to live until now is already a miracle. If I apply needles onto him, he might be able to live another day or two, it¡¯s just that¡­..¡± Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°Just that ?¡± Wan Yao said, ¡°It¡¯s just that ¡­¡­ he will be in extreme pain.¡± The wound on his back can¡¯t be healed. Every second and every moment, it gives Lv Er extreme pain. The current him was weak and could only lie on his stomach, he couldn¡¯t even turn over otherwise it would touch the wound. After Xie Zhiyao listened to Wan Yao¡¯s words, his Adam¡¯s apple moved up and down. He seemed to be suppressing some kind of emotion. Lv Er sensed his thoughts and gently squeezed his hand that was holding his. He forced a smile: ¡°No worries¡­¡­ If I can accompany young master for another day, that is enough.¡± Xie Zhiyao did not speak. He thoroughly understood everything. Lowering his head, he stared ruthlessly at the white bone sword hanging on his waist for a long time. In his black eyes, a manic storm was silently brewing. A weak call from Lv Er ripped Xie Zhiyao from his emotions. He responded to his call, ¡°Lv Er.¡± Lv Er looked docile: ¡°Lv Er is here.¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Who did this?¡± Lv Er did not say anything. ¡°Tell me who did it.¡± Xie Zhiyao asked word by word, ¡°Who took out your spine alive, who was it?¡± Lv Er calmly looked back at Xie Zhiyao. His lips wriggled with difficulty and he gave Xie Zhiyao an answer he least expected to hear: ¡°It was Lv Er who did it.¡± Xie Zhiyao¡¯s body trembled. ¡°It was Lv Er himself who did it.¡± Lv Er said, ¡°Blame no one ¡­¡­¡± Xie Zhiyao let out a hiss of despair as if he was a cornered beast. He wanted to hug Lv Er but was also afraid of hurting him. Finally, he could only kneel on the edge of the bed and hold Lv Er¡¯s increasingly cold hand. He couldn¡¯t help but give it a kiss: ¡°Lv Er, why ¡­¡­¡­ why¡­¡­..¡± Lv Er said, ¡°Lv Er just doesn¡¯t want onlookers to bully young master again.¡± Most likely Wan Yao¡¯s needle skills have started to work since he had the strength to speak again. Lv Er stared at Xie Zhiyao, his eyes were bright like the stars in the sky and he said, ¡°Young master doesn¡¯t need to envy that Lin Rufei, young master also has someone who cherishes him dearly. Lv Er cherishes young master the most.¡± Xie Zhiyao couldn¡¯t say anything until there was a wet liquid that dripped down onto the back of his hand and he realized that he had shed tears. Lv Er has never seen this expression of Xie Zhiyao. He suddenly started to panic and said quickly that young master shouldn¡¯t cry. Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°You¡¯re right, you cherish me but you¡¯re also leaving. Who will cherish me now?¡± Lv Er said, ¡°When young master becomes the head of the Xie family, there will be many people who will love you.¡± He murmured, ¡°When the young master marries and has children, he will not need Lv Er anymore ¡­¡­ it¡¯s just a pity ¡­¡­¡± Xie Zhiyao revealed a look of despair. Wan Yao said Lv Er has already used medicines and acupuncture stones, he has no more methods. Lv Er still had some strength left so he began to speak again. He scolded Xie Zhiyao¡¯s father, scolded Xie Zhiyao¡¯s brother, and scolded all the Xie family except Xie Zhiyao, his young master. Xie Zhiyao listened numbly. He watched in a trance as if his soul had already floated out from his body. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When Lv Er said he felt tired, his voice gradually quiet down. Xie Zhiyao suddenly opened his mouth and said: ¡°Lv Er, why don¡¯t you ask anymore?¡± Lv Er said blankly, ¡°Hmm?¡± Xie Zhiyao said: ¡°You have always wanted to know if I liked you or not, why don¡¯t you ask anymore?¡± Lv Er¡¯s lip wriggled slightly. He said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: ¡°I ¡­¡­ don¡¯t want to know anymore.¡± ¡°Why, why don¡¯t you want to know anymore?¡± Xie Zhiyao said in a trembling voice. ¡°Because young master will definitely pity me.¡± Lv Er said, ¡°I don¡¯t want young master to pity me.¡± He stared with wet black eyes, like an innocent deer, ¡°I ¡­¡­ I just want young master to like me.¡± After he said this, his eyes drooped in embarrassment. Xie Zhiyao completely collapsed. His shoulders shook and he covered his face in pain. He whimpered and was gradually losing his voice. This was the first time he hated himself for that hesitation. He hated himself for forcing his way into the room and he hated himself for not giving Lv Er that desired answer. Lv Er looked at Xie Zhiyao¡¯s painful expression helplessly, he wanted to comfort but he did not know what to say to make his young master feel better. So in a panic, he could only grab Xie Zhiyao¡¯s hand and coax him not to cry. Xie Zhiyao was two years older than Lv Er. They met when Xie Zhiyao was three years old. They have spent more than twenty years together. Xie Zhiyao¡¯s mother passed away early, in the entire Xie family, the only one that cherished him was the obnoxious servant boy by his side. No one in the Xie residence liked Xie Zhiyao and no one liked Lv Er. The good thing was that Lv Er didn¡¯t mind. He just wanted young master to like him, to him that was enough. This kind of like, from the time he became a servant, he didn¡¯t know when it started to change. It wasn¡¯t until Xie Zhiyao encountered danger, did the fire in his heart start like a little star. Lv Er knew he didn¡¯t have much time left, his only wish was to get the word ¡°like¡± from his young master¡¯s mouth. Not pity for the dying, but just a pure and simple like. But, unfortunately, he didn¡¯t get what he wanted in the end. Lv Er should have felt regret, however, when he saw Xie Zhiyao¡¯s expression of despair, his regret turned into concern for his young master. His death was something that he had been prepared for, for a long time, but he didn¡¯t expect to make Xie Zhiyao, who had always been unperturbed, suffer so much. ¡°Lv Er, Lv Er ¡­¡­¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Ask me, ask me once again, ask, ask.¡± Lv Er was scared by Xie Zhiyao¡¯s expression and he whispered, ¡°Okay, Okay¡­¡­ young master, do you like Lv Er?¡± ¡°Like, I like Lv Er.¡± Xie Zhiyao sobbed one word at a time, ¡°Xie Zhiyao likes Lv Er the most.¡± Lv Er showed a smile. Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°He likes you so much, how can you make him sad, Lv Er ¡­¡­¡± Lv Er patted Xie Zhiyao¡¯s head like he was coaxing a child. He whispered: ¡°It¡¯s okay, aren¡¯t I always with young master, by young master¡¯s side.¡± Xie Zhiyao once again cried out. Outside the room, Wan Yao heard Xie Zhiyao howling cries and he let out a deep sigh. The seven sufferings of life; birth, old age, sickness, and death. Love and separation, resentment and hatred, and being unable to do anything. As long as they are still on the human path, it was difficult to escape this torture. (t/n: so for people who might be like ¡°that¡¯s not seven¡± it¡¯s grouped like this; [birth], [old age], [sickness], [death], [love and separation], [resentment and hatred], and [unable to do anything]) Xie Zhiyao and Lv Er, he had technically watched them grow up. Currently, the two were going to be separated because of life and death, naturally, he would also feel some sorrow. The doctor¡¯s heart is benevolent. However, the things he can do are still too little, too little. ¡°Something must have happened in the Xie residence.¡± At some point, Lin Bianyu appeared beside Wan Yao. He looked at the room behind Wan Yao where Xie Zhiyao was howling in tears and said lowly, ¡°I don¡¯t know how Xiao Jiu is right now.¡± Wan Yao said, ¡°Xie Zhiyao has reached the eighth level of cultivation.¡± Lin Bianyu revealed a surprised look. Wan Yao was an old man so he naturally knew the rules of the Xie residence. However, Lin Bianyu¡¯s generation was still young, so they didn¡¯t understand these things. He explained: ¡°Xie family¡¯s infighting should not be detrimental to Xiao Jiu.¡± After saying ¡°no matter,¡± he explained the Xie family rules to Lin Bianyu. After Lin Bianyu finished listening, his expression showed pity. No one knew if the pity was for the Xie family or if the pity was for Lv Er, who would die soon. Within the Xie residence, Gu Xuandu was still sulking at Lin Rufei. He didn¡¯t show his figure for the whole day. Lin Rufei also didn¡¯t know how to coax him. After some thought, he put on a cloak and went to the streets alone. He walked around the street a few times before finding an old man selling flowers. The old man was selling some beautiful flowers like peonies, so Lin Rufei asked if there were any cherry blossoms for sale around here. The old man smiled and said that there were cherry blossom trees everywhere, so there was no need to buy cherry blossoms. Just leave Moyu City and go east for less than two miles and he would see a cherry blossom forest. But because of last night¡¯s sudden rain, the cherry blossoms were probably beaten to pieces. Lin Rufei got the news, then slowly and leisurely walked out of the city. When he left, he did not forget to buy a bright red candied hawthorn at a stall. He nibbled on it as he headed towards the grove. Outside Moyu City were the mountain roads. Last night it rained again so it was slightly muddy. However, the weather was good today and although the mountain wind was strong, it wasn¡¯t too cold. Walking through the winding paths, Lin Rufei soon saw the cherry blossom grove that the old man talked about. But the forest here was only a small one, far from the wide and bright forest under Kunlun Mountain. The blossom colors were also lighter. Lin Rufei looked left and right, after seeing no one, he quietly snuck close to a tree. Using his hands and feet, he climbed up and reached out to pick a bunch of intact cherry blossoms. Who knew that when he stepped on the tree, his foot slipped and he rolled down from the tree with the flowers. Lin Rufei let out a cry and then he was caught by a pair of hands. ¡°Are you trying to drop yourself to death?¡± Gu Xuandu gritted his teeth. Lin Rufei looked at him innocently and handed the cherry blossom to him, ¡°Here.¡± Gu Xuandu said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t want it.¡± Lin Rufei blinked. He then reached out and covered his mouth¡ªcoughing hard. Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei coughed while glancing at Gu Xuandu. The narrow-minded senior finally could not stand his endless coughing and angrily said, ¡°Okay, okay, just give it to me. Stop coughing, be careful or you¡¯re going to cough out your lungs.¡± Lin Rufei immediately stopped coughing and happily patted the mud off his hands. He said that the cherry blossoms here were not as good as the ones on Kunlun Mountain. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Is that so.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Of course, the best one is the one in my yard.¡± When Gu Xuandu heard that, his expression eased quite a bit. Although Lin Rufei did not understand why Gu Xuandu was angry, after he saw that he put the matter aside, he also relaxed. Touching the rough bark of the cherry blossom tree, he wondered how it was going on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s side. ¡°He¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Gu Xuandu said casually, ¡°Lv Er will not live for long.¡± Lin Rufei sighed. The atmosphere was not good when they started talking about Lv Er so Lin Rufei had to change the subject. He said that the candied hawthorn he just ate tasted good. Gu Xuandu, on the other hand, blamed him for eating candy despite coughing so hard. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯m used to coughing, I won¡¯t die.¡± After saying that, there was a series of coughs again. The two of them enjoyed the flowers for a while and then went down the mountain. The night was approaching and the lights in Moyu City also lit up. On the green stone-paved streets, there were vendors shouting loudly. There were also bargaining residents and tourists who just arrived in the city, looking around. It was very lively. The dust has settled in the Xie residence for the position of the family head. Therefore, there was no more of that suffocating atmosphere from the previous few days. When Lin Rufei returned, he saw several carriages parked in front of the Xie residence. When he went up to ask, he learned that several stewards who had left the house for half a month had just returned. They obviously knew the Xie family rules so they specially picked this time to go out and seek refuge. Now that Xie Zhiyao has won the position of family head, they have returned to begin preparations to accept the new family head. This was very efficient, but for some reason, Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was always feeling a little discomfort. It was Fu Hua¡¯s words that made him understand why he was uncomfortable. Fu Hua said, ¡°This Xie residence is really strange as if the death of so many people were insignificant.¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°Yes, if they died then they died. They are casually dragged off to be buried and not even allowed a grave¡­.. By the way, sister Fu Hua, that Xie Ji¡¯s head¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua expressionlessly glanced at Yu Rui. When she saw Yu Rui¡¯s neck shrink, only then did she answer: ¡°Xie Zhiyao took it.¡± Yu Rui said: ¡°Buried?¡± Fu Hua said: ¡°Burned with fire.¡± Yu Rui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± she did not even dare to ask what happened to Xie Wanlin¡¯s ashes. Both of them looked unhappy and did not want to talk about it anymore. Lin Rufei sat in the courtyard. He looked at the servants who came and went. The Xie family, which seemed to be revived and lively, brought a lot of emotions to his heart. The person who should have been celebrating his victory was now on Kunlun Mountain. Most likely¡­¡­.he was grieving right now. That night, Lin Rufei received a family letter from Lin Bianyu. The letter said that he had seen Xie Zhiyao and the dying Lv Er. Xie Zhiyao was almost completely devastated after learning that there was no cure for Lv Er, and he didn¡¯t know if he would do anything drastic if Lv Er was really gone. He also asked Lin Rufei how he was doing and whether he was affected by anything. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei wrote back, saying that the Xie family had treated him courteously and had not overstepped any boundaries. However, he did not tell Lin Bianyu about the matter regarding Xie Wanlin. After all, if Lin Bianyu really knows, he might actually chop Xie Zhiyao up in a fit of anger. Lin Rufei was very clear about his own brother¡¯s protective nature. After replying to the letter, Lin Rufei drank another dose of cough medicine. He planned to rest early. Gu Xuandu looked at the porcelain vase on the table which held cherry blossoms, no one knew what he was thinking about. ¡°Senior Gu, I¡¯m going to sleep first. What about you?¡± Lin Rufei covered half of his face with a cup[3], revealing only a pair of light-colored eyes, and asked in a muffled voice. Gu Xuandu¡¯s face was expressionless: ¡°Going out to catch ghosts.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Catching ghosts?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei became energetic in an instant and he sat up with a whoosh, ¡°Where are you going to catch ghosts? Are there really ghosts in this world?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°What do you think?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I believe in it, but I¡¯ve never seen it.¡± He thought about it and said tentatively, ¡°Others can¡¯t see senior Xuandu, so senior you ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s expressionless face looked back. Lin Rufei quickly added: ¡°Joke, it was just a joke. Senior, please don¡¯t take it seriously.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You are quite lively compared to when you were on the mountains.¡± Lin Rufei helplessly said: ¡°On the mountain, my brothers kept me under a tight watch. Even if I go out in the snow to look at small flowers, they¡¯ll chide at me. In order to keep me from catching a cold, they even cut the small flower that bloomed with great difficulty in the snow¡­¡­¡± When Gu Xuandu heard this, he let out an unnaturally dry cough. He averted his gaze and calmly said: ¡°You get well. When you get well, I¡¯ll take you to catch ghosts with me.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Really?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Really.¡± Lin Rufei then shrunk under the blanket again. He wrapped himself up tightly and just showed his eyes. He had a look of obedience making Gu Xuandu unconsciously hook up the corners of his mouth. It was warm under the blanket and soon Lin Rufei felt sleepy. His eyes slowly closed and his breathing evened out. When Gu Xuandu saw him sleeping, he waved his long sleeves and his body faded¡ªdisappearing from the room. Lin Rufei had a good sleep and when he woke up the next day, his cough had gotten better. When he opened his eyes, he saw Gu Xuandu sitting in the room eating the dim sum brought in by Fu Hua. Lin Rufei yawned. He rubbed his eyes and got up from the bed. Slowly, he started to change his clothes. Gu Xuandu sat watching on the side. After seeing that his injured right hand was holding him back, he got up and took the clothes that were on the bed. He very naturally put them on for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was still dazed from his sleep, when he felt a tightness on his waist, he realized what Gu Xuandu was doing. He reflexively wanted to turn around, but Gu Xuandu said not to move and helped him fix the belt on his waist carefully before letting go. The two of them looked at each other and it was quiet for a while. ¡°What?¡± Gu Xuandu sat back down at the table and said, ¡°This expression?[4]¡° Lin Rufei said, ¡°This ¡­¡­ this. Letting senior change my clothes isn¡¯t quite appropriate, right?¡± Gu Xuandu said indifferently, ¡°If you think it¡¯s not appropriate.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Mnn?¡± Gu Xuandu said seriously, ¡°I can take mine off and let you help me put it back on. Would that be more appropriate?¡± Lin Rufei immediately shut up and quietly went to wash up. When Gu Xuandu saw his expression, he let out a chuckle. He grabbed the mung bean cake that was still warm and put it into his mouth before frowning in dissatisfaction. ¡°What, is the mung bean cake not to senior¡¯s taste?¡± Lin Rufei asked casually. ¡°It¡¯s too sweet.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The taste is not as good as the one made by my love¡­¡­..my friend.¡± Lin Rufei was about to speak, but Gu Xuandu raised his head to look outside the room. He softly said, ¡°Your friend is back.¡± Xie Zhiyao came back to the joyful Xie family with Lv Er, who died struggling in pain, in his arms. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Sulking, cold war[5]. Lin Rufei: cough cough cough cough cough. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­.. Lin Rufei: cough cough cough cough¡ª¡ª Gu Xuandu gritting his teeth: You¡¯re doing this on purpose, right? Lin Rufei blinks. Gu Xuandu: Forget it¡­¡­¡­ CH 25 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Lin Rufei saw Xie Zhiyao. And also saw Lv Er, who had no life left, in his embrace. The snow-white bone sword on Xie Zhiyao¡¯s waist was out of place amongst his black clothes. He was holding the sword in one hand and holding Lv Er against his chest with the other. His expression was sometimes cold and sometimes warm, almost like he was insane. Lin Rufei called his name from afar: ¡°Zhiyao.¡± But Xie Zhiyao did not hear him. He continued to stand in the courtyard. No one in the Xie residence dared to go forwards, all of them were far away as they kneeled to the new head of the family: ¡°Family head.¡± Xie Zhiyao did not respond. He lowered his head and placed a kiss on Lv Er¡¯s soft hair. Lin Rufei walked up to him and said quietly, ¡°Zhiyao.¡± Only then did Xie Zhiyao return to his senses. Seeing Lin Rufei standing in front of him, he said in a trance: ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Xiao Jiu left yet.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°I ¡­¡­ am a little worried about you.¡± ¡°Worried about me?¡± Xie Zhiyao said, ¡°Why should you be worried about me? I¡¯m fine, couldn¡¯t ¡­¡­ be better.¡± He smiled brightly, with a look of innocence that could only be seen when he was a teenager. He continued. ¡°Don¡¯t you have other places to go to deliver the invitations? Today¡¯s weather is good, it¡¯s a perfect time to cross the Canglan River Gorge. In a few days, I¡¯m afraid it will be the rainy season, then it will be inconvenient to cross the river.¡± From Moyu City to other places, one would have to walk through a treacherous waterway. In the waterway, there would be the occasional jiao[1]. As long as the boat encounters one, there would certainly be nine deaths and one life[2]. ¡°Give me the invitation.¡± Xie Zhiyao gave Lin Rufei a slight smile, ¡°The Xie residence isn¡¯t a good place, it¡¯s better if you leave early.¡± Lin Rufei wanted to say something, but when he saw Xie Zhiyao and Lv Er, who was in his arms, he wasn¡¯t able to say anything. In silence, he took out the invitation for the sword competition from his ring and handed it to Xie Zhiyao. Xie Zhiyao took the invitation and stuffed it casually into his sleeves. He randomly pulled a trembling servant over with his hand and expressionlessly ordered him to send Lin gongzi away, and then to find a reliable boat near the Canglan River to send Lin gongzi across. The servant trembled and answered yes. After saying that, Xie Zhiyao left. His back was cold and determined. In the end, Lin Rufei was not able to call out the ¡°Zhiyao¡± stuck in his throat. He returned to the room with a gloomy look. Gu Xuandu looked at the weather outside and said that the weather outside wasn¡¯t bad, the sunset must be very beautiful. Lin Rufei raised his eyes to look, however, he saw that the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind was howling, although it was not raining, no matter how one looked at it, it looked like a cloudy day. He said: ¡°The weather is good?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled: ¡°Very good.¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He was thinking that perhaps Gu Xuandu and that Xie Zhiyao might be able to hold a conversation with each other. After being evicted by Xie Zhiyao so bluntly, Lin Rufei had wanted to talk to him again, but he refused to see him at all. He sent his servant to urge him to leave. With no more methods, Lin Rufei could only ask his maids to pack up his things and go to a tavern for the night, thinking that he would make plans tomorrow. When they left the Xie residence, Yu Rui suddenly asked, ¡°Hey, why are those two stone lions gone?¡± Lin Rufei then noticed that the two stone beasts that were guarding the Xie residence were gone. His heart thumped and he had a vague sense of foreboding. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. The lanterns hanging on the street rustle in response. It seems like there was going to be heavy rain soon. No matter how you look at it, it wasn¡¯t good weather. The servants of the Xie family booked the best room for Lin Rufei in the tavern. The room just so happened to be located in a direction where they could see the Xie residence. Lin Rufei sat on the edge of the bed with a sullen look and when his maids came to serve him food he had no appetite. As he looked and watched, he fell asleep. The sound of rain crackled outside the window and he was awakened from his dream by the heavy rain. Lin Rufei sleepily opened his eyes and in a daze, he saw a brilliant sunset that reflected half of the sky. The sunset was like blood. It was visible despite being covered by a curtain of rain. It was like a torn wound, bright and blinding. Lin Rufei instantly woke up. He jerked up from the bed. The cloak that was draped over his shoulders fell to the ground but he didn¡¯t care. This was no sunset, it was obviously the Xie residence on fire. Bright flames enveloped the entire Xie residence. People were screaming, people were roaring, and people were standing high up on the walls. Lin Rufei saw Xie Zhiyao. He was standing on the highest loft in the Xie residence. In his left hand, he was hugging the servant boy in green clothes ans in his right hand, he carried a jug of freshly unearthed Zhu Ye Qing. He gazed at the brightly colored evening sun in the sky. He seemed to have noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze. Xie Zhiyao turned his head towards Lin Rufei and revealed a vague smile. The rain gradually became heavier, but it couldn¡¯t suppress the blazing fire that was created with sword Qi. The flame was like a fierce beast trapped within the entire Xie residence. It rushed and raged, devouring everything in its path. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± Gu Xuandu leaned against the window. His red clothes were like fire as he stroked the handle of Gu Yu and the handle of Shuang Jiang hanging at his waist. He said softly, ¡°The weather really is good.¡± He had actually guessed what Xie Zhiyao was going to do. Lin Rufei stood in place. His cheeks were lapped by the cold wind mixed with rainwater, but he did not feel the cold. Rather, he felt the steaming heat rushing towards his face. The fire in the Xie residence burned everything and from then on, the Xie family no longer exists in Moyu City. The Xie residence burned all night and even when dawn came, the fire still did not dissipate. Xie Zhiyao had disappeared. He took Lv Er and disappeared together. Before he left, he set a big fire which burned down the place where he and Lv Er had grown up since childhood. Outsiders all seemed to be confused as to why he would do this. Xie Zhiyao was already on the eighth level of cultivation and was already the head of the Xie family. He had to be crazy to do such a thing like cutting off his own future. Was he crazy? Lin Rufei really couldn¡¯t say. He only remembered that that day, the evening sunset in the rain was indeed amazingly beautiful. The fire burned for three days, so Lin Rufei watched for three days. It was only when the fire had finally dissipated and only the wreckage of the Xie¡¯s residence was left behind that Lin Rufei departed from Moyu. It was still raining, and the horses¡¯ hooves clattered against the green stone slabs. This was Lin Rufei¡¯s last memory of Xie Zhiyao. It wasn¡¯t until many years later, that Lin Rufei vaguely heard some news about Xie Zhiyao. They say that in Jianghu, a white-haired madman suddenly appeared. He carried a bunch of withered bones on his back and would destroy all the halls that the Xie family set up in various places. Not only would he kill but he would also set a big fire. He would sit on the wall watching the flames burn everything to the ground and leave laughing loudly. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Some people have seen the madman¡¯s appearance, saying that he was a handsome young man, especially the white ancient sword around his waist. He was especially conspicuous, but no one knew his name. Lin Rufei, however, knew the name of that madman. His name was Xie Zhiyao and he was once a very good chess player. Only later, when he lost the most important bone[3] in his life, did he go crazy. The mountains were high and the roads were far. The miles were long and sometimes when people parted, it became a lifetime. Lin Rufei sat in the carriage, drinking the new tea brewed by Fu Hua. The rain began to fall three days ago and it still had not stopped. This year¡¯s plum rain came extraordinarily early. The rain wasn¡¯t heavy, but it was continuous. When it starts it could continue for half a month. Lin Rufei was bored in the carriage and felt that he was about to grow mushrooms. But this was God¡¯s matter, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Gu Xuandu was smiling and asked if he wanted to see the sun. However, a few days ago, when Gu Xuandu praised the good weather in Moyu City, it was filled with firelight. This made Lin Rufei be on guard and asked him what he wanted to do. But Gu Xuandu was full of innocence and said he just wanted to let Lin Rufei get some sunshine. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Are you trying to make this matter difficult for God?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°How do you know if we don¡¯t try?¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°No need, no need. I think the weather is fine.¡± He didn¡¯t want to see another big fire. Gu Xuandu wanted to persuade him again, but when he saw Lin Rufei¡¯s firmness, he had to regretfully stop. Moyu City was located on the westernmost part of the Yaoguang continent. In order to enter the Central Plains, one needed to pass through a very dangerous waterway, which was the Canglan River mentioned by Xie Zhiyao. The Canglan River was located between two steep canyons. It had turbulent water with reefs all over the place and evil scorpions hiding underneath, making it really dangerous. These days it was rainy and the waves were turbid. Many merchants and pedestrians were afraid to travel. The carriage was nearing the shore so Lin Rufei opened the umbrella and looked around. The muddy river was mast and mighty. On top of the steep cliff, you could even see countless white bones hanging on it. He looked for a boatman to ask, only to learn that the water was too strong these days and the evil jiao at the bottom of the river had killed a boat full of merchants. It wasn¡¯t enough that it ate their meat, it also had hung their bones on the cliff. ¡°This evil jiao dares to be so domineering?¡± Fu Hua frowned, ¡°No one can control it?¡± ¡°How can we control it, ah. It eats people based on its mood. If it is in a good mood, we wouldn¡¯t see its shadow for a few years. If it is in a bad moon, as long as they dare cross the river, they will suffer. ¡± As the boatman said this he sighed helplessly, ¡°The recent weather is very strange, it continued to rain for several days and we haven¡¯t been able to see the sun. The evil jiao is in a very poor mood, these days it has been causing rolling waters¡­¡­.it ate dozens of people and is still not appeased.¡± Lin Rufei wondered: ¡°How long has it been here?¡± ¡°Almost a few hundred years, rumor has it that this evil jiao should have turned into a dragon a hundred years ago. However, in the end, it offended the Heavenly Ruler. The Heavenly Ruler cut off one of its horns and it was dragged here to become a guardian beast of the river. ¡± The boatman sighed and told the story of a hundred years ago, ¡°Sadly, the Heavenly Ruler fell, now there is no one controlling this evil jiao as it stirs up trouble in the river¡­..¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then these days, we will not be able to leave?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t leave, can¡¯t leave.¡± The boatman shook his head, ¡°Who dares to leave, ah. Even if they pay extra, if there is no life then there is nowhere to spend it. Even the immortals who can fly with a sword are not spared¡ªif we mortals with ordinary bodies wanted to cross that river, isn¡¯t that just sending food to it?!¡± Lin Rufei listened with a slight frown. He was distressed and didn¡¯t know when this evil jiao would stop. Gu Xuandu, who was standing behind him, spoke out casually: ¡°If Xiao Jiu wants to leave, naturally he will be able to.¡± Lin Rufei looked at him. ¡°Xiao Jiu doesn¡¯t believe me?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and said, ¡°Besides, this evil jiao is also considered my acquaintance. If we talk with him, maybe there¡¯ll be a way.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and nodded slightly. He told Fu Hua and Yu Rui to first go to the inn for some food. Recently, it was impossible to cross the river and a large number of merchants were stranded in the inns on both sides of the river. The lobby of the inn was bustling with people drinking and chatting. It was noisy. As soon as Lin Rufei and his two maids entered, he attracted many eyes. There were both good intentions and malice in these stares, however, most of them were curious as they gawked. It was said that where there are people, there is Jianghu. Then this inn was a small Jianghu. When the Xiao Er[4] saw these noble guests, he eagerly served tea and asked whether they¡¯re here to eat or stay. Fu Hua ordered two upper rooms and instructed Yu Rui to go with the Xiao Er to organize the rooms, saying that young master was going to use it tonight. She stood behind Lin Rufei with an icy expression, stopping all the inquisitive gazes. A handsome weak nobleman with a continuous cough and two pretty maids with beautiful faces, such a combination would inevitably attract the attention of all the people outside. Lin Rufei sat down at the table, picked up a cup of tea, and took a sip. He also ordered some food. The inn¡¯s tea tasted bland, it was naturally not as good as the new tea they brought with them. However, the food tasted pretty good, especially the marinated crispy beef. If it could be paired with some really good wine, it would definitely be delicious. It was a pity that Lin Rufei was still coughing so he did not dare drink wine. Such a shame. As Lin Rufei was thinking, the smell of wine brushed past his nose. Lin Rufei followed the smell and saw a young man in a short shirt. He carried a wine gourd in his hand and smiled as he stared at him. As he felt Lin Rufei¡¯s stare, he wobbled over and came up to Lin Rufei: ¡°Gongzi wants to cross the river?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I can send you across the river.¡± The young man¡¯s body smelled strongly of alcohol, but his black eyes were bright, ¡°I promise you¡¯ll be okay.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Oh, are you serious?¡± The young man said, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m serious¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, the people around him laughed loudly. Someone said with a smile, ¡°Jiang Chaoer, don¡¯t talk big, do you think you are as good as your father? Even a powerful boatman like your father died in the mouth of the jiao¡ª¡± The people¡¯s taunts became more and more sarcastic: ¡°Little doll, with your three-legged cat[5] kung fu, you dare to take people across the river? Not afraid that the jiao will be angry and swallow you all? Your life might not matter but don¡¯t delay the gongzi-ge[6].¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re just a hairless brat, how dare you say crazy things, I think it will rain for another half a month. In this half a month, which boatman dares to cross the river!¡± ¡°Jiang Chaoer, do you think that your father¡¯s death was not bad enough? Not even the bones of his body have been found ¡­¡­¡± All kinds of words came over earth-shatteringly. The young man called Jiang Chaoer was not angry. He still looked at Lin Rufei with a smile. He was thin and did not look too old and was similar to Lin Rufei when he was a teenager. He laughed: ¡°Gongzi, don¡¯t listen to their nonsense. They have less guts than that egg. Once they see the jiao, they are scared to death. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to wait until next year if we count on them.¡± Lin Rufei was a little curious: ¡°How come you¡¯re so sure?¡± Jiang Chaoer thumped on his not-so-strong chest and said that his family have been boatmen for generations. His ancestors were, grandfather was, father was, now it was his turn. The evil jiao started to rage so no one dared to cross and only his family dared. When people heard this, they started to become rowdy again, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him talk big, his whole family died on the river. If you believe his bullsh**, you¡¯ll die in the Canglan River!¡± Jiang Chaoer spat out: ¡°You group of egg shrews. You¡¯re just afraid to go yourself so why are you still intervening in other people¡¯s business¡ª¡± Someone laughed: ¡°Aren¡¯t we just afraid that the Jiang family will end here!¡± The crowd laughed. Jiang Chaoer was not angry and let out a cheeky laugh or two himself. He pointed at the person and mocked: ¡°You married three years ago yet there is still no news. I think the straw bag here is you, most likely all that straw is stuffed in you bulging crotch! The chicken in your house, who doesn¡¯t lay eggs, found you, this pile of straw, which I guess is appropriate!¡± (t/n: this had a lot to unpack so I decided to explain it here rather than a footnote. Basically, a straw bag also means an idiot, JCE is calling that man an idiot, I didn¡¯t want to just put ¡°idiot¡± otherwise the next part about stuffing the straw wouldn¡¯t make sense. The chicken was referring to his wife, who can¡¯t give birth. And that it was appropriate because she found him, who was a pile of straw. Because a pile of straw can¡¯t make babies @[email protected]) When vulgar people start swearing, it becomes very interesting. Although Jiang Chaoer was not a strong man, his mouth was very powerful, and he could say anything. He made the people who were mocking him earlier turn red and white. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was just a half-grown child, most likely they would all roll up their sleeves and fight him. Lin Rufei has never seen this kind of formation so he listened with great interest. Jiang Chaoer got tired of scolding and shyly went to Lin Rufei to ask for water. Lin Rufei chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you have wine in the gourd?¡± Jiang Chaoer shook his gourd and muttered, ¡°There is not much left. The gods have not rewarded food this month ¡­¡­ one sip equals one sip less.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and called the Xiao Er to bring a few jugs of the best wine in the store. Jiang Chaoer brightened up and showed some embarrassment, ¡°Why did gongzi suddenly invite me to drink?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and said, ¡°I am still too sick to drink. Since you like it so much, drink some more for me. If you are willing, we can also talk about the matter regarding the Canglan River.¡± Jiang Chaoer hurriedly nodded and drank several cups. He also chewed two pieces of marinated beef and gesticulated while he talked to Lin Rufei about the ferry and the evil jiao in the Canglan River. The struggle between the humans and this evil jiao has lasted for a hundred years. It¡¯s not like the locals haven¡¯t thought about asking an exiled immortal to kill the evil jiao. However, the jiao was strong and he was also in water, which he was familiar with. They were afraid that only an exiled immortal with the eighth level of cultivation could subdue him. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. But the level eight immortal cultivators only live in the legends. The lifetime of a mortal was short, even if they live their whole life, they have yet to see one or two. Helpless, the people living by the river came up with various ways to get by the evil jiao and cross the treacherous Canglan River. After he finished the story, the wine was also almost finished. Touching his bulging belly, he blinked his big eyes and asked if gongzi wanted to take his boat across the river. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it overnight and give you an answer.¡± ¡°Good, good.¡± Jiang Chaoer laughed, ¡°Gongzi, I might be small but I am really amazing.¡± He gave a small hiccup, ¡°I¡¯m sure ¡­¡­ I can get you across the river without any problems.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and nodded his head. Only then did Jiang Chaoer reluctantly walk away. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The rain has stopped. Let¡¯s go for a walk?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Okay.¡± He called Fu Hua and told her that he wanted to go out for a walk alone. Fu Hua was a little worried about Lin Rufei¡¯s safety, but seeing his firm attitude, she had no choice but to agree. After leaving the inn, it was quite clear outside. At this time the night was getting dark and the sound of waves resounded along the Canglan River. Across the shore, he could still smell a strong scent of fishy water. ¡°That child is somehow interesting.¡± Lin Rufei said while walking, ¡°He has high spirits.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°He¡¯s a little guy who¡¯s not afraid of death.¡± Lin Rufei just smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Do you really believe he can take you across?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just give him an answer.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing to leave some hope for the lovely child.¡± Besides, there was wine and meat, so why spoil the fun. Gu Xuandu laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The two of them walked to the riverside. Looking high and far, they saw the Canglan River which gradually blended with the night. The river was turbulent as it slammed heavily against the river bank. And on the steep cliffs, one or two sharp ape cries could occasionally be heard. Lin Rufei rarely saw such beautiful lively water. It was dangerous, but also quite magnificent and majestic. Gu Xuandu stood by his side. He suddenly opened his mouth and let out a ¡°huh.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Someone is crossing the river.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Crossing the river?¡± He looked down carefully. There actually was a flimsy ferry boat on the dark river with a thin boatman wearing a hat and holding an oar in his hand. He was fighting against the fierce turbulence. Lin Rufei was surprised: ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Jiang Chaoer who was at the inn?¡­¡­.¡± Gu Xuandu gave a faint smile: ¡°They named him well.¡± It was indeed Jiang Chaoer. On the most turbulent night, he quietly got on the boat, and he was the only one on the boat. The Canglan River was treacherous, not only was the current fast but there were countless underwater reefs. Even the most experienced boatmen didn¡¯t dare cross at night. Jiang Chaoer was thin and small. As he stood on a small boat, it was like a rapid wave would capsize him any moment. It made people feel like their hearts were hanging in their throats. ¡°There will be no accident, right?¡± Lin Rufei kind of liked that child so he was slightly worried. Gu Xuandu shook his head, indicating that he also didn¡¯t dare guarantee. Both of them were initially a little worried about whether Jiang Chaoer would be tipped over into the river by the next wave. However, after watching for a while, they could see he had a knack for it. That Jiang Chaoer obviously knows the Canglan River extremely well. He bypassed every possible place where there were underwater reefs. His thin figure stood on board as he separately swung the heavy oar in his hand and resisted one big wave after another. The turbid waves could not break a small fishing boat. Jiang Chaoer was scampering on it, at first glance it was as if he would be killed at any moment. However, after watching for a long time, they could see that there was a special rhythm to it. It was as if the majestic river beneath his feet, became something he could easily ride. Although it was wild and untamed, in the end, it could not escape his hand. Jiang Chaoer, fortunately, was not an insult to his name and was really a master of the tides. (t/n: his name means River Tide) Gu Xuandu also watched with great interest and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, this child is indeed a bit interesting.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°In such a dark river, he doesn¡¯t need to hold a light?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t hold a light.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The little guy in the river is sensitive to lights. Whoever dares to disturb his sleep at night ¡­¡­¡± He raised his hand and pointed to the white dead bones hanging on the shore, indicating that this was their fate. ¡°You know this jiao?¡± Lin Rufei remembered Gu Xuandu said that this jiao was his old acquaintance. ¡°I do know him, but our relationship isn¡¯t very good.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed. Lin Rufei said: ¡°How bad is it?¡± Gu Xuandu thought about it: ¡°If I had to say, I guess he wouldn¡¯t even give me a bone.¡± Lin Rufei thought to himself, That is pretty bad. As they spoke, Jiang Chaoer had disappeared around the corner of the river bank with the sudden waves. They didn¡¯t know when he would return. ¡°However, we can give Jiang Chaoer¡¯s boat a try.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I don¡¯t like this inn.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you like it?¡± Lin Rufei said. Gu Xuandu turned his head to look at him, ¡°Because the people in the inn all like to stare at you. It makes me want to gouge their eyes out.¡± Lin Rufei was stunned and met Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes. Gu Xuandu said lightly, ¡°Just kidding.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Are you really kidding?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Really.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why did he think that the last sentence was a joke? ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I like you Lin Rufei: Really? Gu Xuandu: I¡¯m just joking. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­. Really? Gu Xuandu: I lied. Lin Rufei: ? Gu Xuandu: I wasn¡¯t joking. CH 26 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu chat by the riverside for a long time. Even when the sky turned completely dark, they did not see Jiang Chaoer come back. Gu Xuandu said that according to his estimate, a round trip on the river will take the whole night. It¡¯ll take at least until tomorrow morning for Jiang Chaoer to come back. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Tomorrow morning, won¡¯t the evil jiao be awake then?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Not necessarily.¡± But looking at Jiang Chaoer¡¯s skills, it was obvious that he has done this kind of thing more than once or twice. Lin Rufei was finally a little relieved. After seeing that it was getting late, he went back to the inn. After nightfall, the inn was much quieter. The hall was empty with no one in sight. The Xiao Er led Lin Rufei to the upper room. Inside, Fu Hua and Yu Rui had prepared freshly boiled water and they helped him wash up. Lin Rufei changed his clothes and under Gu Xuandu¡¯s urging, he bitterly drank a dose of medicine. His whole face wrinkled together with the bitter taste and muttered that he hasn¡¯t been coughing that much anymore so it was fine if he didn¡¯t drink the medicine. Gu Xuandu just looked at him and did not say anything until Lin Rufei sighed and crawled into bed. He lifted up the covers and wrapped himself tightly. ¡°Lights out.¡± Gu Xuandu said. Lin Rufei hummed an agreement and the room turned dark. The sound of waves resounded in his ears. The wind was bitterly cold and he didn¡¯t know what the weather would be like tomorrow. The next day, it was light rain. The inn, which was mixed with fishes and dragons[1], was bustling with activity early in the morning. The lobby was full of talking and yelling, and there were even drinking buddies playing morra[2]. Although it could never compare to the quietness of Kunlun, there was still some mundaneness to it. Lin Rufei¡¯s cough was better compared to a few days ago, however, he still did not sleep well. He lazily sat up and saw Gu Xuandu leaning on the side of the bed. He was looking at the morning river scenery, when he saw him wake up, he smiled, and said good morning to him. ¡°Good morning.¡± Lin Rufei rubbed his eyes, he wasn¡¯t even out of bed yet. Gu Xuandu helped him fetch his clothes and then helped him change. Looking at his actions, he was even more skilled than Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Lin Rufei¡¯s sleepy eyes were lax, and before he could react, his clothes were already on. ¡°That boy is back.¡± Gu Xuandu helped Lin Rufei fasten his last jade belt and said, ¡°He came back at dawn, which was earlier than I estimated.¡± The sky wasn¡¯t bright at dawn during this season, and the dragon lurking in the river had yet to wake up, so it was naturally much safer than the daytime. ¡°Back?¡± Lin Rufei muttered in confusion, ¡°It¡¯s good that he came back ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu looked at his appearance and really wanted to laugh. Everytime Lin Rufei wakes up from his sleep, he¡¯ll be confused for a while before completely waking up. During that period, he would be incomparably obedient. If you tell him to do something, he¡¯ll do it. On Kunlun, he would throw a few temper tantrums and refuse to drink the medicine so his older siblings would take advantage of him when he just woke up. They¡¯ll coax him to drink the medicine. Of course, after drinking the medicine, Lin Rufei would sober up. The cough medicine was as bitter as could be, no matter who drank it their face would wrinkle in bitterness. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. After washing up, Lin Rufei¡¯s consciousness gradually cleared up. He stayed in the room and ate the breakfast brought by his maids. Currently, he was having a discussion with Gu Xuandu: ¡°Then do you think we can take that little guy¡¯s boat to cross the river?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Of course we can, just because God can¡¯t control it doesn¡¯t mean we have to be bullied by a little jiao.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Little jiao?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The jiao matures after a thousand years. I calculated, he is only six hundred years old so he is a little guy.¡± Lin Rufei thought to himself, ¡°six hundred years old¡± and the word ¡°little guy¡± doesn¡¯t seem to go together. ¡°This rain will stop around the afternoon. We can leave tonight.¡± Gu Xuandu chewed on the food from the inn. He didn¡¯t really like it, ¡°This inn is full of fishes and dragons, very annoying.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Okay.¡± After he finished his breakfast, he went down the stairs to the inn lobby. Before he even arrived, he heard Jiang Chaoer¡¯s energetic voice. The little teenager was drinking from his recently filled wine gourd. He danced around and was telling the crowd that he almost died on the river last night. He vaguely saw the bad-tempered jiao, but it was a good thing the jiao didn¡¯t see this shrimp so he sank back into the water to sleep. (t/n: the shrimp is referring to JCE) The people who were listening started to laugh saying, ¡®Jiang Chaoer, you should stop drinking, you¡¯re already spouting drunk nonsense. Who dares to cross the river at night, you¡¯re bragging is too exaggerated.¡¯ Even though people mocked Jiang Chaoer, he was not the least bit annoyed. Instead, he laughed and changed the subject. When he saw Lin Rufei coming down from the stairs, his black eyes lit up, and in a sweet voice, he called out: ¡°Lin Gongzi¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Drinking so early?¡± Jiang Chaoer said, ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep well last night, so I have some wine during the day to refresh myself.¡± He yawned, ¡°Has gongzi decided when to cross the river?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Tonight.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jiang Chaoer thought he had heard wrong. ¡°I said we will cross the river tonight and take your boat.¡± Lin Rufei said in a warm voice. When these words came out, the entire inn fell silent. Everyone looked at Lin Rufei with incredulous eyes, all with the expression of ¡°what kind of medicine did this gongzi take,¡± even Jiang Chaoer himself looked at him incredulously. He stammered, ¡°Gong-Gongzi, w-what did you say?¡± He thought he had misheard. Lin Rufei then repeated what he had just said again. After hearing this, Jiang Chaoer burst out laughing and leaped up to Lin Rufei like a monkey. He was jumping up and down. He was so excited that he almost spilled the wine. He gazed at Lin Rufei and said loudly: ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re not joking?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I never make uninteresting jokes.¡± Jiang Chao howled with excitement, and if not for Fu Hua and Yu Rui, he would have hugged Lin Rufei and spun him around. (t/n: for those who might be confused at why sometimes it¡¯s Jiang Chaoer and sometimes it¡¯s Jiang Chao, the -er at the end is kind of a dialect thing so it doesn¡¯t change the name ^-^, sometimes -er can be used as an endearment too) The people in the inn all looked like they had seen a ghost and some kind-hearted people advised, ¡°Gongzi, you must not listen to this kid¡¯s nonsense. He never goes down the river, if you go on his boat, it¡¯s the same as entering the gates of hell!¡± As Lin Rufei listened to these words, he simply smiled and did not respond. Someone, who was watching the situation, became a little angry. He was about to open his mouth and say something aggressive to this ungrateful gongzi when he saw a flash of white light in front of his eyes. After coming back to his senses, the wooden table in front of him had been cut in half. ¡°Be careful of what you say, everyone.¡± Fu Hua, who had been silent behind Lin Rufei, threatened in a cold voice. Jiang Chaoer was indifferent. He was still smiling brightly and said he looked at the weather. This evening there would be no rain, he would take Lin Rufei to cross the river. However, he couldn¡¯t take the carriage over, but if they could dismantle anything valuable inside the carriage that would be good and also sell the horse. Lin Rufei said no need. The two horses were very spiritual and can be released today. After a few days, they will return to Kunlun on their own. When Jiang Chaoer heard the word Kunlun, his expression changed slightly, and his big grin was reduced. He said, ¡°Gongzi ¡­¡­ is an exiled immortal from Kunlun?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I am not.¡± He pointed to Fu Hua and Yu Rui who were standing beside him, ¡°They are.¡± Jiang Chaoer¡¯s pupil straightened. Although Lin Rufei said he was not an exiled immortal, but being able to have exiled immortals as maids, this gongzi must be very powerful. ¡°Although they are exiled immortals, this river crossing still depends on you.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you think tonight is okay?¡± (t/n: might not have made sense, but exiled immortals are just immortals living in the human realm. Because they aren¡¯t in the heaven realm, people call them ¡°exiled¡± hope that makes sense) ¡°Naturally it¡¯s okay, naturally it¡¯s okay.¡± Jiang Chaoer was excited. The matter was settled. Lin Rufei and Jiang Chaoer booked the time and price. The time was set at around midnight and as for the price, Lin Rufei took a piece of broken gold from his sleeve. He said that as long as they were able to cross, this was the reward money for Jiang Chaoer. Jiang Chaoer was so happy his face turned red. After a few more gulps of wine, he said he was going to rest for half a day. At night, he would come to find Lin Rufei and finally, reluctantly left. After Fu Hua showed her skills, no one in the inn dared to offend Lin Rufei. Even in the area where he sat, there was no one around. Lin Rufei drank a cup of tea and was called outside by Gu Xuandu. At this time it was still drizzling. A layer of dense fog rose up on the river. Under the fog was the turbulent river. The river was dim and huge dark shadows could be seen hovering and swimming. It made the people watching shiver in fear. ¡°Tonight won¡¯t be peaceful. When something happens, don¡¯t use your hands to block.¡± Gu Xuandu took off Gu Yu that was hanging on his waist. He handed it to Lin Rufei, ¡°Just use Gu Yu.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is it appropriate?¡± ¡°There is nothing inappropriate.¡± Gu Xuandu said lazily, ¡°I also wanted to give you Shuang Jiang, but ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But what?¡± Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t say anything and simply handed Shuang Jiang to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei curiously reached out to hold it and he almost broke his back. Luckily, Gu Xuandu helped him so he didn¡¯t fall down, but he couldn¡¯t help but marvel when he stood up, ¡°It¡¯s heavy.¡± ¡°Although Shuang Jiang is small, in the end, it is still thirteen pounds.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed and said, ¡°Hanging a thirteen-pound iron on the waist¡­¡­.¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Shuang Jiang, which was currently in Lin Rufei¡¯s hands, emitted an unpleasant buzzing sound. It was as if rebuking Gu Xuandu for calling him heavy. Gu Xuandu took Shuang Jiang and said in a warm voice: ¡°Gu Yu is just right for you right now.¡± Lin Rufei took hold of Gu Yu. For some reason, he was slightly nervous, and with a slight force on his right hand, he pulled the snow-white blade of Gu Yu out of its scabbard. The body of Gu Yu was black. It was three foot seven and weighed around eight pounds and seven taels. The blade was engraved with several deep horizontal lines. Even if Lin Rufei did not understand swords, he knew it must be a good sword. The fact that it was easy to pull it out also means that Gu Yu acknowledged him. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was pleased and he reached out to brush the blade¡ªfeeling the coldness of the metal. Gu Yu buzzed and trembled in response. Lin Rufei tenderly gazed at the sword in his hand for a long time. When he looked up, he saw that Gu Xuandu also showed the same expression. Only, he was looking at the sword and Gu Xuandu was looking at him. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. It¡¯s cold outside, don¡¯t catch a cold again.¡± Gu Xuandu said softly. Lin Rufei smiled: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± He suddenly had an extra sword at his waist and was worried that Fu Hua and Yu Rui would ask. But the two maids were very self-aware and did not show anything different from the beginning to the end. This was a relief for Lin Rufei, who did not have to think about how to explain. The rain stopped in the afternoon, but the sky was still cloudy and not clear. Fu Hua packed the stuff on the carriage. She hesitantly asked Lin Rufei whether they really intended to cross the river with Jiang Chao, that little guy. After getting a positive answer from Lin Rufei, she let out a sigh. She bit her lower lip and showed a distressed look. Lin Rufei roughly guessed what she was thinking. He gently patted her head and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that Jiang Chaoer is a great boatman.¡± Fu Hua said: ¡°But he is still so small ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°He is fourteen this year, you are not much older than him, ah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the same.¡± Fu Hua muttered. ¡°It¡¯s the same, the same. He might be skinny, but he is quite reliable.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I saw him cross the Canglan River alone last night and he only came back this morning.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Fu Hua was surprised. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Naturally.¡± With his words, Fu Hua reluctantly put herself at ease, however, she was still a bit apprehensive. She walked around the corridor with a cold expression. Those who knew her knew that she was nervous. Those that don¡¯t know her, would think that she was sulking. The night was getting late. Lin Rufei had just finished his dinner when Jiang Chaoer, who was carrying his wine gourd, rushed into the inn in a blaze of glory and called out to Lin Rufei with a smile, ¡°Lin gongzi¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡± Jiang Chaoer wiped his face, ¡°After I eat something, we will leave.¡± As he said this, he asked the Xiao Er for a few steamed buns. He devoured them cleanly with tea. He patted the crumbs off of his hands and then waved at Lin Rufei, signaling for him to follow him. When the two of them were talking, the people in the inn didn¡¯t say anything, but most of them had mocking looks on their faces. Some were even laughing and gloating. They obviously thought that Lin Rufei, this gongzi-ge, had water in his brains. He actually trusted Jiang Chaoer, a half-grown boy who was not even hairy. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Towards these kinds of things, Lin Rufei had always been too lazy to explain. With Fu Hua and Yu Rui in tow, they followed Jiang Chaoer out of the inn. Outside the inn, there was a stone-paved path. Following the path, they would reach the river. On the riverside, there was a simple dock. The dock had a lot of ropes tied to a number of boats. There were beautiful big boats, but also small fishing boats like Jiang Chaoer¡¯s. Perhaps because he felt that his boat wasn¡¯t very beautiful, Jiang Chaoer was a little embarrassed and said, ¡°The boat is small, I hope gongzi won¡¯t mind.¡± Lin Rufei found the boat interesting and smiled, ¡°How long has this boat been used?¡± ¡°It was handed down from my ancestors, and it¡¯s been lucky. It has never been overturned.¡± As Jiang Chaoer said this, his eyes drooped in despair. He murmured in a small voice, ¡°If my father had used this boat then he probably wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡­..¡± He paused but then smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it being simple. I mend it often. It works very well!¡± The boat was indeed very small. The cabin could barely accommodate three people. Lin Rufei let Fu Hua and Yu Rui stay inside. He sat on the deck and watched Jiang Chaoer skillfully release the rope before holding onto the oars. The ropes were released and the swaying boat entered the river. Gu Xuandu sat opposite Lin Rufei. He bent sideways and ran his hands through the dim yellow river water. ¡°Gongzi, it is windy and rough on the river so you should sit firmly.¡± Jiang Chaoer raised a bright smile and gave a long yell, ¡°Leaving the river¡ª¡ª¡± As he said this, he swung the oars in his hand. The boat followed the turbulent water and headed straight towards the heart of the river. On the shore of the inn, many people stood watching. When they saw Jiang Chaoer¡¯s boat actually leave the pier and enter the Canglan River, many people were amazed. Until just now, everyone took Jiang Chaoer¡¯s words as a bragging joke. Now that the boat had entered the river and Jiang Chaoer was swinging the oar, the crowd suddenly woke up. The child was actually serious. The river wind was strong. It sent Lin Rufei¡¯s black hair flying and his two sleeves swinging. The boat underneath him swayed in the river as if in the next moment it would be capsized by the big waves. Jiang Chaoer, who was standing in the bow of the boat, became the ship¡¯s anchor. The river water splashed up and soaked his shirt hem, but the young man¡¯s face still hung an exaggerated smile. He drank a mouthful of wine from the gourd in his arms and said: ¡°Young master, attention¡ªwe¡¯re gonna turn¡ª¡± As he said that, he pulled up the sail violently and adjusted the direction of the boat. The boat was blown by the wind and turned a corner. It avoided the hidden reef beneath. Lin Rufei¡¯s first time crossing the river was such a novel experience. He found it particularly interesting and watched with rapt attention. ¡°Gongzi, hold on tight!¡± Jiang Chaoer shouted. Another violent wave hit and the boat made a toothache-ing creak. Lin Rufei held the mast and looked at the river whistling on both sides. He raised his voice: ¡°How many times have you been back and forth?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember¡ª¡± Jiang Chaoer laughed, ¡°After my father died, I was the only one left in the family. I thought that my family¡¯s craft could not be buried like this, so I wanted to be a ferryman. But unfortunately, I am young and thin, so not many customers believe me!¡± Made sense. Compared with other robust ferrymen, Jiang Chaoer¡¯s appearance really made it hard for people to believe. In addition, the Canglan River was dangerous, which ferryman would dare to joke with his own life? ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter, when I am older, I will be the most powerful ferryman here. If gongzi wants to take a boat, come to me, I promise to bring you safely to your destination¡ª¡± The wildness of this teenager was not annoying to him. Jiang Chaoer smiled frankly and used a childish tone while saying the wildest words. Lin Rufei was infected by his smile and laughed along with him. ¡°After this big bend, it will be the area where the evil jiao is perched.¡± Jiang Chaoer reached out and wiped a handful of water off his face. He yelled to the point of straining, ¡°There are more reefs and whirlpools. Gongzi you best sit down, be careful not to slip into the water!¡± Both sides of the river were as steep as canyons. When people crossed the river, it was as if they were the mayflies in the sky. The mayflies followed the river, turned the corner on a steep bend before disappearing in the eyes of the inn crowd. The sky was too dark and the crowd could no longer see clearly the appearance of Jiang Chaoer. However, they could vaguely see a small boat swaying downstream. The river was rapid, but could not capsize the boat. The boatman that scolded Jiang Liu before, lowered his head and spit at the ground. He said: ¡°That boy must be laughing again.¡± After saying this, he couldn¡¯t help but reveal a smile as well. After the big bend in the canyon, the scenery on both sides gradually changed. Pines and cypresses stood on the steep cliff walls, decorating the bare yellow rocks into a green color. Birds were chirping and apes were crying, however, the loudest sound was still the river flowing under their feet. ¡°It will take at least three hours to get there and back. Leaving is quite quick, but coming back is troublesome.¡± Jiang Chaoer saw that Lin Rufei was full of curiosity so he started to introduce the Canglan River, ¡°But the good thing is that in the early morning, the river wind will blow south. I ride the south wind back. It isn¡¯t too tiring, but I need to pay more attention.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Have you encountered the evil jiao before?¡± ¡°Sigh. I¡¯ve long realized. The jiao often comes out during the day to eat people, but when night comes, there isn¡¯t much movement. I have never encountered it during my nightly crossings, but when the early morning comes, I need to be careful.¡± Jiang Chaoer laughed, ¡°Not many people dare to cross at night ¡­¡­ when the river starts to rage, it¡¯s almost as difficult as the jiao.¡± The river was turbulent at night and the view wasn¡¯t good. Unless absolutely necessary, almost no one crossed at night. It was also when Jiang Chaoer, this fearless bold boy, took the chance to go back and forth, memorizing the entire river. The boat went forward for a while and seemed to have passed the most dangerous position. Jiang Chaoer sounded the horn in a good mood. However, Gu Xuandu, who was sitting opposite Lin Rufei and was watching the mountain scenery with leisure, suddenly stood up and gave a tsk as if he was dissatisfied. ¡°Senior?¡± Lin Rufei sensitively perceived something. As expected, Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Here it comes.¡± The original rapids of the river suddenly began to gurgle and bubble, and when Jiang Chaoer saw this sight, his face changed greatly. He looked at the side of the boat in horror. Although the sky was very dark, they could vaguely see a huge shadow slowly moving underwater before it eventually enveloped the whole boat. The two people who had been in the cabin, Fu Hua and Yu Rui, also perceived something and raised their hands to lift the curtain. ¡°How, how?!¡± Jiang Chaoer was full of despair. He watched as the shadows around the boat gradually rose to the surface. His voice trembled, ¡°Doesn¡¯t it sleep at night, how can it be¡ª¡± The shadows were becoming more and more obvious, and even the raised dorsal fins were beginning to surface. The dorsal fins were full of tight black scales and sharp bone spines. Without needing to guess, it was obvious who the owner of the shadow was. Circle after circle, the shadows slowly surrounded the dilapidated boat. Followed by a long hiss, the water rumbled and a huge object slowly rose from the river. It brought a sense of oppression that covered the sky. Above the giant, sat a pair of long narrow eyes emitting a yellowish glow. The erected pupils looked incomparably evil. This night, lurking in the river, the evil jiao actually did not sleep. Jiang Chaoer sat on the boat floor dumbfoundedly. His eyes looked at the behemoth in front of him. Compared with the evil jiao, his boat was not even the size of his finger. It seemed that with one breath, the wooden boat would easily break into several pieces. ¡°Gongzi ¡­¡­ Gongzi, hurry and escape¡­¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know when he mustered the courage, but Jiang Chaoer grabbed the oar. His body was shaking as he grit his teeth and stood up. He blocked in front of Lin Rufei, and in a trembling voice said, ¡°Quickly let your maids take you and escape. I, I will stop him.¡± A hand gently rested on Jiang Chaoer¡¯s shoulder. He turned around and saw the gongzi he had spoken of. The gongzi¡¯s face was still smiling, and the smile was not forced. His smile seemed to be comforting him. He slowly spoke: ¡°You go in first and hide with them.¡± Jiang Chaoer froze. Then, the gongzi said a sentence to Jiang Chaoer that he would never forget. He said, ¡°Go. Don¡¯t stand outside, lest the river water soaks your body later.¡± Gongzi ¡­¡­ was just worried about him getting wet? Jiang Chaoer was lost in thought. As if in response to his thoughts, the huge evil jiao in front of him suddenly opened his mouth and issued a violent hiss. The wind carried a fishy smell and it pounded his face, he even saw the jiao¡¯s mouth, which was filled with rows of fine sharp teeth ¡­¡­ If it really bit down, it would be very painful ¡­¡­This was Jiang Chaoer¡¯s last thought before he fainted. Gu Xuandu stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Rufei. He faced the oncoming fishy wind and very unhappily pinched his nose with his hand. He even reached out his hand to fan the air and said with disgust: ¡°Stop shouting, you have bad breath.¡± When the words came out, Lin Rufei saw that on the evil jiao¡¯s face, an expression of being wronged surfaced. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Xiao Jiu purposefully fumigated me! Lin Rufei thought for a while, then gave Gu Xuandu two big garlic chive buns. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­. He felt it, his throat hurts as if he was stuffed with something really bad _(£º§Ù¡¹¡Ï)_ CH 27 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ This was the first time Lin Rufei saw a jiao. This creature had been living in the stories and pictures books that Lin Rufei read. However, no matter how vivid the text describes the creature, it could not be compared to the shock of seeing it with his own eyes. The jiao was more than ten feet tall when it stood and it was as tall as the steep canyon cliffs on their sides. Its huge body was covered with dense black scales and these scales seemed to be indestructible as it undulated with the movement of its breath. The evil jiao was now lowering its head and looking at the boat which was as small as a mole. Lin Rufei also raised his head and he stared at the eyes that were bigger than lanterns. He noticed that on the left side of the jiao¡¯s head, a horn was missing. It was just as the boatman said, it was injured by the Heavenly Ruler and lost a jiao horn. Faced with this behemoth in front of him, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were so nervous that they didn¡¯t dare breathe. They wanted to draw their sword, but they were suppressed by the jiao¡¯s aura and could not move. The evil jiao was on the seventh level of cultivation, plus it had scales that could not be broken by mortal swords. Even if an eighth-level sword cultivator came, it would probably be a tough battle. Fifth-level cultivators like Fu Hua and Yu Rui probably couldn¡¯t even satisfy it. However, Lin Rufei did not feel afraid. He listened to Gu Xuandu¡¯s disgusted words and saw in the jiao¡¯s pair of bright yellow eyes, a feeling of being wronged. So he looked at Gu Xuandu, and asked: ¡°Why are you scolding him?¡± Gu Xuandu said: ¡°When did I scold him? Do you not smell it?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I do smell it¡­¡­¡± The evil jiao eats meat, so meat scraps were naturally stuck in the gaps of its teeth. Therefore, the smell was naturally not good. However, since it took the time to aggressively come knocking on their door, and their first thoughts were of disgust, he felt that it was a bit inappropriate. Gu Xuandu said in disgust: ¡°Did you hear that? He also smelled it.¡± After he said this, the jiao¡¯s wide-open mouth really closed. However, a heavy exhale exited its nostrils, bringing wet wind. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t dodge in time and a fish directly hit his shoulder. He let out an ¡°ah.¡± Gu Xuandu, who saw the situation, rolled up his sleeves and pointed at the jiao¡¯s nose. He started to scold viciously: ¡°Bastard! What are you doing, are you looking for a fight?!!!¡± Evil jiao: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei rubbed his shoulder and hissed in pain. Gu Xuandu hurriedly went forward to check. After seeing no serious injury, he let out a breath of relief. And then fiercely glared at the jiao again. The evil jiao that was being glared at, actually let out a few grunts. Its tail heavily swayed in the river. It smashed against the steep river bank causing a large area of debris to rumble down. ¡°Alright, alright. I know what you¡¯re waiting for.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But who would have guessed that so many things would happen. Although we were a little late, didn¡¯t we still come?¡± The evil jiao immediately stretched its head closer. Its head was huge as it hung overhead and covered the whole sky. Looking up, one could only see the smooth black scales that were on its head. Lin Rufei wanted to take a few steps back but Gu Xuandu pulled his hand and said: ¡°He¡¯s asking for a title. This title[1], it will be given by you.¡± Lin Rufei was surprised and said, ¡°A title?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Legend had it that when a jiao became a dragon, it had to pass through the three tribulations of Heaven, Earth, and Man: Heaven was the heavenly thunder tribulation, Earth was the tribulation of water, and Man was the tribulation of a title. Before the jiao turned into a dragon, it needed to find an immortal. The immortal needed to tell the jiao words that would allow it to transform, this would be considered proof of receiving the title. However, if the immortal had bad intentions and said that the jiao looked like a snake, then the jiao¡¯s hundred years of cultivation would be all invalidated and it would turn back to its original form and would have to start over. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The jiao that had received a title would go into the water and follow the Summer flood all the way to the sea. When it reached the sea, the jiao would shed its black skin and that would be considered a successful transformation into a dragon. It was easy to say but difficult to do. There were only a few jiaos that have successfully transformed into dragons in the past thousand years. The evil jiao in front of him was already six hundred years old, considering its age, it was indeed the time to ask for a title. However, Lin Rufei was only a mortal. What¡¯s the use for the jiao to ask him for a title? Lin Rufei was still thinking when the evil jiao hummed twice and lowered its head. With its smooth and shiny head, it gently touched Lin Rufei. Although it used a gentle force, Lin Rufei had the feeling that he was struck by a carriage. If not for Gu Xuandu holding his hand, he probably would have flown out. Lin Rufei could not help but cover his chest and cough violently. When Gu Xuandu saw this, he grew angry. He lifted his foot and aimed at the jiao¡¯s body. This time, he did not hold back. The jiao¡¯s head was kicked and thrown back violently. It almost brought the little boat down with it. ¡°Cough cough cough, cough cough cough!!!¡± Lin Rufei covered his chest and bent over. He waved his hand at the evil jiao. The evil jiao¡¯s bright eyes carried a strong sense of confusion as if he did not understand why Lin Rufei reacted in such a way. ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­¡­ don¡¯t come over ¡­¡­¡± Seeing that it intended to bring its head over again, Lin Rufei panicked, ¡°If, If you touch me again, I¡¯m really going to die!¡± Gu Xuandu gritted his teeth. He wanted to rush up and give it two more hits: ¡°Stay away from him. Don¡¯t move your head closer¡ªstop acting spoiled¡ª¡± Lin Rufei almost choked: ¡°This is acting spoiled?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Mnn.¡± Lin Rufei was speechless. The jiao let out two rumbles from its throat as if it was complaining to itself about something. Then its bright yellow eyes rolled with a hint of cunningness. It spat out its tongue, which was somewhat similar to a snake due to the very obvious fork, and it came straight at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was frozen in place. He felt his waist being wrapped by the tongue. Gu Xuandu, who was standing at his side, raged: ¡°Remove it¡ªdo you not want your other horn anymore¡ª¡± However, the evil jiao seized the opportunity to lick Lin Rufei up and down before reluctantly withdrawing its tongue. Lin Rufei¡¯s body was covered in wet and sticky saliva from its lick. Not to mention the fishy smell, there were even a few fish and shrimp. He was at a loss: ¡°Xuandu¡­¡­.¡± He was so shocked that he forgot to add the word ¡°senior.¡± When Gu Xuandu, who was originally in a rage, heard the word ¡°Xuandu,¡± he suddenly calmed down and said, ¡°What did you call me?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Xuandu ¡­¡­¡± He looked down at his hands which were full of mucus and his expression slumped, ¡°I¡­..¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Just take a shower later.¡± As he said this, he gave the evil jiao a kick¡ªthe jiao that was kicked away tentatively tried to move its head over again. ¡°Title, what title? How do I give it a title?¡± Lin Rufei finally came back to his senses. He immediately wanted to send the evil jiao in front of him away so he hastily asked, ¡°If I give it a title, does that mean it will go away?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple moved slightly. In the end, he did not dare tell Lin Rufei that this evil jiao also wanted him to help it floss. Fearing that these words would scare Lin Rufei, he muddlely nodded: ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Once you say it, he will go away.¡± Lin Rufei turned his head and said to the evil jiao, who was excited and agitated again: ¡°You are a dragon, you are a dragon, you are a dragon¡ª¡± He was afraid that the evil jiao could not hear clearly, so he said it three times in a row. After he finished those three sentences, the evil jiao let out a long whistle and its long body loosened from the little boat that he was entangled with. The black scales on its body began to fall off in large chunks and new scales formed. Although they were still black, they carried a touch of dark gold. The body of the evil jiao stirred in the river and it knocked down countless rocks. The river trembled and soared as if something was going to gush out of it. The boat swayed on the torrent, but it never sank. Only when the black scales of the jiao gradually finished molting, did the river calm down. In a trance, Lin Rufei felt that this scene was somewhat familiar as if he had seen it somewhere before. Gu Xuandu chided: ¡°Stop twisting!¡± The evil jiao spewed out a mouthful of water at Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu, who had been prepared for it, waved it away with his sword. He said indignantly, ¡°It is indeed my fault for leaving you here for 300 years, but since I have fulfilled my promise, you should also leave this place and stop causing trouble in the river and harming passing merchants!¡± The jiao let out a groan. No one knew what was meant by the groan, but Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei, who was standing beside him, and said indifferently, ¡°I know.¡± Only then did the jiao turn around, but its bright yellow eyes still held a strong sense of longing. ¡°Go.¡± Gu Xuandu said in a deep voice, ¡°You can¡¯t stay here anymore!¡± The huge body of the evil jiao did not enter the river. It formed into a dark shadow and slowly went in the direction downstream. In a few months, it would be flood season. That would be the best day for the jiao to leave. When it follows the flood into the sea, it would no longer be a jiao. Rather, it would be a sea dragon that could swallow clouds and exhale fog. But for some reason, the moment it dived into the water, it suddenly remembered hundreds of years ago, the young immortal who picked his teeth with the blade of his sword donning an expression of disgust. The sound of the waves remained the same. The jiao could no longer be seen and the boat fell back onto the river¡ªfollowing the flow of the river downstream. The unconscious Jiang Chaoer slowly sat up and saw the expressionless Lin Rufei standing at the bow of the boat. Only, compared to before he fell unconscious, the noble gongzi in front of him seemed to be in a difficult situation. His body was wet and the two maids were frowning as they used sword Qi to help him clean the stains on his clothes. However, the stains seemed to be a bit special, no matter how much they tried, the stains remained. Finally, the gongzi gave up. He let out a long sigh. Rubbing his sore shoulders he said that they didn¡¯t need to wipe anymore. When he saw Jiang Chaoer wake up, he asked him how long it would take to arrive at the dock downstream. Jiang Chaoer vaguely remembered that before he fell unconscious, he saw a giant jiao head. However, now, the surrounding was empty and he only saw cliffs. There wasn¡¯t a trace of the jiao; it was as if the horrible sight he saw was just a nightmare. ¡°About half an hour.¡± Jiang Chaoer said, ¡°After crossing the water beach in front of us, we will soon reach the dock in the north of Xinzhou.¡± Lin Rufei was relieved. Looking at the sticky liquid all over his body, he couldn¡¯t regain his spirit for a long time. Gu Xuandu said this was also considered dragon saliva. It was difficult to remove with sword Qi, but it could easily be cleaned with water. Lin Rufei sat with his head hanging over the side of the boat. In his heart, he was hoping to get to the dock soon, otherwise, he felt he was going to stink for a long time. Jiang Chaoer lifted the oar again. While controlling the direction of the boat, he cautiously asked about what had happened. Lin Rufei thought about it and said that he had persuaded the jiao in the river to leave. It would no longer stir up trouble here again. Jiang Chaoer¡¯s eyes widened, seemingly in disbelief: You persuaded it to leave, and it left?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It left.¡± Jiang Chaoer said, ¡°Did it really leave?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Jiang Chaoer wanted to ask a lot of things, but because there were too many words, they piled up in his throat and he couldn¡¯t spit out a word for a long time. Lin Rufei leaned against the mast listlessly. Because of the sticky liquid on his body, he felt that even the scenery on both sides of the shore was not so attractive. Fu Hua and Yu Rui sat in the cabin with blank expressions. The two of them had witnessed everything that happened on the boat, but they didn¡¯t understand what Lin Rufei had actually said to make the jiao leave easily. They obviously grew up with him, but because of a cherry blossom tree, there was a sudden influx of many imperceptible secrets. Yu Rui didn¡¯t know, but Fu Hua could vaguely feel that their gongzi¡¯s body had already touched the heavenly path. It wasn¡¯t something that fifth-level cultivators like them could pry. So from the beginning to the end, she did not speak out to ask. The boat reached the riverbank and the scenery on both sides opened up. It was no longer steep cliff walls, but a smooth river surface. After passing the most treacherous section, the plains of Xinzhou were reached. The plain was vast and wide and a large ship could be seen in the distance slowly moving on it. The lights on board were bright and the enchanting accents of the opera singers could be faintly heard. Jiang Chaoer¡¯s boat finally stopped at the pier. Lin Rufei stepped onto the smooth riverbank and said goodbye to this teenage ferryman. ¡°Gongzi, is the evil jiao in the river really gone?¡± Jiang Chaoer once again asked in a whisper. ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Jiang Chaoer grabbed the gourd and took two gulps. He muttered, ¡°That¡¯s really great ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Go on.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be in such a hurry when you head back. Have a safe trip.¡± ¡°Thank you, gongzi.¡± Jiang Chaoer showed his usual smile. He nodded to Lin Rufei, paddled the boat, and turned around. He left the pier while sounding the horn happily. The young man¡¯s back was still a bit frail, but only the boat passengers who took his boat know that this little ferryman was very powerful. Lin Rufei, with his body covered in slimy saliva, went to the nearest inn at the pier. He asked for hot water, intending to take a good bath. When the hot water was brought into the room, Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t wait to strip naked and get into the bathtub. Feeling the hot water diffuse over his shoulders, he let out a comfortable sigh. As he was taking a bath, Gu Xuandu was watching from the side. Lin Rufei thought that since they were both men, there was nothing inappropriate, so he did not drive Gu Xuandu out. However, Gu Xuandu looked a little uncomfortable and did not look at him at all. Rather, he sat by the window as if he was looking at the scenery outside. Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu. He felt that he was about to catch a cold so his voice was softer than usual. He gently said, ¡°Senior?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Just looking outside.¡± Lin Rufei said suspiciously, ¡°The window is not even open, how can you look outside.¡± Gu Xuandu was silent for a moment before he calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s windy outside. If I open the window, you¡¯ll catch a cold. I can see even through the window.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Really?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Really.¡± Lin Rufei really believed it. He lifted up the hot water and slowly wiped off the mucus on his body, only to find an exaggerated bruise on his shoulder. After carefully thinking about it, it was probably from the fish that the jiao spewed out. At that time it felt quite painful, he did not expect it to be really quite serious. His skin was born pale and it was easy to leave marks. Just a causal bump would leave a bruise that wouldn¡¯t disappear for a long time. This time there was a big bruise on the shoulder. Fortunately, it was not seen by the two maids, otherwise, with their stubborn brain, they would have carried their sword to find that jiao and fight it to death. As he was thinking about this, Gu Xuandu¡¯s muffled voice came from behind him, ¡°Why is it so green?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably from that time when the fish struck me.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt that much, it just looks exaggerated.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt?¡± Gu Xuandu obviously did not believe it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt ¡­¡­ hiss ¡­¡­ senior, don¡¯t poke it, ah.¡± Lin Rufei shivered as he was poked by Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu gritted his teeth, ¡°Do you still wanna say it doesn¡¯t hurt?¡± ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt much.¡± Lin Rufei said quickly, ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­¡­ just don¡¯t touch it.¡± Gu Xuandu cursed, ¡°That stupid bastard really deserves a beating¡ª¡± Lin Rufei thought that the jiao was quite silly. The jiao saliva on his body was finally cleaned off under the washing of the water and Lin Rufei felt a little exhausted. After he came out of the bath, he changed into pajamas and fell on the soft bed. He didn¡¯t even have time to dry his hair as he drifted off to sleep. Probably because of the pain in his shoulder, when he fell asleep, he was slightly frowning. Gu Xuandu sat beside him. He looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s sleeping face with a meaningful expression. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The jiao has received his proof. It followed the Canglan River all the way down. It swam through Xinzhou towards a more distant place. It was currently celebrating in happiness at its own transformation when it suddenly felt something fiercely stop its swimming figure. It was currently the early morning. The sun rose slowly from the horizontal line, sprinkling golden light on the water. The view was extremely beautiful since the sparkling water seemed to be dusted with a thin layer of golden sand. The mist rose up and added a bit of haziness to it. But such beautiful scenery, the jiao was not interested in enjoying. It suddenly tensed up and the breath it exhaled was also much thicker. Sure enough, in less than a breath¡¯s time, the water surface floated with a flash of red. Such a soft color was mixed with a violent sword intent. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The jiao¡¯s face panicked. It tried to dive down but it was too late. The person on the water had drawn their sword and the sword fiercely swung down. The majestic sword intent went directly through the lake water, straight towards the jiao. The jiao knew that it could not hide, so it simply did not hide. Standing in place, its mouth issued a low dragon roar. This dragon roar contained some feeling of being wrong: why is this happening again¡ªI didn¡¯t do anything¡ªwhy do you bully the dragon like this? The man who wielded the sword sneered: ¡°The fish you spat out almost broke his shoulder.¡± The jiao was dumbfounded. He continued: ¡°The bruise on his shoulder has darkened a lot. Also, the lick you gave.¡± As he said this, he became angry again. He gritted his teeth and swung down a second time, ¡°If he catches a cold¡ª¡± The jiao stood dumbfounded in the water. It felt that something was teetering off of its head. When it bent down, it realized that its remaining horn was once again cut off. It fell straight into the bottom of the lake. The jiao let out a miserable cry of sorrow¡ª¡ªalthough this horn didn¡¯t have any use, it still showed its prestige. There was already only one left, now it had none. Once it becomes a dragon, once it becomes a dragon¡ª ¡°So what if you turn into a dragon?¡± The man with the sword smiled gently, but unfortunately, the words that came out made the poor jiao shrink its neck, ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. A dragon horn is worth more than the horn of a jiao. It is a great tonic, and can be used in medicine.¡± The jiao didn¡¯t know if it was just his mind playing tricks, but when the words ¡°great tonic¡± were spoken, the man on the water seemed to pause for a moment as if he was seriously thinking about something¡­¡­. ¡°Maybe it can supplement his body?¡± The quiet murmurs were still heard by the jiao. Hearing this the jiao did not dare say anything else to him. It turned and immediately scampered away, leaving a fierce splash of water. It was a good thing that the man with a sword did not continue to chase, he simply sighed and shook his head: ¡°But it does not seem to be of much use to his congenital deficiency.¡± In that case, let¡¯s forget it. The man with the sword sighed and touched his buzzing short sword again, saying, ¡°No rush, no rush. There are still plenty of days ahead.¡± Good things come in small packages, it¡¯s better to take your time. Lin Rufei slept for a long time. He hadn¡¯t stayed up[2] in a while, and with those accidents yesterday, his body couldn¡¯t hold up anymore. Although he slept for a long time, his dreams continued. In a moment he¡¯ll dream that he was still on the boat, and the next he¡¯ll dream that the jiao came over to give him a few more licks. This uncouth jiao. It had a stinky mouth. This smell bothered him the whole night and he almost vomited. He washed for a long time before finally becoming clean. However, when he laid on the bed, he felt like he could still smell the smell. Lin Rufei frowned. He tossed and turned on the soft bed¡ªmuttering¡ªuntil a pair of cold hands touched his forehead. Someone beside him seemed to be whispering: ¡°Not good, it¡¯s feverish.¡± Lin Rufei wanted to open his eyes, but he felt as if his eyelids were firmly stuck, and he could not open them. After struggling for a long time, he finally opened them a little bit and he vaguely saw Gu Xuandu, who was dressed in red. ¡°Senior.¡± Lin Rufei called out in a daze. ¡°You have a fever.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and think of a way to get your maids.¡± Lin Rufei listlessly hummed softly in agreement. He watched as Gu Xuandu left. Before leaving, he also heard him say angrily: ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t have let it run away like that. It should have at least left some blood¡­..¡± Bleeding? Who was bleeding? Lin Rufei was dizzy, and could not understand what Gu Xuandu was talking about. (t/n: so the reason LRF said bleeding is because in Chinese the character for ¡°leave¡± sounds the same as the characters in bleeding. So when GXD said to leave some blood, LRF heard ¡°leave blood¡± which basically sounds like ¡°bleeding¡±) Not a moment later, Fu Hua and Yu Rui rushed into the room. When they saw his burning red face, they hastily took out the medicine and fed it to him. He had to drink medicine again. Lin Rufei smelled the bitter smell of Chinese medicine and wrinkled his face. When Fu Hua saw this, she quickly instructed Yu Rui to go to the street to buy some appetizing snacks such as plums, and also to buy a few bowls of light porridge and small dishes back. After drinking the medicine, Lin Rufei felt tired and drifted off to sleep. Once he slept, it was for the whole day. It wasn¡¯t until the next night when he finally woke up with no strength. When he opened his eyes, he saw Gu Xuandu sitting by the window. The rain that had been falling for a few days finally stopped. A bright colorful haze spread throughout the sky making the clouds dazzle, it was like an immortal realm. Gu Xuandu turned around and gave him a light smile: ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°I¡¯m awake.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°If you are awake, get up and eat something.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I brought you some medicine to nourish your body.¡± He said and pulled out a small doll, that was wearing a bib and was screaming, out of nowhere. He roughly threw it onto the wooden table in front of him. Lin Rufei looked at the little doll¡¯s round eyes: ¡°Eating people can also supplement the body? Where did you snatch this little doll from?¡± Gu Xuandu calmly said: ¡°No worries, I gave birth to it. It¡¯s edible.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Huh???¡± I didn¡¯t see you for one day and you already have a child?? Even if you did give birth to it, you can¡¯t just casually eat it, right?! ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: When did you have a child? Gu Xuandu: Isn¡¯t your Lin family the most particular about getting married because of an unplanned pregnancy? [3] Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­. Gu Xuandu: I made do with what I had, and barely gave birth to one. Lin Rufei: ? ? ? ? CH 28 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ When Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei¡¯s shocked expression, he realized that he misunderstood his words. He hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think¡ªWhat I mean is that I planted it, so there¡¯s no harm for you to eat it.¡± Lin Rufei looked carefully and realized that the little doll that was screaming was actually a small ginseng[1] with a red rope. However, it had arms and legs and was pouting and crying on the table. No matter how one looked at it, it looked a lot like a human child. Gu Xuandu was agitated by the doll¡¯s crying. He slapped the table and said angrily: ¡°What are you crying about!¡± The little doll sobbed and choked as it quieted down. It fell onto the table and turned into a hard ginseng. Lin Rufei¡¯s voice was still very weak: ¡°My body is weak and can¡¯t take tonics, so even if I eat this tonic medicine, it won¡¯t be of much use.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°This ginseng is different.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How is it different?¡± Gu Xuandu thought about it before saying: ¡°It¡¯s especially supplementary!¡± Lin Rufei could not help but laugh. He said that the Lin family, for the sake of his body, looked for, if not a thousand, at least eight hundred tonics. However, after taking them for so many years there wasn¡¯t any effect. Rather, it made him tired of those tonic pills. He didn¡¯t know where Gu Xuandu found this ginseng doll, but it was still alive and kicking and he threw it onto the table wanting him to feast on it. It was a good thing that Gu Xuandu was not obsessed with giving Lin Rufei the tonic. After seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s firm attitude in refusing, he sighed out a pity. He grabbed the hair of the ginseng doll and threw it onto the ground. The ginseng doll disappeared in a blink of an eye. Lin Rufei had a fever for a whole day and night. His bones were almost burnt to crisp from the fever and he was leaning limply on the bed. Fu Hua and Yu Rui, who had been waiting outside, heard him wake up and entered the room. They brought the freshly boiled porridge to Lin Rufei¡¯s lips. Lin Rufei did not have much appetite and said he was full after two sips. After Fu Hua persuaded softly for a long time, Lin Rufei reluctantly drank half a bowl, however, he was unwilling to finish the rest no matter how much she persuaded. Helpless, Fu Hua had to put down the bowl in her hand. She softly said: ¡°Young master, the Meng family knows that we came to Xinzhou. This morning, they wanted to send someone to escort us to the Meng residence¡­¡­ but you were still asleep, so we excused them.¡± ¡°They know I¡¯m here?¡± Lin Rufei coughed lowly a few times, ¡°How did they know so quickly?¡± ¡°It seems to be due to the news about the river¡­¡­¡± Fu Hu said, ¡°The jiao is gone so several forces will naturally poke around. It¡¯s just that the Meng family was faster. This inn near the pier is crude, young master you are also still sick. Why don¡¯t we go to the Meng family first, deliver the invitation for the sword competition, and then find a better inn in town to recover?¡± The Meng family was a big clan in Xinzhou and was one of the families invited to the Kunlun sword competition. Lin Rufei had an invitation belonging to their clan in his dimensional ring. Fu Hua¡¯s words made sense. No one knew when Lin Rufei¡¯s sickness would heal, if he wanted to wait until he was fully recovered before delivering the invitation, he¡¯d probably make the Meng family wait for about ten days to half a month. So Lin Rufei agreed to Fu Hua¡¯s proposal and decided to go to the Meng family today to deliver the invitation. He rested for another half hour and was able to barely regain the strength to stand. Fu Hua found a cloak and wrapped it tightly around Lin Rufei. She also carefully tied Lin Rufei¡¯s cascading black hair into a crown[2]. Lin Rufei sat in front of the mirror and propped his chin up as the two maids fiddled away. He nearly fell asleep again. After finally finishing, the three of them left. The sun had already set and the city of Xinzhou was still very lively. It was a pity that Lin Rufei was dizzy and had little desire to enjoy the scenery. Fu Hua bought a horse from a nearby post station and he rode on it. Led by Fu Hua, they slowly entered the city. In this area, Meng was a big surname. Out of ten people, they could pick out seven that were surnamed Meng. When they arrived at the Meng residence, Fu Hua went to call open the door. The door opened, however, before they could introduce themselves, they were warmly welcomed in by the doorkeeper who had long been prepared. ¡°This must be Lin Rufei, Lin gongzi! The head of the family has long heard of your arrival in Xinzhou and gave me an early heads up.¡± The doorkeeper was very enthusiastic and helped Lin Rufei get off the horse. He then summoned a maid to lead him into the main hall. The maid was named Zhu Yin. She was very pretty and dressed even more flamboyantly than Fu Hua and Yu Rui. She smiled coquettishly on the way and introduced the scenery of the Meng residence to Lin Rufei. She seemed to be one of the oldies in the Meng residence. The style of the Meng residence and the Xie residence were very different. Probably because it was located on the plains and also near a big lake. The residence had a lot of pagodas and pavilions, which added to beauty of the scenery. There was even a small stream running through the garden. The garden had a little bit of a Jiangnan charm to it. When Lin Rufei asked about it, he learned that the lady of the Meng family was from Jiangnan. Because she missed her home, she decorated the Meng family like this. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Zhu Yin probably noticed that Lin Rufei was not in good health so she thoughtfully slowed down her walking speed. She said that the family head had a banquet in the back garden and they could see it when they crossed the corridor in front. As she was talking to Lin Rufei, a small wind blew through the corridor. It was accompanied by the sound of fierce footsteps. Lin Rufei turned around and saw a short-haired young man in strong clothes running fastly in front of him. He was also carrying a longbow. This young man had handsome eyebrows with eyes like stars that contained a lot of life. His hair was not completely long, but he had a thin pigtail at the back. ¡°Young master, run slowly, don¡¯t scare the guests!¡± Zhu Yin chastised. Although it was chastising, her tone was filled with pampering. ¡°Oh, who is this gongzi, when did he enter the residence?¡± The young man, whom Zhu Yin called young master, came up to Lin Rufei in a blink of an eye. His bright black eyes stared like a curious puppy, and he said, ¡°He¡¯s so handsome! I wonder if he¡¯s been promised to a lady yet?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Not yet, is the young master going to introduce me to one?¡± ¡°Hey, I have an unmarried sister, she is very beautiful.¡± The young master smiled cheekily, ¡°I think you are suitable for her. She likes the more civilized and weak and is uninterested in those martial madmen¡ª¡± ¡°Young master, young master!¡± When Zhu Yin heard her young master spouting nonsense, she was immediately anxious. This Lin family was a valuable guest that their family could not afford to offend. If it was someone who was bad-tempered and the young master angered him, there wouldn¡¯t be a good outcome. She anxiously said: ¡°This Lin gongzi is a valuable guest. If you continue to shoot your mouth off, the madam will beat you!!¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk.¡± When the young master heard these words, he tsked a few times and ran away like a gust of wind. Before he left, he didn¡¯t forget to settled Lin Rufei¡¯s engagement matter. He said that the matter with his sister was settled and that he would immediately tell his parents. This made Zhu Yin angry to the point of stomping. ¡°Lin gongzi, you must not take it to heart. Young master is the youngest child of the madam, he is usually the most loved. He is naive and straightforward, if there is any offense in his words.¡± Zhu Yin said, ¡°Please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, indicating that there was no harm. He had a good impression of the young master. His elder brother and second brother probably also wanted to spoil him into this kind but did not succeed. In the end, this matter has become a knot in their hearts. The two sides of the corridor were lush with wisteria flowers. Under them, there was a clear stream passing through. Carps and shrimps could be vaguely seen playing in the stream and it added a unique flavor to the scene. The atmosphere of the Meng residence and Xie residence were very different. One was cold and silent and the other was warm and lively. The Meng residence felt more like a home. Zhu Yin lifted the bamboo curtain that was hanging at the end of the corridor and introduced Lin Rufei to another world. In the garden, hundreds of flowers were in bloom. There were flowers from all seasons. Lin Rufei saw a lotus flower in full bloom on the lake, and the tree next to the lake was a brilliant red plum tree. Two different seasons¡¯ blossoms complemented each other, it was such a surprising scene. A few steps ahead, they saw the family banquet set up by the Meng family. By the side of the banquet, the Meng family head and his family had been waiting for Lin Rufei for a long time. When they saw him following Zhu Yin, they all got up to welcome him. The Meng family head was named Meng Xiangxing. Although he was already a hundred years old, his face was no different than that of a young man. It was probably because he broke through the fifth level around the age of twenty. Those that have broken through the fifth level, their appearance would stop changing, instead, they would maintain their youthful appearance. Meng Xiangxing stood beside four people; two men, and two women. One of them should be his wife, and the others, his children. One of them was the handsome young man he met in the corridor just now. Lin Rufei was looking at them and they also observed Lin Rufei. Although they had long heard about the Lin family¡¯s fourth son, seeing was better than hearing. The fourth son of the Lin family was really handsome. When ordinary people were sick, people would certainly feel the sickness in the air. However, when this pale face was on Lin Rufei, it only gave him a beautiful, sickly charm. And those eyes that were slightly lighter than normal black eyes, curved slightly into a slight smile. His thick eyelashes were like black butterflies with wings ready to fly. His sick appearance was even more beautiful than Xi Zi[3]. Lin Rufei¡¯s black hair was tied into a crown. He was wearing white clothes made of dragon brocade and was draped with the same color cloak. A soft jade patterned with flowing clouds was tied to his waist and although the decoration was little, the noble aura was present. Those who understood could tell at first glance that his identity was not ordinary. ¡°Gongzi, gongzi this way please!¡± The young master of the Meng family grinned as soon as he saw Lin Rufei. He enthusiastically greeted him to sit by his side while being glared at by his mother several times. However, he still refused to retrain himself until his ears were grabbed. Madam Meng gritted her teeth and chided in her own son¡¯s ear, ¡°Lin gongzi is an honored guest, who asked you to open your mouth. You fool around daily, when it comes to a critical time, you are not allowed to be capricious¡ª¡± The young master Meng, who was seized by his mother, grimaced. He was not willing to give up. Although he did not talk, he still made eye movements with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei also had some good feelings for him, so he smiled, and actually sat next to him. ¡°Lin gongzi, my son is naughty¡ª¡± Meng Xiangxing was about to persuade him, but he saw Lin Rufei waving his hand, indicating that there was no harm. He said with a smile, ¡°Uncle and my father are family friends, so there is no need to be so polite. Your son is very interesting, I appreciate him very much¡± ¡°This ¡­¡­¡± Meng Xiangxing hesitated a little and his son took advantage. Smiling, he picked up a wine cup and filled it with wine. He looked at Lin Rufei and down the cup, saying that he was toasting a cup first. Lin Rufei said he was physically ill, so he returned the toast with tea instead of wine. With such a clown around, the atmosphere at the dinner table was both lively and cordial. During the conversation, Lin Rufei learned that the Meng family had three children in total, two boys and one girl. The eldest brother Meng Lanchao, the second sister Meng Youyue, and the youngest son Meng Lanruo, who was the lively and active young master in front of him. Knowing that Lin Rufei¡¯s health was not good, the food at this table was very light and suitable for the sick. Although Lin Rufei did not have a good appetite, he still tried to eat some of the food to give the Meng family face. When he was full, Lin Rufei took out the invitation for the sword competition from his dimensional ring and gave it to Meng Xiangxing. Meng Xiangxing took the invitation, bowed to Lin Rufei, and asked him where he was going next. Lin Rufei coughed lowly and said that he planned to find an inn in Xinzhou city to recover from his illness before making any plans. When Meng Lanruo heard this, he immediately put his face in front of Lin Rufei and said excitedly, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Lin gongzi, why don¡¯t you stay at the Meng residence first? I can guarantee that there is no inn in this Xinzhou city that has a better environment than the Meng residence¡ª¡± Lin Rufei froze for a moment. Before he could say anything, Meng Lanruo crackled on about the advantages of the Meng residence; such as the soft beds, delicious food, and even the flowers in the courtyard that were more beautiful than those elsewhere. He spoke so fast that Lin Rufei didn¡¯t even have the time to interrupt. Finally, Madam Meng knocked him on the head and said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re so busy talking that you don¡¯t even look at the reaction of the guests¡ª¡± Then she looked at Lin Rufei with a smile and said. ¡°Lin gongzi, he has always been like this, please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and waved his hand to indicate that it was fine. However, Meng Lanruo was still undeterred. He reached out and tug at Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes, saying, ¡°Lin gongzi, you are leaving after a meal and going to stay at an inn. If other people knew about this, wouldn¡¯t they blame us for not treating our guests well?¡± As he said this, he muttered that he was really bored by himself. After finally meeting an interesting playmate, letting him leave like this was such a pity¡­. For a moment, Lin Rufei cried and laughed. Meng Xiangxing smiled and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, why don¡¯t you stay at my house for a few days?¡± Lin Rufei was worried that he would trouble the Meng family and wanted to refuse. However, that Meng Lanruo simply moved his face really close, enough to almost touch his nose. A pair of black eyes looked at him pitifully. Lin Rufei really couldn¡¯t resist and finally accepted. This Meng Lanruo was born with a strong spirit, when he started acting spoil, he was really powerful. The Meng family could not help but smile when they saw Lin Rufei¡¯s wretched appearance in front of Meng Lanruo. Meng Xiangxing instructed Zhu Yin, who was standing by, to prepare the best rooms for Lin Rufei and his maids. So it was settled that they would stay at the Meng residence. When they finished eating, the day was getting late. Originally, Meng Lanruo wanted to drag Lin Rufei to have a chat, but his ears were grabbed by Madam Meng, and he was taken away. Madam Meng smiled apologetically at Lin Rufei and said Lin gongzi has had a long journey, so rest well and they can talk about other things tomorrow. If he needs anything, he can instruct Zhu Yin. Meng Lanruo strained his voice and called out to Lin Rufei, saying that he would come find him tomorrow to play. Lin Rufei smiled and nodded. Zhu Yin then led the three of them to the rooms that had been prepared. The Meng residence was very big and walking through it was like walking through a maze. They turned left and right in the garden for a while before finally seeing a neat row of buildings. The building was in the midst of lush flowers and plants. It was next to a small bridge and a shallow stream. The environment was very good. Zhu Yin said that this was where her young master usually lives. Everything was very well prepared. Though they cleared it out today so that Lin gongzi would not be uncomfortable and for him to make himself at home. Lin Rufei nodded his head and thanked her. He took out some broken gold from his sleeve to reward Zhu Yin. However, Zhu Yin refused with a smile, saying that she was Meng Lanruo¡¯s first maid and that there were four or five other maids like her. She doesn¡¯t dare accept things from guests. When Lin Rufei saw this, he didn¡¯t try to force it. After sending Lin Rufei into the room, Zhu Yin left, saying that she would be waiting outside. If he needed anything, just call out for her. Fu Hua and Yu Rui also went to their rooms and Lin Rufei was left alone in the room. Gu Xuandu, who had been missing ever since Lin Rufei entered the Meng family, finally appeared again at Lin Rufei¡¯s side. He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip: ¡°That Meng family¡¯s little young master is a bit interesting.¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows: ¡°Interesting?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. ¡°How is he interesting?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Your brothers at home, they probably wanted to spoil you into someone like him.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s slender fingers hooked the rim of his cup, ¡°But ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows, ¡°But what.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled: ¡°But I also like you like this.¡± Lin Rufei faintly smiled. He was already accustomed to this senior¡¯s flowery mouth. Because he was still sick, Lin Rufei soon got tired and went to bed after drinking another dose of medicine. But before he went to sleep, he vaguely smelled a strange flower fragrance, which he had never smelled before. He didn¡¯t know what kind of flower it was, but the smell was fresh and elegant and it wasn¡¯t too overbearing. ¡°What¡¯s that smell?¡± Lin Rufei asked sleepily. ¡°It¡¯s Qilin grass[5].¡± Gu Xuandu vaguely answered back. Qilin grass? He remembered that this grass seemed to have a calming effect ¡­¡­ Lin Rufei muddlely let out an ¡°oh,¡± and fell into a naive and sweet dreamland. That night, Lin Rufei slept extremely well and not a single strange dream occurred. The next morning, his fever had receded a lot and he also felt more energetic. After breakfast, Lin Rufei was still torn about whether to drink another dose of medicine when Meng Lanruo¡¯s voice came from outside the door. He disregarded Zhu Yin¡¯s obstruction and rushed in with great enthusiasm. Seeing Lin Rufei sitting at the table looking at the medicine with a worried expression, he couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°Lin gongzi, the weather is so nice today, do you want to go out with me? My family¡¯s horse farm just had some top-quality new horses, they are very beautiful!¡± Lin Rufei looked outside the room. Today was indeed a good day. Although it was still early morning, the brilliant sunlight had already emerged, sprinkling the lush garden, and gilding the flower blossoms with new golden clothes. ¡°Meng gongzi¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei just opened his mouth, when he was interrupted by Meng Lanruo. He grinned and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, you don¡¯t have to be so polite, just call me Lanruo! Let me tell you, on the horse farm, it¡¯s not only the horses that are beautiful, there are other things too ¡­¡­¡± ¡°What else is there?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Just go and see! Guarantee you won¡¯t be disappointed!¡± Meng Lanruo patted his chest and said. Lin Rufei thought about it and agreed, after all, Meng Lanruo was so enthusiastic, it was a pity to spoil his fun. Besides, the weather outside was good, it was not a bad thing to go out for a walk. So he agreed and then Meng Lanruo pulled him out of the room by his shoulders. The scenery of the Meng residence during the day and at night have their own distinct flavors. When the day came, there were a lot of flowers everywhere making it very lively. The horse farm that Meng Lanruo mentioned was also in the Meng residence. However, it seemed to be a separate area that looked to be very wide. When Lin Rufei arrived at the horse farm, he understood what the ¡°beautiful things¡± that Meng Lanruo said were. Besides the horse farm, several young girls dressed in strong clothes were fiercely playing polo. The sight of their skirts fluttering was really a wonderful scene. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The most eye-catching one was Meng Lanruo¡¯s sister, Meng Youyue, who was seen at the family banquet yesterday. She was holding a long pole and easily drove the horse under her. She galloped on the horse field with her heroic posture, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. Meng Lanruo waved at the field and shouted, ¡°Sister¡ª¡± Meng Youyue turned her horse¡¯s head and galloped towards them. Only when she reached them did she let out a long ¡°phew¡± and laughed: ¡°Lanruo, why did you drag Lin gongzi to a place like this?¡± ¡°I just so happen to see Lin gongzi sitting idle in the room, so I asked him out to take a look around.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Some top-quality horses just arrived at the horse farm so I thought I¡¯d let Lin gongzi come over to take a look.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Meng Youyue faintly smiled. As the brother and sister talked, a less harmonious voice interjected from the side: ¡°Meng Lanruo, I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days, when did your family get such a handsome noble gongzi?¡± Lin Rufei twisted his head and saw the owner of the voice. The man was dressed in fancy clothes. Even though he was handsome, he had an arrogant taste. Although he was looking at Lin Rufei with a smile, the hidden hostility in his eyes was still caught by Lin Rufei. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Meng Lanruo yelled indignantly, ¡°Qi Yansheng, go away quickly, don¡¯t spoil my fun.¡± Qi Yansheng smiled: ¡°Oh, is that so? I also said that the day before I had begged for a longbow made of 10,000-year-old ebony from Qiu[6] Mountain. I had just wanted to show it to you, but since you don¡¯t want to, then forget it.¡± ¡°Wah¡ªa longbow made of 10,000-year-old ebony?¡± Meng Lanruo was immediately interested and his eyes glowed, ¡°Quickly, give my eyes a feast!¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°It¡¯s not here, it¡¯s at the firing range.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the range to see?¡± Meng Lanruo¡¯s hands were itching. But then he remembered that he was accompanying Lin Rufei, who didn¡¯t seem to know how to shoot arrows, so he immediately shook his head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going, I¡¯m still accompanying Lin gongzi. In a few days, I¡¯ll go look for you to see it.¡± ¡°I wonder who this Lin Gongzi is ¡­¡­?¡± Qi Yansheng asked. ¡°Lin Gongzi is the son of the Kunlun Lin family, these days he just so happened to come to my residence to deliver the sword competition invitation. He¡¯s different from you, he is a valuable guest!¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say anything obnoxious. Lin gongzi, this is a friend that I don¡¯t know very well, he is called Qi Yansheng. He is very obnoxious and his words are unpleasant, you don¡¯t have to pay attention.¡± Qi Yansheng was not angry at Meng Lanruo¡¯s comment, rather he laughed loudly and bowed to Lin Rufei: ¡°I have heard a lot about the Kunlun Lin family. Seeing you today, gongzi is indeed really charming.¡± Lin Rufei returned the salute and said, ¡°I am undeserving of your praise.¡± ¡°I wonder if gongzi is interested in seeing that longbow?¡± Qi Yansheng smiled and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, perhaps you don¡¯t know, but the Meng family¡¯s bowplay is really beautiful. Since you guys have nothing to do, why don¡¯t you let Meng Lanruo show you his skills?¡± He was obviously smiling and there was nothing wrong with what he said, but Lin Rufei heard a provocative meaning in Qi Yansheng¡¯s tone. He curbed his smile, looked over expressionlessly, and said indifferently, ¡°I wonder how Qi gongzi¡¯s shooting skills are?¡± Qi Yansheng proudly said, ¡°There is no rival within Xinzhou.¡± Lin Rufei calmly said, ¡°Then it doesn¡¯t hurt to take a look.¡± He would like to know exactly what this Qi Yansheng wants. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu shamelessly: I know of something particularly supplementary. Lin Rufei: What? Gu Xuandu continues to be shameless: After you eat it, I can ensure you¡¯ll be cured. Lin Rufei: If you¡¯re going to talk, then talk, why are you untying your belt¡ª CH 29 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Meng Lanruo also noticed the smell of gundpowder between Qi Yansheng and Lin Rufei, but he did not understand why Qi Yansheng had such deep hostility towards Lin Rufei. Did he find out his intention to introduce Lin Rufei to his sister? However, even though Lin Rufei came from a famous family, he heard that from young, he was too weak to practice swords and that his body was completely devoid of sword intent. Going against Qi Yansheng, a level sixth cultivator, was probably not a good idea. As he thought about this, Meng Lanruo grabbed the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, what¡¯s the point of watching a big man shooting arrows when you can watch pretty girls¡ª¡± ¡°A big man shooting arrows isn¡¯t pretty?¡± Qi Yansheng looked at Meng Lanruo with a smile, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Meng Lanruo said righteously: ¡°It just isn¡¯t pretty!¡± Qi Yansheng no longer paid attention to Meng Lanruo, instead, he turned his head to look at Lin Rufei: ¡°Lin gongzi said there was no harm in taking a look, that means he is interested. Why are you interrupting beside him?¡± Meng Lanruo wanted to say something else but was reprimanded by Meng Youyue. She told him not to be rude to Qi gongzi and only then did Meng Lanruo look sorrowful. However, he still whispered to Lin Rufei, saying that if he didn¡¯t want to see, then to not force himself. Lin Rufei just nodded slowly and said he understood. The shooting range was next to the horse farm, but it was not as lively as the horse farm. There were all kinds of targets and archery bows inside, which looked like they were used often. Lin Rufei recalled that when he saw Meng Lanruo yesterday, he seemed to be carrying a longbow on his back. It seems that he was indeed interested in the art of archery. This Qi Yansheng was obviously a regular guest of the Meng family and when the underlings of the range saw him coming, they brought over a newly made longbow without him asking. The bow was very beautiful. It was vermillion in color with delicate animal patterns. At first glance, it looked like an exquisite craft, however, it was very heavy. Three servants carried it to Qi Yansheng who easily lifted it with one hand. He laughed, ¡°Ebony is rare, and 10,000-year-old ebony is even rarer. This bow is also considered a rare object, I wonder if Lin gongzi would like to try?¡± When Meng Lanruo heard this, he became anxious and angrily said: ¡°Qi Yansheng, what are you babbling about, Lin gongzi ¡­¡­¡± he wanted to say that Lin gongzi was weak, but when the words came to the tip of his tongue, he felt that it was too offensive, ¡°Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t play with the things you roughneck people enjoy!¡± Qi Yansheng laughed, ¡°Lin gongzi hasn¡¯t said anything yet, why are you so anxious?¡± Although his tone was laughing, there was no laughter in his eyes. Instead, his eyes gazed soberly at Lin Rufei, waiting for his reaction. ¡°Heh, Qi Yansheng[1], that¡¯s an unpleasant name.¡± Gu Xuandu, who hadn¡¯t spoken much at Lin Rufei¡¯s side, suddenly opened his mouth. His voice was somewhat cold, ¡°Xiao Jiu, you can agree.¡± Lin Rufei listened to Gu Xuandu, he looked back at Qi Yansheng and said, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in trying.¡± Qi Yansheng laughed, ¡°It is always a bit boring to bow alone, so why don¡¯t we take this opportunity to compete, Lin gongzi?¡± When Meng Lanruo heard this, he looked as if he wanted to prevent something. However, before he could say anything to prevent it, he heard Lin Rufei coldly spit out three words: ¡°How do you want to compete?¡± (t/n: Okay, in Chinese it is only three characters: ¡°Ôõô±È?¡± ) Qi Yansheng raised his hand and pointed to the range, ¡°I will have someone release a flock of pigeons into the sky. We each get a total of three feathered arrows. Let¡¯s see ¡­¡­ who shoots down more pigeons.¡± ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t compete with him!¡± Meng Lanruo was angry, ¡°This guy is very powerful in the art of archery!¡± However, those words were spoken too late. Lin Rufei had already nodded. Qi Yansheng smiled again. This smile looked very disgusting to Meng Lanruo. In his heart, he thought that he must find time to say more bad things about this man in front of his sister. He must not let him become his brother-in-law. The pigeon cage was carried out by the servants and placed in the center of the shooting range. Qi Yansheng raised his hand and drew his bow. He aimed at the air and said under his breath, ¡°Release.¡± When the words fell, the servants opened the locked pigeon cages and released the pigeons as they flapped their wings and flew. Qi Yansehng smiled and released the bowstring. The feathered arrow turned into a white rainbow and it shot towards the sky. The speed was incomparably fast¡ªlike a stream of light¡ªas it headed straight into the pigeon flock. Then the sky exploded with a few blinding lights. After that, the feather arrows fell and the polished arrow shaft was full of snow-white pigeons. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Qi Yansheng shot three arrows in a row and all three were the same. After the three arrows were shot, the servant ran to the middle of the field and picked up the arrows together with the pigeons. ¡°Qi gongzi shot a total of fifteen pigeons! There are five on each arrow.¡± The servant bowed and reported. ¡°What a waste.¡± Meng Lanruo stood at the side trying to find fault, ¡°Send it to my sister and say that Qi gongzi shot the pigeons for her to make soup!¡± Qi Yansheng didn¡¯t get annoyed at his words, he just smiled and waved his hand to indicate that the servant should obey Meng Lanruo¡¯s words. After that, he looked at Lin Rufei. He raised his hand and handed the bow in his hand to Lin Rufei: ¡°Lin gongzi, please.¡± Lin Rufei reached out to receive the bow. The bow should have been heavy, but Lin Rufei easily held it in his hand. He gently fiddled with the bowstring and felt Gu Xuandu walk behind him. He whispered into his ear, ¡°Do you know how to use the bow?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head faintly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t know how.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°This kind of stuff is for children to play with.¡± As he said this, he got closer to Lin Rufei¡¯s body and put his hand on Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you once and then you¡¯ll know how to do it.¡± With that, he asked Lin Rufei to take the arrow. He helped him adjust his posture while also whispering in his ear on how to draw the bow. Qi Yansheng looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance as he drew the bow. He frowned slightly. He had to say that when Lin Rufei first picked up the bow and arrow, his posture was like a complete novice. He seemed to know nothing about archery, but gradually, his posture began to change. It was as if there was an invisible person correcting his mistakes. ¡°Lower your shoulders slightly.¡± His shoulders were pressed gently downward. ¡°Look straight ahead.¡± His chin was gently twisted to look halfway up. ¡°The center of gravity should be between the feet and the waist must not be soft¡­¡­.¡± His waist was supported. ¡°There is no turning back when you release the string. This is only the first arrow, no need to be in a hurry. Come.¡± The sound of pigeons fluttering resounded. Lin Rufei loosened his right hand that pulled the bowstring and decisively released the first arrow. However, the feathered arrow shot out towards the sky with a ¡°whoosh¡± and it passed through the flock of pigeons. It just disappeared into the azure sky as the eyes of the crowd followed. The field was silent. On the empty ground, there wasn¡¯t even a pigeon feather. Qi Yansheng reached out and slightly covered his mouth. He let out a dry cough to suppress the laugh that was about to emerge from his lips, and he commented: ¡°Good shot! But the accuracy is a little bit poor.¡± Meng Lanruo was worried and he glared hatefully at Qi Yansheng, feeling that this person was more and more annoying. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to find a playmate, and now it was all ruined by him. If Lin Rufei awkwardly lost the competition, he probably wouldn¡¯t be willing to stay with the Meng family, since, after all, this Qi Yansheng was one of the Meng family¡¯s guests. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t seem to notice and instead showed a smile: ¡°To be honest, I have been weak since young so I have never practiced archery.¡± ¡°Huh? You never practiced before?¡± Meng Lanruo was shocked. He understood Qi Yansheng¡¯s favorite bow well. It wasn¡¯t something normal people could draw, let alone shoot an arrow with it. If it was really Lin Rufei¡¯s first time shooting an arrow, even if he didn¡¯t hit a pigeon, this level was already very amazing. The smile in Qi Yansheng¡¯s eyes faded a bit. He believed Lin Rufei¡¯s words because the moment Lin Rufei got the bow and arrows, he did look like a novice who hadn¡¯t practiced before. ¡°As I had the opportunity to try today, I find it very interesting.¡± Lin Rufei slightly twisted his shoulder. The bruise that was made by the jiao still had not healed yet and was still a bit sore, ¡°I have shown my inadequacy, guys, please don¡¯t laugh.¡± ¡°Whoever laughs is a dog!¡± Meng Lanruo was very willing to give Lin Rufei face and he even glanced at Qi Yansheng. Qi Yansheng didn¡¯t say anything. Without a word, he gave Lin Rufei a second feathered arrow. Lin Rufei let out a breath and took the arrow. Gu Xuandu held Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulders and instructed in a soft voice: ¡°What you did just now was very good, there are still some details that you need to pay attention to.¡± Lin Rufei hummed in understanding. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The moment you draw the bow, remember to aim at the target you want to shoot. The accuracy when you draw the bow is most important ¡­¡­ those pigeons fly fast, you have to anticipate their position in advance. Of course, if the arrow is fast enough, you don¡¯t have to think so much about it.¡± Just like Qi Yansheng, before the pigeons fully scattered, the arrow was shot out. One arrow through five. It wasn¡¯t something that was impossible to do. ¡°Come, your body shouldn¡¯t be too tense. Yes, yes ¡­¡­ that¡¯s it.¡± Gu Xuandu held Lin Rufei¡¯s hand and corrected his mistakes a little by little, ¡°Xiao Jiu, well done.¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± The second arrow shot out. After Gu Xuandu¡¯s guidance, this arrow did not fall short. It shot down a white pigeon that was fluttering its wings in mid-air. Seeing the white pigeon fall, Lin Rufei was a little relieved. At least he didn¡¯t fail again. He barely saved face for Kunlun. Qi Yansheng was also as relieved as Lin Rufei. He could see that Lin Rufei was indeed not very good at archery. It seems he gave it his all when he shot down one. Meng Lanruo was so angry that he was pacing in circles. If he hadn¡¯t been afraid of getting beaten up by his mother, he probably would have pulled out his sword and gone after Qi Yansheng. This Qi Yansheng, although he excelled in archery, he had terrible sword skills. Time and time again, he(QYS) was defeated by him(MLR). The second arrow was released. Gu Xuandu directly allowed Lin Rufei to take the third arrow, and complained: ¡°I just hate these things that children play with, it¡¯s very troublesome.¡± Lin Rufei just laughed. ¡°But children should also be taught some lessons.¡± Gu Xuandu sneered, ¡°Lest they don¡¯t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth.¡± He lowered his voice and said in a cold voice, ¡°Come, let them see a real shot¡ª¡± As his words fell, Lin Rufei also released the bowstring in his hand and the last arrow shot out. After making an ear-piercing sound, it actually disappeared in mid-air. ¡°Where did the arrow go?¡± Meng Lanruo asked blankly. Qi Yansheng¡¯s face was at first filled with doubt but then it changed dramatically, ¡°How is this¡ª¡± The pigeons in the sky, which had already dispersed, all burst out with a red blood flower before they fell to the ground. None of them were spared. The feathered arrow, however, was still missing as if it had disappeared into the sky. ¡°How did the pigeons all die?¡± Meng Lanruo was full of incredulity. Qi Yansheng turned his head to look at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei¡¯s expression was unchanged. The bow in his hand had been casually put on the table next to him. He was gently rubbing his wrist as if he felt that the bow was too heavy. ¡°The feathered arrow was wrapped with sword Qi.¡± Qi Yansheng replied to Meng Lanruo¡¯s question. ¡°Sword Qi? But Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t ¡­¡­¡± Meng Lanruo wanted to say that he didn¡¯t know how to use a sword, but he swallowed those words. Qi Yansheng stared heavily at Lin Rufei. That gaze seemed to bore a hole in Lin Rufei¡¯s body. Meng Lanruo didn¡¯t understand, but he(QYS) understood well. The reason sword Qi could become sword Qi was because its biggest reliance was the weapon in hand. From the past to the present, there were only a few people who could use other objects to wield sword Qi. He practiced for more than twenty years before he was barely able to attach a ray of sword Qi onto the feather arrow. However, this Lin Rufei clearly had no sword intent on his body ¡­¡­ Just when the atmosphere turned stagnant, the servant had already brought back the pigeons that Lin Rufei had shot. After counting, there were only thirteen. Two less compared to Qi Yansheng. It was considered his loss in this competition. However, looking at their expressions, it seems that the one who lost was Qi Yansheng. Lin Rufei reached out and covered his mouth. He was coughing heavily and his clothes were swaying. He was frail as if a gust of wind could blow him away at any moment. Meng Lanruo went forward and patted his back, trying to help him even out his breath. He ordered a servant to bring hot tea over. Lin Rufei drank the hot tea and felt a little better. He waved his hand to show that he was fine. ¡°Qi Yansheng, you sure like to look for trouble[2]. Lin gongzi originally came to our Meng residence to recuperate, and you still had to get him to compete in archery.¡± Meng Lanruo said angrily, ¡°My sister couldn¡¯t stop you either!¡± ¡°Recuperating?¡± Qi Yansheng was slightly shocked, ¡°Lin gongzi is sick?¡± ¡°Just a minor illness.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But I still need to rest more. I¡¯m not feeling too well, so I¡¯ll go back to the room to rest.¡± Meng Lanruo insisted on sending Lin Rufei back. Lin Rufei could not resist, so he allowed him to do as he pleased. Qi Yansheng stood in the same place as he watched the two of them walk away. His expression was unclear and his eyes dropped to look at the longbow on the table. He said coldly: ¡°Go report to the madam that Qi Yansheng wants to meet.¡± Meng Lanruo sent Lin Rufei back to his room and when he saw that he was resting, he ran out of the room in a blaze of glory. As soon as he left the room, he saw Zhu Yin standing in the courtyard. She was sweeping something with her head down, so he quietly went over and reached out to tap Zhu Yin on the shoulder. Zhu Yin was frightened by Meng Lanruo, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and she let out an ¡°ah.¡± She turned her head and when saw her young master, she couldn¡¯t help but get angry: ¡°Young master, why did you scare Zhu Yin again? Zhu Yin¡¯s heart was about to jump out from her throat!¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Meng Lanruo asked with a smile. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know which one of the naughty and mischievous guys harmed the birds in the garden, so I¡¯m just picking them up and burying them.¡± Zhu Yin complained, ¡°Exactly who is this annoying person? If the madam knew, there would definitely be a beating.¡± Meng Lanruo looked down and saw that there were indeed colorful bird carcasses on the ground. Some big and some small, and their bodies were almost split in half. They were dripping with blood and it looked very cruel. However, when he was looking at the dead birds, Meng Lanruo felt that he had seen this somewhere before. Scratching his head, he muttered, ¡°I feel like this is familiar.¡± ¡°Familiar?¡± Zhu Yin said suspiciously, ¡°Young master, this is not your work, right?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Meng Lanruo pointed at himself, then shook his head violently, ¡°No, no, no, definitely not my doing.¡± Zhu Yin said, ¡°Then why do you feel familiar?¡± After thinking for a moment, Meng Lanruo suddenly said, ¡°These birds and the pigeons in the shooting range all died the same way?¡± ¡°The pigeons in the shooting range?¡± Zhu Yin was confused. ¡°Forget it, even if I talked about this with a chick like you, you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± Meng Lanruo looked thoughtfully at Lin Rufei¡¯s room and murmured, ¡°This Lin family¡¯s gongzi, it seems that he is not as weak as he seems.¡± After Lin Rufei shot that arrow, his body was flooded with fatigue, so he hurriedly went back inside. ¡°Not feeling well?¡± Gu Xuandu reached out and touched his forehead to make sure he didn¡¯t have a fever. Lin Rufei nodded his head. ¡°You did use this power a little too early.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But it¡¯s necessary to use it, so it is better to adapt to it earlier.¡± Lin Rufei was doubtful, ¡°Power? Whose power?¡± ¡°Naturally, yours.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I¡¯m just a small cherry blossom with no one to rely on. Don¡¯t tell me you want to rely on me?¡± Lin Rufei was stunned by the description of a helpless little cherry blossom and he stared at him for a long time without saying anything. Gu Xuandu started to laugh. ¡°That arrow was due to my power?¡± Lin Rufei still had some disbelief. ¡°I have long said, the divine soul is the sword and the torso is the sheath. You are too weak, the weakness is this body of yours.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It can¡¯t accommodate a divine soul that is too sharp.¡± Lin Rufei listened with confusion. When Gu Xuandu saw that Lin Rufei was full of confusion, he did not continue to explain. Rather, he urged him to take a good rest and to take care of the wound on his shoulder before talking about anything else. Lin Rufei laid down on the bed. He was reminiscing about the arrow he shot during the daytime, in fact, he clearly saw where the arrow went. The feathered arrow sped out like a white rainbow through the sun. It swept past the flock of flying pigeons and shot into the azure sky. When it reached a certain location, a thin layer of shimmering light swirled around it, spreading rapidly in all directions, and then it instantly disappeared. It was because the pigeons got into contact with that light that their bodies exploded with blood. And then, the pigeons fell to the ground. Where the arrow landed, Lin Rufei also didn¡¯t know. However, since it flew so high, the place it landed also must be very far. Lin Rufei was a little tired. He closed his eyes and his breathing gradually began to even out. Gu Xuandu stared at his sleeping face. The corners of his mouth curled up in a slight smile and his figure gradually faded away. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Half an hour later, Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure appeared silently in an alley a hundred miles away from the Meng family. The alley was loud and noisy. Children were walking through it with bare feet as they playfully chased each other with runny noses. Gu Xuandu bent down and suddenly stopped a short little girl. He said in a warm voice: ¡°Little friend, did you pick up anything just now? The little girl sniffled her runny nose as she looked warily at the man in red clothes in front of her. After hearing the question, she shook her head heavily, the pigtails tied behind her head followed and flung around. ¡°That thing you picked up is useless.¡± Gu Xuandu showed a mysterious smile. He was born extremely beautiful, so when he smiled like this, the little girl¡¯s vigilance also lowered. He continued, ¡°Brother will take something out to exchange with you, okay?¡± The little girl hesitantly looked at the beauty in front of her and said in a childish voice: ¡°What are you gonna use to exchange?¡± Gu Xuandu took out three things from his arms; a tattered book, a small sword, and a red, attractive-looking candied hawthorn: ¡°Choose one?¡± The little girl¡¯s eyes were instantly drawn to the candied hawthorn. Her black grape-like eyes were shining as she mumbled, ¡°Do you really want to exchange?¡± ¡°Mn.¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. The little girl hesitated for a long time. Her dirty little hand then rushed to the candied hawthorn. However, before she even had the chance to hold it, the small sword next to it let out a slight buzzing sound. Her movements froze and she showed some hesitation again. Gu Xuandu squatted down halfway. He did not rush and just continued smiling at the child. The little girl gritted her teeth. She seemed to find it difficult to choose between the two. Finally, she stomped her foot and pointed her finger: ¡°I want this!¡± Gu Xuandu smiled tenderly. He handed the seemingly unexceptional little sword to the little girl. The little girl held her heart¡¯s new favorite toy and she was instantly happy. Smiling, she pulled out what Gu Xuandu wanted from the small bag she was carrying. It was a feathered arrow with a silver arrowhead and a large fierce character engraved on it¡ªthe very same one that Lin Rufei had shot. ¡°Go now.¡± Gu Xuandu took the arrow and gently patted the little girl¡¯s head, ¡°Remember to treat it well.¡± The little girl was confused. She sniffled as she turned around to run away. Gu Xuandu lowered his head and gazed at the arrow in his hand. He tenderly stroked it for a moment and said to himself, ¡°Every arrow that is shot from the first time must naturally be well kept. Just a pity, ah¡­¡­.¡± Three arrows in exchange for two sticks of candied hawthorn. At least there is still one stick left. He¡¯ll leave it for the little gongzi at home who doesn¡¯t like to take medicine. Lin Rufei had just woken up when he saw Gu Xuandu sitting on the edge of the bed. He was eating a candied hawthorn that came from out of nowhere. His white teeth and red lips bit down on the candied hawthorn with a crunch. Seeing that he woke up, Gu Xuandu first fed him a mouthful of water and asked him with a smile if he wanted to eat candied hawthorn. ¡°You bought candied hawthorn?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth was bland and tasteless, he thought it would be good to try, so he blinked and meekly said he wanted to. ¡°Here, there are still several left.¡± The remaining candied hawthorn in his hand was delivered to Lin Rufei¡¯s lips. Gu Xuandu pursed his lips and smiled, ¡°Try it?¡± Lin Rufei was stunned at the situation. He opened his mouth slightly to say something but the candied hawthorn had been stuffed into his mouth. The sugar was very sweet and the hawthorn was sour. It melted in his mouth and diluted the bland taste within. Lin Rufei¡¯s protest melted away with the candied hawthorn. ¡°Delicious, right?¡± Gu Xuandu asked with a smile. Lin Rufei nodded and took another bite. ¡°It¡¯s still fresh. I stared at it as it was made.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s just that I realized I didn¡¯t have any money on me, so I took something else to make up for it.¡± Lin Rufei froze and said, ¡°You went out?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. ¡°What did you do?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°I went to catch ghosts.¡± Gu Xuandu said whatever came to his head. Lin Rufei frowned at him: ¡°In broad daylight, what kind of ghosts can you catch?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Ghosts in the daytime are the easiest to catch ¡­¡­¡± He looked towards the door, ¡°I won¡¯t say anymore, someone is coming.¡± As expected, just as Gu Xuandu and Lin Rufei stopped talking, there was a knock at the door. Lin Rufei said come in and he saw Meng Lanruo sneakily poking his head in. He whispered: ¡°Lin gongzi, have you rested? Can I come in?¡± ¡°Come in.¡± Lin Rufei said. Meng Lanruo leaped into the room and said happily, ¡°I just complained to my mother about that Qi Yansheng. He had nothing to do and came to find trouble for you, hmph, such an annoying guy.¡± Lin Rufei laughed and said, ¡°Qi gongzi doesn¡¯t mean any harm.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about him. Speaking of which, Lin gongzi, do you know about Fallen Spring House?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. Meng Lanruo lowered his voice: ¡°That is our largest flower house[3] here. Just tonight, there will be an oiran[4] competition. I got two vouchers to enter ¡­¡­ how about ¡­¡­¡± He showed a smile that could only be understood between men, ¡°How about we go join in on the fun?¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Say again where you¡¯re going? Lin Rufei: To see the Oiran[4]. Gu Xuandu: Isn¡¯t the flower leader me? ? ? What are you looking at others for? ? Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­. CH 30 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Perhaps it was because Kunlun¡¯s geographical location was located in a remote area so trade and commerce were still underdeveloped. Whether it was on the mountain or at the foot of the mountain, there was no such place as a flower house, which only appeared in textbooks. This was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time encountering such an invitation, although inwardly he felt that it was slightly inappropriate, in the end, he still had a strong curiosity about it. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s hesitation, Meng Lanruo lowered his voice and explained: ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t worry, the Fallen Spring House is very clean. The girls inside are also proficient in zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. It¡¯s not that kind of sordid place where they do ¡®flesh¡¯ business.¡± ¡°Besides, we are just going to have a look, we¡¯re not doing anything bad.¡± Meng Lanruo looked at Lin Rufei, hoping that he would accept his invitation, ¡°The night is long, if we stay at home, it¡¯ll be so boring.¡± Lin Rufei hesitated, but then slowly nodded and accepted Meng Lanruo¡¯s invitation. Meng Lanruo cheered happily and smiled, ¡°Then Lin gongzi, I will come to pick you up later and we will go there together by carriage!¡± Lin Rufei said yes. Only then did Meng Lanruo leave happily. As soon as he left, Gu Xuandu, who had been standing quietly beside Lin Rufei, opened his mouth, and for some reason, his voice had a bit of a sourness to it, ¡°Why would Xiao Jiu be interested in a flower house? That place is very boring.¡± Lin Rufei seized the point: ¡°Senior often goes there?¡± Gu Xuandu calmly said: ¡°I¡¯ve been there once or twice, nothing interesting.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one before, so I¡¯m just a little curious.¡± Gu Xuandu gritted his teeth and said, ¡°It¡¯s just some vulgar women[1], nothing to see.¡± Hearing Gu Xuandu¡¯s words, Lin Rufei could not help but smile and joke, ¡°Compared to senior¡¯s appearance, the others are indeed mediocre and vulgar.¡± Gu Xuandu, who was praised for his appearance, changed his expression. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, said nothing. He coldly snorted, swept his long sleeves, and his figure faded away. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded, he felt as if he had offended Gu Xuandu by saying a certain sentence, but which one was it ¡­¡­ At night, the city of Xinzhou was bustling with activity. On the Canglan River, several huge gorgeous flower boats sailed upon it. Standing on the shore, one could hear the music of silk and bamboo[2] and smell the fragrance of rouge powder. Numerous beautifully dressed women were standing or sitting as they smiled sweetly. It was really beautiful scenery that made people intoxicated. Lin Rufei was on the largest flower boat. Meng Lanruo was already a familiar customer here. When the charming old mother[3] saw him, her smiling eyes narrowed into a line. She twisted her waist and warmly welcomed him in. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the handsome, thin young man dressed in white who was standing beside Meng Lanruo. She seemed to have realized something and her smile became more enthusiastic, ¡°Yo¡ªthis gongzi is really handsome. How come I haven¡¯t seen him before?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a valuable guest from our family, I brought him out to have some fun.¡± Meng Lanruo smiled and said, ¡°When will Xiao Yu come out today?¡± ¡°The third one out. When the time comes, I hope that Meng gongzi will give us a lot of support.¡± The old mother smiled and led them to a wide private room with a screen around it. It was very private and had the clearest view of the stage. Meng Lanruo took something out of his bosom and handed it to the old mother, ¡°Bring some silk flowers and take the rest as your reward.¡± The old mother nodded her head and said yes. She respectfully left with both hands holding the thing Meng Lanruo gave her. Lin Rufei noticed that Meng Lanruo handed over a top-grade spirit stone, which was already a rare commodity even within the immortal path, let alone in the mortal world. It seems that the Meng family was indeed very wealthy. Such a thing, in Meng Lanruo¡¯s hands, was only chump change to reward the oiran. ¡°These silk flowers are used to vote for the oirans on stage.¡± Meng Lanruo explained with a smile, ¡°The more silk flowers the higher the number of votes. The girl with the most is the oiran of the night.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°You often come to play?¡± Meng Lanruo scratched his head: ¡°My family is strict with me, and I am not allowed to leave Xinzhou City, so I often come by myself to find some fun ¡­¡­ I¡­¡­ can¡¯t be considered a regular customer, right?¡± Obviously, when he mentioned the latter half, he himself developed a little bit of a guilty conscience. Lin Rufei just smiled at his words and didn¡¯t bother with him much. The guests on this flower boat were indeed looking for fun. The oiran competition had yet to begin so one could see people playing pitch-pots, dice¡ªthere were various ways to have fun. Meng Lanruo ordered two jugs of good wine and some small side dishes. He originally wanted to order a pot of hot tea for Lin Rufei, but Lin Rufei declined his kind offer, saying that coming here to drink tea spoils the fun. Although he could not drink too much, a couple of drinks wouldn¡¯t hurt It was better this way. Meng Lanruo raised a cup to toast Lin Rufei. The wine was freshly brewed plum wine. It was slightly sweet when it entered the mouth and it left a lingering aftertaste. Floating on top was a newly plucked cherry blossom petal, making it more elegant. Lin Rufei drank a cup. However, suddenly he remembered a certain cherry blossom immortal, who was still sulking, and his eyes couldn¡¯t help but reflect his smile. When Meng Lanruo saw Lin Rufei¡¯s smile, he asked, ¡°Who did Lin gongzi think of?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen such a smile on your face.¡± Meng Lanruo propped up his chin and looked at Lin Rufei, ¡°How should I say it ¡­¡­¡± It was as if Lin Rufei¡¯s usual smile, although gentle and warm, held an inexplicable taste of detachment. However, this smile before him was mixed with some playfulness, it felt a bit more popular. Lin Rufei shook his head, smiled, and did not say anything. Meng Lanruo also did not pursue deeper. Holding a cup of wine, he curiously asked Lin Rufei how long it had been since he left Kunlun, what happened along the way, and where he planned to go next. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment and in the end, he did not mention the Xie family. He only talked about the jiao on the Canglan River and said that he would probably follow the Canglan River downwards, over the Xiqiu Mountains, and go to the Central Plains. Meng Lanruo listened and he didn¡¯t disguise the envy on his face. He touched his sword which was hanging on his waist and murmured, ¡°I really envy Lin gongzi¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Envy me for what?¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°I also want to fight with a sword and travel thousands of miles like Lin gongzi.¡± He said listlessly, ¡°But my parents forbid me to go out, saying that they are afraid that because of my nature, I will be cheated out in just three days.¡± In a way, Lin Rufei¡¯s situation was very similar to Meng Lanruo¡¯s. For a long time, he also longed to leave Kunlun Mountain and travel down the mountain like his older brothers and older sister, but one day, he suddenly realized that his weak self would never have such an opportunity. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. He could pester his brothers and sister, act spoiled according to the way they wanted, and they would probably agree to his unreasonable request. However, he couldn¡¯t even lift the sword, even if he entered Jianghu, he¡¯ll only add trouble for them. Lin Rufei had always been transparent, after thinking clearly about certain things, he completely put down the obsession to leave Kunlun. The good thing was that now, he had his own destiny. ¡°Maybe you are too young now, it will take a few more years for your parents to say yes.¡± Lin Rufei comforted Meng Lanruo. But Meng Lanruo shook his head and said with sadness that no one knew his mother better than he did. As long as his mother was still alive, he would not be able to leave Xinzhou City. Lin Rufei listened without responding. He thought that Meng Lanruo might¡¯ve been exaggerating. His family spoiled him. If he was really determined to enter Jianghu, his family probably wouldn¡¯t try and forcefully stop him. At least at this moment, that was what Lin Rufei thought. On the stage, the sound of string music was heard. Several dancers floated and began to dance to the sound of music. Meng Lanruo swept away the disillusionment from a moment ago and came back to life. He was staring at a girl who walked out slowly on the stage and enthusiastically introduced his favorite Xiao Yu to Lin Rufei. ¡°Xiao Yu is the most unique girl I¡¯ve ever seen. Not only is she good-looking, but she is proficient in everything from the zither, Go, to calligraphy and painting. Even her sword dance is a masterpiece.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Although her sword technique is not as good as sword cultivators, it is already more powerful than most mortals ¡­¡­ If that Qi Yansheng doesn¡¯t use sword Qi to compete with her, who knows who would win.¡± Lin Rufei was a little interested: ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Meng Lanruo said seriously. The expensive silk flowers were thrown onto the stage with the sound of applause, and the atmosphere on the flower boat gradually became more and more heated. The girls were doing well tonight, and the silk flowers, which cost the same as gold, never stopped. The patrons who were drunk, all wanted to send their favorite girls to be the oiran of the night. Meng Lanruo handed the silk flowers on the table to Lin Rufei and called for the old mother. He took out some spirit stones and cashed it in for a few more baskets. It felt like he was spending money like water. Lin Rufei was not sensitive towards things like money. His food and clothing were all dealt by his maids so he didn¡¯t have to worry about it. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he had snuck down the mountain to sneakily eat snacks, he probably would have never seen silver money. ¡°Here she comes, here she comes, Xiao Yu is here.¡± Meng Lanruo stared at him excitedly. On the stage, a soft woman slowly stepped up. She was dressed in a long skirt and held double swords tied with red silk. She was half crouched in front of the guests on the stage as she saluted, and after a smile, the sound of music followed. The moment the sword rose, the woman¡¯s temperament instantly changed. The sword was like a white rainbow and the red silk like blood. The woman¡¯s bare feet stepped with the beat of the drums as she tossed and turned on top of the stage gracefully. The sword light was cold and hard, but the pink outfit she was wearing was soft to the extreme. The contrast between this rigid and soft made this sword dance even more and more fascinating. The woman twisted her waist and threw the red silk that was tied at the end of the sword. She raised her hand and waved the sword Qi like that of an astral wind[4]. The drums gradually stopped and her dance also slowed down before finally stopping on the stage. Her slightly undulating chest was facing towards the location of Meng Lanruo¡¯s box[5] and she cast a soft smile. The patrons applauded loudly and rewarded heavily. They threw silk flowers as if they didn¡¯t cost money onto the stage. Meng Lanruo directly walked out of the box and threw the two baskets of silk flowers that were held in his arms. The silk flowers fluttered like snow onto Xiao Yu¡¯s head and shoulders. When she saw Meng Lanruo, she smiled back, and slowly bowed before retreating from the stage. ¡°Isn¡¯t it beautiful? Isn¡¯t it beautiful?!¡± Meng Lanruo watched Xiao Yu leave before returning to the private room. He jumped up and down excitedly, like a bored young man who came to Fallen Spring House for the first time, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a beautiful sword dance!¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°It was good.¡± It was indeed beautiful, when she danced with a sword, it was a sensation in all directions. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that ¡­¡­¡± Meng Lanruo was suddenly feeling a bit down, ¡°I wanted to redeem her, but she refused.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know much about these things so he just listened. Meng Lanruo said: ¡°If she doesn¡¯t like me, so be it, but I think she does like me.¡± After he said this, he let out a long sigh and drank the wine in his cup in one go. As the two were talking, the topic of their conversation came inside. She was holding a plate of freshly cut fruits and smiled at the two people in the private room. She softly called out: ¡°Lanruo ¡­¡­¡± Meng Lanruo paused. He immediately looked back and said eagerly: ¡°Xiao Yu!¡± ¡°How come you didn¡¯t call me even when you came.¡± Xiao Yu pouted, ¡°I had to look through the entire crowd to find you when I was performing the sword dance. ¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°I just wanted to surprise you.¡± The two of them both had feelings for each other, and Lin Rufei, who was sitting on one side, became the extra. However, Meng Lanruo quickly reacted and said, ¡°Xiao Yu, this is my new friend, Lin gongzi. He is very nice. In your flower house, are there any gentle and pretty girls, quickly call one over for Lin gongzi.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Yu laughed, ¡°Lin gongzi is so handsome, it really is a bargain for those little lasses!¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t refuse. Since he had come here, although he didn¡¯t have any other plans, he couldn¡¯t let Meng Lanruo worry about him while he was being affectionate. The girl that Xiao Yu had called soon came. She was soft and beautiful and was named Wan Yi. She was said to be excellent at the zither. A gentleman was always ready to help others attain their goals. Lin Rufei had never eaten pork, but at least he had seen a pig run[6]. Meng Lanruo and that Xiao Yu girl were in the process of getting close to each other. Meng Lanruo had wine poured by that Xiao Yu girl and was helped by her into another room. Now the only ones left in the room are Wan Yi, who was playing the zither, and Lin Rufei. Wan Yi seemed to be a bit shy and didn¡¯t talk much until Xiao Yu and Meng Lanruo left, and only then did she intermittently chat with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was drinking plum wine while talking to Wan Yi. After finishing a song, Wan Yi saw that Lin Rufei didn¡¯t seem to care about the next song, so she got up and lit the incense placed on the side of the zither. The fragrance of this incense was clear and fresh, but Lin Rufei felt that it was familiar and asked ¡°What is this incense?¡± ¡°It¡¯s incense made of Qilin grass, it has a calming effect.¡± Wan Yi softly said, ¡°If gongzi doesn¡¯t like it, Wan Yi will put it out.¡± ¡°No need, keep it lit.¡± Lin Rufei did not hate the smell of Qilin grass. His fingers slid over the rim of the cup and asked, ¡°How long have you been here?¡± Wan Yi replied, ¡°Almost three years.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What about Xiao Yu?¡± Wan Yi hesitated for a moment before answering Lin Rufei¡¯s question. She said, ¡°Sister Xiao Yu came a bit later, it¡¯s probably been a year. Sister Xiao Yu is a great person, once she came here, she was an oiran ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Oh.¡± Wan Yi smiled: ¡°Does gongzi have any songs he wants to hear?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, indicating no. He felt a little tired, but seeing that Meng Lanruo did not want to leave, he could not leave first. He waved his hand to Wan Yi and said, ¡°You go out first, I want to rest by myself for a while.¡± Wan Yi was slightly surprised at the words, biting her lower lip she said, ¡°But if I go out like this, I will be scolded by mother ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei frowned slightly. He smoothly took a spirit stone from his sleeve and handed it to her, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wan Yi wanted to say something, but in the end, didn¡¯t say anything at all. She took the spirit stone, bowed to Lin Rufei, and retreated. Lin Rufei was the only one left in the room. Lin Rufei was a bit bored. He looked around but still didn¡¯t see Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure. He sighed slightly. He felt that it was somewhat funny, that his senior was so petty. The room was very well decorated, with a lot of veils and other fabrics. The light was also very dim and it was an atmosphere that easily made people get into the mood. The lit incense burned with a curling white smoke, bringing with it the strange aroma of the unique Qilin grass. Beside the incense burner was a plate of delicate snacks. There were all kinds of shapes and it was made very beautifully. Lin Rufei happened to be a little hungry, so he twisted a piece and sent it into his mouth. The taste of mung bean cake was a little too sweet. He did not like it but the texture wasn¡¯t bad so he still slowly ate it. There was still half a jug of plum wine left. Lin Rufei had nothing to do, so he drank it down with the crispy beans. The drunkenness surged and Lin Rufei¡¯s pale cheeks floated with a touch of red. His eyes, which were lighter than normal, were not as clear as usual and carried slight signs of intoxication. It was probably because he drank too much, but his chest started to itch. Lin Rufei covered his mouth and coughed lowly a few times. He used tea to suppress his cough as he got up and walked towards the window to view the scenery outside. The window of the room was facing the riverside. The lights were dim, like a river of stars, and the tide of the river was lapping against the side of the boat. The sound of the tide was incessant. Lin Rufei, however, felt some inexplicable discomfort. There was something burning inside his body, from his internal organs and all the way out, even burning his skin. ¡°Cough cough, cough, cough, cough ¡­¡­¡± The heatwave came suddenly and Lin Rufei started to cough heavily. His consciousness began to blur and he felt that he could no longer control his body. He just fell limply onto the bed, and a red shadow seemed to appear before his eyes, but with his consciousness drifting further away, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know anything anymore. Gu Xuandu¡¯s face was expressionless as he looked at Lin Rufei who had fallen onto the bed. He was lying on the soft bed and his face was not as pale as usual. Instead, it had turned into a pink color. Looking down, one would find that it was not only his cheeks that had turned pink but also his neck. Although the situation below the neck couldn¡¯t be seen, it was probably obvious what kind of view would be on the body that was tightly wrapped in clothes. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Sometimes, being too well protected was not a good thing, because unknowingly, things that should not be done are done. In this flower house, one should naturally also take precautions. The wine was drinkable and the snacks could also be eaten. However, if the two were combined, there was some unspeakable effect. This effect on ordinary people would probably liven things up, however, Lin Rufei had a weak body, just a little and he would become like this. Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes sank slightly as he looked at Lin Rufei. His Adam¡¯s apple moved up and down invisibly as if he was restraining something. The night breeze was bitterly cold. Gu Xuandu raised his hand and closed the window, sealing off the lights outside. The next moment, Gu Xuandu extinguished the candle flame inside the room and everything was darkened. The room was silent, only the sound of Lin Rufei¡¯s slightly rapid breathing remained. Lin Rufei woke up after dawn. He was draped in a thick blanket as he sat up from the bed blankly and saw Gu Xuandu sitting at the table. Gu Xuandu heard him wake up but didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°Senior.¡± Lin Rufei called out. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Awake?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Mnn ¡­¡­¡± He rubbed his head which was a bit sore and whispered, ¡°Why did I suddenly fall asleep yesterday.¡± ¡°There was something put into the snacks and wine in the flower house. You had a pretty big reaction after eating it.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You passed out straight away.¡± Lin Rufei let out a slightly embarrassed ¡°oh¡± and looked at Gu Xuandu, ¡°Senior ¡­¡­ were you guarding the bedside all night?¡± Gu Xuandu did not speak. But sometimes silence was the answer. Lin Rufei immediately felt a little guilty. Just as he was about to apologize, he saw Gu Xuandu raise his hand to make a ¡°stop¡± gesture. He then suddenly got up, walked in front of him, and bent down. The tip of their noses almost touched and his face was as cold as ice: ¡°In the future, do not come to this kind of place, if you want to see a sword dance, I will dance. If you want to hear a song, I will play. In short, do not have a next time. ¡° Lin Rufei was frozen. But Gu Xuandu urged once more with some impatience, ¡°Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei said obediently. He didn¡¯t know if it was because Gu Xuandu¡¯s tone was very dangerous, but Lin Rufei didn¡¯t have the slightest thought of refuting. ¡°Very well.¡± Gu Xuandu nodded, only then did he straighten up and said carelessly, ¡°After all, next time, I can¡¯t guarantee what will happen.¡± In the end, he didn¡¯t want to. His cheeks were red and his breath was rapid. He was defenseless and ready to be picked up, Gu Xuandu did not want to see this a second time, not because he was worried that he would be hurt, but worried that the person who would hurt him would be himself. Gu Xuandu had endured once, but could not guarantee that he could endure it a second time. Lin Rufei misunderstood Gu Xuandu¡¯s meaning. After all, he just wanted to check out the flower house but instead, he got set up. It was indeed shameful. Plus, a senior like Gu Xuandu should be very disdainful of such behavior. Lin Rufei sighed slightly in his heart, and after a simple wash, he went to find Meng Lanruo. Meng Lanruo¡¯s room did not have Xiao Yu¡¯s figure. When he saw Lin Rufei, he smiled and asked him how he rested last night? Lin Rufei shook his head and said he still didn¡¯t like these places. Meng Lanruo didn¡¯t mind and said: ¡°Yes, it seems you are not used to it. Next time, let¡¯s go to some elegant place. Come on, let¡¯s go back to the residence.¡± Lin Rufei said okay. Only when he left, he also smelled the fragrance of Qilin grass in this room. Immediately, he felt that it was a bit strange so he asked Meng Lanruo if this kind of incense was especially popular in Xinzhou ¡°Yes.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Especially popular, it is everywhere. My mother also likes it so she planted a lot at home.¡± He yawned, ¡°I¡¯m so tired ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Did you not sleep well last night?¡± Meng Lanruo scratched his head, ¡°It was okay, ah.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where is Xiao Yu?¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Xiao Yu? She left a long time ago. ¡­¡­ What happened?¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°She didn¡¯t spend the night in your room?¡± Only then did Meng Lanruo understand what Lin Rufei meant and said embarrassingly, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t touch her. She¡¯s still pure ¡­¡­ after all, she¡¯s still a girl. You have to at least marry before you can do such a thing.¡± Lin Rufei laughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He looked at the lingering look between the two people and he thought that when conditions are right, success will naturally follow. However, he did not expect Meng Lanruo to care so much about Xiao Yu. Only when you care about someone, would you still be concerned about two or three things during the period when love is strong. Lin Rufei sighed in his heart, but he did not notice that Gu Xuandu, who was beside him, looked at him with a complicated expression ******** The author has something to say: When Lin Rufei woke up, Gu Xuandu said to him, 327. Lin Rufei: Huh? Gu Xuandu: The number of your eyelashes. I counted it 300 times, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s correct. Lin Rufei: You sure have a lot of free time¡­¡­ Gu Xuandu: If I¡¯m not free, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll start crying the next day. CH 31 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ When Lin Rufei and Meng Lanruo returned to the Meng residence, they happened to meet Meng Youyue who was sitting in the garden tending to the flowers and plants. With a long pair of shears in her hand, she was fiddling with the flowers in front of her, and two maids were standing behind her, holding the flowers she had just picked. He didn¡¯t know how the Meng residence accomplished this; hundreds of flowers in the garden were vying for beauty as they bloomed at the same time. These buds were either budding or in full bloom. Not a single flower withered. They probably spent a lot of effort to take care of it. ¡°Meng Lanruo, I see that your skin has tightened[1] again.¡± Meng Youyue said, but her eyes contained a smile, ¡°Look at your body covered with rouge powder if mother knew where you have gone¡ª¡± ¡°Ah, sister, sister, my good sister, you mustn¡¯t tell mother, ah.¡± Meng Lanruo said nervously, ¡°I just went to listen to a little song, I wouldn¡¯t dare do anything else.¡± Meng Youyue grumbled at Meng Lanruo: ¡°Nevermind that you went out to fool around, you even brought Lin gongzi with you¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei smiled and indicated that there was no harm. He said that it was actually quite interesting. Meng Youyue smiled and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, my brother is unreliable, if he does anything that offends you, please bear with him.¡± Meng Lanruo muttered that he had not, but was nudged on the head by Meng Youyue¡¯s finger so he finally stopped. Although Lin Rufei mistakenly ate the pastries in the flower house yesterday, he actually slept quite well. However, Meng Lanruo couldn¡¯t stop yawning and rubbing his eyes, he seemed low-spirited. He and Lin Rufei got some dim sum and the two of them ate one thing after another. Meng Lanruo¡¯s attention was not on the food. He was twisting in his seat and had a completely absent-minded look. Lin Rufei thought he was sleepy at first, but after noticing that he wanted to say something several times, he hesitantly put down the half-drunk milk in his hand and asked, ¡°Does Meng gongzi have something to say?¡± ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Meng Lanruo blinked his eyes and said, ¡°Have you read ¡®The Story of Yang Hua?¡¯¡± ¡°The Story of Yang Hua¡± was a very popular novel and had been widely distributed. The story was about a girl in a flower house and a poor scholar. Although the content of the story was old-fashioned, the author¡¯s writing was good, so it was good to read it occasionally for fun. Only, these types of books were popular amongst women. The reason why Lin Rufei bought it was because when he visited the bookstore, Yu Rui saw it and wanted to bring a copy. If Meng Lanruo had asked this question before, Lin Rufei would have thought he had a wide range of knowledge. However, after what had happened last night, Meng Lanruo¡¯s question seemed to have taken on a different meaning. Lin Rufei looked at Meng Lanruo and said, ¡°I¡¯ve read it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± When Meng Lanruo heard that Lin Rufei had read it, he immediately got excited. He brought his head closer and whispered, ¡°My parents say that these are leisure books. They won¡¯t let me read it and said that if I read too much, my brain would deteriorate¡­¡­¡± For some reason, when Lin Rufei listened to those words from Meng Lanruo, he really wanted to laugh. Instead, he let out a low cough to cover up the hidden laughter in his words: ¡°It is indeed leisure books.¡± As for whether the brain will become bad after reading more, then he doesn¡¯t know. Meng Lanruo was energized and continued, ¡°Then what do you think of the story?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It¡¯s not bad.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°I think Xiao Yu is the girl in the picture book ¡­¡­¡± His voice was not loud, but he said it seriously, ¡°It¡¯s exactly the same as in the picture book.¡± The oiran in ¡°The Story of Yang Hua¡± was indeed soft and beautiful and also good at sword dancing. She waited for her favorite scholar in the house and even if others wanted to spend a lot of money to redeem her from the flower house, she refused and would rather die. Lin Rufei looked at Meng Lanruo and laughed: ¡°But even if she is the oiran, you are not the scholar she desires.¡± Meng Lanruo let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, ¡°You¡¯re right, however, even though she has been in Xinzhou City for a year now, I haven¡¯t seen her like any scholars, what if¡­¡­..¡± He started to whisper, ¡°What if the person she actually loves is me? But she¡¯s just a little reserved and apprehensive¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei sensed Meng Lanruo¡¯s restless heart: ¡°What kind of concerns will keep her from leaving with you?¡± Meng Lanruo scratched his head: ¡°I also asked her, but she just said it¡¯s not time yet. Although I don¡¯t know what it means by ¡®it¡¯s not time¡­¡­.¡¯¡± Lin Rufei looked at Meng Lanruo and his lips curled into a smile. Meng Lanruo¡¯s teenage angst carried a bit of innocence and it doesn¡¯t make people feel bored. Rather, it had a child-like brilliance to it. The Meng family¡¯s youngest son was indeed well protected by the family. Looking at him, he somehow understood the occasional helplessness that arose when his second brother looked at him. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The flower house was not an easy place to survive in. The girls that could live a wonderful life in it, were probably not pitiful creatures who didn¡¯t understand the world. Underestimating them would lead to suffering. The actual situation between Meng Lanruo and Xiao Yu, Lin Rufei could not say, but obviously, Meng Lanruo was very deep in this matter. Meng Lanruo dwelled on it for a while, then got sleepy. He yawned and said he would go to sleep for a while and when he woke up, he would come back to play with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei told him to go as he drank up the rest of the milk in his hand. As soon as Meng Lanruo left, Gu Xuandu sat down in his place and leaned back in the chair with his hands crossed against his chest. He watched as Lin Rufei ate. ¡°What?¡± Lin Rufei felt that there was something strange in his eyes. ¡°What do you think of Meng Lanruo?¡± Gu Xuandu asked. ¡°What do I think? What do you mean by that?¡± Lin Rufei was puzzled. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Do you like him?¡± Lin Rufei was confused by the question, but still replied, ¡°I guess ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu stopped talking and instructed Lin Rufei to continue eating. Lin Rufei felt that Gu Xuandu wouldn¡¯t ask such a question for no reason, and was about to ask a follow-up question, but Gu Xuandu lazily said, ¡°Yes, who would not like such a cute young master.¡± After he finished, he sat up straight, and seriously looked at Lin Rufei, ¡°You see, I like you quite a lot.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why did he always feel that Gu Xuandu was scolding him? But Gu Xuandu seemed to not want to continue on this topic. He proposed that while the weather was nice, they should go around and see the view of the Meng residence. Lin Rufei agreed. The Meng residence was indeed large, but it was not empty. There were servants walking around everywhere. It was probably not easy to maintain ten thousand flowers, so most of these servants were taking care of the flowers and plants. A small and not-too-deep river runs through the entire Meng residence. The water in the river was clear and one could see beautiful fishes of all colors in it. But after strolling around for a while, Lin Rufei noticed a strange phenomenon. That is, the fragrance of Qilin grass could be smelled in almost every part of the Meng residence. After looking carefully, he found that Qilin grass was almost all over the Meng residence, and it looked like it was planted deliberately. ¡°Why does the Meng residence like Qilin grass so much?¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°It¡¯s all over the place.¡± Gu Xuandu said slowly, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s to keep the flowers in this room flourishing.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°There¡¯s this kind of effect?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Yes.¡± And he briefly introduced the effect of Qilin grass, saying that this grass was usually used to calm the mind, but in fact, it also has other uses; such as retaining things that easily decay. With so many flourishing flowers in the residence, Qilin grass most likely also played a role. The good thing was that Lin Rufei didn¡¯t hate this kind of aroma. It¡¯s just that after smelling it so much, it was a bit like living in an orchid room for a long time without smelling its fragrance[2]. The rich aroma also became common. After walking around the Meng residence, Lin Rufei intended to go back to his room. However, when he passed by the cloister, he saw a familiar person¡ªthe one who was hated by Meng Lanruo, Qi Yansheng. He was sitting in the cloister, holding a fishing rod in his hand, and was actually fishing leisurely. When he saw Lin Rufei, he greeted him with a smile as if he was not the one who confronted Lin Rufei a few days ago. Lin Rufei nodded back in reply. He had no intention to talk to him any further. When he intended to leave, he was suddenly stopped by Qi Yansheng¡¯s voice. ¡°If Lin gongzi has nothing to do, can you accompany me to chat for a while?¡± His tone sounded quite sincere. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What is Qi gongzi doing?¡± Qi Yansheng laughed and said, ¡°I have so much free time that I decided to fish for a while, but unfortunately the fishes wouldn¡¯t take the bait, so it was even more boring.¡± Seeing that Lin Rufei was still a bit hesitant, he apologized for yesterday¡¯s incident, saying that he had indeed been impetuous. However, he had no ill will towards Lin Rufei and asked him not to take it personally. Since the words have come to this point, Lin Rufei also could not refuse. He walked to Qi Yansheng¡¯s side and sat down in the corridor. ¡°I heard from Youyue that you and Lanruo went to the flower house yesterday? How was it? Do you like it?¡± Qi Yansheng smiled and picked up the topic. Lin Rufei said, ¡°It was okay.¡± ¡°Just okay?¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°I¡¯ve been there before. But unfortunately, now Lanruo dislikes me so much that he refuses to take me there anymore.¡± Even though he was saying such words, his face was full of a doting smile. Lin Rufei was silent for a moment and asked, ¡°How many years have you and Lanruo known each other?¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°It¡¯s been some years.¡± He spoke with some nostalgia, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that at that time, Lanruo was still a silly boy. The older he got, the more disobedient he became.¡± His tone was strange. It wasn¡¯t like a friend of the same age, but more like an elderly senior. Lin Rufei and Qi Yansheng continued to talk. After dropping the hostility, Qi Yansheng also gave people a good feeling. He was knowledgeable and had his own unique insights on many things. The two talked until close to noon before Lin Rufei got up to say goodbye. He said that he was going to go back to his room to rest. And before leaving, he casually asked why the residence had so much Qilin grass. Who knew that when he heard these words, Qi Yansheng¡¯s expression stiffened slightly. However, it quickly returned to normal. He smiled and said that the people of Xinzhou are very fond of this fragrance. Not only do they plant them, but they also use this scent in aromatherapy. Even on the streets, the smell would also be present. The change in Qi Yansheng¡¯s expression was quick, but it was still caught by Lin Rufei. After listening to his explanation, although Lin Rufei had some doubt in his mind, he did not continue to pursue it. He simply nodded and then turned to leave. The sound of water suddenly rang out behind him. Something seemed to have bitten Qi Yansheng¡¯s fish hook, but Lin Rufei remembered that Qi Yansheng¡¯s fish hook was clean and dry, it didn¡¯t even have the simplest bait. When Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw Lin Rufei come back, they breathed a sigh of relief in unison. He noticed that his two maids both had a fearful expression. Lin Rufei joked that he was at least a grown man and not a child, so they didn¡¯t have to worry so much. Yu Rui pouted and complained about the young master¡¯s big heart, saying that Jianghu is treacherous and there are many bad people. Lin Rufei pinched her cheek and laughed, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the bad guys like clumsy maids like you the most?¡± Yu Rui didn¡¯t know how to retort and left in tears. Lin Rufei had just sat down when a paper crane flew into the room. Looking at the appearance of the paper crane, he knew it must be from Kunlun Mountain. Lin Rufei picked up the paper crane and opened it, and there he saw the familiar penmanship of his second brother. The letter was written by Lin Bianyu, followed by two or three sentences of instructions from his elder brother and third sister. The contents of which were mostly greetings and worries. If one only looked at the contents of the letter, it seemed that Lin Rufei was just a three-year-old child and even a stone on the road could trip him. After reading the letter, Lin Rufei took out his pen and ink and wrote back to his family, saying that he had sent the invitation to the Meng family and that he intended to stay in Xinzhou City for a few days before heading to the Central Plains, and that his brothers and sister need not worry. Of course, these words were the same as not saying anything. After all, in the eyes of his brothers and sister, he would always be a weak little guy with no strength. When he was writing the letter, Gu Xuandu was watching from the side and his eyes were full of laughter. After Lin Rufei finished writing, he put it away carefully and allowed the paper crane to fly away. He turned his head to ask Gu Xuandu what he was laughing at. ¡°Nothing.¡± Gu Xuandu said seriously, ¡°I just think you look cute when you frown and dripped the ink.¡± Lin Rufei did not believe his nonsense, but Gu Xuandu refused to say, so he had to put away his pen and ink and go to rest. He must say that the Meng family was indeed a good place to recuperate from illness. The environment in the courtyard was nice and quiet, and the maid at the door, Zhu Yin, also does a good job. As long as it was something Lin Rufei may need, she always delivered it to the room in advance. Lin Rufei drank the medicine and had a deep sleep. When he got up, his body felt a lot more relaxed. Although he still had some coughing, his body temperature had completely returned to normal. After dinner, Lin Rufei was in the courtyard cooling off and Zhu Yin was lighting incense on the stone pillar at the entrance of the courtyard. Lin Rufei watched her actions without saying anything, he only felt that the Meng family¡¯s obsession with this kind of fragrance was really incomprehensible. Meng Lanruo had slept all day and had finally recovered his spirit. He ran to Lin Rufei¡¯s courtyard to drag him out to go shopping, saying that the city of Xinzhou was very lively at night, and it was a pity not to see the night scenery. Lin Rufei could not resist, so he had to go with him. The city of Xinzhou was very large and indeed lively at night. Although it was dark, bright lanterns were hung everywhere on the streets. It illuminated the whole street with brilliant lights and the people on the streets were all raucous and noisy. Lin Rufei even saw a few entertainers selling their art on the street. From his sleeve, he took out a few silver coins as reward money and threw them over. Meng Lanruo smiled and asked Lin Rufei what the night scene on Kunlun looked like. ¡°That depends on whether you¡¯re talking about the mountain or the mountain foot.¡± Lin Rufei walked beside Meng Lanruo and talked about his home, ¡°It snows all year-round on the mountain. There is no Spring nor are there people. The foot of the mountain is slightly better. There¡¯s quite a lot of disciples. However, the disciples are usually very restrained because of the strict rules of Kunlun, and there are only some small markets during sword competition. At the foot of the mountain, there is a small town. There aren¡¯t that many people, but it¡¯s quite interesting. Next to the town, there is a cherry blossom forest. In the forest, there is a group of monkeys who like to bully people ¡­¡­¡± Hearing Lin Rufei¡¯s words, Meng Lanruo showed a look of longing, he sighed: ¡°Sure is nice.¡± Lin Rufei smiled: ¡°Xinzhou City is also good, it¡¯s very beautiful.¡± Meng Lanruo did not respond. Probably because after so many years, even the most beautiful scenery got a bit tiresome to look at. The two of them walked along the street and Meng Lanruo asked Lin Rufei if he wanted to go to the riverside, saying that in a few days it will be the Qingming Festival. They had a custom of sending out lanterns to pay tribute to the old ones during the Qingming Festival, so there should be a lot of beautiful lanterns floating on the river these days, which was a beautiful sight at night. Lin Rufei thought that Meng Lanruo¡¯s personality was really interesting. Ordinary people may feel uncomfortable or afraid when they see such a scene, but he felt nothing, and even jumped at the chance as if the lanterns on the river were not for the deceased, but a toy with a riddle on it. However, Lin Rufei did not refuse and he accompanied Meng Lanruo to the river. It was already late, but there were already many people at the riverside putting down the lit lanterns along the flowing water. Little bursts of firelight shone on the dark river. The river seemed to have become a dark galaxy and floating above were the dots of numerous stars. People not only sent out lanterns, but they also burned paper money and joss sticks on the shore. Lin Rufei and Meng Lanruo stood on the shore as they felt the river breeze. Meng Lanruo did not speak as if he was thinking about something. ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu, who hadn¡¯t appeared at all, suddenly spoke up from behind Lin Rufei. His tone held some interest, ¡°Look who is over there?¡± Lin Rufei looked in the direction Gu Xuandu said and saw someone he hadn¡¯t expected. It was actually Qi Yansheng who he had just seen in the corridor during the day. It was very dark and if Gu Xuandu had not reminded him, Lin Rufei would not have noticed that Qi Yansheng was squatting by the river. He had just sent out a flower lantern. If it was just him then that was fine, but after he sent out the lantern, he said something to the person standing beside him. That person turned their head and Lin Rufei happened to see her face. His eyes widened a little in shock¡ªthat was Meng Lanruo¡¯s interest in the flower house, the girl Xiao Yu, who was a very beautiful sword dancer. The two of them were acquainted with each other? They even met at the riverside? ¡°This Meng gongzi¡¯s hair is a bit green[3].¡± Gu Xuandu sighed. The two seemed to be on good terms and they were talking in an intimate manner. Qi Yansheng even raised his hand to help Xiao Yu straighten her hair, which had been blown by the river breeze. Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Rufei looked at the Meng family¡¯s little gongzi who was squatting at his side. He was picking up mud and throwing it into the river. At that moment, he didn¡¯t know what to say. Should he let him take a look or pretend that he didn¡¯t notice as well? While Lin Rufei was seriously contemplating this matter, Meng Lanruo suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction that he had been looking at. In the darkness of the night, he also seemed to notice the two people who were conversing on the riverbank in front of him. After raising his hand, he rubbed his eyes heavily and his expression froze directly. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. That expression was really hard to describe, almost as if he had seen a ghost but also full of disbelief. He fiercely straightened up. He wanted to roar out loud, but somehow he swallowed it back down hard. Meng Lanruo obviously saw it. He saw that this annoying Qi Yansheng and his favorite Xiao Yu were being affectionate as if they were very close with each other. Lin Rufei moved his eyes to the river and pretended that he was looking at the lanterns. ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Meng Lanruo squeezed out a sentence from his mouth with difficulty, ¡°I don¡¯t feel so well, let¡¯s go back first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Meng Lanruo turned his head and walked away, his steps were so hurried and panicked that he almost tripped and fell. In the end, Lin Rufei gave him a hand so that he didn¡¯t fall to the ground. Until they returned to the Meng residence, Meng Lanruo did not speak again. However, when they were about to part, Meng Lanruo suddenly opened his mouth and his voice took on a childish crying tone, ¡°Lin gongzi, you saw it, right?¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He really wanted to pretend that he didn¡¯t see, but facing this appearance of Meng Lanruo, the lies could not come out. Finally, they turned into a low sigh. He stretched out his hands and gently pressed on Meng Lanruo¡¯s shoulder. He slowly nodded his head. The little gongzi, who had never experienced these things, finally could not help but sob. It was probably because he felt humiliated. While he fiercely wiped the tears from his cheek, he choked out: ¡°How can he do this, how can he¡­¡­¡± Because he used too much force, his white cheeks turned into a scarlet and even faint bloodstains appeared. ¡°This ¡­¡­ might just be a misunderstanding.¡± Lin Rufei felt that although Meng Lanruo said that he hated Qi Yansheng, in fact, the relationship between the two was not as bad as imagined. Otherwise, he could have very well rushed over on the spot and questioned why Qi Yansheng was with Xiao Yu. Only when confronted with a friend¡¯s betrayal would one show such an overwhelmed look. ¡°In front of me, he even advised me to stay away from Xiao Yu, saying that she is not a good person and that the women in the flower house are all insincere.¡± Meng Lanruo cried, ¡°Qi Yansheng this liar, big liar, I hate him the most. He obviously likes my sister, but actually dares to do such nasty things behind my sister¡¯s back!¡± Lin Rufei was at a loss for words and really didn¡¯t know how to comfort Meng Lanruo. But apparently, Meng Lanruo also didn¡¯t need him to say anything. After he finished venting, he wiped his face haphazardly and revealed an extremely ugly smile: ¡°Sorry Lin gongzi, it was me who lost my temper. You should rest early ¡­¡­ I will go back to my room first.¡± Lin Rufei frowned and said worriedly: ¡°You might as well find Qi Yansheng and talk to him about this matter ¡­¡­¡± in case there was any misunderstanding. However, Meng Lanruo heavily shook his head. His expression gradually calmed down: ¡°My family doesn¡¯t want me to have too much involvement with Xiao Yu. Even if this matter was true, no one would stand on my side. Furthermore. Xiao Yu¡­..Xiao Yu never promised to let me redeem her. Here I was wondering who she was waiting for, now I finally know.¡± After Meng Lanruo finished his speech, he said goodbye to Lin Rufei and turned around to leave Lin Rufei looked at his lost[4] figure and was really worried that he would do something stupid. He frowned and said to himself: ¡°What should we do? This Meng family¡¯s little gongzi will not do anything too extreme, right?¡± Gu Xuandu said lazily, ¡°With his capability, are you saying he¡¯s going to break the sky?¡± Lin Rufei disagreed: ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If you see your lover meeting someone else one day, what will you do?¡± Lin Rufei thought about it: ¡°I would probably stab the adulterer[5] to death with my sword.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°You won¡¯t blame your lover?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I will, maybe I can¡¯t bear to.¡± He turned his head to look at Gu Xuandu, ¡°What about you?¡± Gu Xuandu said seriously, ¡°I won¡¯t allow such a thing to happen.¡± Lin Rufei said curiously, ¡°But what if?¡± Gu Xuandu chuckled coldly, ¡°What if? There is no ¡®what if.¡¯¡± He even guarded a certain someone when they were bathing, how could there be ¡°what ifs.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I don¡¯t believe anyone can green[3] me! Lin Rufei: This Chinese peony is so pretty. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­. Lin Rufei: This peony is so beautiful. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­. Lin Rufei: This ¡­.. Gu Xuandu: Are you deliberately provoking me? ? CH 32 Although Gu Xuandu felt that Meng Lanruo couldn¡¯t do anything too drastic, Lin Rufei still had some concerns in his heart. In the next few days, Lin Rufei did not see Meng Lanruo at all. After some thorough thinking, he felt that something was not right, so he sought out Zhu Yin and asked her why he had not seen Meng Lanruo. Zhu Yin replied, ¡°Oh, Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t know yet, my young master caught a cold a few days ago and has been recuperating for the past few days.¡± Only then did Lin Rufei know that Meng Lanruo was ill, ¡°Is it serious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not serious, just a little cold. However, Lin gongzi is also sick, so I didn¡¯t tell you because I was afraid you would catch his cold.¡± Zhu Yin replied. Lin Rufei asked where Meng Lanruo was recuperating since he planned to visit him. He believed that his sudden illness was related to what he saw that night. But looking at Zhu Yin¡¯s expression, he guessed that Meng Lanruo didn¡¯t talk about that incident. Zhu Yin led the way and brought Lin Rufei to Meng Lanruo¡¯s door. He didn¡¯t even enter yet when he heard the voice of Meng Youyue, who was patiently persuading him, ¡°My little ancestor, how can you get well if you don¡¯t drink the medicine. Be good, don¡¯t be naughty. If mother found out, do you still want your ears?¡± Meng Lanruo said in a strained voice: ¡°Then I don¡¯t want them anymore, let mother pull them off.¡± Meng Youyue was helpless: ¡°You think mother doesn¡¯t have the heart to do that, right? If you don¡¯t drink it, I¡¯ll force it on you.¡± Meng Lanruo was about to say something when Zhu Yin raised her hand and knocked on the door, ¡°Young master, young miss. Lin gongzi heard that young master was sick so he came to visit.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± Meng Youyue said. Lin Rufei entered the room and a strong scent of Chinese medicine permeated throughout. It was a smell that he was familiar with. After smelling it for years and years, it was indeed tiresome. The lively Meng Lanruo from a few days ago was now lying in bed with a haggard complexion. His small face was pale beyond comparison and it was a bit similar to Lin Rufei¡¯s. When he saw Lin Rufei, his eyes lit up but then dimmed, ¡°Lin gongzi, you¡¯ve come to see me.¡± ¡°Mnn, I came to see you.¡± Lin Rufei walked to the bedside, ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a small cold. Sister always likes to make a big deal out of it.¡± Meng Lanruo complained, ¡°This medicine is so bitter that it makes people¡¯s brains hurt. Even if I don¡¯t drink it, I will be fine in a few days. Why do I have to suffer from this?¡± When Meng Youyue heard that, she irritably nudged him on his head, ¡°You, ah. Look at how old you are and you¡¯re still afraid of the bitterness in the medicine. Aren¡¯t you afraid of becoming a laughing stock in front of Lin gongzi?¡± Meng Lanruo stuck out his tongue and made a playful face, however, he still refused to drink the medicine. Meng Youyue sighed and helplessly gave up her persuasion. She told them to talk first as she went to summon her mother so that she could keep an eye on Meng Lanruo as he drank his medicine. Meng Lanruo was not afraid at all. He asked Meng Youyue to bring him a packet of candied plums from Wang Ji¡¯s place near their residence. Meng Youyue glared at Meng Lanruo and said that she didn¡¯t have the time to buy him plums. Furthermore, he was still sick. If he didn¡¯t want to drink the medicine, no way was he getting plums. Dream on! Meng Lanruo only laughed at her words and did not refute. Meng Youyue left the room and the smile on Meng Lanruo¡¯s face faded a little. He furrowed his brows sadly and coughed a few times. He murmured: ¡°I have not been sick in a long time¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei consoled, ¡°It is common for people to get sick once in a while.¡± ¡°The last time I was sick, it was a year ago.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°I was very sick, but fortunately I was able to meet Xiao Yu afterward ¡­¡­¡± Mentioning the name Xiao Yu, Meng Lanruo looked gloomy, ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect that she and Qi Yansheng¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°So what do you want to do now?¡± Meng Lanruo forced a smile: ¡°What else can I do? Although I say I hate Qi Yansheng, in fact, we have been friends for many years, he is a valuable guest at the Meng residence. And has been in the Meng residence for many years. Although I think he is sometimes particularly obnoxious, he is indeed my only friend ¡­¡­ ¡± As he spoke, he became sad again and choked heavily. Lin Rufei was speechless. A good friend and his most beloved woman together, there was probably nothing more tragic in this world than this. ¡°And I always thought that Qi Yansheng liked my sister.¡± Meng Lanruo shrunk into the bed like a little pitiful boy who was bullied miserably, ¡°But now when I think about it, he actually never said such a thing. I usually joked about it, he just didn¡¯t refute.¡± He thought that the silence meant he was agreeing. However, he didn¡¯t realize that the silence turned out to be rejection. After seeing the truth, a lot of things that he didn¡¯t understand could finally be explained, but this truth, Meng Lanruo would rather not have seen. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei had been silent, but it seems that Meng Lanruo didn¡¯t need him to say anything. Meng Lanruo rambled several old stories about him and Qi Yansheng, and it could be seen that he does have some special friendship with Qi Yansheng. This Qisheng had been in the Qi family for nearly ten years, even if it was a dog, there should be some feelings. What¡¯s more, he could be considered an interesting person. ¡°You¡¯re not going to find him and ask?¡± Seeing that Meng Lanruo was a little tired of talking, Lin Rufei asked this crucial question. Meng Lanruo smiled bitterly: ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask him, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be more upset if I do.¡± Lin Rufei was slightly surprised. ¡°But I probably will still go find Xiao Yu once more to see if she is willing to go with me.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°If she is really unwilling, then so be it.¡± Although he said it lightly, but the great grief contained in his tone was clear to Lin Rufei. It seemed that this oiran, Xiao Yu, had indeed taken up a big part in Meng Lanruo¡¯s life. When Lin Rufei heard Meng Lanruo¡¯s words, he thought that the matter was over and Meng Lanruo had decided to give up and give Xiao Yu to Qi Yansheng. But for some reason, Lin Rufei always felt that there was something unusual about this matter. He wanted to look into it, but couldn¡¯t catch any traces. In a short while, Meng Lanruo¡¯s sister and Madam Meng came over. She was carrying a packet of candied plums that they had just bought. Meng Lanruo had expected this and took it with a smile and even called out to his sister in a spoiled manner. Madam Meng urged him to drink the medicine with a darkened face. Meng Lanruo refused to open his mouth and it made Madam Meng so angry that she wanted to pull his ears again. Seeing the happy atmosphere of the family, Lin Rufei had the sense to get up and say goodbye. After the conversation just now, Meng Lanruo told Lin Rufei that he wanted to talk to Xiao Yu. Lin Rufei thought Meng Lanruo would go after he recovered, but who knew that in the evening, he saw Zhu Yin lighting incense in the room with a sad face. He casually asked what was wrong. Zhu Yin said, ¡°Sigh, the young master has done something stupid and his condition has worsened again.¡± ¡°Something stupid?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart thudded, ¡°What did he do?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the young master still sick?¡± Zhu Yin said bitterly, ¡°Who knew that if I didn¡¯t watch him for a while, he would actually sneak off to the flower house to meet the oiran. He was finally caught by the young miss and dragged back.¡± Lin Rufei froze slightly. He didn¡¯t expect Meng Lanruo to be so impulsive. ¡°Now look at what he¡¯s done. Madam already disliked the young master going to the flower house, so she simply grounded him.¡± Zhu Yin muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t know how beautiful the little demons in the flower house are to be able to seduce the young master so much.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then where is he now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in solitary confinement.¡± Zhu Yin said, ¡°I don¡¯t know when he will be released.¡± Lin Rufei frowned slightly. He felt that this matter was getting more and more troublesome. After Zhu Yin left, Lin Rufei sighed and said to himself, ¡°It¡¯s really troublesome..¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s so troublesome that it feels annoying.¡± Gu Xuandu sat lazily in the chair. He wasn¡¯t interested in the matters of the Meng residence, including the love-hate relationship of the Meng family¡¯s youngest son. In fact, as long as it did not threaten Lin Rufei, he always looked lazy. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was not as big as Gu Xuandu¡¯s. He sat on the edge of the bed for a long time without speaking before he finally hesitantly spoke up: ¡°Do you think Qi Yansheng knows about this?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°That Qi Yansheng is a smart man.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°So he knows?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Most likely he knows.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°If he knew, why didn¡¯t he show any indication?¡± However, Gu Xuandu simply laughed, ¡°He will definitely show it, but whether the little gongzi of the Meng family likes it or not is a different matter.¡± Lin Rufei frowned. He always felt that Gu Xuandu¡¯s words were hiding some dangerous message. ¡°Just wait, things will end.¡± Gu Xuandu repeated flatly, ¡°Completely¡ª¡ªend.¡± Meng Lanruo was locked up for three days. During these three days, Lin Rufei could hear his screams whenever he passed by the courtyard where he lived. This little gongzi was obviously still sick, but his screams were still full of vigor. At first, Lin Rufei was a bit worried, but then he gradually got used to it. Lin Rufei¡¯s illness was gradually recovering and he thought it was time for him to leave the Meng residence after he recovered, so he planned to say goodbye to Meng Lanruo. Lin Rufei went to the place where Meng Lanruo was confined. The servants all knew Lin Rufei and knew that he was an honored guest of the Meng residence, so they did not stop him and let him in directly. ¡°Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, you¡¯ve finally come to see me!¡± Meng Lanruo was jumping up and down in the room. He was like an excited monkey who was coming out of the mountain. The table in front of him was decorated with all kinds of food. There was basically everything and a lot of leisure books like fairy tales. Besides the fact that he couldn¡¯t go out, he didn¡¯t look confined in the slightest. His illness had apparently been cured. His face was not sickly, rather it was red and glowing. ¡°I was thinking that you would never be that heartless and that you would definitely come to see me!¡± Meng Lanruo handed Lin Rufei an orange. He smiled and gestured for him to eat it. Lin Rufei did not take it and helplessly said: ¡°Even if you are in a hurry, you can¡¯t run out of the house while you are sick.¡± Meng Lanruo shook his head and said with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t know how worthwhile this trip was for me.¡± ¡°Oh? You met Xiao Yu?¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously. ¡°I did, and asked her about that day.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°It really was a misunderstanding. She and Qi Yansheng have nothing to do with each other. They just coincidentally met, and ¡­¡­ and something happened ¡­¡­ for them to be that intimate.¡± ¡°Something happened? What happened?¡± Lin Rufei, however, still felt very suspicious. Meng Lanruo was a little bit hesitant. He thought about it for a while before lowering his voice: ¡°Xiao Yu encountered some things and was a little bit depressed so she went to the river. Coincidentally she encountered Qi Yansheng who was releasing lanterns and as a result, she was saved by him.¡± Lin Rufei immediately understood what Meng Lanruo meant: ¡°She wanted to kill herself?¡± ¡°Shhh ¡­¡­ shhh ¡­¡­ keep your voice down.¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it at that time either, so as she spoke, she took off her clothes. ¡± At this point, his face reddened for a moment before it went back to being serious, ¡°I found that on her skin there were a lot of densely packed old wounds.¡± Lin Rufei frowned as he listened. ¡°Apparently, before she came here, Xiao Yu had met someone unsuitable. She managed to escape and arrived in Xinzhou. In order to survive, she entered the flower house which was how she met me.¡± Meng Lanruo continued, ¡°I wanted to redeem her, but she felt that she was not worthy of me.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That¡¯s why ¡­¡­ she was depressed?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Meng Lanruo laughed, ¡°I also asked Qi Yansheng about this and he said the same as Xiao Yu, only ¡­¡­¡± he continued bitterly, ¡°He still doesn¡¯t like Xiao Yu. He thinks that Xiao Yu is not as innocent as she looks, and also advised me to stay away from her.¡± Lin Rufei listened to Meng Lanruo¡¯s explanation and was silent for a long time. This explanation was perfect, but in the midst of perfection, there was a sense of disharmony, like a flawless lie. Although it was impossible to find the oddity, it always made people feel a little uncomfortable. Lin Rufei did not want to arbitrarily classify it as a lie, but deep inside his heart, layers of suspicion did arise. And Meng Lanruo obviously did not think that much about it. He believed in Xiao Yu¡¯s words and also believed in Qi Yansheng. He felt that Xiao Yu did not betray himself and was still the girl he loved. He talked about his next plan, saying that he would pick up Xiao Yu as soon as he got out of confinement. And that no matter how much his mother objected, he would definitely marry the girl. This was the best ending in a fairy tale. Lin Rufei wanted to say something, but in the end, he was not able to say the words that would dampen his enthusiasm. Meng Lanruo said regretfully: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you have to leave and can¡¯t attend our wedding. How about you stay for a few more days?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and politely refused. After talking with Meng Lanruo for a while, Lin Rufei came out of the room and saw Qi Yansheng standing at the door. It seemed that Qi Yansheng had also come to visit Meng Lanruo and he came just after Lin Rufei had left. ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Qi Yansheng smiled and nodded his head at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei simply returned the greeting. Without much conversation between the two, they brushed past each other. Lin Rufei¡¯s nose once again picked up that strong aroma of Qilin grass. After planning to leave, Lin Rufei asked Fu Hua and Yu Rui to pack their luggage. However, who knew that the weather would not cooperate. The next few days were cloudy and rainy. Fu Hua was afraid that Lin Rufei would freeze so she went to Xinzhou city and spent a lot of money to buy a carriage. She took out a talisman and let the craftsman inlay it into the carriage. This delayed them for a few more days. Meng Lanruo¡¯s confinement also just ended. Like a freed bird, he scurried around the Meng residence and dragged Lin Rufei to see him off. When Lin Rufei saw him so happy, his heart was a little relieved. He thought that no matter what, Meng Lanruo was also the most favored young son of the Meng residence. Even if something were to happen, his parents would also protect him. The quiet days continued for a few days and in these days, Lin Rufei would see Qi Yansheng sitting in the corridor fishing. He didn¡¯t greet him like the first time they met, rather Qi Yansheng¡¯s back looked extra lonely and indifferent. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t get along with him so he did not take the initiative to ask. It wasn¡¯t until a few days later when the carriage was about to be finished that Lin Rufei happened to pass by the corridor, and Qi Yansheng, who was sitting in the corridor fishing, suddenly opened his mouth, ¡°Lin gongzi, are you leaving?¡± Lin Rufei answered yes. ¡°Although Lanruo is a jumpy person, he actually only has a few close friends, and you are one of the few people he calls a friend.¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a pity to just leave like this.¡± ¡°There is no banquet that doesn¡¯t end under Heaven[1].¡± Lin Rufei said indifferently. Although he also liked Meng Lanruo, he couldn¡¯t stay at the Meng residence all the time. Besides, Meng Lanruo was in good shape these days, he was smiling and laughing every day. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Qi Yansheng smiled lightly, ¡°But if it¡¯s not urgent, can I ask Lin gongzi to leave a few days later?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why?¡± But Qi Yansheng did not speak again. He put away the fishing rod in his hand, turned around, and walked away. Lin Rufei looked at his back and frowned. Gu Xuandu lazily said: ¡°Poor little gongzi of the Meng family ¡­¡­ he is going to be unlucky.¡± Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu with a puzzled expression. But Gu Xuandu just smiled: ¡°But this matter doesn¡¯t relate to you.¡± Lin Rufei asked again, but Gu Xuandu refused to say no matter what. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was still uneasy, so he pushed his leaving date back a few more days. Who knew that the day before he decided to leave, an accident really happened. The flower house girl, Xiao Yu, that Meng Lanruo had wanted to marry, left a suicide note, and threw herself into the river, and died. It was said that Meng Lanruo was in her room at that time and had watched her jump off the flower boat into the river¡ªperishing like jade[2]. When Lin Rufei heard the news, he just so happened to be drinking tea and the cup of tea in his hand trembled, almost falling to the ground. Zhu Yin cried and said her young master was so heartbroken and desperate that he was forcibly taken back to the Meng family by the madam. Now he was alone in the room and not willing to see anyone. Everyone was worried, but they didn¡¯t know what to do. The back of Lin Rufei¡¯s white hand was red from the hot tea. Yu Rui hurriedly took away the teacup and wanted to bring some ice over, but was refused by Lin Rufei. ¡°Where is he? I¡¯ll go over and take a look.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°He¡¯s in the loft next to Lin gongzi¡¯s.¡± Zhu Yin cried, ¡°What should we do about this ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei got up. He didn¡¯t even put on his outerwear as he hurried to the loft. Outside the loft, many people have already gathered. Once he saw their faces, he knew that they were all relatives of Meng Lanruo. Everyone had a sad expression and Madam Meng had already fallen into the arms of Meng Youyue as she sobbed with grief. She muttered out, ¡°How could this happen? I had promised him to bring that woman into the house, how could she still throw herself into the river!¡± Meng Youyue also looked sad and her eyes were full of worry for Meng Lanruo. Lin Rufei remembered what Qi Yansheng had said to him a few days ago. He thought that Xiao Yu¡¯s death must have had something to do with him. However, he was nowhere to be seen in the crowd. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. No matter how much the people outside tried to persuade, Meng Lanruo, who was inside the room, refused to open the door. They didn¡¯t have any other methods, so they gradually dispersed. Madam Meng was worried that he would have an accident so she sent someone to guard the outside of the room. Lin Rufei also left. On his way back, he actually saw Qi Yansheng in the corridor, still fishing. He walked behind Qi Yansheng and said coldly: ¡°Did you do this?¡± Qi Yansheng had his back turned to Lin Rufei and smiled, ¡°I wonder what Lin gongzi is referring to?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do I need to tell you?¡± Naturally, it was about the matter regarding Xiao Yu. He didn¡¯t believe that the girl would throw herself into the river for no reason and the bruises might also have something to do with Qi Yansheng. The story could fool the naive and innocent Meng Lanruo, but not others. Qi Yansheng was silent for a moment and said: ¡°The child is not a fish, how can he know the joy of fish[3]?¡± Lin Rufei said indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t know if the fishes are happy, I only know that dead people can¡¯t get happy.¡± Looking at Meng Lanruo being fooled by Qi Yansheng, even if he had a good temper, he couldn¡¯t help but still get a little angry. That Meng Lanruo had taken this Qi Yansheng as a friend, but in the end, he didn¡¯t know what this so-called friend had done. Qi Yansheng laughed. He put down his fishing rod, stood up, bowed to Lin Rufei, and said seriously, ¡°Thank you, Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei stared at him, waiting for his next words. Qi Yansheng said, ¡°Thank you, Lin gongzi, for becoming Lanruo¡¯s friend.¡± After saying these words, Qi Yansheng turned around and left without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Lin Rufei held the sword at his waist and stood in silence for a long time until Gu Xuandu asked him what he was thinking about. He only coldly said: ¡°I was thinking if I killed this Qi Yansheng with one strike, would the aftermath be troublesome.¡± When Gu Xuandu heard those words, he could not help but laugh and he laughed until he was out of breath: ¡°Xiao Jiu is angry, ah.¡± The cold look when he said he wanted to kill someone, somehow also looked cute. And then with a doting look, he turned to Lin Rufei and said softly, ¡°If you want to kill, then kill. Anyone that makes Xiao Jiu unhappy all deserves to die.¡± Lin Rufei only thought that Gu Xuandu was teasing him so he glared and left without saying anything. The death of Xiao Yu really broke Meng Lanruo¡¯s heart. He did not drink or sleep for three days so Madam Meng had no choice but to drug him into unconsciousness and then force-feed him some medicinal soup. Lin Rufei also saw the unconscious Meng Lanruo. In just a few days, this little gongzi had lost a lot of weight. His originally quite round cheeks instead revealed a thin chin. His eyes were closed, but he was still frowning as if trapped in a nightmare that he couldn¡¯t wake up from. The person you love died in front of you, that was far more horrible than any nightmare. After sleeping for half a day, Meng Lanruo woke up. He opened his eyes and saw the Meng family and Lin Rufei sitting at the bedside waiting for him. He was about to send everyone out when he heard Lin Rufei¡¯s voice, a little light but gentle like usual. ¡°Shall I keep you company and talk?¡± Meng Lanruo hesitated for a moment but agreed. The Meng family retreated and only the two people were left in the room. Lin Rufei looked at him. He hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: ¡°Cry if you want to. You¡¯re still a child, it¡¯s not embarrassing.¡± In the next moment, Meng Lanruo howled in tears. His crying was so loud it could cause a major disaster. While crying, he kept calling out Xiao Yu¡¯s name with a grief-stricken look. When Lin Rufei saw this, his heart flooded with some grievance. He didn¡¯t try to coax and just sat there quietly. He waited until Meng Lanruo grew tired from crying before he handed him a cup of warm tea, indicating for him to drink. Meng Lanruo drank the tea and his emotions calmed down slightly. He looked at Lin Rufei in a dull manner and said, ¡°Xiao Yu is dead.¡± Tears flowed down the corners of his eyes again, ¡°I can never fight with her in Jianghu.¡± Lin Rufei raised his hand and patted his head soothingly. Meng Lanruo wailed again. He cried for almost the whole night until he was tired of crying and fell into a deep sleep. After Lin Rufei came out of the room, he was surrounded by the Meng family and he briefly told them about Meng Lanruo¡¯s situation. When the Meng family heard that he had cried out, they were slightly relieved and said that there would be others guarding him in the second half of the night, so Lin Rufei could go and rest first. Lin Rufei did not hold out and intended to go back to sleep for a while. He walked slowly through the Meng residence and went to his room. Through the window, he saw the light inside the room. After entering the room, Lin Rufei saw Gu Xuandu sitting in the candlelight. He looked tired and seemed a bit exhausted, when he heard Lin Rufei¡¯s footsteps, he didn¡¯t even raise his head: ¡°Back?¡± ¡°Where have you been?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I went to pick up some things.¡± As he said this, he lifted up two lanterns from under the table. The style of the lanterns was very familiar, they were the same lanterns that Lin Rufei had seen at the riverside that was used to pay tribute to the ancestors. Lin Rufei was wondering what Gu Xuandu was doing with them when he saw Gu Xuandu handing them over. Lin Rufei reached out to take it and when he looked inside the lanterns, his expression froze. There were two lanterns with two names written on them, one was Xiao Yu, and the other was ¡­¡­ Meng Lanruo. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: Can¡¯t be cut, still in disarray[4]. Gu Xuandu: Then what should we do? Lin Rufei: Use a sword to end it all. Gu Xuandu: Cut, cut, cut. Anything that makes our Xiao Jiu unhappy should be cut! ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] ¡°Everything comes to an end.¡± [2] Or to wither like a flower; a metaphor for the death of a young woman. [3] Meaning; ¡°one should not always look at others from one¡¯s own perspective¡ªdo unto others as you would have them do unto you.¡± [4] It means that ¡°it can¡¯t be settled, nor can you make sense of it. Foretells the entanglement and complexity of feelings; want to rationalize it, but it becomes more complicated.¡± CH 33 Looking at the two lanterns in his hand, Lin Rufei¡¯s expression froze. He slowly raised his head and asked in a deep voice: ¡°Who put up the lanterns?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Qi Yansheng. One was put up that day and the other was put up yesterday.¡± He lazily continued, ¡°The one put up yesterday says Xiao Yu and the one put up that day says Meng Lanruo.¡± Countless thoughts reverberated in Lin Rufei¡¯s mind before they eventually converged into an unbelievable guess. Finally, Lin Rufei put those words into a question: ¡°Meng Lanruo is dead?¡± Gu Xuandu did not answer nor did he deny. ¡°Exactly what is going on? Meng Lanruo, the Meng family, Xiao Yu, and Qi Yansheng.¡± At this moment, the sense of incongruity that had existed since the beginning became stronger and stronger, and countless questions flooded Lin Rufei¡¯s mind, ¡°Could it be that Qi Yansheng killed Meng Lanruo?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, some things can be clarified slowly.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face was heavy but he had a smile in his eyes, ¡°This is the charm of Jianghu. In Jianghu, there are always things that are beyond your expectation.¡± He saw the truth, but he did not want to unravel it. Some answers were more interesting when you search for them yourself. This was the purpose of traveling in Jianghu. Gu Xuandu doesn¡¯t want Lin Rufei to be ignorant about the world forever. He would rather watch Lin Rufei grow up little by little. This was the matter with the Meng family. Gu Xuandu could have said it directly, but he did not. Lin Rufei also understood Gu Xuandu¡¯s meaning and his emotions gradually calmed down. He grabbed the lantern and sat down, staring at the name in the lantern silently for a long time. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Qi Yansheng.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°He must know the truth.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, ¡°You know, no matter what you do, I will support you.¡± Lin Rufei put down the lantern, turned around, and left the room. At this time the sky was dark, the Meng residence¡¯s lights made the daytime lush flowers seem a bit eerier. Lin Rufei walked through the familiar scenery, but he inexplicably felt something strange. The only thing that remained the same was the rich aroma of Qilin grass. However, after spending so many days in the Meng residence, Lin Rufei¡¯s nose was almost used to this smell. After some more time, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to smell this aroma anymore. Qi Yansheng¡¯s room was on the south side of the Meng residence and it was close to the place where Meng Lanruo lived. He didn¡¯t know if it was a coincidence, on the way to search for Qi Yansheng, Lin Rufei did not meet a single person. The servants who used to walk through the Meng residence were currently all gone. When he arrived at Qi Yansheng¡¯s room, he could see the dim light inside the window from outside, and it seemed that Qi Yansheng was inside. But when Lin Rufei raised his hand to knock on the door, he found that the door was half-open, and no one answered. He hesitated for a moment and called out Qi Yansheng¡¯s name a few more times, but there was still no response. After thinking for a moment, Lin Rufei said an ¡°excuse me,¡± then raised his hand, and pushed the door open. However, the room was empty and only a few oil lamps were lit. There was no figure of Qi Yansheng. Qi Yansheng¡¯s residence was very simple. In the living room, there was only a wooden table and a few chairs. On the wooden table, there wasn¡¯t even a cup of water or tea. There was a huge folding screen in the corner of the living room. Behind that screen was most likely Qi Yansheng¡¯s bedroom. Lin Rufei had rashly come in and he already felt somewhat improper. Seeing that Qi Yansheng really was not in, he intended to exit. But who knew that just as he turned around, a small sound came from the bedroom. Lin Rufei frowned and asked, ¡°Qi Yansheng?¡± No one answered. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment, but he still took a step towards the bedroom. He went around the screen and saw the bedroom. However, what puzzled him was that the bedroom was empty, but the sound seemed to be close at hand. This Qi Yansheng¡¯s bedroom was almost as simple as the living room. Except for the bed and table, there was only a small closet, and the sound seemed to be coming from the closet. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Following the sound, Lin Rufei walked towards the closet. He held the handle and was about to pull it open, when suddenly behind him Qi Yansheng¡¯s surprised voice rang out, ¡°Lin gongzi, what are you doing?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s hand trembled slightly. He turned his head and saw Qi Yansheng, who had appeared behind him at some point. Being caught by the owner of the room, Lin Rufei suddenly felt awkward. Fortunately, Qi Yansheng didn¡¯t seem to mind, he just smiled and said he had left to take care of some business and asked Lin Rufei what was the matter. Lin Rufei said: ¡°I heard some noise in the closet.¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°Noise?¡± He took a look at the closet and then said indifferently, ¡°Probably a rat. The Meng family has a lot of plants and flowers, it¡¯s normal to have rats.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t believe it. He frowned at Qi Yansheng, ¡°Qi gongzi, you are an honored guest of the Meng residence. It can be assumed that you will not do anything harmful to Meng gongzi, right?¡± Qi Yansheng¡¯s smile faded: ¡°What does Lin gongzi mean by this?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I was also present that night.¡± Qi Yansheng pursed his lips. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I saw you and Xiao Yu setting up lanterns by the river.¡± When Qi Yansheng heard this, he looked very calm, ¡°I just got some freshly boiled tremella lotus seeds soup[1] from the kitchen, how about Lin gongzi you join me and we can have a nice chat?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him, ¡°Okay.¡± The closet was still rattling, but the two of them tacitly didn¡¯t mention it again. Walking to the living room, Qi Yansheng served two bowls of tremella. One bowl was handed to Lin Rufei, and then he drank the other one in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s so late. There must be a reason for Lin gongzi to come visit me.¡± He swallowed his soup before he opened his mouth. Lin Rufei was not in a hurry. He simply waited before saying: ¡°The two lanterns you sent off, I have retrieved them.¡± Qi Yansheng¡¯s hands paused for a moment. ¡°Xiao Yu¡¯s name is explainable.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But can you tell me why the name on the other lantern is Meng Lanruo?¡± If it was just Xiao Yu, Qi Yansheng could say that it was to pay tribute to the dead Xiao Yu. However, Meng Lanruo was still alive and well, so who would write the name of a living person on a lantern that was only used by the dead? The strange occurrences in the residence must have something to do with Qi Yansheng. Qi Yansheng, who was exposed, did not feel angry. Instead, he smiled and softly said: ¡°Lin gongzi has a heart.¡± Lin Rufei looked expressionlessly at Qi Yansheng. Qi Yansheng took another sip of tremella and calmly said, ¡°Lin gongzi, you know that in Jianghu, everyone has some secrets that cannot be known to others.¡± Lin Rufei said coldly: ¡°Everyone has secrets, but it¡¯s not a reason to hurt others. The Meng family treats you well, why do you have to do such a heartbreaking thing.¡± ¡°Yes, the Meng family treats me well.¡± Qi Yansheng let out a long sigh, his tone was somewhat a bit vicissitude, ¡°If not for their family treating me well, why would I have stayed in this Xinzhou City for a full ten years.¡± Ten years? Qi Yansheng had been an honored guest of the Meng family for ten years. Lin Rufei frowned, feeling that things had become more complicated. Qi Yansheng said: ¡°Lin gongzi, I can only tell you that I have never thought about hurting Meng Lanruo. He is the child I watched grow up, and I couldn¡¯t wait to spoil him, so how could I possibly do anything against him?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then how do you explain the lantern?¡± Qi Yansheng showed a distressed look and did not speak for a long time. He seemed to be considering how to explain. Lin Rufei was not in a hurry and sat next to him waiting quietly. ¡°Sorry, Lin gongzi, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t answer you.¡± Qi Yansheng opened his mouth. Lin Rufei knew that there was no way he could get an answer from Qi Yansheng. He got up and was about to leave, but after walking to the door, he suddenly realized something. He turned his head and called out, ¡°Qi Yansheng.¡± Qi Yansheng hummed a low acknowledgment. ¡°Is your name really Qi Yansheng?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I have heard of the art of Loathing Victory[2], and when I first heard your name, I thought it was rare. Would there really be someone in the world with such an unlucky name?¡± (t/n: for those who need a refresher; Yansheng means Loathing Victory/Hating Victory. To keep things clear, I will write loathing victory as to differentiate between the character and the art.) The expression on Qi Yansheng¡¯s face gradually disappeared and he looked at Lin Rufei in silence. The art of Loathing Victory, also known as the art of Nightmare Town[3], referred to a variety of mediums to curse others. This spell was very malicious. Those who had been cursed; if it was light, their family would be broken, if it was heavy, then the person would die. Name was the most important symbol of a person. Lin Rufei was from Kunlun and its jade was famous, so he was named Rufei. But Qi Yansheng, would there really be elders who would give such an inauspicious name to the younger generations? If these things hadn¡¯t happened to the Meng family, Lin Rufei might have felt that Qi Yansheng¡¯s elders were just being irresponsible. However, at this time, he felt that there was a hidden agenda. Qi Yansheng was not as simple as he appeared to be, the same applied to his name. Qi Yansheng suddenly laughed loudly. His laughter was incomparable and he even bent his waist because he was laughing so hard. He slapped the table and said loudly: ¡°Good question, good question! Lin gongzi, your question is really wonderful.¡± His voice trailed off and turned into a murmur, ¡°If no one had asked me again, I¡¯ll almost forget.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Forget what?¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°Forget my name.¡± Lin Rufei revealed a look of understanding. It was indeed not Qi Yansheng¡¯s real name. Qi Yansheng sighed and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, why do you need to leave in a hurry? The night is still young, we can take our time to talk.¡± Lin Rufei then turned back and sat down in front of Qi Yansheng. He(LRF) probably felt that the atmosphere was slightly stiff so after a moment of hesitation, he took out a jug of good wine from his dimensional ring and placed it on the table. Qi Yansheng smiled at the sight of the wine. He unceremoniously poured it into a cup and drank it, praising: ¡°Good wine.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°The wine is naturally good wine.¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°Good wine should also be accompanied by a good story.¡± He leaned back in his chair and made a lazy posture. The arrogance between his eyebrows had long disappeared and he became as steady and deep as an old man. ¡°Does Lin gongzi know that in the south of Yunxiang, there is a place called Wuyu[4]?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes.¡± That place was famous for witchcraft and once produced two ancient great witches. Now, although it was not as glorious as it once was, it was still a bad place to mess with. It was said that nine out of ten people casually found on the roadside were proficient in witchcraft and one of them was still a babbling brat. ¡°That¡¯s my hometown.¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°Within Wuyu, there is a family whose witchcraft is unparalleled and its children are all proficient in witchcraft. They were all powerful people. Lin gongzi, guess what was their family¡¯s last name?¡± Was there a need to guess? Naturally, they were surnamed Qi, Lin Rufei thought. Qi Yansheng also did not wait for Lin Rufei to answer, he simply continued: ¡°But the Qi family has a rule. As long as they leave Wuyu, they could not use their real name. For a wizard, their real name was a very important thing. If it was known by outsiders, it would inevitably bring some trouble.¡± Lin Rufei had already understood what Qi Yansheng meant. He was a wizard from Wuyu and had changed his name to Yansheng. It was just so blatant. The Meng family probably already knew the identity of Qi Yansheng. As expected, Qi Yansheng continued, ¡°Yes, the Meng family knows where I came from. In fact, I am the one they invited.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Invited?¡± Qi Yansheng continued indifferently, ¡°Otherwise, why would Meng Lanruo always say that I am an honored guest of their family.¡± Lin Rufei vaguely guessed a few things, but the guess was so bizarre and absurd that one could not help but wonder if it was just his own delusion. ¡°The Meng family had a request for me.¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°So I stayed here for ten years, removed my real name, and took on the name of Yansheng.¡± He drank another cup and smiled lightly, ¡°It¡¯s not bad in the Meng family. There are always interesting people who don¡¯t bore me too much.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°The Meng family¡¯s request, is it related to the little gongzi?¡± Qi Yansheng raised his eyes to look at Lin Rufei. He looked at him for a long time before he slowly said, ¡°Lin gongzi, you should know that there are not many people who can be called friends by Meng Lanruo. You are just one.¡± Lin Rufei said coldly, ¡°If I wasn¡¯t his friend, why would I sit here and talk nonsense with you for so long?¡± Qi Yansheng felt that there was indeed some truth to his words and after hearing this he nodded, ¡°Indeed.¡± He raised his hand and drank another cup, ¡°You guessed right. The reason I came to the Meng residence is definitely related to the young master of the Meng family. That time, he was still a child that hadn¡¯t reached my waist yet¡­¡­ compared to now, he was just as cute.¡± His smile was like a kind old grandfather and it made Lin Rufei feel strange. ¡°Did you spoil Meng Lanruo like a son?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Qi Yansheng said: ¡°Not so much as a son, but certainly, he deserved to be spoiled. After all, I watched him grow up¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°What¡¯s the relationship between that lantern and the art of Loathing Victory?¡± Qi Yansheng shook his head and said that it was just an ordinary lantern. He only sent it in mourning. Other than that, there was no other use. It was really absurd, Meng Lanruo was obviously still alive, but he used the lantern to mourn. Lin Rufei¡¯s fingers gently tapped against the table and he was silent for quite a while. Qi Yansheng continued to ramble that the Meng residence had actually not welcomed new guests for a long time. The madam and master are cautious people, it¡¯s not a place that a Tom, Dick, and Harry[5] could enter. And only Lin Rufei, such an aristocratic gongzi, could get close to Meng Lanruo. But although there are many aristocratic gongzis in the world, there are not many who can get close¡­¡­ Lin Rufei: ¡°Close?¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°You don¡¯t have a trace of sword Qi on you, right?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Mnn.¡± Qi Yansheng said in a deep voice: ¡°That¡¯s why you can be Meng Lanruo¡¯s friend.¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips: ¡°Meng Lanruo ¡­¡­ he ¡­¡­¡± The words came to his lips, but he couldn¡¯t say them. He gritted his teeth, lifted the cup of wine in front of him, and downed it. The wine was very strong and soon a sweet red dusted his face. He strained his voice, and finally said the words: ¡°Meng Lanruo, is already dead?¡± Qi Yansheng was silent for a long time before giving an almost unnoticeable nod. Lin Rufei felt a moment of weakness. Although Qi Yansheng said it euphemistically, according to his words and the events in the Meng residence, Lin Rufei still guessed his hidden meaning. Although the truth was ridiculous to the extreme, if Qi Yansheng did not lie, there was only one answer left. Meng Lanruo was dead. Because he died, the Meng family went to Wuyu to find Qi Yansheng and then invited him into the Meng family. Lin Rufei had heard many stories of resurrection from the dead and knew that there must be some way to keep the dead, but all of these methods would require a huge price to pay. Teenage Meng Lanruo had already died, so who was the young master that was now spoiled in the Meng residence? ¡°He is also Meng Lanruo.¡± Qi Yansheng answered Lin Rufei¡¯s confusion. ¡°As long as he still has Meng Lanruo¡¯s three souls and seven spirits[6], no matter what his body becomes, he is still Meng Lanruo.¡± The young master of the Meng family. Lin Rufei found it a little difficult to understand. Qi Yansheng said, ¡°There are some things that I am not at liberty to say, you guessed them all yourself.¡± He shrugged his shoulders and laughed, ¡°Although it seems better for you not to know these things, in the end, Meng Lanruo treated you as a friend. Since you are a friend, you should be treated as such.¡± Lin Rufei then drank while rearranging the information given by Qi Yansheng. More than ten years ago, the Meng residence¡¯s Meng Lanruo suddenly had an accident and he died an unnatural death. The Meng family then invited Qi Yansheng, who was originally from Wuyu. With the art of Loathing Victory, he retained the Meng family¡¯s young son¡¯s three souls and seven spirits and then sealed it in another body in order to maintain the life of Meng Lanruo. It¡¯s just that the body¡­¡­ Lin Rufei thought and asked out. Qi Yansheng laughed: ¡°Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t have to worry about this, that body is not a human body. It¡¯s made with grass and wood composition, and then a spell was cast to trick the eye. However, the spell is quite powerful and only those with a cultivation of eight or above could see it.¡± He was again helpless, ¡°But this body is really easy to damage and can only be preserved with Qilin grass, so the whole Meng residence¡­¡­ no, the whole Xinzhou City has Qilin grass everywhere.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°But that kid is very naughty, he doesn¡¯t want to stay in Xinzhou City obediently.¡± When Qi Yansheng started talking about Meng Lanruo, his tone carried some helpless doting, ¡°He repeatedly tried to run away. It was a good thing he was caught and brought back, otherwise, he would have made a big mistake.¡± Lin Rufei remembered Meng Lanruo¡¯s dream of fighting with a sword in the sky, it seemed that it would never come true. However, he was relieved to know that Qi Yansheng did not do anything against Meng Lanruo, otherwise, he would really like to pull out Gu Yu and take a swing at this Qi Yansheng. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Some people are born with a pure and innocent heart. Their behavior and speech are very likable and Meng Lanruo, was such a person. Although Lin Rufei had not been with him for long, he indeed treated him as a friend. Otherwise, he could have just left and ignored everything that might happen in the Meng residence. ¡°What about Xiao Yu? What was her situation?¡± Lin Rufei thought of this and continued to ask, ¡°Xiao Yu¡¯s death has something to do with you, right?¡± Who knew that when Qi Yansheng heard the name Xiao Yu, his face showed a little discomfort: ¡°She ¡­¡­ this ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What?¡± Even the secret that Meng Lanruo was a dead person was revealed. When this Qi Yansheng started talking about Xiao Yu, he started stammering, and for a long time, he didn¡¯t utter a word. Lin Rufei was impatient, so he simply guessed: ¡°Is it because Meng Lanruo has fallen in love with Xiao Yu and said he wants to take her out of Xinzhou City? To fight with swords in a far-away place?¡± Qi Yansheng nodded his head. ¡°And you killed Xiao Yu because of that?¡± Lin Rufei frowned, ¡°Let¡¯s not mention that she is the woman Meng Lanruo loves, even if she wasn¡¯t, it was still a human life. You took a human life without a good cause¡­¡­¡± Qi Yansheng said: ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it. You don¡¯t know that when the Meng family¡¯s little gongzi went to find Xiao Yu, he already had the money prepared. He also had a talisman that was stolen from somewhere, if this talisman was activated, they would be immediately sent away. The location is undetermined and if he really succeeded, no one can save him!¡± Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°How can there be such a talisman?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Qi Yansheng said bitterly, ¡°Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have come up with this!¡± It was a stupid method to take Xiao Yu¡¯s life and he didn¡¯t know how to comfort Meng Lanruo, who was now in grief. But if this stupid method was not used, he was afraid that Meng Lanruo¡¯s three souls and seven spirits would have been scattered and long gone. ¡°Alas, it¡¯s a pity for Xiao Yu that girl, she was just a poor person.¡± Lin Rufei remembered what Meng Lanruo said to him. Most likely, before Xiao Yu came here, she also suffered a lot of hardships. Originally, she and Meng Lanruo loved each other and the coming days should have improved, however, such an accident occurred. Qi Yansheng saw Lin Rufei¡¯s pitying face, and several times he wanted to say something but stopped. Lin Rufei only took his expression as shame and did not think much of it. He only reminded Qi Yansheng to find a good tomb for Miss Xiao Yu and to bury her generously. Who knew that when Qi Yansheng heard this, his expression grew awkward. When Lin Rufei asked, he learned that this man had gone too far. He had burned Miss Xiao Yu¡¯s body in a fire after salvaging them. ¡°You went too far. Although Xiao Yu was a woman in a flower house, she didn¡¯t do anything wrong to Meng Lanruo. You had no choice but to take a person¡¯s life, okay I can understand, but how come you didn¡¯t even leave a corpse?¡± Lin Rufei frowned. He looked at Qi Yansheng, only to feel that all the good impressions just now were gone. Qi Yansheng, who was blamed by Lin Rufei, had an expression that showed that he had nothing to say. He just kept on drinking. He didn¡¯t know if he drank too much, but that high and proud handsome face became red. Seeing that Lin Rufei still wanted to reprimand, Qi Yansheng hurriedly begged for mercy: ¡°Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, please be merciful, please be merciful! I know I¡¯m wrong. I already chose a tombstone for her after burning and buried her!¡± Lin Rufei frowned at him. ¡°This is something I didn¡¯t do properly. This is my fault! Consider me confused!¡± Qi Yansheng raised his cup and poured the last of the wine into his mouth. He laughed bitterly, ¡°People are not sages, who can be without fault.¡± Since the words have come to this, Lin Rufei also couldn¡¯t say anything else. Just pity that Xiao Yu, who had no relatives and no friends, just died like that in a foreign country ¡­¡­ as he was thinking this, Lin Rufei heard a low laugh from beside him. He turned his head to look and saw Gu Xuandu leaning on the edge of the bed, covering his mouth and laughing all over. Lin Rufei cast a puzzled glance towards him. Gu Xuandu laughed: ¡°Why did Xiao Jiu suddenly become stupid.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Huh?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If he can create a Meng Lanruo, why don¡¯t you guess if he can create an oiran?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this oiran doesn¡¯t have her three souls and seven spirits and she still has to be manipulated by this Qi gongzi.¡± Gu Xuandu finally could not hold back and laughed loudly, ¡°I would really like to see this Qi gongzi¡¯s heroic sword dance.¡± Then, the still drinking Qi Yansheng saw that Lin Rufei, who was opposite him, had slowly hung his head. His expression was bizarre to the extreme. No matter how one looked, it looked like he was holding in laughter¡­¡­. Qi Yansheng: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He knew. (t/n: Oh. What a plot twist LOL. Bet none of you guys expected that) ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: No wonder Xiao Yu¡¯s sword dance is so beautiful¡­. Gu Xuandu: Beautiful? Lin Rufei: Yes. It¡¯s the most beautiful that I have seen. Gu Xuandu expressionlessly unsheathed his sword. Lin Rufei: What are you doing? Gu Xuandu: First hack Xiao Yu to death, and then dance again for you. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] One of my favorite sweet desserts (just minus the dates, not a big fan of them uwu) [2] An ancient form of sorcery. It is said to be able to subdue a person or object with a curse. The word ¡°loathing¡± is used as ¡°pressure¡±, which means to overturn, fit, inhibit, or block. ¡°It is a long-standing practice of sorcery,¡± and has been used to harm people in both the court and the people. [3] It means to do something unlucky when others are praying for blessings. [4] Wu meaning ¡°witch¡±, and Yu meaning ¡°remainder.¡± [5] What¡¯s written here is ¡°°¢Ã¨°¢¹·¡± basically meaning like the people with very common/basic names; John, Tom, Jane etc. [6] three immortal souls and seven mortal forms in Daoism, contrasting the spiritual and carnal side of man. CH 34 Lin Rufei laughed for a while, and when he saw the annoyance on Qi Yansheng¡¯s face, he suppressed the smile on his lips and coughed dryly. He pretended that nothing had happened, ¡°How did you think of doing such a thing?¡± Qi Yansheng said: ¡°It¡¯s because of that kid Meng Lanruo¡ªbut he doesn¡¯t know the art of Loathing Victory, I hope Lin gongzi will keep it a secret.¡± Lin Rufei nodded: ¡°Naturally.¡± The two of them talked all night and the morning light had already appeared outside the window. Lin Rufei was slightly sleepy after drinking wine, so he said goodbye to Qi Yansheng and went back to his room to rest. He went back to catch up on his morning sleep, and it wasn¡¯t until noon that Fu Hua called him up for lunch. Lin Rufei rubbed his head, which still ached from the hangover, ¡°How is Meng Lanruo now?¡± Fu Hua replied, ¡°Just now I asked the servants of the Meng residence, they said that Meng gongzi is still in the room and refuses to come out. However, he is willing to eat and he even slept last night.¡± If he was willing to eat and sleep, then he should be fine. Lin Rufei felt a little more at ease. After he had eaten, he went to the room where Meng Lanruo was resting and saw the Meng family¡¯s youngest son lying on the bed. He was sprawled out and his face showed an expression of giving up[1]. However, the candied plums beside him spoiled the atmosphere, especially when he grabbed one from time to time and stuffed it into his mouth with a puff of anger. Seeing Lin Rufei come in, Meng Lanruo grunted and squirmed his body, like a worm twisting its head over. His voice dragged out as he called: ¡°Lin¡­¡­¡­.gong¡­¡­¡­zi¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°What?¡± Meng Lanruo stuck out his lips and said: ¡°Eat plums ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°Have you eaten properly? If you eat so many plums, be careful of stomach pain.¡± Meng Lanruo muttered, ¡°I ate earlier. My sister threatened me that if I don¡¯t eat again, she¡¯ll force-feed me, she really will do it.¡± Lin Rufei laughed lightly. Meng Lanruo sat up slowly and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, are you leaving?¡± Lin Rufei nodded. He had actually planned to leave a long time ago, if not for Meng Lanruo¡¯s sudden accident, he would have left the Meng residence by now. Now that he knew that Qi Yansheng had no malice towards Meng Lanruo, there was no point for him to stay here. Moreover, this was considered a private matter of the Meng family. He was an outsider and if he was involved too much, it wouldn¡¯t be too good. Meng Lanruo was listless and said, ¡°Alas, I really don¡¯t want you to leave. Xiao Yu is gone and you are also leaving, I am returning to my old life again ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Old life?¡± Meng Lanruo said, ¡°Yes.¡± He said that before Xiao Yu came, his life was a puddle of stagnant water, very boring. His biggest joy was to sneak out of Xinzhou City behind his family¡¯s back. But unfortunately, he never succeeded. Later, he had a knot in his heart[2] and was very sick because of it. Before he recovered, he met Xiao Yu, who just arrived in Xinzhou, in the flower house, and from then on he fell in love with her at first sight and second sight[3]. The more Lin Rufei listened, the stranger his expression became. Luckily, Meng Lanruo was still engrossed in his story and did not notice Lin Rufei¡¯s strange expression. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a woman so agreeable like Xiao Yu.¡± Meng Lanruo recalled his sweet memories, ¡°A gentle character. She listened to all my small talk and wasn¡¯t impatient. She was beautiful¡­¡­¡­.the girls I met before all needed to be coaxed and spoiled, but Xiao Yu is so different!¡± Lin Rufei thought, of course she was different. The other party was spoiling you like a son, how could they be impatient? Who knew that when Meng Lanruo finished, he was provoked into sadness. He whimpered and cried as he wiped his tears sadly: ¡°But how can she ¡­¡­ how can ¡­¡­ In her case, rather than being with me, was it better to just die? ¡° This matter should have been very tragic, but Lin Rufei, who knew the truth, found it difficult to empathize with Meng Lanruo. After listening he could only say: ¡°Maybe she has other difficulties?¡± ¡°What difficulties?¡± Meng Lanruo¡¯s eyes were tearful. Lin Rufei: ¡°Such as ¡­¡­¡± He thought for half a day before finally squeezed out a sentence with difficulty, ¡°Such as she simply didn¡¯t want to live anymore?¡± Meng Lanruo wailed. Lin Rufei was at a loss for words as he cried and tried to comfort him. Meng Lanruo cried for a long while before he finally stopped, however, he was still sobbing and choking. He was aggrieved, like a poor little kid who had been bullied. Lin Rufei was helpless and could only hand him a handkerchief. In his heart, he told himself that he should never mention the name Xiao Yu in front of Meng Lanruo again. But although Meng Lanruo was sad, in the end, he was in a much better state compared to the past few days. Lin Rufei guessed that in a few days he should be able to come out of his grief from Xiao Yu¡¯s death. The matter was almost finished, so Lin Rufei planned to say goodbye to the Meng residence. The Meng residence hosted a farewell banquet for him and wished him a safe trip. It was the last night that he would be spending at the Meng residence, Lin Rufei was lying in bed but he couldn¡¯t sleep no matter how much he tossed and turned. When Gu Xuandu saw his appearance, he asked, ¡°What? Can¡¯t sleep?¡± Lin Rufei revealed half of his face and looked at Gu Xuandu with a gleaming gaze. Gu Xuandu actually tacitly understood: ¡°Qi Yansheng is accompanying Meng Lanruo at this moment and is not in his room.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Would it be inappropriate?¡± Gu Xuandu calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s definitely not appropriate if you¡¯re found out, but if you¡¯re not seen, then it¡¯s appropriate.¡± Lin Rufei immediately sat up from the bed. He didn¡¯t even put on an outerwear as he hurriedly put on his shoes and went out. When Gu Xuandu saw this, he thought it was really funny. He casually took Lin Rufei¡¯s outerwear, followed him out, and draped it over his shoulders. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When he arrived at Qi Yansheng¡¯s residence, Gu Xuandu easily helped Lin Rufei unlock the door. Lin Rufei walked through and entered into the bedroom. Qi Yansheng really wasn¡¯t at home and the closet was still making slight noises like yesterday. There seemed to be something alive inside. Lin Rufei went towards the closet. He hesitated for a moment and then raised his hand to push. The closet door opened with a sound and it revealed a black wooden door. The wooden door was not actually padlocked. Just as Lin Rufei was about to reach out and pull the door open, he was stopped by Gu Xuandu. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, the door is attached with an art of Loathing Victory, it¡¯s not good for ordinary people to touch it.¡± Gu Xuandu said and held the handle. When he placed his hand, a wisp of black smoke came out from the handle and then quickly dissipated. Behind the wooden door was a dark passage. Lin Rufei saw these circumstances and stepped into it. The passage was very long and winding and a dull light was emitted at the end. Lin Rufei slowly stepped forward but was reminded several times by Gu Xuandu that there were many troublesome traps buried in the passage. Although it would not kill people, it would at least make people lose consciousness. Lin Rufei finally reached the end of the passage. Borrowing the dim light, he saw the scene at the end of the tunnel. It was a wide stone house and there were many tall cabinets as well as some strange-looking things. At a glance, it was clear that this should be the place where Qi Yansheng casts the art of Loathing Victory. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were soon attracted by the objects in the corner, where a row of neatly arranged dolls was placed. The dolls were all carved out of wood and were neatly arranged from small to large. And the most amazing thing was that these dolls looked very similar to Meng Lanruo, almost like they were carved out of a mold. And the sound he heard from outside became more and more clear. It came from a cabinet on the side. When he came closer, the sound was also louder. It sounded like drums, it was a mellow tone but very rhythmic. That cabinet was very large and was painted with vermilion outer lacquer. Gu Xuandu cast a glance towards Lin Rufei, and Lin Rufei nodded to him. ¡°I opened it.¡± Gu Xuandu raised his hand and pulled the door. The cabinet door was pulled open. When Lin Rufei saw what was inside, he revealed a stunned expression. It was actually a doll that looked like Meng Lanruo, but the appearance was much more mature than Meng Lanruo. The cheeks had completely lost the youthfulness of a teenager and his lines were more clean and sharp. This person was not carved out of wood. Its skin had a human touch to it and the most striking thing was his chest. The doll¡¯s chest was opened. It revealed an empty lung and a heart set in the very center¡ªa beating blood-red heart. The heart looked bloody at first with its hideous flesh. However, upon a closer inspection, he found out that it was actually a stone texture. People will grow up, but wood can¡¯t. The dead Meng Lanruo, however, managed to grow from a tender toddler to a teenager. His years continued to pass, so he needed a more mature body. It dawned upon Lin Rufei. He clearly noticed that the stone, which had been turned into a heart, on Meng Lanruo¡¯s chest was engraved with a clear ¡°Yu.¡± Qi Yansheng ¡­¡­ Xiao Yu ¡­¡­ Qi Yu. It was a good name, Lin Rufei smiled. The suspicion that had been hanging in his heart was finally answered. Lin Rufei closed the cabinet door and turned to leave, he said, ¡°This Qi Yansheng is really interesting.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Interesting?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°People who have a lot of secrets and are well-informed are always interesting.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You felt that?¡± Lin Rufei turned his head to look at him and laughed: ¡°So what if I felt it? A fishing pole that doesn¡¯t even have bait, why should I bite it?¡± Gu Xuandu laughed out loud. But there was a saying that Qi Yansheng said which had a point. Everyone has some secrets, and these secrets, as long as they do not hurt others, are kept. In turn, it will make the person become more interesting. No one will dislike an interesting person, Lin Rufei was the same. Qi Yansheng, who was chatting with Meng Lanruo, felt something in his heart and thought to himself that the young master of the Lin family really refuses to rest if he doesn¡¯t reach the end. No wonder. All the things he said were just his side of the story, it was normal for Lin Rufei to not be at ease. ¡°Quickly, quickly, quickly. It¡¯s your turn, your turn.¡± Meng Lanruo urged, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Qi Yansheng dropped his pieces and said unhappily, ¡°How can I be so interested in playing a game of Gomoku[4]?¡± Meng Lanruo slapped the table, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to play Go!¡± Qi Yansheng said, ¡°I can teach you.¡± Meng Lanruo sneered, ¡°I can¡¯t even win at Gomoku, so what¡¯s the use of teaching me Go? Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that you want to use Go to humiliate me!!¡± Qi Yansheng covered his face and let out a long sigh. He thought in his heart that the young master of the Meng family obviously had all his three souls and seven spirits, but why did he seem to be missing a conscience. On the third day, Lin Rufei got on the carriage and intended to leave. But what was strange to him was that he didn¡¯t see Meng Lanruo¡¯s figure even when he left the Meng residence. He thought that Meng Lanruo would cry again because he was leaving. Who knew that Zhu Yin said with difficulty that Meng Lanruo would not come out to see him off because he was afraid of crying again when he met with him. He wanted Lin Rufei to take care of himself and if he had time, to send him letters. Although Lin Rufei found it strange, he simply thought that it was because Meng Lanruo would be sad for a long time and lose sleep if he saw him so he didn¡¯t think too much of it and turned around to get on the carriage. Fu Hua lowered the whip and the carriage drove out of the Meng residence as it went towards the outside of Xinzhou City. However, just as they were about to leave the city, Gu Xuandu, who was missing, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said, ¡°Don¡¯t rush the carriage out yet.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Wait at the entrance of the city.¡± Lin Rufei was about to ask why they were waiting when he heard the anxious voice of Qi Yansheng resounding outside the carriage. It came from far to near: ¡°Lin gongzi¡ª¡ªwait a minute¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw Qi Yansheng arriving on his sword. His face was white as if he was in great shock. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Qi gongzi?¡± Qi Yansheng stopped in front of the carriage. He held his sword in one hand and roared, ¡°Come out!¡± Lin Rufei looked surprised and wondered in his heart what kind of wrong medicine Qi Yansheng had taken to treat him like this. And then he saw a person covered in dirt dawdling out from under the carriage. It was Meng Lanruo, who was supposed to obediently stay in the Meng residence. Meng Lanruo tied up his hair and had changed into a casual outfit. He was carrying a not-so-small backpack and called out with sarcasm, ¡°Shengsheng, why are you here?¡± Hearing him call out ¡°Shengsheng,¡± the crowd¡¯s expression was subtle. Yu Rui was young so she couldn¡¯t hold back and laughed out loud. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Qi Yansheng directly pretended that he didn¡¯t hear as he sneered. Meng Lanruo whispered: ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys just worried that I will easily get in trouble by myself in Jianghu? If I follow Lin gongzi then I will be safe and you guys won¡¯t have to worry anymore. Lin gongzi and I are good brothers[5], he certainly won¡¯t mind me, this dragging oil bottle[6].¡° Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± this kid. Qi Yansheng said angrily: ¡°Say that to your mother.¡± Meng Lanruo reflexively covered his ears and cried out: ¡°Qi Yansheng, do you still have a conscience? We have been friends for so many years, can¡¯t you fulfill my small wish? I made a pact with Xiao Yu to visit Jianghu, and now that Xiao Yu is gone, I just want to fulfill her last wish and go out of Xinzhou City to see her hometown. She has been away from home for so many years and suffered so much, leaving Xinzhou City was her only wish before she died!¡± These words were touching and heartfelt. Fu Hua and Yu Rui had tears in the corner of their eyes. However, Qi Yansheng¡¯s expression twisted slightly and said coldly, ¡°Bulls***[7].¡± What Xiao Yu said before she died, how could he not know? This kid just says whatever he wants, three days without beating and he would scale the roof to rip the tiles!¡± Meng Lanruo said weakly: ¡°How can you say dirty words[8]?¡± Qi Yansheng: ¡°I said you¡¯re bullshi**ng!¡± Meng Lanruo immediately cried out. When Qi Yansheng saw him crying, he didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit soft-hearted. He raised his hand and grabbed his ear just like Madam Meng did, Meng Lanruo forgot to cry when he felt the pain and said quickly, ¡°How can you grab my ear? Only my parents can grab my ears!¡± Qi Yansheng gritted his teeth: ¡°I am your new parent[9]!¡± Meng Lanruo: ¡°Wow, you bastard. Even at this time you still decide to take advantage of me!¡± This parting scene, which should have been somewhat sad, turned into a comedy by Meng Lanruo. In the end, Meng Lanruo, who was grimacing and screaming, was dragged back by Qi Yansheng. Before he was dragged back, he begged Lin Rufei to help him. However, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t say anything. He just smiled and waved his hand at him, signaling to him to have a good trip. Qi Yansheng also nodded at Lin Rufei. If Lin Rufei¡¯s carriage hadn¡¯t been delayed at the city gate, Meng Lanruo would really have been taken out. The carriage set off again, and Lin Rufei finally left Xinzhou City. Next, he planned to follow the Canglan River all the way down, cross the Xiliang Mountains, to see the unseen prosperity of the Central Plains. After a few days of travel, Lin Rufei received a letter from Meng Lanruo. The letter was just like him, it rambled on and was full of trivial matters. He also seems to realize that he had no focus so he also drew horizontal lines with a vermilion pen, indicating that this was particularly important. As for what the important thing is, Lin Rufei laughed out loud after reading it. The day he failed to escape, Qi Yansheng dragged Meng Lanruo back to the Meng residence by his ears. He immediately went to his mother to complain about Qi Yansheng¡¯s spitefulness, saying that Qi Yansheng grabbed his ears. He was obviously not an elder so how could he bully him like this. After hearing this, mother Meng thought it was very reasonable and said she wanted to talk to Qi Yansheng alone. Meng Lanruo felt that his mother was trying to get him back in the game[10], so he went out in a high-spirited manner. Who knew that half an hour later, Meng Lanruo was called back by a kind-faced mother Meng. ¡°Qi gongzi has been in our family for almost ten years, right?¡± Mother Meng said, ¡°You have a point, Lanruo. He is indeed disciplining you like your elders.¡± Meng Lanruo listened happily. He expected that mother Meng¡¯s next comment would be to criticize Qi Yansheng for being too impetuous, however, she said gently, ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you just adopt him as your foster father?¡± Meng Lanruo¡¯s bright smile froze on his face. Qi Yansheng was sitting on the side and quietly drinking tea. After hearing this, he showed a kind smile to Meng Lanruo like mother Meng¡¯s. ¡°What???? What???? Mother, are you serious?¡± Meng Lanruo thought he had heard wrong. He pointed incredulously at Qi Yansheng, and then incredulously pointed at himself, ¡°Him? My foster father?¡± Mother Meng nodded her head. Meng Lanruo¡¯s wide eyes were about to pop out of its socket. He wanted to grab his mother¡¯s shoulder and give them a heavy shake¡ªto shake out the water that had entered his mother¡¯s brain. But Meng Lanruo soon realized that he was the only one in the Meng residence who was still sober in the head. Everyone, after knowing mother Meng¡¯s proposal, expressed their approval. ¡°Although Qi gongzi was born youthful, he is actually older than father. There is nothing wrong with him being your foster father.¡± Meng Youyue smiled and advised her brother, who was on the verge of collapse, ¡°Didn¡¯t you always feel that it was not right for him to discipline you, but now it¡¯s fine. He is your foster father and it will be normal for him to discipline you.¡± Meng Lanruo moved a stone and smashed his own feet. Not only did he smash it, but he also wanted to break his own feet. He wailed in the residence for half a day but no one paid attention to him. Only Qi Yansheng came to give him a cup of tea in a Schadenfreude manner. Meng Lanruo said, ¡°What kind of bewitching spell did you cast on my mother and others!¡± Qi Yansheng: ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because you begged for it?¡± Meng Lanruo was so angry that he almost fainted. Meng Lanruo still wanted to struggle, but the ending had already been decided. The Meng residence even invited a lot of guests for this. The crowd did not mind his opposition, even if he deliberately claimed to be sick and did not come out, they also expressed great understanding. ¡°After all, his beloved has just passed away. It¡¯s normal to be sad.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank goodness Qi gongzi was there to comfort the young master of the Meng family.¡± ¡°But how old is this Qi gongzi?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is said that he is older than the Meng family head. Even after ten years, his appearance hasn¡¯t changed, he must have long passed the fifth level of cultivation¡­¡­and it¡¯s also considered to be a young man¡¯s success!¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s worth recognizing this foster father.¡± Meng Lanruo was in complete despair. He nestled in his room and scolded the bastard, Qi Yansheng, the entire night in grievance. He also rambled his longing for Xiao Yu and only when morning arrived did he fall asleep in a daze. So in the end, he didn¡¯t know that Qi Yansheng came to his room early in the morning. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Qi Yansheng looked at Meng Lanruo¡¯s sleeping face and chuckled. He raised his hand, pulled the blanket upwards, and covered Meng Lanruo¡¯s body The young master always disliked Xinzhou because it was boring. So he(QYS) would find ways to give him(MLR) some fun. Whether it was Xiao Yu or the flower house, as long as he could keep him in this room, he would do it. Lin Rufei was a good companion, if possible, he would like to keep him. And when Meng Lanruo was tired of him, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to let him go. But unfortunately, Lin Rufei¡¯s identity was not simple. He wasn¡¯t like the rumors; a frail and sickly gongzi of the Lin family. Lin Rufei¡¯s body hid secrets that even he couldn¡¯t understand. In the end, Qi Yansheng didn¡¯t make his move. Meng Lanruo was his most perfect work so he naturally wanted to give him the best of everything. Besides leaving, as long as it was something Meng Lanruo wanted, he would do his best to help him get it. Meng Lanruo had read the fairy tale and rambled about the oiran and scholar in the book. And then in the flower house, a girl named Xiao Yu suddenly appeared. Sadly, he wasn¡¯t able to give him a complete Jianghu in the end. For some people, where there are people then that was Jianghu. But in the eyes of the Meng family¡¯s young master, only the place far away from Xinzhou City, was Jianghu. Life as a human being, eight or nine events out of ten wouldn¡¯t be exactly the way you wanted it to be. Qi Yansheng looked at the sleeping Meng Lanruo. He revealed a smile, then got up, and slowly walked out. Outside the house, the sun was just right. The sudden rain cleared up and Spring was already fading. Summer was getting stronger and after two more seasons, it would be a cycle of the four seasons. The little boy inside the room would also reach the age of adulthood. It would be time for him to grow up. Lin Rufei finished reading the letter given to him by Meng Lanruo. He folded it up carefully and put it in his pouch. However, when his hand reached into the pouch, a trace of hesitation appeared on his face. He then opened the pouch and looked at it carefully, ¡°Something seems to be missing?¡± ¡°What¡¯s missing?¡± Fu Hua asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Rufei thought for a long time, but couldn¡¯t think of what was missing. He only felt that the pouch seemed loose but none of his silver money was missing. The pouch was filled with mortal things and Lin Rufei didn¡¯t carry it with him all the time. Most of the time it was left in the room and only occasionally, when he went out shopping and needed some mortal things, would he use it. Fu Hua and Yu Rui naturally didn¡¯t know what was missing from Lin Rufei¡¯s pouch and Lin Rufei also couldn¡¯t remember, but Gu Xuandu knew exactly what was missing. He slowly said, ¡°There is a stealth talisman missing.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°The one you bought at the market on Kunlun Mountain for half a spirit stone.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He remembered! Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It seems to have been found by the Meng family¡¯s young master.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t expect things to be so coincidental and sighed: ¡°Then does it count that I indirectly killed Xiao Yu?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If she¡¯s dead, then she¡¯s dead. If Qi Yansheng can create a Xiao Yu, maybe he¡¯ll create a Xiao Qi in a few days.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Xiao Qi is too obvious of a name.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Then what should it be called?¡± Lin Rufei; ¡°I think Xiao Wen is good.¡± One year later, inside the Meng residence. Meng Lanruo, who had been wilting for a long time because of Xiao Yu¡¯s death and the recognition of a ¡°thief¡± as his father[11], rushed in from outside the house energetically. He excitedly rushed to his mother, ¡°Mother! I saw a beautiful, heroic woman outside!¡± Qi Yansheng sat next to mother Meng while drinking tea. When he heard those words he revealed an affectionate smile. Meng Lanruo said: ¡°Everything is good, but the name is a bit awful. I think she¡¯s called Xiao Wen.¡± Qi Yansheng¡¯s smile was slightly restrained. Meng Lanruo: ¡°It¡¯s even worse than Qi Yansheng.¡± Qi Yansheng: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Meng Lanruo, just you wait. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: This is kind of interesting. Lin Rufei: Interesting? Gu Xuandu: I think you should change the way you refer to me. Let our relationship be even closer compared to Meng Lanruo¡¯s. Lin Rufei pondered for a long time and said tentatively: Grand¡­¡­.Grandson? Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­. (Are you sure your definition of ¡°close¡± is the right one? ? ?) ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Internet slang; ¡°life has no more meaning¡± [2] an issue that weighs heavily on one¡¯s mind. [3] Ò»¼ûÖÓÇé: Love at first sight; ¶þ¼ûÇãÐÄ: my hearts is yours at second sight (basically love at 2nd sight so I just simplified it) [4] Gomoku; basically a game of 5 in a row. It is played on a Go board with Go pieces but it isn¡¯t Go. [5] Not blood related, it¡¯s like saying ¡°Hey, you¡¯re my good bro¡± [6] Means a widow (cause y¡¯know, he and Xiao Yu were supposed to get married) [7] The actual word here was ¡°You¡¯re farting!¡± But that isn¡¯t a curse word here and BS basically has the same meaning XD [8] Curse words. [9] ÔÙÉú¸¸Ä¸: like a second parent; one¡¯s great benefactor. I decided to put ¡°new¡± parents to make it easier. [10] Get back at him. [11] sell oneself to the enemy; a complete betrayal. CH 35 Once they left Xinzhou City, they followed the Canglan River all the way towards the continuous Xiliang Mountains. However, because of its geographical location, it was not as deserted as Kunlun. Instead, the closer it was to the Xiliang Mountains, the more lively and prosperous it was. Stores and tourists of all kinds were everywhere. Where there were more people, the things they sell were bound to be more plentiful. Lin Rufei saw many stores selling immortal supplies and most of the things inside were extraordinary and traded with spirit stones. Lin Rufei found a few and went in to check it out. He bought some interesting gadgets, such as hairpins that change color when inserted in the hair and small mirrors that remember the appearance of people when they are reflected. He bought a bunch of useful and useless ones as gifts for the two young maids to play with. However, the two maids disliked them. Even Yu Rui puffed out her chest and said, ¡°Gongzi, you are too childish. I am already fourteen this year, how can I still play with these things!¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were full of innocence: ¡°Isn¡¯t it quite interesting?¡± Yu Rui said: ¡°How is it interesting? These things are used to amuse children!¡± Lin Rufei looked at the things in his hand and didn¡¯t say anything for a long time. He finally silently put them all into his dimensional ring and sat in the corner with a melancholy look. Fu Hua saw the situation and knocked Yu Rui on the head: ¡°How can you talk like that to gongzi? Gongzi, gongzi, I like all those things, you can give them to me!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Forget it, your tone is too much like coaxing a child. I¡¯ll just keep it for myself.¡± After saying that, he muttered twice to himself, ¡°I don¡¯t want to give them to you guys.¡± Gu Xuandu was laughing on the side, rejoicing in other people¡¯s misfortune. After arriving at the inn, several people checked in. They inquired with the innkeeper about the news of the Xiliang Mountains. Who knew that when the innkeeper heard that they were going to the Xiliang Mountains, he frowned and said, ¡°Does gongzi want to go to the Central Plains through the Xiliang Mountains?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. The innkeeper said, ¡°Then you have to pay more attention. It is best to go with a large merchant caravan, if there is no merchant caravan, at least a few reliable bodyguards. It¡¯s not just fierce beasts that occupy the Xiliang Mountains, there are also powerful bandits. If you encounter them, you will certainly die.¡± He took a worried look at Lin Rufei¡¯s pale face and fragile body and then a look at the two half-grown girls. He sighed like an old man, ¡°If you really want to go, you must be careful, those bastards don¡¯t follow the idea of being kind to women.¡± Lin Rufei accepted the innkeeper¡¯s good intentions and said he would think about it. The Xiliang Mountains were continuous like a chain. Except for one main road, almost all of them were dense forests where people were rarely seen. Even if one traveled by sword, it¡¯ll still take about ten days to half a month to leave the mountains. If one took the horse, then it would take even longer. Luckily, Xinzhou City¡¯s business was prosperous and many places have large merchant caravans. Casual travelers just needed to pay more silver and then they could follow them. Of course, not all casual travelers could enter the caravan, the caravans would also do a careful selection. After all, in case they invited someone with bad intentions, then the whole caravan would have to suffer. Fu Hua volunteered to ask if there were any merchants crossing the mountains, and if not, to hire two bodyguards who knew the way. Although she and Yu Rui looked dainty, they were still exiled immortals on the fifth level of cultivation. Ordinary bandits in front of them couldn¡¯t even be considered a meal[1]. Fu Hua went to find people and Lin Rufei was bored alone so he decided to take a walk around the inn. The area around the inn was very lively, there were vendors yelling everywhere. Lin Rufei went to buy a candied hawthorn and ate while watching the livelihood. He had always liked places with a strong Jianghu atmosphere, as well as Kunlun. However, because of his special status, people would look at him differently wherever he went so he preferred to stay on the mountain. As he was eating the delicious candied hawthorn, Lin Rufei heard a yell at the corner of the street. He went over and saw a skinny teenager selling shields. ¡°The shields I sell are not the same as ordinary shields. Even the world¡¯s sharpest sword can¡¯t piece it!¡± The young man was born with pretty good looks. His eyebrows were clear and handsome, but he was wearing a short shirt that didn¡¯t quite fit him and he looked quite wretched. He was standing on the side of the road, holding a gray wooden shield in his hand, yelling loudly, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can come and try. However, if the sword breaks, I¡¯m not compensating!¡± A meddlesome[2] spectator heard this and immediately came out of the crowd. He arrived in front of the young man and pulled out the sword on his waist. He laughed, ¡°It¡¯s just a small wooden shield, how powerful can it be? Nowadays, people love to exaggerate without fear of blowing up their cowhide[3]!¡± The crowd laughed loudly at his words. The young man was not annoyed. He raised his hand with the wooden shield and laughed: ¡°Do you want to try? First of all, if the sword is broken ¡­¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, the spectator said impatiently: ¡°I know, I know. Children nowadays don¡¯t know how high the sky is. I want to see today, exactly how powerful this wooden shield without the slightest spiritual energy can be.¡± With that, he raised his sword in his hand and thrust it at the wooden shield. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The sword and wooden shield met and a ¡°clack¡± was heard. Before the crowd could react, they saw the sharp-looking sword blade shattered to the ground and there was no trace of a mark on the wooden shield. ¡°How could this be?¡± The man was dumbfounded, ¡°This ¡­¡­ this ¡­¡­¡± His next move was to go forward to pick up the teenager¡¯s collar, but it was expected by the teenager and he flexibly dodged before laughing, ¡°Hey, this big brother, I have already warned you early on, you can¡¯t blame me for this matter, ah¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°You, you! This is my ancestral sword! How dare you break it like this!¡± The man was furious, ¡°Of course you have to compensate me!¡± The young man said innocently, ¡°But it¡¯s obvious that you were the one that came forward and broke the sword yourself, how can you blame me?¡± There were also people in the crowd who fought for justice and they started talking, saying that this person was too unreasonable. The teenager already gave a reminder in the beginning and he still went forward without care. Look what happened, his sword shattered and it was also well-deserved. When the man heard the words of the crowd, he flew into a rage out of humiliation: ¡°Who, who the f**k is talking, come out! I think you are all with him, together you guys have set me up!¡± The crowd wasn¡¯t afraid of him, so they burst out in laughter. All kinds of mockery flew out incessantly. When the man saw that the situation wasn¡¯t good, he finally gritted his teeth and turned away with livid. However, when he was leaving he didn¡¯t forget to glare at the teenager, saying that in the future, if he ever saw this teenager again, he will beat him. The spectators greeted his crestfallen back with jeers. The man left and the teenager continued to sell his wooden shield. This time more people were interested. The teenager said that the wooden shield was made of special hop-hornbeam[4] wood. There was only a small piece so he made such a small shield. He also said that although this thing doesn¡¯t have any spiritual aura, even if a sword with an aura met it, it wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Of course, the most important thing was that the price wasn¡¯t expensive, a medium-grade spirit stone was enough to take it away. Some people in the crowd began to bargain with the young man, saying that a medium-grade spirit stone was too expensive. No matter how good this shield was, it still had no spiritual energy. If the young man was willing to accept the price of fifty low-grade spirit stones, then they would buy the shield. The young man refused to relent, his eyes swept around the crowd, and for some reason, they fell on Lin Rufei. With a few steps, he was in front of Lin Rufei: ¡°This gongzi, are you interested in this wooden shield?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Lin Rufei pointed at himself, ¡°How can you tell that I am interested in this wooden shield?¡± The young man said, ¡°To be frank, I have just arrived here. I was planning to find a merchant caravan, pay some money, and cross the Xiliang Mountains. Unfortunately, I was embarrassed to find that I was short on money so I had no choice but to sell my precious treasure. Looking at the way you dress, you don¡¯t look like someone lacking in money. A good horse to match a hero, I think this treasured shield should naturally be matched with a valuable guest like yourself.¡± That was a nice way to put it. Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°You have quite the sweet mouth[5].¡± ¡°Of course, of course.¡± The young man said, ¡°If you think it¡¯s expensive, I can give it to you for a little less, but not too much less, at most ten low-grade spirit stones.¡± One hundred low-grade spirit stones were equal to one medium-grade spirit stone. Lin Rufei did not have much sense in money and he didn¡¯t know how much a medium-grade spirit stone was worth. When he left the mountain, not to mention medium-grade spirit stones, his brothers and sister had given him several bags of top-grade spirit stones. The gadgets he bought a while ago used more than a hundred medium-grade spirit stones. So when he was faced with a teenager shouting the price of a medium-grade spirit stone, it felt like he had become a participant in a Jianghu picture book. It felt quite interesting. The young man kept rambling on and Lin Rufei was very satisfied after listening. In the end, he took out a spirit stone from his pouch and handed it to the young man. He took the wooden shield and said with a smile, ¡°Keep the change.¡± The young man carefully put away the spirit stone and showed an expression of reluctance for the wooden shield. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he said in a small voice: ¡°Gongzi, this wooden shield was given to me by my old master. If we meet in the future and I have money, can I buy it back from you?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The wooden shield was just an entertainment for Lin Rufei, so he simply agreed. The young man sighed, turned around, and left slowly. When Lin Rufei and the teenager were talking, Gu Xuandu did not say anything until the two walked to a secluded place. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at him and asked with a smile, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± Gu Xuandu pretended to be innocent: ¡°Say what?¡± ¡°That teenager is obviously a little liar, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, there was no blame in his words, just some curiosity. Gu Xuandu was different from him, such a small trick, surely he saw through it at a glance. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You were looking for entertainment, so why should I spoil your fun.¡± Besides, Lin Rufei¡¯s expression at that time showed that he obviously noticed something. ¡°That teenager is quite interesting, but it¡¯s a pity that the trick is a bit old-fashioned.¡± Lin Rufei said as he walked, ¡°It¡¯s exactly the same as the ones in the books.¡± He pondered for a moment and said seriously, ¡°I think I can do better than him.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed, ¡°Then if you have time, let¡¯s give it a try?¡± Lin Rufei looked eager to try. This young master of the Lin family had been holding back on Kunlun for twenty years, after finally being able to leave the mountain, he wanted to try everything. The teenager put so much effort into his performance, giving him a spirit stone was like a reward for the entertainment. On the way back to the inn, Gu Xuandu and Lin Rufei brought up the topic regarding sword practice. He was saying that Gu Yu has gotten used to Lin Rufei¡¯s breath so next, he will teach him some simple moves to draw out the sword intent in his body. It was different compared to other people who practiced their sword intent later in life. Lin Rufei was born with a sword spirit, and ordinary killing moves were enough to use. Lin Rufei was excited to hear that he would be able to practice with the sword. Gu Xuandu also told him that he could learn to attach sword intent to other things afterward, just like the way he shot arrows in the Meng residence with Qi Yansheng. Lin Rufei was muddle-headed from all the information, so Gu Xuandu said no more until he arrived at the inn and the two entered the room. He grabbed something random and taught Lin Rufei to practice. ¡°You must first feel the presence of sword intent.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°This is more difficult for you. It¡¯s just like a person who has lived in the water since childhood but they still need to feel the water.¡± Lin Rufei listened carefully to Gu Xuandu¡¯s teaching and tried little by little. Gu Xuandu gave an example and said, ¡°Sword intent isn¡¯t just a sharp weapon, it can also be used as a defense. For example, if you attach your sword intent to the wooden shield you just bought, sword intent that was more than this will not be able to break the shield.¡± Lin Rufei nodded seriously. The two practiced for a long time and only when the footsteps of Fu Hua and Yu Rui were heard did the two stop. Fu Hua called from outside the room, ¡°Young master, we are back.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Come in.¡± The two came in one after the other and talked about what happened when they had gone out today. Fu Hua had managed to find a caravan willing to take them, but the highest cultivation of that caravan was only at the fourth level. Moreover, the caravan was large in number and also carried heavy cargo, so the traveling speed would be very slow. ¡°There are too many people in the caravan, although there are also many guards, the large tail doesn¡¯t fall off[6]. If I were a mountain bandit, I would definitely focus on them first.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°When I thought of this, I thought of another method. I planned to find a local who knows the way and take us across the Xiliang Mountains together. This is fast and safe, and not easily noticeable, young master, what do you think?¡± Lin Rufei nodded and agreed with Fu Hua¡¯s proposal, ¡°Has the person been found?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a young local who is said to have grown up on the Xiliang Mountains since he was young.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°He¡¯s quite smart and doesn¡¯t know swordplay so he won¡¯t be able to pull any tricks.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and said, ¡°Good.¡± Before going to the mountains, they made some other preparations. They bought a lot of dry food and clothing, of course, most of these things were handled by the maids. These days Lin Rufei spends the whole day practicing with Gu Xuandu in order to learn how to manipulate the sword intent in his own body. Gu Xuandu said that although his talent was good, his body was too weak, and could not bear power that was too strong. He could only start slowly. Currently, his main task was to draw the sword intent from the body and into external objects. It just so happens that the wooden shield he bought was not made of actual hop-hornbeam wood, but it was still sturdy, so Lin Rufei took it as the target object for his sword intent. Every day he would try it out carefully. The maids were surprised to see their young master so fond of this ordinary wooden shield and asked Lin Rufei when he bought it. Lin Rufei then smiled and told the two about that day, saying that he had taken advantage of a great deal. The two looked uncertain after hearing it. Yu Rui wanted to say something but was pinched heavily by Fu Hua on her arm. This immediately caused tears of pain, Fu Hua smiled on the side and said to Lin Rufei: ¡°This wooden shield does look unique, young master has a good eye.¡± ¡°Right, right, I also feel like I have a good eye.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Next time you see one, remind me to buy another one.¡± Although Fu Hua was angry and was secretly grinding her teeth, she still coaxed Lin Rufei and agreed. However, in her heart, she told herself that if she ever found the brat that sold the wooden shield to her young master, she would beat him up. The weather was getting warmer and Lin Rufei was finally not wearing a cloak all the time, which was quite refreshing. The day of their departure was also a comfortable sunny day. The gentle breeze carried a trace of coolness as it blew on the carriage curtains. Lin Rufei sat in the carriage drinking the plum tea prepared for him by Yu Rui. He heard Fu Hua, who was driving the carriage, say. ¡°Are the things that should be brought, brought? If you¡¯ve got it, come on up. Inside is my gongzi, remember to be more respectful.¡± Someone outside answered yes, then climbed into the carriage. They carefully lifted the curtain and saw Lin Rufei sitting in the carriage with a tea bowl drinking tea. The atmosphere seemed to freeze as the two of them faced each other. Lin Rufei showed a kind smile and said, ¡°Oh, what a coincidence.¡± ¡°Yes ¡­¡­ it is quite a coincidence.¡± The one who spoke was the same teenager who sold the wooden shield to Lin Rufei a few days ago. He was carrying a big bag this time with a pleasing smile on his face. Only, this smile froze after seeing Lin Rufei and he didn¡¯t speak for a long time. In the end, Lin Rufei greeted him first. ¡°Hey, you guys know each other?¡± Fu Hua asked curiously. Lin Rufei smiled and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me before who sold me the wooden shield? It¡¯s this guy.¡± Fu Hua¡¯s face fell. She seemed to remember something and forced a fake smile: ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s you.¡± The young man embarrassingly called out a young master. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I haven¡¯t asked what your name is?¡± The young man said, ¡°My last name is Mo ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°And what are you called?¡± The young man said, ¡°I¡¯m called Mo Zhaocai[7].¡± This name¡­the people who heard it chuckled. Even Fu Hua had some laughter showing in her eyes. Lin Rufei also laughed and asked him, ¡°How did you get such a name?¡± If his name was just Zhaocai, it would be fine, but his last name had to be Mo. Mo Zhaocai laughed: ¡°I have had no parents since I was young. I grew up slowly as a servant in a family, so the family gave me a name, but it seems that it didn¡¯t match too well with my family name.¡± He said frankly. He did not show any looks of embarrassment because of his name, rather he was very proud of it. Mo Zhaocai waited for the people to finish laughing and then cautiously looked at Lin Rufei before whispering, ¡°Gongzi, do you still want me to lead the way?¡± Lin Rufei blinked: ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I mean a few days ago ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°The wooden shield?¡± He then turned serious, ¡°I like that wooden shield very much and my maids all praised me for my good eye.¡± Mo Zhaocai became dumbfounded when he heard this. Out of the corner of his eyes, he looked at the expressionless Fu Hua next to him. Fu Hua gave him the eye and he was immediately quick-witted and mindful. He didn¡¯t dare to answer and just nodded unceasingly. Lin Rufei finished teasing Mo Zhaocai, then gestured for him to come in and changed the subject to ask about the Xiliang Mountains. As soon as the familiar place was mentioned, Mo Zhaocai immediately showed his unparalleled powerful eloquence. He started telling the stories of the Xiliang Mountains, such as the mountain fox spirit that seduced the scholar and the tree monster demons that liked to eat people¡¯s eyeballs. His words were vivid and detailed as if he had seen it with his own eyes. Lin Rufei listened with great interest and asked him how many times he had been on the Xiliang Mountains. Mo Zhaocai smiled and said, ¡°In my eyes, this Xiliang Mountains is my fingers. One, two, three, four, five, I know it very well. Whether it is the mainland or the small path, as long as you follow me, you won¡¯t ever get lost.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That amazing?¡± ¡°Indeed. However, those stories about the monsters, it¡¯s fine to just listen. The most frightening thing on the mountains is still the mountain bandits. Especially the group called Xiao Shou[8]. They not only rob money but also kill people, and when they meet someone they fancy, they¡¯ll take them back to the mountain fortress. Regardless of their sex, they¡¯ll eat them[9]!¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°But we are casual travelers, their goal is the big caravans, so it is safe. Don¡¯t worry too much.¡± After he finished, he smiled shyly and said, ¡°Besides, there are two beautiful sisters with such a high cultivation level, I reckon that they wouldn¡¯t dare make a move.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Mo Zhaocai was a lively teenager, just different from Meng Lanruo¡¯s kind of lively. He was able to judge the situation and was very clear on topics that the patrons liked and disliked. As long as Lin Rufei revealed a trace of disinterest, he would keenly read the situation and quickly change the topic. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. He was so young, but he has developed this kind of personality. He probably has also suffered a lot. Mo Zhaocai talked for a good while, after seeing that Lin Rufei did not mention the wooden shield, he let out a breath of relief. Lin Rufei poured a cup of plum tea and handed it to him, indicating that he should moisten his mouth. Mo Zhaocai was flattered to receive it and after taking a sip, he praised, ¡°It¡¯s really good, I¡¯ve never had such good tea.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Are you a member of the Mo family?¡± Mo Zhaocai scratched his head: ¡°I¡¯m not really a Mo family member, I¡¯m just a servant who was kicked out. This surname was given by the master and I didn¡¯t want to just change it at will so I continued to use it.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. He had heard of the Mo family¡¯s name and had seen the Mo disciples in sword competitions from the previous years. But unfortunately, the Mo family later had some incidents, and gradually fell into decline. Now within Xinzhou, the Meng family was the dominant and the Mo family has become a foil. A centipede dies but never falls down[10], compared to some mortal families without immortal cultivation, they were still considered powerful. ¡°The Mo family is a bit of a pity, if Mo Changshan didn¡¯t die, it would not have become this way today.¡± Yu Rui, this girl, was more clear than Lin Rufei about these big family secrets, known only to insiders. She sighed, ¡°That year he fell with a single strike. The sky and Earth changed color and the silent water diverged, what a gallant appearance. Just a pity¡­..¡± That he died young and also died so tragically. (t/n: Refresher, Yu Rui loves to gossip; referring to Gu Feiyu¡¯s family) Mo Zhaocai laughed: ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about these unpleasant things, we should talk about something happy.¡± He seemed reluctant to mention the Mo family, so he started talking about the strange stories happening in the Xiliang Mountains and Xinzhou City. He has mixed with the people for a long time so the stories he knew were naturally splendid and Lin Rufei listened with great interest, Mo Zhaocai also seemed to have infinite energy and talked for an entire afternoon without a pause. In the end, it was Lin Rufei who got sleepy first. He yawned and Mo Zhaocai stopped talking to let Lin Rufei rest first. Lin Rufei nodded his head and said, ¡°You should also rest for a while.¡± ¡°Okay, gongzi, you don¡¯t need to worry about me, I¡¯m rotten to the core.¡± Mo Zhaocai smiled slightly. Lin Rufei lay down on the couch and asked Gu Xuandu in a whisper before going to sleep, ¡°Is this Mo Zhaocai interesting?¡± People who were praised by Gu Xuandu as interesting were always a bit troublesome. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°He talks a lot and it hurts my brain just listening to him.¡± Lin Rufei revealed a smile. ¡°But it¡¯s not his fault.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s normal for such a person to talk a lot.¡± Lin Rufei hummed in agreement and looked at Gu Xuandu hesitantly, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be in good spirits, are you not feeling well somewhere?¡± Since yesterday, Gu Xuandu had been looking sickly and seemed a bit tired. This appearance of his was very rare. But Gu Xuandu shook his head and said he was fine. Lin Rufei wanted to ask again, but he gently pressed down on Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder and said in a warm voice: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. If there is anything, I will certainly tell you.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Really?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Naturally.¡± Lin Rufei sighed and thought in his heart that his senior would also lie, but in the end, he did not say anything and nodded gently. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: Are you sure you¡¯re not uncomfortable? Gu Xuandu: Are you gonna help me with the uncomfortable area? Lin Rufie: That¡¯s fine¡ª¡ªWait, wait! ! If you untie your belt again I will stab you with a sword. Gu Xuandu who was wronged: But you were the one who agreed. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Not an actual meal, it¡¯s like saying they aren¡¯t worth their time. [2] Too much freetime, nothing to do. [3] Exaggerated bragging, a metaphor. (Exaggeration in Chinese can be directly translated as ¡°blowing cow¡± so the idea of tearing the cowhide means that they blew so hard that it broke the hide.) So basically he¡¯s saying you¡¯re not afraid of exaggerating; have no shame to brag. [4] Hop-hornbeam/Ironwood. CH 36 Although the Xiliang Mountains road was treacherous, there was a major mountain road that could take carriages and carts. By following this mountain road, one could go over the mountains and reach the Central Plains on the other side. However, because of the complicated situation in the mountains, there are occasionally some unexpected accidents on the mountain road. Especially in the Summer rainy season, when the road was often blocked by loose rocks washed by rainwater and floods. Encountering such a situation was more troublesome and the caravans could only organize their own manpower to clear the road. Fortunately, at this time, it was only early Summer so there wasn¡¯t much rain. The carriage followed the mountain road and entered the Xiliang Mountains. The surrounding scenery slowly became desolate and finally, only dense forests were visible. Because of Mo Zhaocai, the journey was not lonely. Every day he would be able to listen to him talk about some strange and exotic things. This journey could be considered interesting. But what worried Lin Rufei was that, the deeper they went into the Xiliang Mountains, Gu Xuandu¡¯s state seemed to have become even poorer. He almost rarely appears nowadays and only once in a while would he talk. At first, Lin Rufei thought he was reluctant to talk, until one day when he suddenly appeared in front of him. He was shocked to find that Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure was actually a lot lighter, he could almost see the scene behind him through his body, it was like¡­¡­¡­..like he was about to disappear. ¡°Senior, are you all right?¡± Lin Rufei looked for an opportunity to ask. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Nothing major.¡± Lin Rufei still didn¡¯t dare release his breath. So he added breathlessly, ¡°Just that I¡¯m about to die.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Just joking.¡± Lin Rufei seriously believed that this statement was ¡°the joke.¡± Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei¡¯s serious expression and did not continue to tease him, ¡°There is something on this Xiliang Mountains that is suppressing me. The closer I am to that thing, the weaker I will be.¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he remembered what Gu Xuandu had said to him before they left the mountain. He hesitated for a moment and whispered, ¡°This thing, does senior want it?¡± Gu Xuandu turned his head to look at him and did not speak for a long time. Just when Lin Rufei thought he would not answer, he said indifferently, ¡°Not yet. Your body can¡¯t handle it.¡± This was a very clear statement. He indeed wanted the thing hidden in the Xiliang Mountains, but with Lin Rufei¡¯s current state, there was no way to get his hands on them. ¡°After that, I will get weaker and weaker, to the point that I won¡¯t be able to show up. However, it doesn¡¯t matter, your maids¡¯ fifth-level cultivation is enough. Ordinary people won¡¯t be able to touch you.¡± Gu Xuandu said lazily, ¡°It will be fine once we leave the mountains.¡± Lin Rufei wanted to say something else, but Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure instantly faded away. It seemed that he was unable to continue to maintain it. Lin Rufei was a little worried, but this matter of Gu Xuandu, he doesn¡¯t seem to be of much help. As he was thinking, footsteps came from behind Lin Rufei. He turned to look and saw a bewildered Mo Zhaocai, who said, ¡°Lin gongzi, who are you talking to?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°No one. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Sister Fu Hua has made fresh food and asked me to come and call you.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Shall we go back?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Okay.¡± It was already dark, so Fu Hua lit a campfire. She took out the cooking utensils and made hot food. Mo Zhaocai liked it very much and ate it with great relish, but Lin Rufei had something on his mind and ate it with some worry. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, so be careful.¡± Mo Zhaocai¡¯s mouth bulged as he ate and said vaguely, ¡°Beasts and bandits are prone to come out at night, so at least one person should keep watch ¡­¡­ The campfire must not go out.¡± The maids arranged the vigil while Lin Rufei simply washed up and then went into the carriage. He was a little sleepless. Sitting up in the carriage, he casually selected a miscellany and read it by the candlelight. The wind was strong at night and it blew the trees in the mountains making the forests rustle. The sound of the wind was like a mournful ghostly cry. Mo Zhaocai had fallen asleep in the corner. With his bottom sticking out, he issued a slight snoring sound. His sleeping posture didn¡¯t look great and this was the first time Lin Rufei saw someone sleeping in this position ¡­¡­ but to be able to sleep so soundly, it was very enviable. Lin Rufei really couldn¡¯t sleep. He stayed up for half the night and was barely able to get some sleep. He closed his eyes for a moment but then he heard a strange sound from outside the carriage. He was immediately able to tell that this sound was wailing and screaming and apparently, it was more than one person. It was intermittent and listening to it gave people chills down their back. Lin Rufei was awakened by this sound. He raised his hand and lifted the carriage curtain. He saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui donning an expression like they had met a great enemy. ¡°Young master, why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± Fu Hua asked in a low voice. ¡°I just fell asleep and was woken up.¡± When they reached the outside of the carriage, the miserable cries for help and screams of humans became clearer and clearer. It was accompanied by the whistling mountain wind which felt particularly horrible at this time. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where did the sound come from?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nearby.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Want to go over and take a look?¡± Lin Rufei thought for a moment. Before he was able to speak, the originally sleeping Mo Zhaocai suddenly leaped out. His face was full of panic, ¡°You can¡¯t go, you can¡¯t go, ah! If you go you won¡¯t be able to come back!¡± ¡°What, you know what¡¯s going on?¡± Fu Hua frowned at him. ¡°It¡¯s either bandits or beasts, and with so many people screaming, it must be a big merchant group. If they can¡¯t even resist, then something big must have happened.¡± Mo Zhaocai seemed to be feeling a little cold, he hugged his chest and shivered, ¡°Besides, in this Xiliang Mountains, there is something else ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What else?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Most of those who have seen it are dead. Those that survive become crazy. I¡¯ve seen one of those lunatics, he is already not normal anymore¡­..¡± Fu Hua looked at Lin Rufei, indicating that she still obeyed Lin Rufei¡¯s orders. ¡°Go check it out.¡± Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment, ¡°If it¡¯s just ordinary bandits, maybe we can still help, but safety first. If you really see something that you can¡¯t deal with, don¡¯t scare the snake[1], come back immediately.¡± When Fu Hua heard this she said yes. She turned around and rode her sword towards the place where the sound came from. Mo Zhaocai¡¯s face was white and was nervously muttering to himself. He looked simply so afraid that he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself. Yu Rui was also anxious. She was biting her lower lips harshly and in the end, Lin Rufei became the calmest one among them. He walked towards the campfire, raised his hand, and added some more firewood to the fire. The wet firewood that was added issued a slight crackling sound and the fire became even bigger. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Fu Hua went quickly and came back quickly. However, when she came back, her expression was very ugly. Her lips were a little bloodless and when she saw Lin Rufei, she called out a gongzi in a shaky voice. It was rare to see the steady Fu Hua reveal this kind of expression and Lin Rufei immediately understood that the situation over there was certainly not ordinary: ¡°Don¡¯t rush, speak slowly.¡± ¡°There are many dead people over there.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°It seems to be a large caravan that was killed ¡­¡­ but ¡­¡­ but ¡­¡­¡± She heavily swallowed the saliva in her mouth and continued in a trembling voice, ¡°When I went, the people were almost all dead. However, I saw neither bandits, nor beasts¡­..¡± Mountain bandits sought money. When they kill, they certainly won¡¯t leave immediately. Beasts ate meat and the bones will certainly also be gnawed on. However, according to Fu Hua¡¯s statement, the team of suffering merchants encountered neither bandits nor beasts, but¡­¡­.something else. ¡°There was nothing?¡± Lin Rufei frowned and asked. ¡°None.¡± Fu Hua trembled, ¡°And ¡­¡­ and ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°And what?¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°And all the people¡¯s eyes have been gouged out, both the living and the dead.¡± Everyone fell into silence. Mo Zhaocai had the least courage. He was already crying and wiping his tears. He muttered to himself, ¡°I told you not to go, now look at what happened, you saw something you shouldn¡¯t have, now what should we do?¡± According to Fu Hua¡¯s description, when she arrived there, the massacre had practically ended. There were dead caravan members everywhere and there were still a few that were alive. However, their eyes had turned into bloody holes as they laid on the ground breathing weakly and wailing. They probably didn¡¯t have long to live. This scene was too bizarre and strange. Fu Hua also didn¡¯t dare to stay more so she turned to leave and hurriedly rushed back. ¡°I also didn¡¯t detect other suspicious people around the area. Either that person¡¯s cultivation is far above me, or ¡­¡­ it is something else.¡± Fu Hua whispered, ¡°Gongzi, what do we do next, ah?¡± Lin Rufei pondered for a moment: ¡°Let¡¯s wait until dawn and see.¡± It was already the middle of the night and there was still about one or two hours until dawn. After such an incident, no one could sleep, so they chatted around the campfire. Mo Zhaocai said that the bizarre legends of these things on the Xiliang Mountains have been going on for a hundred years, and every year there was news. However, whether it was true or false, no one could say clearly. But it was better to believe it than not to believe it, so he was always very reverent about these things on the mountain. ¡°I see this journey won¡¯t be smooth. Why don¡¯t we go back first and leave again some other day.¡± Mo Zhaocai whispered, ¡°Otherwise, in case of any accidents ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But isn¡¯t it said that the mountains are more difficult to travel in the rainy season.¡± Mo Zhaocai smiled embarrassingly: ¡°It definitely will be hard to travel, however, it¡¯s better¡­¡­.than losing your life.¡± At the height of Summer, it would be the rainy season of the Xiliang Mountains. When that time comes, not only was the mountain hot but there would be frequent flash floods which made it even more dangerous. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it at dawn.¡± He wanted to ask Gu Xuandu for his opinion. But even after such an incident, Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t show up. His situation was probably not good either. So they waited until dawn. After dawn, those people¡¯s voices had completely disappeared. Fu Hua summoned her courage and went to check again. This time, when she came back, her panicked expression turned into one of bewilderment, ¡°Gongzi ¡­¡­ it¡¯s all gone.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Hmm? Gone?¡± ¡°Yes, everything is gone.¡± Fu Hua was puzzled, ¡°Not only were there no bodies, not even blood can be seen ¡­¡­¡± She even started to question herself, ¡°I, I couldn¡¯t have seen wrong, right?¡± Everyone speechlessly looked at her. Mo Zhaocai touched his nose and said, ¡°You definitely didn¡¯t see wrong, I estimate that someone has already dealt with the bodies¡­..¡± Fu Hua said: ¡°Why should it be dealt with?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°In order to let people continue to travel that road?¡± Lin Rufei sat aside in silence and waited until they were almost done discussing before he spoke out, ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± Then they followed carefully to the place where the accident happened last night, and indeed, as Fu Hua said, there was no trace of anything in the mountains and forests. It was as if all those horrible wails from last night were just their hallucinations. Lin Rufei walked around the roadside and didn¡¯t see a body, nor blood. However, in the end, he still found some clues. He bent down and gently picked up a smear of dirt with his finger and said, ¡°There was once a campfire here.¡± Although the campfire had been removed, in the mud, there were still some traces of burnt wood. ¡°So I didn¡¯t see wrong?¡± Fu Hua said. ¡°No. Something must have happened here last night.¡± Lin Rufei looked around. The dense forest blocked most of the sunlight. Although the weather was clear at this time, it wasn¡¯t dry or hot, rather it was slightly cool. This kind of coolness would be very comfortable on a normal day, but at this moment, it carried an eerie ghostly aura. ¡°Gongzi, what should we do?¡± Yu Rui whispered and asked. Mo Zhaocai started rambling: ¡°Let¡¯s go back, let¡¯s go back. If we don¡¯t go back then at least we can¡¯t use this road¡­¡­..¡± He seemed to have thought of something and suddenly became high-spirited again. He said to Lin Rufei, ¡°Young master Lin, let¡¯s not take the main road. Going around the side is safer.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you know another way?¡± ¡°Of course. I am familiar with the Xiliang Mountains, I know all the roads. However, that road is a bit narrow, carriages can¡¯t pass, so the caravans don¡¯t usually use it.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Although not many people use it, it also has its advantages, which is that there aren¡¯t many people who know that road. So an accident is less likely to occur.¡± He said, ¡°Those things did not attack us, their targets are large caravans. If we take the big road, it will be easy to get implicated ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei mused, ¡°Do you use that road often?¡± ¡°Not often, but last month I happened to take a trip.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°It¡¯s a little off, but a horse can definitely pass. It¡¯s certainly safer than the main road.¡± The biggest reason why the Xiliang Mountains were prone to accidents was because it only had one main road. The caravans simply had no other choice and if people wanted to attack the caravan, they just had to block the main road. They were only a few people, their goal wasn¡¯t obvious, and they were not afraid of unusual beasts. Taking the small road was a pretty good choice. ¡°Sounds good.¡± Lin Rufei agreed to Mo Zhaocai¡¯s proposal. If he were to leave the mountains now, he was afraid that he would have to wait until the rainy season was over and the Autumn was high to reach the Central Plains. And seeing that Mo Zhaocai was so afraid of death, he probably wouldn¡¯t joke with his own life, so Lin Rufei agreed to his proposal and said to take the small path. Fu Hua and Yu Rui also stabilized their emotions and were no longer frightened. Although the maids cultivated, in the end, they still grew up on Kunlun Mountain and have not seen such bloody scenes, which was why they were so frightened yesterday. But they adjusted quite quickly, and when they were on the road again, they were no longer too scared. The carriage could not be used, so they had to ride horses. Considering that the maids were little girls, Lin Rufei let Mo Zhaocai ride on his horse, Mo Zhaocai was small, so he sat in the front and Lin Rufei held the reins behind him. Mo Zhaocai was small, but he was carrying a large backpack. Lin Rufei casually asked what was in his backpack. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just some stuff I need for my usual tricks.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I do not have a place to live so I always carry these little guys[2] that help me with my meals.¡± Lin Rufei blinked and said, ¡°Such as the wooden shield that can withstand all sharp swords?¡± Mo Zhaocai¡¯s expression froze. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Are there any more? I¡¯ll take two more.¡± ¡°No, no more.¡± Mo Zhaocai smiled awkwardly, ¡°It¡¯s a family heirloom ¡­¡­¡± When he said the words ¡°family heirloom,¡± he was glared at by Fu Hua, who was next to him, so he had to lower his voice and said weakly, ¡°Of course, if gongzi really still wants one, I can still look for one again.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then can you give me a cheaper price this time?¡± Mo Zhaocai smiled embarrassingly: ¡°You are my regular customer, I don¡¯t dare take your money.¡± Lin Rufei faintly smiled. They followed the path Mo Zhaocai said all the way forward and did not encounter any more strange things. But this Mo Zhaocai was indeed powerful, the trail was almost covered by the weeds growing on the side and he was still able to accurately find it. It was also worthy of his claim to have grown up in the Xiliang Mountains. The mountains were high and the road was far, and after a day of traveling, the surroundings didn¡¯t seem to have changed much. Except that the forest was a little denser and it was like entering a huge maze. Normal people would always feel a little uneasy. However, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were both sword cultivators so they didn¡¯t feel it. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei was worried about Gu Xuandu¡¯s state all the way until nightfall. He found another corner and called Gu Xuandu out. At this time, Gu Xuandu¡¯s condition had become more serious. He was almost close to being transparent. He looked sickly and drowsy, but when he saw Lin Rufei, he did not forget to tease: ¡°Were you scared last night?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Did what happened last night have something to do with the thing that you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s somewhat related.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry too much, that thing won¡¯t hurt you. What¡¯s more troublesome is the other people who want to get that thing.¡± Lin Rufei mused, ¡°Can I be of any help?¡± Gu Xuandu slowly shook his head. Lin Rufei: ¡°I can¡¯t be of any help?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to help.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying again.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You said that thing will not hurt me so how can I not be of help at all?¡± Gu Xuandu was speechless, and then shook his head uncontrollably: ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous for you now.¡± Lin Rufei pondered for a moment: ¡°I want to try.¡± Gu Xuandu frowned: ¡°You should not be so stubborn, there are still many days ahead ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That thing is very important to you, right?¡± Gu Xuandu did not speak. He looked at Lin Rufei in some distress and he didn¡¯t seem to understand. The usual young master of the Lin family was very easy to coax, however, he became so difficult at this time. Unfortunately, his state was very bad and he was very reluctant to appear. He didn¡¯t have the time to listen to Lin Rufei go into a detailed reasoning so he was torn for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence: ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°I just want to try, if the situation isn¡¯t right I will immediately give up.¡± Somehow, he had a feeling that that thing was very important to Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu had a helpless expression. He still wanted to say something but his body was starting to fade and even his voice was blurred. He said something that was very vague and indistinct before he disappeared. Vaguely, Lin Rufei seems to have heard a ¡°Mo¡± in those words. Mo, Mo family? Mo Zhaocai? Or not to do anything[3]? Lin Rufei thought for a long time, but could not come up with an exact answer. Gu Xuandu disappeared completely. Lin Rufei was a little unaccustomed to not having his constant companion. He returned to the maids and saw Mo Zhaocai gnawing on a big bone, roasted by Fu Hua, with great interest. The bones were bought from the mountain and they were marinated for a long time and kept in the ring. Now it was taken out, sprinkled with some spice, and roasted for dinner. Lin Rufei hasn¡¯t been very interested in meat so he only ate a little and gave the rest to Mo Zhaocai. Mo Zhaocai happily gnawed on the bones and his face was dirtied. He didn¡¯t know how he did it, but he gnawed the bone clean and even licked the oil clean before reluctantly putting it down. After putting it down, he noticed the dumbfounded looks from next to him and he immediately became somewhat embarrassed. He whispered: ¡°Sorry, sorry[4], sister Fu Hua¡¯s cooking is really great, I have not eaten such delicious meat for a long time so I couldn¡¯t hold back ¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua laughed: ¡°I still have some, let¡¯s roast it tomorrow at noon. The weather is hot so it can not be left for too long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really great.¡± Mo Zhaocai said while digging a hole to bury his beloved big bone stick. Lin Rufei looked at his appearance and thought that this child was quite cute, just as if his identity didn¡¯t seem to be as simple as he showed. If Gu Xuandu¡¯s ¡°Mo¡± referred to him, then it was definitely worth noting. After eating, while Mo Zhaocai went to the forest to go ¡°number one[5],¡± Lin Rufei urged Fu Hua and Yu Rui to pay more attention to this little guy. Fu Hua nodded, but she still had some doubts about his words. She said that Mo Zhaocai had no trace of sword Qi, could he actually still pull tricks? Although Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know what secrets this Mo Zhaocai had, it was always good to pay more attention. Mo Zhaocai solved his problem and came back. He squatted next to the campfire and poked the dirt with a stick. The day was getting late. Yesterday, no one slept and they have developed some tiredness but they could only sleep on the ground since they were without a carriage. Fu Hua seemed to have expected this situation so she pulled out ropes. Borrowing the trees on the side, she tied three hammocks and laid soft mats on them. This was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time sleeping in such a hammock and he felt very excited. He laid in the bed and saw the dark sky floating with a bright full moon and light-colored clouds scattered around the full moon. Sleepiness rushed to Lin Rufei¡¯s mind and he slowly closed his eyes before soon falling into a long-lost dream. In the dream world, it seems that someone was shouting and screaming and the color of blood gradually covered his entire field of vision. Lin Rufei woke up with a jolt, his ears ranged with Fu Hua¡¯s sharp cry: ¡°Gongzi¡ª¡ªgongzi, run¡ª¡ª ¡° Lin Rufei sat up from the hammock and saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui, who were fighting with their swords, as well as blood-colored orbs flying all over the sky. He looked carefully and realized that those bloody round objects were actually bloody eyes. They stared at the diffused black pupils and attacked the two maids frantically. And Mo Zhaocai, who was sleeping next to him, was now nestled in the corner shivering. Seeing him awake, he cried out: ¡°Young master Lin¡ª¡ªcome with me quickly¡ª¡ªthey can¡¯t last much longer!¡± Before Lin Rufei could react, Mo Zhaocai ran to his side and grabbed him: ¡°Quickly, run!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Fu Hua¡ª¡± ¡°Gongzi, go first! We will come afterward!¡± Fu Hua answered. Lin Rufei knew that he would be a drag if he stayed here at this time, so he could only move his legs and run wildly with Mo Zhaocai. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I think I¡¯m at my limit¡­¡­. Lin Rufei: What should I do so that you won¡¯t disappear? Gu Xuandu: I¡¯ll be fine if you marry me Lin Rufei: Before you disappear, leave me a piece of your clothing and I will make you a cenotaph. Gu Xuandu: ? ? ? ? Thank you to the little angels that voted for me[6] or irrigated the nutrient solution[7]~ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Inadvertently alert the enemy. [2] Not actually little people, referring to items. [3] The ¡°don¡¯t¡± in this sentences uses the character Mo (Ī), the phrase is (ĪҪ). [4] So the phrase here was ¼ûЦ which directly translates to ¡°I¡¯m making you guys laugh¡± or like showing embarrassment. It¡¯s really hard to describe properly into words and there really isn¡¯t a good English equivalent for it so I went with sorry. [5] Pee break uwu. [6] It¡¯s a voting system that encourages authors and the revenues generated from these votes becomes their incomes. [7] I think this refers to people who buy the VIP chapters to support the authors CH 37 Although it was nighttime, Mo Zhaocai was like a deft hound and easily navigated through the rugged mountain road. He was probably afraid that he would be separated from Lin Rufei, so the entire way, he held onto the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes and constantly whispered the directions. ¡°Gongzi, this side of the grass is deep, you have to be more careful!¡± Mo Zhaocai gasped for breath. Lin Rufei¡¯s body was already weak. As he scurried around with Mo Zhaocai, he was also slightly short of breath. Mo Zhaocai¡¯s footsteps slowed down a little and only had the effort to speak in a breathless voice: ¡°Those things don¡¯t seem to be following us.¡± ¡°Yes, it seems not.¡± Mo Zhaocai looked behind him. He double-checked to make sure he couldn¡¯t see those horrible eyeballs and finally heaved a sigh of relief. He muttered, ¡°What the hell are those things, I thought I was having a nightmare ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where are we now?¡± Mo Zhaocai looked around. They were surrounded by a dense forest. At this time, the light was dim and he didn¡¯t recognize the road under his feet. He couldn¡¯t help but say with a bitter smile, ¡°I do not know. It seems like we¡¯re lost.¡± Lin Rufei looked grave. He took out a paper crane from his ring and sent the paper crane out. After a while, the paper crane came back with a message from Fu Hua. Fu Hua said that Lin Rufei shouldn¡¯t worry. They had cleared out most of the eyeballs and intended to eliminate the rest as well. They asked Lin Rufei to stay put and that they would come looking for him when they are done dealing with the eyeballs. Lin Rufei heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the maids were all right. However, Mo Zhaocai, who was standing beside him, got nervous and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, come here quickly. Crouch down in the grass, don¡¯t say anything¡ª¡± Before Lin Rufei could react, he was pressed down by his shoulders and into the grass. Just as he was wondering what was going on, he heard the rustling sounds of footsteps from not too far away. Lin Rufei followed the gap in the grass and saw a group of people who were walking in this direction. These people carried exaggerated large swords, wore simple short shirts, and emitted a smell of blood all over their bodies. No matter how one looked at them, they didn¡¯t look like good people. The leader of the group had a fierce face. Even through the dull moonlight, an exaggerated scar could be seen across his cheek, giving him a hideous appearance. He was leading about a dozen people behind him and they were all looking around as if they were searching for something. ¡°These people are all mountain bandits.¡± Mo Zhaocai was so nervous that he said in Lin Rufei¡¯s ear inaudibly, ¡°They are all bad people who kill without blinking. If we let them find us, we will be finished.¡± Lin Rufei nodded, signaling that he understood. The two squatted in the grass, trying to cover themselves with the mounds of grass. They watched the group slowly walk past their eyes. It seemed that they were quite lucky. When Lin Rufei saw the last person disappear, he let out a long breath. Mo Zhaocai, even more so. His whole person flopped down onto the ground and he let out a big gasp: ¡°That scared me to death, scared me to death. I thought the two of us would die here.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You know them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know them, but I know the swords in their hands.¡± Mo Zhaocai said in a trembling voice, ¡°They should be Xiao Shou. That pattern engraved on that sword, I can¡¯t forget it even after I die ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you forget?¡± ¡°Of course I can¡¯t forget. I saw with my own eyes as they cut off the heads of a whole caravan.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°The blood, ah ¡­¡­ wait ¡­¡­¡± His original relaxed expression suddenly froze, because he suddenly realized that the person who asked ¡°why can¡¯t you forget?¡± was not Lin Rufei, who was beside him, but from someone behind him. Lin Rufei and Mo Zhaocai turned around together and saw a dozen mountain bandits standing behind them. The leader of the group had a nasty smile on his face and when he saw their pale faces, he laughed, ¡°Yo, it looks like we¡¯re lucky to have found these two little guys.¡± Mo Zhaocai screamed. He turned around and wanted to run but was kicked directly by the man onto the ground. Lin Rufei stood still. The man walked up to him, almost face to face, and sized him up: ¡°Where is this beautiful little gongzi from. Why did you come to the Xiliang Mountains on such a dark night?¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips slightly but did not speak. Mo Zhaocai cried: ¡°Big brother, big brother, you have the kindness to let us go[1]. We are just casual travelers passing by, we don¡¯t have any silver with us.¡± The man ignored Mo Zhaocai and with a wave of his hand, his men took out ropes and tied Mo Zhaocai up tightly. When it came to Lin Rufei, he smiled and said, ¡°Little gongzi, are you going to come with us by yourself, or should I do it?¡± Lin Rufei calmly said, ¡°I can go by myself.¡± After saying that, he coughed lowly twice and his face, which was already not very good, turned even paler. The man saw that he was weak and laughed nastily, ¡°We are traveling fast, little gongzi, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to keep up.¡± He reached out his hand and actually lifted Lin Rufei directly onto his shoulder. Lin Rufei¡¯s vision was instantly reversed. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and say something, a hand chopped[2] down on the back of his neck and he fainted. When Mo Zhaocai saw this scene, he revealed a terrified look. The man smiled straight at him and said: ¡°Although I didn¡¯t find what I wanted, I still got an unexpected harvest.¡± As he said this, the others also carried Mo Zhaocai and the crowd soon disappeared into the forest. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When Fu Hua and Yu Rui arrived, the place was already empty. The maids, who just had a fierce battle, were still covered with blood and enveloped in a murderous aura. They had rushed here as fast as they could, but when they did not find their family¡¯s gongzi, they were instantly annoyed. ¡°Where is gongzi?¡± Yu Rui screamed. ¡°There¡¯s the scent of other people here! Someone has been here!¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Go, follow the scent and search there!¡± The two put their swords away. They looked as fierce as Rakshasasas[3] and chased all the way in the direction that the bandits had left. Lin Rufei woke up to find himself lying on a soft bed. His head vaguely hurt from the chop. He got up from the bed, looked around, and saw Mo Zhaocai in the corner, almost tied up like a crab. Seeing that he was awake, Mo Zhaocai almost cried out: ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re finally awake. I thought something had happened to you!¡± Lin Rufei rubbed his neck and said in a low voice: ¡°Where are we?¡± Mo Zhaocai said honestly, ¡°In the bandit¡¯s den.¡± Lin Rufei was silent for a moment before he asked, ¡°What do they want?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Are you asking if they¡¯re after me or after you?¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Mo Zhaocai said bitterly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s different. I¡¯m just a poor punk with no one to depend on, the bandits will probably kill me with a single strike. However, since they encountered you, they certainly won¡¯t let you go. I heard that their boss eats anything[4], he likes beautiful people. He alone, already has more than twenty wives¡ª¡± Lin Rufei still didn¡¯t understand: ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Means he wants to marry you, ah.¡± Mo Zhaocai said sadly. How did he only find out today that this beautiful gongzi was a bit stupid. Lin Rufei said incredulously: ¡°But I am a man.¡± Mo Zhaocai said: ¡°You don¡¯t understand. If there aren¡¯t women, then men can also do. Furthermore, there are people who like men ¡­¡­ especially ones like gongzi, beautiful and with a good body.¡± Lin Rufei, with his weak and slender body, handsome face¡ªcoupled with a noble aura that even normal people could see, was simply the favorite targets of the mountain bandits. But apparently, the gongzi in front of him was completely unable to understand this matter. He was sitting on the bed showing an expression like he had just seen a ghost. The two of them were talking when a man came in from outside. It was the same man who knocked Lin Rufei unconscious. When he saw Lin Rufei, he smiled and said, ¡°Awake?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him and didn¡¯t say anything. The man said, ¡°After coming here, no matter what your status was before, you are now my person.¡± He walked up to Lin Rufei and reached out to grasp his chin, however, Lin Rufei dodged it with a frown. ¡°Yo, still hiding. This is gonna be fun, ah. I like feisty beauties, otherwise, it¡¯s gonna be like doing a dead fish¡ªboring.¡± The man said as he revealed an evil smile. He already saw that Lin Rufei¡¯s body was light and wasn¡¯t even as heavy as his sword. He didn¡¯t look like someone who had practice, furthermore, he had no sword intent so he was probably just an ordinary family¡¯s wealthy son. Just that he was born with beautiful good looks that made a person¡¯s heart itch[5] when they looked at him. ¡°The Spring night is short, let¡¯s not waste time either.¡± The man reached out and was about to grab Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, trying to accustom him to the bed. Lin Rufei had just suffered a loss so this time, he had experience. He shrank back a bit and with his right hand, he reached into his dimensional ring to pull out a black wooden shield. He raised his hand and aimed for the man¡¯s head. The man didn¡¯t know where he got this wooden shield from, but when he saw his action, he laughed. He raised his hand to grab it. He believed that Lin Rufei¡¯s shield would have no force and could be easily stopped. Mo Zhaocai also couldn¡¯t bear it and closed his eyes. He was afraid that Lin Rufei would completely anger the mountain bandits and then when the time came, he would have to suffer a bit more. But who knew that with his eyes closed, he heard a ¡°clack¡± sound followed by the bandit¡¯s muffled grunt. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Lin Rufei holding the wooden shield with an innocent face. The bandit¡¯s arm took on a twisted shape and he fell directly onto the bed unconscious. ¡°How, how did you do that?¡± Mo Zhaocai was so surprised that his dialect even came out. (t.n: I¡¯m not sure how to convey dialect in English, but I believe this is the Sichuan dialect [I¡¯m not good with dialects either XD]) ¡°I just wanted to try. I didn¡¯t think I would hit him that hard.¡± Before Lin Rufei traveled to the mountains, he was learning with Gu Xuandu on how to attach sword Qi to foreign objects. Now, he finally had results and it seemed to be outstanding. He reached out and probed the mountain bandit¡¯s nostrils to make sure he was still alive, ¡°I thought I had smashed him to death.¡± Mo Zhaocai¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. ¡°Your shield is working quite well.¡± Lin Rufei raised the wooden shield in his hand and said seriously, ¡°A medium-grade spirit stone was quite worth it.¡± Mo Zhaocai was silent for a long time and finally, with a red face, he squeezed out a sentence: ¡°Gongzi, untie me first. Otherwise, someone will come in later¡­..¡± Lin Rufei nodded and untied Mo Zhaocai. The two of them tied up the mountain bandit, who had a broken arm, and also used a towel to tightly plug his mouth. After all this, Lin Rufei¡¯s whole body was covered in sweat so he sat down resting while also panting. Mo Zhaocai quietly touched the door. He looked to see the movement outside then turned back and whispered: ¡°Gongzi, what to do, ah, there are people guarding the door.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How many?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I only saw one.¡± Lin Rufei thought for a while. He then raised his hand and slapped the bandit, who was knocked unconscious, a few times to wake him up. The bandit woke up in a daze. He reflexively wanted to speak harshly after seeing Lin Rufei and Mo Zhaocai standing in front of him, however, he found that his mouth was firmly stuffed with something and couldn¡¯t let out a word no matter how much he tried. Lin Rufei pulled out a dagger from his dimensional ring and placed it directly against his neck. He wasn¡¯t able to control his strength well and directly cut a clear blood mark on his skin. He hurriedly said, ¡°Sorry. First time using it, not too skilled.¡± The mountain bandit¡¯s face showed horror. ¡°I¡¯ll unstuff your mouth, but you¡¯re not allowed to make a sound, or I¡¯ll chop off your head with a dagger.¡± Lin Rufei slowly said, ¡°Nod your head if you understand.¡± The bandit slowly nodded his head. Lin Rufei gave Mo Zhaocai a look and Mo Zhaocai carefully pulled out the cloth stuffed in the bandit¡¯s mouth. The bandit gasped violently for a few seconds before hissing, ¡°Even if you two kill me, you won¡¯t be able to leave here!¡± Lin Rufei looked at him and said, ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± ¡°Haha, I know you have some exiled immortal tactics. These tactics are enough to deal with a mortal like me, but to deal with the thing in the mountain, it¡¯s not even close to enough.¡± The mountain bandit sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here.¡± Lin Rufei said curiously, ¡°Oh, you know where that thing is?¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know the location of that thing?¡± The mountain bandit said, ¡°It¡¯s one thing to know and another thing to get your hands on it.¡± Lin Rufei pondered for a moment and was about to ask again, but Mo Zhaocai suddenly became nervous and pointed outside, ¡°Gongzi, someone is coming this way!¡± As his words fell, chaotic footsteps came from outside, followed by a heavy knock on the door. Someone called out, ¡°Brother Wang, are you done yet?¡± So the bandit¡¯s surname was Wang, Lin Rufei pushed the dagger in his hand forward and slightly raised his chin, signaling him to say what he should say. Thus, the bandit surnamed Wang said gruffly: ¡°F**k off, are you trynna pressure me? You think I¡¯m like you, two hits and done?¡± The crowd outside the door burst into laughter. ¡°You guys go ahead, I¡¯ll follow you as soon as I¡¯m done.¡± He said as he turned his head to look at Lin Rufei. ¡°Yo, it looks like that pretty little gongzi is quite to your liking.¡± That man said, ¡°Then remember to hurry up, those two women have already been lured over.¡± ¡°I know. One more round and I¡¯m coming.¡± The mountain bandit answered. The man outside the door seemed to be used to this style of action and did not find it strange, so he turned around and walked away. Only after the footsteps had completely disappeared did Lin Rufei say, ¡°Two women? Who are the two women they are talking about?¡± The mountain bandit said, ¡°It¡¯s said to be two exiled immortals at the fifth-level of cultivation, I¡¯m not sure about the specifics¡­¡­¡± Things seemed to be getting more and more complicated. From the time they went up the mountain, they were already being watched and the people who were watching them seemed to be involved with the thing that was affecting Gu Xuandu. After thinking for a moment, Lin Rufei bargained with the mountain bandit to take him to that place. The bandit immediately agreed, saying that he would be willing to take Lin Rufei and Mo Zhaocai out as long as he was not killed. ¡°Gongzi, don¡¯t believe him, you can¡¯t trust a word from this bandit¡¯s mouth.¡± Just then, Mo Zhaocai suddenly opened his mouth and said anxiously, ¡°If we let him go out, he will definitely renege on his promise and take our lives.¡± When the bandit heard Mo Zhaocai say this, he laughed: ¡°Without me, you can¡¯t even find your way out, so how can you save the two women?¡± ¡°Just because you say we can¡¯t find it, doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t find it!¡± Mo Zhaocai disdainfully said, ¡°Not to brag, but as long as someone walks past me, even after half a day, I can follow their trail all the way there, we don¡¯t need you!¡± Since Mo Zhaocai could find the way, then the mountain bandit in front of him was indeed of no use. Lin Rufei looked at the dagger in his hand. The bandit felt something and his face contorted into fear. He was about to open his mouth to beg for mercy when Mo Zhaocai fiercely stuffed his mouth with a cloth. In the end, it was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time killing with his own hands so he was slightly hesitant and Mo Zhaocai saw the incomparable anxiousness in his heart. He was afraid that Lin Rufei would go soft-hearted, so out of nowhere, he pulled out a short knife and slashed at the mountain bandit¡¯s neck. This knife directly slashed the bandit¡¯s aorta. The blood sprayed extremely high and splashed all over Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei took a step back and frowned at Mo Zhaocai. Mo Zhaocai said: ¡°Gongzi, I was afraid you couldn¡¯t do it¡­¡­.¡± This Lin Rufei indeed looked like he couldn¡¯t kill. He was afraid he couldn¡¯t do it, so he simply solved the problem himself. Lin Rufei said, ¡°At least say so before you do it.¡± He pointed to the blood on his own body, ¡°It splashed all over me.¡± Mo Zhaocai was dumbfounded, he thought Lin Rufei would blame him, but he didn¡¯t expect him to say such a thing. ¡°Also.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°You killed him just like that but the people outside have yet to be settled.¡± Only then did Mo Zhaocai remember that there was still a man guarding the door. He raised his hand and scratched his head in panic and let out an ¡°oops.¡± Lin Rufei looked at him thoughtfully but did not say anything more about him. He just took out a talisman from his ring and told Mo Zhaocai the usage of the talisman. This talisman was given to him by sister Lin Weirui before he left Kunlun. Most of the things she gave were strange and odd but they were very practical contraptions, such as this talisman. He just had to paste it on that person¡¯s body and that person would not be able to move for half an hour. ¡°Let me do it, gongzi.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I¡¯m nimble, I can definitely paste it on.¡± Lin Rufei handed the talisman in his hand to Mo Zhaocai. Mo Zhaocai really lived up to his expectations. He lightly opened the door and before the man could react, he touched behind him and directly pasted the talisman on. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei then followed Mo Zhaocai out of the room. The two were about to leave when Mo Zhaocai suddenly stopped in his tracks and said hesitantly, ¡°Gongzi, wait for me for a moment.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Hmm?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± As he said this, he turned and scurried into another room and when he came back again, there was a huge backpack behind him¡ªthe same one he had carried on his back before. ¡°Hehe, I thought I lost it.¡± Mo Zhaocai rubbed his nose and laughed, ¡°It turned out to be in the next room, my luck is pretty good.¡± ¡°Indeed the luck is not bad.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s words had a deeper meaning. Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go quickly, we can¡¯t let the others find out.¡± This bandit¡¯s den was very laxly guarded since most of the people inside had left. Lin Rufei suspected that the place these people went to was the same place where Fu Hua and Yu Rui were led to. However, he didn¡¯t know what they wanted to do and why they would focus on two exiled immortals with a level five cultivation. Mo Zhaocai did indeed have an unusual talent for finding his way around. He looked east and then west and easily led Lin Rufei out of the bandit¡¯s den, bypassing many patrols in the process. When they reached the outside of the den, Mo Zhaocai quickly determined the direction of the group¡¯s departure and said, ¡°Gongzi, they are heading this way, but should we follow them?¡± Since they already made it this far, then naturally they had to follow them. Lin Rufei walked forward, but a strong sense of foreboding arose in his heart. He felt that he was getting closer and closer to the thing that was affecting Gu Xuandu. Mo Zhaocai also became vaguely excited but he forcibly suppressed this emotion. He continued pretending to be afraid and led the way for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei saw this but did not point it out. After all, he still needed this little guy to lead the way. The further they went, the more strange the scenery on the roadside became. The original lush trees began to reveal dry branches. The roadside weeds were gone and were replaced by jagged rocks and red mud. In the mud, they could clearly see messy footprints and they even vaguely saw blinding blood. However, the blood had already turned dried brown. Most likely a fight happened here a long time ago. Mo Zhaocai carried his huge backpack and walked carefully. He looked around from time to time while Lin Rufei once again took out the paper cranes from the ring to send a message to Fu Hua and Yu Rui, but the paper crane could not fly out. This could only mean that either something has happened to the two of them, or they are now in a space where they cannot communicate with the outside world. Mo Zhaocai, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped walking and lowered his voice, ¡°Gongzi, those people are just ahead.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Can we get a little closer?¡± Mo Zhaocai looked around and pointed to a huge red rock not far away. This rock looked a bit abrupt on the side of the road, but there was really no other good place to hide except there. Lin Rufei and Mo Zhaocai then moved next to the rock and looked in the direction of the mountain bandits. The mountain bandits were about two dozen in number and were gathered together at the moment. Borrowing the night light, Lin Rufei saw them drawing a complex spell formation. After drawing the spell formation, they took out a huge cloth bag and rustled something out of the bag. As soon as those things were poured out, they rumbled and rolled all over the place. Upon a closer look, they realized it was a bag of human eyeballs. The eyeballs look like they were just dug out and were still wet with blood. It looked extraordinarily gruesome at first glance. These eyeballs were most likely dug out from the passing travelers. It¡¯s just that they didn¡¯t know exactly how many people¡¯s eyes were dug out to fill out an entire bag. Mo Zhaocai trembled with fear and his body couldn¡¯t help but shiver. Lin Rufei slightly frowned: ¡°What are they doing?¡± Mo Zhaocai said: ¡°It seems to be related to the thing in the Xiliang Mountains ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What thing?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Rumor has it that the Heavenly Ruler put a precious magic treasure in the Xiliang Mountains back then. If they were able to get that magic treasure then a wish would be granted.¡± Lin Rufei looked at Mo Zhaocai: ¡°You believe it?¡± Mo Zhaocai¡¯s hand, which supported the heavy backpack, tightened: ¡°I believe it.¡± As the two were speaking, not far away in the sky, a round blood-red object slowly rose. At first glance, it looked like a blood moon, but upon closer inspection, it was actually a huge pupil and it cast a cold gaze towards the dozens of mountain bandits. The bandits, seeing such a treacherous situation, did not show any fear. Instead, they all got excited together and dozens of them started whispering to the pupil as if they were chanting some kind of incantation. The blood-colored pupil quietly hovered in mid-air, like the pupil of a god without sorrow or joy. It gazed indifferently at the mortals who were in a frenzy under the night. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: First day offline and Xiao Jiu was assaulted. Lin Rufei: If you didn¡¯t go offline, I would have been assaulted daily by you. Gu Xuandu: Then pick one? Lin Rufei pulls out his shield: I¡¯ll just smash them all to death. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­. Lin Rufei who got the wooden shield seems to have opened the door to some strange new world ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] The phrase here is ´óÈËÓдóÁ¿ which means someone in power should be able to tolerate and won¡¯t argue/bicker with others, so in this case since he is in power, he should have the power to let them go and not bicker with them. [2] Knife-hand strike. CH 38 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ The giant pupil swept its cold gaze around the crowd. It didn¡¯t seem to be able to find the target it wanted and its color began to fade as if it was about to re-hide back into the darkness. However, at this time, two figures flew through the sky. Lin Rufei raised his eyes to look and unexpectedly saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui. The two maids had gone through a fierce fight and their white clothes were covered with scarlet blood. They were holding their long swords with a ferocious look and after noticing the bandits not far away, they raised their swords and slashed. The next moment, there were bandits¡¯ heads that fell directly to the ground. When their companions were suddenly killed, the bandits did not look angry at all, instead, they laughed maniacally. ¡°Are these people crazy?¡± Yu Rui was confused and said annoyingly, ¡°Someone died and they¡¯re still laughing?¡± Fu Hua coldly said, ¡°Then kill them all.¡± Dead people couldn¡¯t laugh anymore. As the two people were talking, they didn¡¯t seem to see the giant pupil floating in the sky. Lin Rufei had a sense of foreboding and wanted to stand up to call out to the two people, but he felt something sharp being held against his back. He turned his head and looked at Mo Zhaocai, who was holding a dagger in his hand. His face did not look surprised at all and he only sighed slightly. ¡°Lin gongzi, apologies.¡± Mo Zhaocai said. ¡°Why are you making your move now?¡± Lin Rufei slowly said, ¡°I thought you had to wait a little longer.¡± Mo Zhaocai was confused, ¡°You saw through it?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Your luck was a little too good.¡± Mo Zhaocai smiled, but unfortunately, there was not much sincerity in the smile, ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t blame me, I had no choice.¡± Lin Rufei spread his hands and made a helpless expression. Mo Zhaocai saw this and thought that this sign meant that he was giving up. However, who knew that the next moment, Lin Rufei¡¯s body erupted with an ear-piercing sharp sound. The sound directly shook Mo Zhaocai into dizziness and he involuntarily backed up a few steps. At the same time, he also attracted the attention of Fu Hua and Yu Rui, who were still in mid-air. ¡°Young master!¡± Yu Rui was surprised. Mo Zhaocai soon recovered. He grabbed the dagger in his hand and rushed at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei reacted very quickly. He pulled out the wooden shield from his ring and raised his hand to block. When Mo Zhaocai saw the wooden shield, a smile immediately appeared on his face, as if he thought he had a sure victory. However, when the dagger in his hand heavily pierced the wooden shield, he heard the crisp sound of gold ringing and jade breaking. The special dagger in his hand actually broke into several pieces. ¡°How, how is that possible!¡± Mo Zhaocai stared with a pair of big round eyes. It was as if he had seen a ghost as he dazedly looked at the wooden shield in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. He was stunned, ¡°This wooden shield ¡­¡­¡± ¡°It works really well.¡± Lin Rufei praised, ¡°One spirit stone, you definitely sold it for really cheap.¡± Mo Zhaocai¡¯s face instantly turned red and he gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°Young master!¡± At that moment, Fu Hua and Yu Rui both noticed where Lin Rufei was and came towards his side with a happy call. However, just as their swords flew halfway there, the giant blood-colored pupil had landed its sight on their bodies. ¡°Ah!¡± In the middle of the air, Yu Rui let out a miserable scream. She was like a bird with broken wings as she fell straight down from the sky. Fu Hua wanted to go catch her, but also suddenly screamed in pain. She then fell at the same time with Yu Rui from mid-air. Lin Rufei immediately pulled out a rainbow ribbon from his dimensional ring and threw it in the direction of Fu Hua and Yu Rui. The rainbow ribbon flew out and wrapped around the bodies of Fu Hua and Yu Rui and then blossomed into an exaggerated silk flower as it carried the two slowly down to the ground. Both of them covered their faces with their hands and moaned uncontrollably. He saw traces of blood flowing from their closed eyes as it slowly slid down their cheeks and towards their chins. Lin Rufei drew his legs and ran towards the two. At the same time, the giant pupil that was suspended in mid-air slowly moved and turned its gaze to Fu Hua and Yu Rui, who were lying on the ground and gradually losing consciousness. Lin Rufei also felt the giant pupil¡¯s gaze. He could hardly describe this gaze in words. There was no trace of warmth when it looked at them, like it was looking at lifeless objects. Even the soft hairs on his skin could not help but stand upside down. ¡°Young master ¡­¡­ young master ¡­¡­ run.¡± Fu Hua felt Lin Rufei¡¯s approach and her voice faintly called out, ¡°Run. This thing ¡­¡­ can¡¯t be messed with ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei clenched his teeth and did not speak. He turned to stare at the giant blood-colored pupil. Compared to his nervousness, the bandits were extraordinarily excited. They looked at the giant pupil that finally responded and even began to cheer excitedly. Mo Zhaocai was carrying his only backpack as he stood next to the boulder. He sometimes looked at Lin Rufei and sometimes looked at the huge eye. His already thin figure appeared lowly compared to the giant pupil. ¡°Finally it¡¯s open, finally it¡¯s open¡ª¡± Someone cheered. ¡°It really did need the eyes of an exiled immortal.¡± Someone screamed, ¡°Quick, quick get in there and see what¡¯s in there¡ª¡± ¡°Go, go!¡± Someone had already pulled out the knife on their back. It was like a drunken revelry. Everyone¡¯s sanity seemed to have been taken away. Their faces also turned red under the illumination of the red light emitted by the giant pupil and there was not a trace of sanity left in their expressions that a normal person should have. Following the gaze of the giant pupil, all their thinking ability was slowly being swallowed. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The middle of the giant pupil cracked. A black slit formed and black smoke came pouring out of it. This scene was treacherous and horrific, but the bandits who had gone mad were oblivious. They continued to run towards the giant pupil, fearing that they were running too slow. Mo Zhaocai stood still, his face showing a mixture of hesitation and confusion. He seemed to be thinking whether he should continue to stand or to run with the mountain bandits together towards the giant pupil. Finally, someone ran up to the bloody giant pupil and couldn¡¯t wait to stick his hand into the dark crack. He opened his mouth and laughed: ¡°Found it¡ªfound it¡ª¡± His laughter stopped abruptly and then a tooth-aching chewing sound followed. Crunch, Crunch. The giant pupil seemed to have grown teeth as it directly chewed the hand that reached into the crack. ¡°Ahhhhh!!!!!¡± The man let out a miserable cry and turned to flee, but the giant pupil opened even wider and directly swallowed his entire body inside. The chewing sound was getting louder and louder making anyone who was listening to it feel like their scalp was about to explode. But the bandits who heard this horrific sound remained oblivious. They were neither scared nor intimidated and continued to swarm towards the giant pupil, just like moths that flew towards the fire. The moth¡¯s fragile wings were quickly ignited, turning into a moment of brilliant flame, and then finally, became a dark gray. Lin Rufei watched this scene and stood silently in place. One¡ªtwo¡ªdozens of mountain bandits were all gradually swallowed by the giant pupil. Mo Zhaocai, who was standing behind the stone, suddenly let out a cry. He still seemed to have some sanity left. However, he still hesitantly moved his legs and slowly went towards the giant pupil. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t hold back his voice: ¡°Don¡¯t go over, you will die!¡± Mo Zhaocai looked back and smiled reluctantly. He shook his head and then nodded again, ¡°Lin gongzi, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What are you going to do? That thing will kill you!¡± So many people died in front of them, and besides, Mo Zhaocai obviously still had the ability to think, so how could he want to follow the bandits over? Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I, I can¡¯t help it.¡± He sighed heavily, ¡°I really can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°Of course you can¡¯t help it, who told you to be just a Mo family dog?¡± A laughing voice came out from behind Lin Rufei, carrying a nasty tone, ¡°A dog guarding the house has already reached its pinnacle, what else do you want to do?¡± Lin Rufei turned around and saw the bandit leader, who should have been killed by Mo Zhaocai¡¯s knife, now squatting on top of the boulder that was behind him¡ªintact. He was looking at everything in front of him with interest, ¡°Don¡¯t you think so, Zhaocai?¡± Mo Zhaocai¡¯s lips twitched and for a long time, he remained silent. ¡°I know what you want, isn¡¯t it to resurrect that dead bastard, Mo Changshan.¡± The bandit leader looked at Mo Zhaocai with a tilt of his head and snorted, ¡°But he died so tragically that he didn¡¯t even get his head back. You still want to resurrect him just like that?¡± Mo Zhaocai said lividly, ¡°Mo Changlan, you shut up!¡± Once this name came out, the identity of the bandit leader was finally revealed. Not only was he a member of the Mo family, but he also seemed to have a deep connection with the dead Mo Changshan. Mo Changlan laughed. Mo Zhaocai looked at him with hatred and Mo Changlan waved his hand indifferently: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I didn¡¯t do anything to you. Besides, I also promised that as long as you can get that thing in your hand, you will be allowed to make a wish first.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Although I have become a bandit, I will still keep my promise.¡± Mo Changlan said, ¡°But you saw what happened before. If you also want to go to your death, I naturally will not stop you.¡± The devoured bandits did not even have bones left and all seemed to be pointing towards disaster if Mo Zhaocai decided to go. However, he still went forward. Facing the huge blood pupil, he gritted his teeth and continued on. As he got closer and closer to the giant pupil, his ears were actually flooded with a thin whisper. The whispering voice was familiar and Mo Zhaocai¡¯s eyes widened in shock: ¡°Young ¡­¡­ young master?¡± ¡°Is it young master?¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°Is it young master talking?¡± No one knew what he heard but his emotions instantly rose, ¡°Young master, I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here to save you! You don¡¯t have to suffer anymore!¡± After he said these words, a happy smile hung on his face and his steps grew a little faster. ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a pity.¡± Mo Changlan stood by Lin Rufei¡¯s side. He didn¡¯t have the intention to make a move on him and simply sigh. Only this sigh contained no trace of emotion, it was indifferent like a passing spectator. In the end, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know what the relationship between Mo Changlan and Mo Zhaocai was, and how he appeared in the bandit fortress on the Xiliang Mountains. He only knew that it must have been Mo Zhaocai who played some tricks to kill Mo Changlan in front of himself under false pretenses. Seeing Lin Rufei look over, Mo Changlan laughed: ¡°Beautiful, if you look at me with such eyes, I will not be able to control myself.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Control?¡± Mo Changlan said, ¡°Appetite and lust are only natural.[1]¡° Lin Rufei said, ¡°Your right hand doesn¡¯t hurt anymore?¡± That hand was smashed to pieces by his shield. Don¡¯t be fooled by this Mo Changlan¡¯s dashing looks, in fact, this whole time his right hand did not move. It was probably a heavy injury. Mo Changlan clenched his teeth, ¡°¡­¡­ it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore!¡± Lin Rufei waved the wooden shield in his hand: ¡°Then should I help you review it again?¡± Mo Changlan couldn¡¯t help but take a step back. This Lin gongzi, although he was born with a soft and weak look and looked like he was easily bullied, only those who have been smashed by him knew how much it hurts. He was someone that used to be a sword cultivator and this smack from Lin Rufei¡¯s shield had shattered his whole hand into pieces. He didn¡¯t know how long it would take to heal. Seeing that Mo Changlan did not say anything, Lin Rufei returned his attention to Mo Zhaocai. Mo Zhaocai moved forward step by step and was almost at the giant pupil. The giant pupil had swallowed dozens of people and the black crack seemed to have vaguely expanded. The rich smell of blood, that was being emitted from inside, could even vaguely be detected by Lin Rufei. The fear on Mo Zhaocai¡¯s face gradually faded and it had begun to turn into the madness and obsession seen on the mountain bandits a while ago. He stared at the giant pupil in front of him with a gentle look as if he was looking at his long-lost old friend. Mo Zhaocai¡¯s footsteps finally stopped before the giant pupil. As long as he raised his hand, he would be able to reach into the gap. Lin Rufei frowned, he seemed to have seen how Mo Zhaocai would end up. Mo Changlan also sighed slightly. The two did not speak and their expressions were slightly gloomy. However, when Mo Zhaocai slowly raised his hand to reach into it, it seemed like he was pulled by something. His feet stumbled and he failed to stand properly as he fell to the ground. Because of his posture, his whole body fell onto the backpack behind him. The backpack made a crunching sound and it seemed that something broke inside. When Mo Zhaocai heard the noise, his face changed dramatically. He panicked, dragged over the backpack, and hurriedly opened it. Lin Rufei had always been curious about what was inside that backpack. Now that Mo Zhaocai unpacked the backpack, he was able to see. It was a black wooden box wrapped extraordinarily tight. Its length and width were about two feet and it was wrapped in layers of soft cloth, so most likely the inside was filled with fragile goods. Mo Zhaocai took out the box. After finding that the wooden box had a broken corner because of his fall, his expression became extremely ugly. He carefully opened a corner of the box. After making sure that the contents inside were not broken, he released a long breath and muttered, ¡°Luckily, luckily ¡­¡­ luckily it¡¯s okay.¡± As he said these words, he gently stroked the wooden box in front of him. A thin layer of moisture gathered in his eyes, ¡°That scared¡­¡­me to death.¡± Mo Changlan saw Mo Zhaocai¡¯s action and his face sank. He coldly said: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to actually find it.¡± He didn¡¯t know exactly what Mo Zhaocai found in the end, but it actually made Mo Changlan¡¯s body release a strong killing aura. As Lin Rufei was wondering, he saw Mo Zhaocai gently take out the thing from the wooden box. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. It was surprisingly a human head. The head was still in the shape of a teenager and was no different from the shape of a normal person. Its eyes were closed as if it had just fallen into a deep sleep. ¡°F**k.¡± Mo Changlan cursed, ¡°How could Mo Changshan raise such an obedient dog.¡± These words made people feel very uncomfortable. Lin Rufei frowned after hearing this and glared at him. Mo Changlan felt a little guilty from Lin Rufei¡¯s glare and his momentum instantly weakened by a few points. He explained, ¡°I didn¡¯t curse at anyone. This Mo Zhaocai is one of Mo Changshan¡¯s dogs!¡± Lin Rufei was expressionless: ¡°Saying that people are dogs is not considered cursing?¡± Mo Changlan said, ¡°Naturally it is¡­¡­ but Mo Zhaocai is different, he was originally a dog!¡± Lin Rufei said unhappily, ¡°And you still say you¡¯re not cursing.¡± Mo Changlan was dumbfounded and wasn¡¯t able to say anything for a long time. Finally, he helplessly waved his left hand: ¡°Forget it, forget it. I¡¯m too lazy to explain to you.¡± Logically speaking, if they were to say that Lin Rufei did not have sword Qi on his body, he shouldn¡¯t be afraid of him. However, he didn¡¯t know if it was because of the shield incident, but Mo Changlan looked at the little gongzi, who was gentle as jade, with some fear. There was no doubt that the head held in Mo Zhaocai¡¯s hand at this time, was the Mo family¡¯s eldest son, Mo Changshan, who had died. Even though he had been dead for some years, his reputation was still widespread. As long as the Mo family was mentioned, they would know his name and then sigh in pity. Lin Rufei had also heard of the name Mo Changshan. More than ten years ago, this name usually appeared together with Lin Bianyu. The people knew that above the western mountains, there were two stars; one star for Jade (yu) and the second star for Mountain (shan). This referred to Lin Bianyu and Mo Changshan. Mo Changshan was about the same age as Lin Bianyu and had the same outstanding talent. Unfortunately, God was jealous of his talent[2] and he did not live past his sixteenth birthday. That year, the Kunlun Sword Sect sent out invitations to the world¡¯s most powerful people to come to the sword competition. Mo Changshan was invited to go, but he was cut off halfway. After the Mo family learned of the incident, they immediately sent people to search for him. They searched for more than twenty days when they finally found Mo Changshan¡¯s body in a stream a hundred miles away from Kunlun. He was still holding a sword and was half kneeling on the edge of the stream. The blood on his body had dried and it was empty above his neck¡ªsomeone had killed Mo Changshan and cut off his head cleanly. The Mo family was outraged and put out a heavy reward for the murderer. However, ten years have passed and the murderer was still missing. It should be expected. After all, this person was able to quietly take away Mo Changshan and kill the genius unsuspectingly so his life probably couldn¡¯t be bought by money. The Mo family gradually declined and the murder case that shocked Jianghu at the time, also gradually faded away. People were forgetful. With the passage of time, people began to gradually forget the name Mo Changshan as well as the bloodshed that year. Plus, with the fall of the Mo family, no one asked about the matter again. These were Yu Rui and Lin Rufei¡¯s private talk. The maids on the mountains have nothing to do so they always love to hear some interesting stories. Mo Changshan¡¯s story, for others, may also be called interesting, but this interest was mixed with a little sigh. People couldn¡¯t help but fantasize that if Mo Changshan was still alive, would he have become a powerful swordsman like the second son of the Lin family, Lin Bianyu? Unfortunately, the deceased eventually turned to earth and the past became untraceable. Mo Zhaocai held Mo Changshan¡¯s head in his arms and slowly helped him tidy up his hair, which was a bit messy. When Mo Changlan saw this, he averted his gaze and cursed lowly. Lin Rufei¡¯s mood was also very complicated. He looked at Mo Zhaocai and a sigh surfaced in his heart. The Mo family spent so much effort that year but also did not find Mo Changshan¡¯s head. No one knew how much work it took, or how many methods were used for this servant in front of him, called Mo Zhaocai, to find his master¡¯s head. Looking at his age, it seems that he wasn¡¯t too old. He was most likely still a child when Mo Changshan died. Even though he did something against him, Lin Rufei still wanted to praise his perseverance and courage. ¡°Young master, Zhaocai will try, don¡¯t you worry.¡± Mo Zhaocai straightened his master¡¯s hair and whispered, ¡°Zhaocai is of little use, this is the only way.¡± He was too weak, weak to the point of humility. He didn¡¯t know the art of the sword, nor was he able to find magic treasures. If he continued like this, he would never be able to resurrect Mo Changshan. The blood pupil in front of him was his only chance. That year, the Heavenly Ruler arrived in the west on his sword, from the Xiliang Mountains along the Canglan River all the way to Kunlun. Since then no one knew where he went. Rumor has it that he passed by the Xiliang Mountains and dropped a blood-colored object, which could fulfill a wish of a mortal. Every legend had a basis, Mo Zhaocai firmly believed so. ¡°Mo Zhaocai, don¡¯t go there! You¡¯ll die!¡± Lin Rufei saw him regain his stance as he put the head back into the wooden box so he shouted, ¡°That man-eating thing, how can it be a treasure?!!!¡± Mo Zhaocai turned back to Lin Rufei. His face showed some embarrassment as he scratched his head and smiled guiltily, ¡°Lin gongzi, in fact, that shield is a fake. I just found a random piece of wood on the roadside that had yet to be pierced by a sword. The materials also included raw iron¡­¡­the particularly brittle kind.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°It¡¯s really fake?¡± Mo Zhaocai said: ¡°Naturally¡ª¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then why did this Mo Changlan¡¯s hand get shattered?¡± Mo Zhaocai froze and only after a long time did he say, ¡°Maybe because he¡¯s a straw bag waste.¡± (t/n: refresher, straw bag = idiot) Mo Changlan glared in anger and the murderous aura on his body swept out in layers, yet neither Lin Rufei nor Mo Zhaocai seemed to feel it. Finally, he also ran out of steam, sighed, and touched his still broken right arm. ¡°Anyway¡­¡­ anyway¡­¡­ that shield is really fake.¡± Mo Zhaocai said and then remembered his dagger that was just broken by Lin Rufei. He was suddenly confused and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s fake, right? It¡¯s fake, right? Damn, could it be that old Wang actually used the real thing to fool me¡­¡­.¡± A smile surfaced in Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes but he quickly suppressed it, ¡°I don¡¯t care whether it¡¯s real or fake. As long as it works.¡± He didn¡¯t know what Gu Xuandu would think if he knew that he still couldn¡¯t use his sword well, but was already able to use the shield so skillfully. Mo Zhaocai showed a helpless expression: ¡°Okay. But, I just wanted to remind you. Just don¡¯t meet a tough nut to crack.¡± He put the backpack down and said seriously, ¡°Lin gongzi, if I die, can you please do me a favor?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°No.¡± Mo Zhaocai stared at him, ¡°Why?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I never help dead people, it¡¯s bad luck. If you want to do something, do it yourself.¡± Mo Zhaocai said, ¡°I just want to trouble you to bury me and gongzi together ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That eye eats people without spitting out bones, what do I bury?¡± Mo Zhaocai thought about it and found it quite reasonable. In the end, he fished out his bone knife, cut off a lock of his own hair, and placed it next to Mo Changshan¡¯s head, laughing, ¡°It¡¯s OK now, right?¡± Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand why he chose to die: ¡°Why are you so stubborn¡ª¡± Mo Zhaocai laughed: ¡°Lin gongzi, you don¡¯t understand. I am just a dog of the Mo family. I have a lowly life. To be able to live until now, I owe it all to Da Gongzi. So as long as Da Gongzi can come back to life, I am willing to try any method.¡± After he finished speaking, he knelt down and made a big salute to Lin Rufei, ¡°Thank you in advance, Lin gongzi.¡± After saying that, he reached his hand into the blood pupil¡¯s black slit. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: You didn¡¯t come online today either. Gu Xuandu: If I said I did, would you believe me? Lin Rufei: Where? Gu Xuandu: Guess~ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] ¡°By nature we desire food and sex,¡± he is saying that eating and sex is the same thing and that it is natural to crave for it. [2] those whom the Gods love die young; heaven is jealous of the heroic genius; the great have great hardship to contend with. CH 39 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Mo Zhaocai¡¯s hand reached into the giant pupil and his face showed some surprise. However, the surprise did not last for long and it instantly turned into stunned fear. The ear-piercing chewing sounded again. Mo Zhaocai, like those mountain bandits, was sucked directly into the blood pupil by a huge force. There was no miracle. Mo Changlan was not surprised and even snorted indifferently. The giant pupil ate Mo Zhaocai and its iris turned slightly. Its gaze fell on Lin Rufei and Mo Changlan¡¯s bodies. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know if it was his delusion, but he actually felt that the giant pupil was thinking, thinking about whether to swallow him and Mo Changlan. Mo Changlan also felt threatened and his expression became slightly nervous. However, in front of such a huge thing, the resistance of mortals was useless. Lin Rufei was not interested in the ¡°so-called¡± legend and there was also no particular wish he wanted to come true. However, he knew that the thing Gu Xuandu wanted, should be this thing in front of him. The atmosphere was stagnant for a long time. Mo Changlan seemed to have finally made up his mind as he secretly clenched his teeth like he made some kind of determination. He took a deep breath, and like Mo Zhaocai, slowly walked towards the giant pupil. Knowing that it was a death sentence, there were still people who went after it. It was this terminal disease called ¡°desire.¡± Lin Rufei ignored him. He took out the talismans from his ring, turned around, and put it on Fu Hua and Yu Rui. The two maids had their eyes closed and seemed to have lost consciousness. Their faces were still stained with blood and it didn¡¯t look good at all. The talismans emitted a faint light as it brought their bodies up from the ground and slowly flew away into the distance. He didn¡¯t know what would happen next and thought it would be safer to send the two of them away in advance. After Lin Rufei did all that, he looked back again, and Mo Changlan was already standing in front of the giant pupil. At his feet, he placed the head of his own brother, Mo Changshan, onto the ground. ¡°Who would have thought that the Mo family, which was calling the shots back then, could fall to this miserable state today.¡± Mo Changlan said in a deep voice, ¡°Our family¡¯s talented people; those who died are dead, those who are injured are wounded and finally, the only one left became a bandit¡­¡­.¡± The giant pupil stared at Mo Changlan indifferently and was also indifferent to his words. ¡°But I, Mo Changlan, don¡¯t believe in fate!¡± Mo Changlan hissed, ¡°I have been looking for you for more than ten years. Since you are finally willing to show up today, even if I die, I will die in your hands!¡± He sought this huge pupil for more than ten years, but he could never make it appear. It wasn¡¯t until later when someone gave him pointers. ¡°When a person dies, the soul is condensed in the eyes. Just take advantage of their last breath and dig out their eyes as a sacrifice, then the thing will be drawn out.¡± The witch with the black snake in his arms said, ¡°After it comes out, take out what is inside, then your wishes would be fulfilled. But the higher the cultivation of the person¡¯s eyes, the more it can attract him. What it likes most, is the eyes of an exiled immortal ¡­¡­¡± Mo Changlan believed him. He had to believe because he had no other method. Luckily, the witch did not deceive him. After he lured the two level five exiled immortals to this place, the blood pupil was finally lured out, and the last thing to do was to put his hand into the blood pupil. Mo Changlan stood in front of the blood pupil and for the first time, there was some unspeakable fear. However, the desire to achieve his wish finally prevailed. Lin Rufei watched from afar, watching Mo Changlan, like Mo Zhaocai, reach his hand towards the black slit of the blood pupil. But before he reached out, he seemed to have put something in his hand, as a result, he was different from the others and wasn¡¯t directly swallowed by the blood pupil. When Mo Changlan saw this situation, his face surfaced with a little joy. He wiggled his arm around like he was constantly groping the inside of the blood pupil. Time passed little by little and the smile on Mo Changlan¡¯s face began to fade away. His face became pale and cold sweat surfaced on his forehead. ¡°How can¡­¡­ this be ¡­¡­¡± He muttered under his breath, as if in a state of madness, ¡°How can this be.¡± He lowered his head in despair and looked at his arm, ¡°How can it be empty ¡­¡­¡± The appalling blood color began to spread down his arm towards his body and the blood pupil finally devoured his flesh and blood. However, it left his bones behind. His eyes were wide open, and right in front of Lin Rufei, he quickly turned into a withered skeleton. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei saw all of this clearly. Mo Changlan without his flesh and blood was like the weathered rocks that rustled and broke down. His round skull rolled to the side and hit the wooden box that contained Mo Changshan¡¯s head. It was a different route to the same destination Almost all of the people present were gone and at this time the cliff was empty. Lin Rufei stood in place as the whistling mountain wind blew his shirt hem into a rustle. The blood pupil looked at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei should have been afraid, but after removing the initial sense of fright, his heart was actually incomparably calm. The giant pupil stared at him and he also looked at the blood giant pupil. No words were exchanged between the two. ¡°I have nothing to wish for.¡± Lin Rufei tentatively said, ¡°You can go.¡± The giant pupil didn¡¯t move. ¡°You have eaten so many people, it should be enough.¡± Lin Rufei remembered that Gu Xuandu once said that this thing wouldn¡¯t hurt him, whether that was true or not, he did not know. The black slit in the center of the giant pupil widened and instead of retreating, it pressed slowly towards Lin Rufei. Although the speed was very slow, it was indeed approaching Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei turned and ran, but before he could make it a few steps, he hit an invisible wall and was forced to stop. He had just successfully sent his maids out, but how come it didn¡¯t work now that it was his turn? Lin Rufei was a bit distressed. The giant pupil had completely covered the entire sky and the overwhelming sense of oppression made people feel like they were just a tiny mole[1]. Lin Rufei saw that he could not run away, so he simply did not run away. He turned around and looked at the giant pupil with a sad face, ¡°I really don¡¯t have anything that I want.¡± His desire was extremely light and what he loved the most, was only to see more of the world¡¯s mountains and rivers and to have more time fiddling with a few of the gadgets from the marketplaces. Even the ability to wield a sword was no longer something he had high expectations for. The giant pupil didn¡¯t listen in the slightest and was now almost pressed against Lin Rufei¡¯s front. Lin Rufei was helpless: ¡°Isn¡¯t this trade using coercion?¡± This giant pupil treated others coldly, how come when it came to him, it was eager to stick its body closer? Lin Rufei was squeezed to a corner and really couldn¡¯t retreat. If he stretched out his hand, he would reach the black slit. Lin Rufei was speechless. He frowned and sighed: ¡°Okay, okay.¡± He would believe Gu Xuandu one more time; believe that this thing would not hurt him. However, even if he didn¡¯t believe it, there seemed to be no other way. Helplessly, Lin Rufei was forced to slowly put his hand into the giant pupil. There were so many miserable examples before him. In the moment when Lin Rufei reached his hand in, his heart was still a little anxious. However, these anxieties soon turned into doubts. Lin Rufei did not feel anything. His hand seemed to be exploring a void as there was no sense of touch. He tentatively stretched his hand a bit more inside and finally touched something different. Sticky, moist, as if it were¡­¡­ undried bloodstains. Lin Rufei¡¯s movements paused slightly and his brows knitted tightly together. His hand touched a cold stone platform and on top of the stone platform, there was a layer of wetness. Needless to say, it was a very bad feeling to touch with your hands when you can¡¯t see anything because you can¡¯t tell what you¡¯re touching and the fear of the unknown simply made people¡¯s hair stand up. The good thing was that the stone platform wasn¡¯t too big and Lin Rufei quickly touched something. He really didn¡¯t want to carefully describe the touch in his hand because the touch was really creepy. It was a small round ball¡ªsoft and sticky¡ªand when it was pinched, there was some soft elasticity, like ¡­¡­ an eyeball. That¡¯s right, it was an eyeball. Lin Rufei¡¯s expression froze, but he still gritted his teeth and gently held the tiny round ball with his hand. What he feared did not happen. He was neither sucked directly into the giant pupil like Mo Zhaocai nor was he gnawed directly into a withered skeleton like Mo Changlan. Getting what was placed inside the giant pupil was like a breeze. Lin Rufei held his breath and finally managed to remove the object from inside the giant pupil. The moment he took the object out, the giant pupil let out a crisp, shattering sound. The black slit began to distort and twist. The giant pupil hovering in mid-air let out a loud bang and then began to retreat rapidly. When it retreated to a certain location, a river of blood started gushing out of the slit. Countless spherical objects interspersed in the blood rushed towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was alarmed and turned to flee. However, Gu Xuandu, who had disappeared for a long time, suddenly appeared. And with a wave of his long sleeves, he blocked the river of blood directly outside of them by one foot. ¡°Senior!¡± When Lin Rufei saw him, he called out joyfully. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± After the blood pupil in the sky gushed out the blood river, it began to crumble and break. Finally, its shape gradually faded away, turning into a blood mist, and completely dissipating. Only then did Lin Rufei have the effort to look carefully at what he was holding. It was indeed an eyeball and it was lying quietly in his hand. The black pupil seemed to have life as it gently gazed at him. Gently? When this word popped up in Lin Rufei¡¯s head, he also felt incredulous. Lin Rufei lost his smile and just thought that he was infected with madness[2]. ¡°Scared?¡± Gu Xuandu turned around and walked to Lin Rufei¡¯s side. Lin Rufei shook his head. His hands were now covered with blood and he was in a mess, but it was good that Gu Xuandu got what he wanted, ¡°Is this the thing suppressing senior¡¯s divine soul?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Can it really grant wishes?¡± Gu Xuandu said curiously, ¡°Who said that?¡± Lin Rufei spread his hands: ¡°They all said so. The Mo Zhaocai that we met before wanted to use this thing to revive his master.¡± Gu Xuandu lost his smile: ¡°It¡¯s just an eyeball, if it can revive people, why would we need ¡­¡­¡± He only said half of the words, then changed the subject, ¡°You¡¯re not hurt, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, ¡°It really didn¡¯t hurt me.¡± He said and handed the eye to Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu was not polite either and directly reached out to take the object. But strangely enough, once the eyeball entered Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand, it was like cold water that entered a frying pan. It directly swirled Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul away layer by layer, provoking Gu Xuandu¡¯s body shape to twist and change. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s worried look, Gu Xuandu shook his head slightly to indicate that he was fine. Such changes continued for a long time. Only when the sky turned bright did Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure stabilize again. However, at that time, compared with the previous him, his body seemed to have undergone some subtle changes. It was as if the ink painting that was washed away by rain was once again filled in by a skilled painter with the brush and ink¡ªthere were a few more spiritual charms to it. And then they looked at the surrounding scenery. The original rocky cliffs have also changed back to their usual appearance, with many trees and lush weeds. Dozens of mountain bandits¡¯ bodies were lying all over the place, among which the most eye-catching was Mo Changlan, who had already turned into white bones, and the wooden box beside him. Lin Rufei remembered the agreement Mo Zhaocai made with him before he died and took a few steps forward to pick up the wooden box. Inside the wooden box, Mo Changshan¡¯s eyes were closed like he was in a deep sleep. There was a lock of hair placed beside it which was left by Mo Zhaocai. Lin Rufei was sighing when he noticed a large dog¡¯s body lying not too far away. He held the wooden box and walked a few steps forward to see the dog¡¯s appearance. This was not a beautiful dog. It was very ordinary-looking, disheveled, thin, and bony. It was the most common kind of wild dog in the countryside. Its curled-up body that fell into the grass was already lifeless and Lin Rufei noticed that on its neck, a small wooden plate hung. He squatted down and gently turned it over only to see that on the wooden plate, there were two words carved stroke by stroke¡­¡­ Zhaocai. (t/n: it¡¯s two characters in Chinese) It turned out that the name of this dog was Zhaocai. Ah, it was really a vulgar name. Lin Rufei reached out and touched its not-so-soft fur and sighed. Everything has a spirit and so does the dog. Perhaps even Mo Changshan himself didn¡¯t think that the dog he raised remembered him for his whole life. For dogs, the master was its everything. Mo Zhaocai died for Mo Changshan; it could be considered that he had fulfilled his wish. It¡¯s a pity that the dead have passed like this and couldn¡¯t be restored. In the end, Mo Changshan still wasn¡¯t able to come back to life. While thinking, Lin Rufei took out the wooden shield from his ring again. When Gu Xuandu saw him doing this, he wondered, ¡°What is Xiao Jiu doing?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Digging a hole to bury them.¡± Gu Xuandu thought it was very strange: ¡°Why are you using a wooden shield to dig a pit?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°If I don¡¯t use a shield then what should I use?¡± Gu Xuandu said frankly: ¡°Gu Yu, hanging on your waist, is very good to use, ah.¡± Lin Rufei glared: ¡°Using Gu Yu to dig a pit ¡­¡­is recklessly wasting God¡¯s good gift!¡± As if echoing his words, Gu Yu buzzed and simply wanted to fly up to give Gu Xuandu a slap with its scabbard. However, Gu Xuandu was not the slightest bit afraid. His expression did not change, ¡°No worries. I even use it as a burning stick to make fire, it has long been used to it.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Finally, Lin Rufei closed his mouth and silently used his wooden shield to dig a pit for Mo Changshan and Mo Zhaocai. There were beasts in the mountains so the pit that he was going to use to bury people still had to be dug deeper. Otherwise, in a few days, the bodies would be dug out and eaten clean. Lin Rufei dug the pit and also asked Gu Xuandu to see if his maids had woken up. A while ago, he used a talisman to send them both out, but now he doesn¡¯t know how the situation was over there. Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t even go when he said that the two people just suffered some damage to their eyes and that there was no serious injury. Lin Rufei worriedly asked whether their vision would be affected. ¡°It would definitely be affected.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But not so much as to go blind. The two of them have cultivated, after nursing for half a month they should recover.¡± Only then, was Lin Rufei finally completely at ease. Lin Rufei dug a hole and carefully put the wooden box and Mo Zhaocai¡¯s remains together before burying them with soil. He then carved the wooden shield Mo Zhaocai sold him with the names of the two people and inserted it on the grave. After doing all this, he patted his hands to get rid of the soil and told Gu Xuandu that they were leaving. Gu Xuandu thoughtfully looked at the grave but did not say anything. He turned around, followed Lin Rufei, and left. When Lin Rufei found Fu Hua and Yu Rui, the two had yet to wake up. Lin Rufei felt some heartache when he looked at the residual blood marks on their faces. He pulled out a silk handkerchief, bent down to wipe the traces gently clean, and started a campfire next to the two. It was used to warm them as well as roasting some dry food to eat. When he did these things, Gu Xuandu was watching. Lin Rufei nibbled a mouthful of dry food and drank water to moisten his throat. He called out, ¡°Senior.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei said slowly: ¡°Now that we have the item in hand, you should explain to me what it really is, right?¡± Just as Gu Xuandu was about to speak, Lin Rufei added: ¡°I¡¯ve worked so hard, you wouldn¡¯t lie to me, would you?¡± Gu Xuandu almost choked on Lin Rufei¡¯s words and coughed dryly before saying in a low voice, ¡°Why would I lie to you?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him seriously and said, ¡°Then tell me.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°This is something left behind when the Heavenly Ruler passed by this place ¡­¡­ nothing special.¡± This statement was the same as what Mo Changlan said. Lin Rufei suspiciously looked at Gu Xuandu: ¡°Something left by the Heavenly Ruler? Why would the Heavenly Ruler leave behind an eye?¡± It would be fine if it was some kind of magical treasure, but leaving an eyeball was simply too bizarre. Gu Xuandu innocently said: ¡°This I do not know. I am not that laborious Heavenly Ruler. Who knows how he thinks, perhaps he had nothing better to do¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei still didn¡¯t believe him. This Gu Xuandu had lived for a long time so there were naturally a lot of things he knew. However, at this time he was very vague, making it obvious that he was hiding something. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei then looked at Gu Xuandu and said seriously, ¡°Senior is not willing to say because he thinks I can¡¯t be trusted?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression turned helpless. He pulled out Shuang Jiang and ignored its uncontrollable buzzing as he poked the fire in front of him: ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t even know myself so how can I explain it for you to understand?¡± He said this in a very small voice, with an expression that looked like he was lacking breath. It was very difficult to convince people. Lin Rufei knew he was reluctant to talk about it so he had to give up. However, he was still a bit sullen since he always felt that Gu Xuandu was hiding something very important. Fu Hua and Yu Rui did not wake up until noon. When they woke up, their eyes couldn¡¯t see anything. The two of them heard Lin Rufei say that he was fine and they cried with joy. However, the tears were scarlet tears of blood. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart trembled when he saw this and he quickly stuffed a corn candy in both of their mouths to make them smile. According to Gu Xuandu, Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s eyes would take at least half a month to fully recover. However, they were currently in the mountains and didn¡¯t even have a place to rest. What¡¯s worse was that because of the previous incident, they had lost their horses and guide. No village ahead and no inn behind[3], it was like a miserable wilderness survival. Fortunately, Lin Rufei had an idea. With his memory, he led them back to the bandits¡¯ den on the mountain. The elites of the bandit den were all killed in the hands of the giant pupil last night so the den was now empty. Only the old and sick, who have little fighting ability, were left. Gu Xuandu understood tacitly and easily solved the group of people. Lin Rufei cleaned out a few rooms and intended to stay here until Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s eyes recovered before making plans. The two of them felt very guilty that they had not only failed to help, but also caused trouble for their young master. Lin Rufei had to comfort the two. After saying a number of words, did the two put down the knots in their heart. He also took the time to send a letter to his brothers and sister to report his well-being. The biggest charm of Jianghu was that you can¡¯t guess what would happen next. If everything goes by the book, he might as well stay on Kunlun Mountain and eat delicious rice cakes every day. The Xiliang Mountains had always been a ruthless place. After some days, dozens of corpses would disappear completely. As for the grave with the tombstone inserted¡ªthe witch holding the black snake stopped his footsteps in front of it. The witch, with a white scarf wrapped around his head, revealed only a pair of dark eyes. He crouched down halfway and saw the words on the tombstone. Mo Changshan, Mo Zhaocai; they were familiar names. A smile surfaced in his eyes. He raised his hand and waved and the soil in front of him flew in all directions, revealing the deeply buried wooden box and the body of the dog. The witch reached out, took the wooden box out, opened it, and saw the well-preserved head inside. This was a beautiful head, even after so many years of death, it was no different from the living. Most likely, the person who preserved it spent a lot of effort. The witch suddenly revealed a smile. He raised his hand and sent out the black snake in his hand. The black snake hissed and slowly crawled on top of the head. It circled around the cheeks a few times and then back to the witch¡¯s hand. One could see that above the forehead, a circle of black patterns appeared, and then just like a flash, it disappeared. ¡°Mo Changshan, the son of the Mo family. A sword cuts through ten thousand swelling water and a thousand miles can not be pursued as it remembers the cold sword intent¡­¡­. It really is a great head.¡± The witch¡¯s voice was strange and incomparable. One couldn¡¯t tell whether the voice was male or female nor could they tell the age. He let out a shrill laugh and reached out his hand to point at the center of Mo Changshan¡¯s forehead. (t/n: Uhhh, even though one couldn¡¯t tell his gender, the pronoun used here is ¡°he¡± @[email protected]) The next moment, Mo Changshan, who had been dead for ten years, actually opened his eyes. Only the eyes were dull and lifeless as it stared silently ahead. The witch hummed a tune. He happily held the head and turned away, leaving behind the dug-up grave. The dead dog in the grave, however, seemed to have died without having time to close its eyes. At this time, Lin Rufei, who was in the den, squatted in front of a campfire with a concerned look. In front, an iron pot was cooking. He looked at the ingredients in his hand and was torn: ¡°Am I supposed to put the vegetables first or the meat first, ah.¡± Gu Xuandu was peeling a huge peanut with Shuang Jiang, and when he heard Lin Rufei ask, he said without looking back, ¡°Put it in together!¡± Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh,¡± and without hesitation, he threw in all the ingredients in his hand. Gu Xuandu suddenly frowned and cursed, ¡°What a nuisance.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I¡¯m just scolding the wild dog on the mountain that didn¡¯t grow eyes.¡± He dared to rummage through everything. Lin Rufei was unable to make sense of it. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: You really didn¡¯t lie to me? Gu Xuandu: I never lie. Lin Rufei: Really? Gu Xuandu: No. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] tiny individuals with no power. [2] The original word here was ¡°deranged mind¡± however, it doesn¡¯t really fit so I used ¡°madness.¡± [3] to be stranded in the middle of nowhere; to be in a predicament. CH 40 Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s eyes have not yet healed so the task of cooking fell onto Lin Rufei. He has been pampered for twenty years as he stared at the pots, pans, and bowls. Gu Xuandu, a senior who had lived for hundreds of years, was no better than him and even tried to help Lin Rufei. In the end, the two of them worked together and succeeded in making food that was completely inedible. Lin Rufei knew for the first time that chicken soup could be stewed so badly ¡­¡­ ¡°How did this chicken get stewed like this?¡± Lin Rufei looked at the boiling iron pot in front of him with concern. Other people¡¯s chicken stew was fragrant, but the result of his stew was strange. Let alone putting it into the mouth, just the smell alone could make people feel sick to the stomach. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a different breed of chicken.¡± Gu Xuandu pretended to be calm as he analyzed with a serious face, ¡°I think it must be because this chicken was raised in the bandit den and ended up being tainted with banditry ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei stared with wide eyes as he listened to Gu Xuandu¡¯s nonsense. Maybe because Lin Rufei¡¯s stare was too obvious, Gu Xuandu laughed embarrassingly: ¡°How about we eat something else?¡± In the end, they could only eat something else. Lin Rufei was lost in thought; if Yu Rui drank this chicken soup, not only would it not nourish her body, he might also have to go down the mountain to find a doctor for the two¡­¡­ Only after a long time did Lin Rufei learn why the chicken soup he stewed turned out like this¡ªhe took a whole chicken and stuffed it directly into the iron pot, including the chicken¡¯s innards. In other words, he stewed chicken poop and other things with the chicken, only a ghost would find it delicious. The two people who failed at cooking had to make do with what they had and eat dry food for about ten days. Lin Rufei ate to the point that his eyes emitted a green light[1] before the two maids finally regained their eyesight. On the night of their recovery, Fu Hua went to the mountain fortress and caught some rabbits before roasting them for Lin Rufei to add to the meal. The rabbits in the mountains were very fatty. After they were marinated, Fu Hua sprinkled it with her special seasoning and roasted it as the oil bubbled. A rich meat fragrance scattered off making Lin Rufei gulp. He was usually not too fond of meat, but after so many days of eating raw and hard dry food, he had some craving for meat. Fu Hua smiled and cut up the rabbit meat and handed it to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei happily ate it, and Gu Xuandu, the not-so-reliable senior, stood next to him and asked sourly, ¡°Delicious?¡± Lin Rufei nodded. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I want to eat it too.¡± Lin Rufei said righteously, ¡°This rabbit was raised in a bandit den, so I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not a righteous rabbit.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This grudge-holding little guy. When Fu Hua and Yu Rui heard this, they were unable to make sense of it. They didn¡¯t know why Lin Rufei suddenly said such a sentence. Lin Rufei said again: ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter whether it is righteous or not as long as it¡¯s delicious.¡± After saying that, he smiled and took another bite. Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei for a long time and did not say anything. He was angry to the point of grinding his teeth, but he could not find words to refute. Lin Rufei saw his rare defeated look and rejoiced in his misfortune. The four of them went on the road again after Fu Hua and Yu Rui recovered. Although they lost the horses they were riding before, fortunately, there were still many horses in the bandit den and it was enough for them to use. But there was a very troublesome problem, they no longer had Zhaocai. They simply do not know the way. The Xiliang Mountains were so big, even with the sword, it would take about ten days. If they were to aimlessly walk, they don¡¯t know how long it would take. Gu Xuandu volunteered. He said he knew the way around the Xiliang Mountains. Lin Rufei decided to believe him once again. So they walked about halfway until they saw a striking main road, only then did Lin Rufei relax. Gu Xuandu found that after a long period of time, his prestige as a senior was increasingly losing its worth. He was a bit gloomy as he said: ¡°Xiao Jiu, why don¡¯t you believe me? I am your senior¡­¡­.come, call it for me to hear?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were forward and didn¡¯t pay attention to him at all. Gu Xuandu: ¡°Are you ignoring me?¡± Lin Rufei slowly said: ¡°The day is really hot.¡± ¡°Is young master hot? Do you want to reduce a layer of clothing?¡± Yu Rui thought her young master was talking to her so she chewed a corn candy and said vaguely, ¡°The mountains are getting hotter and hotter, and I don¡¯t know how much longer we have to travel ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei did not speak again. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You¡¯re really going to ignore me, huh?¡± Seeing that Lin Rufei did not say anything, Gu Xuandu turned around and climbed onto the horse behind Lin Rufei. He came up to Lin Rufei¡¯s ear and said eerily, ¡°Has Xiao Jiu heard the story of the Severed Head Buddha?¡± At this time it was getting late, it was dusk and the mountain wind was bitterly cold as it rustled the treetops. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Then Gu Xuandu told a story that forced cold air into Lin Rufei¡¯s ear. He said that one day, a scholar was in a hurry to go to take the examination and was rushing through the Xiliang Mountains at night. However, it suddenly began to rain heavily and he happened to come across a broken temple on the side of the road, so he went into the temple to escape the rain. The broken temple was in disrepair and the scholar saw a broken Buddha statue after entering the door. It was in tatters, especially the head that was cut off by a sharp instrument and was missing. The scholar was a little scared but the rain outside was too heavy, so he had to hide in the corner of the temple, intending to make do with it for the night. The scholar was very tired, so very quickly, he fell asleep and in his sleep, he saw a man in a robe bowing to him, begging him for alms. The scholar said yes in his sleepiness and fell back into a deep sleep again. The next day, the weather was Sunny. The scholar opened his eyes in a daze and found that his position had moved. He was no longer lying in the corner and was actually floating in mid-air. Lowering his head, he was able to see the whole temple. He suddenly noticed a familiar person lying in the corner of the temple. He looked carefully and found that the person lying there was actually himself! And his head seemed to have been cut off by someone and only half of his body remained. The scholar was horrified. He looked towards his own body only to find that his head was actually pressed onto the neck of the Buddha statue. As Gu Xuandu finished his last sentence, an evil wind picked up in the mountain forest. The sky was quite clear but in a few moments it became covered in dark clouds and it seemed liked it was about to rain. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at him and his eyes were full of reproach. He thought this senior was very childish. Telling a ghost story wasn¡¯t enough but he also deliberately made it a cloudy day to scare people. Gu Xuandu helplessly defended: ¡°I didn¡¯t do it!¡± Lin Rufei gave a tsk of disbelief. Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It really wasn¡¯t him. Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw the sky darkening and thought it was about to rain. They said they were going to check out the area and see if they could find a place to hide from the rain. This Summer was not like Spring. The rain would come whenever it was mentioned, very capricious. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that a temple over there?¡± Yu Rui suddenly said. She raised her hand and pointed to the deep forest. Lin Rufei looked in the direction she pointed and really saw a broken temple. Seeing this scene, Lin Rufei turned his head and cast a glance towards Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu¡¯s face was full of innocence: ¡°It really has nothing to do with me¡ª¡± ¡°Young master, should we go to the temple to take shelter from the rain?¡± Fu Hua asked. The Summer rain comes quickly and at this time, there were already tiny raindrops smashed against the leaves above their heads. Looking at this situation, it seems it would be raining heavily soon. Lin Rufei said, ¡°May as well.¡± He looked at Gu Xuandu again and the meaning of his gaze was already very obvious. Even with a mouth, Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t explain. In his heart, he only wanted to scare Lin Rufei. Who knew such a coincidence would happen? But in the world, there was no story without coincidence. When they entered the temple, they saw a statue of a Buddha with a broken head in the middle of the temple. Now Gu Xuandu really wouldn¡¯t be able to wash himself clean even if he jumps into the Yellow River[2]¡­¡­ While Fu Hua and Yu Rui were collecting firewood, Lin Rufei smiled and said to Gu Xuandu: ¡°You were even able to bring this out, not easy, ah.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡­ forget it.¡± He wanted to say that it had nothing to do with him, but the rain outside and this Buddha statue in front of him made him disbelieve himself, so he simply did not bother to explain. Lin Rufei looked around and briefly surveyed the broken temple that appeared very abruptly. The temple wasn¡¯t very big and there was only a headless Buddha statue in the middle. In front of the Buddha statue were a broken merit box and two dusty praying mats[3]. There were also vaguely visible traces of incense left that year. There were no windows in the temple, only an old wooden door. Lin Rufei took out a cloth from his dimensional ring, spread it on the ground, and sat down. Fu Hua and Yu Rui just returned to the temple when it started to rain heavily outside. The rain was overwhelming, like a downpour, as it was accompanied by lightning and thunder. For a while, it even sounded a bit scary. Three people sat in the temple around a campfire. Lin Rufei looked at his two maids¡¯ faces in the flickering firelight and suddenly let out a wry smile: ¡°Have you guys ever heard the story of the Severed Head Buddha?¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xiao Jiu, you bad thing. Fu Hua and Yu Rui both honestly said they had not heard of it, so Lin Rufei then vividly repeated the story Gu Xuandu had told. Accompanied by the sound of roaring thunderstorms, the entire atmosphere in the temple turned spooky. Although Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s cultivation was very high, in the end, they were still girls. After listening to Lin Rufei¡¯s story, they were ashened, especially Yu Rui. From time to time, she would look towards the headless Buddha. She held onto Fu Hua¡¯s arm and trembled incessantly. Fu Hua pretended to be calm, but in fact, she was also a little bit panicked. She held onto Yu Rui and forced herself to be calm: ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­¡­ don¡¯t be afraid. There is no such thing as ghosts in the world.¡± Lin Rufei looked at his maids¡¯ appearance and finally understood why Gu Xuandu had such a bad taste. Watching others shiver because of his own stories was indeed pretty interesting. He was not afraid at all and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s late, it¡¯s time to rest. I¡¯ll sleep first.¡± As he said this, he went to sleep and deliberately pulled the blanket to cover half of his face. Gu Xuandu helplessly sat beside Lin Rufei. He found that if this young master¡¯s conscience really turned bad, people really wouldn¡¯t be able to stand up against him. The two of them comforted each other for a long time before they reluctantly calmed down by leaning on each other¡¯s shoulders. The sound of wind and rain outside the temple remained and it was still accompanied by rolling thunder¡ªthey were destined to not rest well tonight. Lin Rufei suddenly had a cough in the middle of the night. He woke up in a daze to see that the campfire in the temple was half-lit and about to go out. Fu Hua and Yu Rui were sleeping on the side and he did not wake up the two of them. He sat up, casually took the firewood next to him, and put it into the campfire. When he saw the fire rekindle again, he sat back down. Outside, the rain was still falling, but it was getting much smaller than before and seemed to be stopping soon. The Summer rain was always like this, it comes and goes quickly. However, every time it rains, the weather would get hotter, and the smell of Summer would gradually thicken. Lin Rufei drank some cold water to suppress the itch in his throat. He couldn¡¯t sleep so he leaned against the wall and stared at the Buddha statue in the temple. He didn¡¯t know what Gu Xuandu was doing right now since he didn¡¯t see him. As Lin Rufei was thinking about this, he suddenly noticed something. He let out a ¡°huh,¡± stood up, and approached the Buddha statue. He found that the Buddha statue was silently turned around. It was originally facing the direction of the main door, but now it was facing him. Logically speaking, when someone saw this scene they should be afraid. However, Lin Rufei immediately remembered Gu Xuandu, this senior with bad taste, so his expression did not change. He took a few steps towards the Buddha statue before carefully looking at the Buddha statue in front of him. In the daytime, he didn¡¯t look carefully. At this time, he borrowed the firelight and Lin Rufei was able to observe this Buddha statue a bit more carefully. Although it was very worn, he could vaguely see that its carving workmanship was very exquisite. Every detail on it was vivid and lifelike, but it was a pity that the most wonderful part, the Buddha¡¯s head, had been cut off. Many people who stole cultural relics would choose to cut off the Buddha¡¯s head because it was the most valuable part of the Buddha¡¯s statue. And in the very middle of the Buddha¡¯s body, there was a very inconspicuous thin line that looked like it had been cut along by some sharp instrument. It destroyed the entire sense of integrity of the statue. Lin Rufei felt some pity in his heart and sighed lightly. However, he heard a soft ¡°patron[4]¡± behind the Buddha statue and when he looked for the location of the sound, he saw a monk in simple clothes. He stood in the corner of the broken temple and held a broken bowl in his hand. His black eyes were still like water as he stared at him. This monk looked very handsome, dignified, and his character, strict. Only he suddenly appeared in the rundown temple at this time. No matter how one looked at it, it was untimely. Lin Rufei said, ¡°How come little master is here?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I ask patron that?¡± The monk smiled and said, ¡°This temple is the monk¡¯s usual residence.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is that so. When we came in, we didn¡¯t see you¡­¡­¡± The monk smiled, ¡°Just now this monk went out to make a living[5] and came back when the rain stopped, but I didn¡¯t expect to see patron and others¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What did you get?¡± Don¡¯t be a head or something. The monk shook his head. Lin Rufei looked at him with a burning gaze. The monk was puzzled by Lin Rufei¡¯s stare and said, ¡°Why is patron looking at me like that?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I am waiting for your next words.¡± The monk wondered, ¡°Next words?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You don¡¯t need me to give alms?¡± The monk said, ¡°If patron is willing to give alms, then naturally it is best.¡± ¡°Not willing.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I don¡¯t have anything.¡± The monk looked stunned, seemingly not expecting Lin Rufei to be so petty. Even his attitude was a little aggressive. He frowned slightly and was about to say something when two harsh screams rang out around him. It was Fu Hua and Yu Rui who woke up due to Lin Rufei and the monk¡¯s conversation. The two just woke up when they heard the monk¡¯s ¡°if patron is willing to give alms¡± ¡­¡­ This was almost exactly the same as the situation in the ghost story. The monk was confused and asked, ¡°Why did they scream?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Maybe they are afraid of you.¡± Monk: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After Fu Hua and Yu Rui finished screaming, they drew their swords and rushed in front of Lin Rufei. They were chanting for the demons to retreat and did not stop gesticulating at the monk. The monk was stunned by this scene and the bowl in his hand fell directly to the ground with an ear-splitting crunch. He couldn¡¯t figure out what the three people in front of him were doing. Was he born that fierce and vicious and as horrible as a Rakshasa? The two maids continued to chant for a while. After seeing that the monk had no reaction, they stopped their actions and suspiciously stepped forward. Yu Rui boldly stretched out a finger to poke the monk¡¯s cheek and said in embarrassment: ¡°How is it warm ¡­¡­¡± The monk was also good-tempered. When Yu Rui poked, he was not angry. Instead, he laughed: ¡°If I¡¯m not warm, then should I be cold?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a ghost?¡± Yu Rui asked in a whisper. The monk said, ¡°How do I look like a ghost?¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui look at each other, and at the same time looked at Lin Rufei with some bewilderment in their eyes. This monk seemed to be a real person. He just didn¡¯t know if he had a relationship with Gu Xuandu. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei bowed to the monk with folded hands and sincerely apologized, saying that he did not mean to offend. It was just that he had heard a ghost story and who knew that everything in the temple was in line with that ghost story. After listening to Lin Rufei¡¯s explanation, the monk did not take it personally. He instead showed a smile: ¡°I wonder what kind of story it was that scared the two female patrons into such a state?¡± Lin Rufei then repeated the story that Gu Xuandu told. Who knew that after hearing the story, the monk¡¯s black eyes moved slightly and said, ¡°I wonder where the person who told this story to patron is now?¡± Lin Rufei did not want to reveal the existence of Gu Xuandu, so he told a small lie: ¡°I saw it in an old book, the book is too old, and there is no cover. I do not know what the name is.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± The monk sighed slightly, showing some despondent look, ¡°I thought ¡­¡­¡± He stopped talking and softly recited Amitabha Buddha. Lin Rufei was interested: ¡°Does this story have anything to do with the little master?¡± The monk laughed: ¡°I have an old friend who has a hostile temperament and likes to tease people. I had nothing to do so I used this story to scare his beloved one. Who knew that his beloved one was not only not afraid, they even struck at the Buddha¡¯s statue splitting it directly into two, causing this young monk to be severely reprimanded by the Abbot.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Interesting indeed.¡± The monk said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity ¡­¡­¡± Without asking what it was that was a pity, Lin Rufei had already guessed most of it. The world was unpredictable and old people and old things always made people nostalgic. The monk said, ¡°The sky is clear outside. If patrons are in a hurry, you must take advantage. In another twenty days or so, I¡¯m afraid it will rain heavily in the mountains for several days, so patrons better leave the mountains quickly.¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyes and realized that it was already bright outside the window. The rain had cleared and the mountain air was filled with the fragrance of the earth. The time passed so quickly that Lin Rufei only felt that he had spoken a few words with the monk before the sky already turned bright. He saw the monk make a gesture of sending off guests and felt that it wasn¡¯t appropriate to continue to disturb. Before they left, he thought about it and asked Fu Hua to fetch some dry food and respectfully handed it to the monk, apologizing for the misunderstanding last night. (t/n: b-but¡­I thought there were no windows?¡­) The monk gave a meek smile and did not refuse Lin Rufei¡¯s kindness. He took the dry food and took out a Buddhist bead from his pocket. He handed it to Lin Rufei, saying that Lin Rufei and him were brought together by fate and that this Buddhist bead would be considered as a gift in return. Lin Rufei took the bead and thanked the monk. Under the monk¡¯s watchful eye, the three led their horses out of the broken temple and walked outside on the muddy mountain road. Gu Xuandu, who had disappeared all night, suddenly appeared on the horse. Lin Rufei saw that his red clothes were stained with some mud and said in a small voice, ¡°Where did you go last night?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I went to catch ghosts.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He kind of understood. This Gu Xuandu was not willing to tell him what he went to do so he would casually say that he was ¡°catching ghosts.¡± Fortunately, he asked seriously the first two times otherwise he really thought this senior could exorcise demons and break evil spells. ¡°I met a monk in the temple.¡± Lin Rufei casually said what he just encountered, ¡°Broken temple, Buddha statue, if the monk wasn¡¯t a living person, I would have thought you made it.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m not that kind of frivolous person.¡± Lin Rufei looked at him suspiciously. Gu Xuandu was helpless from his stare: ¡°Okay, at least I wasn¡¯t that frivolous yesterday.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°He also gave me a bead.¡± As he talked, he took the bead out of his sleeve. He looked at it carefully and found that on the bead, the word Nanyin was engraved. He was surprised, ¡°This monk is actually from the Nanyin Temple?¡± The Nanyin Temple was famous for its Buddhism in Jianghu and it was rumored that the disciples inside practice Buddhism which could help the spirits of grievances cross as well as calming heart demons. However, the Nanyin Temple was located in a remote corner of the Yaoguang Continent and the number of disciples were not many. So although the fame was great, it was really rare. He didn¡¯t expect that the handsome monk he saw just now, was a disciple of the Nanyin Temple. Gu Xuandu also just listened and didn¡¯t have the intention to continue the conversation. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Has senior heard of the Nanyin Temple?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Yes, I have heard of it, but I don¡¯t like it very much. There are too many rules, give up on this, give up on that, it is very troublesome.¡± Lin Rufei laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Because they had the monk¡¯s warning, they did not dare delay this time. Under Gu Xuandu¡¯s guidance, they crossed the Xialiang Mountains overnight and finally arrived at the town on the border of the Xiliang Mountains before the rainy season. After more than ten days of travel and hardship around in the mountains, Lin Rufei¡¯s body was already a bit overwhelmed. When he arrived at the inn in the town, he slept for half a day before he could barely relieve his fatigue. However, he was still a bit limp and not very energetic. After waking up, he was a little hungry, so he wanted to go to Fu Hua and ask her to make some food for him. But before he entered Fu Hua¡¯s room, he heard the worried conversations of the maids inside the house. ¡°I¡¯m really worried about young master.¡± ¡­¡­ Hmm? Why were they worried about me? Lin Rufei thought in confusion. ¡°Yes, I am also worried. Say, do you think that young master was scared in the temple that day.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s possible, otherwise how could the self-talk become so serious in the past few days. It scared me to the point that I thought he was bewitched.¡± ¡°Shall we find a doctor for young master?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t stimulate young master. I¡¯ll go ask first, see if I could get some calming medicine prescribed. This thing is a bit evil, it¡¯s best to be careful.¡± ¡°Then alright. I¡¯ll go to the city to ask the doctor when I¡¯m free today.¡± Lin Rufei listened with a complicated expression. He twisted his head and looked at the person standing beside him. Gu Xuandu, who was being stared at by Lin Rufei, still had a calm expression. He even blinked at him and acted cute: ¡°I look good, right?¡± Lin Rufei said seriously, ¡°You do look good.¡± Before Gu Xuandu had the chance to smile, he heard this young master, whose mouth was becoming more and more powerful, say: ¡°If you¡¯re ugly, how can you bewitch someone?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Xiao Jiu, why are you not scared of ghosts? Lin Rufei: Do you think you¡¯re a human now? Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] The green light in the eyes describes a person¡¯s nature as non-benevolent, greedy, or lustful. [2] Very common saying in China, the Yellow River refers to the 2nd longest River in China and this phrase means: ¡°there¡¯s nothing you can do to remove the stigma off your name.¡± [3] Praying mat. [4] So the word here is Ê©Ö÷ which is a designation of a person by a monk. I did some research and some sites translate it as ¡°Patron,¡± or ¡°Donor.¡± I thought ¡°Patron¡± sounded the best so I will be using that ^~^ [5] In his case, he is begging for money. CH 41 Seeing Gu Xuandu¡¯s defeated look, Lin Rufei was in a good mood and knocked on the door of the maids¡¯ room. When the maids saw him coming, they hurriedly stopped talking and came forward to welcome him. Lin Rufei originally wanted to ask Fu Hua and Yu Rui to make some food for him, but on second thought, since he had come to a new place, he naturally wanted to try the specialties here. They arrived in a hurry yesterday and didn¡¯t even get a good look at the town before going into the inn to rest. Today, since the weather was nice, it was a good choice to stroll around. As he thought about it, Lin Rufei greeted Fu Hua and Yu Rui then slowly and leisurely went out. Passing through the Xiliang Mountains, they arrived at the prosperous Central Plains. Although they were only in a less important town next to the Xiliang Mountains, the shadow of its prosperity could be seen vaguely. The streets were lined with tourists and travelers, and the roadside stores were full of new things Lin Rufei had never seen before. As he walked, he also bought stuff, and by the time he finished the whole street, his hands were full of all kinds of interesting things and delicious food. Seeing that he was almost done shopping, Lin Rufei casually found a roadside stall and sat down. He asked the vendor for a bowl of hot soup noodles. He has never tasted this kind of soup noodles before. It had thick oil and red sauce and the top was also covered with a layer full of spicy seeds. There were also a few thin slices of marinated beef. Lin Rufei took a few bites and the spiciness made him sweat. His lips were red and from time to time, he would try and cool his tongue. The vendor saw Lin Rufei¡¯s expression and couldn¡¯t help but laugh, saying that if it was the guest¡¯s first time eating, he could have told him to put in less spice. Lin Rufei nodded and he couldn¡¯t stop drinking water. Even a thin layer of water vapor surfaced in his eyes. But although this soup noodle was spicy, its taste was indeed good. Even though Lin Rufei already had tears in the corners of his eyes, he still summoned his courage to finish the whole bowl of noodles. After he finished eating, he felt that his lips hurt so badly that he vaguely asked Gu Xuandu, who then cried and laughed and said that his mouth was swollen from the spice. ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself if you can¡¯t eat, look at your current appearance.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It looked like you were bullied by someone.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s skin tone was already pale. Now the corners of his eyes were teary, lips were red and swollen, and he was frowning, which made him look pitiful. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t realize what was wrong. His first time eating such spicy things and his consciousness was about to be blurred by the spice. He paid for the bowl in a panic then rushed to the fruit vendor next door to buy a number of plums. He stuffed them into his mouth. These plums were chilled with well water. They were crisp and tasty, with a sweet and sour tang, delicious indeed. Lin Rufei also could not help but crave a few more. After eating, Lin Rufei intended to go back. However, before going back, he passed by a small store selling weapons. When he walked by, he decided to go in to take a peek or two. Who knew that when Lin Rufei entered, the first thing he saw was a wooden shield in the corner. It looked exactly like the one Mo Zhaocai had sold him, except the one sold in this store seemed to be bigger. ¡°Boss, how do you sell this wooden shield?¡± Lin Rufei opened his mouth and asked. The boss didn¡¯t even raise his head: ¡°One tael of silver.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it for a moment and said seriously, ¡°Can it be cheaper?¡± ¡°At most, I can give it to you for ten copper coins less.¡± The boss said, ¡°Guest, we are a small business, we don¡¯t make much profit.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it.¡± He happily took out his silver and then got ten copper coins back from the boss. He left happily with the wooden shield. Gu Xuandu saw his delighted appearance and wondered, ¡°What are you so happy about?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I succeeded in bargaining for the first time!¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°The boss gave me ten copper coins less!¡± He had visited the market so many times and seen many people lowering their prices, so he had wanted to try it himself for a long time, but he didn¡¯t expect to succeed the first time. In the Yaoguang Continent, three strings[1] of copper coins were equivalent to one tael of silver. There are three hundred copper coins in one string. The ten copper coins Lin Rufei got back were just enough to buy two sticks of candied hawthorn. So Lin Rufei bought two sticks of candied hawthorn, one for him and one for Gu Xuandu as they ate with great pleasure. Gu Xuandu asked why he bought this wooden shield and Lin Rufei replied that the wooden shield was quite useful. At present, he still couldn¡¯t use Gu Yu very smoothly so he wanted to use this wooden shield to make up for it. Gu Xuandu wanted to say several times that it was out of place for Lin Rufei¡¯s slender figure to hold such a large wooden shield, but after thinking about it, he didn¡¯t say anything. Anyway, Lin Rufei was happy, so he let him do as he pleased. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. So Lin Rufei happily ate his candied hawthorn while at the same time hauling the huge wooden shield back. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he had started to try and draw out the sword Qi in his body, but Lin Rufei¡¯s strength was much greater than before. His five senses were also much more sensitive, but the only downside was that he was still sick when he should be, and his cough, which had plagued him for many years, was not getting better. After a day of recuperating in town, they planned to follow the official road all the way into the Central Plains. Lin Rufei, who had been traveling for more than ten days without getting sick, was still secretly happy about whether his health had improved. However, who knew that after a stroll in the town, he would start to cough and get a fever the next day. So when he finally left the town, Lin Rufei had to sit sickly in the carriage, with a look of listlessness. Fortunately, the official road was not as bumpy as the mountain road. It was flat and wide, so it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable. Their next destination was Gusu City, which was about a hundred miles away, and it would take about half a day to get there. When they arrived at Gusu, they would be considered really arriving at the Central Plains. Seeing with his own eyes, although there would be a lot of fishes and dragons mixed in, it would probably be more interesting. (t/n: MDZS anyone? Hehehe) The weather was getting hot so Lin Rufei also changed into a thin Summer outfit. His hair was tied up and compared to when he was on Kunlun Mountain, his style had improved by a few points¡ªmore handsome and heroic. Around evening, the carriage driven by Fu Hua finally arrived outside Gusu City. After passing the post to the guards, the carriage drove through the wide city gates and into the city. As soon as he entered the city gate, Lin Rufei showed his surprise. In Gusu City, there were red lanterns and red silks hanging everywhere. Windows of the stores on both sides were decorated with large red words of ¡°Xi.¡± (t/n: ϲ character is used for weddings, when there are two of them together it¡¯s called ¡°shuang xi¡± [double xi] ‡Ö which is used for wedding, representing the goodness from both the male and female side :D, Xi can mean like, happiness etc, but in this case, it can also be like a blessing. Fun fact, back when the female was pregnant, they would say ¡°ÎÒÀ´Ï²ÁË¡± meaning ¡°I have/got a blessing¡±) ¡°Who is getting married?¡± Yu Rui wondered. Fu Hua said: ¡°The one getting married must be from a big family. In this Gusu City, the only one that can be called a big family has to be the Liu family.¡± ¡°But since this is the Liu family¡¯s marriage, it must be a big event. They will certainly send out invitations and invite guests from all over the world. Why was there no communication?¡± Yu Rui didn¡¯t understand. Fu Hua shook her head, indicating that she also did not know. Lin Rufei¡¯s third invitation was for the Liu family of Gusu City. In Jianghu, there were only two sword cultivators who had passed through the eighth level of cultivation before the age of twenty. The first was his second brother, Lin Bianyu and the second was the second son of the Liu family in Gusu City, Liu Rugong. Unfortunately, the Mo family¡¯s Mo Changshan died young, otherwise, his name would also be in the eighth level. Although Lin Rugong had a ¡°bow[2]¡± character in his name, he was actually good with a sword. Lin Bianyu¡¯s Tian Xiao was famous all over the world, and Luo Shen, the soft sword in his hand, also had a fierce reputation. Rumor had it that Liu Rugong had an unpredictable personality and was hostile and ruthless. This one time, he was drinking wine and folding flowers with someone and the next moment he wanted the person¡¯s head. If the Liu family was not a large and powerful family, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress such a demon. The Liu family was a business magnate in the Central Plains, it was said that two-thirds of the merchants in Gusu City were from his family¡¯s industry. From the beginning, no matter which of the Liu family¡¯s younger generation got married, they would hold a big event. How come not even a wind was heard for this event? The group went into the inn and casually ordered some food. They asked the Xiao Er about this matter. When the Xiao Er heard this, he then said with a sad face: ¡°Guests, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to say, but this matter isn¡¯t really easy to talk about, ah.¡± ¡°Why is it difficult to say?¡± Yu Rui wondered, ¡°Isn¡¯t a big wedding a happy event?¡± The Xiao Er sighed and shook his head. ¡°No matter, just tell us who is getting married.¡± Fu Hua also did not pressure the Xiao Er. She casually handed out a piece of broken silver and asked. The Xiao Er looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him so he lowered his voice and whispered: ¡°Guests you might not know, the person who is getting married is none other than the second son of the Liu family, Liu Rugong ¡­¡­¡± They froze at the words. If it was another member of the Liu family who was getting married and the Liu family didn¡¯t want to organize then it was reasonable. However, the one getting married was the most favored, Liu Rugong. Liu Rugong¡¯s wedding must be considered as the most important thing for the Liu family and it would definitely be a big event so how could it be this silent? If they did not happen to come to Gusu City, they probably wouldn¡¯t know of this matter. ¡°Liu Rugong?¡± Fu Hua said incredulously, ¡°He is going to get married, how can it be so low-key.¡± The Xiao Er¡¯s face was bitter and he kept shaking his head and refused to say more. Lin Rufei revealed a curious look and after thinking for a moment, he took a piece of broken gold from his sleeve and handed it to the Xiao Er, gesturing for him to continue. When the Xiao Er saw the gold he showed a struggling expression. Finally, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and actually refused: ¡°Guest, I¡¯m really sorry, I really don¡¯t dare say. Although the gold is good, if the head is gone, there is no place to spend it ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Who will take your head?¡± Someone from behind asked curiously. As soon as he heard this voice, the Xiao Er¡¯s already bad expression instantly turned white again for a few minutes. He stiffened his head and turned around. Lin Rufei followed the Xiao Er¡¯s eyes and saw a narrow-eyed young man sitting on the wooden table on the side. He was wearing a red outfit with a sandalwood background and a lotus flower pattern. On his feet, were patterned gold silk boots and his long hair was tied into a crown as he tilted his head, looking at the Xiao Er with interest. Seeing the Xiao Er¡¯s frightened expression and his trembling feet, he patiently asked again: ¡°Who would want your head? ¡° The Xiao Er warily called out: ¡°Liu ¡­¡­ young master Liu ¡­¡­¡± Young master Liu laughed: ¡°Why are you so afraid of me for, did I kill someone in front of you?¡± He shook his head again, denying the statement, ¡°No, ah. In Gusu City, how could anyone have seen me kill someone.¡± The Xiao Er didn¡¯t dare continue to speak. Looking at his frightened appearance, it was like he wanted to kneel down and kowtow to young master Liu. Luckily, young master Liu was not very interested in him and soon cast his eyes on the three people sitting behind the Xiao Er¡ªLin Rufei and his maids. Lin Rufei¡¯s posture was weak and his body had no sword Qi. No matter how one looked at him, he didn¡¯t look like a cultivator. However, he could see that the maids sitting on either side of him were at the fifth level of cultivation. Being able to use cultivators at the fifth level as maids, he thought that this seemingly frail gongzi must have a special identity. ¡°Have you guys just arrived in Gusu City?¡± Young master Liu did not act like an outsider[3]. He picked up the teacup placed on the table and poured himself a cup of hot tea. Lin Rufei nodded his head. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Young master Liu asked. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I am Lin Rufei, the fourth son of the Kunlun Lin family. I have come to Gusu City to deliver the sword competition invitation to the Liu family.¡± After a slight pause, he continued, ¡°You are the Liu family¡¯s most famous swordsman, young master Liu, Liu Rugong, right?¡± Liu Rugong laughed, ¡°Oh, you can tell?¡± The Liu family has many offspring. There were seven or eight men and women just from the direct lineage alone. The side branch was even more numerous and it wasn¡¯t easy to guess his identity at once. Lin Rufei said in a soft voice: ¡°I have seen you at the sword competition a few years ago.¡± The smile on Liu Rugong¡¯s face faded: ¡°You are Lin Bianyu¡¯s brother, how come I haven¡¯t seen you before.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I have been weak since I was young, so I seldom show my face in front of people.¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± When he heard that Lin Rufei was weak, he seemed to have lost interest in him instantly and did not continue to be polite. He stood up lazily and said, ¡°I have something to do, so I won¡¯t accompany Lin gongzi.¡± After saying that, he turned around and left, with a very rude attitude. When Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw his appearance, anger surfaced in their eyes. They were about to rebuke, but they were stopped by Lin Rufei. ¡°No harm.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand indifferently, ¡°Swordsmen always have their own natures.¡± Especially powerful swordsmen. Even though his second brother had a seemingly gentle nature, in fact, he was prideful. If he faced people he did not like or was not interested in, he would also be too lazy to be polite. ¡°Young master, this Liu Rugong is too arrogant.¡± Yu Rui said dissatisfied, ¡°No matter how powerful he is, he was still defeated by our second young master.¡± Liu Rugong did lose, but only by a single move. At that time he also said ruthlessly that he wanted to compete with Lin Bianyu again. But for some reason, in this year¡¯s sword competition, the Liu family did not send him to Kunlun. Instead, they sent the Liu family¡¯s eldest son, a seventh-level cultivator, so there was naturally no possibility of winning. After Liu Rugong left, the Xiao Er who was almost frightened to death finally regained his composure. However, he looked at Lin Rufei with more fear in his eyes. Although he doesn¡¯t know of his identity, he apparently believed that those who could talk to Liu Rugong were not someone who could be offended. ¡°Gongzi, in fact ¡­¡­ it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to talk about it, but it¡¯s too ridiculous.¡± The Xiao Er did his best to suppress his voice, ¡°Although the whole city put up lights and decorations, not many people dare to talk about it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lin Rufei asked. The Xiao Er finally told Lin Rufei the reason with difficulty, ¡°Because ¡­¡­ the second son of the Liu family ¡­¡­ wants to marry a sword.¡± Everyone¡¯s expressions froze, even Gu Xuandu, who had been sitting next to him idle and bored. ¡°What did you say?¡± Fu Hua thought she had heard wrong, ¡°What did you say the second son of the Liu family was going to marry?¡± The Xiao Er said, ¡°A sword.¡± Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The Xiao Er was not at all surprised by their reaction and continued to calmly add: ¡°It¡¯s the Luo Shen that he loves the most.¡± Luo Shen was a good sword and could be on par with Tian Xiao that was built on Kunlun. It was naturally extraordinary. Rumor has it that it was made of heavenly meteorite iron tempered with rootless fire. When the sword was revealed, the sky was full of haze and the clouds were shaped like a beautiful woman with a graceful description, so it was named Luo Shen[4]. When Liu Rugong got Luo Shen, it was as if he got divine help and his cultivation rapidly progressed. People said that this one person and one sword were a perfect match. But no matter how much of a perfect match they were, the idea of marrying a sword was a bit too ridiculous. After the Xiao Er said this, the group coincidentally fell into a long silence. Finally, it was Lin Rufei who said, ¡°This Liu Rugong really has a personality.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Xiao Er snapped, ¡°The decision made by Liu Er Gongzi, who in the Liu family could change it? Although Master Liu was angry to the point of almost being half-dead, he also couldn¡¯t do anything. Furthermore, Liu Er Gongzi¡¯s mother has always been incomparably doting on him and couldn¡¯t really argue with him so she let him do as he pleased. She also turned the Gusu City red, saying that Liu Er Gongzi¡¯s wedding cannot be too sloppy¡­..¡± Several people looked at each other with a moment of speechlessness. The Xiao Er said: ¡°But this matter, the people don¡¯t dare to discuss. After all, the second young master has a bad temper. He kills people like he kills chickens. If they really died, even their corpses wouldn¡¯t be collected.¡± After hearing this, Lin Rufei handed the gold in his hand to the Xiao Er, indicating that he could leave. After receiving the reward money, the Xiao Er gratefully bowed to Lin Rufei and hurriedly retreated. ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± Fu Hua murmured, ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard that someone wants to marry their own sword.¡± Yu Rui shook her head: ¡°You don¡¯t understand. This is what they call a real swordsman, life with the sword as a companion.¡± She seemed to understand Liu Rugong very well. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei did not say too much about this matter. The world was big and nothing was too strange. At the same time he felt strange, he also thought that Liu Er Gongzi was really interesting. He really was considered a person of character. It was already a little late, so after everyone had eaten, they went to their own rooms to rest. Lin Rufei drank the medicine after bathing. Lying on the bed, he tossed and turned. Gu Xuandu sat on the edge of the bed as he propped up his chin and looked at the outside scenery without saying a word. Lin Rufei thought it was strange and called out: ¡°Senior?¡± Gu Xuandu turned around. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you have something on your mind?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Something on my mind?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± Normally, Gu Xuandu was very talkative, but today he did not say anything. Even when he heard such a bizarre thing such as Liu Rugong¡¯s marriage with a sword, he did not say a word. Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Is it strange to marry a sword?¡± Lin Rufei was silent for a moment then whispered, ¡°Is senior ¡­¡­¡± He looked at Shuang Jiang that hung on Gu Xuandu¡¯s waist, and cautiously said, ¡°If senior is really interested in the sword, then please don¡¯t treat Shuang Jiang like this. Using your wife as a burning stick is not always good.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shuang Jiang that hung on his waist also buzzed at this time. He didn¡¯t know whether it was in response to Lin Rufei¡¯s words or simply ridiculing Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu was choked half-dead by Lin Rufei¡¯s words. However, he didn¡¯t know what to say. He simply waved his long sleeves and directly disappeared. Lin Rufei only thought he was annoyed. In his heart, he quietly sighed that a master¡¯s thought was really different. However, he had to write a letter to his elder brother to urge his second brother¡¯s marriage. And to not practice his sword to the point of obsession, otherwise, he might really make Tian Xiao into his sister-in-law. Although he would not look down on his second brother, but to call a sword ¡°sister-in-law¡± would always feel a bit strange. Lin Rufei laid in bed thinking about these small things and stayed up until midnight before drifting off to sleep. The next day when he woke up, he still didn¡¯t see Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure. Lin Rufei was not anxious. After he slowly and methodically ate breakfast, he planned to visit the Liu residence with Fu Hua and Yu Rui. When they arrived at the Liu residence, they found out that the Liu family¡¯s master and wife were not in the residence and that they would not return until a dozen days later. However, the steward was very respectful after learning Lin Rufei¡¯s identity and invited him to stay at the Liu residence, saying that he had sent a message to the madam and the master and that they would return as soon as possible. Lin Rufei declined the steward¡¯s invitation. He said that he would stay at the inn and would not disturb them. The steward couldn¡¯t persuade no matter how much he tried so he sent his subordinates to book the best inn in Gusu City and instructed the owner to treat this valuable guest, Lin Rufei, well. The innkeeper repeatedly said yes. The reason why Lin Rufei insisted on staying at the inn was because of what happened to the Xie family and the Meng family. He thought this matter was a bit strange and thought it was safer to stay at the inn. In the end, no matter what happened to the Liu family, it would have nothing to do with him. After sending Lin Rufei to the inn, the steward wanted to say something several times but didn¡¯t. Lin Rufei saw this and said that if he had something to say, then to say it. The steward whispered: ¡°Lin gongzi may not know, the 15th of this month is my second young master¡¯s wedding day ¡­¡­ Only this wedding is a bit special, so the Liu residence did not intend to invite guests. The participants are some of the Liu residence¡¯ internal people and that it wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t want to invite Lin gongzi you.¡± He was afraid that Lin Rufei would misunderstand and think that he was being coldly treated by the Liu family since he didn¡¯t even get an invitation to the wedding, so he explained to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei nodded, indicating that it was fine. Only then did the steward cautiously go away. However, after a day, someone from the Liu residence sent the wedding invitation to Lin Rufei. When Lin Rufei asked, he learned that the Liu family¡¯s master had sent it to him, saying that the two families had a good relationship and that Lin Rufei could come to the banquet if he wanted to. However, he should not send gifts and that it was simply enough for him to come. Most likely the Liu family master had a lot of psychological struggle before finally choosing to invite Lin Rufei, the fourth son of the Lin family. Others do not know, but he knows very well. Although Lin Rufei had a weak body and was not well known, in fact, he was the most favored in the Lin family. And it was said that some days ago, he was the one that cut the Kunlun north peak in half with one swing. Whether this matter was true or not was open to question but he certainly wasn¡¯t as weak as he showed. Otherwise, how could the Lin family let him out into the world? It must be said that ginger was spicier when it got older[5]. The Liu family master indeed guessed right 70-80%. It was a pity that his shrewdness on his own son was not at all useful. He couldn¡¯t beat him nor could he scold. He could only watch as his own son acted willfully and made trouble¡ªthat he must marry a raw and cold sword. It worried him to the point of sickness. This Gusu City was several circles larger than Moyu and Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t wait to see the prosperity of the Central Plains. He took his money bag, said goodbye to Fu Hua and Yu Rui, and left by himself. He first went to search for some food, then intended to walk around along the small river running through Gusu City. However, he only walked halfway when he saw Liu Rugong, who was supposed to be preparing for the wedding at the Liu residence, squatting on the roadside. He had a pure plumage gyrfalcon resting on his arm and was teasing the bird with great interest. He also noticed Lin Rufei and stood up with a smile before greeting him, not as bad as when they first met. ¡°If Lin gongzi wants to go around Gusu city, why don¡¯t I be your guide?¡± Liu Rugong said with a smile. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment but agreed to Liu Rugong¡¯s proposal: ¡°Then ¡­¡­ I will trouble Liu gongzi.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: Isn¡¯t the bridal night just practicing sword the whole night? Gu Xuandu: What if it¡¯s not. Lin Rufei: Then what do they do? Gu Xuandu: There are always more ways than difficulties. Use the sword hilt and make do with it? Lin Rufei: £¿£¿£¿£¿£¿£¿ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] They look like this. [2] The ¡°gong¡± in Liu Rugong means ¡°bow.¡± [3] The phrase here is ²»¼ûÍâ which means ¡°acting familiar with strangers that they aren¡¯t even strangers¡± like treating a stranger you just met as a buddy. I don¡¯t know how to put that into words so I kept it as ¡°did not act like an outsider.¡± [4] Luo Shen ¨C the mythological Goddess of the Luo River. [5] The older the wiser; experience counts. CH 42 The gyrfalcon on Liu Rugong¡¯s hands was very beautiful. With its shrugged shoulders and taut tail, carved head, and swan¡¯s back, it was a standard beauty. Lin Bianyu had also raised a green-feathered gyrfalcon named Qingluan. Lin Rufei grew up watching it, so he had some understanding of this handsome bird. Seeing that Lin Rufei was quite interested in his bird, Liu Rugong introduced him, ¡°It¡¯s called Liaoshan, it¡¯s only one year old this year, it¡¯s a girl, just not very good-tempered.¡± All things resemble their owner. This Liaoshan slightly raised its neck showing off a proud look. It was quite similar to Liu Rugong, however, Liu Rugong apparently didn¡¯t notice. He rubbed Liaoshan¡¯s head in a doting way and looked at Lin Rufei: ¡°Lin gongzi, want to try?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and refused: ¡°No thanks.¡± Playing with an eagle was quite a private affair, the owners generally do not like other people touching their own eagle. Liu Rugong only exchanged a few words of courtesy with him so he also knew better. The two of them walked and talked as they strolled through the street. Many people besides the street cautiously cast a glance and most of these glances were of fear. It seems that in Gusu City, this Liu Rugong indeed had a lot of authority. Liu Rugong was unaware of this and took Lin Rufei all the way forward. He was saying that the wine from this place was pretty good and that the gold silk from this store was one of a kind. If he had the chance, remember to buy one or two; the womenfolk at home would certainly like it. Lin Rufei listened with interest. It wasn¡¯t until they strolled almost half of Gusu City did this Liu Rugong start talking about business. He stared at Lin Rufei with blazing eyes as if he was trying to burn a hole through his body: ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei was startled by his expression, ¡°Hm?¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°I heard that you had a sword competition with someone on Kunlun Mountain?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment and nodded gently. ¡°Is that swordsman named Wang Teng?¡± Liu Rugong said. He didn¡¯t expect him to be so well-informed. Not only did he know that Lin Rufei had a sword competition with someone, but he even knew the swordsman¡¯s name. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you know him?¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°Yes.¡± He waved his hand and Liaoshan, who had been resting on his arm, waved its wings and brought up a strong wind before flying off, ¡°I met him once in Gusu City.¡± It was probably on his way to Kunlun, Wang Teng rested for the night in the city. He brought a jug of wine and sat on the top of the highest pavilion as he looked down at the illuminated Gusu City. Liu Rugong happened to bump into him and with one glance he recognized the long sword called Qing Ji hanging on the side of Wang Teng¡¯s waist. He couldn¡¯t move his gaze until Wang Teng cast an unkind look at him through his bamboo hat. A swordsman¡¯s sword being stared at in such a rude manner would be unpleasant to anyone else, let alone Wang Teng, whose temper was not good in the first place. ¡°Your sword is good.¡± Liu Rugong walked up to Wang Teng and sat down. He reached out towards Wang Teng¡¯s wine jug, wanting to ask for a sip of wine. Who knew that Wang Teng did not give any face to the most unreasonable son of the Liu family in Gusu City and directly ignored Liu Rugong who asked for wine. The cold gaze, even through the veil of the hat, sent chills down one¡¯s spine. If this were an ordinary person, he would have backed off, but who was Liu Rugong? He was the second young master of the Liu family. He was the most capable of tormenting others, so he was not moved at all by Wang Teng¡¯s indifference. Instead, he was more interested. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°Why did you come here to drink?¡± ¡°A sword match.¡± Although his tone was cold, Wang Teng at least spoke back. ¡°Oh?¡± When swords were mentioned, Liu Rugong became eager, ¡°Are you going to Kunlun? Who do you intend to find for a sword competition?¡± The Lin family¡¯s reputation was so well known that almost every year, countless swordsmen would go to Kunlun, either to compete with swords or to watch the battle, making it very lively. And there was only one way to Kunlun. They must go through Gusu City, then over the Xiliang Mountains, and follow the Canglan River all the way forward then they would reach their destination. ¡°A member of the Lin family.¡± Wang Teng said. ¡°A member of the Lin family? Which member of the Lin family? Lin Weirui is still away on her travels. Unless it is Lin Minzhi¡­¡­.but it¡¯s not easy to compete with him with a sword.¡± Liu Rugong said. Who knew that Wang Teng would shake his head. Seeing this, Liu Rugong wondered, ¡°Could it be you¡¯re looking for Lin Bianyu? Tsk, tsk, tsk, you¡¯re still young and you already don¡¯t want to live? Even I was defeated by Lin Bianyu¡¯s sword. With you, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to get more than ten moves under him.¡± Wang Teng raised his eyes and gave him a cold laugh, completely ignoring him. The smile on Liu Rugong¡¯s face narrowed slightly. In the next moment, he raised his hand and snatched the wine jug from Wang Teng¡¯s hand, and poured it into his mouth. Wang Teng was caught unaware and said angrily, ¡°You Midlander, why are you so rude?¡± Liu Rugong finished the wine in a few gulps. He then threw the jug back into Wang Teng¡¯s hand and said seriously, ¡°Since I drank your wine, I owe you a favor. I can¡¯t just stand by and watch you die. Come, come, come. If you want to compete with Lin Bianyu then you must win against me first. I have a better temper than him so I will let you live.¡± He said whatever he wanted and even had the nerve to say he had a better temper than Lin Bianyu. If his family knew about this, they would have laughed at him for using every possible means just so he could compete with the sword. Wang Teng stared coldly at Liu Rugong like he was staring at a desperate madman, ¡°I¡¯m not looking for Lin Bianyu for a sword competition.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Liu Rugong wondered, ¡°Then who are you looking for?¡± ¡°Lin Rufei.¡± Wang Teng said. Lin Rufei? Liu Rugong has heard of this name. However, he only heard of it and had never seen the person before. It was rumored that this Lin Rufei was too weak to practice swords since he was young, so he seldom showed his face in front of people. For such a person, Liu Rugong really had little interest. ¡°Oh? Is that Lin something fei, also a powerful character?¡± Liu Rugong was interested. Wang Teng looked at him and did not speak. He obviously didn¡¯t like this nonsensical Liu Rugong, but he didn¡¯t want to cause trouble, so he took the wine jug and turned around to leave. Liu Rugong was not willing to let go of such an interesting person so easily. He raised his hand and pulled out Luo Shen. However, before he could make his move, the man in front of him became a shadow and disappeared in front of him. Along with Wang Teng¡¯s disappearance, a lock of hair at Liu Rugong¡¯s temple was also gone. He froze in place. He actually wasn¡¯t able to see when the other side had pulled out their sword. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. After that, Liu Rugong firmly remembered the name, Wang Teng. Later, he heard that he had gone to Kunlun to find Lin Rufei for a sword competition and lost to Lin Rufei. Sighing with regret, he left the matter behind. Until yesterday, when he returned home and casually talked about meeting the fourth of the Lin family, he was reminded that Lin Rufei was the one who had a sword fight with Wang Teng. So today, Liu Rugong changed his cold attitude from yesterday and even took the initiative to take Lin Rufei around. The fourth son of the Lin family, although handsome and elegant, had a weak body and no sword Qi. It was as if a gust of wind could blow him down. Liu Rugong was only interested in strong people. People like Lin Rufei, if he were not from the Kunlun Lin family, he would not even bother to ask a question. But this Lin Rufei does not seem to be as harmless as he appears. Liu Rugong smiled and narrowed his eyes, his right hand unconsciously patted Luo Shen on the side of his waist and laughed: ¡°Lin gongzi, a few days later, it will be my big day. You must give me, Liu Rugong, this face. Remember to come to the feast, ah.¡± Lin Rufei was walking forward when he heard Liu Rugong¡¯s words. He slightly paused his movements and said: ¡°¡­¡­..okay.¡± ¡°I know what Lin gongzi is thinking, but it doesn¡¯t matter. If you have anything to say, just say it, I don¡¯t mind.¡± Liu Rugong said. Lin Rufei twisted his head and looked at him, but he didn¡¯t want to ask. Although he was very curious, in the end, this was the private affairs of others. And Liu Rugong¡¯s sudden enthusiasm felt out of the ordinary. He always felt that this Liu gongzi was planning something. Liu Rugong waited for a while. However, he saw Lin Rufei¡¯s lack of interest and averted his gaze, wondering: ¡°Hey, is Lin gongzi not curious as to why I want to marry a sword?¡± Lin Rufei said frankly: ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really want to know.¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°If Liu gongzi particularly wants to talk about it, then there is no harm for me to listen.¡± Lin Rufei said. Liu Rugong obviously did not expect this reaction from Lin Rufei. In this Gusu city, who wasn¡¯t curious about his marriage? However, no one dared to comment with their opinion. But this Lin Rufei was apparently not interested at all. Liu Rugong gave a tsk. In his heart, he thought that the Lin family¡¯s little gongzi didn¡¯t play by common sense. But it doesn¡¯t matter. It just so happens that he was also a person who doesn¡¯t play by common sense, so Liu Rugong showed a smile and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, we are also considered friends at first sight, right?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why did these words sound so intimidating? Liu Rugong said, ¡°Right?¡± How else could Lin Rufei answer? It¡¯s not like he could say that they were actually not familiar with each other, so he could only nod helplessly. As soon as Liu Rugong saw Lin Rufei nod, he immediately smiled: ¡°Since we are friends, then at my big wedding, have you thought about what to give me?¡± So he was waiting for him here. Lin Rufei cried and laughed, thinking that this Liu family¡¯s son was really interesting. Just to get a bridal gift, he went about it in such a roundabout way. As he was about to speak, Liu Rugong added, ¡°I don¡¯t want to bother Lin gongzi to prepare a gift for me. How about this, will Lin gongzi grant me a small wish as a gift for my wedding?¡± Sure enough, it came. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What wish?¡± Liu Rugong heavily pressed Luo Shen on the side of his waist and said seriously, ¡°To compete with me with swords.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°With Luo Shen?¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°Naturally!¡± Lin Rufei slightly hesitated, ¡°But you just got married. Won¡¯t it be a bit inappropriate¡­¡­ for me to fight with your bride¡­¡­¡­?¡± Liu Rugong¡¯s expression froze. He was choked half-dead by Lin Rufei¡¯s words. Gu Xuandu, who hadn¡¯t spoken at all, could not hold back his laughter next to him. He actually saw his own shadow in this glaring expression of Liu Rugong¡¯s. It had to be said that when this Lin family¡¯s little gongzi deliberately acted mischievously, it was really difficult for people to fight back. Luckily, this Liu Rugong was not an ordinary person. After a moment of silence, he reached out with a big grin and gave Lin Rufei a pat on the shoulder: ¡°We are now considered brothers, what¡¯s the point in talking about this. Your sister-in-law is generous and certainly won¡¯t mind¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei was speechless. Only after he managed to get a big gift from Lin Rufei did Liu Rugong call back his Liaoshan and energetically walk away. Lin Rufei stared at his back for a long time without speaking, and only after a while did he sigh, ¡°How are we supposed to compete?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Yes, we have to be careful.¡± He glanced at Lin Rufei, ¡°Don¡¯t kill him with one swing.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± In recent days, Gu Xuandu guided him in sword practice behind Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s back. But Lin Rufei¡¯s bottom line was there. His physical condition was poor and his progress was extremely slow. Fortunately, he was able to barely lead the sword Qi onto Gu Yu. Although there was no suitable place to test it, in the end, he was much stronger than before. Gu Xuandu was not nervous about the competition between Lin Rufei and Liu Rugong and urged Lin Rufei to try the golden silk pastry[1] sold on the street, saying that it looked very delicious. Lin Rufei then bought two, one for Gu Xuandu and one for himself. They ate while they walked back. When he went back, he happened to see Fu Hua coming out of the pharmacy next to the inn, looking slightly nervous. He wanted to go up and ask her a question, but he suddenly remembered what he had overheard during the day, so he stopped in his tracks and did not go over. He simply sighed deeply. Most likely this medicine was bought for him. After all, his self-talking problem was getting more and more serious. As Lin Rufei thought about this matter, he worriedly looked at a certain senior who had no self-awareness at his side and let out a sorrowful sigh. Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t notice the correlation he had with Fu Hua entering the pharmacy and himself. He was nibbling on the golden silk pastry with joy. The pastry was fresh out of the pan and had a thin layer of white sugar sprinkled on top. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the sweetness was also just right. It was very delicious. When he saw Lin Rufei looking at himself, he smiled brightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s been some time since I ate this, and the taste actually hasn¡¯t changed much.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t utter a word and continued to nibble together with Gu Xuandu. In the evening, Fu Hua really brought the medicinal soup, but she did not dare tell what this medicine was used for. She was probably afraid that she would increase the psychological burden of her gongzi and only said that the medicine had a calming effect. If he wasn¡¯t able to have a good night¡¯s sleep, drinking it may be useful. Lin Rufei knew she was worried about him, so he obediently answered yes. However, when Fu Hua went out, he took advantage, turned around, and dumped it into the potted plant next to the window. Gu Xuandu even wondered why the medicine was poured out. Lin Rufei said: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if I drink it, I really won¡¯t see you.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°This is the medicine for the bewitched.¡± Only then did Gu Xuandu remember the daytime conversation the maids had and was speechless for a while. It was getting late and another night passed. Lin Rufei still didn¡¯t feel much sleepiness and he was really bored. He opened the window and sat by the bed to watch the people walking on the street to relieve boredom. The city of Gusu was not lonely at night, the streets were hung with red lanterns and the flow of people was endless. At first glance, it seemed to be more lively than in the daytime. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyesight was much better than before and he could clearly see every interesting detail on the street. A man had a falling out with his beloved girlfriend. They found a quiet place at the end of the alley as he was explaining something with a sad face. However, the girl was angry, how could she listen? She was pouting and wiping away her tears. The man didn¡¯t know what else to do. He pondered while scratching his head then he suddenly turned around and left. The girl looked at his back and cried out directly, but the man reappeared in the alley again after a short while and was holding a golden candy in his hand. A few strokes and the girl¡¯s charm was drawn. He did not know what to say and just clumsily stuffed the candy into her mouth. The girl ate the candy and finally turned grief into happiness while glaring at the man with teary eyes and a pout. And there was also a child standing in front of the candied hawthorn stand. His feet didn¡¯t move and he had saliva hanging at the corner of his mouth. The child¡¯s mother could not pull him away no matter what. Finally, she reached out and wrung his ears. The child started to cry. His sobs were extremely miserable so he decided to sit on the floor and let his cries out. His mother wasn¡¯t able to pull him, so in the end, she could only helplessly pull out a few silver money and bought a stick of candied hawthorn to coax the child away. The city was more lively than Kunlun and not by a little bit. There were all kinds of things in the world and human emotions fluctuated[2] as they all entered the eyes of Lin Rufei. As he watched, his lips curved into a smile and the pink cherry blossom in his eye also appeared. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Liu Rugong.¡± Gu Xuandu suddenly spoke out. ¡°Where?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Gu Xuandu pointed to the distance and Lin Rufei looked in the direction he pointed. He saw Liu Rugong carrying a jug of wine and sitting on the top of a tall building in the distance. That was the highest location in Gusu City and most likely the view was good. Just behind him, seemed to stand a young woman. The woman had on a green veil and was silently standing. Although he wasn¡¯t able to clearly see her face, he could vaguely see her extraordinary posture. Liu Rugong was drinking wine. Compared to his usually open and hostile appearance, it seemed to be a bit more lonely. The city was decorated with red colors for him, but he seemed to have nothing to do with this liveliness and was just like a passerby passing through the place and drinking wine. Lin Rufei looked at him for a long time before he softly said, ¡°That must be a jug of good wine.¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It should be a jug of good wine.¡± Liu Rugong drank for half of the night. The bright moon was high in the sky before he finally got up and left. During that time, the woman in green stood behind him, quietly accompanying him, yet there was no conversation between the two. Even when he left, he did not look back at her. Lin Rufei saw Liu Rugong leave, but he still did not feel any sleepiness. When the street gradually quieted down, most people have entered a sweet dream. The watchman struck his baton three times and the sound of ¡°the air is dry, beware of fire,¡± slowly rang throughout Gusu city. ¡°Still not sleepy?¡± Gu Xuandu asked. ¡°Not sleepy.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I can¡¯t seem to fall asleep.¡± Gu Xuandu thought for a moment, ¡°Want to go there and take a look?¡± He pointed to the spot where Liu Rugong had just left. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment, thinking that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep anyway, he nodded his head. When Gu Xuandu saw that he was willing, he gently grabbed his arm. Lin Rufei felt his body lighten as he was carried into mid-air by Gu Xuandu. Gu Yu, that was hanging on his waist, seemed to feel something and flew out from its scabbard before stopping at his feet. Lin Rufei then stepped onto Gu Yu and with Gu Xuandu¡¯s guidance, they landed on the high building where Liu Rugong was drinking wine The scenery here was indeed unique and beautiful. If you gazed up and looked afar, you would be able to have a bird¡¯s eye view of the entire Gusu City. Green bricks and white tile low houses, pink walls, and vermillion gates of rich and noble families were on both sides of the street placed neatly like a chessboard. A clear river ran through the center of the city all the way to the south. The street lights had gone out and the moonlight was like a waterfall as white frost covered the city. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The night wind was a bit strong and from out of nowhere, Gu Xuandu pulled out a cloak and put it on Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulders. He sat beside Lin Rufei and his tone was slightly emotional, saying that he did not expect the scenery of this Gusu city to be so different from a hundred years ago. Lin Rufei said, ¡°You came here a hundred years ago?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What was the difference between Gusu then and now?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°At that time, there was just a truce between the human and demon realms. Gusu City was in a mess and there wasn¡¯t even a small store selling wine. I was addicted to wine and really craved wine, so I asked a friend to brew a few jars for me by hand. The wine wasn¡¯t fully fermented yet and only just emitted the smell of wine, but I secretly dug it out and drank most of it.¡± He said this with a gentle smile at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. Lin Rufei said, ¡°That old friend of yours didn¡¯t get mad at you when he found out?¡± ¡°Later, when the battlefield shifted, we left the area and he forgot about it.¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei and said lowly, ¡°But even if he found out, he wouldn¡¯t be angry with me, right?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is that so, then he must be very good to you.¡± ¡°Yes, very good to me.¡± Gu Xuandu said in a low voice, ¡°I was raised by him and he left me with the best of everything.¡± Lin Rufei wanted to ask him where his old friend was now, but then thought, this was a hundred years ago, perhaps it would be sad to ask, so he softly mumbled and said, ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Gu Xuandu was silent. He just looked at Lin Rufei and smiled. The smile hid some gloom that Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand but it was soon concealed into the boundless night. Unknowingly, the sky was flooded with morning light and the night had already passed. When Lin Rufei heard the rooster crowing, he finally felt some sleepiness. When Gu Xuandu saw this, he brought him back to the room. Lying on the bed, Lin Rufei thought about the beauty of last night and drifted off into a deep sleep. Gu Xuandu sat beside him and looked at his sleeping face. Suddenly, he leaned down and dropped a soft kiss on his closed eyelashes. Lin Rufei was unaware of this and continued to sleep soundly. Because of the sleepless night last night, Lin Rufei slept until the afternoon before he decided to get up. When he got up, he saw that there was still hot food on the table, which he thought was prepared by Fu Hua and Yu Rui. He sat up from the bed, yawned lazily, and planned to go out to ask the Xiao Er to prepare some hot water to wash up. However, he saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui standing at the door looking anxious. When they saw him come out they were surprised and called out ¡°young master.¡± ¡°Young master, you scared me to death.¡± Yu Rui cried, ¡°If you didn¡¯t wake up, we were going to call the doctor to come.¡± ¡°Alas, the doctor here is really unreliable. How can you sleep for so long after taking that medicine.¡± Fu Hua anxiously said, ¡°It is better to send a message back and let Wan Yao prescribe medicine.¡± When Lin Rufei saw that the two misunderstood, he busily tried to explain that he slept too late last night and that the medicine had nothing to do with it. Who knew that when Fu Hua heard this, she became angrier. She said that the medicine was supposed to calm the mind and it turned out that he couldn¡¯t sleep after drinking it! Lin Rufei didn¡¯t dare say that he actually didn¡¯t drink the medicine, so he had to stand still and listen to the maids¡¯ complaints. Good thing the two of them didn¡¯t talk for long before they turned around and prepared hot water for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei hurried back to the room and told Gu Xuandu that he would never stay up late again. Gu Xuandu listened with a soft smile and said, ¡®don¡¯t ruin your body by staying up late. Liu Rugong is still waiting for you to send gifts.¡¯ At the mention of this gift, Lin Rufei immediately frowned: ¡°How about we leave the congratulatory gift and just slip away. Anyways, he wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Before Gu Xuandu could answer, there was a knock outside the door. Lin Rufei thought it was Fu Hua and Yu Rui so he said come in. Who knew that the one who pushed open the door was actually Liu Rugong. He said with a serious face: ¡°Slip away. Lin gongzi, who wants to slip away?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± How can you be so pervasive. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: We have a good enough relationship, right? I¡¯m also getting married and I¡¯m here to ask you for a big gift. Lin Rufei: What do you want? Feel free to say. Gu Xuandu: Everything is ready for the wedding. I¡¯m just missing a bride, why don¡¯t you come and fill in for it? Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Golden silk pastry. [2] meaning to flatter someone when they are in power, but to ignore them when they are out of power. CH 43 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Liu Rugong was just in front of him so Lin Rufei naturally couldn¡¯t say that it was him that wanted to slip away. As a result, he made a few casual remarks and passed them off. Luckily, Liu Rugong also did not look deeper into it, he just took out a big red invitation in his hand and handed it to Lin Rufei. The invitation was like a hot potato but Lin Rufei could only helplessly accept it. Seeing that Lin Rufei had accepted the invitation, Liu Rugong knew he was going to get this gift. For a while, he was a little eager and the hand holding Luo Shen could not keep still. His hand looked very itchy and his expression was one that couldn¡¯t wait to immediately pull Lin Rufei out to compete. ¡°I am going to get married soon, I am afraid I will be busy for some days. I don¡¯t know when Lin gongzi will be free so why don¡¯t we set the date in advance.¡± Liu Rugong sat in front of Lin Rufei and asked for the wedding gift with a natural look. Lin Rufei thought for a moment and said frankly: ¡°To be frank, Liu gongzi, I have not practiced swordplay before because I have been weak since young.¡± Liu Rugong¡¯s smile faded instantly and he looked at Lin Rufei with a blank expression, ¡°What do you mean by that, Lin gongzi? Are you saying that someone like Wang Teng lost to someone who has never practiced with the sword?¡± He said coldly, ¡°If you don¡¯t consider me, Liu Rugong, as your friend then just say so, why do you need to make such excuses?¡± With a clang, he pulled out his Luo Shen and stared at Lin Rufei with cold eyes, ¡°Since Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t consider me as a friend, if I want to fight with Lin gongzi, then I don¡¯t have to pick a date.¡± It seemed that this fight had to be fought so Lin Rufei sighed and said, ¡°Since Liu gongzi insists on this, then let¡¯s set it for three days later.¡± Liu Rugong¡¯s gloomy look instantly faded. Smiling, he fished out a delicate paper bag from his pocket and placed it on the table, ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t be angry with me, my personality is like this. If no one competes with me in a sword fight, I would rather die. This is my third sister¡¯s dragon¡¯s beard pastry[1], which is one of the best in Gusu City. Today, I have specially brought it for Lin gongzi to try, it will be considered as my apology to you.¡± Liu Rugong had always acted openly and unscrupulously and it wasn¡¯t easy for him to say soft words. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t touch the things on the table and called out to Fu Hua to send the guest away. Fu Hua, who was outside the room, heard the call and pushed the door in. She saw that the atmosphere in the room was a bit strange and her heart suddenly thumped. Liu Rugong waved his hand indifferently, said goodbye, and turned around to leave. He was very delighted. After Fu Hua sent him off, Lin Rufei was the only one left in the room. Gu Xuandu asked him, ¡°Not happy?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head: ¡°Not unhappy, just a little envious.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Envious? Envious of Liu Rugong?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°If I had his talent, I probably would have developed this kind of uninhibited nature as well.¡± He picked up the paper bag on the table, opened it, and saw the dragon¡¯s beard pastry inside. It must have just been made since it was still warm. He took out a piece and placed it in his mouth. The texture was soft and melted in his mouth and the rich aroma of soybean spread across his taste buds. Lin Rufei thought it tasted good and handed one to Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu was not polite and took a big bite, then asked, ¡°Really not angry?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head: ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m not angry, but I don¡¯t want to look too good-tempered in front of Liu Rugong, so as not to ruin the name of the Lin family.¡± His siblings were all so proud. If they had met Liu Rugong¡¯s approach, they would have fought with him on the spot¡ªno, maybe they would have gladly agreed to the competition with Liu Rugong without him forcing them to. It was a pity that the person Liu Rugong wanted to compete with was him. ¡°You can try it now too.¡± Gu Xuandu seemed to be very interested in this dragon¡¯s beard pastry, one bite after another, he ate with great pleasure, ¡°Anyway, this Liu Rugong is durable, even if your power is not well controlled, it is not so bad that it will kill him.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°But Gusu City has so many people if I don¡¯t control my power, one swing¡­¡­¡± Then it wouldn¡¯t be as simple as splitting the north peak since the city had so many people. Gu Xuandu lazily said: ¡°Then choose a place far from Gusu.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and felt that this was the only way to go. There were still three days left before the sword competition. Lin Rufei had a temporary feeling of hugging the Buddha¡¯s feet[2], but this kind of thing was not something that could be practiced in a short time. Although he could barely attach sword Qi to Gu Yu, he didn¡¯t dare to do it again after a few attempts. Either there was no reaction after swinging or after a light swing, the wall in front would develop an exaggerated crack. Fortunately, there was no one in the room, else he would cost a human¡¯s life. Even the suffering innkeeper didn¡¯t dare to cause trouble for Lin Rufei. Finally, Lin Rufei let Fu Hua send more silver as compensation. So for three days, he continued to try. Tomorrow was just around the corner and it was the day of the competition with Liu Rugong. Lin Rufei thought that this was really unreliable. If he really went on, either he was going to get cleave by Liu Rugong or he was going to cleave Liu Rugong, there was no third possibility. Gu Xuandu had nothing to do, so he gave Lin Rufei a bad idea. He said that when the sword fight started, first, talk to Liu Rugong and before he could react, make the first move, then this matter would end right there. Liu Rugong was the one who asked for it anyway and even if it killed him, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the Liu family to cause trouble for him. Lin Rufei made a gesture of admiration to Gu Xuandu: ¡°When senior competed with others, do you do this often?¡± Gu Xuandu thought for a moment and said frankly that he really did. However, at that time he was still young, so he didn¡¯t care about shame. For the sake of his small life, he didn¡¯t have the time to think about the extras. Unlike later, when his reputation grew, even though he thought of it in his heart, he didn¡¯t have the nerve to do it. Lin Rufei immediately admired Gu Xuandu to the point of adulation. ¡°Alas, Xiao Jiu, you are just too soft-hearted.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°This matter of the sword competition is originally a matter of life and death. However, you can rest assured. As long as I am here, I will ensure that you can swing the sword.¡± Anyway, the one who was going to die was not Lin Rufei, so he didn¡¯t have to worry in the slightest. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t continue bothering with him. He yawned and then got onto the bed to sleep. The sword practice during the daytime made him tired so this sleep made Lin Rufei feel very steady. When he got up in the morning, he accidentally saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s faces full of worry. Because he was afraid of making his maids worry, Lin Rufei also did not say that he was going to a sword competition with Liu Rugong. Seeing the two of them like this, he felt quite strange in his heart. ¡°What are the two of them worried about?¡± Lin Rufei asked Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes contained a deep smile: ¡°They¡¯re most likely thinking that their gongzi¡¯s self-talking hysteria has become more serious.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Probably already sent a few letters to Wan Yao urging him to prescribe medicine?¡± Lin Rufei sighed quietly for a long time before saying, ¡°Let them be.¡± The agreed place for the sword fight with Liu Rugong was originally inside the Liu residence. However, Lin Rufei was really worried that he couldn¡¯t control the sword Qi and would hurt innocent people, so he let Liu Rugong change the place to the outskirts of the city so it wouldn¡¯t be easy to hurt people. Liu Rugong didn¡¯t care where they fought, he just needed Lin Rufei to be willing to fight with him and that was enough. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Today, the weather was very clear. The hot sun roasted the earth and the hot Summer heat was transpiring as it baked out the noisy cicadas. Lin Rufei had a low body temperature, but he quite liked Summer. Seeing that his and Liu Rugong¡¯s appointment time was almost here, he went to the street and bought a mung bean soup[3] to cool off from the Summer heat. While drinking, he slowly wandered out of Gusu City. The time they agreed on was in the late afternoon when the weather was at its hottest. Lin Rufei also did not have an umbrella so when he arrived outside the city in the hot sun, his forehead surfaced with a layer of thin sweat. Of course, compared to him, Liu Rugong appeared to be more wretched. He was obviously hot and had picked up a lotus leaf to use as a hat out of nowhere. He was squatting under the shade of a tree and his hand continuously fanned himself. His sleeves were also pulled up to the arm, like a farmer just out of the field, and there was no longer that dashing appearance. Liu Rugong saw Lin Rufei coming from afar and he showed a look of impatience. He stood up and called out to Lin gongzi, but his eyes soon fell onto the mung bean soup in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. This mung bean soup was placed in a lotus leaves sewn bowl and chilled with well water, giving off a refreshing smell. Lin Rufei also noticed Liu Rugong¡¯s eager eyes, but he was not moved. He relentlessly drank the mung bean soup then smiled and called out Liu gongzi. Liu Rugong gritted his teeth and reached out to draw his sword. Luo Shen was unsheathed, its blade was like a silver light as it emitted a cold killing intent: ¡°Lin gongzi, draw your sword.¡± Lin Rufei said yes with a serious face. He then reached his hand into his dimensional ring and a moment later, he pulled out a black wooden shield from it¡ªthis was the perfect method he had thought about all night yesterday. For a moment, Liu Rugong even thought he was hallucinating. He stared at the wooden shield for a long time to make sure he was not mistaken; that he didn¡¯t mistake a sword blade as a shield before he hissed, ¡°Lin gongzi, what is that thing you¡¯re holding?¡± Lin Rufei introduced, ¡°A wooden shield.¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°What¡¯s so special about this shield? Oh, I know, is it because it has a sword blade inserted inside?!¡± He had seen such a weapon before, it was a bit special but it did exist. But who knew that the little gongzi of the Lin family standing opposite him would shake his head very frankly: ¡°No blade inserted.¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I just bought it off the street. It was the kind that costs one tael of silver, oh. The shopkeeper also gave it to me for ten copper coins cheaper.¡± Liu Rugong¡¯s hot and sweaty handsome face instantly distorted. He stared fiercely at Lin Rufei. After making sure he wasn¡¯t joking, all his anger turned into heavy killing intent: ¡°Lin gongzi, are you looking down on me, Liu Rugong?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Of course not.¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°Then why won¡¯t you draw your sword?!¡± Lin Rufei said in his heart that it was because he wasn¡¯t very skilled, but his face was still calm and he said, ¡°I¡¯ll draw my sword when you break my shield.¡± Liu Rugong was furious, he had never receive such an insult. He became famous when he was a teenager and was also the second son of the Liu family. None of the times when he was in a sword fight, did he see his opponent pull out a wooden shield or deliberately reiterated that it was one that cost one tael of silver¡ª Exactly how much did he(LRF) look down on him(LRG)?! Although in Lin Rufei¡¯s heart, he didn¡¯t have this intention, it seemed that Liu Rugong would not listen to his explanation. Under the helplessness, he gently smashed his mouth together and quietly recalled the delicious mung bean soup just now. He was thinking that he should¡¯ve saved a sip for Liu Rugong, at least to let him take some heat off ¡­¡­ Liu Rugong was already angry to the point of being red-eyed. The Luo Shen in his hand also surfaced a layer of green sword intent, like a single flame attached to the snow-white sword blade. He held the blade diagonally, stepped forward, and swung his first move at Lin Rufei. The sword Qi was majestic and it was mixed with a strong killing intent as it aimed at his face. The soil under his feet was split into dust as a shocking crack formed. Liu Rugong¡¯s figure began to become distorted and he didn¡¯t know if it was because of the scorching heat or the green flame-like sword Qi on Luo Shen. Lin Rufei raised the plain wooden shield in his hand. Luo Shen and the wooden shield collided, creating a strong wind that shook Lin Rufei¡¯s sleeves. However, his feet were as steady as a mountain and he resisted the blow without retreating half a step. The wooden shield in his hand actually scattered off the sword Qi like a perfect white barrier, blocking Luo Shen on the other side along with the green flame. Liu Rugong revealed a stunned look, but soon, this stunned look turned into one of excitement, like he had finally met his rival. He hissed and Luo Shen carried him into mid-air. Then like a falling star, he headed towards Lin Rufei for his second move. Lin Rufei still did not move. The second move struck against the wooden shield, but it still did not break it. The white sword intent formed into a barrier as if it had become an unbreakable armor and Liu Rugong¡¯s strike was just like scratching an itch. Liu Rugong didn¡¯t mind at all. One strike, two strikes, three strikes, four strikes¡ªhis speed was getting faster and faster and his body was gradually turning into a shadow. Originally, Luo Shen only had one handle, but now he was able to wield the appearance of a sword rain in the sky. The trees around Lin Rufei were like waves of wheat blown down by the gale as it toppled over and even the city gate in the distance was not spared. The white sword Qi on top of the wooden shield was gradually fading with the continuous consumption from Liu Rugong. Seeing this scene, Luo Shen¡¯s green flame grew bigger. Liu Rugong¡¯s red eyes had an excitement that was about to become concrete¡ªhe didn¡¯t believe that there was a shield that couldn¡¯t be broken by Luo Shen, especially this mediocre shield in front of him that only cost one tael of silver. The white sword Qi was finally about to dissipate and Liu Rugong called out Lin Rufei¡¯s name. Lin Rufei held the wooden shield while standing in place. His expression held no sadness or joy. He was like another person compared to his ordinary self. He felt the green flame in front of him, that kept eroding the sword intent inside him, had a trace of familiarity ¡­¡­ as if he had encountered such a severe sword intent before, only that sword intent was a hundred times more ferocious than this one. Liu Rugong saw Lin Rufei¡¯s expression and his face showed hatred. He found out that Lin Rufei, under his own fierce attack, was actually lost in thought and that his(LRF) gaze seemed to have passed through his(LRG) body, looking into the distant nothingness. ¡°Lin Rufei!¡± Liu Rugong felt an unprecedented insult and roared, ¡°What are you looking at?! The one who is competing with you is me!¡± Another blow and the white sword blade finally made a crisp sound. However, before Liu Rugong could show his joy, he saw Lin Rufei, who was standing still, raise his hand and waved the wooden shield he was holding. A huge force came abruptly and before Liu Rugong could react, it smashed heavily upon his body. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and then he flew out like a kite with a broken string. Before he flew out, in his trance, he saw countless sharp sword blades hanging around Lin Rufei. And Lin Rufei was standing indifferently amid the sword rain with eyes as cold as frost, not like a mortal. Dealing with him, it turned out that Lin Rufei didn¡¯t even need to draw his sword¡­¡­. Before fainting, that was the only thought that remained on Liu Rugong¡¯s mind. When Liu Rugong fainted, the manic green flame sword Qi on Luo Shen also subsided. Not much was worn during the Summer. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t understand how to use sword Qi to protect, so his clothes were all tattered from the fight. Not only were the sleeves gone, but he also revealed a pale waistline. The long hair that had been neatly tied up was also messily scattered over his shoulders. With that pale face, if one only looked at their appearance, one might think that the person who lost the competition was Lin Rufei. ¡°It¡¯s over?¡± Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu. He did not expect it to go so well. Gu Xuandu nodded his head. ¡°Where is Liu Rugong?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°He¡¯s lying over there, he was knocked out by you.¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes which held a little helplessness. Others swordsmen were using the sword, but the one in his family, who relied on the natural sword Qi in his body, was able to use the shield more and more smoothly. Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh.¡± After a sigh of relief, the wooden shield went back into his ring. He walked forward some distance before seeing Liu Rugong, who had fainted, lying on the ground. But even though he had fainted, he did not let go of the Luo Shen in his hand. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is he okay?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It should only be a superficial injury, nothing serious.¡± Those that were too hard, were easily broken. Liu Rugong attacked so fiercely and he also suffered the loss. If he took his time, Lin Rufei might not be the one to win in the end. But Liu Rugong¡¯s nature was obviously not the kind of person who worked slowly and carefully. Lin Rufei squatted down halfway and probed his nostrils to make sure he was okay before breathing a sigh of relief. He looked at the tattered clothes on his body and said in distress: ¡°I forgot to bring clothes out. If I walk back like this, will Fu Hua and Yu Rui misunderstand anything?¡± Gu Xuandu thought of Lin Rufei¡¯s two maids, who were already too worried to sleep, and said, ¡°I guess you won¡¯t be sleeping tonight either.¡± (t/n: I think this means that his maids will scold him all night long and not something inappropriate /////^/////) Lin Rufei thought for a moment and silently moved his gaze to the unconscious Liu Rugong. Gu Xuandu had a feeling and said, ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Liu Rugong said that we are friends, right?¡± Gu Xuandu raised his eyebrows. Lin Rufei spoke forcefully with conviction, ¡°Since we are friends, it¡¯s only right to help out a little. Besides, he also accepted my gift money¡ª¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu understood Lin Rufei¡¯s meaning as he laughed and cried: ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was already happily reaching out towards Liu Rugong. He intended to strip off his clothes and make do with it. After all, if he walked back to the inn in tattered clothes and bumped into Fu Hua and Yu Rui, the already anxious and sleepless maids would probably become more anxious. Lin Rufei immersed himself into seriously unbuttoning Liu Rugong outfit, but Luo Shen, that was held in Liu Rugong¡¯s hand, suddenly emitted a puff of green smoke and it was soon followed by a woman¡¯s stern rebuke: ¡°Lin gongzi, what are you trying to do to Rugong?!¡± Lin Rufei was startled. He looked up and noticed that it was the woman in green, who had stood behind Liu Rugong on the roof that day. She was extremely beautiful. With her bright eyes and white teeth, she was as pretty as the Autumn moon. However, at this moment, she looked at Lin Rufei with cold eyebrows and her eyes were full of condemnation. ¡°Luo Shen?¡± Lin Rufei stared in surprise, ¡°You are Luo Shen¡¯s sword spirit?!¡± The woman disdained: ¡°What does it matter to you!¡± Lin Rufei sized her up and sighed, ¡°I thought this Liu Rugong was a sword fool, but it turns out that he was so willful because he had a beauty with him.¡± The woman¡¯s cheeks reddened slightly and she ¡°hmphed¡± lightly, ¡°Even if you praise me so much, I won¡¯t allow you to misbehave with him!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Misbehave with him? How is this misbehaving?¡± He pulled on his own clothes aggressively and said, ¡°He was the one who wanted to find me to compete. He even turned my clothes to tatters so I can¡¯t return in this one, right?¡± Luo Shen was at a loss for words. As Lin Rufei continued to speak, his tone grew with righteousness: ¡°Besides, I treated him as a friend, would he even refuse to help me with this?!¡± Luo Shen was speechless. She could only stare at the pair of round almond eyes[4] and bite her lower lip. Finally, she squeezed out a sentence: ¡°Then ¡­¡­ then you can¡¯t take off the pants.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand: ¡°No worries, my pants are fine.¡± So under the watchful eyes of Luo Shen and Gu Xuandu, Lin Rufei happily stripped Liu Rugong¡¯s upper body naked and replaced it with his clothes. This Liu Rugong was a bit more muscular than Lin Rufei so the clothes were also slightly larger. But he was just making do with it anyway. However, Gu Xuandu sighed quietly on the side and said he would remember to prepare a new outfit for him before Lin Rufei fought. The weather was too hot, Lin Rufei pulled Liu Rugong into the shade and slipped away first. He didn¡¯t want to wait for Liu Rugong to wake up and ask him for his clothes back. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Luo Shen felt a bit dazed after Lin Rufei¡¯s actions. She was most likely thinking that this Jianghu was scary. Losing a fight wasn¡¯t enough, even clothes weren¡¯t allowed to stay. Lin Rufei happily went back to Gusu City and bought another bowl of mung bean soup. He talked to Gu Xuandu about Luo Shen and Liu Rugong. Now that he had seen such a beautiful Luo Shen, Liu Rugong¡¯s marriage became logical and natural. However, Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression was strange even when they arrived at the inn. When Lin Rufei asked about it, he then said, ¡°Logically speaking, ordinary people can¡¯t see the sword spirit.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Ah? What do you mean?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I mean that Liu Rugong shouldn¡¯t be able to see Luo Shen.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then how was I able to see?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You are different, you ¡­¡­ have a raging sword intent within yourself. You are not an ordinary person.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What kind of person is that?¡± Gu Xuandu thought about it and squeezed out two words: ¡°Sword person[5]?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He always felt that something didn¡¯t seem right. Gu Xuandu also noticed that this word sounded strange. The two of them looked at each other silently for a long time before he whispered: ¡°No, I did not curse at you.¡± Lin Rufei said quietly, ¡°I believed it.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression was helpless. After a while, Lin Rufei asked again, ¡°But aren¡¯t you also able to see?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I¡¯m not a human being either.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The conversation between the two of them felt like it was getting stranger and stranger. ¡°Do you remember that night? Liu Rugong wasn¡¯t able to see Luo Shen.¡± Even Gu Xuandu felt that this did not make sense, ¡°But if he couldn¡¯t see Luo Shen, then why did he stubbornly want to marry it?¡± Lin Rufei sipped his mung bean soup and shook his head lazily, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He wasn¡¯t able to make sense of it anyway. What was logical, became illogical again when Gu Xuandu said so, so Lin Rufei guessed that maybe Liu Rugong had his own method to see Luo Shen. But Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t stop shaking his head: ¡°Such methods are too few. Even I only know one or two, how would Liu Rugong know?¡± The two of them discussed their doubts for a long time until the night fell. Lin Rufei, who was ready to go to bed, heard a gentle knock on the window. Gu Xuandu helped him open the window and saw Luo Shen floating outside, looking at him with a nervous face. Before Lin Rufei could ask, Luo Shen said with difficulty, ¡°Lin gongzi, can you please do me a favor?¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I really didn¡¯t intend on cursing at you. Lin Rufei: Really? Gu Xuandu: We call people who are united with swords, sword people[5] for short. Lin Rufei: You didn¡¯t get beaten up for calling people that? Gu Xuandu: They can¡¯t beat me anyway. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­ Fine. CH 44 Luo Shen floated in and she also didn¡¯t forget to politely close the window. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of favor Ms. Luo Shen wants me to do?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Luo Shen hesitated for a moment. Her eyes were half-lidded and she said softly: ¡°Lin gongzi, do you know that in a few days Rugong is getting married?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head, indicating that he did know. No, to be precise, there were only a few people in this Gusu city who didn¡¯t know that Liu Rugong was getting married. Luo Shen bit her lower lip, showing a bit of shyness. She looked a bit embarrassed and hesitated for a long time before she spoke the words in her mouth: ¡°Lin gongzi, to be honest ¡­¡­ Rugong has not seen this appearance of mine before.¡± Lin Rufei froze. ¡°I am a sword blade specially created for him. I have been accompanying him since he was six years old all the way until now.¡± Luo Shen smiled and said, ¡°He has treated me extremely well, but even so I never thought that he would ¡­¡­ want to take a sword as his wife.¡± When she said this, Luo Shen¡¯s face was already blushing and she continued: ¡°No one has ever seen me before, so I didn¡¯t have the idea to meet with him. However, I didn¡¯t expect Lin gongzi to be able to see me.¡± When Lin Rufei heard Luo Shen¡¯s words, he secretly said in his heart, ¡°You¡¯re totally right, I was called a sword person by Gu Xuandu, how could I not be more special than normal people?¡± But on the surface he could not say this out loud, so he still looked like he was listening quietly and asked in a warm voice: ¡°Then the reason Ms. Luo Shen came here to find me, is that you want me to tell Liu gongzi about your existence?¡± Luo Shen nodded. She said in a low voice: ¡°I know, I know that some people will laugh at Rugong for going off the rails and marrying a sword ¡­¡­ but¡­¡­at least I want him to know¡­.. ¡± know that it was not just a sword and that she was accompanying him. Gu Xuandu, who had been sitting next to him watching the show, suddenly came up with a sentence: ¡°Why bother, I have a way to make Liu Rugong see Luo Shen.¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But what?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled faintly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± He obviously remembered something but did not say it. Lin Rufei had long been accustomed to Gu Xuandu¡¯s profound and inscrutable appearance and when he did not say anything, he also didn¡¯t bother to ask. Luo Shen looked bewildered and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, what did you say?¡± She was unable to see Gu Xuandu, so she thought Lin Rufei was talking to himself. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at her, ¡°Luo Shen, I have a way to make Rugong see you, do you want to see him?¡± Luo Shen froze for a moment and then a look of surprise appeared on her face: ¡°Lin gongzi, are you serious?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Luo Shen said, ¡°That would naturally be the best¡ª¡± she murmured with great excitement, ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to meet Rugong, but he can¡¯t see me. If I could, if I could¡­¡± as she said this, she was already in tears. ¡°Then what should I do?¡± After Luo Shen finished her excitement, she was busy asking Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu, who then told her to go back and wait for a few days. He needed to prepare some things and he would talk to her in a few days. After Luo Shen received Lin Rufei¡¯s promise, she happily turned around and left. She opened the window and floated away as if she was really that captivating Luo Shen. (t/n: In case you guys forgot, it¡¯s referring to the Goddess that she was named after uwu) Lin Rufei turned his head and looked at Gu Xuandu: ¡°What do you need to prepare?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Go buy some cinnabar and talisman paper and draw a talisman according to the pattern I tell you.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That simple?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and said, ¡°It is indeed simple to draw this talisman, but there is one more thing that needs to be prepared in order to see the sword spirit.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What is it?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°A person who can see the sword spirit.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± According to Gu Xuandu, there were only one in ten thousand people who could see the sword spirit, so obviously, this method was not commonly used. If not for Lin Rufei here, then most likely that Liu Rugong and Luo Shen would not be able to see each other until they die. A gentleman was always ready to help others attain their goals. Furthermore, this was not too much trouble so Lin Rufei decided to help Luo Shen. The next day, Lin Rufei intended to go out to buy some talisman paper. Coincidentally, he met Fu Hua and Yu Rui squatting in the corridor, boiling medicine for him. When they saw Lin Rufei, Fu Hua hurriedly collected her sad face and smiled, asking him where he was going. Lin Rufei said he would go for a stroll on the street. ¡°Then young master remember to come back early.¡± Fu Hua urged, ¡°Pharmacist Wan Yao sent some medicine down from Kunlun. I am boiling it, when the young master returns he¡¯ll be just in time to drink a dose.¡± What else could Lin Rufei say, he could only nod his head and say yes. He went to the door but heard Fu Hua lower her voice and said to Yu Rui: ¡°This medicine must be boiled more carefully. Young master¡¯s hysteria has worsened again ¡­¡­ he seems to have started talking to a third person.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± How in the world was he going to explain clearly to Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Gu Xuandu laughed out loud. The two went to the street and bought what Gu Xuandu wanted. He also bought the usual number of snacks and ate them with relish. When passing by the roadside stalls, he just so happened to hear the vendors gossiping, saying that the Liu family¡¯s son was really getting scary. Yesterday he even flew across Gusu City half-naked and was seen by many girls. He was going to get married, how could he still do such ridiculous things. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. As the culprit, Lin Rufei did not dare to listen more. His feet could not help but pick up the pace. Today, Gu Xuandu just focused on being happy. He was laughing back and forth and said that Xiao Jiu really had foresight. Fortunately, he stripped Liu Rugong¡¯s clothes or the one walking back half-naked was the fourth son of the Kunlun Lin family. Lin Rufei made a look of innocence and said he had no choice. If there was always someone unlucky, it was better to die a friend than to die a poor man[1]. Back at the inn, Lin Rufei began to draw the talisman under Gu Xuandu¡¯s guidance. It was his first time fiddling with this stuff and his drawing was crooked, almost like a ghost had drew the talisman. When Yu Rui, who was carrying the decocted medicine, came in and saw the yellow paper and cinnabar on the floor, she almost dropped the medicine in fear, ¡°Young master, what are you doing?¡± Lin Rufei did not raise his head. He said a sentence that Gu Xuandu often said: ¡°Catching ghosts.¡± Yu Rui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± She silently put down the medicine, turned around, and went out. Before the door even closed, the sound of her frantic footsteps and frightened shouts could be heard from outside: ¡°Sister Fu Hua, it¡¯s not good. Gongzi is not hysterical, he¡¯s obviously bewitched¡ªdrinking medicine seems to be useless, we should invite a Taoist priest!¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s hand movement paused for a moment. When he paused his hand, the talisman was ruined, making it another fail. He thought that he should find an opportunity to explain to Fu Hua and Yu Rui, but how should he explain it? Was he supposed to say that there was a big living person standing beside them that they couldn¡¯t see? However, if he said that, wouldn¡¯t that make him seem like he was really bewitched¡­¡­ The talisman was drawn for several days and finally, a working one was drawn. At this time, Liu Rugong¡¯s wedding was imminent and the Liu residence was awfully busy. Lin Rufei met with Luo Shen again and set up an appointment with Liu Rugong, saying that it would be the night before the wedding. Luo Shen was overjoyed and was at a loss for words. She gave a big salute to Lin Rufei and thanked him repeatedly. Lin Rufei had a kind expression like the Moon Elder[2] holding a red thread. He said that he would come to the house on the day and told Luo Shen to just wait. So in accordance with their agreement, on the day before the wedding, Lin Rufei went to the Liu residence and with the help of the steward, he was able to meet Liu Rugong. He was lying on a soft couch, eating iced grapes with a depressed look. This Liu family¡¯s gongzi was indeed very good at enjoying. There were four or five beautiful maids with fans standing next to him, fanning him with docile looks. There were also a few pots of cooling ice in the corner of the room, making the whole room incomparably cool, without a trace of heat. When he saw Lin Rufei coming, he didn¡¯t even raise his head and said, ¡°Lin gongzi is finally willing to return my clothes?¡± Lin Rufei walked straight to Liu Rugong and sat down in front of him, saying nonchalantly, ¡°Then Liu gongzi must first compensate me for a set of clothes.¡± When Liu Rugong heard this, he glared: ¡°Lin gongzi, it¡¯s not that I want to scold you, but if I lost then it¡¯s my defeat. However, you should at least talk about the rules of Jianghu, what kind of hero strips people of their clothes?!¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°This is why I left you with pants.¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Besides, you are not a maiden, so why are you fussing about?¡± (t/n: the maiden here refers to a virgin) Liu Rugong gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If I don¡¯t fuss then why did you take my clothes?!¡± When he returned yesterday, it caused him to receive a lot of frightened looks. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m still young and thin-skinned.¡± After saying that, he coughed twice. His thin shoulders couldn¡¯t stop shaking and he looked like a frail sick beauty. However, after this battle, Liu Rugong had long seen through Lin Rufei¡¯s deceitful appearance. He was so angry that he almost directly drew his sword, but the worst part was that he had nothing to say to refute it because, in terms of age, he was indeed much older than Lin Rufei. ¡°Fine¡ª¡± Liu Rugong decided not to continue to dwell on this topic with Lin Rufei, ¡°Tomorrow I am going to have a big wedding. Lin gongzi¡¯s early arrival isn¡¯t because he wants to deliberately bicker with me right?¡± He waved his hand and the maids in the room retreated discreetly. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Naturally not.¡± Liu Rugong sat up from the soft couch and leaned back. He looked at Lin Rufei with a tilted head: ¡°Then what is the reason?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I want you to meet your bride.¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°Hm?¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t say much. He and Luo Shen planned to give Liu Rugong a surprise so it would be meaningless to say too much. Thus Lin Rufei reached out his hand and smiled, ¡°Can I borrow Liu gongzi¡¯s Luo Shen for a while?¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°What do you need Luo Shen for?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You will know later. Liu gongzi, don¡¯t worry, I am here, I won¡¯t run away with Luo Shen.¡± It was an offensive thing to borrow someone¡¯s sword, but Lin Rufei looked sincere and did not look like he was joking. Liu Rugong hesitated for a moment, but eventually took off the sword at his waist and handed it to Lin Rufei, wanting to see exactly what Lin Rufei was going to do. Lin Rufei carefully took Luo Shen. He was a little worried that he would not be able to hold Luo Shen, but when the sword fell into his hand, he did not feel that it was too heavy so his heart relaxed. After taking Luo Shen, Lin Rufei went behind the screen. Liu Rugong looked at Lin Rufei and did not stop him, but the interest in his gaze was even stronger. After walking behind the screen, Lin Rufei called out Luo Shen¡¯s sword spirit and then took out the talisman he had drawn. He carefully affixed it to the hilt of Luo Shen¡¯s sword and as soon as the talisman was affixed, Luo Shen¡¯s body swung and the originally indistinct spiritual body actually became solid. Luo Shen¡¯s wish finally came true. She was so ecstatic that she couldn¡¯t wait to go out immediately and give Liu Rugong a big surprise! Since Liu Rugong liked Luo Shen so much, he would most likely be very happy to see her as Luo Shen thought this sourly and sweetly, she remembered that tomorrow was the day of their wedding ¡­¡­ Lin Rufei saw Luo Shen¡¯s smile and the corner of his mouth also hooked up. He thought about it and decided not to go out. He waved his hand at Luo Shen, signaling for her to go and surprise Liu Rugong. Luo Shen nodded, grabbed the hem of her skirt, and flew out like a cheerful bird. Liu Rugong, who was sitting outside, froze. He didn¡¯t understand how a woman could suddenly appear behind his own screen. Although she was extremely beautiful, the way she looked at him seemed wrong. Her eyes contained a kind of awe-inspiring fervor and even Liu Rugong couldn¡¯t help but shrink his neck. ¡°Rugong!¡± Luo Shen called out sweetly. ¡°You are?¡± Liu Rugong frowned, ¡°Have ¡­¡­ we¡­¡­ met?¡± Luo Shen said, ¡°Naturally, we have met.¡± Her face showed some girl-like shyness, ¡°Guess who I am?¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was afraid that this person was a madwoman. In the end, Luo Shen had been with Liu Rugong for so many years. When she saw his expression, she knew that he was a little upset, and did not dare keep him in suspense again. She said in a trembling voice: ¡°It¡¯s me, Rugong ¡­¡­ I am Luo Shen.¡± Liu Rugong¡¯s expression froze. He seemed to ponder what the words from the mouth of the self-acquainted woman in front of him meant. Obviously, every word was understandable, how come when they were connected, it felt incomprehensible? What did it mean that she was Luo Shen, his Luo Shen was a sword, what did it have to do with the girl in front of him? ¡°I am Luo Shen¡¯s sword spirit, Luo Shen is me.¡± Luo Shen did not see the color of surprise that should be on Liu Rugong¡¯s face. She thought Liu Rugong couldn¡¯t understand this great joy in the moment so she hurriedly explained, ¡°I am formed from Luo Shen.¡± Liu Rugong¡¯s expressionless face finally reacted, ¡°You? Are Luo Shen?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Luo Shen said, ¡°I am the Luo Shen you want to marry.¡± She lowered her eyes and said in a warm voice, ¡°Although you can¡¯t see me, I know you must be able to feel my presence, so ¡­¡­ that¡¯s why you chose ¡­¡­¡± to marry me, right, Rugong? Liu Rugong still had no expression. He slowly turned his head, looking at the screen, and called: ¡°Lin Rufei!¡± Lin Rufei came out from behind the screen. Liu Rugong pointed to the girl Luo Shen: ¡°You turned Luo Shen into her?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Liu Rugong said, ¡°Can she change back?¡± Lin Rufei deliberately shook his head. Liu Rugong got up and left, shocking the room full of people as their jaws dropped. Luo Shen reacted first and grabbed Liu Rugong, screaming, ¡°Liu Rugong, where are you going!¡± Liu Rugong said expressionlessly, ¡°Who are you?¡± Luo Shen: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°My Luo Shen, how can you have such a delicate look?¡± Luo Shen: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°Even if you become a sword spirit, you should be a heroic woman or a long-bearded man!¡± Luo Shen: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Liu Rugong continued to ridicule: ¡°You have such a weak little body, I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t even carry a sword scabbard.¡± The room was silent and Lin Rufei, who was also small in stature, finally stood up and glared at Liu Rugong: ¡°Liu Rugong, when will your snobby nature change?¡± He thought that Luo Shen would cry when she was scolded by Liu Rugong, but who knew that the pitiful expression on Luo Shen¡¯s face was gone. She looked at her master expressionlessly and that look, at first, actually looked a bit similar to Liu Rugong. Indeed the object would resemble its owner. Liu Rugong then remembered that there was another body in the room that was even thinner and said: ¡°Lin gongzi, you are not the same ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Luo Shen, who was holding onto Liu Rugong and refused to let go, asked quietly, ¡°So in fact you were completely unaware of my existence?¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°Why would I know?¡± Luo Shen: ¡°You just wanted to f**king marry a sword???¡± Liu Rugong couldn¡¯t make sense of her: ¡°You should have known about this long ago¡ªyou were also the first to know.¡± Luo Shen sneered: ¡°Then did you ask me, this sword¡¯s opinion?¡± Liu Rugong: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Luo Shen said, ¡°If I were a long-bearded man, am I still expected to marry you?!¡± This scene should have been sad, but for some reason, Lin Rufei, who was enjoying the show, saw a hint of comedy in it. He had to say that in some ways, Luo Shen and Liu Rugong were really too similar. When she found out that Liu Rugong actually just really wanted to marry a sword and was indifferent to her beautiful self, she instantly started criticizing Liu Rugong. Liu Rugong said, ¡°Then I don¡¯t care. What a sword spirit looks like doesn¡¯t matter to me. I just want Luo Shen.¡± He reached out his hand and gestured for Lin Rufei to give Luo Shen back to him. Lin Rufei sighed and had to hand it over. ¡°There are thousands of beautiful women in the world, yet to me, they are all just a pair of skin. Since I dare to marry Luo Shen, it is for no other reason than this sword.¡± Seeing that Luo Shen was still there, Liu Rugong¡¯s expression softened. However, his words were not very pleasing to the ear, ¡°Everything has a spirit, so why do they all have to take on a human form.¡± He re-hung Luo Shen on the side of his waist and gave it a docile gentle stroke. It was a completely different attitude compared to the one he gave to this Luo Shen girl in front of him. When Luo Shen heard Liu Rugong¡¯s words, the unwillingness on her face surprisingly also dispersed. She looked at Liu Rugong and sighed lightly: ¡°I thought you would be happy to see me.¡± Liu Rugong said, ¡°If you are really Luo Shen, then as long as you always accompany me, I will be happy.¡± He was born in the Liu family, so naturally, he could not escape from the involvement of all things. Marrying Luo Shen was not an act of passion, he just wanted to tell everyone that the sword was the only thing in his heart. Luo Shen suddenly reached out and cupped Liu Rugong¡¯s face. She took advantage of Liu Rugong¡¯s startled surprise, moved over, and dropped a tender kiss on his forehead. Her hand then reached for the sword at Liu Rugong¡¯s waist and under Liu Rugong¡¯s unsure gaze, tore off the talisman that Lin Rufei had affixed. The talisman could have kept Luo Shen¡¯s form overnight, but now in Luo Shen¡¯s opinion, it was no longer necessary. Once the talisman fell, Luo Shen¡¯s figure began to fade rapidly, but she sighed with relief and muttered: ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be any benefit in being a human, but fortunately I was able to touch you so it wasn¡¯t regretful¡­¡­ since childhood, you obviously liked beautiful girls, but now you want me to turn into the appearance of a long-bearded man¡­¡­ Liu Rugong, you are really annoying ¡­¡­¡± After the last sentence, Luo Shen disappeared in front of Liu Rugong. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu both did not expect things to develop this way and the atmosphere in the room was suddenly awkward. Liu Rugong returned to the soft couch, sat up, and continued to eat his grapes without greeting Lin Rufei. When Lin Rufei saw his appearance, he thought he was angry, so he stepped forward and was about to apologize. However, Liu Rugong waved his hand, indicating that Lin Rufei did not have to do so, and said, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Sorry, I acted on my own.¡± Liu Rugong smiled and shook his head, seemingly not minding. Lin Rufei then got up to say goodbye and when he walked to the door, he heard Liu Rugong say something. He said, ¡°People can¡¯t always be too greedy.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s footsteps paused. Liu Rugong¡¯s tone was lazy: ¡°I am already very good now, any more, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t hold it. Lin gongzi, I won¡¯t see you off.¡± Lin Rufei went out the door. The sun had already set, but the Liu residence was lit up with lights. The servants were busy preparing for their second young master¡¯s upcoming wedding tomorrow while the person in question was still in the room behind him, leisurely eating grapes and enjoying the bright moon. Lin Rufei went all the way out of the Liu residence and he did not return to the inn. He casually found a stone step[3] on the roadside and sat down. The moon was just right tonight. It was clear and cloudless and the sky was full of stars¡ªit was a brilliant river of stars across the sky, absolutely beautiful. Lin Rufei then looked up. Gu Xuandu stood next to him and suddenly said he wanted to eat chilled lotus seed soup[4]. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I want to eat it too.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Unfortunately, the vendors have all closed their stalls.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is Liu Rugong really unhappy?¡± Gu Xuandu did not say anything. Lin Rufei looked at him again, ¡°I think he¡¯s still happy.¡± Gu Xuandu looked back: ¡°Maybe.¡± Lin Rufei felt that humans were really complicated animals. It was obviously a very simple thing, but they must make it so complicated. He propped up his chin and asked: ¡°Senior, you have lived so long, have you ever been separated from your beloved person before?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°What is that feeling?¡± Gu Xuandu pointed to the stars in the sky and pointed at himself, ¡°I am here, he is there. I can¡¯t find him nor can I touch him. I can only look at him from far away.¡± In the end, they were mortals. No matter how powerful the cultivation, they couldn¡¯t touch the stars in the sky. ¡°Then what should be done?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°What should be done?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Either forget or go crazy.¡± No matter how Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu, he didn¡¯t seem like a crazy person so he thought that he probably forgot. Who knew that he would let out a smile and said gently to Lin Rufei, ¡°Unfortunately, even if I die, I can¡¯t forget him.¡± Lin Rufei listened and was somewhat confused[5]. Gu Xuandu also no longer elaborate and urged Lin Rufei to go back to bed. He said that if he went to sleep too late, he would make Fu Hua and Yu Rui worry. Lin Rufei hummed in agreement and went back to the inn. He was somewhat regretful for asking that question just now. He even preferred if Gu Xuandu did not answer. This unruly senior rarely showed such an expression. Although he was smiling, it would¡¯ve been better if he cried. If some old things were not mentioned, then so be it. But if it was mentioned, it was like uncovering an old scab. You would think that the wound under the scab had healed, but in fact, the bloody flesh had rotted to the bone. Back at the inn, Lin Rufei rested early. He was thinking that since tomorrow was Liu Rugong¡¯s wedding day, he certainly could not go too late. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: If you found out that your sword also had a sword spirit, how would you react? Gu Xuandu: Not interested at all? Lin Rufei: ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] It means that for the sake of one¡¯s own interests, one does not hesitate to harm the interests of others. [2] The old man on the moon is the matchmaker. He is the one in charge of all the red strings uwu [3] Something like this. [4] Lotus seed soup. [5] Didn¡¯t know how to fit it in, but it is implying that after listening, he didn¡¯t know the reason why (I¡¯m assuming why GXD couldn¡¯t forget) CH 45 Lin Rufei entered the Liu residence with the guests and saw Liu Rugong from afar. He was dressed in a big red wedding outfit. He was sitting beside a woman with a graceful and noble demeanor, who was smiling and saying something to him. This person was most likely the madam of the Liu residence, Liu Rugong¡¯s birth mother. Logically speaking, if her own son wanted to marry a sword, mother Liu should be trying to prevent it from happening, but looking at her attitude, it looked like she had accepted this reality. Although there was some faint sadness between her eyebrows, in the end, she was smiling. Liu Rugong was also smiling. He was handsome and beautiful, his black hair bundled in a crown and he was looking radiant in a red outfit. Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze shifted towards Luo Shen that was hanging on his waist, the green hilt of Luo Shen also had bright red silk tied to it and it was currently held in the hands of Liu Rugong. Seemingly sensing Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze, Liu Rugong stopped talking to his mother, turned his head, and cast a smile towards Lin Rufei. He called out ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei answered. ¡°You should treat this place like your own home.¡± Liu gongzi walked up to Lin Rufei and said with a smile, ¡°Today is a busy day, please excuse us if there is a lack of hospitality.¡± Lin Rufei said that he was too polite. Liu Rugong led Lin Rufei to the top guest seat and seated him and then went to entertain other guests. Lin Rufei had nothing to do, so he slowly ate the nuts on the table and incidentally handed a handful to Gu Xuandu. This time, those that were invited by the Liu residence to the wedding banquet were naturally valuable guests, furthermore, they were the kind that had a very good relationship with the Liu residence. These people knew Liu Rugong¡¯s temper. Although many people were incomprehensible when he said that he wanted to marry a sword, however, those that dare to make thoughtless remarks in front of Liu Rugong could be counted with one hand. The wedding was held smoothly, Liu Rugong worshipped Heaven and Earth alone and entered the bridal chamber alone. At a glance, it was a bit funny but his serious look made people unable to laugh out. The atmosphere among the guests was not relaxed either. The crowd watched as Liu Rugong left the stage after the ceremony before they finally let out a sigh of relief and began to raise their glasses in celebration. Some people toasted Lin Rufei and were surprised to learn of his status as the fourth son of the Lin family, saying that they had heard of his victory in a sword fight with Liu gongzi a few days ago and had great admiration for him. Lin Rufei did not expect that this matter had already spread, so he had to raise his cup to respond. However, his alcohol capacity was low and soon he was slightly drunk and a faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks. Knowing that he could not drink anymore, Lin Rufei excused himself from the table. He wasn¡¯t too familiar with the Liu residence so he just followed a road and kept walking. He found a quiet corner in the Liu residence to rest. Today was their gongzi¡¯s wedding so the Liu residence was naturally very lively. Lin Rufei was a little drunk and sat on a stone bench with his eyes closed to rest. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If you¡¯re sleepy, let¡¯s go back.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I don¡¯t seem to see Luo Shen today.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Mnn.¡± Luo Shen could have appeared by Liu Rugong¡¯s side at any time, but today she did not appear even when the ceremony was completed. Lin Rufei was still thinking about what happened yesterday and murmured that he should not have taken the initiative and should have asked Liu Rugong¡¯s opinion first. When Gu Xuandu saw him looking down, he pondered for a moment and disappeared for a split second. When he came back again, he had two pieces of rice cakes[1] emitting cool air in his hand. They had a layer of rich brown sugar drizzled on top which looked particularly attractive. Lin Rufei took them and started to nibble on them directly. The rice cakes were made of glutinous rice with a thin layer of ice crumbs sprinkled on top and it dissolved the dryness of the wine in his mouth. Lin Rufei ate half a piece and was full. He looked at the remaining half piece worriedly but Gu Xuandu had already moved over naturally and nibbled it up. Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu baffled and said, ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu did not seem to realize what was wrong with his actions and said, ¡°What?¡± Lin Rufei was silent for a moment and then shook his head, ¡°Nothing.¡± After the two of them ate the cold rice cakes, Lin Rufei¡¯s also sobered up a bit. He returned to the banquet, but still did not see Liu Rugong¡¯s figure. According to the normal wedding banquet process, as the groom, Liu Rugong naturally had to come out to receive guests. However, this was already an unusual wedding, since he couldn¡¯t see Liu Rugong¡¯s figure, the rest of the matter didn¡¯t seem to be so important. Lin Rufei did not like this kind of occasion, so he found a random excuse and left the Liu residence. It was only when he left did he remember that he hadn¡¯t given the invitation to Master Liu, but looking at his gloomy expression during the wedding banquet today, it was obviously not the right time. Due to the Liu residence¡¯s grand wedding, Gusu City al followed the excitement for a day. Lin Rufei went back to the inn and fell asleep until midnight when he woke up in a daze. He was a little thirsty, so he dazedly got up to drink some tea. Gu Xuandu saw his dazed appearance and laughed lightly. He raised his hand to hand over a cup of tea. Lin Rufei took it and swallowed it in a few mouthfuls. His lips were stained with water and his complexion was gradually clearing up. He coughed twice and asked, ¡°What time is it?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°Just passed the 1st hour.¡± Lin Rufei hummed an agreement: ¡°It¡¯s a bit hot ¡­¡­¡± he said and pulled on his already loose collar, revealing a snow-white collarbone. Gu Xuandu was staring at Lin Rufei but he suddenly shifted his gaze uncomfortably. He got up, walked to the window, and opened it. With a soft creak, the breeze accompanied by the moonlight rushed into the room. Lin Rufei raised his eyes to look out the window, ¡°The moonlight is so beautiful.¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Gu Xuandu softly answered. Lin Rufei had slept for too long so he wasn¡¯t that sleepy anymore. He sat up from the bed, walked to the window, and looked far away: ¡°Hey ¡­¡­ why is he there ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Maybe because he can¡¯t sleep.¡± On top of the highest pavilion in Gusu City, sat a person who should not have appeared. It was the protagonist of today¡¯s big wedding, Liu Rugong. He was still wearing the gorgeous wedding outfit. His hair that was tied up in a neat crown was now in disorder, a head of fine black hair scattered messily on his shoulders. He has become the uninhibited appearance of his former days. He was carrying a jug of wine in his hand and was pouring it into his mouth without stopping as if he wasn¡¯t afraid to get drunk. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This should have been a sad scene, but when Lin Rufei saw clearly the person standing behind him, he couldn¡¯t get sad no matter what. It was an eight-foot-tall strong man with ruddy cheeks and a long beard on his chin. If he had been carrying a big sword in his hand, Lin Rufei would have thought it was the reincarnation of Master Guan Yu[2]. At first Lin Rufei even thought that the scene in front of him was due to his hallucinations from drinking too much. He rubbed his eyes heavily and then rubbed his eyes again until they were red before he hissed at Gu Xuandu and said, ¡°Who is the man behind Liu Rugong?¡± Gu Xuandu calmly said, ¡°Judging from his clothes, it¡¯s probably the one we know.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Probably because his expression collapsed too much[3], Gu Xuandu reached behind him and covered his eyes. His hands were a bit cold as he covered Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes to block out all the light: ¡°No more looking, it¡¯s time to sleep.¡± Lin Rufei did not say anything as he silently pulled Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand off his eyes. The long-bearded man in green clothes standing behind Liu Rugong was like a protector of the Dharma gate. He was nowhere like the graceful fairy a few days ago. He currently had his hands folded across his chest and his face was gloomy as he stood behind Liu Rugong. It made the originally lonely scenery include a somewhat unspeakable comedy and horror ¡­¡­ As if looking at him more than once, he would carry a knife and cut you. In the end, Lin Rufei said nothing. He silently closed the window and went back to bed with a ¡°life has no more meaning¡± expression. Gu Xuandu was crying and laughing. In his heart, he was thinking that this Luo Shen was worthy of being Liu Rugong¡¯s sword. It really was temperamental. After Liu Rugong said a few words, today it followed its nature and changed into a long-bearded man¡¯s appearance. And if it was possible, he would probably carry a long knife on his back. He simply stood behind Liu Rugong like a murderous threshold guardian. Sword spirits had no form at all. It was purely accidental that Lin Rufei could see. So the appearance that they want to take on is based on their heart. But fortunately, Liu Rugong couldn¡¯t see. Lin Rufei, who took a big hit, didn¡¯t sleep much in the second half of the night. He went to the Liu residence early the next day to deliver the invitation and then found Liu Rugong to say goodbye, saying that he intended to leave Gusu City in the next few days. Liu Rugong saw him leaving and after a few words of persuasion, he did not continue to force him. However, he looked slightly hesitant as if he wanted to say something. Lin Rufei knew that once he said goodbye to Liu Rugong, he wouldn¡¯t know when they would meet again so he said frankly, ¡°Does Liu gongzi have something to say?¡± Liu Rugong hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: ¡°Lin gongzi, if I may be so bold to ask for a favor ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me hear it first?¡± Liu Rugong coughed lightly, ¡°I wonder if Lin gongzi could draw a portrait of Luo Shen for me?¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°What do you need this portrait for?¡± Liu Rugong laughed, ¡°I just want to keep it as a memory.¡± He treated the events of that night as a story in a book, but stories were easily forgotten after a long time. If he didn¡¯t leave something, he was worried that he would really forget it one day and then he would definitely feel some regret. Lin Rufei thought for a moment and agreed to Liu Rugong¡¯s request, saying to give him a few days and he would send the portrait to Liu Rugong. When Liu Rugong saw that Lin Rufei agreed so quickly, he was also very happy and said that he would never mention the matter of Lin Rufei stripping his clothes again. Lin Rufei said sincerely that it was okay to mention it, after all, the one who lost face was not himself(LRF). Liu Rugong was speechless and he was also livid. After leaving the Liu residence, Lin Rufei went to buy materials for painting and planned to spend some days drawing down Luo Shen¡¯s appearance. Although he did not practice swordplay, he was good at everything from the zither and Go to calligraphy and painting. His paintings[4] were even more praiseworthy. Lin Rufei did not find it troublesome to put such a characteristic beauty as Luo Shen on paper. However, when he returned to the inn and laid out the paper, he hesitated to move his brush. Gu Xuandu saw his frown and wondered, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you drawing?¡± Lin Rufei looked up and couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry: ¡°When I think of Luo Shen, all I can think of is that long-bearded man¡¯s appearance¡ª¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu laughed out loud. Lin Rufei was unhappy with him taking joy in his suffering. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. His face was full of worry: ¡°What should I do?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes turned and said, ¡°Do you really want to draw?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯ve promised Liu Rugong.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Then let me help you.¡± When he finished speaking, he shook his long sleeves and his body suddenly changed. He actually took on the form of Luo Shen. Lin Rufei looked frozen: ¡°Senior ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Who are you calling senior, hm?¡± Gu Xuandu who became Luo Shen gave a coquettish sweet smile. That charm was even more enchanting than the real Luo Shen by a few points. While speaking, he also walked in front of Lin Rufei and showed his face, ¡°You better remember it.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± senior, you really know how to play. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s frightened look, Gu Xuandu laughed. He then changed back and pointed his finger at the drawing paper on the table: ¡°Did you remember?¡± Lin Rufei said obediently, ¡°I remember.¡± He lifted his brush and drew. This painting took him five days to paint, during which Lin Rufei didn¡¯t even leave the door of the inn. Fu Hua and Yu Rui had begun to lose their hair in worry and even asked the innkeeper privately whether there was any reliable temple in the vicinity to worship. They wanted to see if their gongzi was truly bewitched by a beautiful demon. Good thing was that halfway through, Liu Rugong came to visit and said that Lin Rufei was painting a friend he knew. When Fu Hua and Yu Rui heard this, they finally let out a sigh of relief. After the scroll was painted, Lin Rufei personally sent it to the Liu residence. Liu Rugong was very happy to see the scroll, but just after receiving it in his hand, he felt something strange and asked, ¡°Lin gongzi, why are there two scrolls?¡± Lin Rufei calmly explained, ¡°I saw Luo Shen again a few days ago.¡± Liu Rugong didn¡¯t understand: ¡°So?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°There was a little change in her appearance, so I drew¡­..both of her looks.¡± Liu Rugong brightened up and was very surprised: ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Lin Rufei let out a long sigh. He reached out and gave a heavy pat on Liu Rugong¡¯s shoulder. His voice held a seriousness that Liu Rugong could not understand: ¡°Brother, happy wedding.¡± This scroll will be considered his wedding gift to Liu Rugong. Liu Rugong was oblivious, he thought Lin Rufei was just joking with him so he also smiled and said thank you. Lin Rufei then got up without hesitation and said goodbye without even waiting for Liu Rugong to open the two paintings. Liu Rugong was not in a hurry so he sent Lin Rufei away first. He then returned to the room and carefully unrolled the scrolls Lin Rufei gave him. A beautiful woman dressed in green jumped off the paper. She had bright eyes and white teeth. She really was as bright and dazzling as a lotus flower standing in the clear water of the pond, like the ancient poem describing the goddess Luo Shen. (t/n: I would link to the poem but it is in Chinese. If you guys are interested, you can search up ¡°Luo Shen Fu¡± ¡ª or ¡°Ode to the Nymph of the Luo River¡±) When Liu Rugong saw the scroll, a faint smile surfaced between his eyebrows. He then opened the second one. However, after seeing the figure on the second scroll, the smile on his face froze. It turned into confusion, doubt, and finally consternation ¡­¡­ The second scroll was a long-bearded man in green clothes. His face was ruddy and his gaze was like a torch. He had a murderous aura as he stood with a sword. It shocked people very much. Liu Rugong was indeed shocked, but he was shocked not by the appearance of the painting, but by what Lin Rufei said. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I saw Luo Shen again a few days ago, there was a little change in her appearance¡± ¡ª¡ªThe meaning of this sentence was so obvious that even if Liu Rugong wanted to pretend not to understand it, he couldn¡¯t. This was Luo Shen¡¯s current appearance. Liu Rugong lowered his head expressionlessly and looked at his sword hanging at his waist. The sword buzzed and did not give Liu Rugong any face. It was indeed worthy of being his sword, Liu Rugong thought. It really has a personality ¡­¡­ As he was thinking this, Liu Rugong smilingly put away the two scrolls. After many years, when his Liu family descendants inherited Liu Rugong¡¯s private property and learned that these were two of Liu Rugong¡¯s favorite people, they carefully took out a scroll and opened it. Then they saw the angry eyes in the painting scroll as if the next moment, the big man was going to raise a knife to kill. The Liu clan was shocked, thinking that their ancestor¡¯s hobby was really unique. In the end, they simply didn¡¯t dare to open the second one and carefully sealed it all up. Lin Rufei speedily left the Liu residence. He was afraid that Liu Rugong, who finally reacted, would come to find trouble with him. Gu Xuandu was laughing uncontrollably next to him, he said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, exactly what the hell were you thinking?¡± Lin Rufei coughed and packed his luggage. He also didn¡¯t forget to explain to Gu Xuandu. He helplessly said that in fact, he did not want to do so, but the long-bearded man¡¯s appearance was really impossible to get rid of. Under some hesitation, he finally lifted his brush and painted Luo Shen¡¯s appearance. As for what reaction Liu Rugong would have when he saw the painting, it was out of his consideration. Lin Rufei finished packing his luggage and called Fu Hua and Yu Rui as they got on the carriage together. Under the clattering of hooves, several people drove out of Gusu City. Their next destination was another town a thousand miles away from Gusu City. There was a powerful swordsman in that town. He was not the son of an aristocratic family, but he was quite famous in Jianghu. This time Kunlun¡¯s invitation also included his. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, Fu Hua deliberately put a lot of ice in the carriage to cool down. Lin Rufei ate the chilled lotus seed soup made by Yu Rui as he looked at the blazing sun outside the carriage. This time Yu Rui was watching so it was difficult for Lin Rufei to give food to Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu stared at Lin Rufei with a grim expression. That look made Lin Rufei feel somewhat sorry. He could only focus on the nose, as the nose focus on the heart[5] and pretended not to see it Out of Gusu City, a hundred miles ahead, the scenery gradually turned desolate. After traveling for about a dozen days, the surrounding neat buildings have gradually become low and dilapidated mud houses. The road was lined with green wheat waves and the merchant figures on the road gradually became less and less. The Summer breeze was hot and dry. It scraped away the only remaining coolness under the shade of the trees. However, the barefooted children did not care at all. Their skin was already scorched tan but they still ran and played on both sides of the road in the hot sun. Their carriage happened to be driving to a fork in the road so Fu Hua stopped the carriage and tried to find a random child to ask for directions. Who knew that when the children saw the carriage, they all showed a frightened look. They scattered and fled and only a thin child remained in the same place. When Fu Hua saw the situation, she hurriedly rushed forward, squatted down, and called to him. This child was born thin but his eyes were surprisingly large. He looked blankly at Fu Hua. ¡°Little friend, which way is the road to the Fu Family Village?¡± Fu Hua asked. The child¡¯s expression was a bit dull as if he couldn¡¯t understand what Fu Hua said. It wasn¡¯t until Fu Hua patiently asked three times, did he hesitantly stretch out his hand and point out a road. When Fu Hua saw this situation, she was a bit worried that the child just randomly pointed. She wanted to ask two more questions, but the child was a little stutter-er and couldn¡¯t speak clearly. Fu Hua had no choice but to take a piece of candy and stuffed it into the child¡¯s hand. She intended to find another one to ask. Who knew that when she just sent out the candy in her hand, other children came around. The thin child saw the situation and hurriedly shoved the candy in his hand directly into the mouth. He didn¡¯t even dare to chew and just swallowed it whole. The candy was too big and it was directly stuck in his throat. His cheeks began to flush blue because of the lack of oxygen. Fu Hua frightenedly cried out. She hastily picked up the child and heavily patted his back. The child coughed out twice with difficulty before coughing the candy out of his throat. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. His eyes were filled with tears but he didn¡¯t dare to cry and his next action was to reach out and pick up the candy that had fallen onto the dirt. However, the other children¡¯s action was a step faster than his. After they grabbed the candy, they didn¡¯t care about the dirt that covered it and they hastily ate it. The ravenous look as they swallowed the candy was exactly like the one that the child being held by Fu Hua had. Fu Hua was frightened by this situation. She pinched the child¡¯s face and said angrily: ¡°How can you eat like this, what if you choke?¡± The child did not cry even though he was pinched, but his eyes fell on the crowd of people fighting for the candy, and only when he saw the candy being shared by the older children did tears start to accumulate in his eyes. Fu Hua couldn¡¯t bear seeing children cry so she was currently even more flustered. Lin Rufei also noticed the situation outside of the carriage. He lifted the curtain and saw Fu Hua and the child. He hesitated for a moment, then beckoned to Fu Hua, instructing her to bring the child to the carriage. The child was so thin and bony that he didn¡¯t even move in her arms. He was like a poor doll made of straw. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei said. Fu Hua busily narrated what happened when she was asking the child for directions and how the candy got stuck in his throat. When Lin Rufei finished listening, he looked at the tearful small child in her arms and said in a warm voice: ¡°Little friend, is there any discomfort?¡± The child was small and the candy was very likely to hurt his throat. The child was very slow to respond and it took a while before he shook his head. Lin Rufei also did not rush. He let Yu Rui take out a wet towel and carefully wiped the child¡¯s wretched face. The child gradually calmed down. He hid in Fu Hua¡¯s arms and did not move. Lin Rufei asked him a few questions and he answered all of them in a piecemeal manner. ¡°What should we do?¡± Fu Hua frowned, ¡°If his parents saw this, maybe they would blame us.¡± Although she had good intentions when she gave out the candy, she didn¡¯t take into account that the child¡¯s throat was small. Fortunately, nothing serious happened¡­¡­ Lin Rufei said, ¡°Did the children outside all leave?¡± Fu Hua went out to look and then helplessly said: ¡°Long gone.¡± The group of children ate the candy and scattered and now they don¡¯t know where they have gone. After thinking about it, Lin Rufei put his eyes on the child in front of him. He reached out his hand and instructed Fu Hua to hand him the child. The child was obviously a little scared, but he didn¡¯t dare struggle. Once he was in Lin Rufei¡¯s arms, he was as stiff as a stone. Lin Rufei also did not expect the child to actually be so light. He was almost like a skeleton wrapped in a layer of skin. His dark eyes were large to the point of frightening. Currently, he was cowering and didn¡¯t dare look at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Little friend, where are your parents?¡± The child did not say anything. Lin Rufei asked again, ¡°Do you know how to get to the Fu Family Village?¡± The child nodded his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is it to the left or to the right?¡± ¡°Left ¡­¡­¡± The child said vaguely. In accordance with this method, Lin Rufei patiently asked for a long time. He was finally able to barely figure out the child¡¯s situation. His home was in the Fu Family Village, but his parents¡¯ situation was unknown and he somehow appeared on this official road. Lin Rufei asked him if he wanted to return to the Fu Family Village and he nodded repeatedly. When he saw this, Lin Rufei hesitantly said: ¡°Why don¡¯t we take him back? He should be a member from the Fu Family Village.¡± Fu Hua nodded and said yes. So the carriage drove out again, but this time, there was a confused little child in the carriage. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I have all the looks you like. Lin Rufei: Senior you¡¯re so flirty. Gu Xuandu: Since I¡¯ll be pursuing excitement, then I will pursue it until the end. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Closest image I could find uwu [2] A Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China (wikipedia) read more about him here [3] Like overly shocked [4] The word here is µ¤Çà (danqing) In Chinese painting, danqing refers to paintings on silk and Xuan paper. Danqing is painted with an ink brush, color ink, or Chinese pigments using natural plant, mineral, and both metal pigments and pigment blends. (wikipedia) Example: [5] It means that the spirit is concentrated and the mind is not distracted. CH 46 The Fu Family Village and Gusu City were on two different levels. In Gusu City, they celebrate peace with songs and dances[1]. It was a prosperous scene. On the other hand, the people in the Fu Family Village did not have enough to eat, even the most basic food and clothing were difficult to maintain. During Lin Rufei¡¯s journey, he hardly saw the villagers and the only few people he saw were in rags. Their bodies were very thin, as if this place just suffered a great disaster. What made Lin Rufei feel very strange was that both sides of the field were planted with large rice crops. It wasn¡¯t harvest time yet, but from the growth of rice, this year should be a good year. The farmers lived off by the weather. With these rice, no matter what, they shouldn¡¯t be living this way. The child Lin Rufei brought into the carriage was sitting as he wolfed down the dry food given to him by Fu Hua. Although small, this child¡¯s appetite was very amazing and he ate until his small belly became round. Lin Rufei was afraid that he would feel bloated and hurriedly asked Fu Hua to put away the rest of the dry food. When the child saw that the dry food was out of his reach, his eyes were immediately filled with tears. However, he didn¡¯t make a fuss. He just looked at Fu Hua with sad eyes. Fu Hua really couldn¡¯t stand this look and she cast a look of help towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei also had quite a headache. He rarely dealt with children. Giving him food, he feared that he would get a stomachache. If he didn¡¯t give him food, he also couldn¡¯t handle his aggrieved look. After thinking for a moment, Lin Rufei had an idea. He pulled out a piece of malt candy he bought in Gusu City from his sleeve. The malt candy sells very well. It was golden and transparent and shaped like amber. It was soft and dense, but not too sweet and was a good snack. Gu Xuandu liked it so Lin Rufei bought extras. He had them in his pocket, planning to slowly enjoy it later. The child saw the candy and his tears immediately stopped. However, he did not dare reach out to ask for it, instead, he stared anxiously at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei stuffed the candy into his mouth and said, ¡°You can¡¯t eat any more dry food, it will spoil your stomach.¡± When he got the candy, the child showed a joyful look and said thank you vaguely. Although he looked wretched, thin, and weak, he was more polite than the group of children seen before. At least he did not reach out to grab the candy and even after eating he also didn¡¯t forget to say thank you. Lin Rufei asked the child a few more questions and learned that his name was Mo Mo[2]. He lived in the Fu Family Village, however, the rest of his questions were all without replies. But even if he was able to ask for some information, the child also answered vaguely. Most of it Lin Rufei guessed himself. Lin Rufei originally thought that the intersection wouldn¡¯t be far from the Fu Family Village, but he didn¡¯t expect the sky to turn dark and still not seeing a shadow of the house. Helpless, they could only plan to rest in the carriage for the night. The child ate enough so he shrunk into a ball to sleep, but his sleep wasn¡¯t stable. From time to time, he would open his eyes and observe the situation around him, it seemed to be a habit developed from before. Lin Rufei was a bit tired after sitting in the carriage all day, so he took advantage of his rest time to leave the carriage and go to the side of the road to stretch his body. On both sides of the road, various kinds of foods were planted. In addition to the cascading wheat fields, there were also cornfields that grew taller than a person. Lin Rufei looked at this dense cornfield and wondered, ¡°So much grain, why are they still living like this?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s not strange, right?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Not strange?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Have you seen the people working in the field?¡± Lin Rufei showed a hesitant look, then shook his head. All the way here, he really did not see anyone farming in the field, but there were many people sitting by the road. Looking at their appearances, they also didn¡¯t look quite like farmers working in the fields. Although farmers worked hard, they were not as battered and exhausted like they were. ¡°All things in this world have cause and effect.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°There is always a reason for them to live like this.¡± Lin Rufei agreed. He then casually talked about the child on the carriage again. However, after a few words, he found Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression to be a bit strange. ¡°Senior doesn¡¯t like children?¡± Lin Rufei could only come up with this possibility. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You like children a lot, right?¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I don¡¯t really like them.¡± He sighed, ¡°Especially a child like him ¡­¡­¡± Although he said so, there was not much disgust in his tone. Rather, there was a slight lament that Lin Rufei could not understand. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you like them?¡± Gu Xuandu cast a deep meaningful glance at Lin Rufei: ¡°You think children don¡¯t understand anything, but in fact, they understand very well.¡± Lin Rufei felt a little puzzled. Gu Xuandu waved his hand and quickly skipped this topic. He then talked to Lin Rufei about this strange Fu Family Village. He was asking who this invitation was actually going to. As the name implies, the place was called Fu Family Village and most of the people there were naturally people with the surname Fu. The invitation Lin Rufei wanted to send out was written with two wild cursive words of Fu Yu. Fu Yu was also considered as someone who achieved fame when he was in his youth. However, it was different compared to an aristocratic family like Liu Rugong¡¯s. His sword skills were not something inherited from his family, but a sword that went off the rails[3]. It was said that when he was out on a trip, he inadvertently fell off a cliff and received guidance from a senior below the cliff, after which his sword skills soared. He defeated a number of experts and finally made a name for himself in Jianghu. Before this, no one knew the name of the Fu Family Village, until a Fu Yu came from there and it gradually got famous. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. But looking at the situation of the Fu Family Village at first glance, it was clear that the people here have not improved their lives because of Fu Yu¡¯s fame. They still maintain the miserable situation of not being able to feed and clothe themselves. Before Lin Rufei, no one in Kunlun had ever been to the Fu Family Village, so to speak, Lin Rufei was still the first one. So when he saw this kind of scene, he was a little surprised. Gu Xuandu listened to Lin Rufei. He was not too interested in this Fu Yu. He lazily yawned and asked if Lin Rufei was sleepy. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m a little sleepy, so let¡¯s go back and rest.¡± After walking around outside and stretching his body, Lin Rufei simply washed up and then lay down in the carriage to fall into a deep sleep. This night was very quiet. Lin Rufei opened his eyes in a daze under the morning birdsong that ushered in the sunrise. His eyes met with the little child Mo Mo who sat opposite him and was shrunk in a corner. Mo Mo¡­.. was a cute name. Lin Rufei¡¯s brain suddenly had a thought in his head. When Fu Hua noticed that Lin Rufei was awake, she brought him hot water to wash up and asked him what he wanted to eat for breakfast. Lin Rufei said, ¡°How about steamed buns?¡± Fu Hua laughed, ¡°Why does young master suddenly want to eat steamed buns?¡± Lin Rufei pointed to the child, ¡°Isn¡¯t his name Mo Mo?¡± When the child heard this, he froze for two seconds. Then he revealed a frightened expression and cried vaguely, ¡°No ¡­¡­ don¡¯t eat Mo Mo¡­¡­ no, doesn¡¯t taste good¡­¡­¡± He obviously misunderstood Lin Rufei¡¯s meaning and thought that Lin Rufei wanted to make a move on him. Lin Rufei was amused by his appearance. He reached out and gently pinched his skinny face, ¡°I haven¡¯t even eaten it yet, how do I know it¡¯s not good?¡± When Mo Mo heard this, his round black eyes widened. He started whimpering and crying: ¡°No ¡­¡­ not delicious, wuwuwu[4] ¡­¡­¡± Although he said this, he didn¡¯t dare struggle. This scared look of his was like a poor little rabbit that was terrified. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but laugh. When Fu Hua saw her family¡¯s gongzi teasing the little doll to the point of crying, she quickly called out a ¡°young master,¡± and said that children were timid and weak and should not be scared. When Lin Rufei heard this, he finally let go. He first helped Mo Mo soothe his cheeks and then pulled out a malt candy to cajole the child. Of course, the biggest credit still had to fall upon the candies. Once the candy entered his mouth, the child immediately stopped crying. He didn¡¯t forget to say thank you as he sobbed and sniffled with tears in his eyes. Lin Rufei also felt a bit guilty since he bullied the child into this appearance. He let out a dry cough and said: ¡°Then we won¡¯t eat Mo Mo. Just make some easy-to-digest porridge.¡± The child ate so much last night, if he had another big meal in the morning he would certainly be bloated. Fu Hua said yes, and together with Yu Rui, left the carriage to make porridge. The child happily chewed on the corn candy. When he saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui getting ready to make a fire, he also slowly got off the carriage. He turned and walked into the small woods beside them and when he came back out, he was already holding a small bundle of firewood. He walked wobbly towards Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s side. After putting them down, he timidly shouted out a ¡°sister.¡± When Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw this scene, their motherly feelings erupted. They took the little guy into their arms and gave him a few fierce kisses. Mo Mo was at a loss for words as he was being kissed, in fact, he was even a little afraid. He stuttered and said that he was dirty and thin and that he was not delicious. Lin Rufei watched and laughed out loud. Only, after he finished laughing and turned around, he saw Gu Xuandu staring at the child with a gloomy expression. When he noticed him looking over, the gloomy look dissipated instantly and he returned to his usual languid look. It was as if the expression Lin Rufei just saw on his face was just an illusion. Lin Rufei whispered, ¡°Senior ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu softly hummed an agreement. Lin Rufei said, ¡°¡­¡­ This child, is there something wrong with him?¡± Those that could make Gu Xuandu stare at them with such eyes have identities that seemed to be suspicious. Even those things encountered in the Xie residence before did not make Gu Xuandu show such a look. Who knew that when Gu Xuandu listened to his question, he would shake his head, ¡°No, he¡¯s normal ¡­¡­ a good child.¡± When he said the three words ¡°a good child,¡± he deliberately aggravated his tone. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart trembled at the three words ¡°a good child¡± and said, ¡°There¡¯s really nothing wrong with him?¡± ¡°Not at the moment. He¡¯s just a normal child.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°What, you think something is wrong with him?¡± Lin Rufei was speechless as he realized that Gu Xuandu seemed to be completely unaware of the hostility he was showing towards the child. When Gu Xuandu noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s silence, he probably also sensed something and said lightly, ¡°But looking at him reminds me of something from the past.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Something from the past?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s not very pleasant, but it has nothing to do with this little guy.¡± Only then did Lin Rufei let out a sigh of relief. In his heart, he thought: Could it be that Gu Xuandu has encountered difficult children before and that¡¯s why he is hostile towards this child in front of him? But Gu Xuandu was not willing to say so he could only guess and could not get an affirmative answer. On their side, Fu Hua and Yu Rui finished boiling the porridge. They brought it over to Lin Rufei first then prepared some small side dishes for him. The rest were eaten with Mo Mo. The porridge was not thick. There were also some adlay barley, red dates, and other tonics included. Lin Rufei drank with very little interest, but Mo Mo was very fond of it. Most of the leftovers were finished off by him. After eating, the carriage set off again. It followed the official road all the way forward. At this point, they were getting closer and closer to the Fu Family Village. The buildings and people on both sides of the road were gradually growing. However, the buildings were either straw houses or mud houses, and a brick house couldn¡¯t even be seen. As for the people they saw, it was even more terrible. They weren¡¯t doing anything as they just sat on the roadside. They silently gazed at the carriage speeding by, their gazes weren¡¯t numb but it was definitely strange enough. Originally Yu Rui was outside driving the carriage, however, she got scared by the scene so Fu Hua called her in as she replaced her and sat outside. ¡°This Fu Family Village is too strange.¡± Yu Rui trembled and said, ¡°Are these people villagers? They¡¯re not doing anything so what are they doing sitting on the street?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head to indicate that he couldn¡¯t guess either. The carriage continued on and finally reached the entrance of the Fu Family Village, which was surrounded by a tall wall with guards at the entrance. These guards looked out of place with the villagers next to them. They were dressed magnificently and each holding a long sword. ¡°Where are you going? Do you have the paperwork to go in?¡± The guards stopped the carriage but saw that it was lavishly decorated, so their attitude was quite respectful. ¡°No. We are from the Kunlun Lin family here to deliver an invitation to Fu Yu of the Fu family.¡± Fu Hua replied. When the guard heard this, he immediately got nervous and instructed the person next to him to go to the Fu family to ask about the situation and told them to wait for a moment. It didn¡¯t take long for the person who went to ask about the situation to come back panting. While running, he gave the guard a meaningful glance. When the guard saw this scene, he immediately changed his attitude. He smiled very eagerly and said, ¡°Please come in, please come in.¡± Fu Hua cracked the whip and the carriage drove into the Fu Family Village at a gallop. When they passed the tall enclosure, the view inside made Fu Hua reveal a stunned look, ¡°How is this¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei, who was in the carriage, had a similar reaction to Fu Hua. Both of them were stunned. They only saw that beyond the high walls, the houses were all tall, gorgeous, and exquisite. There were even a variety of wall paintings on the exterior walls. Just from the outside, one could feel a strong sense of luxury. The two sides of the avenue leading to the Fu Family Village were filled with a variety of stores and most of these stores were beautifully decorated. Lin Rufei gave a general look and felt that the things sold inside were not cheap. The people walking along the roadside were even dressed in fancy clothes. One would not expect that they were from the same village as the wretched people outside the high walls. ¡°This Fu Family Village, how could it be like this.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°It¡¯s true that there is nothing strange in the greatness of Jianghu.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Indeed it is surprising, I have never seen it before either.¡± According to the guard at the entrance, the ancestral home of the Fu family was the highest one in the village. Lin Rufei quickly found the Fu family¡¯s ancestral home and he had to say, this ancestral home was really too imposing. The wall of the courtyard was made of marble with beautiful patterns and the main house inside was tall and lofty. It blocked out most of the sun in the village. The eaves were carved into the shape of living birds. The tiles were a beautiful vermilion color and there was not a single moss to be seen. Such a building stands here, no matter how one looked, it made them feel out of place. Fu Hua also froze. She said that this house was even more exaggerated than many of the buildings on Kunlun, how could it still be called a village? Lin Rufei shook his head to indicate that he also didn¡¯t know how to explain. ¡°So are we just going in?¡± Fu Hua asked tentatively. Lin Rufei thought for a moment: ¡°Let¡¯s go to the inn first. Unless you want to stay with the Fu family?¡± ¡°No, no.¡± Fu Hua hastily shook her head, ¡°This place looks too exaggerated, if I live in it, my heart will be unbearable.¡± To speak of grandeur, no matter if it was Meng Lanruo¡¯s or Liu Rugong¡¯s, both their houses were very grandiose. However, that grandeur and this grandeur in front of them gave off two completely different feelings. Meng Lanruo¡¯s house was full of flowers with architecture and gardens that were carefully designed making it elegant and chic. Liu Rugong¡¯s family was even more famous. The various sceneries in the courtyard were complementary and not too pompous. And this building in front of him would only give off a sense of unspeakable incongruity, as if ¡­¡­ ¡°It¡¯s like a person who suddenly has money and doesn¡¯t know how to spend it.¡± Gu Xuandu hit the nail on the head. Lin Rufei felt it deeply. So a group of people planned to go to the inn to rest temporarily. They wanted to inquire about the situation before making plans. Who knew that just as they turned around to head to the inn, they were stopped by a few people. These people claimed to be servants of the Fu family and enthusiastically said that the family head has now set up a banquet waiting for them. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t want to bicker with them, but after a few words of excuses, he saw that these people were stubborn, so he finally agreed. The carriage turned around and drove towards the exaggerated ancestral house. After the carriage entered the house, Mo Mo, who had been shrinking in the corner and not talking much, suddenly reacted. His expression became a little frightened and his mouth started to chant something. He shrunk into a ball like a scared little cat. Lin Rufei saw this and called out his name: ¡°Mo Mo?¡± Lin Rufei was afraid that he would hurt himself, so he reached out and pulled him out from under the blanket before he carefully took him into his arms. Mo Mo whimpered and pushed Lin Rufei. When Lin Rufei saw the situation, he thought for a moment then told Yu Rui to bring a blanket. He wrapped Mo Mo entirely up with the blanket leaving only a pair of dark eyes. Mo Mo was originally born thin. Now that he had shrunk into a ball wrapped into the blanket, he was small like a rag doll. The good thing was that his emotions finally calmed down. He sobbed and sniffled, wanting to cover his own face with the blanket. Lin Rufei let him do as he pleased. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Mo Mo?¡± Fu Hua wondered, ¡°Why did he have such a big reaction ¡­¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It probably has something to do with this Fu family?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment. He felt that it was a bit reckless bringing Mo Mo into the Fu Family Village. One, he didn¡¯t know the relation Mo Mo had with the Fu family. If by chance, it was an enemy, then they would just be getting into trouble. Two, Mo Mo¡¯s mental state doesn¡¯t seem to be good, if it was stimulated wouldn¡¯t it become more serious? ¡­¡­ Fu Hua obviously also thought of this and whispered that it was better not to tell the Fu family of Mo Mo¡¯s existence for the time being and to wait until everything was cleared up. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei nodded, thinking that that approach felt more appropriate. When Mo Mo was sick, Gu Xuandu leaned on the side and watched without a word. His look was very calm and even showed a few moments of strange indifference like in resistance to something. Lin Rufei¡¯s attention was on Mo Mo and he didn¡¯t notice Gu Xuandu¡¯s strange look for a while. After the steward brought them into the Fu family manor, they led them to the guest room where they would be staying. Lin Rufei handed Mo Mo to Fu Hua and Yu Rui and asked them to take care of him first while he went to visit the Fu family first. When they saw the Fu family¡¯s ancestral home from the outside, it had been exaggerated enough. When they entered it, they found out that it was just a hair from nine oxens[5]. The decorations in the house could not be described by the word pompous. Almost every corner was full of all kinds of decorations. It was either gemstones or sculptures or porcelain vases, in short, it was like an owner¡¯s expanded treasures exhibition room where they were itching to showcase all the objects for guests to enjoy. But such decorations, in the eyes of those who knew the business, could only be called vulgar even with some ridiculous implications. The good thing was that Lin Rufei doesn¡¯t care about these things, he just thinks that the aesthetics of this Fu family was really difficult to grasp. On their way to the main hall, Lin Rufei heard exaggerated laughter coming from the room from afar. The laughter contained both males and females. It sounded like flirting and not only with one person¡­¡­. Lin Rufei paused in his steps, but still crossed into the main hall. Once inside, he saw a man dressed in purple holding two hot beauties in his arms as they were feeding each other grapes. The same grape feeding, on Liu Rugong¡¯s side, had a kind of prodigal son¡¯s suave flavor, while the man in front of him made Lin Rufei frown. This man¡¯s appearance was actually pretty good, but all over his body was a greasy[6] feeling as he was soaked in rouge powder. When he saw Lin Rufei, who walked to the door, his eyes lit up, and said: ¡°Yo, who found this beauty, this appearance is pretty good ¡­¡­ heavily rewarded!¡± When the steward heard this, his face showed embarrassment and he hurriedly said: ¡°Young master, the beauty you want is not here yet, this is the guest from the Lin family!¡± The young master of the Fu family said suspiciously: ¡°Guests from the Lin family? How come I didn¡¯t know of this? When did he come, did he bring any gifts?¡± The steward hurriedly said: ¡°Young master, this is Da Gongzi¡¯s guest!¡± (t/n: Refresher, Da refers to the eldest. So the eldest gongzi/eldest son) The young master of the Fu family immediately curtailed his smile. He hmphed, but in the end, he did not say anything else. The steward smiled apologetically at Lin Rufei, saying that Lin gongzi must not take it to heart, this is his young master and he was always like this¡­¡­ Lin Rufei said, ¡°Fu Yu is your eldest young master?¡± The steward said, ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How come I haven¡¯t seen him?¡± The steward said, ¡°The young master doesn¡¯t like the atmosphere of the house and often travels outside, but we have sent a letter out so he will probably come back soon.¡± Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh.¡± The steward led Lin Rufei through the main hall to the backyard where the banquet was held. The Fu family was already seated and when they saw Lin Rufei coming, they all rose and greeted him eagerly. Lin Rufei simply returned the greeting and sat down beside the Fu family head. The Fu family head was an old man with white hair and beard, however, he seemed to be in good spirits. When he saw Lin Rufei sitting down, he greeted him warmly. The Fu family seemed to have never cultivated and no one at the table was carrying sword Qi making them like ordinary people. ¡°Lin gongzi, you are an honored guest of our family.¡± The Fu family head smiled warmly, ¡°I have prepared several wonderfully good dishes for you, you must try them!¡± Lin Rufei had just answered when he saw an extremely beautiful black horse being led out from the side and next to that horse was a pot of hot soup that was being boiled. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: Are you unhappy? Gu Xuandu: No Lin Rufei: Really? Gu Xuandu: No Lin Rufei: Really, really? Gu Xuandu: No Lin Rufei: Since you aren¡¯t then can you put Mo Mo[2] down¡­.. Gu Xuandu: Who am I provoking by eating a steam bun? Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­ Mo Mo: Wuwuwuwuwuwuwu, I don¡¯t taste good, don¡¯t eat me¡­¡­ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idiom: make a show of happiness and prosperity. [2] His name literally means steam bun. [3] Idiom: to break the normal procedure and find a new or different solution in order to be unexpected and novelty. [4] Crying sounds. [5] Idiom: a drop in the ocean, kinda like a drop of water in a bucket. [6] Kind of hard to explain, but the word here is ÓÍÄå which means greasy but it¡¯s suppose to refer to people who aren¡¯t decent? Cringey? Basically kind of when you have too much greasy food and you can¡¯t stand it anymore. CH 47 The Fu family head enthusiastically introduced the black horse, saying that this horse was the best Ferghana horse bought from the west. It was exceptionally handsome and not only was it fast, but its endurance was also one of the best. But today wasn¡¯t the day they wanted to introduce the horse to Lin Rufei, they wanted to let him try something new. As he spoke, the servant standing next to him picked up a ladle. He scooped up a spoonful of hot soup and walked towards the black horse. Lin Rufei immediately frowned at the sight and said, ¡°Wait.¡± He turned his head to look at the owner of the Fu family and said, ¡°Are you going to make poured donkey meat[1]?¡± The owner of the Fu family showed his joy at his words and said frankly, ¡°Lin gongzi is really knowledgeable, you even know this!¡± Poured donkey meat was a very famous dish, not because of how delicious it tasted, but because of the cruel way of making this dish. First, they had to boil a pot of hot soup and then the soup would be directly poured onto the body of the live donkey. They would wait until the hot soup cooked the donkey meat and then use a sharp knife to cut off the donkey meat just like that. So until the end of consumption, the donkey would still be alive. This way of eating can guarantee the freshness of the ingredients to the maximum. Thus, even though it was very cruel, some people would still want to try. Lin Rufei had seen it in books and seeing the man¡¯s movements, he immediately understood what they wanted to do. The Fu family head laughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s just that we are tired of eating donkey meat, so we want to try something else and we think this horse is very handsome, so it must taste good. Today there just so happened to be an important guest, so we told the chef to set up this dish.¡± Lin Rufei made a gesture that told him to stop, ¡°No need.¡± The Fu family head wanted to persuade again, but when he saw Lin Rufei¡¯s cold expression that even his eyes showed a strong firmness, he could only say embarrassingly, ¡°Since Lin gongzi does not like it, then let¡¯s not eat it.¡± (t/n: Bless LRF, I was going to cry if they ate the poor horse ;A;) ¡°But this animal eats grass and people eat animals, it¡¯s all a matter of the cycle of life.¡± The family head seemed to be worried that Lin Rufei would take offense so he quickly explained, ¡°Lin gongzi please don¡¯t take offense to it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face had little expression and his tone was also very light, ¡°There is nothing wrong with a horse eating grass or a man eating a horse, However, as the leader of all things, man should always have some etiquette and moral restraint. Don¡¯t follow the example of the brutal beasts in the wilderness that have no wisdom and use such cruel methods to satisfy their appetite.¡± He did not give face to the Fu family this time and his words were very heavy. The Fu family head¡¯s smile was frozen on his face and he was speechless for a long time Because of this, Lin Rufei¡¯s expression was not very good during the rest of the banquet. Furthermore, the food on the table were not quite to his taste. Most of them were overly luxurious and greasy dishes. The Fu family head even persuaded him a few times at first, but when he didn¡¯t give face, he stopped talking. After finishing dinner, Lin Rufei asked when Fu Yu would be back and after that, he got up and said goodbye. When he walked to the main hall, he saw that the man in purple was still in place, sizing up Lin Rufei with an unpleasant gaze. Lin Rufei stared over expressionlessly. The man laughed: ¡°Lin gongzi is full just like that?¡± Lin Rufei nodded slightly and he was about to leave when he heard the man behind him say indifferently, ¡°I think Lin gongzi¡¯s heart is too good.¡± ¡°What does it matter to you?¡± Lin Rufei said coldly. Although he was good-tempered, he wasn¡¯t someone that allowed himself to be pushed around. The first time he saw this Fu family young master¡¯s eyes, it made him feel very unhappy, so when he spoke now, he did not give a single point of politeness. The young master of the Fu family said with a smile: ¡°Donkeys or horses, they are born to be eaten. As for the way to eat them, that is also the freedom of the diners. Whether it is food or Jianghu, it¡¯s the same logic.¡± Lin Rufei understood the Fu family young master¡¯s words. He raised his eyebrows and gave a forced smile: ¡°Then what Fu family young master means that as long as one is powerful enough, they can do anything?¡± The Fu family young master said, ¡°Naturally so.¡± Lin Rufei turned around and walked in front of him. He said coldly, ¡°Since the Fu family young master means that the strongest is the most respected, then if I turn you into a waste here, you shouldn¡¯t complain about anything, right?¡± After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pulled out Gu Yu that was on the side of his waist. The cold sword blade landed on the Fu family young master¡¯s shoulder the next moment. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The Fu family young master looked at Lin Rufei baffled. He didn¡¯t expect that the seemingly weak and gentle Lin family¡¯s gongzi would suddenly do something so excessive, not giving him any face as a young master. ¡°I came here only to deliver an invitation to Fu Yu.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face was expressionless. There was a cold frost condensed in his eyes as he continued, ¡°Well water does not interfere with river water[2], I don¡¯t reason with you guys, so don¡¯t talk about your reasoning with me.¡± After saying that, he withdrew his sword blade and sneered, ¡°Lest I really take it to heart and use your reasoning to ¡®treat¡¯ you.¡± The young master of the Fu family no longer had that vain smile, but he also didn¡¯t seem to be afraid. He sighed and said that this Lin gongzi turned out to have such a big temper, what a surprise. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t bother to talk to him anymore and he turned around to leave. This was probably the first time Lin Rufei got so angry after leaving Kunlun. The Fu family was full of strangeness everywhere. Whether it was those farmers, who seemed to be dying of hunger outside, or the lavishly exaggerated mansion interior, all of it gave people an uncomfortable feeling. Since Lin Rufei arrived here, his mood had not been good. The Fu family young master¡¯s words kind of set him on fire and after he let out this anger, did he feel a little better. When Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei¡¯s angry look, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°Why are you so angry?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Looking makes me agitated.¡± Gu Xuandu looked around and said thoughtfully, ¡°This place, indeed, is not suitable for permanent residence.¡± Although luxurious decorations were everywhere, the whole courtyard was garish. And most of the tones were dark, so people couldn¡¯t help but feel dry and depressed looking at this scenery. Lin Rufei sighed: ¡°Fu Yu will not be back for another ten days or so, I really don¡¯t feel comfortable giving this invitation to his family.¡± These family members don¡¯t seem to be very reliable, so it was probably better to hand over the invitation to Fu Yu himself. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You¡¯re right, so let¡¯s just stay here for a few days?¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°Or live outside instead. If I have to deal with this every day¡­¡­.¡± Gu Xuandu could not help but laugh: ¡°Then pull out the sword and cut off their heads!¡± The two returned to the room they were staying in and saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui teasing Mo Mo. Mo Mo¡¯s state was much better than before. Although he was still hiding in the blanket, at least he was not shivering anymore. Fu Hua smiled when she saw Lin Rufei return. She quickly rose and said, ¡°Young master is back, how come you don¡¯t look very happy?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head to indicate that he was fine, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes. Just now a servant brought in some food and Mo Mo also ate a lot. If you think the food there is not to your liking, why don¡¯t I go and make some porridge for you?¡± Fu Hua asked, ¡°And make two small side dishes?¡± She was very experienced and she could tell right away that Lin Rufei hadn¡¯t moved his chopsticks much. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Alright.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui got up and went out, leaving only Lin Rufei and the well-behaved Mo Mo in the room. Lin Rufei could not help but reach out and pinch his cheeks and Mo Mo, who was pinched, also did not struggle. He simply looked at Lin Rufei helplessly and blinked his big dark eyes innocently. When Lin Rufei felt happy with the pinching, he took out a candy from his sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth, whispering, ¡°Mo Mo don¡¯t tell sister that brother pinched you.¡± Mo Mo gave a small muffled sound of agreement and chewed the candy in his mouth seriously. Lin Rufei then revealed a smile. Gu Xuandu, who watched Lin Rufei bully the child from the side, sourly said: ¡°Is pinching his face comfortable?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Not very comfortable.¡± The meat was too little. Gu Xuandu¡¯s spirits lifted: ¡°How about you pinch me. I can guarantee that mine is more comfortable than his.¡± As he said this, he brought his beautiful face closer, indicating Lin Rufei to hurry up and do it. Lin Rufei revealed a helpless expression saying, ¡®senior is already hundreds of years old, can you please not compare himself to a little doll that was only a few years old?¡¯ Gu Xuandu looked stunned and he seemed to be struck by the words, ¡°hundreds of years old.¡± He stared at Lin Rufei for a while and did not say anything. When Lin Rufei saw this appearance of his, he was reflecting on whether his words were a bit too mean or not. However, he ended up seeing Gu Xuandu, this ¡°stable¡± senior, reach out with lightning speed to fiercely pinch Mo Mo on the face. Mo Mo was still eating candy with his cheeks puffed out, but now his face had a red handprint left by Gu Xuandu when he pinched. Although he was pinched like this, he actually did not cry. It probably hurt a little but his eyes only accumulated a thin layer of vapor. After chewing two mouthfuls of sweet candy, the vapor gradually faded as he muttered to himself that it was not painful. It just so happened that his maid, Fu Hua, came back. When she saw the red marks on Mo Mo¡¯s face, she said, ¡°Young master, you must be gentle, the child¡¯s flesh is tender, don¡¯t pinch it badly.¡± Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t argue and could only glare at the childish senior. Gu Xuandu laughed unrestrainedly and said, ¡°Hey, it seems that the feeling was pretty good.¡± Lin Rufei muttered in a low voice: ¡°Your action was too mean.¡± Gu Xuandu shamelessly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t use any force.¡± In Lin Rufei¡¯s heart, he thought: Who could stand your strength, ah? He is just a little doll of a few years old, if you really use your strength, you would pull his face completely off. After Mo Mo ate a full meal, he felt sleepy again. Fu Hua and Yu Rui went to find underlings to bring hot water to give him a simple bath. After he was thoroughly washed, they found out that this child was actually born very cute. They didn¡¯t know what was on his face, but if they didn¡¯t clean it for a long while, they would have not seen his face clearly. However, his body was really thin. His arms and legs were like straws and it made people¡¯s hearts ache. (t/n: Straw as in the hay kind.) Because there was no children¡¯s clothing, Mo Mo simply wore a loose outerwear. He was held in Fu Hua¡¯s arms and she said that he was going to sleep with her tonight. Lin Rufei also wanted to sleep with Mo Mo, but there was a senior who was eyeing covetously next to him. In order to avoid Mo Mo having a few extra red marks the next morning, Lin Rufei had to let Mo Mo follow Fu Hua. But a girl¡¯s heart was indeed much more meticulous than a man¡¯s. Although they both have not yet married, they were doing a good job taking care of Mo Mo. The day was already dark, but the Fu family was still very lively. Through the wall, he could hear the sound of laughter from outside. Lin Rufei strolled around in the courtyard where he was staying at and he always felt that this courtyard looked strange. However, for the moment, he could not find exactly what it was that was strange. In the end, it was Gu Xuandu who woke him up, ¡°There is not a single blade of grass in this courtyard, so it is naturally not too comfortable living here.¡± Lin Rufei was stunned and only then did he realize that there really wasn¡¯t a single weed in the entire courtyard, let alone trees. ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± Lin Rufei bent down and rubbed a bit of the soil. After taking a closer look, he was puzzled, ¡°This soil doesn¡¯t look right.¡± The black soil was interspersed with some white granular things, which at first glance looked a bit like salt, ¡°There¡¯s salt ¡­¡­ inside the soil?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It seems to be.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°How can there be salt in the soil?¡± Although salt was not a rare thing on their continent, it still costed money to buy. Who would deliberately sprinkle salt into the soil? After thinking for a moment, Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I do know a kind of soil that will contain a lot of salt and after it rains, the salt inside the soil will precipitate out and surface to the top.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°There is such a ground?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Such a ground is where no grass grows and even the most tenacious weeds have no way to survive on it.¡± The reason for the lack of grass and trees was found. Lin Rufei threw away the dirt in his hand and wondered, ¡°Is it only their Fu family¡¯s yard where the dirt is like this?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head, indicating that he did not know. Lin Rufei then planned to find time tomorrow to leave the Fu family to look around. Anyway, there are still about ten days before Fu Yu returns. If he stayed with the Fu family every day, he was afraid he would go crazy. In the middle of the night, the noises outside subsided. Lin Rufei lay down on the couch and fell asleep. After entering the Summer season, the weather was getting hotter and hotter every day. Just as the sun rose in the morning, it made people feel its great power. Plus, there was no shade in the courtyard so it was really hot and irritating. This kind of weather made Lin Rufei lose his appetite and he could not eat anything. He barely drank half a bowl of thin porridge for breakfast before putting his chopsticks away. But although he couldn¡¯t eat, Mo Mo¡¯s appetite was excellent. Almost all the leftover food on the table went into his stomach. If not for Lin Rufei stopping him, he could have drunk to the bottom of the pot. His little belly seemed to be connected to something remarkable, it was already bulging, but it seemed to be able to fit some more in. After Lin Rufei ate, he then found an excuse to take the maids out of the Fu family and as for Mo Mo¡ªhe was put into a small pocket by Fu Hua and brought out together. When they reached the street, the suffocating atmosphere of the Fu family was finally eased. Although the buildings along the road were still exaggerated, at least it was much better than the ancestral house of the Fu family. Lin Rufei first went to the store to buy Mo Mo a few small clothes that he could wear. He found a corner for him to change and then went to see if there were any interesting snacks around. But to Lin Rufei¡¯s disappointment, after he strolled the entire village, he did not see any interesting things. The stores were either selling jade or silk, they were almost all expensive items. Places to eat were also formal restaurants and there wasn¡¯t a street vendor to be seen. These things, to Lin Rufei, weren¡¯t interesting at all. He wandered around bored, so he casually found a teahouse and ordered a few cups of tea to kill the heat. ¡°What the hell is wrong with this Fu Family Village, there is not even a snack.¡± Lin Rufei has started to miss the malt candy in Gusu city. Gu Xuandu expressed his agreement. Fu Hua and Yu Rui were also too hot to be energetic and said, ¡°Not only are there no snacks, this Fu Family Village actually doesn¡¯t even have a tree.¡± ¡°Not only is there no tree, but there¡¯s also no grass either.¡± Lin Rufei incoherently sipped his tea, ¡°It¡¯s almost like living in the desert.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yu Rui said listlessly, ¡°But look outside the village, the grass is very lush, ah ¡­¡­ and crops are also good, ah. There¡¯s just a wall in between, how did it become this way?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, indicating that he did not know. They then looked at Mo Mo, who was a local, and noticed that he didn¡¯t show the slightest hint of discomfort. He was holding a bowl of tea and drinking it enthusiastically. The taste of this tea was actually not good. Not only was it bitter, but there was also no pleasant aftertaste. Logically speaking, children wouldn¡¯t like to drink it, but apparently, Mo Mo was not the average child. He, who had suffered enough, did not feel the slightest discomfort when he drank the tea. He downed the cup in a breath without any problems. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei looked as he seriously drank the tea with his cheeks bulging and his fingers suddenly felt a little itchy. However, given that there was a senior, who liked to create trouble at his side, in the end, he did not dare extend his hand. ¡°What, is gongzi sleepy?¡± Fu Hua asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a bit tired.¡± Lin Rufei rubbed the corners of his eyes and said weakly, ¡°Is it because it¡¯s too hot?¡± ¡°It seems to be a little hot.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°Shall I ask them for some ice later? Let¡¯s cool down the room first?¡± Lin Rufei nodded and said yes. The Fu family¡¯s ancestral home was uninteresting and the manor was even more boring, so Lin Rufei wandered around for a while. When he saw the sun getting bigger, he went back. On his way back, he saw some chubby little children playing in the corner of the Fu family¡¯s manor. From their clothes, they should also be Fu family members and they were quite well-off. They were wearing gorgeous silk and exaggerated jade pendants on their waists with several servants following behind them. Lin Rufei looked at them a few more times. Those servants also noticed his gaze and glanced towards him. After seeing Lin Rufei, they smiled ingratiatingly and also called out a ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei was a little surprised: ¡°Oh? You know me¡± He had only been in the Fu family for a day, and he was already recognized. ¡°It¡¯s because we just received honored guests and the master has instructed us to be in good spirits.¡± The servant smiled ingratiatingly. ¡°These children are also from the Fu family?¡± Lin Rufei asked casually. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The servant replied, ¡°They are the children of the eldest young master, Fu Yu.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Fu Yu¡¯s children? Which one?¡± The servant hesitated for a moment before answering in a whisper, ¡°All of them ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was stunned. There were five children in this group and they all looked about the same age, but they were all Fu Yu¡¯s children. This Fu Yu was really something. The servant, seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s look of surprise, had to explain: ¡°Lin gongzi, you do not know, my eldest young master has a total of more than a dozen wives ¡­¡­ so ¡­¡­¡± So it seemed nothing strange to have five children at once. Lin Rufei originally thought that the superb swordsman Fu Yu would be somewhat different, but now after hearing the servant¡¯s words, his expectations of him instantly dropped to the bottom. Most of the great swordsmen Lin Rufei knew were the kind that was like his second brother¡ªdedicated. Very few of them would indulge in mundane things, but he didn¡¯t expect Fu Yu to be an exception among them. But in the end, they were in someone else¡¯s territory. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t have a say in this matter, he nodded and then turned to leave. ¡°Married a dozen wives ¡­¡­ he really is something, ah.¡± Yu Rui clicked her tongue in astonishment, ¡°If I have a dozen wives, why would I still practice the sword.¡± As she said this, she looked at Lin Rufei and blinked, ¡°Speaking of which, young master is almost at the age of marriage, right?¡± If a person was in his twenties and had passed the fifth level of cultivation, it was indeed time to start thinking about marrying. However, Lin Rufei¡¯s situation was special. His health was not good and his whole family spoiled him. If he wanted to find a wife, they could probably find one for him immediately. If he didn¡¯t want one, his family certainly would not force him. ¡°Next time[3].¡± Lin Rufei was not interested in this, ¡°If I have that free time ¡­¡­¡± might as well practice swordplay with Gu Xuandu. Of course, that last part, Lin Rufei did not say aloud. The few children looked curiously at Lin Rufei who was an outsider. Their chubby faces were a sharp contrast with Mo Mo¡¯s. However, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t want to have too deep of a contact with the Fu family, so he didn¡¯t say hello to the children and directly went away. He returned to the room under the blazing sun and Lin Rufei felt his whole body was covered in sweat. When Fu Hua went to go ask for ice, she also asked for a tub of bathing water for Lin Rufei which was just convenient for Lin Rufei to wash his body. Mo Mo crawled out of the bag and sat obediently on the side. Seeing that he was bored, Fu Hua took a piece of pastry on the table and handed it to him, giving him something to eat and play with. With food, Mo Mo could almost stay quietly on that stool for a day. He was not hungry at the moment, so he didn¡¯t wolf it down like usual and just took small bites as he gnawed on the pastry. After gnawing half of it and seeing that no one was around, he quietly tucked the rest into his clothes. Fu Hua and the others were busy and did not see this action. If they had seen it, their hearts would most likely ache again. After Lin Rufei bathed, he changed into fresh clothes and Mo Mo was wiped clean by Yu Rui. He looked at Mo Mo and asked curiously, ¡°Does Mo Mo still remember his given name?¡± Mo Mo looked at Lin Rufei blankly. Lin Rufei said, ¡°It¡¯s one of those three-word names.¡± (t/n: Most Chinese names are three characters¡ªTheir surname as one character and two characters for their given name.) Mo Mo stammered, ¡°No, No, I don¡¯t remember.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then who gave Mo Mo this name?¡± Mo Mo thought for a long while before seriously saying, ¡°It was ¡­¡­ daddy who gave it¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Daddy? Your father is still around?¡± Mo Mo nodded and then shook his head. He looked very confused and cocked his head in distress, ¡°Daddy gave Mo Mo ¡­¡­ so my name is¡­¡­ Mo Mo.¡± The words he spoke were very strange but Lin Rufei did understand. Most likely when Mo Mo¡¯s father left him, he gave him a piece of steam bun in his arms and after that, he took on that name. Mo Mo was still young, so it was normal for him to not remember these kinds of things. As he was thinking about this, he heard Gu Xuandu, who was standing next to him, let out a soft sigh. ¡°Senior, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°This child probably has some sort of relationship with the Fu family.¡± Gu Xuandu said. ¡°Why do you suddenly say that?¡± Lin Rufei wondered. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°When Mo Mo saw those kids, he kept trembling.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Trembling!?¡± He didn¡¯t even notice. But he didn¡¯t expect Gu Xuandu to actually be so attentive. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If Mo Mo didn¡¯t know those kids, I don¡¯t think he should have this kind of reaction.¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, his expression instantly became serious. If Mo Mo was really a member of the Fu family, then things have become a bit troublesome. He must have been sent out of the village for some reason and left to fend for himself. He even brought Mo Mo in so rashly. If the Fu family saw this, it would probably lead to disputes¡­¡­ ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I¡¯ll pinch whoever you pinch. Lin Rufei: Really? Gu Xuandu: Yes. Lin Rufei reached out and pinched Gu Xuandu on the cheek: Who told you to bully the child¡ª¡ª Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Ughhh, I wouldn¡¯t recommend anyone to google this, it¡¯s too cruel. Good thing it¡¯s no longer allowed, but trust me. Don¡¯t. Do. It. [2] Idiom: Everyone minds their own business. [3] Hard to write it in a few words to match the raws, but the implication here is that LRF says to talk about this matter when the time comes. CH 48 After knowing this, Lin Rufei did not intend to let Mo Mo out. One was that Mo Mo was too skinny and silly. This little guy was thrown out just like that so who knew exactly how long he could live? Two, if Mo Mo really had a grudge with the Fu family and he let Mo Mo near the Fu family mansion, wouldn¡¯t it be equal to harming him? Thinking about it, the most suitable method now was to take Mo Mo with them. As long as the Fu family doesn¡¯t see him before they leave, then it would be fine. But this matter, he should still tell Fu Hua and Yu Rui in advance. After all, most of the time, Mo Mo was together with them. After Fu Hua heard that Mo Mo might not have a good relationship with the Fu family, she immediately pulled the little guy into her arms and into a heart-wrenching embrace. She said that Mo Mo was so small, what could he possibly do against the Fu family, ah. The Fu family¡¯s whole village was so strange, if possible, they really wanted to leave early. Lin Rufei and her thoughts were similar. He intended to immediately leave after he delivered the invitation. Unfortunately, there were still ten days before Fu Yu could come back, so they just had to wait a little longer. Because the first meeting with the Fu family wasn¡¯t very pleasant, the next few days, Lin Rufei also did not take the initiative to make contact with the Fu family. However, they frequently came over to invite Lin Rufei to dinner. Especially the Fu family gongzi dressed in purple that Lin Rufei saw on his first day. He seemed to be very interested in Lin Rufei, but although he was rejected many times, he still persistently came back. Either it was to invite Lin Rufei to drink or to invite Lin Rufei for tea. Lin Rufei refused almost every time without being polite and also without giving him a bit of face. Lin Rufei had nothing to do and didn¡¯t like to stay in the Fu family courtyard. He was more than happy to go for a walk outside. Although it was full of ragged farmers outside the village, at least the trees were shady. The large crops that were full of the smell of harvest, at least made it feel like it was full of life everywhere. However, this was only Lin Rufei¡¯s initial impression. When he got to know more about the crops planted outside the village, he suddenly made a terrible discovery. The soil in the crop field outside was actually the same as the one in the village. It had an obvious layer of white crystalline particles attached to it. Lin Rufei twisted some of it with his hand, looked at it carefully, and determined that it was exactly salt. ¡°Salt and alkaline land?¡± Lin Rufei said incredulously, ¡°How can it be salt and alkaline land outside as well.¡± Gu Xuandu was also slightly surprised and let out a ¡°huh.¡± They were both saline land, but the soil inside the village had no grass growing on it, but the crops outside the village actually grew so well that there was no sign that the solid was affecting the plants. Gu Xuandu pondered, ¡°It seems that this Fu Family Village is not as simple as I imagined, ah.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°How so?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°When I first came here, I did feel the presence of a spirit gathering formation, but such a thing was very common, so I didn¡¯t take it to heart. However, now it seems that this is not an ordinary spirit gathering formation.¡± Spirit gathering formation was a relatively common formation. It was usually used in farmers¡¯ crop fields. It could gather the surrounding spiritual energy so that the crops would grow better. However, in general, the effect of such formations like the spirit gathering formation was very mild and only slightly influential and the crops still mostly relied on the farmers¡¯ maintenance. A spirit gathering formation that could produce crops in saline soil was naturally unusual. Lin Rufei frowned and said, ¡°Could it be that the Fu family is using this spirit gathering formation to accumulate money?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Naturally, there is this possibility.¡± As he said this, he directed Lin Rufei to look around. Indeed, they found several smaller formation eyes not too far away. Gu Xuandu said that these formation eyes were part of the spirit gathering formation. It seemed that the person who set up the formation was indeed a big shot, using countless small formations to finally form a big formation. But the eye of the bigger formation was more difficult to find, it could exist anywhere in the dozen miles surrounding them. Lin Rufei stayed at the Fu family mansion for a few days. It was obvious that the people around had not practiced immortality and most of them were mortals. Such a large formation, most likely it had something to do with Fu Yu who was currently not here. Lin Rufei strolled around the cornfield. The weather was very hot and even his forehead surfaced a thin layer of sweat. Lin Rufei coughed lowly a few times: ¡°It seems that this Fu Yu is a powerful character, ah.¡± To be able to make such a large spirit gathering formation, they must have extraordinary strength. ¡°If he can set up such a formation, then he is naturally very powerful. But it is still very strange ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu analyzed, ¡°Even with the spirit gathering formation, there are not so many spiritual energy sources, ah. If they want to make the salt land grow crops using spiritual energy, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy.¡± Everything has a balance and spiritual energy is not endless. The small spirit gathering formation was gathering the surrounding thin spiritual power, but exactly what this huge spirit gathering formation was collecting was hard to say. ¡°Could it be spirit stones?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Gu Xuandu shook his head: ¡°Spirit stones are so expensive, it is not something mortals can afford to use. Even a big family like the Liu family doesn¡¯t necessarily have so many spirit stones to support this place.¡± Then this matter became more and more strange. Lin Rufei frowned and did not speak. But Gu Xuandu became even more interested, ¡°Anyway, we have nothing to do in these few days, why don¡¯t we spend more time to find the eye of the formation and see what¡¯s special about this large formation.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Alright.¡± So the two of them, who were bored every day, started to run outside every day. Fu Hua and Yu Rui, on the other hand, were at home taking care of Mo Mo. Mo Mo could eat a full meal every day. By definition, he should be very happy. However, he was a little sullen. It seemed like he remembered something. But when Fu Hua and Yu Rui asked, he could not say exactly what he was unhappy about and his mouth was full of words that they could not understand. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. In the end, it was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time interacting with an formation. Although he had Gu Xuandu¡¯s guidance, he was still a bit rusty. Gu Xuandu¡¯s temper was very patient. Little by little, he guided Lin Rufei on how to find the spiritual energy source and then followed the vine to get the melon[1] towards the eye of the formation. ¡°That¡¯s awesome.¡± Lin Rufei followed Gu Xuandu¡¯s guidance while exclaiming, ¡°Senior seems to know everything.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°He just taught me well.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°He?¡± Gu Xuandu raised his eyes and looked at him, ¡°My ¡­¡­ old friend.¡± After he said the word ¡°old friend,¡± he chuckled first and continued, ¡°A teacher and a friend.¡± Lin Rufei could obviously feel that Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression was a bit different when he mentioned this person. He hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, ¡°Senior and that person are very close, right?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Luckily, Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t mind saying more as he smiled, ¡°No one has a better relationship with him than me.¡± Then, Gu Xuandu talked carelessly about his past. He said that he lost his parents early and was picked up by that old friend, who was a powerful character. He was taught by his old friend himself how to read and write to sword practice, stroke by stroke, move by move. ¡°He is good-tempered and rarely gets angry, no matter how naughty I ¡­¡­¡± Just a few words and a great immortal figure leaped out in sight. Gu Xuandu himself may not even realize that when he talked about these things, his eyes and lips were unable to hide the light smile, ¡°Although I had good talent at that time, I also had a willful nature. Once, just for sword practice I also injured him. He had a lot of disciples under him so when such an incident occurred, I should have been expelled but he insisted on protecting me.¡± ¡°Then he must be a good master.¡± Lin Rufei responded. ¡°Yes, a good master.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s emotions fluctuate slightly. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, only a calmness remained in his eyes. He repeated again in a strained voice, ¡°Good master¡­..¡± After he finished, he cast his eyes on Lin Rufei. For some reason, Lin Rufei inexplicably perceived a dangerous implication from this gaze of Gu Xuandu¡¯s. He pretended to calmly avert his gaze and changed the topic rigidly: ¡°Senior, how far away are we from the formation eye?¡± Gu Xuandu gave a faint smile, ¡°You don¡¯t want to ask what happened to us after that?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°This is all senior¡¯s private matters ¡­¡­ If senior is not willing to talk about it, then it would be inappropriate for me to ask more.¡± He was flustered by Gu Xuandu¡¯s stare and even took a step back involuntarily. He coughed twice lowly, ¡°No need to force.¡± Gu Xuandu abruptly laughed. While laughing, he came up to Lin Rufei and almost touched the tip of Lin Rufei¡¯s nose, ¡°You are a smart one.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He did not know why Gu Xuandu praised him for being smart, but in his heart, the thought that he managed to avoid something bad. Gu Xuandu turned his back and waved his hand. The dangerous aura on him also disappeared and in a moment he was back to being the usual temperamental senior, ¡°Forget it, forget it, look at how scared you are.¡± He then did not mention anything about that senior again, instead, he talked about his own experience in his early childhood. It turned out that his experience was somewhat similar to that of Mo Mo. He also lost his parents at a very young age and grew up alone eating food from a hundred families[2]. Such a child, the hardships endured were unimaginable. Summertime was fine, but once it was Winter, it was basically beckoning for death. (t/n: that senior refers to GXD¡¯s friend/master) Not enough to eat, not enough to keep warm, and he had to hide from the snow under the bridge. There wasn¡¯t even charcoal to keep warm and he could only go out to cut firewood every day. However, he also didn¡¯t dare cut too much firewood or it would be robbed by other adults. When Gu Xuandu talked about these experiences, his expression was calm, as if he was talking about someone else¡¯s story. However, Lin Rufei¡¯s heart ached when he listened to it and even thought of the poor Mo Mo in the Fu Family Village at this time. Gu Xuandu seemed to know what he was thinking and lazily said: ¡°But I¡¯m not a little stupid like Mo Mo, I¡¯m very clear-headed. I know what kind of people can¡¯t be provoked and also know what kind of people would save my life¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei found it hard to interject so he only sat on the side and hummed in agreement. ¡°Fortunately, God didn¡¯t do things to the end. Although I was born with a miserable life, I was born with a good set of bones and it was because of a coincidence that I became his disciple.¡± Gu Xuandu said nodding to himself, ¡°It is much better than that stupid Mo Mo, don¡¯t you think so?¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he silently cursed in his heart. Why was his senior so childish? He was already hundreds of years old, yet he still competed vigorously with a little doll who still didn¡¯t know anything. Of course, he certainly didn¡¯t dare to say these words out loud. So he churned out a few words without a basis. He said that how could Mo Mo compare to his intelligent senior? Gu Xuandu said, ¡°After that, it became much better. I was at least able to eat and wear warm clothes and I no longer had to worry about freezing to death under the bridge.¡± Lin Rufei wanted to ask a few more questions, but he felt that his questions might offend so he didn¡¯t ask. Gu Xuandu practically said everything, so he then talked about the formation and sword practice. He said that Lin Rufei should quickly throw away his black wooden shield. If people saw that the Lin family¡¯s fourth son attacked people with a wooden shield, did the Lin Family still want their reputation as sword immortals? Lin Rufei refused desperately. Although he could now barely manipulate Gu Yu, when he rode the sword it was still crooked and it was far less stable than the wooden shield. Even though the wooden shield was very ordinary, the sword Qi attached to it was also a powerful weapon. It was just that the outward appearance was a little bad but that wasn¡¯t a big deal. Gu Xuandu was angry at Lin Rufei¡¯s stubbornness, ¡°Lin gongzi, young master Lin¡ªyou do sword practice seriously so why are you running around every day with a shield?¡± This wooden shield was really ugly. It was black, round, and not squared. Lin Rufei was born handsome. Looking at such a delicate sick beauty carrying a huge wooden shield running around really irritated the eyes. Speaking of wooden shields, he had to blame that guy Mo Zhaocai, if he had not cheated Lin Rufei, Lin Rufei wouldn¡¯t have opened the door to this new world. But Gu Xuandu¡¯s persuasion, for now, seemed to be of little use. Lin Rufei resolutely decided not to use Gu Yu roughly before fully mastering it. After all, the sword was like a beauty, he didn¡¯t want to learn Gu Xuandu¡¯s insensitivity, using a great beauty as a burning stick. The Fu family¡¯s big formation was indeed really large. After looking for some days, they were only slightly closer to the eye of the formation and haven¡¯t really pinpointed it yet. Fortunately, Gu Xuandu said that they should be able to find it in the next few days. But just when Lin Rufei thought he was about to find it, there was a small accident¡ªFu Yu came back early. The day Fu Yu came back, it just so happened to be raining heavily. The Summer rain was not like the mild Winter and Spring. It was accompanied by lightning and thunder as it poured. The large amount of rain washed away the hot Summer heat and brought a touch of fresh air to the Fu family¡¯s dry courtyard. Lin Rufei sat in front of the window looking at the rain. His nose took in the fragrance of rain mixed with soil. Mo Mo was behind him playing with Fu Hua and Yu Rui. This child was able to eat well and rest well these days, he was much energetic compared to when they first met him. His thin face also seemed to have gained more meat. Lin Rufei quietly pinched it a few times behind Fu Hua¡¯s back and nodded in satisfaction at the touch. He didn¡¯t know why, but this child¡¯s face felt particularly good to touch. It was smooth and tender and very pleasing to the eye. The most important thing was that when Mo Mo was pinched, he also did not cry. He just blankly looked at Lin Rufei, most likely he didn¡¯t understand why Lin Rufei had done it. When Lin Rufei pinched Mo Mo¡¯s face, Gu Xuandu was looking from the side, his expression was ambiguous and in order to avoid Gu Xuandu if he also reached out, Lin Rufei did not dare to pinch more. He barely pressed down his addiction as he let go. The eldest son of the Fu family, Fu Yu, came back in the rain. Although Lin Rufei could not see his face clearly because of the heavy rain, he could vaguely see a group of people with umbrellas respectfully welcoming him back to the courtyard of the Fu family. He was surrounded by about a dozen concubines and servants holding umbrellas, and the sounds of flirting and laughter even penetrated the ear-splitting rain as it reached Lin Rufei¡¯s ears. This was Fu Yu, the main backbone of the Fu family. Lin Rufei looked at him but felt that he was very different from the person he imagined. He didn¡¯t have the strength of character nor did he have grandeur. At a glance, it was clear that he was not a qualified swordsman. Most of the invitations were sent to powerful characters. After being used to seeing people like Liu Rugong and then seeing the ordinary Fu Yu in front of him, it was a bit disappointing. Lin Rufei raised his hand and closed the window, isolating the laughter outside. However, Mo Mo raised his head and stared out the window, as if he felt something. His mouth kept muttering and he even wanted to jump out of Fu Hua¡¯s arms to run outside. Fu Hua doesn¡¯t know why, but she was afraid of Mo Mo being seen, so she had to hold him tightly. She even took out a candy to try and calm Mo Mo¡¯s emotions. However, the usual effective use of candy, at this moment, was of no use. Mo Mo was aggrieved and he started to whimper. Big tears rolled down his eyes as he sobbed while struggling. It was as if the person outside the window was his actual salvation. In the end, Fu Hua did not dare to let go until Fu Yu left. Only then did Mo Mo calm down. He turned back into the good-natured and dense child as he took small bites of the candy. He was no longer speaking. ¡°Fu Yu is back.¡± Lin Rufei said. Fu Hua said: ¡°Fu Yu is back? Why is Mo Mo reacting so much to this Fu Yu?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head to show that he didn¡¯t know. ¡°Could it be that the death of Mo Mo¡¯s parents had something to do with Fu Yu?¡± Yu Rui guessed, ¡°That¡¯s why Mo Mo is so desperate to get out ¡­¡­¡± They turned their eyes to Mo Mo, who remained ignorant. Obviously, they couldn¡¯t get an answer from him. ¡°Tomorrow Fu Yu will probably invite me to a feast.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to ask around carefully.¡± That was all that could be done. Lin Rufei would rather hope that Mo Mo was a lost child of the Fu family and not an enemy of the Fu family so that he could rest assured when he left Mo Mo with the Fu family. Although the Fu family looked like a nouveau riche, at least they seemed to treat children well. And if Mo Mo was a descendant of the Fu family¡¯s enemies, he could only quietly take Mo Mo away from the Fu family. As for how to settle him down, that was matters for afterward. There would always be a way. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Although there was a rainstorm this night, the Fu family was still lively and the lights were almost on for the whole night. The Fu family also invited Lin Rufei to go over, but Lin Rufei declined on the grounds that he was not feeling well. The Fu family knew that Lin Rufei¡¯s attitude was cold from the beginning to the end, so they didn¡¯t force him. The sound of the rain could not cover the noise of the dogs and horses[3]. Lin Rufei was so disturbed by the noise that he could hardly sleep. Gu Xuandu showed his displeasure when he saw him tossing and turning and couldn¡¯t sleep. He said that he might as well just go out and kill the entire Fu family, then it would be more peaceful. Lin Rufei hastily refused. When Gu Xuandu saw how serious he looked, he laughed and said, ¡°I was just kidding.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Well ¡­¡­ it better be a joke.¡± He didn¡¯t know exactly what to do with Gu Xuandu¡¯s attitude. Although he said it was a joke, if he(LRF) casually agreed and saw the Fu family¡¯s hundreds of bodies on the ground the next day, he probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to cry out. Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Then what to do if you can¡¯t sleep?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± When he was sick on Kunlun, he either slept for three or four days or had trouble sleeping, so this little trouble didn¡¯t matter. Gu Xuandu sighed softly and no longer said anything. Instead, when he looked out the window, there was a little more icy coldness in his eyes. This night Lin Rufei almost did not sleep much. It wasn¡¯t until the early hours of the morning did he take a nap in a daze for a moment. After dawn, the rain also stopped. Lin Rufei got up from the bed feeling unwell and he intermittently let out a few coughs. Fu Hua worriedly took a look and realized that Lin Rufei was having a fever again. These illnesses had been the norm for Lin Rufei so he wasn¡¯t too bothered about it. After drinking a dose of medicine, he asked Fu Hua to tell Fu Yu that he would come to see him later. But Fu Hua was a bit worried, ¡°Young master, let¡¯s ask the doctor to take a look first. You are weak so you can¡¯t drag it out. You can visit that Fu something Yu a few days later.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, ¡°We are guests, after all, it¡¯s not quite right to leave the hosts hanging.¡± Although he did not like either the Fu family or the Fu Yu, he still had to observe the basic etiquette. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s resolute attitude, Fu Hua could not persuade him any further. She could only agree and leave. Yu Rui took Mo Mo to the kitchen and planned to make some light food for Lin Rufei to eat. Lin Rufei was dizzy and drowsy. He leaned on the bed with his eyes closed, when he faintly heard the sound of footsteps coming from outside. He opened his eyes and saw Fu Hua standing at the door with a panting face full of distress. She called out, ¡°Young master.¡± Lin Rufei hummed in response. Fu Hua lowered her voice: ¡°Fu Yu, Fu gongzi heard that you are sick so he didn¡¯t want to trouble you to go over again ¡­¡­ so¡­¡­ he wanted to come over personally.¡± As she finished, she pointed to the door, indicating that Fu Yu was outside. Lin Rufei frowned. He was still lying in bed and had not freshened up so it was too rude to meet the guests like this. But the man was already at the door, so he couldn¡¯t drive him away. Lin Rufei thought for a moment, then asked Fu Hua to go out and tell Fu Yu to wait a moment. He got up from the bed, changed his clothes, and simply tidied up his appearance. After that, did he ask Fu Hua to invite the man in. Fu Yu followed Fu Hua into the room. He smiled and bowed to Lin Rufei, calling him ¡°Lin gongzi¡± in a polite manner. Lin Rufei leaned back in his chair, coughed lowly twice, and said, ¡°Fu gongzi.¡± He finally saw Fu Yu¡¯s appearance. Yesterday, he only heard his voice but did not see his appearance. It wasn¡¯t as deep of an impression as today¡¯s sight. This Fu Yu didn¡¯t look too old. He had a heroic appearance and his looks weren¡¯t bad. Just that there was a frivolous feeling flowing between his eyebrows. He was currently standing at Lin Rufei and sizing him up, making it such a pity for those proper eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, Lin gongzi. After seeing you today, you are really something else.¡± Fu Yu smiled, ¡°I was out on an errand a few days ago, sorry for making Lin gongzi wait for a long time.¡± He said, ¡°Why is Lin gongzi coughing so hard, are you not feeling well?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I just accidentally caught a cold, it¡¯s nothing serious.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°Oh, this weather is hot so it is easy to catch a cold if you are seeking for coolness. Lin gongzi, you should be more careful.¡± Lin Rufei saw that the courtesy was almost finished, so he took out the invitation in his arms and wanted to hand it to Fu Yu. However, at that time, Yu Rui, who was making porridge outside, happened to come in. When she just entered the door and saw Fu Yu, her smile froze on her face. Fu Yu also looked towards her, but this gaze fell on Mo Mo who was being held in Yu Rui¡¯s arms. Fu Yu instantly changed his expression and he angrily shouted: ¡°Why are you here?!¡± Mo Mo, who was yelled at by Fu Yu, opened his mouth and cried out. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Stop pinching him. My, Gu Xuandu¡¯s, face feels a million times better than his! Lin Rufei: You¡¯re already an old man of a few hundred years old, don¡¯t you feel embarrassed? Gu Xuandu: Hmph. Even if I am a few hundred years old, I still have a soft face. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] track something by following clues. [2] ³Ô°Ù¼Ò·¹ ¨C eating food from a hundred families: Another way of saying that he went around begging for leftovers. [3] ÉùÉ«¹·Âí ¨C drown oneself in sex and pleasures. CH 49 Fu Hua was startled by this situation. She went over to take Mo Mo and then backed up a few steps. She was on guard against Fu Yu who was looking at him. Fu Yu, however, ignored Fu Hua. He had his eyes dead set on Mo Mo and the corners of his mouth pulled up into a very forced smile: ¡°Where did you find him?¡± He also sensed that his attitude was inappropriate and wanted to pretend to be amiable. However, his initial performance had already revealed his most primitive thoughts, and seeing him come over, Fu Hua directly bypassed him and went to Lin Rufei¡¯s side in a few steps. Lin Rufei reached out and directly picked up Mo Mo from Fu Hua¡¯s arms. Mo Mo was scared to death from Fu Yu¡¯s initial holler. Trembling, he shrunk into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms. He could not stop choking or sobbing. However, what made people feel incomprehensible was that even so, there was an eagerness in his(MM) eyes when he looked at Fu Yu. Even at this time, he could not stop turning his head to look at Fu Yu. ¡°Lin gongzi, where did you find him?¡± Fu Yu gritted his teeth, ¡°He ¡­¡­ is the child of our Fu family.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How can a child of the Fu family be outside?¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°That¡¯s a long story.¡± He collected his fierce anger, walked to the chair next to him, and sat down, ¡°He is my child, but he was abducted by criminals. I was never able to find him, but I never expected he would run into Lin gongzi.¡± These words sounded very grand and dignified, but looking at Fu Yu¡¯s initial reaction, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t believe a single word. If Mo Mo was really the child that Fu Yu accidentally lost, then how could his first reaction be furious when he saw Mo Mo. Furthermore, the place where Mo Mo was lost was not far from the Fu family, if the Fu family really had the intention, then they certainly would have been able to find him. But in this way, the identity of Mo Mo could also be confirmed. He must have had a relationship with the Fu family and it wasn¡¯t a good relationship. Fu Yu said: ¡°In any case, I have to thank Lin gongzi for bringing back Mo Mo. Mo Mo, come ¡­¡­¡± he extended his hand to Mo Mo, showing a kind smile, ¡°Come here to daddy.¡± When Mo Mo saw Fu Yu¡¯s smile, his face showed a little hesitation. It looked like he was really thinking about whether to extend his hand towards Fu Yu. ¡°Come on.¡± Fu Yu called again, ¡°Mo Mo? Come here, it¡¯s not proper to stay in the guest¡¯s arm.¡± Mo Mo looked up at Lin Rufei and then looked at Fu Yu. Lin Rufei¡¯s mind suddenly became keen. He secretly pulled out a piece of Mo Mo¡¯s favorite malt candy from his sleeve and quietly stuffed it into Mo Mo¡¯s hand. Mo Mo, who got the candy, immediately rebelled. He shook his head at Fu Yu and buried his face into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms again. Fu Yu¡¯s expression changed greatly and angrily called out: ¡°Mo Mo¡ª¡ª¡± Mo Mo simply ignored him. Seeing that Mo Mo was ignoring him, a gloomy aura surfaced between his eyebrows, ¡°Mo Mo, are you really not coming over?¡± Mo Mo shuddered slightly in fear. It looked like he was about to be frightened into tears again. Lin Rufei said indifferently, ¡°Since Fu gongzi is Mo Mo¡¯s father, there is no need to scare the child like this.¡± Fu Yu gruffly said, ¡°Lin gongzi, this is my Fu family¡¯s matter. Although you are an honored guest, it seems inappropriate to interfere so rashly.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not appropriate.¡± When Fu Yu saw Lin Rufei say this, he looked slightly relieved: ¡°Lin gongzi is really a person who understands things.¡± He thought Lin Rufei had compromised, so he smiled and reached out his hand again, gesturing for Lin Rufei to pass Mo Mo to his hand. But who knew that Lin Rufei¡¯s next words would be, ¡°But, occasionally, I am not such a reasonable person.¡± He reached out and hugged the little guy in his arms tightly. He said to Fu Yu, ¡°Sorry, Fu gongzi.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s face turned pale. He seemed to want to have a fit, but due to Lin Rufei¡¯s status, he held back and finally could only grit his teeth, ¡°Is Lin gongzi not going to give my Fu family this face?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Fu gongzi¡¯s words are too serious. Look at Mo Mo, it¡¯s not like he only has been outside for a day or two. Since this is the case, why is Fu gongzi so anxious to get back?¡± Fu Yu was speechless for a moment before he said with his anger suppressed, ¡°What does Lin gongzi want to do?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Nothing. Fu gongzi has many sons and daughters, I think having no Mo Mo should be fine too.¡± He seemed to want to draw his sword, but in the end, he held back. He barely managed to pull off a stiff smile: ¡°Lin gongzi, why are you doing this?¡± Lin Rufei ignored him and took out the invitation from his pocket. He instructed Fu Hua to hand it over to Fu Yu, but Fu Yu did not take it at all. He said coldly: ¡°Lin gongzi is so disrespectful to my Fu family, this Kunlun sword competition, I won¡¯t go.¡± Lin Rufei said indifferently, ¡°I am only responsible for delivering it, as for how Fu gongzi wants to treat the invitation, it is all your business.¡± When Fu Yu heard the words, he took the invitation, raised his hand, and then tore it. In the blink of an eye, the invitation was torn to pieces. When he was tearing it, Mo Mo, who was in Lin Rufei¡¯s arms, suddenly burst into tears. He was chanting something vaguely as big tears spilled out of his eyes. When Fu Hua saw this kind of behavior from Fu Yu, she directly pulled out the sword on her waist and reprimanded: ¡°Fu gongzi, you are too much¡ª¡± Fu Yu sneered and spread his hands, ¡°It was your Lin family that didn¡¯t give face to our Fu family first.¡± He glared at Lin Rufei¡¯s direction, thinking that Lin Rufei would be furious because the invitation had been torn. However, who knew that Lin Rufei would look at him with a calm and almost indifferent look. This made Fu Yu even more uncomfortable¡ªit was a gaze as if he was looking at an ant. ¡°Lin gongzi¡­..¡± Fu Yu shivered under this gaze of Lin Rufei¡¯s. He didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly regretted this excessive action of his. He was about to say something to save the situation when he saw Lin Rufei wave his hand, indicating that he could go now. ¡°Whether or not Fu gongzi participates in the sword competition is Fu gongzi¡¯s freedom.¡± Lin Rufei said indifferently, ¡°Since the invitation has been delivered, we will leave tomorrow.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°Then Mo Mo ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Naturally, we are taking Mo Mo with us.¡± Fu Yu stood up with a scuffle. ¡°If Fu gongzi does not agree, I will not use the Lin family to suppress you. Let¡¯s settle this the swordsman way.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Have a match, and if you lose you must shut up.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s Adam¡¯s Apple bobbed and his expression changed as if there were countless words he wanted to say. However, in the end, they all turned into a sorrowful sigh, ¡°Why do you need to meddle in affairs, Lin gongzi?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I want to[1].¡± Fu Yu was speechless, he thought Lin Rufei would say something big and reasonable. But who knew that Lin Rufei would slightly raise his chin and spat out such three words that people could not refute. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Thousands of gold couldn¡¯t buy his willingness¡ª¡ªIf Lin Rufei wanted to, no one could stop him. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Please, Fu gongzi.¡± He didn¡¯t want to talk to Fu Yu anymore and gestured to Fu Hua to send the guest away. Fu Yu was very reluctant, but facing Lin Rufei¡¯s tough attitude to send him off, he finally did not say anything. He got up and left. When he left, veins could be seen popping out on the hand that was holding the sword hilt on his waist. However, he never pulled out the sword. ¡°This Fu Yu is really not a good thing.¡± After sending away Fu Yu, the maids, who had their hearts set on Mo Mo, couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°He also said that Mo Mo was lost. If he was lost couldn¡¯t they go find him? This place isn¡¯t that big and looking at Mo Mo¡¯s appearance, it¡¯s doesn¡¯t like he¡¯s only been outside for a day or two¡­¡­¡± Mo Mo shrunk in Lin Rufei¡¯s arms. He was ignorantly eating the malt candy in his hand. He was at a loss and didn¡¯t know what the adults were actually talking about. Lin Rufei stroked his soft hair and said, ¡°Indeed, it is very strange.¡± What was strange was not why Fu Yu didn¡¯t look for Mo Mo, but that Fu Yu would deliberately offend the Lin family for such a seemingly unimportant child. If Mo Mo was just an unloved child, Fu Yu¡¯s reaction would not be so strong. However, if he was loved, then how could Fu Yu let him wander outside? This was already a very contradictory matter. ¡°So young master, are we really going to take Mo Mo away?¡± Yu Rui asked, ¡°After all, Mo Mo is a child of the Fu family, wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head without saying anything, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡± He did not mind taking Mo Mo away. With the Fu family¡¯s ability, they could not keep him. If Mo Mo stayed and the result was that he still had to continue to beg[2], then he might as well take Mo Mo away. The Fu family had arranged a sumptuous dinner in the evening, but because of the unhappy relationship between Lin Rufei and Fu Yu, it was cancelled. The good thing was that Lin Rufei was not interested in this dinner, so not going was a good thing. Mo Mo¡¯s mood recovered quickly and not long after Fu Yu left, he played with Fu Hua and the rest in the courtyard again. Lin Rufei felt a little stuffy in the house and planned to simply go out with Gu Xuandu for a walk. The two of them were following the path to leave the Fu family¡¯s ancestral home when they happened to see the second son of the Fu family laughing with some women, he was still wearing the same purple clothes. When he noticed Lin Rufei, he smiled and greeted him. Lin Rufei returned his greeting and planned to leave but he heard him ask from behind, ¡°Were you the one who brought Mo Mo back?¡± Lin Rufei paused slightly: ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Then Lin gongzi should be more careful.¡± The Fu family¡¯s second son said, ¡°That Mo Mo is my big brother¡¯s favorite child.¡± He emphasized the word favorite. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at him. ¡°If you want to take him away just like that, my big brother will absolutely not agree.¡± He kneaded the soft waist of his concubines leaning in his arms, causing them to burst out in a peal of laughter as he spoke in an indifferent manner. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where is Mo Mo¡¯s mother?¡± ¡°Dead.¡± Fu Er Gongzi said, ¡°Everyone says she¡¯s dead, although I haven¡¯t seen her before ¡­¡­ ¡± he narrowed his eyes and smiled extraordinarily frivolously, ¡°But she was probably a beauty too.¡± Lin Rufei gave him a deep look, ¡°I understand. Thank you for your good intentions, Fu Er Gongzi.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Lin gongzi.¡± Fu Er Gongzi lazily said, ¡°The days are getting more and more boring. Once I¡¯m bored, I want to find things to do¡­..¡± As he said this, he looked towards the sky, ¡°When will there be another rain?¡± After saying goodbye to Fu Er Gongzi, Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu strolled out of the Fu Family Village again. After the efforts from their previous days, with some more effort tonight, they should be able to touch the big formation¡¯s eye. ¡°It¡¯s really strange, can that Fu Yu really set up such a big formation?¡± A few days ago, Lin Rufei thought that this big formation was laid by Fu Yu, but once he met with him today, he somewhat overturned his thoughts. Although this Fu Yu had sword Qi on his body, it was very thin, not at all like the rumored powerful swordsman. How could such a person be capable of laying such an formation? Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Indeed, this big formation doesn¡¯t look like it was laid by him. Wanting to know who laid it, the eye of the formation should be the key.¡± Lin Rufei pondered for a moment and said, ¡°The eye of the formation is near here, right?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Should be.¡± Nearby was a dense field of crops. There was rice, corn, and other plants. At first glance, it looked no different from other places. But if one felt carefully, they would find that the spiritual energy here was much denser than the surrounding area, and even the crops planted were also more luxuriant than in other areas. ¡°That area at the eye of the formation will definitely be different from other places.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Look carefully, you can definitely find the difference.¡± Lin Rufei did what Gu Xuandu said and carefully observed the surroundings. Soon, there really was a discovery. In the dense crops, there were a few very abrupt boulders. At first glance, these boulders looked ordinary, but if one looked carefully, one would find that those boulders were carved with a series of dense scriptures. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand, but Gu Xuandu understood it. His expression became a little serious: ¡°The formation eye is definitely nearby.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What is written in the scriptures?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The incantation for the afterlife.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°The incantation for the afterlife?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Normally it is used to transcend[3] the dead, but ¡­¡­ using it here.¡± He reached out and touched the boulder. His original white fingers actually became instantly scorched black, ¡°Obviously, with no good intentions.¡± Lin Rufei was startled by Gu Xuandu¡¯s action, ¡°Senior, your hand ¡­¡­¡± Seeing that Gu Xuandu still wanted to put his hand up, he hastily reached out and grabbed Gu Xuandu¡¯s wrist, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it.¡± After Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand was grabbed by Lin Rufei, his eyes averted and a pained hissed escaped his mouth. Lin Rufei did not notice the change in Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression. Seeing that the wound on Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand was so serious, he said urgently, ¡°Is this injury to senior¡¯s divine soul? Will there be any after-effects? Does it hurt a lot?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Yes, it hurts a little.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then what should we do?!¡± Injuries to the soul were very serious, unlike the physical body that can heal back on its own, even a small wound can have very serious consequences. Gu Xuandu said seriously: ¡°Human saliva should be able to relieve the burning, how about ¡­¡­ Xiao Jiu help me suck on it?¡± Lin Rufei froze: ¡°Ah?¡± Gu Xuandu also did not force. He acted out a sigh of disappointment: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to then forget it.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s fingers were white and slender. They were very beautiful, but now there was a bloody scorch mark on it making it look hideous. It really made people¡¯s hearts ache. Lin Rufei was stunned for a moment and his tone contained some doubt: ¡°Will sucking really help?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Seeing Gu Xuandu¡¯s affirmation, Lin Rufei directly took Gu Xuandu¡¯s finger into his mouth. The tip of his tongue unsurprisingly tasted a fishy sweet taste, which should be the blood flowing from Gu Xuandu¡¯s finger. Gu Xuandu was actually just joking with Lin Rufei. He didn¡¯t expect him to actually take his finger into his mouth without hesitation. His fingertips touched Lin Rufei¡¯s hot tongue and his originally clear black eyes instantly sank as if it was a sky that was about to rain. Lin Rufei was oblivious. He was seriously licking Gu Xuandu¡¯s fingertip to make sure that the fishy sweet taste was gone before taking it out. After taking a closer look, he was surprised, ¡°It¡¯s really healed!¡± The scorch marks were gone and Gu Xuandu¡¯s finger was once again as white as an onion root. He did not expect saliva to have such an effect, Gu Xuandu was actually not joking. Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes were sunken. He stared at Lin Rufei without speaking. Lin Rufei was creeped out by his stare and called out, ¡°Senior?¡± This call of ¡°senior¡± seemed to remind Gu Xuandu of something. He looked at his intact finger and sighed, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Lin Rufei quickly put this behind him and studied the boulder in front of him again, ¡°What is the purpose of carving so many incantations for the afterlife at the eyes of this formation.¡± He pondered for a moment, ¡°Is it to suppress something?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Look again, there must be other clues around here.¡± Laying out a formation requires a relatively large space. The surrounding was full of crops and was not suitable for laying out a formation. If they wanted to lay one, then they certainly needed to clean up some of the surrounding plants. With Gu Xuandu¡¯s reminder, Lin Rufei quickly found a clue next to a large stone. The ground next to the stone was empty, covered only with a layer of soil, and it looked very suspicious. Under Gu Xuandu¡¯s helpless gaze, Lin Rufei happily took out his wooden shield and dug the soil away. Sure enough, he saw an iron plate covered under the soil. The iron plate was inlaid with a small ring. Lin Rufei grabbed the ring and pulled the plate up with a fierce force, revealing a dark hole. ¡°There¡¯s a tunnel!¡± Lin Rufei said in surprise. ¡°Most likely the formation should be laid inside the tunnel.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Should we go in and take a look?¡± Since they have reached this point, it would be unjustifiable not to go in and take a look. As Lin Rufei thought, he slowly climbed down the ladder on the wall of the tunnel. There was no light inside the tunnel. Lin Rufei took a fire torch[4] from his ring and lit it and could barely make out the situation around him. This tunnel should have been here for some years. The surrounding soil was not fresh and from the footprints on the ground, it seems that people didn¡¯t come in often. The tunnel was very narrow and was only barely enough for one person to pass. The good thing was that Lin Rufei wasn¡¯t too tall since Gu Xuandu had to lower his head to pass. Lin Rufei followed the tunnel all the way forward. During that period, he encountered some relatively simple traps that were easily avoided. After turning a corner, the originally narrowed tunnel opened up and Lin Rufei seemed to have come to a very wide room. However, the room was a bit large and the torch in his hand could not illuminate all of it. The good thing was that there were torches hanging on the wall next to him so Lin Rufei lit them one by one and finally got a clear view of the whole room. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This was a very simple mud house. The ground was painted with a huge round spiritual gathering formation and at this time, the spiritual gathering formation was still in operation. Lin Rufei, who was standing next to it, could clearly feel that there was a large amount of spiritual energy infused into this formation. Lin Rufei looked down at the formation carefully for a while and felt that although the formation was big, it didn¡¯t seem to have any other special features. As he was thinking this, a slight noise suddenly came from above his head. It was like the cold sound of iron chains colliding. Lin Rufei reflexively looked up and saw something hanging above his head. It was a huge black iron cage hovering in the pitch-black mid-air and there seemed to be something in the cage making it shake with impact. With the shaking of the cage, the chains that were hanging then emitted a subtle sound. ¡°That¡¯s ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened, wanting to see clearly what was in the iron cage. However, the firelight was too dim so he could not interpret it no matter what. Gu Xuandu wrinkled his brow. He apparently saw clearly what was in the iron cage but did not tell Lin Rufei. Instead, he looked around at the walls and quickly found what he was looking for¡ªa mechanism embedded in the wall. Lin Rufei, reminded by Gu Xuandu, went to the mechanism and reached out to press it. Once the mechanism was opened, the iron cage rumbled. Accompanied by flying dust, it fell to the ground. The thing inside the cage, under the illumination of the dim light, also entered Lin Rufei¡¯s vision. When he thoroughly saw what was inside, he could not help but reveal a stunned look. It was actually a person that was lying in the huge iron cage. He seemed to have no consciousness and there were no visible undulations. It was like a lifeless corpse. And what shocked Lin Rufei the most was that this person¡¯s face¡ªwas exactly the same as Fu Yu. ¡°Fu Yu?!¡± Lin Rufei screamed out, ¡°How could he be here¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu walked to the iron cage. He pulled out Shuang Jiang and cut the exaggerated iron cables on the cage. Then he reached out and pulled the cage open. He walked in and carefully observed the man lying inside, who looked exactly like Fu Yu, and shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s too late[5].¡± Lin Rufei looked astonished. He also went forward to probe the nostrils of Fu Yu: ¡°Isn¡¯t there still breath?¡± Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Although his body is still here, his soul has already left. If we found him earlier, there may still be a chance ¡­¡­ unfortunately ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei understood Gu Xuandu¡¯s meaning, he looked at the huge spirit gathering formation at his feet and said in a strained voice: ¡°The core of this formation is Fu Yu?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. A powerful sword cultivator naturally contained thousands of spiritual Qi inside his body. If these spiritual Qi were pumped out with the spirit gathering formation, then it was enough to nourish all things. The reason why those crops around the Fu Family Village could grow so well on the saline land was because of the spiritual Qi nourishment. And now, the source of the spiritual Qi was right in front of their eyes. ¡°Then what is that Fu Yu in the Fu Family Village?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°He does have sword intent on him.¡± Gu Xuandu stared at the dying Fu Yu in front of him. He sighed slightly and shook his head. Several times it looked like he wanted to say something, but ended up not saying the words. Lin Rufei touched Fu Yu¡¯s pulse to make sure he was still alive. However, according to Gu Xuandu, even if he was alive at this time, he was probably just a walking corpse. ¡°Take him away?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Gu Xuandu pondered for a moment: ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Lin Rufei doubted: ¡°Why?¡± Gu Xuandu let out a long sigh and finally said the words, ¡°Fu Yu¡¯s body is very healthy. There is not a single wound and I can¡¯t see any restrictions on him.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°So?¡± Gu Xuandu gave him a look, ¡°So, he probably stayed here voluntarily.¡± Lin Rufei lost his voice, ¡°How is that possible, how can someone stay here voluntarily?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°And how do you know it¡¯s impossible?¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. Gu Xuandu said in a deep voice: ¡°Although there are not many, but in this world, there are always one or two fools that are hard to understand.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: In fact, there is another method to treat wounds. Lin Rufei: If you have something to say, then say it. Why are you taking off my clothes? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] So the phrase here has a deeper meaning than just ¡°I want to¡± but because in Chinese, it¡¯s only three characters, I didn¡¯t want to be so excessive. What is implied here is: I will do anything that I like, and don¡¯t care about others¡¯ opinions. [2] Beg as in begging for food, money, clothes, etc. [3] perform religious ceremonies to help the soul find peace. [4] We¡¯ve all seen this at least once in ancient Chinese dramas and wondered how it worked CH 50 However, when he saw the Fu Yu trapped in the eye of the formation in front of him, the doubts in his mind abruptly cleared up. Fu Yu in the Fu Family Village was not the real Fu Yu. This dying man in front of him should be the powerful swordsman who was rumored to have another chance in Jianghu. ¡°What should we do now?¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Go back to the Fu Family Village first to understand what is going on?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s the only way to go.¡± If they move the formation¡¯s eye, Fu Yu, away from the spirit gathering formation, then the formation would be irreversibly damaged and if they wanted to start it up again, it won¡¯t be easy. Now everything was the same as seeing flowers in the fog[1], although Lin Rufei vaguely guessed what was going on, he still didn¡¯t know the complete truth. After Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu restored the place, they left the formation. They intended to go back to the village first. But before going back, Lin Rufei found a few farmers around, who had nothing to do, gave them some dry food, and then asked about the previous affairs of the Fu Family Village. ¡°In the past, huh? In the past, this was a poor place too.¡± The farmer wolfed down the food while talking with Lin Rufei about what he wanted to know, ¡°It was saline land everywhere and all the crops planted died. We also had no more methods so we did some other work to barely survive. Although the days are hard, we were able to barely get by ¡­¡­¡± As he said this, he let out a bitter smile, ¡°But it was better than now.¡± This was similar to what Lin Rufei guessed, he asked, ¡°But I see that the crops around here are growing very well, ah.¡± ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s only in recent years.¡± The farmer said, ¡°The Fu family said they came up with a method to turn the saline land into good land for growing crops, we just thought they were joking at first, but who knew it would really become ¡­¡­¡± He quickly ate his fill and looked around to make sure no one saw him. He then stuffed the rest of the dry food carefully into his clothes. ¡°So how come you guys still look like this now?¡± Lin Rufei said curiously, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the days get better?¡± The farmer snorted with laughter at his words, ¡°Guest, you are too naive ¡­¡­ but it¡¯s not your fault, we thought the same thing at that time, it¡¯s just a pity that, ah ¡­¡­ a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.¡± He spoke in an indignant tone and continued the next story. It turned out that before the Fu family came up with this method, they began to privately buy land from the hands of farmers. The salt-alkaline land was barren, even if they kept it, it was useless. So the farmers sold all the lands that were in their hands. However, who knew that after a period of time, they didn¡¯t know what kind of method the Fu family used but the crops planted on the land didn¡¯t wither. Instead, they began to grow luxuriantly. These crops took the farmers by surprise. Originally, they wanted to go to the Fu family to riot, but when they remembered that the Fu family had a powerful sword cultivator, Fu Yu, they could only stop. ¡°Then the Fu family became richer and richer.¡± The farmer said, ¡°That Fu Yu could originally also be considered a good person. However, after their family became rich, he became more and more outrageous. His sword skills are powerful, ah, no one dares to provoke him within a hundred miles. When people see him, they all hatefully avoid him¡­¡­..¡± In the beginning, Fu Yu¡¯s sword cultivation had a somewhat unconventional gambit feel to it. When he returned home, he challenged all the swordsmen within the hundred miles. As a result, the people were more fearful of him. Lin Rufei listened with a frown, he suddenly remembered something and asked: ¡°In the Fu family, how many people are there in Fu Yu¡¯s generation?¡± The farmer said, ¡°How many people? A total of three.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Which one is Fu Yu?¡± The farmer said, ¡°The first one, he is the eldest son of the Fu family.¡± This wasn¡¯t a problem, but the next sentence the farmer said made Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widen. The farmer said, ¡°He also has a twin brother named Fu Shui, but he¡¯s different from Fu Yu. Fu Shui also practices swords, but he really has little success.¡± Lin Rufei immediately grew excited: ¡°Fu Shui? Is he the one who likes to wear purple clothes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s their third young master, ah.¡± The farmer obviously also knew the frivolous man who liked to wear purple clothes, ¡°His temperament isn¡¯t very good¡­..alas, the Fu family is like that, addicted to women. They want to marry all the nearby beautiful women into the family.¡± He shook his head, full of disdain. Lin Rufei hastily asked about the matter regarding Fu Shui and asked the farmer to give him a detailed account. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The farmer did not understand why Lin Rufei was so interested in this Fu Shui, but still told him everything he knew. It turned out that Fu Yu and Fu Shui were twins, the elder brother was named Fu Yu, and the younger brother was named Fu Shui. Although both practice swords, because of the conditions, they weren¡¯t that great. After all, these days, young people who could make a name for themselves either have an outstanding natural talent or are born into a wealthy family. Those like Fu Yu and Fu Shui, children of a small family with mediocre natural talent, naturally have no chance of making a name for themselves. But fortunately, God had mercy. In an accident, Fu Yu had a strange encounter and suddenly his cultivation soared. Soon, his sword skills became much more powerful. ¡°These two boys were ones that I watched grow up. Fu Yu is calmer in nature and has a good temper.¡± The farmer said, ¡°We are quite happy for him, but unfortunately ¡­¡­ later when his family became rich, he also changed.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What about Fu Shui, how come I haven¡¯t seen him?¡± The farmer said, ¡°I heard that he had a conflict with the Fu family and left on his own. He was saying that he was also going to look for a strange encounter like Fu Yu.¡± He scoffed twice, ¡°This encounter is not that easy to find. He thinks that everyone has the same blessing as Fu Yu.¡± He also shook his head with disdain. It seems that he indeed had a very bad impression of this Fu Shui. ¡°Then do you know if Fu Yu has a child named Mo Mo?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Mo Mo? I don¡¯t know.¡± The farmer waved his hand and said, ¡°After the Fu family became rich, Fu Yu married a dozen wives and gave birth to a bunch of children. There were five or six of them who died prematurely, who knows which child is called what.¡± Lin Rufei remembered the group of children he saw inside the Fu family courtyard and thought it was normal for outsiders not to know which one was which. ¡°Does the guest have anything else to ask?¡± The farmer rubbed his hands, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing more to ask, I¡¯ll go over there to ask for some water.¡± ¡°You go ahead.¡± Lin Rufei learned everything he wanted to know. The farmer then got up and left. Lin Rufei looked at his back and fell into deep thought, a moment later, he said, ¡°Since Fu Shui is not Fu Yu, then if we want to prove this matter, it will be very simple, right.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It is indeed very simple¡ª¡± He paused for a moment. When he noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s eager look, he continued with a bit of helplessness, ¡°Can you not use the shield?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But the shield is very convenient.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°But it¡¯s ugly.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°It¡¯s also very sturdy.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°But it¡¯s ugly.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°I¡¯m very happy with it ¡­¡­¡± Faced with the insistent Lin Rufei, Gu Xuandu¡¯s resentment almost turned concrete. He didn¡¯t know how many times he cursed Mo Zhaocai in his heart before it finally turned into a sigh: ¡°Forget it, you can use it.¡± Lin Rufei nodded happily. The weather in the afternoon was really hot. When Lin Rufei returned to the Fu family under the scorching sun, he was already covered in sweat. The good thing was that his body was naturally cold so Summer wasn¡¯t too difficult. When he sat under the eaves for a while, the Summer heat was mostly gone. Mo Mo cried in the morning. After he ate lunch, he then took a nap, and only now did he wake up in a daze. He sat obediently at the table drinking the Tremella soup boiled by Fu Hua. When Lin Rufei touched his head, he raised his face and gave Lin Rufei a cautious smile. Lin Rufei saw that the sun was about to set outside and thought it was about time, so he got up and planned to go outside. When Fu Hua saw that he was going out, she asked him what he was going to do. ¡°I¡¯m going to find the Fu family¡¯s eldest son for a chat.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You can have your dinner with Mo Mo, no need to wait for me.¡± Yu Rui pouted, ¡°That Fu Yu is so annoying, why is gongzi still looking for him?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. He instructed Yu Rui to go inside and keep Fu Hua company. After leaving the courtyard, Lin Rufei asked the Fu family underlings where Fu Yu lived, and then slowly and leisurely walked there. Halfway there, he saw the youngest son of the Fu family in purple sitting in the pavilion playing with the maids. It was funny because they had met several times, but Lin Rufei still didn¡¯t know his name. The servant who led the way was very perceptive and when Lin Rufei asked, he said that was the little gongzi of this family, named Fu Xi. The name Fu Xi ¡­¡­ was quite a festive name. Lin Rufei smiled, but this name was very different from this man¡¯s pretend suave image. (t/n: Fu[their surname] = Pay. Yu = Fish; Shui = Water, Xi = Happiness. So, Pay Fish, Pay Water and Pay Happiness) ¡°Where is Lin gongzi going?¡± When Fu Xi saw Lin Rufei, he stopped moving his hands and came over with the same enthusiasm as before. Lin Rufei said, ¡°To find your brother.¡± Fu Xi said, ¡°My brother ¡­¡­? What do you want to find my brother for?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°For a sword competition.¡± Fu Xi¡¯s expression froze, seemingly not expecting Lin Rufei to say such a sentence. He said quietly, ¡°Why is Lin gongzi looking for my brother to compete in a sword fight?¡± Lin Rufei took a look at him and said seriously, ¡°A swordsman needs a reason to fight?¡± It was true that there was no need. The rules of Jianghu were like that, especially since Lin Rufei was also a valued guest of the Fu family, so Fu Yu had no reason to refuse. After Lin Rufei said this, he saw the expression on Fu Xi¡¯s face change rapidly; fear, worry, horror, and then doubt. However, it finally turned into a frankness wrapped in a sigh: ¡°It seems that the rain is about to fall.¡± After saying that, he smiled, balled his hand, and bowed at Lin Rufei, ¡°Then I will wish Lin gongzi victory in a single move.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Thank you for your kind words.¡± The place where Fu Yu lived was in the middle of the Fu family¡¯s ancestral house; the one that looked the most exaggerated. From the outside, the house looked like it had thirteen floors, each of which was carved and decorated with gorgeous beams. Even before entering, one could smell the strong fragrance of cosmetic powder coming from inside, which was a bit choking. The servant asked Lin Rufei to wait outside for a moment as he went in first to report with Fu Yu. Taking advantage of this time, Lin Rufei carefully observed the building in front of him, and could not help but frown. He felt that no matter how he looked, it was an eyesore. Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s serious expression and couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°What¡¯s with Xiao Jiu¡¯s expression?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think this house is ugly?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Ugly? At least it¡¯s better than that wooden shield of yours.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­ The wooden shield is passable, right?¡± Gu Xuandu said seriously: ¡°Definitely not passable.¡± Lin Rufei did not say anything. He knew that his senior really disliked the wooden shield, but it didn¡¯t matter since he was the one using it anyway. The servant soon came out and said that Da Gongzi was waiting in the room. Lin Rufei stepped into the room and just after entering the hall, he saw Fu Yu sitting in the middle, holding a gentle and beautiful concubine in his arms. The concubine was not embarrassed to see Lin Rufei, instead, she cast an enchanting smile and softly called out a ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± ¡°I wonder what Lin gongzi needs?¡± Fu Yu looked at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s eyes lit up, thinking that Lin Rufei came to talk about Mo Mo: ¡°Lin gongzi is leaving tomorrow? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not convenient to bring Mo Mo with you. I have many children and I am not too concerned about the children, but with Lin gongzi¡¯s reminder, I will definitely treat Mo Mo well in the future.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head: ¡°I¡¯m not here to talk about Mo Mo.¡± Originally, Fu Yu had already stood up in excitement, but when he heard Lin Rufei¡¯s words, he sat back in his chair and said in a cold voice: ¡°Then what is the reason for Lin gongzi¡¯s visit?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him and said it one word at a time: ¡°I am here to find you for a sword competition.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s expression froze instantly, ¡°Lin gongzi ¡­¡­ what did you say?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I said, I am here to find you for a sword competition.¡± This was the first time that Lin Rufei had taken the initiative to find someone to compete in a sword fight. Before that, whether it was Wang Teng or Liu Rugong, he felt a bit forced. However, at this moment, the person who proposed the sword fight became Lin Rufei. A smile appeared on Fu Yu¡¯s face, but it looked incredibly stiff, ¡°Why did you say that, Lin gongzi? Is it because our Fu family¡¯s hospitality was lacking?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s because your Fu family¡¯s hospitality is poor.¡± Since it had come to this point, he had no intention on giving face to Fu Yu. Besides, whether this person in front of him was Fu Yu or not was still another story. He slightly raised his chin, his words were cold and impersonal, ¡°I am here to deliver the invitation to Fu Yu, Fu gongzi. Since Fu gongzi did not give face to my Lin family and directly tore the invitation, then you must have some skills. In that case, I, Lin Rufei, will represent the Lin family to witness it.¡± The invitation was just a random excuse that Lin Rufei found, but this excuse was very suitable so that Fu Yu had no chance to refuse. Fu Yu¡¯s face turned livid and his body trembled slightly, ¡°Why do you have to do this, Lin gongzi? Is it because the Lin family is a powerful family that they rely on power to bully others?¡± Rely on power to bully others? Lin Rufei savored this sentence and abruptly laughed. He was gentle in nature and was the same to everything and everyone. After living for more than twenty years, it was the first time he heard this word from others. Not only did he not feel annoyed, but he also felt very fresh. After he laughed, he looked at Fu Yu out of the corner of his eyes and spoke slowly: ¡°So what if I, Lin Rufei, have decided to rely on power to bully others today, what can you do to me?¡± Although he had a good temper, he was not a dough that could be kneaded that easily. In the Lin family, he had been spoiled as a treasure for more than twenty years. Even if he used the Lin family¡¯s reputation to bully others outside, not only would his family¡¯s brothers and sister not be angry, but they would be very happy. Besides, the man in front of him was a sheep in wolf¡¯s clothing[2], Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t be worried. He waved at Fu Yu and said, ¡°Fu family¡¯s Da Gongzi, is there anything else you want to say? Say it together, lest you don¡¯t have the chance later.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s Adam¡¯s Apple bobbed and he forced himself to be calm, ¡°Since Lin gongzi is so insistent, I can¡¯t refuse anymore, but I have been physically ill recently so could it be set back a little?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Physically ill?¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes twinkled and he let out a faint smile, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I can certainly understand.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s heart was finally slightly relieved at his words, but before his breath could fall, he heard a sentence that knocked him into the abyss. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I just don¡¯t know if it is Fu Yu or Fu Shui who is sick?¡± Fu Yu¡¯s face changed greatly as if he was struck by the words ¡°Fu Shui¡± that came out of Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth. However, he reacted quickly and the next moment he put on a forced smile to cover up his disorder, ¡°What do you mean by that, Lin gongzi? That Fu Shui is an unfilial son, our Fu family removed his name long ago ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t bother to talk to him anymore. He raised his hand and pulled out Gu Yu, pointing at the counterfeit in front of him, ¡°If you still want to be called Fu Yu¡ªdraw your sword!¡± Fu Yu lost all the color from his face. He knew that Lin Rufei would not give him a chance to delay and his trembling hand stroked the long sword at his waist with difficulty. He gripped the hilt tightly, but never pulled the blade out of the scabbard. At this point, all the reactions Fu Yu showed, had given the answer to the question Lin Rufei wanted to know. He looked at the so-called swordsman who could not even pull out the sword, sneered, and returned Gu Yu to its sheath: ¡°Fu Shui, you are not yet worthy of my sword.¡± Fu Yu ¡­¡­ no, Fu Shui¡¯s expression was instantly hideous to the extreme. He looked at Lin Rufei with resentment, ¡°Lin Gongzi, stop talking nonsense! Who is Fu Shui? I am Fu Yu!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You think you¡¯re worthy?¡± (t/n: In this case, he is referring to whether he was worthy to be Fu Yu) These words completely enraged Fu Yu. He let out a harsh hiss and actually lunged towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei did not dodge and unhesitatingly took out the wooden shield from his ring. He steadily, accurately, and quickly came at Fu Shui. Fu Shui did not expect Lin Rufei¡¯s sudden action and suddenly, like a kite with broken strings, he directly flew out and smashed heavily against the wooden chair behind him, making a loud noise. Lin Rufei touched his shield with satisfaction, but Gu Xuandu beside him pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache¡ªhe really must think of a way to confiscate this wooden shield, otherwise, he was afraid that Lin Rufei would take a strange road of no return. Lin Rufei was afraid of smashing Fu Shui to death, so he didn¡¯t use much sword Qi, but Fu Shui still fainted. The concubine next to him had been scared and cowered in the corner. When she saw this scene in front of her, she let out a terrified scream, turned around, and ran out. Lin Rufei took a look at her, ignored her, and walked towards Fu Shui. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Fu Shui was lying on the ground and he didn¡¯t know if he was dead or alive. Lin Rufei probed his nostrils to make sure he was still alive before he let out a sigh of relief. He casually found a chair next to him and sat down, sighing: ¡°Why is he so weak¡­¡­¡± He had already withdrawn his strength. Gu Xuandu said: ¡°I told you to use the sword.¡± Lin Rufei did not believe Gu Xuandu¡¯s nonsense: ¡°He fainted for so long when I used the shield. If I use the sword, wouldn¡¯t he lose his life?¡± Gu Xuandu thought about it, ¡°If he dies, he dies, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± So you just don¡¯t want me to use the shield, right? The two of them were too loud and a lot of the Fu family members had gathered outside the room. However, these people saw Fu Shui¡¯s miserable state from outside the door. They stuck their heads out to look around and they had an expression of wanting to enter but also didn¡¯t dare to. Lin Rufei ignored them. When he saw that Fu Shui was not waking up at all, he simply got up and squatted down. He grabbed Fu Shui¡¯s collar and slapped him a few times directly on the face. Gu Xuandu was stunned by Lin Rufei¡¯s direct and efficient yet slightly rough action and asked Lin Rufei who he had learned this from with wide eyes. Lin Rufei said, ¡°My third sister.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°This is not good, don¡¯t learn it in the future.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t wake up?¡± Gu Xuandu thought about it and rolled up his sleeves, ¡°It¡¯s okay, from now on you watch, I¡¯ll do it.¡± This kind of rough work was better for him to do. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but show a smile and coughed lowly a few times. Fu Shui, who was fiercely slapped several times by him, opened his eyes in a daze. He saw Lin Rufei¡¯s face close at hand and froze for a moment before reacting. He then reflexively turned to flee but was grabbed by Lin Rufei by the collar and pulled back. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Lin Rufei asked indifferently. But Fu Shui was spineless and began to beg for mercy. He no longer mentioned the matter regarding Fu Yu and only begged Lin Rufei to give face to the Fu family and spare his life. ¡°Where is Fu Yu?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why are you impersonating him?¡± ¡°Fu Yu ¡­¡­ Fu Yu ¡­¡­ is already dead.¡± Fu Shui shrunk his neck. He had completely lost the arrogance from when they first met, kind of like a turtle without a shell. When he was facing Lin Rufei¡¯s questioning, his voice was as thin as a mosquito, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but the Fu family only has one such swordsman, if he is gone, the Fu family will also suffer ¡­¡­ ¡° Lin Rufei said: ¡°Suffer? If you have not offended anyone, will you be afraid of suffering?¡± Fu Shui was speechless. ¡°Who set up that formation outside the village?¡± Lin Rufei asked the key question. ¡°It¡¯s my elder brother, it¡¯s my elder brother.¡± Fu Shui replied with trepidation, ¡°After the formation was laid, he disappeared, so I pretended to be him.¡± Lin Rufei raised his hand and gave him a slap. With a snap, Fu Shui¡¯s face was slapped to the side and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. When he turned back again, his face was covered with unconcealed panic, even tears fell from his eyes. He cried, ¡°You, what did you hit me for?¡± Lin Rufei said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Hit you? If you don¡¯t tell the truth, not only will I beat you, I will also take this dog life of yours. If you tell me honestly what is going on with Fu Yu and the formation, I can still keep you alive, if not¡ª¡± he narrowed his eyes and said coldly, ¡°You should know that your life is not worth anything.¡± As Fu Shui listened to Lin Rufei¡¯s words, he slowly hung his head. He sobbed loudly and said, ¡°I ¡­¡­ I really ¡­¡­¡± When he got to this point, he heard Lin Rufei softly tsk. All of a sudden, he started shaking like a sieve. He cried out, ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll say everything, don¡¯t kill me, don¡¯t kill me ¡­¡­¡± Only then did Lin Rufei show satisfaction. He quietly cast a glance at Gu Xuandu as if to say, ¡®see, I am powerful, just like this and I can make people cry in fear.¡¯ Gu Xuandu looked at his family¡¯s young master¡¯s smug look and his hand clenched into a fist as he pressed it against his lips, hiding the smirk at the corner of his mouth. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei proudly puffed out his chest: I¡¯m amazing, right? ! Gu Xuandu: Amazing, amazing. Lin Rufei: How is senior going to reward me? Gu Xuandu: I¡¯ll give you a big, big kiss! ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Blurred vision [2] Appearing fierce while cowardly at heart CH 51 Lin Rufei saw that Fu Shui was close to a breakdown so he let him go. He got up and found a wooden chair opposite him. He sat down, crossed his legs, and found a comfortable position: ¡°Say it.¡± Fu Shui was lying on the ground, his voice was a little low: ¡°Fu Yu, Fu Yu is my elder brother ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Louder.¡± Fu Shui had a bitter face but did not dare to refute Lin Rufei. He could only nod and raise his voice, ¡°Fu Yu is my elder brother, my name ¡­¡­ is Fu Shui.¡± Fu Yu was Fu Shui¡¯s elder brother. His nature was better than Fu Shui¡¯s and his talent was also better than Fu Shui. They were born in the salt and alkaline land of the Fu Family Village and in order to survive, they followed a martial arts school swordmaster to learn crude sword art. That swordmaster had cultivated for more than fifty years, but his cultivation level was still on the third level. If he was placed in Jianghu, he wasn¡¯t even worth being a shrimp stuck in between its teeth. But in a place like the Fu Family Village, it was enough. Fu Yu was born to practice the sword. Although he and Fu Shui practiced the same sword style, his cultivation was rapidly progressing. Soon, he caught up with their master. The swordmaster had no more things to teach to Fu Yu and Fu Yu then gave birth to the idea of wandering the world. ¡°We have been so poor for generations in the Fu Family Village, it is always necessary to think of some way.¡± Fu Yu sharpened his sword as he said this to his brother. ¡°What can we think of?¡± Fu Shui did not think so, ¡°Everywhere is saline land. Once the seeds are planted, they can¡¯t even sprout¡­¡­.¡± ¡°There will always be a way.¡± Fu Yu stubbornly said. Fu Shui only took these words as his brother¡¯s delusions of grandeur. If there was a way, then they would have had it a long time ago, and then the Fu Family Village wouldn¡¯t have been poor for a hundred years. It wasn¡¯t like they hadn¡¯t thought of moving away from here, but there was no suitable village and land nearby to accept them. So generation after generation, they had to just make do with what they had. Fu Yu left the house when he was fourteen years old. In the first few years, he still stayed in contact with his family but then a few years later, there was no more news. Jianghu was treacherous, just when everyone thought Fu Yu had died, he suddenly came back in style with his cultivation at the sixth level. As Fu Shui said this, he raised his hand and heavily rubbed his semi-red eyes: ¡°I really don¡¯t understand. Someone like my brother, how can he have such good luck and encounter such a good thing!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Are you jealous?¡± ¡°Who isn¡¯t jealous!¡± Fu Shui said with hatred, ¡°If it were you, watching your brother who grew up with you become so powerful and you can¡¯t do anything yourself, wouldn¡¯t you be jealous?!¡± Lin Rufei thought about it seriously and found that his situation and Fu Shui¡¯s were indeed similar. But in the past twenty years, he had never felt a trace of jealousy towards his brothers or sister. It wasn¡¯t a big deal if he couldn¡¯t lift a sword. Although there were some regrets, it wasn¡¯t so much as to give rise to malice. This may be the difference between people. He could not understand Fu Shu and Fu Shui could not understand him. Since he couldn¡¯t explain it clearly, he didn¡¯t bother to speak at all. Lin Rufei revealed a bored look and waved his hand to indicate that Fu Shui continued. Fu Shui took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and continued, ¡°After he came back, I thought he would take us out of this Fu Family Village, but who knew, he refused to ¡­¡­¡± A sword cultivator with a level six cultivation was enough for his family to live a rich life no matter where they are. As long as they leave this dead land where not an inch of grass grows ¡­¡­ However, Fu Yu actually refused Fu Shui¡¯s offer. He actually did not want to leave this place. ¡°Xiao Shui, I don¡¯t want to leave.¡± Faced with his brother¡¯s censure, Fu Yu looked very calm, ¡°The people in the Fu Family Village are too bitter, I have been thinking of ways to change this place before, and now there is finally a way.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Fu Shui asked. ¡°I learned a lot of formations with that senior. One of the formations is called the spirit gathering formation, with this formation, you can make crops grow on the saline land.¡± Fu Yu smiled and gently stroked his brother¡¯s head, just as he had done when he was young, ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking forward to it?¡± Fu Shui froze and he questioned, ¡°Really?¡± Fu Yu nodded, ¡°Naturally.¡± When Fu Shui heard this, he also showed a happy look. After all, who wouldn¡¯t like to see their hometown become rich. He and Fu Yu both grew up here. When they were young, their family was so poor that their father went out to work and their mother took the two brothers to beg on the roadside. They had suffered enough hardships. Later, when the two brothers got a little older, they were able to work at the martial arts school and the family¡¯s life was finally a bit better. But even so, they were full one day and starved for another. At ten years old, it was Fu Shui¡¯s first time tasting malt candy. Fu Yu was the one that bought the malt candy for him. It was only a thumb-sized piece and Fu Yu did not eat it. However, he carefully divided the candy in two, one for him, one for Fu Xi. To this day, Fu Shui still remembered the sweet taste. Fu Yu had always kept true to his promise. After a while, a strange stranger came to their home and began to help Fu Yu set up the formation. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Fu Shui was also very happy, until one day, Fu Yu suddenly found him and said he might have to leave for a while. ¡°Leave? Go where?¡± Fu Shui looked at his twin brother blankly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to set up a formation to plant crops? Has the formation been set up? Can the crops be planted?¡± Fu Yu said: ¡°Almost done, only the most important formation eye remains¡± Fu Shui: ¡°The formation eye?¡± Fu Yu smiled and said: ¡°Yes, the formation eye.¡± If it were some other person then perhaps they would have been fooled by Fu Yu. However, they were born as twins, naturally, they were the people who knew each other best in the world. Fu Shui said in a strained voice, ¡°You are lying to me, right? Brother, where are you going?¡± Fu Yu frowned slightly. Fu Shui: ¡°Is there something wrong with that formation?¡± Fu Yu did not answer and instead asked: ¡°Do you not want to see our family¡¯s fields produce crops?¡± How could Fu Shui not want to? With crops, their family would no longer have to starve. This was their own land, they could grow a lot of food and could live on this for generations. They no longer had to beg and look at other people¡¯s faces to live. This was Fu Shui and Fu Yu¡¯s biggest dream since childhood. However, at this time, Fu Yu swore that this dream would soon come true. Fu Shui felt that this was an unreal illusion. ¡°But brother, you are already a sixth-level sword cultivator.¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°You obviously can leave here ¡­¡­ you obviously don¡¯t have to care about them ¡­¡­¡± Fu Yu did not speak. He simply patted Fu Shui¡¯s head again. The action was very gentle, but firm enough, ¡°Xiao Shui, you do not understand.¡± Fu Shui looked at Fu Yu with bewilderment. He indeed did not understand, did not understand why Fu Yu made such a decision. The stubborn Fu Yu in his eyes was just like a fool. But how could a fool learn that powerful sword technique? Fu Yu did not open his mouth to explain again. Although the two were twins and were born from the same ovum, they had different dreams. What happened after that continued on logically. The formation was successfully laid, but Fu Yu needed to leave by himself. Before he left, he found Fu Shui and handed him the sword in his hand. He bothered him to safe keep it for a while. ¡°Why did you hand over such an important thing to me?¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to come back?¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°I will come back. When next year¡¯s crop is plentiful, I will come back.¡± Fu Shui stared dumbfoundedly at Fu Yu, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Those hands fell on his head again. The person in front of him smiled gently and the tone of his voice was also soothing as if it was still the same childhood brother who comforted his crying self because of hunger, ¡°Xiao Shui, wait for me to come back, okay?¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°You must remember to ¡­¡­ come back.¡± He held Fu Yu¡¯s sword. He bewilderedly thought that if a swordsman, who was going to travel far away, didn¡¯t even bring his sword ¡­¡­ would he really come back? Fu Yu had left, he left in a clear-cut manner. Before leaving, he urged the Fu family to remember to buy more seeds and to plant them in the coming Spring. When the time came, they would be able to harvest bountiful crops. If it only ended here, then this was probably a touching story. However, unfortunately, as the story developed to this point, it was also mixed with something else. The man who set up the formation with Fu Yu found the elders of the Fu family and after some private discussions with the elders, he suddenly lent the Fu family a large sum of money. ¡°Where did you get so much money?¡± Fu Shui asked his father, not understanding what he was going to do, ¡°So much money, what are you doing with it?¡± Father said, ¡°The man asked us to buy all the land around here.¡± Fu Shui Shui: ¡°Buy?¡± Father said: ¡°I guess so. Didn¡¯t Fu Yu say he wanted to lay a formation and that after the formation is laid, the ground could also produce crops? And then after that, wouldn¡¯t the land be worth more?¡± He rubbed his hands and discussed with his youngest son, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s what they mean?¡± Fu Shui looked at the eagerness on his father¡¯s face and for a moment he felt that he could not answer the question. He was not as noble as Fu Yu and the most important thing on his mind was how to keep himself fed. ¡°And that man also lent us such a large amount of money.¡± Father said, ¡°With this money, it should be enough to buy the surrounding land ¡­¡­¡± Fu Shui heard his voice carrying some hesitation. But yes, he did say so and he said, ¡°Then buy it.¡± Buy it, buy all the land around here. Anyway, it was also his brother who laid the formation so their family should deserve it, that was what Fu Shui told himself. Although the farmers were a bit surprised that the Fu family had to spend a lot of money to buy so much land. The saline land was of little value and could not be sold. Now that someone wanted to buy it, it was naturally a good thing. That Winter, the land deeds fell into the hands of the Fu family one after another. ¡°Later, when Spring arrived, I personally went to drop the seeds.¡± Fu Shui looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s expression gradually with some uncertainty as if he was caught in an inextricable memory, ¡°I have never farmed before so I didn¡¯t know if I even planted the seeds correctly. But it didn¡¯t seem to matter because only after a few days, the ground sprouted bright green new buds ¡­¡­ the saline land ¡­¡­ grew crops.¡± ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, I¡¯ve never seen such beautiful scenery. It only took about a few dozen days before the ground was covered in an emerald green. When the wind blows, the wheat fields scatter open¡­¡­and those cornfields that grew taller than a person, if one were to lie under the sun all day in the field they wouldn¡¯t get bored of it. ¡± As Fu Shui said this, his voice gradually grew cold. ¡°Unfortunately, despite the beauty of such scenery, it was very easy to get bored.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Are you bored of it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only natural to be bored of it, right?¡± Fu Shui snorted, ¡°Having seen the days of the rich, who would still be interested in the scenery of the crop fields.¡± He raised his hand and pointed to the door to those shivering servants and concubines standing at the door who did not dare to come in, ¡°Look, they are all from the Fu family, they are all my minions. If I want them to live then they can live, if I want them to die, they will immediately go die¡ª¡± As he said this, his emotions also followed, ¡°And this village, this courtyard, isn¡¯t it beautiful?! That crop field is nothing compared to these!¡± Lin Rufei looked at Fu Shui strangely and said in a slow voice: ¡°I didn¡¯t refute you either, why are you so excited.¡± Fu Shui heaved. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Or do you also feel that something is not quite right?¡± Fu Shui tilted his head, unwilling to meet Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Keep talking.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Who is Mo Mo, and what does he have to do with you?¡± ¡°Mo Mo is the child that person brought, saying that it is my elder brother¡¯s seed.¡± Fu Shui said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s just that his dumb look is really tiresome to look at ¡­¡­ Besides, besides ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Besides what?¡± Fu Shui hissed: ¡°Besides, my big brother is also a liar. He said he would come back in the coming Autumn and Winter, but has he come back? No! I know he will not like what the Fu family has done, but in the end, he is also a Fu family member¡ªwhy should he look down on us, why should he not want to come back!¡± Lin Rufei propped up his chin and looked at Fu Shui like he was a monster, ¡°You are really strange.¡± Fu Shui was gasping for air and his eyes were red. ¡°Do you want him to come back or do you not want him to come back?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you like him, or do you hate him to death? Is it enjoying everything he brings, or is it hatred and even fear ¡­¡­¡± Fu Shui couldn¡¯t answer. People were originally complex animals, there was no such thing as a simple preference for good and evil. Fu Yu was different, he was a pure person. Only such a person can be a matchless swordsman. However, such people are too few and far between and if one looked at the entire Jianghu, there were only a few. Instead, in Jianghu, there were more commoners like Fu Shui. Fu Shui said: ¡°Although I do not like Mo Mo, I didn¡¯t mean to abuse him. But the family servants do not care about him so he was accidentally lost ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Lost?¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°Lost.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°This is your brother¡¯s only seedling and he was lost just like that? You didn¡¯t even look for him?¡± Fu Shui was silent, he seemed unable to answer Lin Rufei¡¯s question. ¡°Just like that and you still expect your brother to come back?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Taking his sword and using powerful connections to intimidate people and bully them. In reality, you don¡¯t want him to come back either.¡± ¡°Shut up!!!¡± Those words were like a poke in Fu Shui¡¯s lungs. He roared and almost wanted to lunge towards Lin Rufei again to make him stop, ¡°He is my brother, why don¡¯t I want him to come back¡ª¡± ¡°Let me guess?¡± Lin Rufei looked at Fu Shui and actually felt some pity for him, ¡°Maybe when he comes back, everything you have will disappear? Preying on the people and roaming the countryside ¡­¡­ you and your brother are two completely different people.¡± Fu Shui could not refute and his lips squirmed uncontrollably. ¡°You are jealous to death, right.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Someone like Fu Yu, even if he does not practice sword, you will not be able to reach him in your life ¡­¡­¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°Stop it.¡± Lin Rufei said lightly, ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to touch his sword.¡± Fu Shui said: ¡°Stop it!!! You don¡¯t know anything¡ªyou don¡¯t know anything. Fu Shui is a loser, but as long as he doesn¡¯t come back, I¡¯m Fu Yu!! I¡¯m Fu Yu!¡± As he spoke, he started to cry out in pain. He was lying on the ground like a long, boneless snake. Lin Rufei was also tired of listening. His hand gently nudged the side of his face. After waiting for a while as Fu Shui cried, his emotions barely eased over and he said thoughtfully: ¡°Have you seen the man who set up the formation with Fu Yu?¡± Fu Shui: ¡°Seen. I¡¯ve seen him a few times.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What does he look like?¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t see his appearance.¡± He dried the tears on his face and showed his tiredness, ¡°He had a white cloth wrapped around his face, showing only a pair of eyes, but ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But?¡± ¡°But he had a black snake in his hand.¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°That snake was very scary, it was just coiled on his body.¡± Lin Rufei immediately became interested and asked a few more detailed questions. But unfortunately, Fu Shui did not know the man, and only said that he had seen the man a few times. It was also the man who had sent back Mo Mo. At that time, Mo Mo was very thin and muddled like a fool. The reason why Fu Shui didn¡¯t like Mo Mo was because he felt weak when he looked at him and he always felt that he could see his brother¡¯s shadow in this child. This feeling was very bad. So much so that involuntarily, he began to deliberately treat this child coldly. And when Mo Mo was lost, he was relieved instead. It was Mo Mo that got lost on its own, it was not his fault, Fu Shui told himself so. Lin Rufei remembered Mo Mo¡¯s appearance when he was begging for food on the roadside. He listened with a frown and felt that the malice in human nature could not be thought about carefully. Otherwise, the more one thought the more disgusting one felt. Fu Shui was tired from speaking and couldn¡¯t stop licking his lips. When he saw Lin Rufei in deep thought, he reluctantly smiled: ¡°Lin gongzi, I want to ¡­¡­ have a cup of tea.¡± Lin Rufei squinted at him: ¡°Drink tea?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ¡­¡­ a little tired from talking.¡± Fu Shui said embarrassingly. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Tired just like that?¡± He let out a faint smile, ¡°When I saw that you wanted to jump over and beat me up a while ago, I didn¡¯t think you were tired, ah.¡± Fu Shui knew that Lin Rufei would not give him face. He wanted to say something, but swallowed it back, and continued to sit on the ground in a daze. The matters that should be known were known. This Fu Shui was also no longer valuable. Although Mo Mo¡¯s matter made Lin Rufei look at him in disgust, it wasn¡¯t to the point of taking his life. In addition, it seems that the Fu family was not so capable of scheming against Fu Yu, at most, they just collected more money and squeezed[1] the people around them. Lin Rufei waved his hand, signaling for him to go down. When Fu Shui saw the situation, he was very happy. He was frantically trying to run towards the outside, however, halfway there, he was stopped by Lin Rufei and he froze still with fear. ¡°Lin, Lin gongzi?¡± Fu Shui asked stiffly. ¡°Why is there not a single flower or plant in the Fu Family Village?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°This, this I don¡¯t know.¡± Fu Shui shook his head, ¡°Maybe because there were no seeds for grasses and trees left behind?¡± Lin Rufei saw that he didn¡¯t know and signaled that he could go. There was not a single grass or tree in the Fu Family Village so there must be another reason, otherwise, they would be able to see at least some weeds. Lin Rufei fell into a daze and did not notice Gu Xuandu standing beside him with a restless look. Something seemed to have emotionally provoked him. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Because of the fight just now, the room was a mess, but no one dared to come in to clean up. When Lin Rufei finally left, everyone in the Fu family breathed a sigh of relief. A servant came over with a stiff upper lip and asked, ¡°Lin, Lin gongzi, are you leaving tomorrow? Our carriage is ready for you, what do you¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei gave him a sidelong glance, so he hurriedly silenced his voice and whispered embarrassingly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, the master sent me to ask.¡± If before the Fu family only treated Lin Rufei as a noble guest who cannot be provoked, then at this moment Lin Rufei, in their eyes, became a King of Hell who can kill people. After all, not many people in the Fu family knew about this matter of Fu Shui. In their opinion, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t even need to draw his sword and was able to slap a level six cultivator Fu Yu half dead. It was simply too scary. Lin Rufei did not explain, he looked at these people¡¯s trembling appearance and only felt amused. He said slowly and carefully: ¡°Is the carriage ready?¡± ¡°Ready, ready.¡± The servant replied hurriedly. ¡°Oh, then you have prepared it for naught.¡± Lin Rufei smiled lightly, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving.¡± Subordinates: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°This eldest young master of the Fu family has only just returned, and I haven¡¯t finished seeing the scenery in the manor, wouldn¡¯t it be a pity to leave like this.¡± Lin Rufei righteously asked the subordinate to tell Fu Shui, ¡°You tell your eldest youngest master, say that Lin gongzi was enchanted by the scenery and wishes to stay here for a year and a half before leaving.¡± The servant smiled bitterly at his words but did not dare to show it. He simply turned around and left. Lin Rufei saw his sad face and couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He said to Gu Xuandu who was at his side, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve been such an unwelcome guest.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Look at you scaring people.¡± Despite his words, he was laughing along with Lin Rufei. After laughing, Lin Rufei said with a straight face, ¡°Since we are sure about Fu Yu¡¯s current situation, can we first bring him out from there, and in addition ¡­¡­ Can there be any method to recall his divine soul?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°There is a method, but we still need to see the specific situation before we can start.¡± Lin Rufei knew Gu Xuandu must have a way, he thought about it and asked, ¡°Give an example?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°For example, what if his soul doesn¡¯t want to come back.¡± Lin Rufei said curiously, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t want to come back?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head and stopped talking. Lin Rufei felt that he saw something and said: ¡°Did you notice some clues?¡± Gu Xuandu blinked: ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Senior ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°I really didn¡¯t.¡± Lin Rufei said with a straight face, ¡°If you tell me, then I won¡¯t use a shield next time.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression lifted and immediately said, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Alright ¡­¡­ actually, that Mo Mo, I may have misjudged him.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Lin Rufei frowned. ¡°He must be related to Fu Yu.¡± Gu Xuandu said. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Isn¡¯t he Fu Yu¡¯s son?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s more than that.¡± When Lin Rufei heard that he thought carefully for a moment. He revealed a dazed look and then felt that his guess was too absurd: ¡°This is also ¡­¡­ too ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Right?¡± This so-called truth, it was better not to know it. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: In order for me to get Xiao Jiu not to use the shield, I really went through a lot of trouble. Lin Rufei: Isn¡¯t a sword person using a shield[2] pretty good? Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­.Baby, I was wrong. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Squeezing the money/worth from them. [2] So remember how the word for ¡°sword people/person¡± ½£ÈË sounded like a curse word (b*tchh)? This part here is, ½£È˳ֶÜ. The direct translation is ¡°sword people using swords,¡± but the word ³Ö¶Ü also sounds like ³Ù¶Û (same pinyin and tonation) which can mean ¡°ret**ded/slow.¡± So the phrase kind of sounds like, ¡°ret**ded b***h.¡± Bad GXD CH 52 Lin Rufei¡¯s brow was knitted tightly. Until he returned to his residence, he did not say a word. In the courtyard, Fu Hua was still playing with Mo Mo. Mo Mo was leaning in Fu Hua¡¯s arms looking at the small ball rolling around on the ground and staring at it intently. When Lin Rufei saw it, he casually asked where the ball came from. Fu Hua said: ¡°It was specially sent by the youngest young master of the Fu family. I saw that Mo Mo liked it very much so I kept it.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why did he suddenly think of sending a toy?¡± Fu Hua didn¡¯t really know either, ¡°He said he was afraid that Mo Mo would be bored ¡­¡­¡± Mo Mo really liked the vine woven ball, but when he saw Lin Rufei extend his hand to him, he still showed a timid look. ¡°Come, good Mo Mo, come here and let me have a hug.¡± Lin Rufei said to him. Mo Mo hesitated for a moment and his first reaction was to look at Fu Hua. Only when he saw Fu Hua make an encouraging look to him, did he carefully extend his hand to Lin Rufei. Unknowingly, Fu Hua, who always took care of Mo Mo, managed to catch this little guy¡¯s heart, and only by staying in her arms did Mo Mo not seem afraid. Lin Rufei held Mo Mo¡¯s hand and carried him into his arms. Mo Mo was really light, like a poor cat cub, and one could not help but feel compassion. He was such a poor little guy, did he really have an inseparable relationship with Fu Yu? Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know and couldn¡¯t say for sure. After holding Mo Mo for a while, Lin Rufei returned him to Fu Hua and returned to the room alone. He looked quite sickly as he held his chin, coughing lowly. Gu Xuandu saw that he was uncomfortable and poured a cup of hot tea for him. Lin Rufei picked up the cup of tea and took a few sips. He suppressed the itch in his throat before he whispered, ¡°Do you think Fu Yu would regret making that decision in the first place if he knew what the Fu family did?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head to indicate that he didn¡¯t know. ¡°I think whether he regrets it or not, he has to be given a chance to regret it.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°In this Fu family, a group of bad things, there is such a good person. We can¡¯t let the good people end up too miserable.¡± He gently inhaled and shook his shoulders while coughing, ¡°Senior, do you think so?¡± Gu Xuandu gently said, ¡°What Xiao Jiu said is all right.¡± ¡°The biggest problem now is that I¡¯m worried that Fu Yu¡¯s divine soul won¡¯t want to return to his body.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But after looking at Mo Mo, I think we have to at least give it a try.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s give it a try.¡± Gu Xuandu succinctly agreed with Lin Rufei, ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you in whatever you want to do.¡± Lin Rufei hooked his lips into a smile, ¡°Good.¡± So the matter was settled. The sun was still hot outside, so Lin Rufei planned to wait until it was cooler before going out. Yu Rui took advantage of the fact that Lin Rufei was still in the room to hurriedly bring the freshly boiled medicine and serve it to Lin Rufei to drink. Lin Rufei wanted to pour out the medicine secretly, but Yu Rui was prepared and refused to leave if Lin Rufei did not drink the medicine. In the end, Lin Rufei could only pinch his nose and drink it with a sad face. After he finished drinking, he started complaining. He said that he was used to being sick, whether he drank the medicine or he didn¡¯t drink the medicine, in the end, it would still take a few days for him to get better. When Yu Rui was cleaning up the medicine bowl, she laughed at Lin Rufei, saying that young master was already so old and he was still afraid of bitter medicine. Lin Rufei leaned back in his chair listlessly and said he might not be used to eating this stuff even at the age of sixty When Yu Rui listened, she chuckled in joy. She brought over a dish of sweet and sour plums to help moisten Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth. Lin Rufei did not touch the plum. He shrunk in the chair, dazed, and sleepy. Gu Xuandu stood next to him and quietly looked at him. The Lin Rufei in front of him and the Lin Rufei in front of Fu Shui a while ago was almost like two separate people. He wore a moon-white outfit. His black hair was not tied up but simply pulled up with a wooden hairpin, revealing a hidden white slender neck. He really was a dark hair and snowy skin beauty, really eye-catching. Lin Rufei¡¯s complexion was very pale, so all the colors on his body have become eye-catching. Whether it was the long eyelashes, as thick as raven feathers, or the light-colored lips, even his temperament also seems to be light like water, like a soft jade dipped in ice. Somewhat cool, but not cold and when held, they would realize that he was actually warm. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Who wouldn¡¯t love such a cute little young master, Gu Xuandu thought. Even he wasn¡¯t exempt from it. He retracted his gaze from Lin Rufei and raised his eyes to look out the window. He let out an inaudible sigh. Lin Rufei slept until the evening when he was woken up by Fu Hua. He woke up from his dream in a daze. He sat down at the table in a daze and waited for dinner, and only when he took the first sip of soup did he abruptly wake up and ask, ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°The 21st hour, young master.¡± Fu Hua replied. Lin Rufei raised his eyes to look out the window. The sun had already set and the harsh sunlight turned into a warm orange color as it enveloped the earth. The sky was filled with bright, fiery clouds. It was boundless like an unintentional brush stroke when sprinkling cinnabar¡ªstunningly beautiful. Lin Rufei had a simple dinner and then planned to go out. Mo Mo, who had been staying in Fu Hua¡¯s arms, suddenly cried. He was chanting unintelligible words and Fu Hua could only cradle him into her arms. She carefully stuffed a piece of malt candy into his mouth and the crying stopped. ¡°Why did he start crying all of a sudden?¡± Yu Rui was puzzled, ¡°Usually he is quite well behaved.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe he feels uncomfortable somewhere?¡± Fu Hua shook her head, indicating that she did not understand either. Lin Rufei looked back at Mo Mo¡¯s teary eyes. He sighed lightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Mo Mo did not speak and just stared at him. ¡°Perhaps, I will bring you some small gifts.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I hope you will like it.¡± Mo Mo was dumbfounded as if he couldn¡¯t understand what Lin Rufei was saying at all. Lin Rufei left the Fu family and went straight to the formation eye he found before. He walked into the dark tunnel again and toggled the mechanism. The iron cage rumbled as it lowered and Lin Rufei once again saw Fu Yu¡¯s sleeping body. He raised his hand and opened the cage, then dragged Fu Yu¡¯s body out from inside the cage. ¡°Then what?¡± Lin Rufei wiped the sweat on his forehead and asked Gu Xuandu, ¡°How do I call back the soul?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°We need to set up a formation first.¡± Lin Rufei looked around, ¡°Can we set it up right here?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Xuandu then began to guide Lin Rufei through the formation setup. He said it was very simple to set up the formation and that the most important thing was the formation eye. It should be easier for Lin Rufei to set up the formation than normal people because he was basically a walking humanoid sword intent. As long as he paid attention to the small details, the formation should be a very simple matter for him. But in the end, it was still his first time doing it. Lin Rufei¡¯s movements were a bit rusty, but the good thing was that he was a painter. So when he drew the formation, it wasn¡¯t too difficult, just slow in progress. As he drew, Gu Xuandu was watching and pointing out any mistakes. It still took the two of them half an hour to complete the formation. Lin Rufei was so tired and sweaty that he couldn¡¯t stop panting, ¡°Is it ready, senior?¡± Gu Xuandu carefully checked it once and nodded: ¡°Almost done. Rest for a while and we can activate it.¡± Only then did Lin Rufei breathe a sigh of relief. Sweat ran down his forehead and slid down his chin before making a faint mark when it landed on the dirt. He took a moment to catch his breath before returning to normal, ¡°How do I activate the formation?¡± ¡°First drag Fu Yu to the center of the formation.¡± Gu Xuandu said. Lin Rufei said yes. When Fu Yu¡¯s body was placed in the middle of the formation, Gu Xuandu whispered an incantation and then a faint light rose from the formation. It lasted for a moment then an evil wind blew in along the tunnel entrance. Logically speaking, they were in the tunnel, it was impossible to have wind. But this wind came suddenly. The strong wind brought up the dust on the ground and rustled Lin Rufei¡¯s sleeves loudly. Lin Rufei was afraid that the wind would blow sand into his eyes so he couldn¡¯t help but close them. He heard one or two mournful cries mixed in with the rustling wind. When he listened carefully, it felt like it was just an illusion. Gu Xuandu stood behind Lin Rufei and covered his eyes with his hand. His mouth continued to chant something and only when the sound stopped, did the evil wind dissipate with it. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were covered by Gu Xuandu so he couldn¡¯t see anything. He hesitantly called out a ¡°senior.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice was very close, seemingly leaning right next to his ear as he said, ¡°Did it scared Xiao Jiu?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, signaling that it was okay. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It worked.¡± After he said this, he slowly let go of his hand. Lin Rufei blinked a few times to get rid of the discomfort in his eyes. After he saw the scene in front of him, he sucked in a breath of cold air. Fu Yu, who was originally lying in the center of the formation, opened his eyes. His black eyes carried a little bewilderment as if he did not understand why he was here. Lin Rufei revealed a look of surprise and called out, ¡°Fu Yu.¡± Being called by his name, Fu Yu slowly turned his head and cast his eyes on Lin Rufei¡¯s body. Only this look was not quite the same as Lin Rufei had imagined. It was only surprising and not pleased and it even carried a bit of apathetic indifference. His thin lips opened slightly and he spoke: ¡°Who are you?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I am Lin Rufei of the Kunlun Lin family, who happened to come to the Fu family to deliver the sword competition invitation.¡± ¡°Lin Rufei?¡± He chewed on this unfamiliar name and struggled to adjust to this body that had been dormant for a long time, ¡°I ¡­¡­ woke up?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°How is the Fu family now?¡± He asked again. Lin Rufei briefly talked about the Fu family¡¯s situation, saying that the surrounding land had produced lush crops. It was just a pity that the Fu family had all the surrounding land deeds in their pocket. The Fu Family Village didn¡¯t become rich, but the Fu family had become a wealthy family. Fu Yu listened expressionlessly with half-lidded eyes. After listening, he said nothing, but asked, ¡°Is my sword still with Fu Shui?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°Then I still have to make a trip to him to retrieve that sword.¡± Lin Rufei frowned slightly, thinking that this Fu Yu was a bit strange. According to Fu Shui, Fu Yu had a stable and gentle nature and treated people with courtesy. Plus, he was willing to sacrifice so much for the Fu Family Village, so of course, he should be a warm person. But Lin Rufei only felt indifference and detachment from the body of the swordsman in front of him. He seemed to not care in the least about how the family was really doing and the first thing he asked was his own sword. ¡°Thank you gongzi for waking me up.¡± After looking around and seeing the formation and the iron cage, Fu Yu remembered what happened before, ¡°So I¡¯ve been sleeping for so long, it is time to wake up.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Is there anything else you want to know?¡± Fu Yu calmly shook his head. Lin Rufei pursed his lips heavily as he said, ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them were quiet for a moment and came out of the tunnel in silence. As soon as Fu Yu left, the huge spirit gathering formation would be ineffective and the Fu Family Village would turn into a wasteland without any grass again in the coming year. As for what would happen to Fu Shui and the others, Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t care less. However, at this moment, the atmosphere between Lin Rufei and Fu Yu was really scarily strange. Fu Yu expressionlessly walked towards the Fu Family Village, Lin Rufei frowned and followed him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Lin Rufei asked Gu Xuandu in a whisper, ¡°Is there something wrong with this soul invocation, look at his state ¡­¡­ not quite normal, ah.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say before, whether we can summon Fu Yu¡¯s soul depended on his willingness.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Didn¡¯t he wake up though?¡± ¡°He is awake, but look at his appearance. It seems that his three souls and seven spirits are not complete.¡± Gu Xuandu was also a bit distressed, ¡°The three souls are the Yang consciousness and the seven spirits are the Yin seven desires. If the invocation is not complete, in serious cases, the person will not wake up and in light cases¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°In light cases, what will happen?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°In light cases, there is no sorrow, no joy, no desire, and no want.¡± Lin Rufei finally understood and stared with wide eyes: ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t he just be a wooden man[1]?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°On the bright side, it might just be a couple of spirits missing.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The seven spirits were joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, evil, and desire. Even missing one would make someone abnormal. Seeing that Fu Yu didn¡¯t even smile from the beginning, he certainly lost the joy spirit. He just didn¡¯t know how many other emotions were still missing. Lin Rufei had nothing to say, he only felt that the situation wasn¡¯t good, ¡°Why is it like this? Is there something wrong with my formation, I ¡­¡­¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with you, it¡¯s Fu Yu¡¯s own choice.¡± Gu Xuandu reassured Lin Rufei. The two walked all the way to the Fu family manor. When the servants guarding the door saw Fu Yu and Lin Rufei come back together, they were a little surprised and tentatively called out: ¡°Er Gongzi¡­¡­¡± Fu Yu coldly glared over: ¡°I am Fu Yu, where is Fu Shui?¡± The servants were a bit confused, the one in the house was clearly Fu Yu, how did he become Fu Shui? But Fu Yu¡¯s creepy stare made them not have the courage to refute and they could only answer in a small voice: ¡°In the main hall.¡± Fu Yu let out an ¡°oh,¡± and continued to move forward. Logically speaking, the Fu Family Village had changed so much and he had not returned for some years, so he should feel surprised. However, Fu Yu was completely indifferent. When he walked through the lush waves of wheat and stepped over the tall cornfields, Lin Rufei clearly saw that his black eyes were a deep lake of calm and waveless. It was as if everything around him had nothing to do with him and he was just a traveler who happened to be passing by, walking on the road in a foreign land. Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth was a little bitter. He thought of many kinds of scenarios but did not expect this scene to happen. Gu Xuandu, sensing his frustration, gently pressed Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, this may ¡­¡­ be a good thing for Fu Yu.¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly, ¡°When is there such a good thing?¡± Although he did not know Fu Yu, he should have known from Fu Shui¡¯s description that Fu Yu shouldn¡¯t be like this. While Lin Rufei was thinking this, Fu Yu was already striding towards the place where the servant mentioned. Fu Shui received a severe beating from Lin Rufei so these days he was living in fear. He didn¡¯t dare go out and didn¡¯t dare show his face. He simply wanted to disappear in place. At this moment, he was throwing a tantrum at some concubines when he heard someone knocking on the door of his room. ¡°Who is it! Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m busy!¡± Fu Shui yelled impatiently, ¡°Let¡¯s talk tomorrow if there¡¯s anything!¡± The person outside the door was quiet for a moment and knocked again, only this time a bit more heavily to the point that the vermillion door started to shake uncontrollably. ¡°Who ¡­¡­? Lin, Lin gongzi?¡± Seeing this scene, Fu Shui also knew that the person outside was definitely not his own. He hastily collected his aggressive aura and smiled, ¡°You can just come in directly, why be so polite.¡± The next moment, the door was pushed open. Fu Shui¡¯s embarrassed smile froze on his face. He was stunned as he looked at the person who pushed the door in and his eyes were full of disbelief. ¡°Brother??? Brother, how come you¡¯re back.¡± Fu Shui¡¯s heart surged with ecstasy but these ecstasies were soon washed away by other feelings, worry, fear, dread¡­¡­ countless flavors mixed together, eventually making the smile on his face gradually fade, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so in advance?¡± Fu Yu calmly looked at his twin brother who grew up with him. There was no joy or sadness and he was indifferent as ice. He did not speak and simply extended his hand towards Fu Shui. Fu Shui was full of bewilderment when he saw the situation. He didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind Fu Yu¡¯s action. ¡°Sword.¡± Fu Yu¡¯s mouth spat out a word. Only then did Fu Shui wake up. He panicked and untied the sword on the side of his waist and handed it to his brother in front of him. ¡°Brother, you finally came back, I have waited for you for a long time, why did you come back only now, did you think our family did something wrong? If you think it¡¯s wrong, we will change ¡­¡­ you ¡­¡­¡± Fu Shui said scatterly, ¡°Don¡¯t leave anymore, our family is rich, we don¡¯t have to suffer like in the past. We have everything, we have everything.¡± Who knew that after Fu Yu took the sword, he didn¡¯t even look at him before turning around, wanting to leave. When Fu Shui saw the situation, he was alarmed. He directly reached out and grabbed Fu Yu¡¯s sleeve and hissed: ¡°Brother, are you still angry with me? I was wrong ¡­¡­ I was wrong ¡­¡­ forgive me please, OK?¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°I¡¯m not angry with you.¡± Fu Shui looked at Fu Yu dumbfounded. ¡°Why should I be angry with you?¡± Fu Yu¡¯s voice was calm. Usually, his tone should have been gentle but Fu Shui clearly heard the taste of indifference from it. He did not understand why the person in front of him was so strange. They should have been the most connected[2] twin, but at this time, he couldn¡¯t really recognize Fu Yu. ¡°Brother ¡­¡­¡± Fu Shui said softly, ¡°I really know that I was wrong. Whatever you say, I am willing to change. As long as you don¡¯t go ¡­¡­ ¡° Fu Yu said, ¡°Let go.¡± Fu Shui froze and looked at Fu Yu. Fu Yu said, ¡°I told you to let go.¡± He looked over obliquely, his black eyes were actually floating with strong killing intent. Fu Shui suddenly realized that Fu Yu was serious. If he pulled Fu Yu again, perhaps the swordsman in front of him would really have to draw his sword. His hand let go in despair. Fu Shui looked at Fu Yu¡¯s back and his body slowly and softly fell to the ground. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei did not go in but waited outside. He watched Fu Yu go in quickly and come out quickly, the only difference was that he came out with an extra sword at his waist. Lin Rufei recognized that it was the sword belonging to Fu Yu. It was handed over to Fu Shui by Fu Yu himself and now it was back in his hand again. Lin Rufei licked his lips, suddenly feeling a little thirsty, he said, ¡°Fu Yu, where are you going?¡± Fu Yu looked at him. He seemed to be thinking about whether or not he should answer Lin Rufei¡¯s question. He seemed to have remembered that he was awakened from the formation by Lin Rufei, so he still spat out from his mouth, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Rufei said curiously, ¡°Don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°As long as it¡¯s not here. I don¡¯t like it here.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°You¡¯re leaving now?¡± Fu Yu nodded. ¡°Are you still going to the Kunlun sword competition?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°The invitation was torn up by your brother ¡­¡­ but it¡¯s okay, just report your name.¡± Fu Yu thought for a moment and nodded, indicating that he would go. The two once again looked at each other quietly. When Fu Yu saw that there were no more words to say, he turned around and was about to leave so Lin Rufei hurriedly said, ¡°Wait!¡± Fu Yu turned back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with me to see someone.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°According to Fu Shui ¡­¡­ he is your son.¡± Although he felt that Mo Mo¡¯s origin might not be that simple. ¡°My son?¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°But I don¡¯t have a son.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Go and see, just in case you recognize him?¡± Fu Yu, however, looked a little hesitant. ¡°Just take a look, it¡¯s not much time wasted.¡± Lin Rufei hurriedly persuaded, ¡°Besides, once you leave, you probably won¡¯t come back again, right?¡± Fu Yu was convinced by Lin Rufei. He nodded his head and agreed to Lin Rufei¡¯s proposal, ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Rufei breathed a sigh of relief and took Fu Yu towards the courtyard where he stayed. At this time it was dark, Mo Mo had already gone to sleep. After Fu Hua had just finished coaxing Mo Mo, she saw Lin Rufei arrive in the courtyard with Fu Yu. Lin Rufei asked her where Mo Mo was and she reached out and pointed towards the bedroom behind her. ¡°Why is young master looking for Mo Mo?¡± Fu Yu asked. Lin Rufei shook his head and did not say anything. He gestured for her to go out first. However, Fu Yu had already walked into the room and saw Mo Mo sleeping on the bed. Mo Mo was already asleep and Fu Yu¡¯s footsteps were very gentle, but he woke up the moment Fu Yu entered the room as if his heart felt something. He could not see the slightest bit of sleep in his eyes and when their eyes met, there were no words for a moment. The next moment, Mo Mo¡¯s mouth erupted into ear-splitting sobs. He wailed and flung himself down from the bed. His mouth muttered unintelligible words, like a child who had suffered a lot of grievances but finally found someone to confide in. Big tears overflowed from his eyes, wetting his small cheeks. Fu Yu, before Mo Mo made a move, had already stepped forwards and caught the little guy. The moment the two touched, his indifferent face was instantly filled with a complex look, and even his eyes began to slowly accumulate tears. Fu Yu choked. With a trembling hand, he gently wiped the teardrops on the child¡¯s face and called out his name: ¡°Mo Mo.¡± ¡°Fu Yu ¡­¡­ Fu Yu ¡­¡­¡± Mo Mo vaguely responded, ¡°You¡¯re back¡­ ¡­¡± ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Not an actual man made of wood, but someone who doesn¡¯t have expressions/desires. [2] Connected hearts and minds. CH 53 From the moment he woke up Fu Yu, it was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time seeing such a complicated expression on his face. Fu Yu hugged Mo Mo tightly and the force was so strong it was like he was itching to merge him into his body. Mo Mo seemed to be in pain from the hug, but he didn¡¯t scream. He just obediently rested his chin on Fu Yu¡¯s shoulder with a small whimper. ¡°Good boy, no more crying.¡± Fu Yu raised his hand and wiped away the tears on Mo Mo¡¯s cheeks, ¡°Didn¡¯t I come back?¡± Mo Mo avoided Fu Yu¡¯s hand, his small hand balled into a fist as he smacked Fu Yu on the shoulder. He pouted his mouth: ¡°You¡¯re a bad person! Fu Yu is a bad person! Fu Yu lied to Mo Mo, lied to Mo Mo!¡± Fu Yu also didn¡¯t dodge and let Mo Mo continue to hit. Lin Rufei felt strange looking at this scene since he rarely saw such a capricious look on Mo Mo. From the time he picked up Mo Mo, this child had been showing excessive knowledge and good behavior. Most likely the child understood in his heart that his capriciousness was only shown in front of those who indulge him. Although Fu Yu was being hit by Mo Mo, that little fist smashed against his body was more like an itch. However, Mo Mo¡¯s hand turned red from hitting so he began to cry. Fu Yu couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He pinched Mo Mo¡¯s small nose: ¡°Alright, don¡¯t make your hand hurt.¡± ¡°Why did you come back only now?¡± Mo Mo sobbed, ¡°I thought I¡¯d never see you again.¡± Fu Yu was silent for a moment. He stroked Mo Mo¡¯s head, turned his head to Lin Rufei, and said ¡°thank you.¡± He asked how Mo Mo came to be here with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei then talked about his encounter with Mo Mo in detail to Fu Yu. After Fu Yu listened, his eyes lit up with fire. When he heard that Mo Mo was on the roadside begging for food and even robbed of it, he couldn¡¯t help but grip the sword on his waist. Good thing he was able to suppress the fire in the end and eerily said, ¡°So it was like that.¡± ¡°By the way, Fu Shui said this was your son.¡± Lin Rufei was now most puzzled by this matter, ¡°But then you say he is not? Then exactly who is Mo Mo ¡­¡­¡± Fu Yu slightly pursed his lips and whispered, ¡°Mo Mo ¡­¡­ is a special existence.¡± Lin Rufei was silent for a moment and finally said out his guess, ¡°So Mo Mo, in the end, possesses how many souls and how many spirits of yours?¡± Fu Yu froze, seemingly not expecting Lin Rufei to say such a sentence. ¡°Of course, this is just my guess. If you don¡¯t want to say, you don¡¯t have to force yourself.¡± Lin Rufei said. Fu Yu said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in talking about it.¡± Anyway, after leaving here, he won¡¯t come back. He originally wanted to hand Mo Mo to Fu Hua, and then go outside to talk with Lin Rufei, but who knew that Mo Mo refused to get off him. He was like a dogskin plaster that stuck to him like glue. Fu Yu was afraid that if he forcibly pulled Mo Mo off that he would hurt him. In the end, it was Fu Hua who had pulled out a few pieces of malt candy and stuffed it into Mo Mo¡¯s mouth finally coaxing Mo Mo off of Fu Yu¡¯s body. Seeing the malt candy, Fu Yu also reached out and took a little. He broke off a piece and put it into his mouth and walked outside with Lin Rufei while chewing. The Summer night sky was clear and crisp with a full moon hanging over it. The original lively Fu family mansion was terribly quiet today and only one or two cicadas could be heard coming from a distance. Lin Rufei found a chair and sat down casually. Fu Yu stood opposite him but didn¡¯t have the idea to sit. He casually surveyed the surrounding buildings and said, ¡°It¡¯s changed a lot.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°But to have such a change in the scenery from two or three years ago shows that I have achieved what I wanted to do at the beginning.¡± According to Fu Shui, Fu Yu had set up the formation so that the people of the entire Fu family could have enough to eat. Now it seemed that if someone had not interfered with it, it should have been realized long ago. However, Lin Rufei noticed that when Fu Yu said these words, there was no emotion or nostalgia on his face, but rather a faint indifference¡ªas if when he had left Mo Mo, he had changed back to the Fu Yu who had just woken up from the formation. ¡°About Mo Mo, it¡¯s a long story.¡± After talking about the past, Fu Yu cleanly mentioned the truth that Lin Rufei was most curious about, ¡°Back then, I wanted to lay a spirit gathering formation to improve the recent situation of the Fu Family Village, but that spirit gathering formation could not operate on its own. It needed a sword cultivator to be the formation eye, so I wanted to use myself as the formation eye for the formation to work.¡± Lin Rufei listened quietly. ¡°But to leave for so many years was also not plausible. Furthermore, I promised my brother that I would return in the coming Autumn, so I had to simply come up with a method.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°To make a physical body and then attach one soul and three spirits to it, as it replaced me.¡± Mo Mo was apparently the replacement made by Fu Yu and he also fulfilled his promise to Fu Shui and returned to the Fu family before the coming Autumn. ¡°But this replacement was not complete and the method used was a bit rough, so the mind would be very fuzzy.¡± Fu Yu lightly said the shocking truth, ¡°He thought he was my child. I didn¡¯t explain and let him do as he pleased.¡± He walked to Lin Rufei and sat down lazily in front of him and was overcome with boredom, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to live such a miserable life.¡± Lin Rufei felt a bit sad in his heart when he heard him say these things in such a tone. No wonder the soul of Fu Yu refused to return to its place, it turned out the soul was in Mo Mo¡¯s body. ¡°If the soul is lost, there will be after-effects.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Do you know that?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°The one who helped, told me all the pros and cons of the matter, but what does it matter?¡± He raised his hand, very indifferent, ¡°I feel good about myself now, even better than before¡ª¡± Lin Rufei was silent. Fu Yu said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. You¡¯re probably thinking that I¡¯ve changed a lot and become impersonal, but it can¡¯t be helped, the human touch is all in that little guy.¡± He smiled abruptly, ¡°And probably only when I am with him, can I taste a little bit of the old feeling. However, that¡¯s actually not a good feeling ¡­¡­ you know, with such family members, it¡¯s really not a pleasant thing.¡± The Fu family failed Fu Yu. If the previous Fu Yu came back and saw everything in front of him although he doesn¡¯t know his identity, most likely he would be very sad. Plus the recent situation with Mo Mo, it was probably not a pleasant thing. However, the Fu Yu in front of him lost the main joy and sadness of the three spirits and when he looked at the Fu family, it was as if looking at a group of strangers. How they were had nothing to do with him at all. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Was this a good thing for Fu Yu? Lin Rufei could not answer. Fu Yu also didn¡¯t care about Lin Rufei¡¯s reaction and he continued on his own: ¡°Now the Fu family has been wealthy for three years, looking at them it seems they also have quite a lot of money. I think I have repaid the kindness of my parents by doing so, so it¡¯s just right for me to leave.¡± Lin Rufei sighed: ¡°Is Mo Mo still a person?¡± ¡°He should be, right?¡± Fu Yu thought with a hand tapping his chin, ¡°I do not know myself, but that person said Mo Mo was no different from a normal human¡­¡­ so he should be considered a person.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That person?¡± ¡°It is the person who set up the formation for me.¡± Fu Yu said. Lin Rufei said: ¡°You know him very well?¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°Not really, I met him unintentionally, and he was the one who gave me the idea to do a spirit gathering formation.¡± Lin Rufei frowned. Fu Yu said: ¡°I also thought about whether he deliberately approached me or not. However, later when I thought deeply about it, even if he didn¡¯t say, I would have thought of this method sooner or later. It was just the length of time, so it did not bring too much loss.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t laid the formation to summon the souls, your three souls and seven spirits would not have been able to return to their places, and you still don¡¯t consider it a loss?¡± Fu Yu laughed: ¡°Maybe the Fu Yu, in the beginning, didn¡¯t think that feeding a tiger with his body[1] was a bad thing.¡± Buddha cut off his flesh to feed the eagle[2], to the onlookers, it seemed foolish. But in the end, it was his own flesh being fed so why should he listen to others¡¯ opinions? When he said this, he got up and did not intend to continue. Lin Rufei wanted to ask some more about that person, but when he saw that Fu Yu did not want to talk about it, he had to give up. Looking at his back, he let out a light sigh. He saw him go into the room to carry Mo Mo out as the two decided to leave. Mo Mo obediently stayed in Fu Yu¡¯s arms and when he saw Lin Rufei, he called out to him, ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± This was the first time Mo Mo called Lin Rufei brother. It was as if as long as he stayed in Fu Yu¡¯s arms, Mo Mo¡¯s blurred mind would clear up a lot and his eyes would no longer be dull as if it gained a few more spiritual light. ¡°No need to thank me.¡± Lin Rufei returned. He told Fu Yu to wait for a moment and called for Fu Hua. He told Fu Hua to wrap all the malt candy she bought as a parting gift for Mo Mo. These days Fu Hua and Mo Mo got along very well. Hearing that this child had to leave, Fu Hua had red eyes in the room. Now that she heard Lin Rufei¡¯s words, tears have already started to form in her eyes. In the end, she forcibly held back. With her head hung, she wrapped the malt candy for Mo Mo and stuffed it into the child¡¯s arms. However, Mo Mo grabbed Fu Hua¡¯s finger and softly called out sister. When she heard this ¡°sister,¡± she burst into tears. She raised her hand and put Mo Mo into her arms, crying: ¡°Mo Mo, you and your father must live well, if you encounter anything, send a letter to sister.¡± With tears in her eyes, she put the paper cranes into Mo Mo¡¯s pocket and taught him carefully how to use them. Mo Mo listened obediently. When Fu Yu saw this scene, he could not help but laugh. Lin Rufei asked him what he was laughing at. ¡°I did not expect her to be the first to shed tears for me.¡± Fu Yu said. Lin Rufei was speechless. ¡°My brother Fu Shui actually loved to cry when he was young.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°I thought that when he saw me, he would cry and mourn first.¡± But when he saw him, it was like seeing a ghost that wanted to kill, even if he cried, it was probably from fear. So uninteresting. Lin Rufei also does not know what to say and he could only sigh: ¡°People will change.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fu Yu said, ¡°People will change.¡± Fu Hua reluctantly said goodbye to Mo Mo. She didn¡¯t know the relationship between Mo Mo and Fu Yu and she only thought they were father and son. So she got up and carefully advised Fu Yu to pay a lot of attention to the things that children needed to pay attention to; such as Mo Mo¡¯s body was weak and could not eat ice otherwise he would get a stomachache. When he slept at night, he liked to be cool so he would always show his stomach and that he must watch out for that. Lin Rufei was worried that Fu Yu would be impatient but when he listened to the end, he seriously thanked Fu Hua. When Fu Hua finished, she was also embarrassed. She raised a hand and pulled a strand of hair around the ear. She blushed and said: ¡°Fu gongzi don¡¯t blame me for talking too much, it¡¯s my first time taking care of a child, and Mo Mo is so well behaved ¡­¡­ a few days down the line, I¡¯m a bit reluctant to let go.¡± Fu Yu took a look at Mo Mo: ¡°Such a skinny little monkey is well behaved?¡± When Mo Mo heard this, his black slinky eyes immediately widened: ¡°Mo Mo is not a monkey!¡± He hatefully rushed onto Fu Yu¡¯s shoulder and bit his arm. But to Fu Yu, this sixth-level cultivator, this bite from Mo Mo¡¯s little white teeth was simply like scratching an itch. Fu Yu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change and he continued to thank Fu Hua. But Fu Hua showed a bit of concern. She seemed to think that this excessively young father was a bit unreliable. Who would say in front of their child that they looked like a monkey? Besides, Mo Mo was just a bit thin, once he becomes chubby he would definitely be an obedient child. Although she thought so, in the end, this was someone else¡¯s child and it wasn¡¯t good for her to continue to speak so she could only wipe the corner of her eyes. Fu Yu held Mo Mo and said goodbye to Lin Rufei and Lin Rufei asked him where he was going. He first thought seriously, but then shook his head and said he had no definite place to go. He just didn¡¯t want to stay here anymore and would probably find a place first and recuperate for a while before making plans. ¡°Then you have to find a good place.¡± Fu Hua hurriedly said, ¡°The child is too small, travel and hardship can easily make him sick.¡± Fu Yu smiled, ¡°How about this miss help me raise Mo Mo for a few days?¡± Fu Hua said angrily: ¡°Fu gongzi don¡¯t joke with me ¡­¡­¡± She knew that Fu Yu was teasing her. Lin Rufei knew the inside story and did not say anything on the side. In his heart, he thought that since Fu Yu dared to say this, wouldn¡¯t he be afraid if Fu Hua decided to say yes? But even if she agreed, it didn¡¯t seemed to matter, after all, she saw how Mo Mo stuck to Fu Yu and certainly, he would not agree to separate with him. The words that have been said, were all said. Fu Yu waved his hand and left the courtyard with Mo Mo. Fu Hua stupidly stared at Mo Mo. She quietly wiped away her tears until a sigh came from Lin Rufei: ¡°It seems that the girl has grown up and can no longer stay.¡± ¡°Young master, what are you talking about?¡± Fu Hua blushed and shyly said, ¡°I just like Mo Mo.¡± She didn¡¯t know as much as Lin Rufei. She only knew that Fu Yu and Fu Shui were two people and that Fu Shui took advantage of Fu Yu not being at home to prey on the people. The first time she saw Fu Yu, she had a good impression of this swordsman, but she didn¡¯t think anything else, she just couldn¡¯t let go of Mo Mo. Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°There is no hurry, Fu Yu has agreed to come to Kunlun to participate in the sword competition. After a while, you can probably see him once more.¡± Fu Hua was surprised, ¡°Really?¡± Then she got depressed again, ¡°But what if he doesn¡¯t bring Mo Mo?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then just ask him to bring him.¡± Fu Hua nodded thoughtfully. With Fu Yu gone, the courtyard was quiet again and it was late at night, so it was time for Lin Rufei to sleep. But at this time he had no intention of sleeping. He sat in the courtyard and looked dazedly at the moon in the sky. Gu Xuandu accompanied him. The two did not talk to each other and it was a tacit silence. Until after midnight, the sky suddenly blew a strong wind, drifting dark clouds covered the bright moon. Just a look and he knew heavy rain was about to pour. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain, go back.¡± In the wind, Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice was a bit quiet. Lin Rufei said, ¡°But I can¡¯t sleep and the house is stuffy.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Not happy?¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips. Gu Xuandu seldom saw this aggrieved look on Lin Rufei¡¯s face, but now when he saw him pursing his lips with the corners of his eyes drooped and not saying a word, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. He tapped his fingertips on his frowning forehead: ¡°Who messed with my Xiao Jiu?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head and did not speak. ¡°Actually, this is not a bad thing for Fu Yu.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The past him probably would not have left the Fu family. And when he encountered such a thing, he would probably be sad for a while. Nowadays it is good, he simply became two people ¡­¡­ ¡± He split the weak part from his body and turned it into Mo Mo. No more feelings and naturally no more sadness. Lin Rufei said: ¡°But if the Fu Yu during that time knew about his current self, wouldn¡¯t he be very sad?¡± Gu Xuandu was dumbfounded. Lin Rufei said, ¡°He definitely will be, right.¡± Raindrops fell and one at a time, the big ones fell onto the dry land. Lin Rufei got up and entered the room, behind him was a curtain of splashing rain. He raised his hand and closed the window, isolating the noisy rain outside. The room was stiflingly hot and Lin Rufei did not care to sleep. Sitting at the table, he drank cold tea. He looked tired, his black and thick eyelashes half hanging, revealing a sickly sickness. Gu Xuandu also did not urge him to sleep. Out of nowhere, he bought out a jug of wine and placed it in front of Lin Rufei. He simply poured half a cup and handed it to Lin Rufei. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei¡¯s body was weak and he rarely touched alcoholic beverages, so when he saw that Gu Xuandu was persuading him to drink, he felt very strange. He took the wine cup and saw the emerald-colored clear liquor inside. He put it near his nose and sniffed, and smelled a mellow wine aroma. ¡°What a fragrant wine.¡± Lin Rufei praised, ¡°Where did it come from?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Secretly went out to buy it.¡± Lin Rufei raised his hand and took a sip, all of a sudden a sweet red surfaced on his pale cheeks and his eyes were dense with blurred vapor. He opened his lips slightly and his mouth hissed uncontrollably, ¡°So spicy¡ª¡± Then his expression shook and he looked down at the wine in his own cup. ¡°What a good wine!¡± Gu Xuandu sat across from Lin Rufei. He propped up his chin and looked at him. His eyes were full of doting in a way that Lin Rufei hadn¡¯t noticed, ¡°The wine is strong, drink slowly.¡± Lin Rufei then drank the remaining half cup in one go. Probably because he drank too quickly, he choked himself. He could not help but shake his shoulders and cough violently: ¡°Cough cough, cough cough¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu hurriedly helped him to breathe properly again. He choked really hard this time and Lin Rufei coughed out tears. His eyes were red as if he was bullied for a while and had just cried. When Gu Xuandu saw his appearance, he slowed down his hand movements and said in a slow voice: ¡°Why are you so careless?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m fine.¡± He waved his hand, indicating that he was fine, ¡°I just drank a little too quickly.¡± After he finished, he raised his cup and looked at Gu Xuandu bashfully, ¡°Can I have another cup?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You¡¯ll get drunk.¡± Lin Rufei said indifferently, ¡°If I¡¯m drunk, then I¡¯m drunk. Anyway, there is senior guarding me so I¡¯m not afraid of accidents.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed helplessly. In his heart he thought; You don¡¯t understand, if you¡¯re really drunk then the biggest accident will probably be me. He raised his hand and pressed Lin Rufei¡¯s lips, which were red from the wine, and wiped away the crystal clear water stains with slight effort. He rejected in a deep voice: ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t even realize there was anything wrong with Gu Xuandu¡¯s actions. He swung his head to avoid Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand but did not succeed, so he called out ¡°senior,¡± in an aggrieved manner. This voice was soft and tender, almost like a feather scratching on Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart. Gu Xuandu felt bad so he withdrew his hand and said, ¡°You can¡¯t drink more of this wine.¡± ¡°Just one more cup, just one more cup¡­¡­¡± Drunkenness started to surface in Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes but he still did not forget to act spoiled. It was just like how he treated his older brothers and sister when he was younger. He blinked his wet eyes. He knew what kind of look could make people go soft easily so that he didn¡¯t have to drink that bitter Chinese medicine¡­.. How could Gu Xuandu stand Lin Rufei¡¯s look? He was a little deflated and used his last perseverance to resist: ¡°No.¡± ¡°A small cup, just a small cup.¡± Lin Rufei used his fingers to show a small distance and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll go to sleep after drinking.¡± Gu Xuandu sighed knowing that he was defeated. He took out the wine jug and poured another half cup into Lin Rufei¡¯s cup. Lin Rufei was looking seriously from the side and when he saw that Gu Xuandu was only willing to pour himself half a cup, he didn¡¯t forget to mutter that senior was really stingy. Gu Xuandu thought to himself: If I am not petty, you will probably regret it. This wine tasted mellow and rich. Although it went down extremely spicy, the aftertaste was amazing. The many good wines that Lin Rufei had on Kunlun were not as good as this jug in front of him. He knew that Gu Xuandu would not pour him another cup so Lin Rufei then carefully sipped the remaining half. His slightly drunken eyes gradually surfaced with thick drunkenness and his pale cheeks reddened. He was drunk and he talked more. Soon he started to complain about messy trivialities to Gu Xuandu saying that the prescription prescribed by Wan Yao was really hard to drink and that it was bitter to the heart. He chanted that Fu Hua and Yu Rui watched him too tightly and didn¡¯t even give him the opportunity to pour out the medicine. The worst was that the two of them believed he had hysteria and finally, he blamed Gu Xuandu, saying that he was too petty and was only willing to pour half a cup of wine. He wanted to find a generous senior, who would pour him a little more ¡­¡­ Gu Xuandu reached out and grabbed Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist and asked him, ¡°Which senior are you going to find?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Find ¡­¡­ find one who will give me wine to drink.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Just because I won¡¯t give you wine to drink?¡± Lin Rufei nodded obediently. Gu Xuandu was exasperated to the point of laughter by him. He grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. Most likely because Lin Rufei¡¯s health was not good since childhood his body size was much slimmer than Gu Xuandu. His bone structure also wasn¡¯t big and it was just enough for Gu Xuandu to completely gather him into his arms. Lin Rufei, who was grabbed by Gu Xuandu, was like a child who did something wrong. He couldn¡¯t help but shrink his neck and whisper: ¡°What do you want? ¡± He thought Gu Xuandu was going to beat him up. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Is Xiao Jiu drunk?¡± Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu blankly, he did not understand what he meant by this. But from his eyes, he was already a chaotic, drunken mess. He tilted his head to look at Gu Xuandu and could not stop shaking his head: ¡°I¡¯m not drunk, I¡¯m a good drinker ¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei. His eyes were obscure and unclear. After a long time, he let out a low sigh: ¡°Being drunk is fine.¡± As the words fell, Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes went black and he felt a cold hand over his eyes. He was about to speak but his lips were covered with something warm. Lin Rufei whimpered and tried to struggle out of Gu Xuandu¡¯s arms but the force from the person behind him was so strong that it held him in place. After the kiss, Lin Rufei fell into Gu Xuandu¡¯s arms weakly. The darkness gave rise to his boundless sleep. He slowly closed his eyes and just fell into a deep sleep like that. When Gu Xuandu heard Lin Rufei¡¯s steady breathing, he moved his hand, and saw that Lin Rufei had closed his eyes. He had leaned on his shoulder and fell into a deep sleep. ¡°I am quite petty.¡± Gu Xuandu looked at his sleeping face and mocked himself in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve never been generous regarding you.¡± Even a single strand of hair, he wanted to grasp it tightly in his hand. But he didn¡¯t know if the grip was too tight because all of it flowed through his fingers. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: You should thank me. Lin Rufei: Why? Gu Xuandu: I held back! Lin Rufei: It¡¯s not you who held back, it¡¯s the Jinjiang censorship that forced you to hold you back. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Who would have thought, because of writing kittens drinking milk[3] in the old articles, it was then picked out by the audit and locked _(£º§Ù¡¹¡Ï)_ Author: Alright. Let¡¯s not drink milk anymore. Let¡¯s make do with eating cat food. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] So I really couldn¡¯t find an English version for these stories so I will just paste them here. I have no idea how accurate they are since I translate them from Chinese to English, so if you guys know a more correct version/or find names wrong please leave a comment The Prince of Gandhara Kingdom did not like glory and wealth and fled to live in the mountains and followed his master¡¯s practice in the forest. There was a deep valley below the mountain forest where the Prince lived. At that time, there was a hungry tiger in the deep valley, which had just given birth to seven tiger cubs, and the winter was so cold and snowy that the mother tiger carried the cubs and stayed under the deep valley for three days. But the snow still kept falling, the tiger mother and child were starving and trapped in the deep valley, and they were about to die; the mother tiger was forced by hunger and even wanted to eat the tiger cub. When the immortals saw this scene, they asked, ¡°Who can give up his body to save the tigers below?¡± The Prince was practicing meditation at that time, and when he heard the question from his meditation, he thought to himself, ¡°Very well! My wish has come true.¡± As soon as the prince¡¯s words fell, the mandala flowers rained down and the earth shook. The Prince then took off his deerskin garment, wrapped his head around it, and then jumped off the hanging rock and fell down beside the hungry tiger. After the mother tiger got the flesh and blood of the Bodhisattva, she and her tiger cub were saved. [2] And the second story: Before he became a Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama once went through a period of hard work. Legend has it that one day he was meditating in the forest when an eagle was chasing a pigeon in the sky. The pigeon was desperate and when he saw Siddhartha Gautama, it flew inside his sleeve in an attempt to escape from a disaster. Naturally, Siddhartha Gautama understood the pigeon¡¯s desire to live, so he said to the eagle: ¡°Please let the pigeon go, the heavens have the virtue of good life.¡° But the eagle replied: ¡°If I release this pigeon, then this pigeon is alive, but I will starve to death, where is the virtue of good life?¡° Then Siddhartha Gautama said: ¡°I am willing to give the same weight of meat for the life of the pigeon.¡± So he took a scale, put the pigeon on the other side of the scale, and then he himself began to cut his own flesh with a knife. Strangely enough, the pigeon was not heavy, but Siddhartha Gautama cut a lot of flesh and still did not make the scale balance. Finally he jumped onto the scale himself and the scale was finally balanced. He closed his eyes and said, ¡°If I don¡¯t go to hell, who will go to hell? You can eat me.¡° [3] So uhh, please correct me if I¡¯m wrong on this. So this took me a while to find. Apparently СÄÌè (kitten) can refer to cute girls, however, in this case I¡¯m assuming it refers to LRF. And then drinking milk, means to drink¡­.semen (the idea is that because they are both white¡ªthis took me forever to find) so what is implied here is that because the author wrote some *** stuff, her chapters got locked XD CH 54 The next day, a hungover Lin Rufei woke up with a headache. He had just opened his eyes when he felt a splitting headache. He covered his head in bed and moaned lowly. And for a long time, he was not able to get up. Gu Xuandu sighed from the side, he said ¡®Xiao Jiu Xiao Jiu, if you don¡¯t listen to senior¡¯s words you will suffer.¡¯ However, he still sat next to Lin Rufei and put his head on his lap, gently helping him press and rub his sore temples. Lin Rufei was drowsy from the pressure and complained in a whisper about how his head hurt so much. ¡°I said that the wine was strong, you still do not listen.¡± Gu Xuandu said. Lin Rufei grunted: ¡°It¡¯s because senior¡¯s wine was too fragrant, I couldn¡¯t resist it.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed: ¡°Somehow it¡¯s my fault now.¡± His temple was rubbed by Gu Xuandu for a while and it relieved a lot of swelling and pain. Lin Rufei slowly got up from the bed and summoned Fu Hua to say he was hungry. When Fu Hua noticed that Lin Rufei had not woken up, she was worried. Now, when she heard Lin Rufei¡¯s instruction, she finally let out a sigh of relief. However, she noticed an alcoholic smell in the room had not been dispersed yet and asked why young master was drinking. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Yesterday I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I drank a little.¡± ¡°Then you have to drink less.¡± Fu Hua was a little worried and nagged: ¡°Young master is still coughing and this wine is hot and dry, so it may suppress the medicine.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head and said he understood. He leaned against the bed listlessly and was starting to regret yesterday¡¯s excess cup. However, on second thought, if Gu Xuandu took out the wine jug again, he would probably beg Gu Xuandu to pour him another half cup. Humans, ah, are always so contradictory. Fu Hua brought Lin Rufei food and hangover soup. After watching him eat, she told Yu Rui to bring the boiled medicine. Lin Rufei looked at the medicine with a frown. However, due to his maids watching him like a hawk, he had no choice. He could only pinch his nose and down the medicine in one go. He whispered under his breath that he didn¡¯t know if this medicine was effective even if he drank it every day. Fu Hua and Yu Rui smiled and didn¡¯t say anything on the side. Then after a simple wash and a bit of tidying up, they also intend to leave the Fu Family Village. But when they walked to the door with their carriage, they saw Fu Shui with a large number of Fu family members guarding the door. When they saw him, they hurriedly greeted him and called out, ¡°Lin gongzi ¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s impression of this Fu Shui was really not good and he expressionlessly hummed an agreement. The weather was hot and he didn¡¯t know how long Fu Shui had been waiting here. His head was covered with exaggerated sweat as he said, ¡°Lin gongzi, have you seen my brother?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yesterday he asked me for the sword and I heard from the subordinates that he went to your courtyard.¡± Fu Shui said, ¡°As a result, I never saw him come out again.¡± ¡°He left by sword.¡± Lin Rufei replied briefly. ¡°Left? How come he left?¡± Fu Shui lost his soul, ¡°This, this ¡­¡­ heard that he came back, the family has laid out a banquet and wanted to receive him properly, how come he left.¡± ¡°Why did he leave, do you still want to ask me?¡± Lin Rufei thought it was strange. Fu Shui let out an embarrassed smile: ¡°Although my brother is angry with me, we are a family after all. If there is something wrong as long as he says it, we can also change.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m not your brother, why are you talking to me about this?¡± He was already a little impatient and gave Fu Hua a look. Fu Hua understood tacitly and raised her whip with a crack. Who knew that Fu Shui would step forward and stop the carriage with his body. He cried out: ¡°Lin gongzi, please save our Fu family. Without my brother, we really can¡¯t live. For the sake of this family¡¯s elders and children, please tell me where my brother is! Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-floor pagoda. Lin gongzi, our Fu family¡¯s dozens of people are begging you!¡± After saying that, he kneeled down and cried and the old and young behind him also cried. This scene was very spectacular. Lin Rufei now finally understood why Fu Yu had to leave quietly. If such a big family knew about it, he certainly could not leave. But Fu Yu was from the Fu family. He(FY) should at least give some face to the family. However, Lin Rufei had no relationship with the Fu family and he also didn¡¯t let Fu Shui push him around. So Fu Shui, who was kowtowing to Lin Rufei with his family, suddenly felt a cold chill coming from the top of his head. When he looked up again, he felt a chill on his head and something rustled onto his shoulder. Fu Shui shuddered. He reached out and dumbly touched his head. He looked at Lin Rufei who drew his sword and then realized that the hair against his scalp was cut by Lin Rufei. If he went a little lower, he would have mutilated his head. ¡°The first time is a warning.¡± Lin Rufei said without mercy, ¡°If you dare to say one more word, the next time it will be your neck that suffers.¡± Fu Shui suddenly turned pale and cried out before falling to the ground. When the people behind him saw how unfeeling Lin Rufei was, they all shied away in fear. Lin Rufei¡¯s face did not change and simply waved his hand. When Fu Hua saw the situation, she cracked the whip and the carriage sped away, leaving a bunch of ashen-faced Fu family members. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Only after the carriage drove out of the Fu family estate did Lin Rufei understand why they had such an attitude towards them. Within a few dozen miles, the original lush green crops had all withered overnight. Without the spirit gathering formation and Fu Yu as the nucleus, these crops could not even last one night. The Fu Family Village once again turned back to the salt-alkaline land where no grass grows, only this time, no one knew how many years later, would a second Fu Yu appear. No, perhaps never, Lin Rufei thought, not to mention the Fu Family Village, probably in the whole world, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find a few Fu Yu¡¯s. She was probably aware that Lin Rufei¡¯s mood was not good so Yu Rui casually talked about the next place they were going to go. She said that the place was very amazing and that the whole country is full of temples. Lin Rufei casually asked: ¡°Temples? They believe in Buddhism?¡± ¡°No, they don¡¯t believe in Buddha.¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°They believe in the Heavenly Ruler.¡± The name ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡± was familiar to all the continents and Lin Rufei had seen many stories about him in books. But most of these stories had a touch of mythology, similar to those about the current cutting the dragon[1] and so on. It always didn¡¯t feel quite real. Yu Rui said: ¡°Gongzi should have heard of the name of this country.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What is it called?¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°Dajing.¡± Dajing. Lin Rufei had indeed heard of this country¡¯s name, but he only heard of it and didn¡¯t know it too well. Nowadays, the Yaoguang continent was divided into four countries and although there were some minor frictions, it was said that there had not been any major wars for many years. Most of the people who cultivate immortality would not participate in worldly disputes. After all, they could no longer get much benefits from it. Compared to money, power, and self-interest, the only way through was the Avenue of Eternal Life. After all, mortals lived only for a few dozen years. No matter how powerful, in the end, they would all have graves. Of course, there would be some cultivators who could no longer further their cultivation that were recruited by the country. These cultivators, in times of war, would play an extremely important role, after all, a fifth-level sword cultivator could cut a hundred people with one swing. On the battlefield, they were naturally a powerful weapon to break the enemy. But these sword cultivators, who were involved in worldly things, usually don¡¯t have very high cultivation. Level five cultivators were already very rare. The carriage continued to move forward and the surrounding scenery changed. After leaving the salt-alkaline land of the Fu Family Village, he once again saw the lush plants and crops along the roadside and the houses gradually turned into ordinary brick houses. After traveling on for another ten days, a prosperous city was seen. Lin Rufei sent a letter to Kunlun along the way, describing in graphic detail what he encountered. But of course, the letter deliberately omitted the dangers he encountered and only said some interesting things. Those on Kunlun also quickly replied to the letter. It was still the same old story that repeatedly urged Lin Rufei to pay attention to safety. That if he encountered someone who he couldn¡¯t fight, to escape first. Lin Rufei chuckled when he read the letter. In his older siblings¡¯ dictionary, there was certainly no such word as ¡°flee,¡± but when it came to him, they wanted to carve this word onto Lin Rufei¡¯s brain. They were afraid that their younger brother would suffer. On the first day of entering Dajing, Lin Rufei saw what Yu Rui meant by amazing. Every three steps in this place there was a small temple. Every five steps there was a large temple. There was a temple everywhere related to the Heavenly Ruler. The temples were full of incense and it was evident that the people of the country were indeed worshipping with devotion. Lin Rufei wondered why the country had such an attitude toward the Heavenly Ruler, so he casually asked a roadside vendor when he was buying something. When the vendor heard this, he came to life, ¡°Guest, you are a newcomer to Dajing, right?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes.¡± The vendor said, ¡°No wonder. Those that have lived in Dajing for a while, won¡¯t ask this question.¡± With that, he gesticulated his hands and explained why Dajing had such reverence for the Heavenly Ruler. The time goes back to several hundred years ago when the formation protecting the continent had not yet been laid. The demons of the Bu¡¯e Continent often invaded. The demons were so strong that they tore open the void and opened the entrance right above the land of Dajing. Most of the people in Dajing were ordinary mortals, if they had successfully invaded, then Dajing would have suffered a brutal slaughter. However, for those who have ascended the immortal path, why would they care about the mortals? Mortals were always like ants in the eyes of immortals, not even mentioning those big families. Dajing did everything in their power, but could only invite just slightly more than 100 cultivators from the country. However, with their power, they could not resist the demons. Just when Dajing was in a time of despair, the Heavenly Ruler came with his sword ¡­¡­ ¡°Legend has it that that Heavenly Ruler was already at the tenth level of cultivation and would have ascended in a few more days. They never thought that he would actually care about such trivial matters.¡± The vendor said excitedly, as if he was a spectator of that great battle, ¡°When the Heavenly Ruler raged, millions of dead bodies were buried. The sharp sword in his hand alone cut off the heads of millions of demons and finally, he also sealed the opened entrance. Our Dajing had less than 10,000 deaths, which has been a great blessing in misfortune. What happened later on, you should also know. ¡° Lin Rufei said: ¡°Then the Heavenly Ruler laid down a formation to protect the entire continent?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, he was obviously about to leave, but he still cared about the world. Such a person! Really worthy of the name Heavenly Ruler!¡± The vendor said. Lin Rufei had actually seen the battle from books, but the description was so exaggerated that he was somewhat unconvinced. After all, to defeat tens of thousands of demons with the power of one man was really unimaginable. Besides, time has passed, and most people who read that history would feel that it was somewhat exaggerated. Lin Rufei was no exception. But these dense temples and offerings in the territory of Dajing told Lin Rufei that a great battle was indeed true. Otherwise, the people of Dajing would not be so grateful and the incense would not have continued to be burned for a hundred years without stopping. After eating the food, Lin Rufei went to the nearby temple and saw a statue belonging to the Heavenly Ruler placed in the temple. The statue was dressed in red and it stood with a sword. Although it was already quite old, its spiritual elegance was still visible. In front of the statue, there were incense burners and praying mats. All around were incense-bearers who were making offerings making the scene very lively. Lin Rufei was looking up at the statue but was bumped by a child running around. He did not care and simply raised his hand to support the child, telling him to be more careful. The child glanced at Lin Rufei, answered, and intended to run out, but he just took two steps, when he was grabbed by the collar. ¡°What are you grabbing me for?!¡± The child screamed and struggled uncontrollably. Lin Rufei looked towards the sound, and to his surprise, he saw a familiar face, ¡°Why is Little master here?¡± The one who grabbed the child was the monk that Lin Rufei had met by chance on the Xiliang Mountains. The monk was still gentle and kind and smiled, ¡°Probably because I have fate with patron.¡± ¡°Stinky monk, stinky monk¡ªlet go of me!¡± When the child saw that Lin Rufei and the monk knew each other, he struggled even more, and when he saw that the monk had no intention of letting go, he turned his head and tried to bite the monk¡¯s hand. The monk slightly raised his hand and lifted the little thing up by the collar, ¡°Biting is not a good habit.¡± He looked at Lin Rufei and asked, ¡°Patron take a look, are you missing anything?¡± Only then did Lin Rufei suddenly realize. He felt around his bosom and found that his pouch was indeed missing. This child¡¯s technique was really good, he did not feel that he had been stolen from at all. Seeing that his deed had been discovered, the child could only obediently pull out the pouch. However, he still glared at the monk with hatred and cursed, ¡°You bad monk!¡± The monk laughed with a good temper: ¡°You¡¯re the one who stole, how come I¡¯m the bad monk instead.¡± The boy said: ¡°He is a noble¡¯s son, it¡¯s not like he would die without a pouch. However, if I don¡¯t steal something, then I will be killed alive!¡± His sophistry sounded very justified, ¡°You helped him, but it cost me my life. Tell me, are you a bad monk or not?!¡± The monk was stunned: ¡°Since you say it like that, it does make some sense.¡± The child said, ¡°Right!¡± The monk said seriously: ¡°Then how about this, I will help you kill the person who wants to kill you, then you don¡¯t have to die. What do you think?¡± The boy froze at his words, but could not help but shrink his neck. He felt very strange, the monk was obviously speaking softly but how come the words he spoke sounded very creepy and scary? He reluctantly said: ¡°No need for that kind of trouble, just give me some money so that I can go back to turn it in. Troublesome things such as killing ¡­¡­¡± Who knew that the monk would shake his head, sigh, and say, ¡°No trouble, no trouble, killing is much easier than making money.¡± As he said this, he also pulled out his patched pouch. He shook it in his hand and only three coins fell out of the pouch, nothing else. The child was frightened by the monk¡¯s words and yelled out a sentence: ¡°You are crazy!¡± He turned around and ran away. His back was really wretched. Lin Rufei wanted to laugh. He said, ¡®such a small child, why are you scaring him?¡¯ But the monk was righteous: ¡°He is reasonable, I am also reasonable, how can you say that I am scaring him?¡± As a result, just after he said this, Lin Rufei heard a gurgling sound coming from the monk¡¯s body. Yu Rui could not help but laugh: ¡°Little master, how long have you not eaten?!¡± The monk sighed: ¡°I¡¯m embarrassingly short of money, ah.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It just so happens that we are also going to eat, so why don¡¯t you join us, little master?¡± The monk said, ¡°I don¡¯t want a reward if it is not deserved. How is this appropriate?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How can you say that you don¡¯t deserve it? Little master has just helped me find my pouch.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± The monk nodded, ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble patron.¡± And so a group of people walked outside. Lin Rufei asked the monk for his name. The monk said he was called Xuan Qing, from Nanyin Temple, and was traveling around, and it just so happened that the imperial family of Dajing had encountered something and invited him to help. ¡°Then Master Xuan Qing is unable to eat meat, right?¡± When he spoke of eating, Lin Rufei suddenly remembered this. ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Monks are easy to feed. Patron can just buy this monk two steamed buns.¡± How was Lin Rufei willing? He heavily dragged Xuan Qing, chose a good restaurant, and deliberately ordered a lot of vegetarian food for him. Xuan Qing also didn¡¯t know how long he had not eaten. Once the food came up, he immediately stopped talking with Lin Rufei, held the chopsticks, and ate incredibly seriously. Lin Rufei had never had a good appetite, so he casually ate a few items, then stopped. He watched with interest as Xuan Qing easily finished a large pot of rice and a few plates of vegetarian dishes. Only then, did he show a satisfied look. Lin Rufei asked: ¡°Little master, where are you staying for the night?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay at the temple.¡± He folded his hands and bowed to Lin Rufei, saying, ¡°I have to thank the Heavenly Ruler, if not for his followers¡¯ extensive temple construction, the monk would have had to use the sky as a blanket and the earth as a mat.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°You believe in the Heavenly Ruler so what are you doing bowing to me. By the way, you said before that the imperial family of Dajing invited you over?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Does Lin gongzi also want to go to the imperial family?¡± Lin Rufei nodded: ¡°I have an invitation to send over and I happen to be going the same way as you, why don¡¯t Master come and be my companion?¡± Xuan Qing pondered for a moment, ¡°Will it cause trouble for patron?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What¡¯s the trouble, it¡¯s just along the way.¡± Then Xuan Qing agreed. But even so, when Lin Rufei invited him to stay with him at the same inn, Xuan Qing refused. He said that he could stay at the temple and that he could not bother Lin Rufei too much. Lin Rufei saw him being really stubborn, so he had to give up. Before Xuan Qing left, the two agreed to leave together tomorrow morning towards Dajing¡¯s Imperial City Dengxiao[2]. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. If they took a carriage, there were still about four or five days before arriving at Dengxiao, provided they didn¡¯t encounter any accidents on the way. Yu Rui was next to Lin Rufei using a silk fan to gently fan him. She smiled and said that this monk was an interesting person. Lin Rufei glanced at her, and then looked at Fu Hua. He sighed and asked if the Hong Luan Star[3] had decided to land in their family. Yu Rui glared: ¡°Young master, how can you tease me like that, he is a monk!¡± Lin Rufei said seriously: ¡°Does he not look good?¡± ¡°Good looking, he is good looking ¡­¡­¡± Yu Rui said, biting her lip, ¡°But he¡¯s still a monk.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Isn¡¯t there still the option of leaving a monastic order and returning to normal life?¡± As he said this, he started to laugh first, ¡°Little brat[4], what are you so nervous about, I was just kidding.¡± Yu Rui let out a ¡°hmph¡± and said: ¡°That can¡¯t do. What if I take it seriously and the monk refuses to leave the monastic order, what would you do?¡± Lin Rufei patted his chest and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll tie the monk and bring him back for you.¡± Yu Rui and Fu Hua laughed out loud together. They both knew Lin Rufei was joking and did not take it to heart. But Gu Xuandu, who was next to him, frowned. Lin Rufei entered the room and asked him why he had this expression. Gu Xuandu said: ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to beat him, ah.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°He is that powerful?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Not only him, those from the Nanyin Temple are all monsters. If the current you really fought, you may really not be his opponent.¡± Lin Rufei showed a thoughtful look. After Xuan Qing came out of the restaurant, he slowly walked towards the temple where he was staying. The sky was dark and there were fewer pedestrians on the road. He passed by an alley, but heard a child¡¯s ear-piercing cries and pleads for mercy, interspersed with stern scolding. Xuan Qing¡¯s footsteps paused for a moment then walked inside the alley. The alley was dimly lit, with a mess of miscellaneous items, and in the corner, a few children huddled together, being beaten by a few adults holding sticks: ¡°You bunch of trash, is this the harvest today? Put away your little thoughts, don¡¯t you want to live anymore?!¡± As he said this, he got the stick and was ready to swing down on a child. However, he heard a gentle Amitabha Buddha from behind. The man turned around and saw a handsome monk with an old robe. His eyes were half-lidded and he said in a gentle voice: ¡°Why are the two patrons bullying a group of children?¡± ¡°None of your business, get lost or I¡¯ll beat you up too!¡± When the man saw that it was just a rather thin-looking monk, his expression became even more vicious. He spat towards the ground and waved the stick in his hand, ¡°Get lost!¡± The monk stood unmoving. ¡°Are you unable to understand the human language!¡± The man saw that the monk did not move and became more annoyed. He was the leader of the gangsters in this area and had a group of thieves under his control. Most of these thieves were young and unsupported children, such children were the easiest to control. ¡°Amitabha Buddha.¡± The monk folded his hands and let out a long sigh, ¡°Making money is indeed not an easy task.¡± After he finished, he said to himself, ¡°It¡¯s much easier to kill.¡± After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the alley. The group thought that the monk was afraid and was about to laugh at him a few times, but the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through mid-air suddenly rang out next to their ears. Soon it was followed by a cold sensation against their necks and their visions turned upside down. Dong, Dong, Dong[5]. Behind them came the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground and the panicked screams of the children. The monk heard it but didn¡¯t turn around. He recited Amitabha Buddha again and frowned sadly as he pinched the pouch he kept in his sleeve and carefully counted the only three coins left in it. The next day, Lin Rufei met Xuan Qing at the entrance of the inn. He knew that the monk probably had no money to eat so he also specially packed a lot of pastries for him. Xuan Qing happily took the pastry, opened it, and ate a piece seriously. Just as he showed his satisfaction, he heard someone call him from the side: ¡°Monk!¡± Xuan Qing turned around and saw the child who stole Lin Rufei¡¯s pouch yesterday. The child looked at Xuan Qing with his shining eyes, ¡°Monk, can I learn martial arts from you?¡± Xuan Qing was stunned and pointed to himself, ¡°Me?¡± The boy nodded: ¡°I saw it all last night! I also want to learn how to kill from you!¡± Xuanqing said, ¡°What do you want to do when you learn how to kill?¡± The child said seriously: ¡°Naturally it is to make money, to earn a lot of money.¡± Hearing the word ¡°money,¡± Xuan Qing¡¯s face was bitter. He waved his hand and said, ¡°No, no, go find someone else.¡± As he said this, he hurriedly got on the carriage. He didn¡¯t know if he was just seeing things or not, but Lin Rufei felt some taste of wretchedness from this Xuan Qing¡¯s back. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: How nice would it be if you weren¡¯t drunk. Lin Rufei: If I weren¡¯t drunk¡­¡­ Gu Xuandu: ? Lin Rufei: Then I¡¯m afraid the previous chapter would be locked. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­.. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] I¡¯m not really sure what this story is since I¡¯ve never heard of it. But here is the original sentence, so if any of you know the story please comment uwu :ÀàËÆʲôÄæˮնÁúÖ®ÀàµÄ [2] Dengxiao means Lantern Festival. I originally had it as Lantern Festival until I realized it was the city¡¯s name. [3] Hong Luan Star ¨C responsible for marriage and celebrations. In folklore, it is said that if you see this star, you will meet its true destiny. In today¡¯s society, the idiom of Hong Luan Star moving is also used to represent the divination of marriage, which also means the upcoming marriage. [4] The phrase here is СѾͷ which can roughly be translated as ¡°little girl¡± but it is often used for servant girls and can be used as an endearment. In this case, it feels more like an endearment but at the same time, ¡°little girl¡± just sounds kind of weird so I replaced it with ¡°brat.¡± [5] Onomatopoeia for something falling. CH 55 Xuan Qing, who only had three coins left in his pouch, naturally could not teach the child how to earn money. So under the child¡¯s disappointed look, Fu Hua cracked the whip and drove the carriage all the way away. Lin Rufei sat in the carriage and talked with Xuan Qing. Xuan Qing said he came from Nanyin Temple and had been traveling for three years. He had been to many places and also met a lot of strange and bizarre things. Lin Rufei listened with great interest and from time to time, he would ask a question or two, the atmosphere was very harmonious. ¡°What is the reason for Master¡¯s visit to the imperial palace of Dajing?¡± Lin Rufei said curiously. ¡°I heard that a nobleman was infected with evil spirits so they asked this monk to go over to perform a ritual.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Who is Lin gongzi going to deliver the invitation to?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Prince Bai Tianrui of Dajing.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s him.¡± Xuan Qing revealed a look of understanding. Bai Tianrui was the Prince of Dajing and his cultivation level had reached the eighth level. He was the only sword practitioner in Dajing¡¯s imperial family whose cultivation level had passed the fifth level. But his reputation among the people was not too good. Although he had an outstanding talent, he was a real smiling tiger[1]. He had a perverse nature and was temperamental and unpredictable. Although it wasn¡¯t to the point that he would prey on the people, nothing good happened to those who dare to provoke him. According to rumors, when they first met Bai Tianrui, he was smiling and after they made friends with Bai Tianrui he was also smiling. In the end, when they were finally killed with a sword, he was still smiling. And the most creepy thing was that his smile wasn¡¯t a disguise. One could see his true feelings at any moment and any minute¡ªhe would really treat you as a friend and would also really want to kill you. These rumors were so widespread that it was hard to tell if they were true or not. But Lin Rufei had long been used to seeing all kinds of swordsmen with peculiar natures and did not find anything particularly strange about this rumored image of Bai Tianrui. ¡°He has a perverse nature and likes beautiful women. Lin gongzi, remember to be careful when you go there.¡± Xuan Qing said. Lin Rufei did not take Xuan Qing¡¯s words too seriously and said, ¡°What, Master knows that Bai Tianrui?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Sort of ¡­¡­ know?¡± Lin Rufei always felt that Xuan Qing¡¯s expression was a bit strange, but he didn¡¯t think much of it. The weather was scarily hot. Even though Fu Hua had put a lot of ice in the carriage to cool it down, it was still stiflingly hot. Yu Rui was fanning Lin Rufei and noticed that the monk, Xuan Qing, did not shed a drop of sweat so she curiously asked: ¡°Little master, how do you not sweat, ah?¡± Xuan Qing smiled and said, ¡°A calm heart keeps you cool.¡± ¡°A calm heart keeps you cool? It¡¯s all a lie.¡± Yu Rui muttered. ¡°Monks do not lie.¡± Xuan Qing said seriously. ¡°Little master is not lying.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°When people die, don¡¯t they naturally feel cool?¡± Xuan Qing nodded: ¡°Nevertheless, Lin gongzi understands things.¡± Yu Rui¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°But little master is not a dead person, how can he feel so cool?¡± Xuan Qing did not speak but blinked at Yu Rui. Yu Rui also defiantly glared back. They glared for a while that their eyes were starting to turn red. However, she found that the monk actually did not even blink so how could she win? So she twitched her mouth in an aggrieved manner and shrunk to the corner. When Lin Rufei saw the situation, he laughed out loud and said, ¡®Master, please don¡¯t bully my family¡¯s little girl.¡¯ ¡°Amitabha Buddha.¡± Xuan Qing folded his hands and said with a serious face, ¡°Monks never bully little girls, except when telling ghost stories.¡± Lin Rufei burst into laughter again. Ten days of travel and Lin Rufei also learned a lot about this Xuan Qing. This monk was very interesting and he knew a lot of things. He even told a few things to Lin Rufei about the secrets of Dajing¡¯s imperial family. Such as fathers and sons at each other¡¯s throats, sibling rivalry, which was quite common in the imperial family. But there were also some interesting things, such as the eldest prince falling in love with a woman to the point that he didn¡¯t even want the throne. Who knew that when the two were soon to be married, an immortal master suddenly appeared. He said that the woman was a demon sent to plague the prince. He then cast a spell on the spot and the woman turned back into her original form¡ªwhich was a poor rabbit spirit. The eldest prince was furious. He directly used a sword and cut off the immortal master¡¯s head. He then carefully picked up the rabbit and carried the rabbit home in front of everyone while rubbing its ears. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Yu Rui listened dumbfoundedly and said, ¡®That was possible? According to a normal plot, shouldn¡¯t the prince be terrified and let the immortal master subdue the demon in the end?¡¯ ¡°Yes, everyone thinks so, and besides, Dajing and the demons had a great feud, the eldest prince should also be clear.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°But this matter, ah, later on, there was a big reversal.¡± ¡°What reversal?¡± Yu Rui asked. ¡°That immortal master, who had his head chopped off, his body actually turned into a demon. And that woman recuperated in the eldest prince¡¯s home for half a month before regaining her human form again.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Later, he sent someone to check and found out that the woman was not a rabbit spirit at all and was wronged by the immortal master.¡± Yu Rui made a sound of amazement, ¡°Such a thing was possible?¡± ¡°The matters regarding the imperial family, you can¡¯t think of it but there¡¯s nothing they can¡¯t do.¡± Xuan Qing shook his head, his tone was very sorrowful, ¡°Fortunately, the eldest prince was resolute and did not let the miscreants have a chance to take advantage¡­¡­ just a pity ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Pity?¡± Lin Rufei said with interest, ¡°Just a pity what?¡± Xuan Qing slapped his legs and laughed: ¡°Unfortunately after the woman suffered from this disaster, she was afraid of the imperial family. And refused desperately to be with the eldest prince.¡± Lin Rufei and Yu Rui stared at the same time. They did not expect things to develop this way. According to the plot of the book, shouldn¡¯t the eldest prince and his beloved finally live a happy and beautiful life? ¡°And finally, what happened at the end?¡± Yu Rui also pursued the question. ¡°In the end, the eldest prince, in anger, rose to the occasion and became an heir apparent.¡± As Xuan Qing said this, he was already laughing back and forth, ¡°Who is the current day holy emperor¡ªhahahahahaha, it is a pity that he was never able to find his little rabbit.¡± Lin Rufei and Yu Rui were suddenly speechless. From Xuan Qing¡¯s laughter, they could taste that he was rejoicing in other people¡¯s misfortune. They didn¡¯t know what sort of relationship Xuan Qing had with the eldest prince. Xuan Qing finished laughing and waved his hand, ¡°These are just rumors, Lin gongzi must not say this in the palace, lest ¡­¡­¡± He coughed lowly, ¡°Lest the current holy emperor becomes annoyed. ¡° Lin Rufei nodded and said he would pay attention. Yu Rui was lost on the side. It was apparent that she couldn¡¯t really accept this too realistic ending. Her expression was very complicated. Several times she looked at Xuan Qing and wanted to say something but then stopped. As a result, that night, they ate a wild rabbit that Yu Rui had caught from the mountain forest. The wild rabbit was not like a domestic rabbit. The meat was a little older[2], and if not handled well, it would be stinky. The good thing was that Fu Hua was a good cook. She first marinated the rabbit meat and then put it on the fire to slowly roast. Not long after that, the grease on the surface began to sizzle, giving off a rich meat smell. It was a pity that the vegetarian Xuan Qing was not blessed with this and could only eat the sweet potatoes specially baked for him by Yu Rui. The rabbit meat tasted really good, but unfortunately, the weather was too hot and Lin Rufei¡¯s appetite was not good. He ate a rabbit leg and then felt tired of it. In the end, it was Fu Hua who crushed some ice to make him a bowl of cool mung bean soup and only then did he eat some more. Xuan Qing sighed and said, ¡°Why is Lin gongzi¡¯s appetite so bad? If you don¡¯t eat, then the body will collapse.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand and indifferently expressed that he was used to it and told Xuan Qing not to worry. In the evening, the group came down from the mountain and found an inn at the foot of the mountain to rest. Lin Rufei, as usual, did not sleep well and wanted to chat with Gu Xuandu. However, he found that Gu Xuandu was not with him. It seemed that since the arrival of this monk Xuan Qing, Gu Xuandu words were much more less. Most of the time, he was standing beside Lin Rufei silently. He neither talked nor answered. For a while, Lin Rufei was a little bit unused to it. He tossed and turned in bed for a while before he heard Gu Xuandu¡¯s words ringing out beside him, ¡°What, can¡¯t sleep?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where did senior go?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I went to ¡­¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Lin Rufei: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you went to catch ghosts.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°You could even guess it?¡± Lin Rufei sighed. But even so, Gu Xuandu did not want to explain where he actually went. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t feel appropriate to ask again. He started to chat with Gu Xuandu about Xuan Qing and Gu Xuandu said, ¡®this Xuan Qing¡¯s temper is actually good, but sometimes his thinking angle is a bit strange, no need to be surprised.¡¯ Lin Rufei wondered: ¡°Listening to senior¡¯s tone, why does it feel like you¡¯ve known this monk for a long time?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Does it?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Naturally, it does.¡± ¡°Then your feeling is probably wrong.¡± Gu Xuandu was a little lost in thought and he didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, ¡°In a few days we will be going to the Imperial Palace of Dajing, you must be more careful.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What does senior know?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know anything, but since Xuan Qing was asked to help, then this matter must be a bit of trouble and not so easy to solve.¡± Lin Rufei pondered. Gu Xuandu chatted with Lin Rufei a bit more in a slow tone before he revealed a drowsy look. Lin Rufei urged him to rest. He yawned, swung his long sleeves, and his body dissipated in front of Lin Rufei. He seemed to be in very bad shape. Looking at him like this, Lin Rufei suddenly remembered what happened on the Xiliang Mountains, could it be that this trip to the imperial palace also had something Gu Xuandu needed? The more Lin Rufei thought about it, the more it made sense. Lying on the bed, he pondered for a long time. Only when the morning light appeared did he take a short nap. The next day, the carriage was on the road again. Lin Rufei leaned against the window and dozed off. The name of Dajing¡¯s imperial city was called Dengxiao. The reason for this name was that there were star-like lights all over Dengxiao City, which made it bright all night. This practice had been in place since a long time ago, he just didn¡¯t know why it started. But the name Dengxiao had indeed been passed down for a hundred years. Lin Rufei liked the word ¡°Dengxiao,¡± so he was also looking forward to the Imperial City. The closer they got to the imperial city, the more prosperous the surroundings became. The people of Dajing were so open that when a handsome man walked along the roadside, there were bold girls who threw beautiful silk flowers at him. Lin Rufei was not aware of this custom in Dajing and was taken aback. The weather was hot and the woman who threw flowers at Lin Rufei was wearing a short shirt and skirt. Her hair was tied up and her waistline was revealed. She saw Lin Rufei¡¯s wide eyes, as if she had frightened him, and burst out laughing with joy. She started to chatter about in the local dialect, but unfortunately, Lin Rufei did not understand a word of it. In the end, it was Fu Hua and Yu Rui who helped Lin Rufei stop the cherry blossoms[3] that suddenly appeared on the side of the road. The two maids saw their gongzi was being assaulted to the point that he was at a loss of words and a smile surfaced on the corner of their mouths. Lin Rufei said in shock, ¡°This is too direct.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Dajing¡¯s style.¡± Xuan Qing laughed, ¡°Gongzi will have to get used to it soon.¡± Although Lin Rufei¡¯s body looked a little weak and his face was pale, his appearance was excellent, and his every move had the unique noble aura of a large family¡¯s son so he could naturally attract many girls who liked beauty. But Lin Rufei himself apparently did not realize. That look of surprise when the woman stuffed silk flowers into his arms was somewhat cute. Lin Rufei did not say anything for a long time. The most spontaneous girl he had ever seen was his own third sister, Lin Weirui. But in the end, there was a big brother at home. No matter how spontaneous Lin Weirui was, she wouldn¡¯t toss out flowers. This time, when they arrived at Dajing, he was able to see different customs and people. The closer they got to Dajing, the more temples related to the Heavenly Ruler appeared. Some of these temples were magnificent and majestic and some were just small temples built with stones by the roadside. However, no matter what kind, what was enshrined inside, was a red-clad Heavenly Ruler. Although Lin Rufei had long heard of the reverence the people of Dajing had for the Heavenly Ruler, he still was shocked seeing these scenes in front of him. Back then, after the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s tribulation, most people said that he stepped through the void and left and ascended to immortality. However, there were also rumors made by mortals that the Heavenly Ruler did not leave, but failed the tribulation, and his cultivation was greatly reduced, and was forced to hide. In addition, there were other strange sayings that were not worth mentioning. Xuan Qing also seemed to have different emotions for the Heavenly Ruler. When he saw a Heavenly Ruler¡¯s temple, he would certainly go in to pay homage. If there was money left over, he would certainly buy a pillar of incense to light. Unfortunately, he was short of money at this time and only had three coins left. Lin Rufei wanted to lend him money, but he refused to take it. ¡°I¡¯m just telling the Heavenly Ruler some of this monk¡¯s thoughts.¡± Xuan Qing said as such, ¡°If I receive money from others, the intentions would change. Besides ¡­¡­ it is Lin gongzi¡¯s.¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my money?¡± Xuan Qing smiled and said, ¡°This whole journey I am riding in Lin gongzi¡¯s carriage, eating Lin gongzi¡¯s food, and has given Lin gongzi a lot of trouble. How could I possibly ask for money?¡± Those words were true. But Lin Rufei always felt that Xuan Qing¡¯s words just now did not mean this. This monk was not pedantic and knew how to adapt so he shouldn¡¯t be stuck on such trivial matters. But his resolute attitude made it hard for Lin Rufei to persuade. After another day, they were going to enter Dengxiao. But Gu Xuandu suddenly appeared at night. His figure was much lighter and his voice also sounded very weak. ¡°There is an object in that palace that is restraining me, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t show myself.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If Xiao Jiu needs anything, remember to go to Xuan Qing for help.¡± Lin Rufei looked shocked, ¡°Is the thing in the palace the same as the one on the Xiliang Mountains, something that senior needs?¡± Gu Xuandu hesitated slightly but under Lin Rufei¡¯s burning gaze, he still nodded. He then said in a deep voice: ¡°If that thing is there, the imperial city will be very dangerous. Xiao Jiu must not venture in like when we were on the Xiliang Mountains.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and said yes. Gu Xuandu instructed some more words before fading away. It seemed that the incident on the Xiliang Mountains scared Gu Xuandu very much, otherwise, he would not have repeatedly reiterated to Lin Rufei. He was afraid that Lin Rufei would really have some accidents. Lin Rufei was curious at this time, exactly what was in the Dajing Palace? Stepping on the early morning sun, the carriage was on the road again. Today they would be able to reach Dengxiao. And then after staying in Dengxiao for a night, the next day Lin Rufei would be able to send out the invitation in his hand. It was indeed the imperial city. Even before entering, Lin Rufei saw the tall and lofty city walls and the heavily armed soldiers stationed beside them. Lin Rufei handed over the paperwork. The soldiers carefully checked it and waved their hands to let them go in. But when it came to Xuan Qing, the soldiers¡¯ attitude was not quite the same. First, they repeatedly confirmed enthusiastically whether it was really Master Xuan Qing and after getting a positive answer, they immediately asked someone to report. However, Xuan Qing waved his hand and stopped the soldier¡¯s movement, saying that he would visit the palace tomorrow, so they should not bother the people above. The soldier wanted to say more, but when he saw that Xuan Qing was very insistent, he had to give up. However, he still sent someone to invite Xuan Qing to stay at the best inn in Dengxiao City along with Lin Rufei, who was also received as a distinguished guest. Sitting in the carriage, Lin Rufei smiled and said that he had a taste of Xuan Qing¡¯s glory. But Xuan Qing shook his head. He sighed and said that he had nothing to offer and was afraid that he would cause trouble. ¡°How is it troublesome?¡± Lin Rufei wondered. Xuan Qing said, ¡°I have come to Dengxiao three times. The first two times were also to help the imperial family solve trouble, but I have never received such treatment ¡­¡­¡± He sighed, ¡°It is better to ignore me.¡± The more enthusiastic the attitude, it just meant that things were more troublesome. And now even the soldiers guarding the door knew that he was coming over. Xuan Qing recited Amitabha Buddha. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When they arrived at the inn, the imperial family arranged several more upper rooms for them and also thoughtfully prepared a zhai meal[4]. Xuan Qing, however, refused outright on the grounds that he was not feeling well and went back into his room and closed the door. Lin Rufei thought that this matter had nothing to do with himself but who knew that when those people couldn¡¯t find Xuan Qing, they thought he was Xuan Qing¡¯s friend and talked to him for a while. Lin Rufei then learned from their mouths that the matter in the palace was indeed a big deal. Three of the six royal heir apparents, two were seriously injured and in a coma. The remaining three people were on edge and were almost scared to the point of hysteria. This matter had happened for almost a month but because they feared that the public would panic, the news did not dare to spread. However, recently there were still some rumors amongst the people, if this continued, this matter would not be completely suppressed! The story was that the people were still talking about it and for this reason, the imperial family invited Master Xuan Qing, a monk from Nanyin Temple, to calm the matters down as soon as possible. After Lin Rufei identified himself as a member of the Lin family, they warmly invited Lin Rufei to follow Xuan Qing to the palace tomorrow, saying that Prince Bai Tianrui would also be present and Lin Rufei could just hand over the invitation to him. Lin Rufei thought for a moment and agreed. Before those people left, they said that Dengxiao had a curfew and told Lin Rufei that he must remember to rest early and not wander outside. Although Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth said yes, in his heart he felt an overwhelming sense of regret. Dengxiao was famous for its nighttime light scenery, but he didn¡¯t expect to encounter a curfew as soon as he arrived. After arriving at Dengxiao, Gu Xuandu completely disappeared. He didn¡¯t come out to chat with Lin Rufei even though he was having trouble sleeping. Lin Rufei had something on his mind and didn¡¯t sleep too well. In the midst of his tossing and turning, the first light of morning came. When he went out in the morning after washing up, he saw Xuan Qing already sitting at the table enjoying breakfast. He smiled and greeted Lin Rufei and asked him how he slept last night. ¡°Not too good.¡± Lin Rufei yawned. ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep too well either.¡± Xuan Qing said. ¡°What, are you worried about what happened in the palace?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Xuan Qing nodded seriously and said, ¡°If this matter is not resolved, this monk is afraid that he will really die of hunger.¡± As he said this, he pulled out his wallet. The only three coins left in it have been used to buy incense a few days ago. At this time, it was deflated and nothing could be shaken out. Although he said it was very serious, Lin Rufei could not help but laugh and said, ¡®Master Xuan Qing no need to worry. If you really starve to death, then come to find me. I can ensure that there is a zhai meal for Master to enjoy.¡¯ Xuan Qing seriously said, ¡°Then I will first accept Lin gongzi¡¯s kindness.¡± While they were talking, the carriage from the palace had already stopped at the entrance. A guard with a sword, wearing a vermillion guard¡¯s uniform, walked up to the two of them. He balled his hand in respect, swept his sharp gaze from Lin Rufei¡¯s to Xuan Qing¡¯s faces, and said, ¡°You are Lin gongzi and Master Xuan Qing, right?¡± Xuan Qing and Lin Rufei nodded their heads. ¡°This way, please.¡± The guard raised his hand and pointed to the carriage at the entrance, ¡°His Holiness[5] is already waiting in the palace.¡± His Holiness was the current emperor of Dajing and was also the eldest prince in Xuan Qing¡¯s story. He was surnamed Bai, called Bai Jinglun, and was now the half-brother of Prince Bai Tianrui. He was three years older than Bai Tianrui. Together, Lin Rufei, Fu Hua, Yu Rui, and Xuan Qing got on the carriage. The curtain fell and the driver raised his whip. Da, Da. The sound of clattering hooves came from the stone road. The guard entered the carriage with Lin Rufei and the others and sat opposite Lin Rufei. He looked grave and his body was in a state of extreme vigilance as if he was guarding against something. ¡°How is the Third Princess doing?¡± Xuan Qing asked. The guard, however, glanced at Lin Rufei as if hesitating to elaborate on the private affairs of the imperial family in front of him, an outsider. Seeing this, Xuan Qing said indifferently, ¡°Lin gongzi¡¯s family is not an outsider, there is no harm in talking about it.¡± The guard hesitated for a moment and whispered, ¡°The Third Princess is still in a coma. We have already followed Master Xuan Qing¡¯s previous instructions to lay formations around, but ¡­¡­ it¡¯s not of much use.¡± ¡°Has that thing come again?¡± Xuan Qing asked again. ¡°It came.¡± The guard gritted his teeth and when he said this, he said it so hard that the veins on his forehead bloomed out, ¡°Last night ¡­¡­ It also went to his Holiness¡¯s bedchamber.¡± After he finished this sentence, he heaved a few more breaths, ¡°But the guards who were guarding the door saw nothing at all.¡± Xuan Qing¡¯s expression concentrated: ¡°Bedchamber? That thing went in?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The guard said, ¡°It left dozens of bloody handprints on the side of his Holiness¡¯s bed ¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing fell into deep thought at his words. Lin Rufei, however, became interested. Thing? What was that thing? Was it the thing that Gu Xuandu wanted? But listening to the description, it didn¡¯t seem to be it. Rather, it was like they were talking about something that could move living things. ¡°The Prince did not go to the palace?¡± Xuan Qing asked again. ¡°Entered. At night, he was sleeping in the room next to his Holiness. But ¡­¡­ he also did not notice anything different.¡± The guard smiled bitterly, ¡°That¡¯s why his Holiness is in such a hurry.¡± What would be something that even a sword cultivator at the eighth level couldn¡¯t detect? At this point, Lin Rufei finally vaguely understood what the trouble Gu Xuandu was talking about meant. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Weak, I need Xiao Jiu¡¯s kiss to get better. Lin Rufei eager to get into action[6]: It¡¯s finally your turn to be poor, weak and helpless! Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­. Time to modify the BUG[7] for Bai Jinglun¡¯s age. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Smiling tiger ¨C man with a big smile and evil intentions. [2] There is probably a better word for this but my mind is blank. The word here is ÀÏ which can mean old, but when it is referred to food, it means it is too chewy, hard to swallow and not as tender etc. [3] ÌÒ»¨ (psst, technically these are peach blossoms but I have changed all of the ones in the story to fit the novel title ;^;) refers to people who have an interest in others, so when someone is blocking the cherry blossoms (//cough peach blossoms), they are stopping the person (who has an interested in you) trying to get closer to yoi. [4] I really couldn¡¯t find an English word for this but the meaning of this is ¡°food given to Buddhist monks as alms¡± [5] The word here is Ê¥ÈË which can mean ¡°Saint¡± but it also means ¡°the current reigning Emperor.¡± Using ¡°Saint¡± doesn¡¯t really make sense and ¡°the current reigning Emperor¡± also is too wordy so I will use ¡°His Holiness¡± [6] Technically it¡¯s like rubbing his fist and scheming, this is how it¡¯s supposed to look. [7] Written in English, meaning is as implied. CH 56 As soon as they entered the high vermillion doors of the palace, the atmosphere instantly became tense. The road was completely surrounded by guards with weapons and heavy armor and on the way, the carriage was stopped several times, but after seeing Xuan Qing on the carriage, it was then let go. Lin Rufei sat in the carriage with his eyes closed as he listened to Xuan Qing and the guard, who received them, chit-chat. The guard seemed to be very worried about the current situation and from the beginning to the end, his frown never subsided. Xuan Qing¡¯s expression did not change much and he still looked compassionate just like when Lin Rufei first met him. Finally, they arrived at their destination. Several people came out from the carriage. Fu Hua and Yu Rui could only wait outside. Lin Rufei followed Xuan Qing and they entered the inner hall. The inner hall was burning with elegant incense and a man in a yellow robe was sitting in front of a bookcase talking to another man in a vermilion uniform about something. Seeing that a few people came in, they stopped talking. This person should be the emperor of Dajing, Bai Jinglun. The man beside him was the person Lin Rufei wanted to send the invitations to, Bai Tianrui. Although Bai Jinglun didn¡¯t look too old from his face, in fact, he was graying at his temples. The fine lines at the corners of the eyes also reveal his true age. But Bai Tianrui, by his side, was still in a graceful posture. As Xuan Qing said, a pair of peach blossom eyes were smiling at them. If it was only from the face, this Bai Tianrui really didn¡¯t look like a powerful role and more like a reckless and unbridled swordsman. The two brothers were both very good-looking. One majestic and stable and the other, suave and elegant, they really were the dragon and phoenix of the people. ¡°Master Xuan Qing is finally here.¡± Bai Tianrui laughed, ¡°We suffered a lot waiting for you, ah.¡± ¡°Amitabha Buddha.¡± Xuan Qing folded his hands, ignored Bai Tianrui, and said directly to Bai Jinglun, ¡°Your Holiness, where is the imperial prince and princess now? This monk is going to go check it out right now.¡± Bai Jinglun said, ¡°They are in the bedchambers on the side.¡± He then stood up, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Xuan Qing said but suddenly extended an invitation to Lin Rufei, who was standing beside him, ¡°Would Lin gongzi like to go and have a look too?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°This ¡­¡­¡± was a private matter of the imperial family and it didn¡¯t seem good for him to participate as an outsider. As Lin Rufei was thinking so, Bai Tianrui, who was sitting on the side, suddenly got up and walked to his side. He made a gesture towards Lin Rufei as if they were acquaintances and gently placed his hand on his shoulders. He smiled and said: ¡°Lin gongzi does not need to be formal, our Bai family¡¯s relationship is very good. One family does not speak two languages, if you are interested, there is no harm in going to see.¡± Lin Rufei was confused by Bai Tianrui¡¯s self-acquainted words, but then he saw that Bai Jinglun, who was the current emperor, also nodded his head. Since the words have already been said, if he refused again it was as if Lin Rufei was not sensible. In the end, he could only agree. He followed Xuan Qing and the others and went in the direction of the bedchambers. Bai Tianrui looked at Lin Rufei with interest and asked one or two questions from time to time, such as how old Lin Rufei was, how long it took to travel from Kunlun to here, and how he met Xuan Qing. The ones Lin Rufei could answer, he answered, and the ones he could not answer, Lin Rufei vaguely brushed passed them. This questioning and answering did not feel like chatting at all and seemed to feel more like a lecture. In the end, it was Xuan Qing, who was next to him, that could no longer stand it. He knew that Lin Rufei was thin-skinned and that there was nothing he could do about Bai Tianrui, a battle-hardened prodigal son. He opened his mouth and told Bai Tianrui to be more careful and that Lin Rufei was the heart of the Lin family. If he manages to summon Lin Bianyu over, be careful of the entire Dengxiao City suffering. Bai Tianrui tsked and said, ¡°Xuan Qing you are wrong, I was just chatting with Lin gongzi, why do you have to be so sensitive?¡± Xuan Qing almost gave him an eye roll: ¡°You just rely on the fact that Lin gongzi is thin-skinned to continue being shameless.¡± Bai Tianrui let out a long sigh and looked lonesome, but in the blink of an eye, a smile was on his face again and he continued to chat with Lin Rufei about random things. Lin Rufei was gentle in nature and did not feel impatient. He answered his questions here and there and it wasn¡¯t until they reached the entrance of the bedchamber that Bai Tianui abruptly stopped his voice and looked serious. This entire way, Bai Jinglun, from beginning to end, did not say a single word. He signaled to his subordinates to open the door and took the first step into the room. The room was guarded by heavy troops inside and outside. Even the couch was guarded by two stern-looking guards. Only when they saw the group come in, did they slowly retreat. This place was so heavily guarded that not even a mosquito could fly in. Furthermore, there was a cultivator of the eighth level like Bai Tianrui keeping watch, how could something still go wrong? This question suddenly pop into Lin Rufei¡¯s mind. Then he took a look inside the room. On a bed not far away, was a beautiful maiden in a long dress who was sleeping. Xuan Qing walked up with a serious expression and after a careful examination, he said, ¡°How long has Her Highness been in a coma?¡± ¡°Thirty-four days.¡± Bai Tianrui replied. ¡°Tell me in detail.¡± Xuan Qing said again. ¡°On the fifth day of last month.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Moumou originally wanted to take some maids out of the palace to play behind her father¡¯s back, but before she could go out, she was found and seized back.¡± He looked at the young girl who had been unconscious for a long time on the bed and continued, ¡°After that, she was nowhere to be found and by the time she was found again, she was already unconscious.¡± ¡°Where was the person found?¡± Xuan Qing asked. ¡°Under the plum tree in the imperial garden.¡± Bai Tianrui sat down at the edge of the bed and gently helped the princess to straighten her hair. His voice was slightly cold, ¡°The maid was already dead by the time she was found, right by her side ¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing knitted his brows: ¡°Tell me in detail the stuff after that.¡± Bai Tianrui then talked about what happened after the third princess, whose pet name was Moumou, fell into a coma. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. At that time, they thought that Moumou had been killed by a traitor and had been poisoned with an unknown poison, so the whole palace was searching for suspicious people. But who knew that while they were searching, other princes were also in trouble. The first incident was the second prince. He was resting in his own residence, but suddenly something slipped into his residence in the middle of the night and almost strangled him alive in bed. Fortunately, a servant passing by with a lamp heard the commotion in the room, rushed in, and saved the prince. But neither the prince nor the servant saw the perpetrator¡¯s face. The whole palace was in a state of panic and the emperor sent extra guards to watch all the princesses and princes. But even so, something still happened. The youngest sixth prince was washing at night when a man suddenly appeared behind him and pressed his head into the water basin. The water basin only had a shallow layer of water and logically speaking, it could not be dangerous, but no one expected such an incident. The sixth prince struggled with all his might and knocked over the bronze mirror placed next to him, which alerted the guards who came in to save him from being drowned alive. But according to the guards, only the sixth prince was seen inside the house, there was nothing behind him, not to mention the miscreants. If it was just once, it could be explained by coincidence, but accidents happen one after another, no one could fool themselves. It was definitely someone who had set their eyes on the imperial heirs. However, no matter how they searched, they could not find a bit of evidence of that thing. Even Bai Tianrui, a powerful person with a level eight cultivation, also seemed to have become an ornament, and could not find a single clue. In desperation, they had to ask Xuan Qing to come over. They wanted him to help. After listening to Bai Tianrui¡¯s description, Xuan Qing asked where the remaining princes and princesses were. ¡°Originally, I wanted to gather them together and protect them.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°But who knew that a few days ago, there was another accident.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°The bloody handprints?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Bai Tianrui said in a deep voice, ¡°In his Holiness¡¯s bedchamber, there was a row of bloody handprints. I was next door at that time, but I didn¡¯t feel anything.¡± Xuan Qing fell into deep thought, ¡°And after that?¡± ¡°After that?¡± Bai Tianrui spread his hands, ¡°After that, I found out that I can¡¯t be of much help. I could only simply drive a few of those little guys hiding in the palace back home.¡± Fortunately, his Holiness did not have any major incident, otherwise, it would really be a problem. The imperial heir apparents were a total of six people; two princesses and four princes. And now three people have experienced accidents, how could the emperor not be anxious? ¡°This thing comes and goes without a trace, it¡¯s really troublesome.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°I may have to trouble Master Xuan Qing some more.¡± Xuan Qing slightly squinted his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something. Lin Rufei looked at the unconscious princess on the bed and suddenly said, ¡°I have a question, I don¡¯t know if I should ask it or not.¡± ¡°Please speak, Lin gongzi.¡± Bai Jinglun said. ¡°What harmed her highness, why do you guys call it ¡®thing¡¯?¡± Lin Rufei felt that it was very strange. Under normal circumstances, shouldn¡¯t it be called a miscreant? Now, as they talked, the way of referring changed. Bai Jinglun¡¯s eyes darkened and he was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Because no human can do this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± Xuan Qing waved his hand, ¡°There is nothing strange in the world, and I can count two or three people who can do this.¡± ¡°For example?¡± Bai Jinglun asked. Xuan Qing looked at Lin Rufei and said, ¡°Kunlun Lin family¡¯s Lin Bianyu, Yunan He family¡¯s He Xieyi, there are also a few senior brothers in the Nanyin Temple ¡­¡­ however, they are not worth mentioning.¡± ¡°But they are not in Dajing.¡± Bai Tianrui coldly argued, ¡°Moreover, I am still here, if they come, I am sure to know.¡± Xuan Qing was not angry at the rebuttal and shook his head, ¡°I was just giving an example of someone who could do this.¡± Bai Tianrui crossed his arms against his chest and smiled. This smile looked very bright but Xuan Qing sighed, shook his head, and said ¡®Tianrui, Tianrui, don¡¯t rush to be angry with me. Let¡¯s get this over with first, then it still wouldn¡¯t be too late for you to get angry.¡¯ He was very clear about this prince and at a glance, he knew that he was certainly not happy. When Bai Tianrui heard this, he narrowed his eyes and didn¡¯t speak. He simply spread his hands towards Xuan Qing as a gesture of invitation. Bai Jinglun frowned and said, ¡°Tianrui, do not be rude to the master.¡± Xuan Qing said indifferently, ¡°Not a problem, not a problem.¡± He turned his head and said to the third princess, ¡°I¡¯m sorry[1].¡± He then leaned down and took the princess¡¯s wrist, taking her pulse. Lin Rufei took advantage of this time to look around and took in all the furnishings of the room. Probably because they feared that people would hide in the room, all the furniture was moved out, leaving only a soft couch bed shrouded in muslin. The windows were closed and the light in the room was not too good, but there were many candles lit in the corners, so it was not very dark. There were more than a dozen guards inside and outside the room. Even for a swordsman with the cultivation level like his second brother, it would not be an easy task to kill the princess quietly and without alerting anyone. So who could it be? And what does it have to do with the thing that Gu Xuandu needs? As Lin Rufei was thinking, he heard Xuan Qing let out, ¡°Strange.¡± ¡°What?¡± Bai Tianrui asked. ¡°The princess¡¯ soul is intact, the veins in her body are flowing fine, and there is no strange poison.¡± Xuan Qing blinked, ¡°You could say that if she wasn¡¯t still unconscious, she would simply be a normal person.¡± ¡°No poison?¡± Bai Tianrui raised his eyebrows, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Xuan Qing nodded affirmatively. ¡°Then why does she stay asleep?¡± Bai Jinglun seemed to love this daughter of his and his tone was a bit anxious. Xuan Qing pondered, ¡°This, I can¡¯t say for now. Are the injured princes also here?¡± ¡°They are all next door.¡± Bai Tianrui said. ¡°Then let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Xuan Qing turned around and walked out. Lin Rufei followed and also took a look at the princess. The princess was lying on the soft couch as if she was simply sleeping. Her face was no different from normal people and she was even more rosy than his pale face. Xuan Qing was right, if they hadn¡¯t said that the princess was in a coma, most likely no one would have thought that she had had any accidents. In that case, exactly what happened to the third princess ¡­¡­ Xuan Qing went next door and met the two injured princes. The place they were residing in was also heavily guarded, but since the two were still awake, it was a bit boring to be trapped inside. When they entered, the two were propping their chins up and playing chess. Lin Rufei took a glance at the chessboard. The chess style was messy and anxious and it could be seen that both of them did not seem to be in a good mood. When they saw their father coming, the imperial princes rose and saluted, and then turned their curious eyes on Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing. Bai Jinglun was not in a good mood and did not bother to explain. He waved his hand and instructed Xuan Qing to check on the two princes. Xuan Qing then went forward to check the prince¡¯s body. The second prince¡¯s neck wound had not yet dissipated, and they could clearly see two bruised handprints. From the size of the handprints, it was most likely not the hands of adults, but children. The sixth prince had no injuries but was so scared that when Xuan Qing took his pulse, he kept shrinking his neck, not daring to say anything. Xuan Qing said, ¡°If I remember correctly, the mother consort of the two princes is the same person, right?¡± Xuan Qing had said this so suddenly and the atmosphere in the room became a little strange. The second prince, who was older and had already reached his crown[2], calmly said, ¡°What does Master mean by asking this?¡± ¡°I just wonder why that thing picked you two out of the four princes.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°With so many princes, there should be some reason.¡± The second prince said in a deep voice, ¡°It¡¯s probably because the two of us are unlucky.¡± In the end, he was the son of the emperor, the words he spoke were full of confidence. ¡°I wonder what the second prince was doing on the day the third princess had an accident?¡± Xuan Qing didn¡¯t mind the second prince¡¯s hostility at all and asked in a gentle voice. ¡°My brother and I were riding horses on the horse farm.¡± The second prince said indifferently, ¡°Later when I heard that something had happened to third sister, I rushed back to the palace.¡± ¡°Oh, that means the two of you were together?¡± Xuan Qing said. The second prince said, ¡°So what if we were together?¡± ¡°Talk properly.¡± Bai Jinglun coldly spoke out, ¡°Who gave you such a big temper?¡± When the second prince was reprimanded, his face showed some reluctance. However, he still hung his head and said ¡°okay¡± in a low voice. Bai Jinglun coldly snorted and flung his sleeves away, ¡°You guys ask.¡± His attitude towards the two princes and his treatment of the princess was as different as Heaven and Earth. The sixth prince saw that his father was angry and sobbed again in a small voice. The atmosphere in the room froze to a standstill. Bai Tianrui was indifferent. He smiled and sat on the side, picking up a piece of dried fruit and eating it with a hitch. He asked Lin Rufei if he wanted one, after Lin Rufei refused, he waved his hand, indicating for Xuan Qing to continue asking and that he didn¡¯t need to give face to these two princes. Xuan Qing sighed and asked the princes some more questions. The second prince answered very carefully this time and didn¡¯t dare to pull a long face at Xuan Qing again. But from the beginning to the end, only he was talking. The sixth prince stayed next to him crying quietly and from time to time, he would raise his hand to rub his eyes. Xuan Qing was almost finished asking so he got up to say goodbye. But when he was about to leave, he suddenly said to the sixth prince: ¡°That day in the horse farm, what was the name of the horse your highness was riding?¡± The sixth prince looked at Xuan Qing dumbly and said, ¡°What?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°It¡¯s the name of the horse you rode in the stable that day when the princess had an accident.¡± ¡°Called ¡­¡­ called ¡­¡­¡± The sixth prince stammered and didn¡¯t answer for a long time. In the end, it was the second prince who reached out and pressed his shoulder. He said in a deep voice, ¡°Called Lei Yun.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Xuan Qing smiled, ¡°I guess that must be a good horse.¡± (t/n: Lei Yun means Thundercloud) ¡°Naturally.¡± The second prince¡¯s tone was hard. The people in the room were all human prodigies so how could they not tell that something was strange? It was just that no one said anything. They all pretended that nothing happened and walked out of the room. It wasn¡¯t until they were out of the room that Bai Tianrui spoke up and ordered the palace staff to check whether the princes were or were not in the stable on the day of the princess¡¯s accident. If they were there, then that was fine. However, if they weren¡¯t, then this matter was a bit strange. When Xuan Qing came out and said he wanted to go around the palace, Bai Jinglun sent Bai Tianrui to accompany him, saying that Xuan Qing could go to any place in the palace, no need to be restrained. Xuan Qing said that he first wanted to go to the place where the princess had an accident. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The palace was very big and because of the accident, there were guards walking around everywhere. It could be said that it was heavily guarded. Lin Rufei took out the invitation and handed it to Bai Tianrui while the three of them were spending time together. Bai Tianrui took it with a smile, looked through it twice, and then put it in his bosom. ¡°Tianrui, tell me honestly, did you sense those things or not.¡± When they reached a certain corner, Xuan Qing suddenly spoke. Listening to his tone, it seemed he and Bai Tianrui were old acquaintances and their relationship seems quite good. Bai Tianrui raised his eyebrows: ¡°Xuan Qing, what do you mean by that?¡± Xuan Qing said indifferently: ¡°I just want to know if this is muddy water[3].¡± Bai Tianrui snorted: ¡°So what if it¡¯s muddy water, can you still refuse?¡± Xuan Qing sighed. ¡°If you would have known, you wouldn¡¯t have bothered in the first place.¡± Bai Tianrui shook his head and sighed in pity, ¡°Although that guy Bai Jinglun is not good at swordplay, his brain is first class. His favor is not easily returned.¡± As he said this, he also patted Xuan Qing¡¯s shoulder and rejoiced in his misfortune, ¡°You regret now, right?¡± Xuan Qing did not say anything and sighed again. ¡°But I¡¯m not really involved in this.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Besides, you know, I¡¯ve never been very interested in these things.¡± ¡°Then what are you interested in?¡± Xuan Qing said. Bai Tianrui smiled and looked at Lin Rufei, who was standing next to him, and Lin Rufei¡¯s back went cold. Xuan Qing almost wanted to give Bai Tianrui an eye roll and said, ¡®If you¡¯re not afraid of death then go for it. If you really kicked the iron plate[4], be careful not to break your legs.¡¯ However, Bai Tianrui didn¡¯t have the heart to listen. He had also been to Kunlun before but had never seen Lin Rufei. However, he had to say that the pale face and slender body of the Lin family¡¯s youngest son was more interesting than his second brother. Although his complexion didn¡¯t look good and he heard that it was long-term sickness, his sick appearance gave off a feeling that he was even more beautiful than Xi Zi[5]. Lin Rufei, at this time, finally understood the meaning when Xuan Qing told him to be careful of Bai Tianrui. This Prince really gave off a feeling that he would eat anything. Xuan Qing went around the imperial garden and didn¡¯t find anything special, which he felt that it was really strange. He told Bai Tianrui to carefully check his two nephews, since those two probably lied. And he also asked how the relationship was between the princes and the princess. Bai Tianrui was not interested in these things and lazily told Xuan Qing about the secret of the palace. The second prince and the sixth prince were born as the sons of the Empress. The current first prince and the third princess were from a concubine and although her mother¡¯s family had little power, they were very loved by his Holiness. Because of these reasons, their relationship was not very good. ¡°But these things are normal.¡± Bai Tianrui was not at all concerned about this kind of small fight, ¡°This generation is no good, they are too stupid. When I was their age, I used much more vicious methods.¡± Xuan Qing shook his head: ¡°The Prince must not speak presumptuously!¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, if I only had five levels of cultivation, he would probably still guard against me. Now that I have eight levels, he wishes for me to stay in the palace with him every day.¡± The ¡°he¡± in this sentence referred to the current Holiness, Bai Jinglun. Lin Rufei also understood Bai Tianrui¡¯s meaning. A sword cultivator at the fifth level may still be fascinated by mortal objects and want to fight for power. But Bai Tianrui was already on the eighth level. He obviously had completely exceeded the realm of mortals. These merits and fame, for him, were just a passing cloud. So not only did Bai Jinglun not feel that he was a threat, but he took him as a pillar of support for Dajing. ¡°The thing you said, I don¡¯t even need to check to know. But in front of my brother, I do not dare say.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Those two were definitely not at the horse farm.¡± ¡°Oh? You know?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Then where were they?¡± ¡°Of course they were bullying the third princess.¡± Bai Tianrui lightly said, ¡°That day the third princess wanted to go out of the palace to Dengxiao City to see the lights but was stopped halfway. Who do you think would be so boring so do that? Of course, it was her two idle brothers. Girls are not like boys. If boys were a little bit wild, His Holiness would not mind. But girls couldn¡¯t be, because sooner or later, they were to be married and could not lose the imperial family¡¯s face.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°So the princess went to the imperial garden?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°She likes it there.¡± Xuan Qing fell into deep thought. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Could it be that she collided with something in the imperial garden¡± Xuan Qing shook his head, ¡°I do think that they might have run into something when they were about to leave the city.¡± Thus the third princess went straight into a coma, the second prince and the sixth prince nearly had their lives taken, and there was no telling if an accident would happen next. Lin Rufei said: ¡°You said, a few days ago, his Holiness¡¯s bedchamber also had bloody handprints appear? Why didn¡¯t that thing strike at His Holiness?¡± Bai Tianrui thought for a moment: ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this, but I can only guess that His Holiness was probably carrying something that the thing couldn¡¯t get close to.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°That is a possibility. I wonder if I can check what his Holiness is carrying on him?¡± Bai Tianrui laughed, ¡°He probably won¡¯t let you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Xuan Qing asked. ¡°Remember the rabbit spirit that he liked back then?¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Even now he is longing for it. His pouch that he carries everywhere has a lock of white hair cut off from that rabbit spirit. Say, if this thing was seen by people, wouldn¡¯t he be ashamed to death?¡± As he said this, he very nonchalantly laughed out loud Xuan Qing coughed dryly. His expression showed embarrassment and said, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Lin Rufei found that this Prince was really nasty and excessive and only when he was under Bai Jinglun¡¯s eyes, would he be a little more peaceful. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: The Princess is unconscious. Gu Xuandu: Mn? Lin Rufei: A kiss is needed to wake up. Gu Xuandu: Who are you going to kiss? ? ? Lin Rufei: My family¡¯s unconscious Princess Gu, ah. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Come, I am ready. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Technically what was here was him apologizing for offending, because in Chinese culture, guys and girls can¡¯t casually touch each other. [2] No clue if I ever explained ¡°crown¡± but it¡¯s like a coming of age thing, when they reach 20 years old. This is also the time when they can get a courtesy name. I think in previous occasions, I might have just referred to the characters as ¡°coming of age¡± [3] Something troublesome. [4] Kick the iron plate: can be interpreted as thinking that other people are soft and easy to bully, but it turns out that other people are better than they are, and suffer a loss. [5] For those who may not remember: Copy and paste from Chapter 28. Nickname for Xi Shi(c. 450 BC), ¡°a famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the Four legendary beauties ËÄ´óÃÀÅ® of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu¡± CH 57 In this way, Bai Tianrui took Xuan Qing and Lin Rufei around the palace for a day. They also incidentally had dinner together with Bai Jinglun before heading back to the inn. On their way back, Xuan Qing sat in the carriage with his eyes closed. It seemed that he was thinking about something so Lin Rufei did not dare to disturb him. Instead, he lifted the carriage curtain and gazed at the night scenery outside. Because of the curfew, the originally lively night scene of Dengxiao City disappeared. The streets were lined with closed shops and there were no visitors to be seen. He could only see, from time to time, heavily armored and serious-looking guards patrolling back and forth with a neat and uniform pace. When going back, the carriage was also stopped several times by the guards. Only after seeing that the driver had a palace token, did they let them go. When they arrived at the inn, Xuan Qing and Lin Rufei each said goodbye and went back to their rooms to rest. In such hot weather, Lin Rufei was indeed also a little tired from walking outside all day so Fu Hua and Yu Rui brought him boiled medicine and chilled Tremella soup, urging Lin Rufei to drink. When Lin Rufei saw the medicine, he frowned. He said that he had recovered from his cold, so why did he still need to drink the medicine? Fu Hua explained that this was a medicine to help calm the mind. Drinking it at night would ensure a good night¡¯s sleep and she also said that the effect of this medicine was really good since so far it seemed to have been quite effective. Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Effective, how do you know if it¡¯s effective?¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui were silent but their expressions looked to be a bit strange. Lin Rufei simply sent the two out and just as he was about to find a random place to pour out the medicine, he remembered something and stared intently at the brownish-black medicinal juice in his hand. Suddenly, realization sunk in and he understood what the effect meant, as mentioned by Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Recently Gu Xuandu had been getting weaker and weaker and had rarely appeared in front of him. Because of this, in Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s eyes, his self-talking hysteria had improved greatly. The maids rightfully attributed this change to the calming medicine working, which was why they urged Lin Rufei to continue taking the medicine prescribed by Wan Yao. Lin Rufei was helpless, after all, medicine also had its side effects. If he drank too much he didn¡¯t know whether it would have other effects. In the end, although he appreciated Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s good intentions, he still quietly poured out the medicine and then lay back on the bed. Today, when they walked around in the palace, Lin Rufei also noticed some means. Although Bai Tianrui said he would help, the truth was that he never put this matter into his heart until a few days ago when someone directly moved under his nose¡ªdirectly provoking him. At present, Bai Jinglun had not yet established the heir apparent, plus the first prince was not the son of the first wife so the various forces within the palace were treacherous. In the words of Bai Tianrui, any methods they used were not a surprise to him. Bai Tianrui was not interested in the friction between these forces and as long as they do not scheme against him, he would not intervene. After all, if a sword cultivator at the eighth level wanted to destroy a city it was a piece of cake. Although he lived in the mortal world, living things in his eyes were as small as ants. Would you care exactly which ant won in the end? For Bai Tianrui, it was the same meaning. Of course, Bai Tianrui hid this attitude of his very well. If not for Lin Rufei¡¯s deep understanding of the swordsman¡¯s nature, most likely he would not have noticed either. Bai Jinglun was also probably aware of his brother¡¯s nature so he had zero suspicion and understood well that Bai Tianrui did not intervene in this bizarre thing. After all, if he really wanted to do so, why would he choose such a tactful method? Directly forcing the Palace was more convenient than this. But Bai Tianrui was really interested in Lin Rufei that even Xuan Qing felt it. On the way back, he also advised Lin Rufei to pay a little more attention and that this Prince¡¯s nature had no inhibitions. His hostility would change faster than flipping a book. If he really started to fancy, then it was definitely not a good thing. Lin Rufei was naturally also clear about this matter. Although Bai Tianrui was not his second brother, Lin Bianyu¡¯s, opponent, Lin Bianyu was inevitably far away on Kunlun. If he waited until the real accident happened to rush over, it would probably be too late. But unlike Xuan Qing¡¯s feelings, he felt that Bai Tianrui¡¯s interest in him was not that of a man and woman, but more like a vague test to see if Lin Rufei was as harmless as he appeared to be. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. A million thoughts passed through his head and sleepiness gradually enveloped his mind. Just as Lin Rufei closed his eyes due to the drowsiness, he suddenly heard a subtle creaking sound. The sound was very light and small, as if the breeze had accidentally blown against the window. However, in the silence of the room, it was particularly abrupt. The candles lit on the table had been extinguished and the room was dim, so he could not see clearly, but Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes opened abruptly and he sat up from the bed alertly, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± No one answered. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Lin Rufei asked again However, there was still no answer, as if the sound Lin Rufei heard just now was just his imagination. Yet although he could not see, he clearly felt that there was something in his room, maybe by the window, maybe in the corner, maybe¡­¡­it was hiding under his bed. Lin Rufei was startled by his own thoughts. He calmed himself down and reached out to hold Gu Yu hanging on the side of the bed. He pulled out the sword blade and then sloppily got up, wanting to light the candle placed on the table. The room was quiet and Lin Rufei carefully observed the surroundings. He stumbled to the table and finally touched the fire torch. He was about to pick it up and light it when there was a sudden burst of force from behind him. Lin Rufei was unaware for a moment and was directly pressed down onto the table. The person who attacked him was so strong that he only used one hand to directly cover his cries for help, while the other hand choked his neck and pinned him to the table. Lin Rufei¡¯s first reaction was that this person wanted to kill him. So the next moment, he swung out Gu Yu that was wrapped entirely in sword intent. He felt as if he had cut something since the hilt of the sword slightly stopped in place, however, the cold sword intent seemed be sinking into the sea, like a stone, as the sound directly cut off¡­¡­If he knew this would happen, he would have used the shield. That was the thought that suddenly emerged in Lin Rufei¡¯s head. The person who restrained Lin Rufei let out a soft laugh. He slowly leaned down towards Lin Rufei¡¯s ear and opened his mouth. But as soon as his voice came out, Lin Rufei revealed an incredulous look. The man spat out two words: ¡°Heavenly¡­¡­Ruler¡­¡­¡± He spoke softly and slowly, like a breeze, but those words pierced through Lin Rufei¡¯s eardrums that it started to hurt. What stunned him the most were not the words ¡°Heavenly Ruler,¡± but this person¡¯s voice. It sounded exactly the same as Gu Xuandu¡¯s, who had disappeared after entering Dajing. The person who wanted to kill him was Gu Xuandu? No, that was impossible. If Gu Xuandu wanted to do it, he could have done it long ago, why would he wait until now? But if it wasn¡¯t Gu Xuandu, what does this person have to do with him? Lin Rufei¡¯s mind was extremely confused and countless thoughts flashed through his mind one after another. He wanted to ask questions but his mouth was covered by the man so he could only make a feeble whimpering sound. The man felt Lin Rufei struggling with all his might and let out another soft laugh, as if Lin Rufei¡¯s feeble appearance pleased him. He lowered his head and with a burning gaze, he surveyed Lin Rufei struggling under him. He lowered his head and dropped a soft kiss on the back of his hand. The only thing that separated Lin Rufei¡¯s lips from his was a hand. Logically speaking, at such a close distance, Lin Rufei should be able to see clearly what the person opposite him looked like. But no matter how hard he tried, there was only darkness in front of him. It was as if this person was just a piece of nothingness and it was impossible to recognize the appearance of the person in front of him with the naked eye. At the same time, the hand around his neck was slowly locking up, gradually isolating Lin Rufei¡¯s ability to breathe. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened and his hands tried desperately to push back against his assailant but his hands that were waving in mid-air touched nothing. He was obviously behind him holding him down, but he couldn¡¯t touch him. Lin Rufei was incredulous and thought to himself, Where is this man¡¯s body? Could it be that he has no body? But since there is no body¡­¡­how could he hold me down? Because of the strong feeling of suffocation, Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes started overflowing with tears. Another gentle ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡± resounded but to him, the man¡¯s voice was like a thunderstorm exploding in his ears. As the suffocation time grew longer, Lin Rufei¡¯s vitality began to fade. His consciousness gradually drifted and some messy patterns began to appear in his darkening vision. Was he going to die?¡­¡­But if he died like this, wouldn¡¯t it be a bit ridiculous? As Lin Rufei thought so, he reluctantly closed his eyes. However, just at the moment he closed his eyes, a deafening roll of thunder suddenly fell outside the window. Bright yellow blinding lightning followed and instantly struck a building not far from the inn. The building was directly struck by a blazing fire and the bright-colored firelight shot up into the sky projecting through the window into Lin Rufei¡¯s room. The person holding him down suddenly let go of his hand and fresh air once again rushed into Lin Rufei¡¯s lungs. He covered his neck in pain and started coughing violently. After he finally recovered, Lin Rufei hurriedly looked around but the murderer, who had just attacked him, was nowhere to be seen. Where was he? How could there be no one? Lin Rufei staggered a few steps and went to the window, which was half-covered, and he couldn¡¯t see anyone¡¯s figure when he looked out. If it wasn¡¯t for the severe pain in his throat, most likely Lin Rufei would have suspected that what had just happened was just a nightmare he had. Lin Rufei casually wiped away the cold sweat spilling from his forehead and looked out the window towards the blinding fire. The fire came suddenly and went rapidly since it was very quickly extinguished by the guards, causing no other damage. Lin Rufei did not dare to sleep again. He re-lit the candles in the room and just sat in the room all night. Even after such an incident, Gu Xuandu still did not appear causing Lin Rufei to be a little worried about his condition. Gu Xuandu was right, this matter in Dajing was more dangerous than the Xiliang Mountains. The next day, it was a clear day. The building that had burned last night was still emitting a scorched black scent. Lin Rufei originally thought that the building was a house. However, when he came out after dawn to take a look, he found out that it was actually a temple in the city set up for the Heavenly Ruler. He had even been to this temple when he had just arrived at Dengxiao, Xuan Qing even praised it and said that the red-clothed statue was very similar to the Heavenly Ruler. When Lin Rufei heard this he curiously asked: ¡°Listening to Master Xuan Qing¡¯s tone, does that mean you have seen the Heavenly Ruler before?¡± Xuan Qing smiled and did not say anything. He just folded his hands and said Amitabha Buddha. The legend of the Heavenly Ruler had been around for hundreds of years, had this monk Xuan Qing been alive for hundreds of years? Lin Rufei felt very strange but when he noticed that Xuan Qing wasn¡¯t going to say more, he also didn¡¯t ask any further. After all, who doesn¡¯t have a few secrets when traveling through Jianghu? Now that he realized that it was the temple that was suddenly burned, Lin Rufei felt some regret in his heart. ¡°Lin gongzi, did something happen last night?¡± Just when Lin Rufei was sighing, monk Xuan Qing came down from upstairs and noticed Lin Rufei sitting in the lobby drinking tea. He asked this with a frown and his expression was somewhat grave as his eyes fell upon Lin Rufei¡¯s neck. Only to see that at this time, the white slender neck had a pair of black handprints that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The more he looked at the handprint, the more familiar they felt. But looking at Lin Rufei¡¯s calm look made Xuan Qing think that he was thinking too much about it. ¡°Oh, that thing came looking for me.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s throat was a little sore and along with it, his voice was a little hoarse. He took a sip of tea and continued, ¡°It wanted to strangle me.¡± Xuan Qing stared. ¡°But it didn¡¯t work.¡± Lin Rufei joked, ¡°If it had succeeded, it seems I wouldn¡¯t be here right now¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing hadn¡¯t mumble a single word as he talked on. His face was sullen as he sat next to Lin Rufei, deliberating his words, ¡°Lin gongzi, the invitation from Kunlun has been delivered, it doesn¡¯t seem safe for you to stay in Dajing any longer, why don¡¯t you leave earlier?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You want me to leave now?¡± Xuan Qing smiled bitterly: ¡°After all, if Lin gongzi is not joking, that thing should have come to the inn last night. However, I was next door to Lin gongzi and did not feel the breath of that thing, so¡­¡­I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t protect Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei playfully fondled the teacup in front of him and said, ¡°How come Master Xuan Qing is suddenly so unconfident?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°If I still advise Lin gongzi to stay, then that is not confidence but conceit.¡± He let out a sigh, ¡°After all, human life is the most fragile thing in the world.¡± Lin Rufei inquired, ¡°Then Master Xuan Qing himself is not afraid?¡± Xuan Qing said: ¡°Monk¡¯s life is not worth anything.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze burned: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the lives of ordinary monks are not worth much, but how can the masters in the Nanyin Temple compare with ordinary monks?¡± Xuan Qing¡¯s expression turned helpless. He didn¡¯t expect this seemingly harmless Lin gongzi to be so eloquent when he got serious, making it quite hard for people to fight back. Lin Rufei continued on, ¡°Besides, is Master Xuan Qing not afraid of missing any key clues if he just lets me go without asking about last night¡¯s events?¡± Xuan Qing muttered an Amitabha Buddha and troubled Lin Rufei to tell him the details of last night¡¯s events. Lin Rufei then told the story of his attack and the sudden fire that broke out in the Heavenly Ruler temple outside his window when he was being suppressed and nearly killed. He carefully told Xuan Qing about the incident. But he deliberately omitted the ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡± that the thing mentioned. For some reason, he always felt that this phrase was better to not let others know. There seemed to be something terrible hidden inside but Lin Rufei still had no clue about it. Xuan Qing asked, ¡°That thing disappeared after the Heavenly Ruler temple caught fire?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. ¡°Strange.¡± Xuan Qing pondered over it, ¡°What exactly is this thing afraid of?¡­¡­¡± If it was afraid of the Heavenly Ruler, then tere were so many temples and statues of the Heavenly Ruler in Dengxiao City, why wasn¡¯t that thing afraid at first? But if it wasn¡¯t afraid of the Heavenly Ruler, why would it suddenly leave when the Heavenly Ruler temple was on fire and spared Lin Rufei¡¯s life? Xuan Qing narrowed his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something. Lin Rufei, on the other hand, was sitting on the side and slowly sipping his tea. The two were silent as the time passed one, but soon, outside the inn came another carriage from the palace, saying that His Holiness had requested their presence. Originally, Xuan Qing had wanted to go alone this time but the servant in the carriage said that His Holiness had also invited Lin gongzi. So under Xuan Qing¡¯s sighing gaze, Lin Rufei also got on the carriage. The carriage drove towards the palace and soon reached its destination. Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing were met by the palace staff and soon led towards a building resembling a study. However, before they could even enter, they heard the angry scolding voice of Bai Jinglun coming from inside and it seemed that he was reprimanding someone. The palace staff, seeing this scene, showed a nervous look. He raised his hand and carefully knocked on the door, after a few moments, he heard an indifferent ¡°come in¡± from inside. Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing entered the room in a line and they saw the livid Bai Jinglun with the two princes kneeling in front of him. Prince Bai Tianrui was also present, but apparently he was not interested in the scene of the old man reprimanding his sons, so he sat on a wooden chair on the side, leisurely drinking tea. When he caught Lin Rufei and others coming in, he gave them a warm smile. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Xuan Qing had clearly guessed what had happened, but still blinked in feigned innocence, ¡°Why is His Holiness so angry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of my good sons.¡± Bai Jinglun gritted his teeth, ¡°Speak for yourself! The day the Third Princess fell into a coma, what kind of stupid things did you do!¡± The sixth prince was still young and after being scolded so severely by his father, he had been crying for quite some time. The second prince still clenched his teeth and held on, but his eyes were already red, and with a trembling voice, he retold what had happened that fateful day. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. It turned out that the third princess had intended to go out with the maids to see the city lights, but met the second prince and the sixth prince halfway. The princes already found this sister of theirs, born from a concubine, very disagreeable, so the second prince relied on his brother¡¯s identity and scolded the third princess. He also didn¡¯t forget to punish the third princess¡¯s maids. The third princess cried and headed back in the opposite direction, but who knew that after returning, an accident would befallen upon her. Not only did her personal maid die, but she had also fallen into a coma. The princes felt that if His Holiness knew about this, he would be angry, so they desperately tried to hide it. But who knew that another accident would happen later on? The two of them nearly had their life taken by that thing and then regretted that they should not have hidden the truth¡­¡­ Although the words were said as such, Lin Rufei felt that yesterday when the second prince was lying, he didn¡¯t have a hint of hesitation. Bai Jinglun sneered a few times after hearing this. He raised his foot and kicked the second prince on the shoulder that he started staggering hard. He pointed at the second prince¡¯s nose and cursed: ¡°Dispute? You clearly slapped your sister twice and you call this a dispute? Who gave you the right to hit her? Your mother?!¡± When the second prince heard the word ¡°mother,¡± his face turned white. He knelt on the ground shivering and not daring to refute anything at all. The sixth prince cried breathlessly, ¡°Father, don¡¯t blame brother, it¡¯s all because of that bastard[1]¡­¡­ that bastard scolded brother first!¡± When the words ¡°bastard¡± just left his mouth, the sixth prince received a slap on the face. Only it was not His Holiness who struck him, but the brother he had wanted to protect. The second prince¡¯s face turned livid, ¡°Guanlan, shut up!¡± The sixth prince wailed and cried out. Bai Jinglun narrowed his eyes and surveyed the two kneeling sons, ¡°Bastard? Good, calling your own sister a bastard.¡± The second prince finally couldn¡¯t help it and burst out into tears as well, and for a while, the scene in the room was chaotic to the extreme. In the end, it was Bai Tianrui who opened his mouth and advised in an indifferent manner, ¡°Brother, children follow the example of others. If they can learn the word ¡®bastard,¡¯ it must be that the servants beside them are not qualified. What are you bickering with two children for?¡± Bai Jinglun uttered coldly, ¡°Someone, take their personal servants down and give them two hundred sticks[2].¡± The sixth prince¡¯s eyes widened at his words but his own brother harshly covered his mouth. If the emperor ordered two hundred sticks, then this person was as good as dead. Even if their physical fitness helped them survive, their lower half of the body would definitely be disabled. The emperor¡¯s move was clearly killing the chicken to warn the monkeys[3]. The one he was killing was the servants and the one he was warning was the ¡°mother¡± that came out of the prince¡¯s mouth. After all this, Bai Jinglun asked for people to take his sons away. In the end, the sixth prince was still a half-grown child and he didn¡¯t have much thought in his head. When it was the time to leave, he broke free from his brother¡¯s hold and shouted at Bai Jinglun: ¡°Father is biased! That demon girl is not worthy of being my sister at all!¡± Bai Jinglun¡¯s face sank and just as he was about to get angry again, the sixth prince added: ¡°Father does not know, she is proficient in the art of Loathing Victory and has hidden many dolls in the Imperial Garden. If you search carefully, you will definitely find them! Although she is unconscious, her life is not in danger. As a result, the only people who were nearly strangled to death were me and my second brother, this must be her ploy!¡± ¡°Take them away!¡± Bai Jinglun waved his hand. The maids then harshly pulled the princes out of the room. As soon as the princes left, the room was quiet and the atmosphere seemed to be quite a bit awkward. Bai Tianrui then invited Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing to sit down with a smile, but the smile froze for a moment when he noticed the abrupt bruise on Lin Rufei¡¯s neck. Bai Jinglun also noticed this abnormality and his brows furrowed, asking Lin Rufei what had happened last night. Lin Rufei then told them what happened last night and just when he started talking about the lightning that struck the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s temple and saved his life, Bai Tianrui glanced at Xuan Qing and showed a thoughtful look, ¡°Lin gongzi really is blessed with great fortune and great life.¡± ¡°Mnn. My luck is pretty good.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Bai Tianrui came up to Lin Rufei¡¯s side and carefully observed the marks on his neck. He suddenly let out a hiss, ¡°Strange. This handprint, it seems to be a little different from the one on the neck of the prince.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Xuan Qing asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a circle bigger?¡± Bai Tianrui said while making a gesture, using two hands to vainly circle Lin Rufei¡¯s neck, ¡°On those two boys¡¯ necks, it was only half a circle. Only this one on Lin gongzi¡¯s neck is a whole circle, could it be¡­¡­¡± ¡°Could it be what?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Could it be that that thing likes you more?¡± Bai Tianrui faintly smiled. As he said this, he folded his hands together and his hot palms covered Lin Rufei¡¯s neck. Lin Rufei frowned and before he could say anything, Bai Jinglun already sternly scolded, ¡°Tianrui, don¡¯t be rude to Lin gongzi!¡± ¡°Just kidding, just kidding.¡± Only then did Bai Tianrui finally release his hand. However, his face was still smiling, looking very pleasing to the eye and when Lin Rufei looked at his appearance, he really felt his hands itch a little. ¡°I was just thinking that the princes¡¯ words might really have some truth to them.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Why is it that the second and sixth princes were the ones who were in trouble? Could there be some hidden pattern? But now that Lin gongzi is also in trouble, the words of the princes are meaningless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± Xuan Qing, who hadn¡¯t said much from the start, suddenly spoke. ¡°Oh, how is it not necessarily true?¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, what insight do you have?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Since the two princes swore that there are many Loathing Victory items in the Imperial Garden, why not send someone to check it out?¡± Bai Tianrui seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he held back the words. Bai Jinglun agreed with Xuan Qing¡¯s proposal and waved his hand, instructing the guards to search carefully in the Imperial Garden and to not let go of any corner where something could be possibly hidden. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: The third day that senior has been offline. Gu Xuandu: Missed me? Lin Rufei: How dare you sneak on a vest to pinch me. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] In this case, he is referring to her as an illegitimate child because she is from a concubine, but putting ¡°illegitimate child¡± is a mouthful so I will be using ¡°bastard.¡± [2] Not actual sticks, this means spanking with a paddle. [3] Idiom: to punish an individual as an example to others. CH 58 Before because of the princess¡¯s fainting matter, the Imperial Garden had been carefully searched once. But the purpose then was to find people, so some areas that were impossible to hide a person were missed. Now, after His Holiness just scolded the two princes, he ordered the search with a sullen face. The people in charge of the search naturally understood. His Holiness was very angry, so when they searched, they were extra careful. They simply wanted to lift up every piece of turf to look carefully to see if anything was hidden at the bottom. It was very hot outside the room. The people outside faced the sun, as they searched through the Imperial garden, while they waited inside the room. In every corner of the room, there were large amounts of ice being placed to cool it down. There were also maids on the side fanning the fan so that it wasn¡¯t as hot. Bai Tianrui was afraid that they would be thirsty so he even asked someone to bring over chilled plum soup[1]. After what had happened last night at the inn, Lin Rufei did not sleep for most of the night. Now that he was sitting in the room to rest, he felt a bit sleepy. But in the end, he was in front of the emperor so he didn¡¯t feel appropriate to be too obvious. Instead, he let out a few occasional small yawns when he chatted with Xuan Qing. ¡°Is Lin gongzi tired?¡± However, Xuan Qing was very sensitive and he caught the tired look on Lin Rufei¡¯s face, ¡°Since you are tired, do you want to go back to rest first?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head and said in a strained voice, ¡°No problem, I just didn¡¯t rest well last night, I¡¯m just a little sleepy.¡± When Bai Jinglun heard this, he said that there was a guest room next to this room and if Lin Rufei didn¡¯t mind, he could take a short nap in the guest room. Lin Rufei refused, saying that he had never slept well before and that Bai Jinglun should not worry too much about it. Hearing this, Bai Jinglun also did not continue to persuade. It could be seen that his mood at this time was extremely bad because whether or not they were able to the items of Loathing Victory in the Imperial Garden like the sixth prince said, it wasn¡¯t good. If they were found, it showed that the third princess really had a harmful heart. But if they were not found, it showed that the sixth prince was instigated by someone and learned some things that should not be learned. His own child got into trouble and he, the father, naturally was not happy. Bai Tianrui was not the least bit nervous. He and Xuan Qing happily chatted about what happened during the past few years. From their conversation, Lin Rufei learned that the two had been friends for decades, yet the person Xuan Qing first met was not Bai Tianrui, but Bai Jinglun, who had already become the emperor. If one were to count the years, the three should have been friends for many years. However, the attitude that Xuan Qing had with the Bai family did not show such. Whether it was facing Bai Jinglun or Bai Tianrui, Xuan Qing would always have a gentle and courteous appearance. There was no transgression between his words and it was very appropriate. Although this was polite, in the end, there was a loss of the friendliness that only friends had. Lin Rufei was not familiar with them so he sat on the side drinking the plum soup and acted as if he was listening to the story. This plum soup tasted very good. It was sweet and sour and after it was chilled, it helped relieve the heat even more. Lin Rufei drank a cup and just as he was planning to pour a second cup, the head of the search team came back from the Imperial Garden. From appearance, the leader looked like he should be a guard and on such a hot day, he was naturally sweaty from searching through the Imperial Garden for so long. However, at this time his face was as white as paper and one could not see a hint of color. He walked in front of Bai Jinglun and heavily kneeled down as he spoke in a trembling voice: ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s been found¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°Found what?¡± Bai Jinglun narrowed his eyes and his tone was unkind. ¡°Found the item of Loathing Victory¡­¡­ just that my subordinates do not know much about the object and do not know what use it has.¡± The head guard kneeled on the ground and answered in a low voice. Just as the words left his mouth, a loud ¡°bang¡± resounded. Bai Jinglun was so angry that he threw the plum soup, that was on the table, directly onto the floor. He then said in a fierce voice: ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s under the plum tree in the imperial garden, this subordinate didn¡¯t dare to move it.¡± The head guard replied in a low voice. Bai Jinglun got up and left. By the time Lin Rufei had reacted, he had already taken a few steps out of the room. The three people left in the room looked at each other and the atmosphere was slightly awkward. Bai Tianrui sighed, shook his head, and then proceeded to follow him. Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing also got up to follow. Xuan Qing walked beside Lin Rufei and explained in a low voice why Bai Jinglun was so angry. It turned out that Bai Jinglun, amongst the several heir apparents, loved the third princess the most. The third princess¡¯s mother was very favored but her health was not good. After she gave birth to the eldest son and the third princess, she quickly passed away and the third princess was raised under the Empress Dowager. The emperor was mindful of the fact that she had lost her mother since childhood and loved her very much. If she really used the art of Loathing Victory to harm people, most likely the one in most distress, was Bai Jinglun, this father. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing walked behind them slowly. When they reached the Imperial Garden, they heard Bai Jinglun¡¯s suppressed anger as he told them to dig out something. The object was buried under a tall plum tree. It was said that the third princess was very fond of this plum tree and did not allow anyone to go near it at all. Now that the object was dug up from under the plum tree, wouldn¡¯t it be a confirmation of the sixth prince¡¯s words? Although Lin Rufei had read many history books and knew that the imperial struggles have always been cruel, at this time, a complex emotion surfaced in his heart as he finally had the privilege of witnessing it with his own eyes. Xuan Qing stood next to him and watched the movement of the guards carefully. His handsome face was without sadness or joy and was still not moved by such external objects. ¡°It¡­¡­It¡¯s this¡­¡­¡± The head guard warily took out an iron box and carefully opened it to reveal what was inside. Lin Rufei was able to see the objects inside the gift box from afar. There was a strange-shaped cloth doll and a book with pages that had turned yellow. There seemed to be something else pressed beneath the book and Bai Jinglun took out the thing from beneath. After shaking it open, he found that it was actually a few pages of painting that carried a childish style. These paintings looked like a mess. It was so messy and unorganized that it looked like a child¡¯s spontaneous work. However, Bai Jinglun¡¯s original heavy and gloomy expression softened a lot after seeing the paintings and even a soft sigh escaped out of his mouth. The crowd all showed a strange look but it was Xuan Qing who was the first to understand. He shook his head and said, ¡°You guys are mistaken, this is not the art of Loathing Victory, it is just old relics of the princess.¡± ¡°Master Xuan Qing is right.¡± Bai Jinglun nodded his head, sort of approving Xuan Qing¡¯s statement. He gently picked up the doll and carefully placed it in his hand, caressing it gently. His eyes were full of memories and warmth as he reminisced of the past, ¡°This doll was her handiwork. She had poor craftsmanship and in order to coax the child, she made such a contraption, but it scared Moumou badly.¡± As he finished speaking, he put the doll back into the box, ¡°After that, I thought the doll was thrown away by Moumou¡¯s mother, I never thought I would still see it here.¡± As he said this, he shook his head, revealing some vicissitudes and handed the box to Xuan Qing who had been standing next to him, ¡°Master Xuan Qing take a look, are there any suspicious objects in the box?¡± Xuan Qing stepped forward, took the iron box, and carefully examined the contents. He looked at the odd-shaped doll a few times, then put it back down. Then he turned to the book and searched page by page until the end and did not seem to find anything strange on it. Finally, it was only the few childish paintings at the bottom of the box. When Xuan Qing picked up one of them and carefully observed it, Lin Rufei, who was standing next to him, suddenly frowned. Xuan Qing held up a painting. At first glance, it looked like a child¡¯s doodles and there were no peculiarities, but after careful observation, one would notice that all these doodles were printed with black ink stains. The content of the paintings was very rich; there were people and landscapes but the person who painted was too young, so the shape of the things drawn was very strange and they could only barely be recognized. In one of the paintings, the ink stain seemed to have become the main character. It was drawn in the center of the paper and was surrounded by a rough depiction of a few small people. She probably wanted to express that a group of children was playing around this thing in the middle. At a rough look, it didn¡¯t seem to be much, but if one were to look at it for a long time, their back would start to feel a chill for no apparent reason. ¡°What, is there something wrong with these paintings, Lin gongzi?¡± Bai Tianrui noticed that Lin Rufei looked grave and asked casually. Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°When were these paintings painted?¡± ¡°They were painted by Moumou when she was a child.¡± Bai Jinglun answered Lin Rufei¡¯s question, ¡°She is impatient and didn¡¯t like literary things like the zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting and when her teacher taught her, she would get very naughty¡ª¡ªvery naughty.¡± As he talked about the princess¡¯s faults, his expression showed pride, ¡°But her skills in riding and shooting were one of the best, even stronger than her several brothers. If she were not a girl¡­¡­¡± His words carried a hint of regret and anyone who heard it could tell. Bai Jinglun¡¯s love for the princess was evident, but what could he do even if he loved her? From the moment she was born she was destined to be a princess no matter how favored she was. Lin Rufei also felt regret. If this third princess was born in a family of cultivators, as long as her talent was good enough, whether male or female, she would be the most favored one. However, unfortunately, she was born in the mortal world, she still could not escape this unwilling fate. ¡°Why is there a cloud of black ink on every one of the princess¡¯s paintings?¡± Lin Rufei wondered. Bai Jinglun disagreed: ¡°Ink? It¡¯s probably because she was naughty and accidentally soiled her paintings.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°This iron box contains the princess¡¯ beloved things, right?¡± Bai Jinglun nodded his head. Lin Rufei pondered, ¡°Since it is a beloved object, how could it be soiled by hand?¡± He did have a few points and when the crowd heard these words, they also started pondering for a moment. However, Bai Tianrui suddenly spoke: ¡°It¡¯s hard to stay outside in this heat, why don¡¯t we go inside and continue?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Bai Jinglun agreed. Several people then returned the same way and re-entered the study. Only when they walked halfway, Bai Tianrui took the iron box from Xuan Qing¡¯s hand and examined it for himself. However, he was not interested in the painting and instead focused on the oddly shaped cloth doll. He held it in his hand and kneaded it around for a while. Lin Rufei, who was standing beside him, noticed his unnusual movements. Seeing that Xuan Qing and Bai Jinglun were talking, he took advantage and deliberately slowed down. And just like that, the two of them fell behind. When Bai Tianrui noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s sudden pause, he smiled at him, ¡°Lin gongzi, what are you doing beside me instead of catching up with them? Is it possible that you also like me?¡± Lin Rufei ignored his half-hearted words and asked directly, ¡°What is so special about the third princess¡¯s doll?¡± Bai Tianrui lowered his eyes, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Lin Rufei said, ¡°If you don¡¯t take it out now, you won¡¯t have a chance to do so when you enter the room later.¡± In the end, Bai Tianrui sighed and with some helplessness in his eyes, he responded, ¡°Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, there are times when being too smart¡­¡­is really not a good thing.¡± As he spoke, the hand that Bai Tianrui had used to hold the doll, exerted a small amount of force. What he didn¡¯t expect was to actually see a few shiny, sharp needles being squeezed out from the doll¡¯s body. He casually pulled these needles off the doll and threw it into the grass to the side before placing the doll back into the box. Lin Rufei saw the needles and froze. ¡°Lin gongzi might not know.¡± Bai Tianrui lowered his voice and whispered, ¡°My brother¡¯s concubines, in fact, gave birth to more than two dozen children for him. However, either by accident or illness, the number of premature deaths was innumerable. And in the end, there were only six that have survived until now.¡± Lin Rufei listened in silence. ¡°These things are common and I have long been used to it.¡± Bai Tianrui continued, ¡°He loves the third princess because he feels that the third princess is like her, do you know who she is?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°¡­¡­White¡­¡­rabbit?¡± Bai Tianrui suppressed a smile, ¡°Yes, that white rabbit spirit.¡± He waved his hand, ¡°She was also smart, no, was a smart rabbit. She was less courageous than anyone else and when she noticed that things were not right, she quickly slipped away. My brother used all the methods, but still could not bring her back.¡± When Lin Rufei realize that they were about to arrive at the room, he frowned and said, ¡°What do you mean by saying this to me?¡± He still didn¡¯t understand what Bai Tianrui¡¯s words had to do with the needles in the doll. Bai Tianrui said: ¡°I say this because I just think that if some things can not be changed, it is better to be confused. You see, the third princess is a poor little girl in the eyes of her father, so let her stay as is. After all, in terms of certain things, she does count as a pitiful child.¡± Lin Rufei finally understood his meanings. The iron box was placed under the plum tree by the third princess. The third princess did not use the art of Loathing Victory, so there were no traces of it. But just because she didn¡¯t use the art of Loathing Victory it didn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t have resentment in her heart. She was resenting someone and even hated them to the point that she would put needles one by one into the body of the doll. Bai Tianrui took the needles out because he did not want Bai Jinglun to know of these dirty things hidden in his beloved daughter¡¯s heart. He only wanted to leave his brother with a clean and innocent little girl. Lin Rufei fell into silence. He once again witnessed the complexity of human nature. Once they entered the room, the group sat down. Xuan Qing once again checked the iron box, affirming that this thing had nothing to do with Loathing Victory. When Bai Jinglun heard this, he smiled. He put the things away with a gentle look and said that he would hand it back to the princess when she woke up. When Bai Tianrui saw this, laughed: ¡°Brother, why are you relaxed? If the princess didn¡¯t do this, then the culprit has not been found, why are you so eager to be happy?¡± Then it dawned upon Bai Jinglun: ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°This monk does have some leads.¡± Xuan Qing folded his hands and smiled, ¡°But I still need some time.¡± ¡°Oh, what lead?¡± Bai Jinglun asked. Xuan Qing commented, ¡°It¡¯s still too early to say, when I am sure, I will tell His Holiness.¡± Bai Jinglun trusted Xuan Qing so much that he didn¡¯t ask any follow-up questions and just nodded his head in agreement. After a busy morning, it was finally time to eat. Xuan Qing found an excuse not to eat with the two brothers of the Bai family and dragged Lin Rufei out of the palace to eat. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Sitting at the table, Xuan Qing was obviously a little hungry. When the vegetarian foods were brought out, he gorged himself full. But from time to time, he would also urge Lin Rufei to eat. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t have a very high appetite so there was a hitch in eating the food in front of him: ¡°Master Xuan Qing, did you really have any important discovery?¡± Xuan Qing remarked, ¡°Discovery, well. Yes, there is.¡± Who knew that he would sigh and show a headache expression, ¡°But I really do not want to get involved in those things in his family.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Heir apparent?¡± Xuan Qing nodded. ¡°The heir apparent has something to do with the attack on the princes?¡± Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand. Logically speaking, that thing was very powerful. If it was involved with the imperial family then it should have made its move long ago, why would it need to wait until now? Xuan Qing continued: ¡°I carefully asked about the situation on the day of the princes¡¯ accident and then compared to what happened to Lin gongzi yesterday, I found a pattern.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What is the pattern?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°They all happened at night.¡± He slowly continued, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not unusual for such assassinations to happen at night. After all, after night, the guards will slack off, and then it won¡¯t be easily detected by others. It¡¯s just that this thing comes and goes without a trace and according to Lin gongzi, it was right in front of your eyes, yet you still couldn¡¯t see him¡­¡­ Since that¡¯s the case, it doesn¡¯t seem to matter when it makes its move.¡± Lin Rufei slightly narrowed his eyes. He followed Xuan Qing¡¯s words and began his train of thoughts. Xuan Qing said, ¡°In that case, why does it have to choose at night? Unless¡­¡­¡± ¡°Unless night is necessary for it to appear.¡± Lin Rufei stated Xuan Qing¡¯s speculation, ¡°But what does this have to do with the establishment of the heir apparent?¡± Xuan Qing let out a long sigh: ¡°Naturally there is a relationship. Since it can choose the time it appears, it means that the thing¡¯s behavior is not a demonic move, but a conscious choice. Now the people in trouble are the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince, who do you think¡­¡­is the most suspicious?¡± If the second prince and the sixth prince died, the one that benefitted now was of course the first prince. This was the simplest way to discern this matter, just look at who could benefit the most from this matter. This was indeed reasonable, but Lin Rufei still felt that there was something fishy about it. ¡°So the Third Princess¡¯ coma was also intentional?¡± Lin Rufei knew that the third princess and the first prince were siblings of the same father and mother, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this method be a bit too risky?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°True or false, false or real, everyone thinks that the third princess is suffering. The person who did it naturally will not be the eldest prince who was closest to her. If you would think so, the emperor would also think so.¡± He folded his hands and let out a long sigh, ¡°I watched the third princess grow up, she should be a good child, but who could say for sure that good children didn¡¯t have their own thoughts? The emperor likes her, and with her, he also likes the eldest prince¡­¡­¡± This matter was indeed troublesome, a careless mistake would involve all sides of the forces. Lin Rufei looked at Xuan Qing¡¯s downcast gaze and suddenly asked: ¡°In fact, if Master Xuan Qing wanted to solve this matter, it would not be difficult, right?¡± Xuan Qing was curious, ¡°Why does Lin gongzi say that?¡± Lin Rufei thought for a moment and said, ¡°There is a not-so-appropriate analogy.¡± Xuan Qing: ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You see two ants fighting, wanting them to stop is a very simple matter, just crush one. But if the two ants are your favorite, then this matter becomes difficult. A careless, heavy method and the ants will be missing hands and feet, and even die a miserable death.¡± Xuan Qing pondered: ¡°Human lives are like ants, it is a good analogy.¡± He was born as a monk and dedicated his life to the Lord Buddha. However, there was no compassion in his eyes, or rather, his compassion was different from the ordinary monks. At least the matter of life and death was not so important in his eyes. Some people who live in this world might as well go to bliss and be reincarnated by Lord Buddha. ¡°I wonder if Master can tell me why he is so dedicated in helping the Bai family?¡± Lin Rufei propped up his chin, looked obliquely at Xuan Qing, and asked the question he was most curious about. Xuan Qing smiled and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s been many years, so it¡¯s better not to mention it.¡± Lin Rufei knew he was not willing to talk about it so he did not force him to say. He lifted the teapot to his own cup of tea and refilled it. He then raised the cup and toasted Xuan Qing. Xuan Qing also looked back at Lin Rufei, with eyes as warm and gentle as the Spring breeze: ¡°If it were Lin gongzi, what would you do when encountering these complicated things?¡± Lin Rufei blinked: ¡°If it were me¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°If it were me, I would first pull that thing out, make sure it would not harm anyone, and then find a random excuse to slip away.¡± He put down the cup of tea in his hand and said seriously, ¡°Anyway, Bai Tianrui has to sit and guard Dajing so he has no time to catch me.¡± When Xuan Qing heard this, he glanced and then applauded in laughter. He didn¡¯t know the true nature of this mountain, only because he was on the mountain. He was truly tempted by the devil. Regarding the nasty things in the imperial family, Lin Rufei was really not too interested. However, he was more interested in finding that thing sooner. He did not understand what the words ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡± that the thing called out in his ear meant. The Heavenly Ruler was a legend from a hundred years ago and was already a mythical existence to him, so what did this myth have to do with this fierce thing that wanted to take his life? At this time, Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t wait to know the answer. ¡°Is there any method to hook that thing out?¡± Lin Rufei was almost done eating so he put down his chopsticks and concentrated on discussing with Xuan Qing, ¡°Since he struck a third time, there will definitely be a fourth¡­¡­Master Xuan Qing, what does this look you are giving me mean?¡­¡­¡± As he said, he noticed Xuan Qing smiling and staring at himself. That look, no matter how he looked, felt like it was harboring ill intent. Xuan Qing said, ¡°Lin gongzi, what happened last night, are you hiding something?¡± Lin Rufei was stunned. Xuan Qing continued: ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry to deny. I¡¯m not asking what you¡¯re hiding, I just think that that thing seems to be extraordinarily interested in you.¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows slightly, ¡°How so?¡± Xuan Qing stated: ¡°Take a look. Before, the people who were in accidents were all the imperial princes and princesses in the palace. Once Lin gongzi came, you immediately became a scapegoat. Say, isn¡¯t that thing extraordinarily interested in Lin gongzi?¡± After listening to Xuan Qing¡¯s statement, Lin Rufei was a bit speechless: ¡°¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s true.¡± Xuan Qing continued, ¡°The method that Lin gongzi said can indeed be tried¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei already understood Xuan Qing¡¯s meaning and raised his hand to point at himself, ¡°Then how do you know it will still come to me?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s just trying.¡± Lin Rufei remembered the dangerous situation last night, when he was nearly strangled to death, and fell into deep thought for a moment. Xuan Qing saw this and explained: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, I won¡¯t force you, after all if you don¡¯t do this right, it could kill you.¡± But Lin Rufei said straightforwardly, ¡°There is no harm in trying.¡± If Xuan Qing¡¯s guess was right and that thing was indeed interested in him, then as long as he didn¡¯t leave the place, there was a possibility that he would be attacked again. ¡°But if it succeeds, I would have done Master Xuan Qing such a big favor, Master Xuan Qing should then compensate me for something, right?¡± Lin Rufei said. Xuan Qing nodded: ¡°That¡¯s natural, I wonder what Lin gongzi would like?¡± Lin Rufei stated, ¡°Then let¡¯s hear the story of Master Xuan Qing and the Bai family back then.¡± Xuan Qing pursed his lips slightly, but then he nodded slowly, ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Rufei reached out his hand at him, ¡°Then it¡¯s a deal, high five as a pledge!¡± Xuan Qing also raised his hand and slapped it against Lin Rufei¡¯s palm. The two palms came together with a light sound and a faint smile appeared on both of their faces. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: The third day senior has been offline. Gu Xuandu: In fact, seriously, I wasn¡¯t offline yesterday. Lin Rufei: You still have the guts to say that? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Plum soup. CH 59 Since he was to be bait, then naturally, he should be in a place where it was easy to lure that thing out. That night, on Xuan Qing and Bai Tianrui¡¯s side, they greeted each other and welcomed Lin Rufei into the palace. Fu Hua and Yu Rui didn¡¯t know what was actually happening so they naturally were a little worried. In the end, Lin Rufei had to reassure them for a quite while before they reluctantly agreed. After riding into the palace in a carriage, Lin Rufei was finally able to witness the palace during the night. The scenery looked a little different compared to the daytime. Under the vermillion eaves, there were big red palace lamps hanging everywhere. There were also palace maids or guards walking slowly in rows along the roadside but it was not as silent as Lin Rufei had imagined. Since there was a target of suspicion in mind and Lin Rufei was the bait, naturally, the place he was staying in, the closer it was to the target object the better. With this thought in mind, the room where Lin Rufei rested was then arranged next to the third princess. Lin Rufei, who was staying in the room, asked if Bai Jinglun knew of this matter however, Xuan Qing shook his head and denied it. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say that he doesn¡¯t know. ¡± Xuan Qing explained with a smile, ¡°After all, it was someone from the outside entering the palace. The emperor must have been aware, but I didn¡¯t tell him in detail. I just told him that the palace may have some clues at night so we need to stay for a night to search for something.¡± Lin Rufei pondered over this and agreed with his words. Bai Jinglun loved the third princess very much, if he knew that Xuan Qing suspected her and the eldest prince, his heart would definitely be very unhappy. Xuan Qing was very smart and he was able to directly avoided this critical issue. The Summer sky took a while to darken. After the sun finally set, the sky transformed into a pale azure, and when one looked at it from a distance, one could see the brilliant fire clouds drifting in the sky. Xuan Qing and Lin Rufei were sitting in the room with two cups of warm tea in front of them. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, why don¡¯t you go and rest first? It¡¯s still early in the day, so I¡¯m afraid that thing won¡¯t come over.¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a bit boring for Lin gongzi to sit alone in the room?¡± Lin Rufei pondered, ¡°Bored?¡± He was a little surprised that Xuan Qing¡¯s mind was so meticulous. He then smiled, ¡°No, I¡¯ve always liked peace and quiet since I was young, I¡¯ve long been used to being alone, Master Xuan Qing needn¡¯t worry.¡± On the Kunlun Mountains, instead of the noisiness at the foot of the mountain, he had always preferred to stay alone on the snowy mountain top. Wrapped in a thick winter coat while burning a pot of charcoal and holding two or three volumes of books in his hand, unknowingly, another day would pass. Occasionally, he would feel lonely but as the days passed by, he also got used to it. Sadly, his brothers and sister couldn¡¯t stand to see him in this way and would often pull him down from the mountain. Xuan Qing muttered an Amitabha Buddha. After speaking a few more words with Lin Rufei, he then got up and left the room, leaving Lin Rufei alone inside. After going out, Xuan Qing didn¡¯t even take a few steps before he entered changed course and entered the room next to Lin Rufei. Once inside, he saw Bai Tianrui sitting lazily on a chair with a pot of wine in front of him, drinking it in a bored manner. When Bai Tianrui noticed that Xuan Qing came back, he didn¡¯t even bother raising his head: ¡°You¡¯re comfortable leaving the Lin family¡¯s youngest son alone in the room?¡± Xuan Qing laughed: ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that little gongzi doesn¡¯t have a trace of sword Qi on his body, right?¡± Bai Tianrui narrowed his eyes, ¡°If such a cute little porcelain thing is accidentally broken, will you not be heartbroken?¡± Xuan Qing questioned, ¡°Porcelain?¡± Bai Tianrui raised his eyes to look at Xuan Qing, using his eyes to ask what was wrong with his statement. ¡°The Prince said that Lin gongzi is porcelain?¡± Xuan Qing smiled and said, ¡°Blame this monk¡¯s clumsy eyes. In all these years of living, this monk has never seen such hard porcelain.¡± Bai Tianrui naturally understood the hidden meaning behind Xuan Qing¡¯s words. He put down the wine cup in his hand and said in a deep voice, ¡°What is the origin of this Lin gongzi?¡± Xuan Qing did not answer. He said another Amitabha Buddha and sat down opposite Bai Tianrui, closing his eyes and began reciting scriptures. This look of Xuan Qing¡¯s made Bai Tianrui angry to the point of laughter and he tapped his fingers on the table impatiently: ¡°Monk, you and I have been friends for so many years, why is your heart moving towards the little gongzi you¡¯ve met for only a few days?¡± Xuan Qing didn¡¯t even bother, completely treating him as air. Bai Tianrui deliberately sighed and placed his head in front of Xuan Qing. The tip of his nose almost touched the table as he said: ¡°Monk, you¡¯re still going to ignore me?¡± Xuan Qing opened his eyes halfway. He calmly said only one sentence and this reckless and wanton Prince with a level eight cultivation immediately shut his mouth: ¡°To be honest, this monk and Lin gongzi¡¯s origin has to be said from a hundred years ago.¡± These words were something that Bai Tianrui should not have believed, but the monk could not lie, so every word he said was naturally true. Lin gongzi looked only around his twenties, how could he and the monk have a hundred years old relationship? Bai Tianrui couldn¡¯t understand but his interest in Lin Rufei grew even stronger. Lin Rufei sat alone in the room waiting for night to come. The tea in front of him was almost finished so he called the palace attendant outside the room to change to a new pot of tea and also asked what time it was. The palace staff replied submissively, saying that the 21st hour had just passed. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s already the 21st hour.¡± Lin Rufei was a little curious, ¡°Will the guards outside stand guard all night?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The palace attendant replied in a low voice, ¡°But around the 23rd hour of the night, there will be a rotation of guards on night duty, does gongzi need anything else?¡± ¡°No, you can leave.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand. After nightfall, the sky finally darkened and finally, it wasn¡¯t as hot as before but it also wasn¡¯t too cool either. After all, the sun had baked the Earth all day, and the remaining heat rose up making people feel a bit stuffy. Lin Rufei simply washed up and headed off to bed. He squinted his eyes and took a nap. The fire on the candelabra placed by the window was flickering with the wind until a strong gust suddenly started and blew the fire out. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This was also convenient for Lin Rufei since he no longer needed to get out of bed to turn out the light. Lin Rufei opened his eyes and stared at the room plunged into darkness before him. Along with the darkness, there was silence, but this silence was not absolute and the sound of the windows being gently shaken by the wind could be heard. It was unknown if it was Lin Rufei¡¯s imagination, but he vaguely seemed to catch a subtle magical rattling, as if someone had gently torn something from something else. This rattling was not crisp and it carried some sticky and unpleasant feeling. But if he was to listen to it carefully, he would find that this was actually just his own imagination. In his ears, he could only hear the whistling wind and the swinging wooden windows. Lin Rufei always felt that this feeling was somewhat familiar. After carefully thinking over it for a moment, he finally remembered when he had such a feeling¡ªon the day when he saw the paintings by the Third Princess Moumou when she was young. It was then that he once had such a strange sense of incongruity. If he had to describe this feeling, it would be like a wet, cool, icy object that was attached to the position near the chest and that object was making strange sounds, making people¡¯s hair stand up involuntarily. The moment Lin Rufei had this feeling, he rolled over and sat up from the bed. He carefully observed the window and the room, trying to find the source of the sound. But it was very difficult to find the source of the intermittent and subtle rattling. Lin Rufei thought for a moment, got up, and walked to the window. He closed the window with a creak, completely isolating the wind outside. The room was now completely quiet and that strange sound became much more obvious. However, when Lin Rufei realized where the sound was coming from, his movements froze. It seemed that Xuan Qing was right. To that thing, he was indeed special. It had only been one night in the palace and that thing already came looking for him. Lin Rufei took a deep breath and slowly lifted his head to look at the beam above his head. And at this time, the room was currently dim so he couldn¡¯t see anything clearly. The same went for the beam. However, Lin Rufei quickly perceived the peculiarness above the beam¡­¡­it was too dark. Unlike the ordinary darkness, on the top of the beam, it was as if two black holes were suddenly opened, absorbing all the surrounding light. The two holes consisted of one large and one small and it vaguely presented the appearance of a human figure. It was just lying on top, silently gazing at Lin Rufei who was under the beam. When Lin Rufei looked towards them, it was a horrible feeling that he was staring right at that thing. When Lin Rufei realized this scene, he wanted to call out to Xuan Qing next door, but as soon as his words spilled out of his throat, the thing turned into a huge net and covered Lin Rufei¡¯s body with a fierce momentum. Lin Rufei¡¯s sight was deprived in an instant. He wanted to shout but something harshly blocked his mouth. His whole person staggered a few steps back as he directly fell onto the soft bed next to him. ¡°Heavenly Ruler.¡± It was the same as that night and it had the exact same voice as Gu Xuandu. The fierce thing murmured lowly, as if it was casting a curse on him. One after another, it made chills appear on Lin Rufei¡¯s body, ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei pushed back in pain. Just as he was about to suffocate, the thing pried open his mouth hard and stuck something into his mouth. ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­¡± The fierce thing seemed to only know these words as it kept repeating it over and over again, but with different emotions. Lin Rufei finally realized what this thing wanted to do. He actually wanted to follow along his mouth and desperately squeeze into his body. His mouth was stretched to the maximum, not to mention crying for help, even a whimpering sound could not be issued. He could only muffle a few grunts. If this thing really came in, it was estimated that his fate would be similar to the unconscious third princess next door to him. At such a dangerous moment, Lin Rufei forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath, no longer trying to break free from the control of the fierce creature, and touched the dimensional ring on his thumb. With difficulty, he took out the long-prepared things from the dimensional ring. It was a paper crane and when Lin Rufei released it from the ring, it let out a sharp cry. The black shadow pressed against Lin Rufei shook violently as if it was frightened. Lin Rufei was happy to see this, thinking that it was afraid, but who knew that the black shadow would call out ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡± again, but this one had some resentment and anger in it as if it did not understand why Lin Rufei would do such a thing. Lin Rufei stared with wide eyes. Unbelievably, the tone of the murderous creature sounded aggrieved. This thing was aggrieved? I am almost choked to death by it¡­¡­ The black shadow had started to enter Lin Rufei¡¯s throat. He stared helplessly as it was about to continue sliding downwards when suddenly, Xuan Qing, who had no movement next door, finally came in late. And together with him, was a sleepy-eyed Bai Tianrui. When the two entered the room and saw the scene in front of them, they both sucked in a breath of cold air. They could see Lin Rufei lying limply and helplessly on the bed with a black unidentified object attached to the top of his body. It suppressed Lin Rufei¡¯s struggle and was trying to shove something desperately into his mouth. Bai Tianrui reacted quickly. He pulled out the sword blade on the side of his waist and swung at the object. When the snow-white sword Qi made contact with the black shadow, it was as if a stone had sank into the sea, there was not the slightest reaction. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s breath getting weaker and weaker, Xuan Qing took a few steps towards the table. He picked up the fire torch on the table and blew out a big breath. The bright firelight soon illuminated the whole room. Once the black shadow was illuminated by the firelight, its body flickered a few times, and then it fled from the window. When Bai Tianrui saw this situation, he directly went after it. Xuan Qing, however, did not rush. Instead, he went to the bedside and checked on Lin Rufei¡¯s status first. Lin Rufei slowly recovered from the suffocation. He was leaning against the edge of the bed and hacking violently. Because of the black shadow¡¯s action just now, the corner of his lips was cracked from the stretch and several strands of bright red blood drops were slowly dripping down his chin. Xuan Qing took out a silk handkerchief and gently helped Lin Rufei wipe away the bloodstains on his lips and asked worriedly, ¡°Lin gongzi, are you okay?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head: ¡°Nothing serious. Is Master Xuan Qing not going to follow? That thing doesn¡¯t seem to be too afraid of sword Qi.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Xuan Qing said slowly, ¡°I know what that thing is.¡± Lin Rufei was curious, ¡°What is it?¡± But Xuan Qing did not answer. He just silently looked at Lin Rufei with compassionate eyes containing a pity that Lin Rufei could not understand. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t understand. He frowned and asked, ¡°What does Master Xuan Qing mean by this?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just think that Lin gongzi has suffered.¡± Xuan Qing responded. Lin Rufei pressed his finger onto the wound at the corner of his mouth. He hissed and waved his hand indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a small wound, it¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always someone who will be distressed when they look at it.¡± Xuan Qing got up, ¡°Can Lin gongzi stand up? On Bai Tianrui¡¯s side, there should be results as well.¡± Lin Rufei naturally had no problem. Apart from a small injury on the corner of his mouth, that thing did not make any other moves to hurt him. Instead, he was more frightened and shocked. However, he wasn¡¯t too timid. After recuperating for a while, he followed Xuan Qing out of the room. But he didn¡¯t expect Bai Tianrui, who should have been chasing the shadow, to be standing at their door. His expression was livid and ugly. ¡°Why is the Prince here?¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Did you lose it?¡± Bai Tianrui shook his head and looked at Xuan Qing, ¡°Did you already know about it?¡± Xuan Qing folded his hands and said Amitabha Buddha. ¡°Stinky monk.¡± Bai Tianrui spat toward the ground. He pointed at Xuan Qing and cursed, ¡°You really f**king knew about it a long time ago.¡± As he said this, he pointed at Lin Rufei, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that thing will really make a move on Lin Rufei?¡± Xuan Qing replied flatly, ¡°This monk knows his own sense of propriety.¡± ¡°Okay, propriety.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°You have said all the good words and bad words, I would like to see how you explain to my brother later.¡± After finishing these words, he let out a cold snort. Xuan Qing made a gesture of please. Bai Tianrui turned around and headed straight into the room next to where the third princess was. Lin Rufei did not understand what the problem he and Xuan Qing were having and it wasn¡¯t until he went in and sat down to wait for Bai Jinglun that he learned from Bai Tianrui exactly what had just happened. Bai Tianrui didn¡¯t lose the shadow. He had chased after it from the window and followed the black shadow around the palace. Who knew that in the end, it would lead him to the place where the third princess was residing. Bai Tianrui originally thought that the black shadow was going to harm the princess so he rushed into the room. But who knew that once he was inside, he saw the black shadow slowly attach itself to the body of the princess and fuse with the princess. Furthermore, the princess still had a rosy complexion as if she did not hear. So far, even if Bai Tianrui was stupid, he should have also understood by now. And looking at Xuan Qing¡¯s not-the-slightest-bit-surprised expression, it seemed that he had expected everything. The reason Bai Tianrui was so angry was obviously because he thought that Xuan Qing had set him up. Lin Rufei smiled. He looked at the third princess, who was still unconscious on the bed, and sighed: ¡°So what the Prince means is that this was all the Third Princess¡¯s doing?¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°Even if she didn¡¯t do it, she must have had something to do with it.¡± He continued in a cold voice, ¡°The girl has grown up and has her own ideas, and I, as an uncle, can¡¯t control it.¡± The implication was that he no longer intended to help the third princess cover up, but even if he wanted to cover up, he probably could not help her cover up¡­ Lin Rufei looked at Xuan Qing again and saw that he still looked the same, seemingly indifferent to Prince Bai Tianrui¡¯s angry accusations. He was about to ask Xuan Qing something else but footsteps soon sounded outside the door. He saw Bai Jinglun, who had hurriedly arrived, pushing the door open and saying, ¡°What happened?¡± He was still wearing his pajamas only with a jacket layered on top. It could be seen that he was very concerned about this matter and came in a hurry. Bai Tianrui ignored Bai Jinglun¡¯s questioning gaze and refused to speak with a grimace. Finally, Xuan Qing sighed lightly and took a step forward. He spoke softly and retold what had happened tonight. The more Bai Jinglun listened, the more ugly his expression became. However, he still did not say anything. But with this look on his face, it was clear that he was already furious to the extreme. ¡°So you mean, that thing was made by Moumou?¡± Bai Jinglun said coldly. ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing responded. ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t she wake up?!¡± Bai Jinglun said angrily, ¡°And you actually didn¡¯t find out anything different from her in the beginning!¡± ¡°Your Holiness, don¡¯t be angry.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°The reason we couldn¡¯t find out was because this thing was a bit special.¡± Bai Jinglun questioned, ¡°How is it special?¡± Xuan Qing walked to Bai Jinglun¡¯s side and came up to his ear to whisper a few words. Bai Jinglun narrowed his eyes slightly, turned his head, and ordered his subordinates to bring some nannies[1] from the palace over. Bai Tianrui laughed eerily next to him, ¡°Yo, Master Xuan Qing finally came up with a method?¡± Xuan Qing did not seemed to mind and smiled lightly at Bai Tianrui. A few moments later, a few nannies came in from outside. Bai Jinglun pointed his finger and said, ¡°You go and pull the princess up from the bed.¡± Several nannies looked at each other, not knowing what the emperor meant by suddenly ordering this. However, they still obeyed the order and went to the princess¡¯ soft bed. They carefully pulled the princess, who had been sleeping, up from the bed. The princess leaned softly in the nannies¡¯ arms, unable to stand at all without the support. But at the emperor¡¯s command, several nannies still grabbed the princess¡¯ body from different directions and forced her body to stand up. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The room was brightly lit by fire and the princess hung her head. She was lifted by several people like a powerless puppet. At first, Lin Rufei did not understand why Xuan Qing wanted to do this and only after he carefully observed for a moment, did he suddenly notice the incongruity. It was this little sense of incongruity that made people¡¯s hairs stand up involuntarily. He only saw that behind the princess, who was forced to stand up, a dark shadow left by the candlelight. Only, this shadow was not at all in the appearance of the princess but rather, it was like a cloud of ink stains on paper without any patterns reflected on the ground. Although the nannies did not understand, the few people present saw it clearly. The black shadow behind the princess did not belong to her at all. Bai Jinglun¡¯s face was livid and he waved his hand to indicate that the idle people should leave. Only when everyone had gone out did he turn to Xuan Qing and ask, ¡°What is going on?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°The princess¡¯s shadow was swallowed by something.¡± ¡°Swallowed?¡± Bai Jinglun said, ¡°Speak more carefully.¡± Xuan Qing said slowly, ¡°The princess suddenly fell into a coma, but her three souls and seven spirits are all there. She was also not suffering from a strange poison, which made it very strange. I didn¡¯t think of this at first, but after the attack on Lin gongzi, I suddenly remembered something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Xuan Qing said, ¡°When I was in the Nanyin Temple, I saw a book in which a strange method was described. It was a method used to control a person¡¯s shadow so that they could control that person, just like a puppet with strings lifted. After I read the book, I thought that this method was impractical. After all, the shadow was not a soul, how could it control people? So I went to my senior disciple brother to ask, but who knew that my senior disciple brother would say this¡­¡­for people, the shadow was equally important. Everyone was born with this thing and it was the same as the organs, hands, and feet. Once missing, it would be a big deal.¡± As he said this, he sighed, ¡°But my senior disciple brother also said, in this world, those that could control the shadow are very few in numbers. It was almost impossible to pick one from a million so to not worry too much about it.¡± The princess suddenly had an accident and fell into a coma. And she had been lying in bed for the past few days, of course no one would notice any difference in her shadow. ¡°So who is controlling her shadow?¡± Bai Jinglun understood and it was quite noticeable that his tone was suppressed with anger. He obviously didn¡¯t quite want to believe that the matter was voluntary for the third princess and felt that she was victimized by someone, ¡°Moumou was well behaved since she was young, she didn¡¯t come into contact with any messy people. You also said that there are very few people who can control the shadow, how could she be one of them?¡± Xuan Qing sighed: ¡°I hope so too, I¡¯m just afraid¡­¡­¡± Bai Jinglun¡¯s hand waved to stop the words Xuan Qing was going to say, ¡°No need to be afraid, you just need to find the truth.¡± Xuan Qing nodded his head. Now they had finally found the source of the matter. Although they had not yet understood the exact cause, as long as they followed the clues, everything would soon be over. Bai Jinglun originally wanted Xuan Qing to investigate and handle the matter overnight, but Xuan Qing found an excuse that he could not continue tonight and that the rest of the matter would have to wait until tomorrow night. When Bai Jinglun took Xuan Qing¡¯s firm attitude, he could only give up. The atmosphere in the room wasn¡¯t too good just as several people broke up. Bai Tianrui, from the beginning to the end, did not say anything. Looking at his expression, he wasn¡¯t going to participate and just wanted to watch the show. Xuan Qing sighed more today than he had in a month, but there was nothing he could do but coax Bai Jinglun, giving him some time to calm down. Lin Rufei was rubbing the corner of his mouth, thinking about how to explain the strange wound to his maids. After Bai Jinglun left, Bai Tianrui also got up and left, and Xuan Qing sent Lin Rufei back to the room. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Can Master Xuan Qing still fall asleep?¡± Xuan Qing shook his head. After such a long night, it was almost dawn, how could he still sleep? ¡°Since you can¡¯t sleep, why don¡¯t you stay with me and chat?¡± Lin Rufei proposed. Xuan Qing said, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± He didn¡¯t feel comfortable leaving Lin Rufei alone in the room before this matter was finished. It wouldn¡¯t be good if that thing came back again. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Since that thing has found me, the thing Master Xuan Qing promised me¡­¡­¡± Then it dawned upon Xuan Qing and he laughed: ¡°So you were still waiting for me here. My origin with the Bai family, I will have to start ten years ago, when I happened to be passing through Dajing¡­¡­¡± He had a light smile on his face as he fell into his memory. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: How dare someone tear the corner of my Xiao Jiu¡¯s mouth! ! Lin Rufei expressionlessly: Who tore it? Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Lin Rufei: Acting mute? Gu Xuandu: _(£º§Ù¡¹¡Ï)_ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] So the word here is æÖæÖ which can refer to granny, mothers, wet nurses, elderly maids etc. None of the words really fit with the palace theme, so I stuck with nannies. But I just wanted to let you guys know that these are elderly nannies and not young ones 0.0 CH 60 Xuan Qing left the Nanyin Temple and had been traveling outside for many years. More than ten years ago, he happened to pass by Dajing and inadvertently met Bai Tianrui and Bai Jinglun, who were still teenagers. At that time, Bai Jinglun was not as stable as he was now. His temperament was actually quite similar to Bai Tianrui, and it could even be said that he was more proud and capricious than Bai Tianrui. After all, the first son was born as the first prince. He grew up as the apple of their eyes and was cherished deeply. Whatever he wanted, how could he ever be wronged? And at that time, Bai Tianrui, who had yet to become Prince, had his heart set on the sword. At first, he seemed to be a few points more simpler than Bai Jinglun. The people of Dajing were liberal and there were temples of the Heavenly Ruler everywhere. This was actually a good thing for Xuan Qing. After all, from Nanyin to Dajing, he had walked a thousand miles and the money on his body had long been exhausted. At that time, since he had no money, he could only rely on begging to make the day. Furthermore, their Nanyin Temple actually had a rule that outsiders didn¡¯t know, it was that they could take only items and could not collect silver money. Because of this rule, when Xuan Qing arrived at Dajing, he couldn¡¯t even take out a coin from his pouch and could only rely on the kind-hearted people to barely fill his stomach. In such a situation, Xuan Qing ended up inadvertently meeting Bai Jinglun. That day, he happened to be at the mouth of the well drinking water when two young men in brocade riding high horses rode past his side. The teenagers¡¯ horses stopped next to him and they sized him up with interest while whispering to each other. The two thought that if they were far away, the monk would not know what they were talking about. But the monk was not an ordinary monk. Even though they were far away, he could hear the two people¡¯s conversation clearly. Bai Jinglun opened his mouth first, ¡°Brother, say do you think this monk is a real monk or a fake monk?¡± Bai Tianrui glanced at Xuan Qing: ¡°My guess is that he is real. A fake monk is not as poor as him.¡± Bai Jinglun proposed, ¡°Then let¡¯s make a bet.¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°Bet on what?¡± Bai Jinglun came up to Bai Tianrui¡¯s ear and whispered for a while, then the two of them hit it off and agreed to the bet. Bai Jinglun rolled off his horse. He smiled, walked over to the monk, and asked, ¡°Where is the Master from?¡± Xuan Qing folded his hands and said in a warm voice, ¡°A small temple in the west.¡± Bai Jinglun added, ¡°Where does Master intend to go next?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°The monk intends to go to make a living.¡± (t/n: he means to go begging here) Bai Jinglun smiled and handed out an ingot of gold to Xuan Qing, ¡°Master has worked hard in this hot weather, this is a small token of my appreciation, I hope Master will not mind.¡± But how could Xuan Qing accept? He shook his head and refused Bai Jinglun¡¯s kindness, saying that he does not accept silver money. Bai Jinglun narrowed his eyes and observed Xuan Qing carefully for a while before withdrawing his hand: ¡°Then what does Master accept to make a living?¡± ¡°Only zhai meals.¡± Xuan Qing replied. As soon as he spoke these words, there was a cheeky laugh from Bai Tianrui who was behind him. It was quite obvious that he was laughing at Bai Jinglun for losing the bet. Bai Jinglun raised his chin and glared at Xuan Qing. He then lightly snorted, turned his head, and left, probably thinking that this monk was too boring. There was silver and he didn¡¯t want it. Instead, he had actually wanted some laborious zhai meal. Xuan Qing watched as Bai Tianrui and Bai Jinglun left and then naively believed that his fate with these two teenagers would stop here. But who knew that after a few days, they would actually meet again, only this time, Xuan Qing was seriously injured and was wretchedly hiding in a temple to recuperate. Bai Jinglun, who happened to come in to pay his respects to the Heavenly Ruler, noticed the scent of blood on him and soon found Xuan Qing hiding in a corner. Seeing the gentle and dignified young monk, from a few days ago, sitting in a corner wretchedly and covered with blood, Bai Jinglun stopped and squatted halfway down, waking up the semi-conscious Xuan Qing. ¡°How did you get hurt so badly?¡± Bai Jinglun¡¯s tone was somewhat picky, ¡°Who has the nerve to injure a monk in Dajing.¡± Xuan Qing reluctantly replied, ¡°It¡¯s this monk¡¯s own business.¡± Bai Jinglun cocked his head and looked at him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to a doctor and ask him to check it for you?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°No money.¡± Bai Jinglun: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This answer was really a bit awkward and Bai Jinglun even froze in place. He didn¡¯t expect to get this answer from the monk¡¯s mouth. He had wanted to ask more questions, but the monk fainted again because his injuries were too severe. Bai Jinglun pondered over it and felt that he could not leave the monk here. In case he died, wouldn¡¯t it be too inauspicious? After all, this temple was his favorite one and the statue of the Heavenly Ruler inside was also the most beautiful one. After figuring this situation out, Bai Jinglun reached out and picked up the monk. He turned around, got on the horse, and galloped away. And just like that, he entered the palace. And so the unconscious Xuan Qing entered the palace of Dajing for the first time. If he knew that he would have an ill-fated relationship in his future with the Dajing¡¯s Imperial Family, he probably would have crawled out of that temple. However, no matter what he thought about now, it was already too late. Xuan Qing, who was brought into the palace, drank a lot of medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor, and he peacefully recuperated for a period of time. When his body finally recovered, he had intended to leave. However, before leaving, he went to ask Bai Jinglun, asked him what wish he had and if it was possible, for this monk to know. Bai Jinglun laughed without any seriousness and said, ¡®what, could it be that this monk could grant my wish?¡¯ The monk did not get angry and said in a gentle voice, ¡°There is no harm in saying it, Patron.¡± Bai Jinglun casually took out three ingots of gold from his pouch and handed them to Xuan Qing, saying seriously, ¡°I just want to give money to the monk once, I wonder if the monk can make an exception for me?¡± As a teenager, he was just obsessed with a bet he lost with his brother and was completely unaware of what his action meant. Xuan Qing¡¯s appearance, which had always been indifferent, however, changed after Bai Jinglun said these words. His eyes slowly widened and he said, ¡°Can Your Highness change his wish?¡± ¡°Not changing.¡± Bai Jinglun hummed and laughed, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that any wish can be granted? I just have one wish, monk, just do it. Quickly collect the money and leave!¡± Xuan Qing was speechless. He stared at the gold in Bai Jinglun¡¯s hand like he was staring at a hot potato. At first, Bai Jinglun thought the monk was being reserved, but later he found that the suffering in his expression was not fake so his interest in him grew even more. He had lived for twenty years and had heard a lot of hypocritical courtesy, but for the first time in his life, he found someone who actually saw silver money as a tiger and wolf[1], this, of course, made him more curious. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. How could anyone in the world not like money? Bai Jinglun could not understand this logic. The two were in a stalemate for quite a long time and finally, Xuan Qing was the one who lost. The teenage Bai Jinglun was as stubborn as a stone. How could Xuan Qing, who always had a good temper, be his opponent? Furthermore, he still owed him a favor for saving his life. After figuring all this out, Xuan Qing had to reach out and take the gold. When the three shiny gold ingots dropped into Xuan Qing¡¯s hand, there was a sizzling sound. And then Xuan Qing¡¯s originally white palm actually had three extra burned black scorched marks. Seeing this, Bai Jinglun was shocked. He pulled Xuan Qing¡¯s hand over to take a closer look, only to find that what he had just seen was as if it was his own imagination. ¡°Amitabha Buddha.¡± The monk withdrew his hand and bowed to Bai Jinglun, ¡°Then this monk will take his leave.¡± ¡°Go, go.¡± Bai Jinglun waved his hand, feeling that this monk was very evil. Before leaving, the monk took out a bag from his arms. He reached out and handed it to Bai Jinglun, saying, ¡°This monk is from Nanyin. If Your Highness has any trouble, please burn a bead, and this monk will come over as soon as possible.¡± At that time, Bai Jinglun still did not know what the Nanyin Temple meant. He originally wanted to refuse the beads but after seeing the monk¡¯s stubborn expression, the words of refusal ended up not coming out. He brought the bag over and tossed it casually onto the fruit plate in front of him, ¡°Got it.¡± Xuan Qing sighed, turned around, and finally left. Three ingots of gold and thirty sandalwood beads. The rules in the Nanyin Temple were set long ago and that was also why Xuan Qing never accepted money from people even after being outside for a long time. And he also had never met someone who saved him and had to give him money. This was probably the ¡°fate¡± that his Master had mentioned. Although from Xuan Qing¡¯s perspective, this ¡°fate¡± was more of an ¡°ill-fated.¡± As Xuan Qing talked about his history, he looked dejected and let out a few more sighs. But as Lin Rufei was listening to him complain about it being trouble, he could also see from his eyes a faint hint of a smile. And he was even sure that he didn¡¯t hate Bai Jinglun. Indeed, who would hate an interesting teenager like that? He just didn¡¯t know how long it would take to burn all thirty sandalwood beads. Gold was indeed a good thing, but it was a pity that the monk¡¯s life was too thin and shallow and he simply couldn¡¯t hold onto it, ah. Xuan Qing shook his head and sighed once again. ¡°Master¡¯s words are too much.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Now the beads have been burned three times?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Xuan Qing answered, ¡°Unknowingly, they are not teenagers anymore.¡± One had become an emperor governing over ten thousand people and the other had become a sword cultivator with a cultivation at the eighth level. Neither were ordinary mortals. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Do monks drink?¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°Lin gongzi wants to buy me a drink?¡± Lin Rufei laughed spontaneously, ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to give you money while you¡¯re drunk, why are you so nervous?¡± Xuan Qing blinked and laughed along, ¡°Then there¡¯s no harm in drinking a little.¡± Lin Rufei then took out a pot of unopened wine from his dimensional ring and called the palace staff to bring two cups. Unfortunately, this wine, compared to the one that Gu Xuandu gave him, was as different as night and day. After drinking that wine, any other wine he tried was as bland as water. When Xuan Qing noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s unfulfilled look, he asked him with a smile why he looked like this. ¡°It¡¯s just that drinking this wine reminded me of a really good wine I¡¯ve had before.¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°After drinking that wine, I always felt that the other liquors were too bland in comparison.¡± Xuan Qing was curious, ¡°Oh, there is such good wine in the world?¡± Lin Rufei then described it in detail but after Xuan Qing heard this description, he was silent for a moment and then whispered, ¡°This monk seems to have also drunk it before.¡± ¡°Master has also drunk it?¡± Lin Rufei questioned curiously. ¡°Mnn.¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°I have an old friend who is not a good cook but makes really delicious small pastries. And the most praiseworthy part of his craft is the art of making wine.¡± He took a sip and said gently, ¡°Once you¡¯ve had his wine, nothing else will ever catch your eye.¡± ¡°You guys must be very close.¡± Lin Rufei murmured. ¡°It was good.¡± Xuan Qing responded. ¡°Then where is he now?¡± Lin Rufei asked casually. ¡°Dead.¡± Xuan Qing responded in a slow voice. Lin Rufei froze, then the atmosphere got awkward: ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing waved his hand, indicating that it was okay, and stated plainly, ¡°To ordinary people, life and death may be a taboo matter, but to a monk, life and death are as ordinary as eating and sleeping. It¡¯s not something unspeakable.¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Will Master be sad?¡± Xuan Qing smiled and said, ¡°Monks are not puppets, of course they will be sad.¡± Lin Rufei then asked, ¡°Then how is it the same as eating and sleeping?¡± Xuan Qing replied seriously, ¡°If Lin gongzi eats something disgusting, will he be sad?¡± Speaking of unpalatable things, Lin Rufei immediately remembered the Chinese medicine boiled by Fu Hua and Yu Rui. His face instantly wrinkled into a ball and he couldn¡¯t stop nodding his head in agreement: ¡°Sad, indeed sad.¡± Xuan Qing laughed out loud. The two talked all night until the morning light shone through. Xuan Qing called the palace staff to prepare the carriage and together with Lin Rufei, they left the palace. The two returned to the inn and casually ate something before each went off to their rooms to rest. Lin Rufei had stayed up all night, drank a lot of wine, but did not lose any sleep. He had slept until noon and then woke up in an unbalanced manner. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he told Fu Hua to send over some hangover soup. When he slowly walked downstairs, he saw Xuan Qing already sitting in the lobby eating lunch. Lin Rufei sat down opposite him and asked with a headache, ¡°Why is Master up so early?¡± Xuan Qing smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably because this monk¡¯s wine consumption is better than the gongzi¡¯s.¡± Lin Rufei sighed. Xuan Qing had a good appetite and happily ate the zhai meal in front of him. However, Lin Rufei had no appetite and only felt a splitting headache. When Xuan Qing saw this, he had no sympathy for him at all and instead kept on laughing, laughing to the point that Lin Rufei started to resent him. ¡°By the way, I suddenly remembered, why do you have to put this off for a day?¡± Lin Rufei asked. He always had a feeling that Xuan Qing should have been able to solve the matter of the Third Princess yesterday. Xuan Qing sighed: ¡°Lin gongzi, you should know that most fathers actually love their daughters.¡± Lin Rufei frowned. Xuan Qing said, ¡°But if you are an emperor, as a father, it isn¡¯t as heavy.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t understand: ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Actually, the Third Princess is not that concubine¡¯s actual daughter.¡± Xuan Qing whispered. Lin Rufei froze, not expecting to hear a private imperial matter that he shouldn¡¯t have known out of Xuan Qing¡¯s mouth: ¡°Could it be that¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°Back then, the concubine had a difficult delivery and the child was actually lost as soon as it was born. But this matter, not many people knew about it, even the¡­¡­concubine herself did not know.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Then the Third Princess is whose child?¡± A sudden thought popped into his head and he said incredulously, ¡°The rabbit spirit¡¯s?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Smart.¡± Lin Rufei was speechless for a moment, thinking that these imperial matters were really troublesome. ¡°You know, when rabbits give birth, they give birth in litters.¡± Xuan Qing stated, ¡°That rabbit spirit gave birth to eleven little dolls¡­¡­it didn¡¯t seem too unacceptable to have one adopted by the father¡¯s side. After all, eleven children without a father was really a headache.¡± It seemed like he had seen the scene himself as he revealed a miserable look. Lin Rufei also listened with astonishment. Although he had not raised a child before, the thought of a dozen little cubs crying together was absolutely horrifying. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for all of them.¡± Xuan Qing shook his head and continued. Lin Rufei did not know what to say for a while so in the end, he picked up his chopsticks and ate some vegetarian food together with Xuan Qing. After the meal, he went back to the inn to catch up on his sleep and by the time he was called up by Fu Hua again, it was already dusk outside the window. Fu Hua said that the carriage from the palace had been waiting outside for quite some time but Xuan Qing had asked them not to wake Lin Rufei in a hurry. Lin Rufei washed up, changed into his formal clothes, went out, and got into the carriage. And he saw Xuan Qing, who was sitting inside with his eyes closed as he recited scriptures. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± When Xuan Qing noticed Lin Rufei coming on, he nodded to the guard sitting next to him. The guard called out to the carriage driver and the carriage slowly moved towards the palace. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. In the palace at this time, it was a completely different atmosphere and Xuan Qing asked the guard what had happened today during the day. The guard responded with a sad face; apparently, this morning the emperor was very angry during morning court and had harshly scolded a few ministers. At noon, he punished several concubines who had tried to make a move. And by this point, everyone now knew that the emperor was not in a good mood so they did not dare get into trouble. Xuan Qing asked: ¡°There is nothing else?¡± The guard replied, ¡°What does Master mean?¡± Xuan Qing answered, ¡°His Holiness did not send anyone out to find someone?¡± The guard laughed bitterly: ¡°Master, don¡¯t joke, naturally, he did. But if that person was willing to come over, His Holiness would not be so angry.¡± Xuan Qing stated, ¡°You have a point.¡± The words spoken by the two people were very vague, but Lin Rufei guessed that the one they were talking about was probably the rabbit spirit who had given birth to more than a dozen children. Soon, they finally arrived at the palace. After getting down from the carriage, before they even enter the study, they heard Bai Jinglun¡¯s angry scolding voice coming from inside. Judging from the context, he should be scolding several of his children, and the voice didn¡¯t stop until the people outside went in to report of their arrival. When Lin Rufei went in, he saw the calm and dignified Emperor of Dajing again. In front of the emperor, five princes and princesses kneeled. It seemed that besides the third princess, everyone else was called over. Judging from their expressions, apparently, they have been scolded for quite a while and now all of them have a trembling face. The emperor coldly told them to go down. The few of them were finally pardoned and they hurriedly retreated out. And Bai Tianrui, when Bai Jinglun was reprimanding his children, had been sitting on the side drinking tea whilst enjoying the show. He didn¡¯t have the slightest intention to persuade and based on his expression, it seemed that he really wanted Bai Jinglun to scold them a few more times. ¡°Master Xuan Qing, Lin gongzi, please sit down.¡± Bai Jinglun waved his hand to indicate for the two to sit down and then he continued in a deep voice, ¡°They are all disappointing things.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Your Holiness, be careful of getting angry and hurting your body.¡± ¡°If I die, it will be because of my anger for them.¡± Bai Jinglun responded indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for not ruling my family strictly and letting more gossips in the palace. I have wronged Moumou.¡± Xuan Qing sighed, but he did not say anything. Bai Jinglun asked, ¡°Is Master Xuan Qing ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing answered, ¡°But I still need Lin gongzi to help me.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Me? What can I do to help?¡± Xuan Qing smiled lightly and said, ¡°Of course you can.¡± Lin Rufei was not entirely sure, but after seeing Xuan Qing¡¯s certainty, he did not question again. Bai Jinglun said, ¡°The princess is next door. Tianrui, you should also go and help Master Xuan Qing a little. I will not go over. When the princess wakes up¡­¡­ let the palace staff come and notify me.¡± He sat down and drank a mouthful of hot tea. His eyes showed some tiredness, most likely he also had a sleepless night yesterday. Bai Tianrui nodded in response, then got up and took Lin Rufei and others to the room next door. The third princess in the room was still asleep and looked very peaceful, and they couldn¡¯t even see the slightest trace of pain. At this time, the sky was turning dark. However, the candlelight in the room made it look exactly like how it would be if it were in the daytime. Lin Rufei noticed that there were many candlesticks in the room and that they were all newly placed. Most likely Bai Jinglun deliberately placed them after he heard Xuan Qing¡¯s description and was afraid that the dark shadow would harm the princess. Xuan Qing walked up to the princess and gently apologized for his upcoming actions. Then he helped the princess, who was lying on the bed up, and propped her against his shoulder. Bai Tianrui watched coldly from the side. Although he still had his usual smile on his face, this smile looked thin and cold. While Xuan Qing was moving, he said softly and slowly: ¡°Master Xuan Qing, do you think it¡¯s a good thing if the third princess wakes up?¡± Xuan Qing didn¡¯t understand, ¡°What¡¯s not good about it?¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°If she doesn¡¯t wake up, my father still has some pity for her. If she wakes up, then it¡¯s time to settle scores at an opportune moment.¡± Xuan Qing raised his eyes to look at him, ¡°What does the Prince mean by this?¡± Bai Tianrui spread his hands and made an innocent gesture: ¡°Isn¡¯t that the truth? To tell the truth, last night at midnight, my brother sent me to Huangyan Mountain, and I also met with that person, but that person refused to come down.¡± Xuan Qing pursed his lips slightly: ¡°The princess has to wake up sooner or later.¡± Bai Tianrui sighed and stopped talking. He waved his hand, indicating for Xuan Qing to continue and the thinness on his expression soon turned into annoyance. Xuan Qing then let the princess lean on his shoulder and asked Lin Rufei to move the candelabra to the front of the princess so that the black shadow was presented behind her. Then, Xuan Qing folded his hands and started chanting scriptures in a low voice. Lin Rufei had also dabbled in scriptures and heard the content of the scripture recited by Xuan Qing. It was the K?itigarbha Sutra, a kind of sutra usually used to transcend the spirits of the dead. As Xuan Qing whispered, the black shadow behind the princess also began to change. It twisted and writhed uncontrollably, like a mass of living flesh and blood. The princess, who had been sleeping, began to let out tiny moans from her mouth, and her closed eyes began to tremble uncontrollably. The change became more and more intense, as if the water had been heated and gradually started to boil. When it reached a critical point, the princess began to struggle and wriggle desperately. When Bai Tianrui noticed this, he hurriedly rushed forward to help hold her down. A layer of sweat surfaced on Xuan Qing¡¯s forehead and he raised his hand to beckon to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei walked a few steps towards Xuan Qing and asked, ¡°What do I have to do?¡± Xuan Qing whispered, ¡°Please Lin gongzi, put your hand into the black shadow.¡± When Lin Rufei heard the words, he did as he was told and gently pressed his hand on the black shadow. But who knew that the black shadow was like a mire and it directly swallowed his hand into it. Xuan Qing, on the other hand, held Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist to stop the black shadow from continuing to swallow and his mouth began to continue to recite the incantation again. ¡°Ah!!!!¡± The princess let out a harsh scream. Along with Xuan Qing¡¯s movements, the black shadow was also making a horrible sound, like its flesh and skin were separating. Xuan Qing held Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist tightly. Inch by inch, he pulled his hand out from the black shadow, and at the same time, the black shadow, attached to Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, gradually separated from the princess¡¯s shadow. This separation seemed to be very painful for the princess and she kept on hissing and screaming, as if she was being tortured. Finally, Bai Jinglun, who was waiting next door, also came over. Seeing this appearance of hers, Bai Jinglun could not help but take a few steps towards the side of the bed and carefully gathered her into his embrace. He gently coaxed: ¡°Moumou, don¡¯t be afraid, father is here, father is here¡­¡­¡± The princess desperately clutched onto Bai Jinglun¡¯s lapel and cried her heart out. Xuan Qing did not have the effort to look at this scene of natural love between parent and child. He was sweating profusely and finally after the two black shadows ripped apart, his lips had lost their color. The black shadow attached to Lin Rufei¡¯s hand was just about to spread along his arm towards his body when suddenly, someone held onto Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. A long-lost figure suddenly appeared before Lin Rufei. His face was as beautiful as when they had first met, with a pair of narrow phoenix eyes that carried a strong smile. The corners of his mouth were slightly hooked up into a smile and the tone of his voice was as gentle as the Spring breeze: ¡°Xiao Jiu, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Lin Rufei responded softly in his heart: Senior, it¡¯s been a while. After a long time apart, Gu Xuandu finally appeared again. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Long time no see, Xiao Jiu. Did you miss me, ah? Lin Rufei points to the corner of his mouth. Gu Xuandu: I still have some things so I¡¯ll leave first. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Meaning ferocious, like a tiger and a wolf. CH 61 ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Edited: 10.18.2021 The two of them hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time and when they finally looked at each other again, it was with a different meaning in their eyes. However, there were too many people present and Lin Rufei wasn¡¯t able to talk much with Gu Xuandu. In the end, he could only look at him for a few more moments before moving away and returning his eyes onto the third princess who was currently bawling in Bai Jinglun¡¯s arms. The shadow was finally detached from the third princess¡¯s body and she was able to wake up. However, after waking up, she started crying in Bai Jinglun¡¯s arms. If this was someone else, they probably would have long been scolded by Bai Jinglun. But in the end, this was his most beloved third princess. The words of scolding gathered at the tips of his tongue, but in the end, they did not dare come out. Instead, he just stroked her head and softly comforted her for a long time and only then, did this little girl calm down. During that period, Bai Tianrui and Xuan Qing stood on the side watching quietly, not daring to interrupt. When the third princess had finally cried enough, Bai Jinglun took out a handkerchief and carefully dried his daughter¡¯s tears: ¡°Moumou no more crying, everything is okay now. Exactly what happened, quickly tell daddy.¡± When Lin Rufei heard this on the side, he thought it was actually quite funny. In his heart, he said to him that this Bai Jinglun was very biased. In the eyes of others, he was ¡°father,¡± and in the eyes of the third princess he became ¡°daddy.¡± The third princess was a bit confused from crying. Her eyes and nose were red, plus, her delicate face indeed looked pitiful and suffering. Lin Rufei remembered what Xuan Qing had said before, this third princess looked very similar to her mother, in that case, no wonder Bai Jinglun never forgot her. ¡°I¡­¡­I can¡¯t remember too well.¡± The third princess rubbed her eyes and sobbed, ¡°That day, I had a fight with my brothers and was upset, so I went to the Imperial Garden to be alone.¡± ¡°And after that?¡± Bai Jinglun asked. ¡°I sat for a while with my maids under the plum tree, which was Mother Consort¡¯s favorite.¡± The Third Princess said, ¡°I like to say a few words to the plum tree when I have something on my mind. Who knew that while talking, there was a gust of wind blowing. The wind was really strong and I couldn¡¯t open my eyes. After that, I don¡¯t know what happened.¡± She was full of bewilderment and was really like a poor innocent bunny who had suffered a lot. Bai Jinglun questioned, ¡°Why did you and your brothers get into a fight?¡± The third princess forced out a smile: ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­¡­I had wanted to go out to see the lights and my brothers said it wasn¡¯t safe for girls to go out.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± Bai Jinglun continued. The third princess bit her lower lip and held it there for a while before she whispered in a sobbing voice: ¡°They¡­¡­said I was a bastard.¡± ¡°Bastards!¡± When Bai Jinglun heard this, he instantly became furious and his expression turned hideous to the extreme, ¡°Who said that? Your second brother or sixth brother?¡± ¡°It was the second prince who said it first.¡± The third princess lost her soul and replied, ¡°Father, am I really not Concubine Mei¡¯s biological daughter? Am I really.?¡­..¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that word!¡± Bai Jinglun gritted his teeth. He was so angry that his eyes turned red, ¡°Good, ah! My good sons!¡± Royalty inherently valued lineage and the word ¡°bastard,¡± was simply murderous to the heart. From Bai Jinglun¡¯s expression, it was obviously known that those two imperial sons would suffer. ¡°It¡¯s not their first time saying it, right?¡± Bai Jinglun suddenly realized something and asked again. The third princess nodded in a trance, revealing a weak smile: ¡°They said it¡­¡­many times, only I took it as they were jealous of daddy¡¯s love for me, so did not take it to heart, until¡­¡­¡± Bai Jinglun questioned, ¡°Until what?¡± The third princess did not speak again, she just jumped into Bai Jinglun¡¯s arms and started crying again. Bai Jinglun stroked her head and soothed her for a while before asking, ¡°When Moumou was unconscious, did you feel anything?¡± The third princess sniffed. Her cries gradually softened and she looked around the room. When it swept past Xuan Qing, it paused for a moment, but soon, she withdrew her gaze. She lowered her eyes and whispered: ¡°I did feel something, but that feeling I can¡¯t describe clearly¡­¡­..¡± She hesitated for a moment and then showed a little apprehension, ¡°Daddy, did something happen at the palace while I was in a coma?¡± Bai Jinglun also did not hide the matter from her and said it directly: ¡°Your second brother and sixth brother were almost strangled to death.¡± The third princess suddenly turned white and was at a loss for words, ¡°Does this¡­¡­this have anything to do¡­¡­with me?¡± Bai Jinglun did not say yes or no. He just stroked the third princess¡¯s long hair and asked her to describe in detail what she felt when she was unconscious. The third princess weighed her words and whispered, ¡°At first I was unconscious, but then I seemed to be pulled into a black mire by something, and inside, I could not move until I heard a voice¡­¡­¡± ¡°What voice?¡± Bai Jinglun asked with a frown. The third princess shook her head: ¡°I only knew it was a man¡¯s voice. I have never heard it before.¡± Once he heard that it was a man¡¯s voice, Bai Jinglun¡¯s frown deepened: ¡°What did he say?¡± Third Princess said: ¡°He asked me¡­¡­why I was unhappy¡­¡­¡± Bai Jinglun continued to listen. ¡°I then told him about the quarrel with my brothers.¡± The third princess said with difficulty, ¡°I can¡¯t remember what happened afterward. It was as if I was flying in the sky, and also as if I was seeing many people. It was very vague and messy.¡± Bai Jinglun then proceeded asking the third princess some more details about when she was still in the coma but the third princess answered all his questions with very vague responses. Seeing her confused and tired look, it didn¡¯t seem like she was lying. Finally, Xuan Qing opened his mouth and said, ¡°Your Holiness, the princess¡¯s shadow has only returned to its place so she should rest well at this time. Why don¡¯t you come back tomorrow to ask about anything?¡± These words were exactly what Bai Jinglun wanted. Between this father and daughter pair, there were indeed some conversations that were not suitable to be overheard by outsiders. So he responded to Xuan Qing¡¯s words and told the third princess to rest well. He then got up and went out. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. After heading out, Bai Jinglun then asked Xuan Qing about the shadow¡¯s whereabouts. Xuan Qing pointed to Lin Rufei, saying that the shadow had been sealed in Lin gongzi¡¯s sword intent, so Bai Jinglun need not worry. Bai Jinglun nodded his head and sincerely thanked Xuan Qing. Xuan Qing smiled and waved his hand, saying that His Holiness was too polite, such a small matter, no need to be so concerned. The several of them chatted a few more words before they finally dispersed. Originally, Bai Jinglun insisted that the two of them stay in the palace, but Xuan Qing refused insistently. In the end, he could only prepare a carriage to send them back to the inn. The Prince hadn¡¯t spoken much since a while ago and simply sat in the carriage with his eyes closed. Xuan Qing laughed and teased him, saying, ¡®why did the Prince become mute today?¡¯ Bai Tianrui sneered: ¡°Seeing the scene of natural love between father and child, it was mushy.¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°I think you are jealous. Your brother has a bunch of children and you can¡¯t even get a wife.¡± Bai Tianrui glared: ¡°I can¡¯t get one? I just don¡¯t want to¡ª¡ª¡± As he said this, he looked at Lin Rufei with a smile and asked Lin Rufei his age and whether he was married or not. Xuan Qing tsked and looked at Bai Tianrui with disgust: ¡°Forget it, Lin gongzi has just reached adulthood, you are a decade older than him and can be called uncle. Don¡¯t you have any embarrassment?¡± Bai Tianrui spat out in anger. The carriage soon arrived at the entrance of the inn. Lin Rufei went down first, but Bai Tianrui grabbed Xuan Qing and said there were some things that he wanted to talk about with him alone. The two of them were left in the carriage and Xuan Qing sighed. He asked what Bai Tianrui wanted to talk about. Bai Tianrui reached out and pulled down the curtain of the car. The light in the carriage was instantly dimmed and their faces became blurred. Bai Tianrui spoke in a low voice: ¡°Say, do you think it would have been good or bad if my brother had not had that incident that year?¡± ¡°For Bai Jinglun himself, it is probably good.¡± Xuan Qing said. ¡°And for Dajing?¡± Bai Tianrui asked again. Xuan Qing replied, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Prince already have the answer in his heart?¡± Bai Tianrui snorted, ¡°Trouble.¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°This monk will take his leave now.¡± ¡°Hey, monk. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?¡± Bai Tianrui smiled, ¡°Clearly, last night you accompanied Lin gongzi and drank all night, but now with me, you¡¯re not willing to chat for a while longer?¡± Xuan Qing sighed, ¡°That¡¯s different.¡± Bai Tianrui questioned, ¡°How is it different?¡± Xuan Qing stated, ¡°Lin gongzi is a friend of this monk.¡± Bai Tianrui asked, ¡°What about me?¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Just a passerby.¡± Bai Tianrui¡¯s expression changed dramatically when he heard that. He reached out and grabbed Xuan Qing¡¯s collar, gritting out hatefully, ¡°Monk, you say you and I are just passersby?¡± Xuan Qing calmly looked at Bai Tianrui and his eyes were no different from usual. However, if you said that you could usually see compassion in his eyes, then at this moment, this compassion took on a cold taste. It was as if the gods were looking down on all beings, treating them like ants. The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Bai Tianrui suddenly let go of his hand and returned to his usual frivolous appearance. He narrowed his eyes and laughed: ¡°Forget it, forget it. Why would I bicker with a poor monk?¡± After saying this, he hurriedly kicked Xuan Qing out of the carriage and then headed back to the palace alone. Xuan Qing stood in front of the inn for quite some time. The spot he was looking at had been in the direction of the palace. He continued staring until Fu Hua and Yu Rui, who happened to return from outside, saw him standing at the door and greeted him. He smiled, nodded to them, and then went back into the inn. That night, a rainstorm fell upon Dajing. The rain of each season had its own uniqueness. The Summer showers were furious and enthusiastic as it came and went quickly with thick raindrops pitter-pattering down, giving no chance to react. Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t wait to get back to the inn and as soon as he entered the room, Gu Xuandu revealed his figure. ¡°Senior, I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and said. ¡°What happened to your mouth?¡± Gu Xuandu had long noticed the two eyesore wounds on the corners of Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth a while ago. But there were too many people present then and it wasn¡¯t good to talk to Lin Rufei so he had to hold it in until now. ¡°Oh, this ah, just a small injury.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand indifferently and he lightly described the process of how he got his injury. Who knew that even though he had described it lightly, Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression changed drastically. It went from the initial anger to later embarrassment, and finally, as if nothing had happened. He coughed dryly, ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Lin Rufei took in Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression clearly and then decided to be a little naughty. He pretended to be innocent and asked, ¡°Is that senior¡¯s shadow? How did senior¡¯s shadow appear in Dajing? And compelled the Third Princess to do bad things?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­This might be a misunderstanding.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Misunderstanding?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°That shadow of mine has no self-thinking. Fusing with the Third Princess was just an accident. Although the Third Princess said it lightly, in reality, she also has her own thoughts. If her father asks about it, she will certainly shift it onto foreign objects.¡± Lin Rufei asked: ¡°Then her father believes it?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Do you believe it?¡± Lin Rufei pondered, ¡°Fifty percent.¡± ¡°Then her father will believe about sixty percent.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Those who are emperors are all child prodigy, they are not that easy to fool.¡± As he said this, he sat down beside Lin Rufei. He inclined his head and carefully observed the wound on the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth. The wound was not too big, just slightly red and swollen, but on Lin Rufei¡¯s light-colored lips, it was particularly obtrusive. Gu Xuandu became more and more uncomfortable as he continued looking at it. He held back for a while but in the end, he couldn¡¯t help but extend his thumb and gently pressed on the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth. His fingers were very icy and it didn¡¯t hurt when pressed, but Lin Rufei still involuntarily let out a hiss. Gu Xuandu hurriedly withdrew his hand and asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt?¡± Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t even believe it. ¡°It was a little painful when it was stuffed inside. I really couldn¡¯t contain it.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t even realize what was wrong with his words, ¡°After all, it¡¯s so big and hard¡­¡­¡± A suspicious blush rose onto Gu Xuandu¡¯s ears. Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Senior, why are your ears getting red?¡± Gu Xuandu calmly stated, ¡°It¡¯s not, you saw it wrong.¡± ¡°Really not?¡± Lin Rufei pointed out the problem with suspicion, ¡°I clearly saw it.¡± Gu Xuandu defended, ¡°I¡¯ve said you saw it wrong.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°I¡­¡­¡± He only managed to get out half of the words when Gu Xuandu¡¯s face came closer. Before he could react, he felt a wet thing covering the corner of his lips. When he realized what it was, his whole body was frozen in place: ¡°Senior¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu was still not satisfied and licked the corner of his own lips, ¡°Did Xiao Jiu just eat sugar?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Yes, I ate some.¡± There were quite a few candies and pastries in the carriage, and when he left the palace just now, he ate a little. ¡°It¡¯s sweet.¡± Gu Xuandu slightly narrowed his eyes and revealed a beautiful smile, ¡°Especially sweet.¡± Lin Rufei touched the corner of his mouth and muttered, ¡°Are there sugar crumbs?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°I mean Xiao Jiu is much sweeter than those sugars.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened. He really couldn¡¯t understand how Gu Xuandu could say these kinds of words so frankly. The worst thing was that he actually didn¡¯t feel anything wrong with those words. As he looked at Gu Xuandu¡¯s smiling expression, redness also involuntarily surfaced upon his cheeks and he uncomfortably looked away from Gu Xuandu. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s getting late, I¡¯m going to rest first.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Senior¡­¡­should also rest early.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Xuandu agreed with a smile. Lin Rufei washed up and head off to bed. He was probably really tired. Furthermore, one more thing had been let go in his mind and he fell asleep comfortably. Gu Xuandu listened to the sound of rain outside the window and sighed lightly in his heart. He got up and walked towards the window before disappearing from the room with a flash of his figure. The rain was a little heavy. It splashed against the eaves and then went all the way down the gutter before eventually converging into a small stream on the ground. After nightfall, the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s temple was lit with a few oil lamps. It wasn¡¯t too bright, but it was enough to see things. This temple was the most beautiful and magnificent temple in Dajing for the Heavenly Ruler, but unfortunately, a few days ago, a sudden thunderstorm ignited a fire and it burned down most of the temple. It would probably take some days to return it to its original state. Gu Xuandu¡¯s footsteps stopped at the eaves of the temple. He took in the statue of the Heavenly Ruler in the temple. The statue was vivid and realistic and must have come from the hands of a master since it had quite a few resemblances with Heavenly Ruler. Gu Xuandu jumped into the temple, walked up to the statue, and borrowing the faint light, he carefully gazed at the statue in front of him. ¡°Heavenly Ruler.¡± He called out this sentence in a low voice. No one answered and the sound of rain pattering between Heaven and Earth covered everything. He raised his hand and tried to touch the statue, but his finger passed through it the moment he tried to touch it. In the state of a spiritual body, wanting to touch external objects was not easy. Moreover, it was such a statue of the gods that placed hope on the incense. Gu Xuandu sighed slightly in his heart and was about to give up when he suddenly heard the sound of light footsteps coming from behind him. He turned his head to look, and the monk Xuan Qing, who should have been resting in the inn, suddenly appeared in front of the temple. In the rain, he only held up a worn-out oil paper umbrella. The rain splashed against his shoulders, adding a dark shade to his gray robe. But Xuan Qing¡¯s look was not wretched. He was still calm and gentle and abided by his beliefs. His footsteps also stopped in front of the statue, just standing next to Gu Xuandu. ¡°Heavenly Ruler.¡± Xuan Qing smiled, ¡°Long time no see.¡± If he didn¡¯t know that he couldn¡¯t see himself, Gu Xuandu would have thought that the monk was greeting himself. He said lightly, ¡°Long time no see.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°It¡¯s raining heavily today, unfortunately, the temple broke down a few days ago, so you still have to get wet.¡± He took out a hand towel from his sleeve and carefully wiped the rain splashed on the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s statue face. Gu Xuandu folded his arms against his chest and looked at Xuan Qing in silence. ¡°It¡¯s so fast. Just a blink of an eye and several hundred years have passed.¡± Xuan Qing started, ¡°So many things are gone, if you pass by the He family, remember to go see the He family¡¯s iron-gold walnut tree. After all, it was planted by you guys back then¡­¡­and now it has become a big tree and blossomed.¡± As he said this, the leaky roof on his side let down a few raindrops. Coincidentally, it fell onto the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s statue, like two crystal tears. Xuan Qing was silent for a long time. He lifted the umbrella off from the ground and hung it directly in mid-air. He did not use the umbrella on himself and instead, lifted it to the head of the statue. ¡°When will you be back?¡± It was as if he was asking a question to someone and also as if he was talking to himself. Xuan Qing murmured under his breath and his gaze penetrated Gu Xuandu¡¯s body. Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Soon.¡± ¡°Come back soon.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°Everyone misses you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, ¡°Definitely¡­¡­come back sooner.¡± The rain did not stop completely until the early mornings. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When the temple keeper woke up, the temple was already devoid of life. He yawned and took a rag, intending to first dry the drenched statue of the Heavenly Ruler. However, when he went to the statue, he scratched his head and muttered a ¡°strange.¡± The Heavenly Ruler statue was actually clean. There were no water stains on the head, as if it was carefully dried once. It rained last night, but today it was still sunny. The warm sunlight came in early through the window and fell onto Lin Rufei¡¯s face. He opened his eyes blankly and saw Gu Xuandu sitting on the edge of the bed. His hand was propped up on his chin and he was taking a nap, giving off a feeling of tranquility. Lin Rufei sat up from the bed and the slight movement woke Gu Xuandu up. He yawned slightly and muttered, ¡°Xiao Jiu, good morning.¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± When Lin Rufei finished greeting him, he noticed something different. He reached out and pointed to the ground, ¡°Senior, you have a shadow now?¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°Isn¡¯t this because Xiao Jiu helped me get it back.¡± Before, Gu Xuandu had no shadow. But Lin Rufei was not surprised then, after all, Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t have a physical body. However, now, it was rather strange to have a shadow. ¡°Can the others see senior?¡± Lin Rufei asked hurriedly. Gu Xuandu shook his head: ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Then¡­¡­what should be done in order to see you?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°There are still some more important things needed to retrieve.¡± Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh,¡± and calculated, ¡°We retrieved an eye and a shadow.¡± Then he looked at Gu Xuandu, ¡°It seems that there are still a lot of things missing.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled at his words, ¡°You.¡± He didn¡¯t know if it was because of Gu Xuandu¡¯s return, but Lin Rufei¡¯s mood was much better and he even ate a few more bites of breakfast. But who knew that when the maids saw Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance, instead of being happy, they looked sad and miserable. Lin Rufei thought carefully and understood what the maids were worried about¡ªsince Gu Xuandu returned, his problem of talking to himself came back. This time not only did it happen, but it was also very serious since he had talked all morning. As he thought of this, Lin Rufei hurriedly sent a letter to Wan Yao. He subtly explained his recent situation, saying that he didn¡¯t have hysteria and to let Wan Yao never again prescribe medicines for his maids. He really feared that if he drank medicine again, he would really become stupid. On Xuan Qing¡¯s side, he had headed off to the palace again. Originally, Lin Rufei thought that the matter no longer had anything to do with him, but who knew that he insisted on taking Lin Rufei. He said that he was afraid Lin Rufei would be bored if he was in the inn alone. God knew Lin Rufei did not feel bored at all. Since he was busy with the palace matters, he didn¡¯t even get to finish shopping around Dengxiao City. Such a pity. But Xuan Qing refused to let go and pulled Lin Rufei into the carriage. Lin Rufei could not twist out of his grasp and could only give in as they headed off to their destination. At this time, the culprit that victimized the princes had been found and the security inside was not as strict as the previous days. However, the atmosphere in the palace was still not too good. Lin Rufei still felt that it was very strange and when Xuan Qing noticed that he did not understand, he could only let out a sigh before he gave Lin Rufei a wake-up call. He said, ¡°If you were the empress and knew that the emperor had found the murderer, but you did not know who the murderer was, would you be willing?¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°It seems that I¡¯m not that willing.¡± ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡± Xuan Qing said. He shook his head and sighed, ¡°This imperial family matter is really troublesome.¡± It seemed he didn¡¯t want to get involved either, but he really couldn¡¯t get out of it. That was probably why he desperately dragged Lin Rufei and asked him to accompany him so that they could be be bored together. Today, when they arrived at the palace, they did not see Bai Tianrui. Lin Rufei asked this question in passing and Xuan Qing also casually replied, but Lin Rufei was stunned after listening to his response. Xuan Qing said flatly: ¡°Maybe he was dumped by some girl and became a monk in a fit of anger.¡± Lin Rufei only thought he was joking at first. The murderer was found and the palace also became lively once again. From the roadside, they could see a lot of palace maids dressed in beautiful clothes walking around, it was very pleasing to the eye. Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing arrived at the Imperial Garden where they had agreed upon with the emperor. However, they did not see the emperor himself and only saw the princess sitting alone in the gazebo eating chilled purple grapes. She looked quite sickly and from her face, they could see traces of tiredness. It really made her look pitiful. But Lin Rufei had seen a lot of beauties. Just Gu Xuandu alone, he had never seen anyone more beautiful than him. Thus, at this time his expression did not change. He followed Xuan Qing and walked to the opposite side of the princess. ¡°Good day Master Xuan Qing.¡± The third princess smiled and greeted Xuan Qing. ¡°Good day, Third Princess.¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen His Holiness?¡± ¡°His Holiness has been called by the Empress.¡± The Third Princess said, ¡°Say, do you think that Father will blame me?¡± Xuan Qing responded, ¡°Naturally, he won¡¯t.¡± The third princess propped up her chin and said, ¡°That would be really great.¡± She chewed the grape seeds in her mouth with some boredom, not minding the bitterness at all, ¡°If I had known, then I should have been more ruthless.¡± She narrowed her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t you think so, Master Xuan Qing?¡± Xuan Qing was not surprised by the change in the third princess¡¯s demeanor and continued to gently say Amitabha Buddha. Lin Rufei, on the contrary, only now realized that this third princess was no good either. ******** CH 62 The third princess¡¯ gaze fell upon Lin Rufei. She had seen him once before, but unfortunately, she was too busy crying in her father¡¯s arms to take a closer look at the Lin family¡¯s little gongzi. She had to say, this Lin family¡¯s little gongzi indeed had beautiful skin. Although he was a bit more sickly than ordinary people, this sickness, in turn, made his temperament a little more attractive. The third princess smiled: ¡°Lin gongzi is really good-looking.¡± ¡°Third Princess is too kind.¡± Lin Rufei was very polite. The third princess smiled, however, she no longer continued on with the topic. She carelessly shifted her gaze back to Xuan Qing and said slowly, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, it¡¯s been a long time, I remember the last time we met was when I was ten years old. In a flash, I¡¯m already at the age of marriage. This time is going by really fast.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Qing said with half-lidded eyes and his expression was full of tenderness, ¡°It is very fast.¡± ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t Master Xuan Qing come and see me more often?¡± The Third Princess pouted, ¡°When you¡¯re not here, there are always people bullying me in the palace.¡± ¡°Who dares to bully the Third Princess?¡± Xuan Qing asked. ¡°Who dares?¡± The Third Princess pouted, ¡°If I were to seriously count, then there are many people who dare.¡± Xuan Qing smiled and shook his head, looking a bit helpless. The Third Princess said: ¡°Master Xuan Qing, say, since you haven¡¯t come here in so long, how come this time you came in such a timely manner? If you came a bit later¡­¡­¡± She frowned, showing a sad demeanor, and then suddenly, her entire expression changed. Her eyes became sinister and vicious, ¡°Just a day or two later¡ªI would have been able to take the lives of those two little bastards.¡± This sudden change really caught people off guard. The third princess, who was pampered like a delicate girl, now looked gloomy and grave. At first glance, she looked a bit similar to her majestic father, Bai Jinglun. ¡°You didn¡¯t come when they were bullying me? But when it¡¯s my turn to bully them, you sure run fast.¡± With a wave of the third princess¡¯ hand, the plate full of chilled grapes all fell onto the ground into pieces. The purple juice mixed with ceramic fragments exploded under their feet, soaking through Lin Rufei¡¯s white boots. Xuan Qing sighed lightly. He folded his hands and was silent. ¡°Say something, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?!¡± The third princess yelled in a cold voice, ¡°You obviously saw it all when they bullied me, but did nothing. Why are you so anxious when it¡¯s my turn to bully them?¡± Xuan Qing called out, ¡°Bai Moumou.¡± This was the third princess¡¯s name, which sounded somewhat cute. When the third princess was called, she quickly calmed back down and turned back to the naive princess from their first meeting. She gritted her teeth like a little girl and complained: ¡°Master Xuan Qing, you are so biased.¡± As she said this, teardrops also fell down her cheeks. It was one scene after another and Lin Rufei, who had been standing on the side, was stunned. He had never seen such a fickle girl and he had to say, this third princess¡¯s acting skill was really an eye-opener. ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± Xuan Qing, however, seemed to have long been accustomed to the changes of the third princess and he didn¡¯t even have the slightest color of surprise on his face. Instead, his expression carried some helpless indulgence towards the younger generation, ¡°If you cry again and your father saw, he would be heartbroken again.¡± ¡°Him being heartbroken isn¡¯t because of me, right?¡± The Third Princess sobbed, ¡°Someone told me that I am not the daughter of Concubine Mei and that the emperor loves me only because I look like that woman.¡± She continued, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, do you know who my mother is?¡± Of course Xuan Qing knew and he nodded his head in confirmation. But who knew that as soon as the third princess saw him nod, she immediately jumped in front of Xuan Qing. She grabbed his front lapel and said in a trembling voice, ¡°So where is she now? Is she doing well? Is she dead?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°She is doing very well.¡± ¡°Tsk, I¡¯m really not Concubine Mei¡¯s biological daughter.¡± Her tears were like props. The third princess let out a ¡°humph¡± and then collected that pitiful look. She let go of her hand and cursed, ¡°Those two little bastards actually weren¡¯t lying to me, I¡¯m actually really a bastard child.¡± Xuan Qing frowned, ¡°Princess must be careful with her words. Although your mother is not a concubine, she is still your father¡¯s most beloved person. You must not undervalue yourself.¡± ¡°Forget it, forget it.¡± The third princess returned to the chilled chair and picked up the silk fan. She fanned herself with a hitch and lazily said, ¡°Anyway, the matters¡­¡­are not finished yet.¡± She also glanced askance at Xuan Qing and smiled coquettishly, ¡°Say, Master Xuan Qing, do you think that our Dajing can produce a female emperor?¡± Xuan Qing smiled calmly, ¡°All beings are equal, men and women do not differ in the eyes of the monk.¡± ¡°I knew Master Xuan Qing was the best.¡± Without a care, she casually spoke treasonable words in front of Xuan Qing. He could tell that the third princess actually trusted Xuan Qing very much and knew that he would definitely not tattle to Bai Jinglun about this. The third princess muttered, ¡°Then I will try. If I lose, then I lose, this life of mine is not worth anything¡­¡­¡± After saying this, the third princess closed her mouth, and the gazebo finally quieted down. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment, but still opened his mouth: ¡°Third Princess, there is a question I want to ask you, but I do not know if it is convenient.¡± The Third Princess raised her chin, gesturing for Lin Rufei to speak. ¡°That day, your father dug up an iron box under the plum tree, and inside it happened to be paintings of yours from your early childhood.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I saw a few strange ink stains on the painting¡­¡­¡± The Third Princess said, ¡°Clever, ah, Lin gongzi.¡± She smiled and actually admitted to it without a care, ¡°Yes, I could see that mass of shadow long ago. It wasn¡¯t something I encountered recently.¡± Xuan Qing frowned: ¡°How come Moumou didn¡¯t tell me?¡± ¡°Hmph. How often do you come? Furthermore, you¡¯re a monk. I was afraid that if I told you, you would go tell my father and then burn me like I was a demon.¡± The third princess causally babbled. She paused for a moment, but in the end, still said exactly what was on her mind, ¡°I was already bored in the palace. Now that you took that thing away, wouldn¡¯t it be even more boring for me?¡± Xuan Qing disagreed, ¡°That thing is too dangerous.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing dangerous about it.¡± The third princess said indifferently, ¡°You count. Out of my dozen brothers and sisters who died prematurely, how many died in the hands of demons and how many in the hands of people? If a person becomes ruthless, then it has nothing to do with demons.¡± Xuan Qing did not refute her words and only consoled the princess. He said that if she encountered such stuff in the future, she mustn¡¯t hide it. The third princess obviously did not listen. She waved her hand indifferently, looking unconcerned at all. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei¡¯s guess was good. Indeed, Gu Xuandu¡¯s shadow had been with the princess for a long time, but he didn¡¯t know why it would suddenly rise in revolt. The three of them stayed in the gazebo for a quite some time but still hadn¡¯t seen His Holiness¡¯s shadow. This made Lin Rufei ask, ¡°Why is His Holiness not back yet?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, that old b**ch is very difficult.¡± The old b**ch from the third princess¡¯ mouth was referring to the Empress of Dajing, whom Lin Rufei had not yet met. She continued, ¡°It¡¯s fine if she was ugly, but she also ages quickly. It¡¯s also fine if she ages quickly but her heart is also poisonous. She deserves to spend her life in the East Palace, which is like a freezing cellar.¡± Her mouth was very poisonous and if the empress had heard it, then every word would have a deadly effect, ¡°Those two sons of hers are also disappointing things. They couldn¡¯t even beat me and they still think they¡¯re worthy of being the emperor?! If I didn¡¯t have these two lumps of meat on my chest and had something extra below, I¡¯d be better than them both!¡± Xuan Qing chastised: ¡°Moumou don¡¯t use foul language.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say it if I want to.¡± The third princess continued, ¡°Anyway, my father is not here, if you do not like it, you can go tattle on me, ah!¡± She obviously knew that Xuan Qing would not go so she had no fear at all and those beautiful eyes were almost rolling up towards the sky. As Lin Rufei watched this ongoing scene, he felt that it was a little funny. His hand clenched into a fist and he gently covered the smile on his lips. ¡°That old b**ch wants to punish me and doesn¡¯t want her own sons to be punished? That¡¯s not possible.¡± She was idle and had nothing to do anyway so the third princess started to break things down for them, ¡°They have committed all of my father¡¯s greatest fears. They want to get out in one piece and still want to pit against me, it is simply a fool¡¯s dream¡ªwait and see, sooner or later I will get them all killed one by one.¡± This young girl, who had just turned fourteen, prattled on about her ambitions. However, it didn¡¯t make people think that she was talking big at all. Xuan Qing was right. Those who could survive in the palace were people who should not be provoked. If the princess was really a little white rabbit, who didn¡¯t know anything, she probably would have been torn into pieces without any bones left. Perhaps at first she also wasn¡¯t able to adapt, but some people were born with an unknown wildness in their bones and Bai Moumou was such a person. After waiting for about half a pillar of incense, Bai Jinglun and his empress finally arrived late. It must be said that Bai Moumou¡¯s words were indeed exaggerated. Although this empress was not as beautiful as a woman of her age, she had a unique charm and a dignified look. If people didn¡¯t know her inner heart, most likely they would think that she had some benevolence. However, from Xuan Qing¡¯s indifferent reaction, it seemed that he also didn¡¯t like the empress. The empress did not care. She smiled and greeted them. After seeing the broken fruit plate on the ground, she covered her mouth: ¡°Moumou how can you be so careless? Are your hands scratched? Oh my, Lin gongzi¡¯s boots are also stained with grape seeds. Such a pity, such a pity. These boots are so beautiful and now they are soiled¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that there was no harm. Bai Moumou turned into a good girl again and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Empress. It¡¯s because I was too excited to see Master Xuan Qing and the others coming¡­¡­and accidentally¡­¡­¡± ¡°Okay, okay, how big of a deal is it anyway?¡± What Bai Jinglun could not stand the most was the Empress¡¯s catty and explicitly derisive tone in her voice. Everyone in the palace was like foxes who had cultivated for a thousand years, what else could they do but gossip? He impatiently started, ¡°There are guests here, be more restrained.¡± The empress smiled embarrassingly and did not speak again, quietly choosing to sit down on the side. ¡°Xuan Qing, she doesn¡¯t believe me, but still believes you. Tell her what¡¯s going on with that thing.¡± Bai Jinglun said coldly, ¡°And if Moumou deliberately wanted to harm her two mouthy sons.¡± Xuan Qing nodded and then briefly retold the empress what had happened. But he was very clever. He omitted some very important details and expressed that the thing had its eyes on the people of the palace for a long time, however nothing had happened. It was probably because on that day, the princess had an argument with someone and her mood fluctuated too much that the thing had the chance to take advantage of her. The implication was that the princes themselves had to take some responsibility. Xuan Qing¡¯s words were not a lie, after all, the conditions required were actually very harsh if it wanted to fuse the two shadows. The princess was heartbroken that day and it should also be one of the conditions. Only, he did not state whether the princess was conscious while in a coma and whether it was her initiative to hurt the imperial princes. The empress¡¯s expression became more and more ugly as she listened. Finally, she forced out a smile and said, ¡°Master Xuan Qing, that thing, it won¡¯t appear again, right?¡± ¡°No, it has already been taken away.¡± Xuan Qing stated, ¡°Your Majesty can rest assured.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± The empress said, ¡°I only have two sons, in case something happens, I can¡¯t accept it.¡± She said as she wiped the corners of the eyes that were not moist, and made a sorrowful gesture. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled?¡± Bai Jinglun asked from the side. The empress had also wanted to say something else, but when she saw the coldness in Bai Jinglun¡¯s eyes, she swallowed back the words and nodded with great difficulty: ¡°These two children, indeed, like to shoot their mouth¡¯s off. I don¡¯t know which uneducated subordinate they learned it from.¡± In fact, everyone knew in their hearts. In this palace, those who dared to scold the emperor¡¯s most beloved princess could be counted with one hand. How would subordinates dare to have such bear heart and dog guts[1]? Bai Jinglun naturally knew, so he sneered and said, ¡®since you can not control your palace underlings, then I¡¯ll control them.¡¯ As he said this, he issued a decree: the personal servants that have been by the princes¡¯ side since childhood until now would be punished to do hard work at the border. The empress¡¯s heart twitched and ached in pain. But she also knew that solving the matter this way was also the best result. And the third princess, who had injured the princes, was also punished. However, this punishment felt sort of perfunctory. It was said that she was stripped of benefits for three months[2] and was grounded for ten days. This was basically the same as not having a punishment at all. Once this punishment was revealed, even Lin Rufei, who did not know the rules of the palace, could also see that Bai Jinglun was being very biased. The empress was also angry that her teeth felt itchy, but in the end, she did not dare say anything. This matter was completely settled and Bai Jinglun specially set up a banquet to thank the two. The banquet was very sumptuous, during which various imperial concubines took turns to toast Xuan Qing and thank him. Lin Rufei was also able to see the first prince, who he had only heard of. What made him feel a little regretful was that the first prince looked a little wishy-washy and could even be described as dull. He didn¡¯t inherit any of Bai Jinglun¡¯s grandeur aura nor any of Bai Moumou¡¯s quirkiness. The third princess was sitting next to Lin Rufei. She probably noticed his look and came over with a smile, asking, ¡®Lin gongzi, do you think that the first prince¡¯s appearance is disappointing?¡¯ Lin Rufei glanced at her and said, ¡°He¡¯s different from what I imagined, slightly regretful.¡± Disappointed was not the best way to put it. ¡°You can¡¯t exactly blame my brother for that.¡± The Third Princess said, ¡°Although he is the eldest prince, he is a concubine¡¯s son, and is not loved by anyone. When Concubine Mei was around, it was fine, but once she passed away, the situation became even worse.¡± She propped up her chin and her fingertips tapped against the wine glass, ¡°I heard from the nanny that he was tragically bullied by the second prince since he was young and was even thrown into a frozen pond one Winter. After he was rescued, he fell ill and became somewhat dumb¡­¡­such a situation only changed after I came.¡± The Emperor loved the third princess the most, so not many people dare to bully her. But even so, there were still people who dared to call her a bastard in front of her face. Because she had no maternal support, she was the same as the eldest prince and was all alone. ¡°That shadow has been following me for a long time.¡± The Third Princess said, ¡°I was scared at first, but then I suddenly realized that there are too many people in the palace who would harm me, but the shadow was not one of them¡­.Lin gongzi, can you tell me what Master Xuan Qing did with the shadow?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°It¡¯s on my body.¡± The Third Princess asked, ¡°On you?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Mnn.¡± The Third Princess was disheartened and muttered out, ¡°If I could, I would really like to see him again.¡± She did not know that just as she was saying these words, Gu Xuandu was standing beside Lin Rufei and his black shadow, which was on the ground, slowly stood up. It then carefully reached out its hand and touched the third princess on her head, as if it was thanking the girl who had been accompanying it for all this time. After having eaten and drunk to their heart¡¯s content, the crowd gradually dispersed. Lin Rufei had drank a few cups and was now slightly drunk. He slowly got on the carriage and noticed that Xuan Qing was already sitting in it. ¡°How come you are so fast?¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Weren¡¯t you still surrounded by a circle of people just now?¡± Everyone knew that Xuan Qing was the celebrity in front of the emperor and was naturally eager to talk to him a bit more. If Xuan Qing wasn¡¯t a monk, most likely there would be plenty of people who wanted to send their daughters over. ¡°Snuck away.¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°When there are many people, it¡¯s troublesome.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and just as he was about to call the carriage driver over to depart, he noticed a man in vermilion clothes standing at the corner of the palace entrance. It was none other than Prince Bai Tianrui, who hadn¡¯t shown up at all today. Bai Tianrui had also been missing from today¡¯s banquet. Lin Rufei originally wondered what was going on, but he did not expect to see him appearing at this moment. However, he didn¡¯t come over and just looked at the carriage from afar with an expression that was obscure and unknown. Lin Rufei curiously asked: ¡°Bai Tianrui is over there, is he looking for you?¡± ¡°Probably not.¡± Xuan Qing said lightly, ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the Prince.¡± ¡°Not familiar?¡± Lin Rufei said suspiciously, ¡°But he¡­¡­¡± Xuan Qing simply smiled and didn¡¯t say anything else. Since Xuan Qing¡¯s words had come to this, if he did not want to see Bai Tianrui, then it was his business and Lin Rufei could not do much about it. The carriage driver cracked his whip and the carriage then sped all the way out of the palace. The curfew in Dengxiao City had been lifted, and once the sky darkened, the city was once again full of lights. Countless different styles of night lights illuminated the entire Imperial City. These lanterns were exquisite, like works of art. Lin Rufei even saw that on top of a pavilion, a dragon-shaped lantern was rotating around it. From the distance, it was like a fire dragon had wrapped itself around the pavilion and it was very life-like. Lin Rufei was a little sleepy just a while ago, but suddenly he became very interested. He asked Xuan Qing if he wanted to go down for a stroll and Xuan Qing gladly agreed. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. On the streets, there were hawkers everywhere and the whole scenery was bustling and lively as if it was the New Year. The residents of Dengxiao City, who were accustomed to the nightlife, had held back for a whole month and now that the curfew was finally lifted, they were like rabbits out of the cage, very lively. Lin Rufei was interested in choosing a few candy people[3]. He even told the vendor to make a small monk and then handed it to Xuan Qing happily. Xuan Qing took it with a smile and held it in his hand. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°The Lantern Festival[4] is the most beautiful day in Dengxiao City.¡± Xuan Qing said, ¡°If Lin gongzi is free, you can come over and have some fun. Where does Lin gongzi plan to go next?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°I¡¯ll just follow the official road all the way down. If there aren¡¯t any surprises, it should be the He residence.¡± ¡°Oh, then you should be careful.¡± Xuan Qing advised, ¡°The He family respects martial arts and all of them are reckless, this body of Lin gongzi is going to be treated coldly.¡± Although he seemed to be giving a warning, his eyes were actually smiling and it was more like he was teasing Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei laughed and nodded at his words. There were a lot of people on the street, so Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing got separated when he had looked down to take a glance at the various little gadgets. When he came back to his senses, he had looked everywhere for Xuan Qing. However, he could not find the monk¡¯s shadow until he passed by a certain alley. Lin Rufei suddenly saw that in the alley, there were two figures overlapping¡ªone covering the other. Although the light was dim, Lin Rufei could still barely make out the faces of the two. One was Xuan Qing and the other¡­¡­was actually Bai Tianrui. Bai Tianrui seemed to have a bit drunk too much and refused to let Xuan Qing go. Xuan Qing looked helpless and could only be pulled by him. In the end, Xuan Qing had no choice and started coaxing him like he was a child. He even gave Bai Tianrui the small monk candy that Lin Rufei had given him. Bai Tianrui stretched out his tongue to lick the candy man and then drunkenly complained: ¡°Xuan Qing is actually sweet, I thought¡­¡­.you should be bitter. ¡° Xuan Qing replied, ¡°Monks are indeed bitter.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Bai Tianrui said, ¡°There won¡¯t be a more bitter monk than you in the world.¡± Xuan Qing smiled bitterly. When Lin Rufei saw this, he was soon pulled away by Gu Xuandu, who tapped against his forehead. He said, ¡®When did Xiao Jiu pick up such bad habits, you actually went to peek at other people flirting with the monk.¡¯ Lin Rufei then replied in a daze: ¡°The monk and Bai Tianrui are flirting? How come I can¡¯t tell?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°So what does Xiao Jiu think flirting should be like?¡± Lin Rufei pondered over this for a moment, ¡°Just¡­¡­writing love poems and listening to tunes together?¡± He had only seen these in the books so he was extra hesitant when he said it. Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. The hand that was holding Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist suddenly flipped and interlocked with Lin Rufei¡¯s fingers. His hand was a bit cold, but on a hot Summer day, holding it was also very comfortable: ¡°If Xiao Jiu does not understand, senior will teach you okay?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Huh?¡± Before he could react, he was pulled by Gu Xuandu into another alley. Gu Xuandu pushed him by the shoulder and he was soon trapped against the wall. Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure was much taller than his and at this point, they were just a finger¡¯s distance apart that he could even see a small black mole on Gu Xuandu¡¯s slender neckline. ¡°My Xiao Jiu, ah.¡± Gu Xuandu looked down at Lin Rufei and said in a soft voice, ¡°When will my Xiao Jiu grow up.¡± He pinched Lin Rufei¡¯s earlobe and started kneading it, ¡°I can barely wait any longer.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s body trembled as he was being pinched on the ear. He wanted to push back but found that his strength was like a stone sinking into the sea and Gu Xuandu was not moving at all. Soon, his originally white earlobes were pinched into a brilliant red by Gu Xuandu and Lin Rufei¡¯s slightly drunkened eyes surfaced with some moist vapor. He whispered, ¡°Senior, what are you doing¡­¡­¡± ¡°Flirting, ah.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s eye curved up, ¡°Although I want to do something more excessive to Xiao Jiu, but I am worried that Xiao Jiu can not accept it for the time being.¡± He was so frank about such intimate matters that Lin Rufei, for a second, actually didn¡¯t know what to say. Redness started to surface near the corners of his eyes and his chest was like a beating drum. He didn¡¯t know why, but being stared at by Gu Xuandu¡¯s greedy eyes gave him some fear. He wanted to turn his head away, but Gu Xuandu pinched his chin, ¡°Anyway¡­¡­thank you Xiao Jiu for your hard work in helping me find my shadow.¡± Lin Rufei said arduously, ¡°Senior¡­¡­you¡¯re being polite.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I¡¯m not being polite.¡± He dropped a kiss on Lin Rufei¡¯s chin and then took a deep breath, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± His clamped up body was finally loosened, but Lin Rufei felt that his feet were a bit weak and he didn¡¯t dare to look at Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes. He pretended that nothing was wrong, but his slightly panicked steps showed that he was not calm inside at all during this time. Gu Xuandu leisurely followed behind Lin Rufei. He had a precise understanding of Lin Rufei¡¯s nature; some people ate soft food but refuse hard food[5]. Cooking a frog in warm water[6] was the best method. Lin Rufei hurried back to the inn, however, he somehow stumbled upon Xuan Qing at the entrance of the inn. He seemed to have just returned and when he saw Lin Rufei, he breathed out a sigh of relief: ¡°Where did Lin gongzi go? I searched for a while and didn¡¯t see you.¡± ¡°Oh, I just went to buy something.¡± Lin Rufei said perfunctorily, ¡°What about¡­¡­..Master Xuan Qing?¡± ¡°I also bought some things casually.¡± Xuan Qing replied. It was obvious that he was deliberately hiding something. The two stared at each other and then both showed some embarrassment. Soon, they urged each other that it was getting late and to rest early. When Lin Rufei arrived upstairs, he suddenly realized that he had came back empty-handed and did not bring anything at all. Furthermore, Xuan Qing¡¯s pouch¡­¡­also did not have any copper coins so how could he buy something? Alas, both of them had such clumsy excuses. Lin Rufei awkwardly laughed. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I endured for so long, what if someone really can¡¯t endure anymore? Lin Rufei: The day you can no longer endure, the reader will not see us and will only see a big red lock. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll just go and be a monk. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Tremendous bravery. [2] ·£ÙºÂ»ÈýÔ means to ¡°Fined three months of salary and wages¡± I didn¡¯t put this because I don¡¯t know if princesses get paid¡­.so I reworded as ¡°benefits.¡± [3] Candy People (well imagine them as people) CH 63 Dajing was done and it was time for them to leave. Early the next morning, Xuan Qing came to say goodbye to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei had asked him where he was going and he replied that there was no specific place he wanted to go. He would probably just travel around, after all, the Yaoguang continent was so vast, there were many landscapes that he had yet to see. Although he quite liked this monk, there was no banquet in the world that did not end. Lin Rufei did not keep insisting, just, when Xuan Qing was about to leave, he took out a gold ingot from his pocket and handed it to Xuan Qing. When Xuan Qing saw the gold, he reflexively took a step back, as if he had seen a beast, ¡°What does this mean, Lin gongzi?¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°I remember on the Xiliang Mountains, the monk gave me a bead, so¡­¡­this gold is also considered what I owe the monk, right?¡± Xuan Qing was about to say something. However, Lin Rufei waved his hand and interrupted what he was about to say: ¡°If the monk does not accept, I will not force you. However, this kind of courtesy makes it seem that we are not as familiar. If the monk really treats me as a friend, then please graciously accept it.¡± Since the words have been said, if Xuan Qing refused again, then he would be the one to seem unfriendly. In the end, he let out a heavy sigh and reached out to accept the gold. Only when Lin Rufei saw this scene, did he feel slightly relieved. No matter how powerful Xuan Qing was, he was still a person. A person needed food, clothing, and expenses¡ªpeople¡¯s basic needs. Although he lived in the temple and could beg to make a living, there would always be a place where money was necessary. Lin Rufei hoped that at least the monk could occasionally have spare money to buy a candy person to eat. Speaking of the candy person, Lin Rufei remembered the situation last night, and his expression couldn¡¯t help but turn uncomfortable. Xuan Qing did not understand what Lin Rufei¡¯s expression meant and only thought it was an emotion that showed he was sad to leave. Thus, he folded his hands and bowed to Lin Rufei, saying that if they had fate, the two would meet again. Lin Rufei had sent Xuan Qing to the entrance of the inn and had wanted to send him out of the city, but Xuan Qing refused his proposal. Thus, Lin Rufei stood in place and watched as Xuan Qing turned and walked far, far away. His back was just like when Lin Rufei saw him for the first time, free and easy-going. What an interesting monk, Lin Rufei thought. As for Lin Rufei, after asking Fu Hua, he decided to eat lunch before heading off. Fu Hua took advantage of this time to prepare the carriage for their travel. The usual lunch had a vegetarian meal belonging to Xuan Qing, however, today there wasn¡¯t any. In the end, Lin Rufei wasn¡¯t used to it yet. He picked up a piece of tofu and just as he was about to put it in his mouth, the sound of rushed horse hooves came from the outside the door, followed by a panicked figure bursting in through the door. ¡°Where is Monk Xuan Qing?¡± The visitor was breathless and a layer of sweat surfaced on his forehead. This was none other than the other protagonist Lin Rufei had seen in the alley yesterday, Prince Bai Tianrui of Dajing. ¡°Left.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Left in the morning.¡± ¡°Left?¡± Bai Tianrui was a bit incredulous, ¡°He didn¡¯t go to the palace to ask my brother for a resignation?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Rufei simply shook his head. Bai Tianrui cursed loudly and then turned around to leave. Lin Rufei could clearly see some wretchedness on his back as he moved further and further away. Yu Rui and the others did not know about the situation between these two people and asked in a whisper if this Prince had enmity with Monk Xuan Qing, otherwise, why would he have this hideous appearance. ¡°Probably there is an enmity.¡± Lin Rufei said perfunctorily. ¡°That monk should be more careful.¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°This Prince looks so fierce¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei also let out a smile. After Bai Tianrui, who was referred to as a ¡°smiling tiger,¡± met with Xuan Qing, he became like an entirely different person. But looking at it this way was also quite interesting. After eating lunch, Lin Rufei got onto the carriage and followed the official road all the way forward, towards the south. The further south they went, the closer they got to the core geography of the Yaoguang Continent and the more developed the economy was. Even the official road underneath them became much more spacious. Not long after, they could see rich merchants carrying goods and travelers on horses everywhere. Lin Rufei also wanted to ride a horse, but when he lifted the curtain to look at the blinding sun overhead, he surreptitiously shrank back into the carriage. Fu Hua thought that her young master¡¯s grumpy look was very amusing, so she handed Lin Rufei a bowl of chilled plum soup to coax him, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t be anxious. In a few months, the weather will be cooler. When that time comes, young master can put on a cloak and then go horseback riding, it would be just as stylish.¡± Lin Rufei continued drinking plum soup intermittently and then asked her how many more days it would take to get to Yunan. Fu Hua calculated the days and said that if they traveled day and night, they would probably arrive in seven or eight days. However, if they took breaks during their travels, it would take more than ten days. Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh,¡± and said that there was no hurry. Since they were also out for travel, if it takes more days then just let it take more days. They could take this time to also enjoy the surrounding scenery. So unhurriedly, they traveled for a few days. The surrounding customs and traditions had gradually started to change. The people of Yunan were not as open as the people of Dajing, but the agriculture was very well developed and they favorited food made from wheat flour. Lin Rufei had been eating rice on the entirety of his trip here, but when he arrived in Yunan, he found that noodles had become the staple food in many inns. Most of them were pancakes or other wheat flour meals. Fortunately, they all tasted good, so Lin Rufei was quite happy when he ate them with relish. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. However, Yu Rui was the one who was not so used to it. She kept muttering that she always felt empty in her stomach when she didn¡¯t eat rice. Fu Hua smiled and tapped her forehead, chastising, ¡®Are you here to take care of gongzi or to enjoy yourself?¡¯ Yu Rui grunted at her words and said that gongzi must also want to eat rice and she even turned to ask Lin Rufei after saying those words. ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡± Lin Rufei coaxed his own maid and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s find an inn with rice tonight.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fu Hua agreed. After entering the city and asking the people around some questions, they finally found an inn with rice, so the three of them went in and ordered some food, planning to spend the night here. When Lin Rufei was sitting in the inn waiting, he heard a vendor outside yelling ¡®watermelon for sale.¡¯ Pondering, he then asked Yu Rui to go out and buy one. At night, they would eat this fruit to relieve the Summer heat. Yu Rui happily went out but after quite some time, they still did not see a trace of her figure returning. However, it did become increasingly noisy outside, as if someone had some kind of argument. Fu Hua felt that the situation wasn¡¯t quite right. She decided to get up and go take a look, but Lin Rufei also stood up after her, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± Fu Hua nodded. The two went outside and saw that it was indeed Yu Rui in dispute with someone. She was currently raising her head and arguing with another person. She probably got extremely anxious from arguing since her pale face had turned into a bright shade of red and her hand was already clenching tightly onto the hilt of the sword at her waist¡ªit looked like she was going to draw her sword any time soon. And the person arguing with Yu Rui was a tall man. This man had sword eyebrows and eagle eyes[1]. He was tall and powerful and carried a large sword on his back. At this time, his muscular arms were folded against his chest, and he was looking down at the angry Yu Rui who was stomping her foot in frustration and anger. Yu Rui was just a teenage girl and her figure was petite. Now that she was standing in front of a man, she was almost like a little doll. ¡°Why are you so unreasonable?¡± Yu Rui gritted her teeth, ¡°You bought them all, what will others eat?!¡± ¡°I was here first.¡± The man said. ¡°Can¡¯t you just share one with me?!¡± Yu Rui yelled back. ¡°I was here first.¡± The man said again. ¡°You¡ª¡ª¡± Yu Rui was furious. Seeing this, Fu Hua called out, ¡°Yu Rui, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Sister Fu Hua.¡± As soon as Yu Rui saw that Fu Hua and her young master had come together, she immediately ran to Fu Hua¡¯s side with small steps and said with a huff, ¡°Just now young master said he wanted to eat watermelon, so I came out immediately. Who knew that this man was one step ahead of me¡­¡­and said he wanted to buy all the watermelons. I wanted to ask him to save one for me and he refused.¡± The vendor had pushed a cart of watermelons that were about hundreds of pounds onto the streets and Yu Rui just wanted only one, but no matter what she said, he was unwilling to even give one up. As they kept talking and haggling, Yu Rui started to argue with him. The man did not say anything else and just said four words: ¡°I was here first.¡± He almost made Yu Rui faint from anger. Lin Rufei listened to the entire situation as his maid complained, however, he simply felt indifferent. He waved his hand and said: ¡°It¡¯s okay. If he wants to buy them, then let him buy them. After we finish eating, we can go shopping on the street to see if there are other places that sell them.¡± Yu Rui bit her lower lip: ¡°So many watermelons, can he even finish it all? The weather is hot and the watermelons can be left for two days at most.¡± The man on the side heard Yu Rui¡¯s words and responded, ¡°Of course I can finish it all.¡± Yu Rui asked, ¡°How many people are eating?¡± The man pointed to himself. Yu Rui stared blankly: ¡°You¡¯re eating it yourself? This much for one person? I don¡¯t believe it¡ª¡ª¡± The man stretched his hands, making a gesture that showed, ¡®I can¡¯t help it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡¯ Yu Rui clenched her teeth and churned out: ¡°I knew you were deliberately screwing with me. Hmph. So many watermelons, if you can eat them all, I¡¯ll pay for you!¡± The man replied, ¡°For real?¡± Yu Rui stated, ¡°Naturally!¡± After the man heard this, he rolled up his sleeves and really planned on eating. The melon vendor was smiling. He also had a good eye and could tell that these people were dressed extraordinarily. They even had swords hanging on their waist and he knew for certain that they would not renege on the bill. Thus, he simply helped the man cut up the watermelon, and shouted: ¡°How about it, guest, isn¡¯t my watermelon sweet!¡± The man said: ¡°Not bad. Sweet.¡± The watermelon¡¯s bright green skin broke open and it revealed the water-red flesh of the melon. The inside was glistening with crystalline specks and it looked very crisp and sweet. Yu Rui sniffed the air that was gradually filled with the sweet aroma and she couldn¡¯t help but gulp. Her eyes were stuck glued to the watermelon. This man¡¯s mouth was big. A few mouthfuls and half the melon were gone. But this eating appearance did not look unsightly at all. Instead, it revealed a hint of wildness. Fu Hua frowned. She always felt that this man was teasing Yu Rui. As she was frowning, she was about to go forward to say something but was stopped by Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head: ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt to watch him eat.¡± Fu Hua could only nod in response. The man was extremely fast at eating the melons. Soon, there was a pile of watermelon rinds on the side. Those watery watermelons that entered his stomach seemed as if they were entering a black hole without an abyss, they couldn¡¯t see the slightest trace of it on him. The man¡¯s speed had not changed from beginning to end and the surrounding people were all dumbfounded by this scene. In a short time, this watermelon stall had gathered a lot of people who came to watch the drama unfold. When the man finished eating one, the crowd would be loudly cheering. It was simply very lively to witness. Fu Hua almost became silly from looking, she had never seen a person with such a big appetite. The hundreds of pounds of watermelon that went into his mouth were like a large and sumptuous snack. One after another, he didn¡¯t even take the time to breathe and in the blink of an eye, they could see the bottom of the watermelon stand, and only a few were left. Was he really going to finish eating? Yu Rui stared at the pile of melon rinds on the ground and then looked up at the man like he was a monster. When Lin Rufei noticed Yu Rui¡¯s shocked appearance, he very unkindly thought that this matter was really funny. ¡°You¡­¡­How are you so powerful, ah?¡± Yu Rui looked at the man in a daze, ¡°So many melons, are you not bloated?¡± She was usually full after two slices. Together with Fu Hua and her young master, the three of them could barely finish half¡­¡­. The man seemed amused by Yu Rui¡¯s question and some laughter surfaced in his eyes as he shook his head. ¡°Oh, alright then.¡± Yu Rui gave up. Depressed, she hung her head, ¡°It¡¯s my short-sightedness. There really is someone who can eat so well¡­¡­I thought you were deliberately looking for trouble with me.¡± She had given up and had intended to pull out silver from her pouch to buy all of the stall¡¯s watermelons. But who knew that when the man reached the last one, he patted his stomach and said seriously: ¡°I¡¯m full. Can¡¯t eat anymore.¡± The crowd of people, that were watching, started to get rowdy at his words but the man did not care. He turned to ask the vendor how much was the total of the watermelons he ate. The vendor smiled and said a price. The man began to heartily shell out the silver. ¡°Wait, wait, wait.¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°There is only one left, you can¡¯t finish it?¡± The man said, ¡°I can¡¯t finish it.¡± Yu Rui obviously did not believe him. She bit her lower lips and was at a loss: ¡°You¡­¡­you really can¡¯t finish it all?¡± The man laughed: ¡°I can¡¯t finish it.¡± Although Yu Rui was young, she wasn¡¯t stupid. How could she not tell that the man left one on purpose? For a moment, she was a little confused and felt very embarrassed. After all, just a while ago, she gauged the heart of the gentleman with her own means and thought that the man was a shrew who was deliberately looking for trouble. The man paid, turned around, and left. Yu Rui looked at the last remaining watermelon and the pile of melon rinds on the ground in a daze for quite a while. Finally, Lin Rufei smiled and patted her head, and told her to take the watermelon back. This incident really had a great impact on Yu Rui. The little girl had sulked all night and when she was eating the watermelon, she would remember the man¡¯s appearance. Sighing, she muttered that there were really a lot of strange people in this world. ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°People tease you like a child.¡± Yu Rui responded, ¡°I¡¯m not a child! I¡¯m already fifteen!¡± In normal families, a fifteen-year-old girl should have already been married, but Yu Rui was a sword cultivator at the fifth level, so there was no rush in getting married. ¡°Yes, fifteen years old.¡± Fu Hua sighed, ¡°You also know you are fifteen, so can you do things more steadily in the future? If you had met someone who didn¡¯t give you face today, wouldn¡¯t you have lost young master¡¯s face altogether?¡± Yu Rui bowed her head and admitted to her mistake, admitting that she was indeed too reckless. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t care. He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, they don¡¯t know me anyway. Losing some face occasionally isn¡¯t going to kill me. Besides, who would have thought that this man could eat hundreds of pounds of watermelon in one sitting?¡± Fu Hua shook her head. She said that the man was probably not going to be a simple person and that the huge sword he was carrying behind him was not an ordinary object. Such a heavy sword was rarely found in the world and the only one that they had been seen so far was Gu Feiyu¡¯s Zhongfeng. ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Rufei was interested, ¡°He is also a powerful swordsman?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°I can¡¯t see the depth of his cultivation, so his cultivation is probably at least at the seventh level or he is carrying a foreign treasure¡­¡­In short, he¡¯s not a figure we should be messing with.¡± Lin Rufei revealed a thoughtful look. That night, back in the room, Lin Rufei casually conversed with Gu Xuandu about this matter. Gu Xuandu listened to Lin Rufei while eating the freshly cut watermelon and said with a smile, ¡°This watermelon is so sweet.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Let me try it too.¡± As he said this, he then went over and took a small bite of the watermelon in Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand. He chewed and nodded in agreement, ¡°It¡¯s really good.¡± Gu Xuandu lowered his head and looked at the tooth marks made by him on his watermelon. With an unknown expression, he let out a hum. ¡°Say, what do you think is that person¡¯s origins?¡± Lin Rufei questioned. Gu Xuandu pondered for a moment: ¡°Although I don¡¯t recognize that person, I do have some impression of his sword.¡± ¡°Oh? You know his sword?¡± Lin Rufei became interested. ¡°Mnn.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°That sword¡¯s name should be Qianjun[2] and it has several hundred years of history. I have also met the swordsman who forged the sword. He was a lustful old man. However, although the sword¡¯s name is Qianjun, it wasn¡¯t in the style of a heavy sword.¡± Lin Rufei asked: ¡°It¡¯s not a heavy sword?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head: ¡°Qianjun has another special feature.¡± After Lin Rufei asked about it carefully, he learned that although this Qianjun was only a heavy sword in the hands of an ordinary swordsman, if it was in the hands of a swordsman it recognized, it would turn into thousands of tiny blades and would transform into a sword formation that would strangle the enemy. According to Gu Xuandu, Qianjun was a smart sword and it was very different from its bulky appearance. Listening to Gu Xuandu¡¯s description of Qianjun, Lin Rufei felt that Qianjun and the man he saw during the daytime, were somewhat similar deep down. They both look rough, but in fact, they were actually as fine as dust[3]. As they chatted, Lin Rufei fell sound asleep in the company of Gu Xuandu. He slept until the next day before he was woken up in a daze by Fu Hua and Yu Rui for breakfast. Today, they also had to hurry on their journey and after eating, Lin Rufei got on the carriage once again. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Fu Hua cracked the whip and continued on out of the small town. The carriage traveled for a while, but then they heard the sound of hoofbeats coming from the side. Lin Rufei thought it was someone passing by them and did not take it seriously. But who knew that the sound of hoofbeats would continue to follow them. ¡°Who is following us?¡± Yu Rui wondered, ¡°I¡¯ll go and see.¡± She lifted the curtain of the carriage and went out for a moment. Soon she came back with a puzzled look on her face. ¡°Who is it?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°It¡¯s the man we met yesterday, the one who was eating watermelons.¡± Yu Rui said, ¡°¡­¡­He¡¯s right behind us, should we stop and ask him what he¡¯s up to?¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to ask.¡± So Fu Hua then stopped the horse, and as expected, once their carriage stopped, the man also stopped. Fu Hua came up to the unknown man and asked him what he meant by this and the man simply smiled, ¡°You may not believe me, but I just happened to be going the same way as you guys.¡± ¡°Just happened to be going the same way?¡± Of course, Fu Hua did not believe his words at all. There was no such coincidence in the world, ¡°You¡¯re riding a single horse, so you should be going faster.¡± The man shook his head: ¡°Although it is true that under normal circumstances a single horse is faster, but the sword I am carrying is too heavy for the horse to run fast.¡± Fu Hua was at a loss for words and didn¡¯t know what to do so she cast a pleading glance towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei, who had heard their conversation, waved at Fu Hua, signaling for her to come back. ¡°In that case, he can follow if he wants to.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What if he really is going the same way.¡± Fu Hua sighed, ¡°That¡¯s too far-fetched.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay, he should have no ill will towards us.¡± In the end, Fu Hua could only stop caring about him. So the journey continued on. Both sides were peaceful and nothing happened. In no time, they were getting closer and closer to Yunan. After passing through a very desolate section of the official road, they were finally close to their destination. As a result, Lin Rufei planned to rest for half a day before continuing forwards with their journey. But after they entered the city, the man who had been following them was now nowhere to be seen. Lin Rufei arrived at a resting inn and casually asked for a pot of herbal tea. He intended to cool off a bit and in passing, inquired about the He family from the Xiao Er¡¯s mouth. When the Xiao Er heard that they came from the north, he showed an expression of surprise, ¡°Guests, you came from that official road in the north?¡± ¡°Yes, why?¡± Lin Rufei felt that there was something different in the Xiao Er¡¯s expression. The Xiao Er said: ¡°Ssss[4]¡­¡­on the way, did you not encounter anything?¡± When Lin Rufei and his maids heard these words, they were all at a loss. They didn¡¯t know what the Xiao Er¡¯s words meant. The Xiao Er noticed that they didn¡¯t understand his words so he had to explain. He said that the official road in the north recently had some powerful demons inexplicably emerge. They ate a lot of businessmen, and strangely enough, they were not interested in other places and only decided to rampage on that official road. Because of this reason, the local people do not dare take that road and only the outsiders, who don¡¯t know anything about it, would go and take the risk. ¡°Guests, your luck is really good.¡± The Xiao Er was still sighing, ¡°Just a few days ago, I also heard that some foreigners were eaten by those demons and they couldn¡¯t even find their bones.¡± Fu Hua wondered: ¡°Such things, are none of the locals taking charge?¡± The Xiao Er said with a bitter smile: ¡°There should have been, but those demons seem to be particularly powerful. The He family sent a few disciples over but they were seriously injured.¡± Lin Rufei muttered out, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Xiao Er shook his head and sighed, ¡°The world is not peaceful. Guests, since you are walking in Jianghu, you must also be more careful.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Rufei handed a piece of broken silver to the Xiao Er. The Xiao Er gladly accepted it and turned around to leave. After listening to the Xiao Er¡¯s words, Lin Rufei suddenly remembered the man who had insisted on following their carriage for the past few days. It seemed that his thoughts were indeed meticulous even towards strangers whom he had only met once. They were almost done resting. Lin Rufei told Fu Hua and Yu Rui a few words before he headed out for a stroll alone. This small city was not large, but the street was quite lively and he could see a lot of rare gadgets that he had never seen before. Soon, Lin Rufei¡¯s footsteps halted in front of a stall selling deep-fried pancakes. The deep-fried pancakes looked very delicious. The dough was wrapped full of onion and meat filling and once it was fried in the frying pan, they swelled up, giving off a very strong aroma. After that, fish them out with chopsticks, strain the oil, and they were ready to be eaten. Lin Rufei bought one and just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he noticed a familiar figure. It was the same man who had been following them for a few days. The man was still carrying that heavy sword and was looking at the scallion pancake[5] in his hand¡­¡­with great interest. ¡°Want some?¡± The stare he gave Lin Rufei made him reflexively ask out. ¡°That¡¯s not quite appropriate. Plus, you also just bought it.¡± Having said that, the man still stepped forward towards Lin Rufei and the intense gaze he had on the fried pancake became even more burning. Lin Rufei smiled: ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll buy another one.¡± He handed the fried pancake to the man, who did not mind taking it, and opened his mouth for a big bite. The fried pancake, which was big, was swallowed by him in only just two bites. After he finished eating it, he rushed to the boss and said, ¡°Boss, wrap them all up for me.¡± After saying this, he seemed to feel that something was wrong. He pondered on his words for a moment before he remembered Lin Rufei, who was standing next to him, and pointed to him, ¡°Save one for him.¡± This situation was so familiar that Lin Rufei could not help but laugh, ¡°Thank you.¡± He still remembered to save one for him. ¡°Please don¡¯t mind, that¡¯s how I eat.¡± The man said, ¡°I have to fulfill myself in one bite, otherwise my heart wouldn¡¯t feel at rest making it unbearable.¡± Lin Rufei started, ¡°By the way, may I ask for your name?¡± The man replied, ¡°He Wanxiang.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard this name: ¡°This gentleman is a member of the He family?¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°Sort of? What does gongzi want from the He family?¡± Lin Rufei balled his hands and gave a salute, ¡°I am Lin Rufei of the Kunlun Sword Sect¡¯s Lin family.¡± He Wanxiang faintly froze, seemingly not expecting Lin Rufei to be a member of the Lin family and his tone instantly took on some hesitation, ¡°Lin gongzi¡­¡­is here to deliver the invitation to the Kunlun sword competition?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lin Rufei smiled. ¡°That¡¯s quite a coincidence.¡± He Wanxiang muttered, ¡°It seems that we are going the same way. Why don¡¯t we go together?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Of course.¡± From here to the He family there was about another day or two left of travel. Being able to travel with the He family was naturally a good thing. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Sword eyebrows and eagle eyes: ¡°appearance of windy and valiant, full of righteousness, very heroic.¡± [2] Qianjun means thousand pounds. [3] It is used to describe a person who has a very delicate mind, like dust. [4] Onomatopoeia? It¡¯s like the sound you make when you are hesitating/thinking. [5] Scallion pancakes. CH 64 When Lin Rufei head back to the inn, Fu Hua was discussing with Yu Rui about what to eat for breakfast the next morning morning. When they saw Lin Rufei come in through the door, they didn¡¯t even have the time to greet him before they noticed the person following him, and both of them froze in place. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a surprise?¡± Lin Rufei joked, ¡°I just went out to eat a pancake, and ended up picking up a person.¡± ¡°I am He Wanxiang of the He family, may I know the names of these two ladies?¡± He Wanxiang smiled and asked as he bowed to Fu Hua and Yu Rui. Fu Hua said, ¡°My name is Fu Hua, and her name is Yu Rui, we are young master¡¯s maids.¡± As soon as she heard the name He Wanxiang, she had already guessed that he must have some sort of relationship with the He family, ¡°This gongzi, what are you to the He family?¡± ¡°I am the third son of the He family.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°He Xieyi is my elder brother.¡± The He family was very well-known and the most famous one was He Xieyi, who was already at the eighth level of cultivation. It was said that during the year of his birth, the He family¡¯s iron-gold walnut tree bore three iron-gold walnuts, each of which was picked by his own hands. After consuming the walnuts, He Xieyi had a great increase in power. He went from the sixth level straight through to the eighth level. When it came to the He family, one person and one thing must always be mentioned; He Xieyi was that person and the iron-gold walnut tree was that one thing. Rumor had it that the iron-gold walnut tree was planted by the Heavenly Ruler himself hundreds of years ago and it bore fruit once every few decades. Each time it bore only two or three fruits and each of them was precious. These iron-gold walnuts were very beneficial during cultivation, but only the person fancied by the walnut tree could pick it. Counting the hundred years of the He family, the iron-gold walnut tree had only bore three fruits. And it was because of these three fruits that He Xieyi was able to achieve unparalleled talent. Lin Rufei then told Fu Hua and Yu Rui that He Wanxiang was headed in the same direction as them and that their next trip would be the four of them together. Fu Hua smiled and nodded in agreement, but Yu Rui looked a little embarrassed. She was probably still thinking about the misunderstanding a few days ago. He Wanxiang also did not force Yu Rui to talk and actually did not say much at all. Plus, with that sturdy and tall body, it made him seem unapproachable as he sat there quietly. However, after the previous incident, Lin Rufei felt that this He Wanxiang was an interesting person. On the third day, He Wanxiang went to the post to return his horse and Lin Rufei got onto the carriage. The carriage was very spacious, even with three people sitting inside, it didn¡¯t look crowded at all. However, Yu Rui was very nervous. She shrank into the corner and didn¡¯t dare to move nor dare to speak. She was like a small mouse who had met a big cat and from time to time, she would quietly look at He Wanxiang. That look of hers was really cute and funny. Lin Rufei knew that Yu Rui was a sheep in wolf¡¯s clothing, so he did not make things difficult for his little maid. Instead, he and He Wanxiang casually chatted about the He family¡¯s affairs. But when He Wanxiang mentioned the He family, he seemed a little hesitant and his words also carried some hesitancy. Lin Rufei thought it was a bit strange, so he asked directly: ¡°He gongzi¡­towards the He family¡­¡­Do you have something you can¡¯t say?¡± He Wanxiang replied, ¡°Lin gongzi is really smart, in fact¡­¡­our He family¡¯s style is a bit strange.¡± Strange? Xuan Qing seemed to have mentioned this before but Lin Rufei did not take it to heart. When he had met He Wanxiang, he thought he was very considerate, thus even more so, he couldn¡¯t think of what would be strange about the He family. But who knew that when He Wanxiang mentioned this, there was some embarrassment laced within: ¡°Because our He family moved here from the southwest far frontier, so the family¡¯s style is very tough and it highly reveres power.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°This isn¡¯t considered¡­¡­strange, right?¡± He Wanxiang touched his nose and mumbled, ¡°Well, actually this matter isn¡¯t easy to say. Lin gongzi will know when he gets there.¡± When he said that, Lin Rufei was even more curious. What would the He family be like to make He Wanxiang show such a look. The carriage traveled for two days and finally, they arrived at the He family¡¯s territory, Qiong City, without any problems. However, the younger generations of the He family were not in the city. Instead, they were on a mountain outside the city called Stone Edge, which towered into the clouds. Logically speaking, this part of Yunan was a plain area, at most, there were some hills. The mountain peak that stood against the surrounding low terrains seemed really out of place. ¡°This mountain is so strange.¡± Yu Rui, who had held back her words in the carriage for a few days, now finally dared to speak. She lifted the carriage curtain and blinked, ¡°It¡¯s just a lonely peak¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s normal to think it¡¯s strange.¡± He Wanxiang took over, ¡°Because this mountain was moved here.¡± ¡°Moved here?!¡± Yu Rui¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Who moved it here?¡± ¡°The Heavenly Ruler.¡± He Wanxiang smiled and then began to explain to Yu Rui their He family¡¯s history, ¡°The He family ancestor was a good friend of the Heavenly Ruler. On the day of the wedding, the Heavenly Ruler went to the southwest and moved a mountain over as a gift to our ancestor. The most powerful thing about this mountain was that there was a ten-thousand-year-old iron-gold walnut tree¡­¡­My family¡¯s ancestor was very fond of this great gift, then ordered all the He family¡¯s direct descendants to move to the mountain. Since then, the He family took pride in being able to live on Stone Edge.¡± ¡°Gifted a mountain?¡± Yu Rui was entranced from listening, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler is too amazing.¡± He Wanxiang also showed a look of fascination: ¡°Yes, if I can have a tenth of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s style, then this life of mine would be worth it.¡± As the group was chatting, the carriage finally arrived at the foot of Stone Edge Mountain. Originally, Lin Rufei had wanted to go to Qiong City first to freshen up and then pay a formal visit tomorrow. However, He Wanxiang waved his hand, saying that the He family had never been concerned about such trivialities and that he could just directly enter like this. As he was talking, he told Fu Hua to go through the gate directly, saying that with him, no one would dare to make trouble for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei responded, ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble He gongzi.¡± He Wanxiang nodded: ¡°Lin gongzi, just sit in the carriage, I will take care of anything later.¡± Lin Rufei said okay. The carriage followed the winding mountain road. Circling upward, it soon reached the gate. The guard at the gate reached out and halted the carriage, asking who was there. He Wanxiang lifted the curtain and said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°So it is San Gongzi who has returned!¡± As soon as the guard saw He Wanxiang, he saluted and asked, ¡°Why are you back in a carriage?¡± He Wanxiang casually hummed in agreement and didn¡¯t elaborate any further. The guard made a gesture and someone pulled open the wooden door to let them in. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Through the curtain of the carriage, Lin Rufei also took in the appearance of the He family. To his surprise, the He family did not have the appearance of a large family. At first glance, it was like a primitive tribal village. There was no decent building and the houses were either made of wood or bamboo, not even a stone house could be seen. And what made Lin Rufei feel the most strange, were the He family members that were walking around. They were all tall with broad eyebrows and deep eyes. Almost everyone had a sword on the side of their waist with a killing aura. Even the women were the same. If he didn¡¯t know about this place and entered by mistake, most likely he would¡¯ve thought that he accidentally entered a mountain bandit¡¯s nest. Lin Rufei wasn¡¯t considered short, but with his pale face and weak temperament, if he walked amongst this group, it would give off a weak willow supporting the wind[1] feel. Not to mention Yu Rui, who wasn¡¯t even up to Lin Rufei¡¯s chest, was really like a cute little doll. Seeing the scene outside, the three of them, master and servants, all tacitly fell into silence. He Wanxiang seemed to have expected all this and let out a dry cough: ¡°Lin gongzi, you don¡¯t need to be too nervous. Our He family is actually just born aggressive looking.¡± Lin Rufei was just about to speak when the carriage suddenly stopped and a gruff voice came from outside: ¡°He Wanxiang, where the hell did you trick such a good-looking girl to be your coachman. Do you even have shame?!¡± He Wanxiang stuck his head out and cursed back nonchalantly: ¡°F*cking piece of sh*t! Even if I invite a heavenly fairy back, it would have nothing to do with a fool like you! Shut up, there are valuable guests in the carriage. If you disturb them, watch out for elder brother because he will beat you up.¡± Lin Rufei, through the gap, saw the man¡¯s appearance. The man¡¯s eyebrows and He Wanxiang¡¯s had some similarities but he was actually taller than He Wanxiang. The muscles on his arm bulged like a hard stone as he said: ¡°Valuable guests, what valuable guests? I have not seen a valuable guest in a long time. Quickly, let me take a look.¡± As he said this, he wanted to lift the curtain of the carriage, but was slapped by He Wanxiang on the back of the hand. With a loud ¡°snap,¡± He Wanxiang¡¯s palm seemed to have collided with a hard stone. The man let out a scream and withdrew his hand with a cry: ¡°You actually hit me!¡± He Wanxiang replied, ¡°You think I was joking?¡± The man said, ¡°I¡¯m not convinced! You get down, I want to fight with you!¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°I don¡¯t have time for you, come to me at night if you want to fight.¡± As he said this, he gave Fu Hua a look, indicating that she didn¡¯t need to pay attention to this man. Fu Hua nodded in agreement and the carriage drove off once again. The man watched as the carriage drove away leaving behind dust. He stood in place and narrowed his eyes, then tsked and muttered: ¡°Valuable guest. Those that can be called valuable guests in the He family can be counted on one hand. Could it be the people from Kunlun that came by? Heh¡­¡­How is, He Wanxiang, this kid so lucky. He was actually able to meet them.¡± Under He Wanxiang¡¯s guidance, Fu Hua drove the carriage towards a wooden house. This house looked like it had just been repaired and appeared to be wider than the house next door. He Wanxiang said, ¡°Lin gongzi, this house is my place. If you don¡¯t mind, you can stay here for a few days, I¡¯ll just go and make do with my brother¡¯s.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°How is this appropriate?¡± It was a bit unbecoming of a guest to drive the host out of his own home. But He Wanxiang waved his hand indifferently and laughed: ¡°Lin gongzi, you don¡¯t know that in the He family, the least important thing is the house.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Why do you say that?¡± However, He Wanxiang kept him in suspense, ¡°You will know after you live in it for some days.¡± After saying these words, he also hesitated for a moment, ¡°Lin gongzi¡­¡­The He family is a bit chaotic, if you want to walk around, you can ask me to join you to avoid any accidents.¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°Is it that dramatic?¡± Who would actually say that their family was a mess upon first arrival? He Wanxiang said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s even more dramatic than you think.¡± After that, He Wanxiang left after giving a few instructions to the servants in the house. He told Lin Rufei to rest first while he went to inform the family head of Lin Rufei¡¯s arrival. Lin Rufei nodded and said okay. He Wanxiang¡¯s residence was very consistent with his own style: simple and rough. There were only a few practical pieces of furniture in the house and no decorations at all. It was even more simple than the inn. What Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand was that the servants serving He Wanxiang were all taller than him. Although they were not as sturdy as He Wanxiang, they could also be described as powerful and strong men. Yu Rui had been overwhelmed by these strong men. She shrank in the chair and mumbled, ¡®where in the world did the He family find so many people, each one of them was so big.¡¯ Fu Hua touched Yu Rui¡¯s head, ¡°Yes, who asked you to be born so small? One person here is almost worth three of you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not small.¡± Yu Rui immediately raised her head and puffed out her chest. She even revealed the sword at her waist, ¡°I am powerful.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. My family¡¯s Yu Rui is very powerful.¡± Lin Rufei said with a laugh. Yu Rui grumbled, ¡°You¡¯re laughing at me again, gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei stretched his hands out innocently. Fu Hua also could not help but laugh. After more than ten days of travel and hardships in the carriage, Lin Rufei was a bit tired, so he troubled He Wanxiang¡¯s servant to boil some hot water for him since he wanted to take a bath to relieve his fatigue. In this hot weather, the water temperature didn¡¯t need to be too high and the tub filled with water was soon brought into the room. Lin Rufei was taking off his clothes with his head down, but just after he took off his outerwear, he heard a loud noise coming from the outside. It was as if something had collapsed and the ground was trembling uncontrollably. Lin Rufei was startled and cautiously took a few steps towards the window. He lifted the curtain and looked up, however, he only saw a dusty sky outside the house. It was accompanied by fierce fighting and cursing sounds as two figures were going back and forth between Heaven and Earth. Sometimes they were close together and other times they were far apart. But each impact was accompanied by a loud noise. ¡°Mothf*cker, I¡¯ll beat your brother-in-law to death, f*ck your grandmother[2]¡ª¡ª¡± A series of accented swear words shook Heaven and Earth. As the swords clashed and sparked, the two also did not forget to attack each other with their words. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded from listening. Although he did not understand much, he also knew that these certainly were not good words. And what impressed him the most was that the two of them cursed a series of swears without repeating a single one of them. ¡°That¡¯s impressive.¡± Lin Rufei said in admiration. ¡°Sigh, I haven¡¯t seen them for hundreds of years, how come they still look like this?¡± At some point, Gu Xuandu had appeared at Lin Rufei¡¯s side. With a sad expression, he glanced at Lin Rufei. However, he immediately noticed that his family¡¯s little gongzi had a look of yearning and immediately became wary, ¡°Xiao Jiu, don¡¯t listen. It will dirty your ears.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Rufei was oblivious and found this type of fighting to be quite interesting. Although it was rude, there was a unique feeling that only belonged to Jianghu, ¡°I don¡¯t seem to know how to swear¡­..¡± Gu Xuandu immediately said, ¡°What¡¯s so good about learning swear words?!¡± Lin Rufei responded, ¡°Then what if someone swears at me?¡± Gu Xuandu clenched his teeth, ¡°Draw your sword and chop his head off.¡± Lin Rufei thought over his words then nodded to himself, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± And only then did Gu Xuandu breathe a sigh of relief, but a hint of melancholy could still be seen in his expression. In his heart, he was thinking about how he watched a certain someone learn dirty words from the He family hundreds of years ago and spoke them with great relish. Although he only learned one sentence, it was enough to give him a headache. This history must not be repeated, Gu Xuandu secretly thought in his heart. Outside, they were still fighting and it seemed that they would not be stopping for a while. Lin Rufei wanted to continue watching, but was urged by Gu Xuandu to take a bath, saying, ¡®if you do not wash now the water will be cold, then it will be even easier to catch a cold.¡¯ Lin Rufei could only put down the curtain and reluctantly head over to take a bath. During which, Gu Xuandu deliberately chatted with Lin Rufei to delay the time. When Lin Rufei finally finished washing up, the fight outside had stopped. Lin Rufei lifted the curtain again and finally understood why the He family was full of wooden houses. He saw that just now, in front of the neatly placed several wooden houses, at this time had turned into a ruin from the aftermath of the fight. And the surrounding people didn¡¯t even seem to find such a scene strange anymore. They still went about their businesses, not even sparing it an extra look. The two people, who were fighting just now, were now panting and sitting on the ground. They were no longer making physicals moves and just by opening their mouths, they would mercilessly abuse each other. Furthermore, from time to time, they would pick up rocks on the ground to throw at the other. Looking at their appearance, they didn¡¯t seem old and still had the appearance of teenagers. However, their action of fighting and quarreling seemed to have been very experienced and he didn¡¯t know how many fights they had before. In a short while, a tall woman appeared. With both hands, she grabbed a teenager¡¯s ears and carried the two back. The two of their mouths did not forget to keep cursing. Just now, the teenagers that have fought were like chickens in the hands of the woman and they also didn¡¯t dare to fight back. Lin Rufei watched with great interest. However, Gu Xuandu let out a long sigh and showed a very headache expression. He found that even with too much time, it really wasn¡¯t a good thing. The oldies were all cloaked in a beautiful veil of memories that he actually forgot the vices of the He family¡­¡­sigh¡­¡­ When Lin Rufei came out of the bathroom, he saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui sitting by the window with shocked faces. It was apparent that they were also just shocked by that scene. Only when they saw him come out, did they withdraw their eyes. ¡°What the hell are they cursing at? Why can¡¯t I understand it?¡± Yu Rui murmured, ¡°It¡¯s like knowing every word, but together, I don¡¯t know what it means¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua calmly said, ¡°Certainly not any good words. Good children shouldn¡¯t learn.¡± Yu Rui replied, ¡°But it¡¯s kind of imposing.¡± Fu Hua was silent for a moment before she actually nodded in agreement. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The three people were quite interested in this and actually started to discuss about it. Just as the discussion grew intense, He Wanxiang suddenly appeared at the door. However, his expression was slightly strange: ¡°What are you guys chatting about?¡± ¡°Oh, talking about what they had said.¡± Lin Rufei said with a smile, ¡°These are your local words, right? It¡¯s quite funny.¡± He Wanxiang looked helpless and said, ¡®Lin gongzi please don¡¯t be offended, they are used to this.¡¯ In the past, when they were over in the western frontier, the swear words there weren¡¯t as rich. Then, when they arrived in this part of the Central Plains, they followed the locals and learned a lot more. Now their swears became even richer. The family head also tried to control it once, but it was not successful. Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that he did not mind. ¡°I have spoken to my elder brother and father about Lin gongzi.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°They also blamed me for not informing the family earlier, saying that they had set up a banquet for Lin gongzi at nightfall.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡± ¡°Lin gongzi, you¡¯re being polite.¡± He Wanxiang said. It was still early in the evening, so when He Wanxiang saw that Lin Rufei had nothing to do, he took the three of them out to look around. However, when the three of them were walking around the He family¡¯s fortress, it was obvious that they didn¡¯t fit in with their surroundings. When they came in by carriage, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t feel it, but when they walked outside, looking at the strong men who were all eight feet tall, Lin Rufei felt like he had entered the land of giants. The most amazing thing was that the women also weren¡¯t short. All of them were athletic and almost as tall as Lin Rufei. He Wanxiang saw Lin Rufei¡¯s astonished look and explained with a smile that the physique of the He family was hereditary and that it was related to the kung fu they practiced, which, if practiced from childhood, would make them much taller than normal people. All direct lineage disciples lived in the He family¡¯s fortress so almost everyone practiced this kung fu method in order to have this scene in front of them. Yu Rui was very fascinated as she listened. She muttered about how there was such a powerful kung fu method in the world, ah. She was fifteen and hadn¡¯t seen any growth at all¡­¡­. When He Wanxiang heard this, the corners of his mouth hooked up. He reached out and gently pressed on Yu Rui¡¯s head, waiting for Yu Rui to look over in bewilderment, before seriously saying: ¡°If you want to practice, there¡¯s no harm in teaching you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Yu Rui was surprised, ¡°But I¡¯m not a member of the He family, ah¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°This is just a basic kung fu method. However, since you are already fifteen years old, I am afraid that practicing at this time may not be too effective.¡± Yu Rui used her hand to compare the top of her head and found that she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach He Wanxiang¡¯s chest. Suddenly, she was discouraged beyond comparison. She dropped her head and said, ¡°Why am I so short, ah?¡± Fu Hua laughed: ¡°Who told you to be picky about what you eat, you are even pickier than young master.¡± Yu Rui grumbled, ¡°But, but¡­¡­¡± When Lin Rufei noticed her aggrieved look, he couldn¡¯t resist reaching out to pinch her cheeks, ¡°Well, next time, let Fu Hua make more bone soup for you. Don¡¯t be afraid of it being greasy and drink more.¡± While several people were talking, Lin Rufei noticed a special building in the middle of the He family¡¯s fortress. That building, compared to the surrounding wooden houses, did not quite fit in. It was a brick in structure and from its appearance, it seemed to be a shrine. But there were many guards in heavy armor standing near the shrine making the atmosphere very different from the surrounding area. ¡°That¡¯s the He family¡¯s ancestral hall.¡± He Wanxiang explained to Lin Rufei, ¡°The He family¡¯s iron-gold walnut tree is planted in the ancestral hall. Since there is nothing to do now, would Lin gongzi like to go and have a look?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Is it possible? Would it be inconvenient?¡± Through He Wanxiang¡¯s description, he could also hear the status that this iron-gold walnut tree had in the He family. Although he was very curious about what the walnut tree looked like, he always felt that it was not appropriate to go to see such a precious foreign treasure. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He Wanxiang slightly raised his chin and said, ¡°At the moment, there hasn¡¯t been anyone born who can take the walnut tree away from the He family. Besides, Lin gongzi is an honored guest of our He family. When your brother was traveling, it was my elder brother who received him, and he has also seen that iron-gold walnut tree.¡± He spoke in a light tone, but there was powerful confidence hidden in it. Lin Rufei naturally heard it clearly. Indeed, this generation of the He family was particularly excellent since they were able to produce He Xieyi, a cultivator at the eighth level. There really weren¡¯t that many people who dared to mess with their family. When they arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall, the guards saw that it was He Wanxiang, so they let them in directly. After entering the ancestral hall, Lin Rufei saw the neatly arranged He family tablets and the neatly tended incense burner. He Wanxiang asked Lin Rufei to wait for a moment while he himself took out three sticks of incense and lit them to pay his respects to the ancestors. He then stood up and explained to Lin Rufei that it was their rule. If they want to see the iron-gold walnut tree, they must first pay homage to the ancestors and thank them for their protection. After the worship, He Wanxiang led Lin Rufei to the ancestral hall¡¯s backyard where he said the iron-gold walnut tree was growing. After following He Wanxiang, he passed through several doors and finally arrived at the very wide backyard. It was surrounded by gray brick walls and the whole courtyard was empty except for a plain green tree growing in the center of the courtyard. This green tree wasn¡¯t too tall and its trunk had the thickness of an adult arm. At first glance, it was like an ordinary walnut tree, but if one were to look carefully, one would find a layer of faint gold lines spreading on the trunk. The golden thread extended from the root upwards as it covered every branch and seemed to be glowing. He Wanxiang said: ¡°This iron-gold walnut tree is also known as the Xuyu[3] tree because each fruit takes decades. For it, it¡¯s only a moment, but for us, it¡¯s a lifetime. This year is a good year, this walnut tree gave birth to six iron-gold walnuts. When the next year¡¯s ancestral ritual is held, our generation of disciples can try to pick it off. My elder brother has said that if we are lucky, our He family was about to produce a second He Xieyi.¡± Amongst the hidden leaves, Lin Rufei saw the iron-gold walnut that He Wanxiang had mentioned. The walnuts were not born big, but their colors were beautiful and under the sunlight, they showed a pure golden color, like the golden sun in the sky. He just didn¡¯t know why, but when he saw this walnut tree, Lin Rufei developed a feeling of familiarity, as if¡­¡­¡­he had seen this tree from somewhere before. Then Lin Rufei felt that he was overthinking it. He had been on Kunlun for more than twenty years, how could he have possibly seen the Xuyu tree that was thousands of miles away? ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: C*cksucking[4]. Gu Xuandu: Hey, children can¡¯t say dirty words. Lin Rufei: C*cksucking! Gu Xuandu: Children are not allowed to talk dirty! ! Lin Rufei: C*cksucking~ Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­.. He Wanxiang: WTF, why did you stab me? ! ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idiom: weak and ineffective. [2] This was a line of curse words. I had some trouble translating so it might not be the most accurate, but you guys get the gist. [3] Xuyu means in a jiffy/flash. [4] Actually, it can also mean f**king, basically it¡¯s a curse word. CH 65 Looking at the shimmering iron-gold walnuts on the Xuyu tree, Lin Rufei could not help but exclaim, ¡°So beautiful!¡± He Wanxiang revealed a proud look: ¡°Naturally so.¡± He then went on to explain, ¡°Ordinary people would not be able to pick these iron-gold walnuts. Only disciples who have practiced the He family kung fu can and not everyone has the opportunity to¡­¡­only if they are selected by the Xuyu tree, can they pick down the iron-gold walnut.¡± Lin Rufei was curious: ¡°That year, your brother picked down three?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°There were only three walnuts on the tree, my elder brother was the first to pick them and ended up picking all of them in one go. Because of this matter, he also received a lot of complaints from my father.¡± As he said this, his eyes contained a strong smile, ¡°He said to give the other disciples a chance; to let them know¡ªhow useless they were.¡± Lin Rufei also followed and laughed along. The He family¡¯s style was open and reckless and they don¡¯t look like a family that hid their clumsiness either. This He Wanxiang was very interesting so most likely He Xieyi wouldn¡¯t be as bad. While Lin Rufei and He Wanxiang were talking, Gu Xuandu suddenly took shape and walked slowly towards the courtyard. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was slightly shocked at the sight of this but he could not say anything, only watching as he gradually approached the Xuyu tree. The Xuyu tree seemed to sense his presence as its leaves and branches began to shake slowly almost like in excitement. Gu Xuandu¡¯s footsteps stopped in front of the Xuyu tree. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the rough trunk, coupling with a low sigh: ¡°Long time no see.¡± The Xuyu tree moved in response, as if it was blown by the wind and the branches and leaves began to shake violently. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± He Wanxiang was startled by the Xuyu tree¡¯s appearance. There was no wind at this time, but the tree looked as if a gale was passing through and it wouldn¡¯t stop shaking uncontrollably. Fortunately, the strangeness of the Xuyu tree did not last long. Gu Xuandu was probably afraid of it overreacting so after touching it, he turned away and left. Before leaving, he also stooped down to pick up a fallen leaf from the Xuyu tree, and then slowly and leisurely, he headed back to Lin Rufei¡¯s side. Because there were too many people present, Lin Rufei was not able to talk to Gu Xuandu. He just glanced at him and then shifted his gaze away. Seeing the Xuyu tree return to its original state, He Wanxiang was relieved. He touched his nose and said worriedly, ¡®Is the Xuyu tree uncomfortable? Why did it shake so hard?¡¯ Lin Rufei didn¡¯t dare to answer. He simply stood to the side and pretended not to know anything. Fortunately, He Wanxiang did not dwell too much on this matter. They continued to stroll around the ancestral hall and in a flash, it was time to eat dinner. He Wanxiang led Lin Rufei to a large-looking wooden house nearby. Before even entering, Lin Rufei could already smell the strong fragrance of wine coming from the house. ¡°Lin gongzi, my father and brothers are roughnecks. If there is anything you are not used to, you can say so.¡± He Wanxiang said it somewhat euphemistically, ¡°Don¡¯t ever aggrieve yourself.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and said yes. ¡°Also¡­¡­¡± He Wanxiang coughed dryly, ¡°They like to drink and their capacity isn¡¯t too good.¡± It suddenly dawned upon Lin Rufei, ¡°My health has not been too good since I was young, I can only drink small amounts.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± He Wanxiang waved his hand, ¡°Lin gongzi is an honored guest, we won¡¯t force you if you can¡¯t drink. Just follow your own nature, no need to accommodate us.¡± As he spoke, he pulled the wooden door open, revealing the scene inside the house. Lin Rufei only took a glance and was shocked by the situation in the house. He saw a few tall and fierce men sitting around a large round table and on the table was a huge roast lamb. In front of each man, there was a round bowl the size of a face, and the bowl was filled with wine. Hearing the sound of the door opening, the big men turned around and turned their gazes towards Lin Rufei. These gazes carried curiosity and scrutiny, which gave Lin Rufei the feeling that he was being watched by wolves. ¡°Lin gongzi!¡± One of the big men with gray hair stood up and waved enthusiastically at Lin Rufei, ¡°Come this way, come this way!¡± He Wanxiang introduced, ¡°This is my father.¡± He Wanxiang¡¯s father was named He Jitian[1]. Just like his name, he was a very domineering person and was the current He family head. He Xieyi was also his son. Lin Rufei walked up to He Jitian, bowed, and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about the He family head.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t be so polite! I am close to your father, you can just call me uncle.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°You have come a long way and you are an honored guest of our He family, quickly, have a seat!¡± And pointed to the seat next to him. Lin Rufei called out ¡°uncle¡± and slowly sat down. After sitting down, he found that dense jars of wine clustered and filled the space underneath the table. From the numbers alone, it was a very impressive amount. He Jitian also sat down and introduced Lin Rufei to the people at the table. Finally, Lin Rufei met He Xieyi who he had heard so much about. Like He Wanxiang, He Xieyi[2] also had a sturdy body, only his looks were very different from his name. He was very rugged and his face also carried several hideous old wounds. At first, he even looked like a tough mountain bandit. Probably because He Wanxiang informed the people in advance, several people at the table were trying hard to squeeze out a kind smile. However, no matter how much he looked, this smile on their faces didn¡¯t seem like they belonged. It had a sense of skin laughing and flesh not smiling[3] feel to it. Lin Rufei was creeped out by their smiles and hurriedly said, ¡°You guys can just act like how you usually act!¡± ¡°Look at you guys!¡± He Jitian slapped the table and said angrily, ¡°I told you guys to smile and be kind, but look at yourselves, you guys don¡¯t even know how to smile? Is your face cramped or what? Smiling like this, people who don¡¯t know would think you¡¯re going to kill and set fire!¡± The big men on the table all showed painful expressions. Lin Rufei suddenly cried and laughed. He hurriedly explained that there was really no need to be so polite. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Only after repeatedly confirming that Lin Rufei indeed did not care very much, did He Jitian breathe a sigh of relief and waved his hand, ¡°Nephew Lin, our family are all rough people. If there is poor hospitality, you must say it straight out.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, okay.¡± Lin Rufei could only nod and say yes. The He family was indeed straightforward and after a few simple courtesies, the meal was served. The huge roasted lamb in front of him was really striking. The lamb seemed to have been just roasted and it was covered with all kinds of spices. The aroma of the fat belonging to the meat alone came out in a continuous stream. He Jitian lifted the knife and efficiently divided the whole roasted lamb into several parts. Then, he put the best chunk of lamb chop onto the iron plate in front of Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei stared at the lamb chop, which was bigger than his upper body, and said in a daze: ¡°Uncle He! This is too much, I can¡¯t finish it.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t finish it?¡± He Jitian froze, ¡°Don¡¯t be polite with us, there¡¯s still another one being roasted outside.¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t finish it.¡± According to Lin Rufei¡¯s usual diet, he would be full after eating two or three lamb chops. (t/n: probably because the normal lamb chops are quite small) He Jitian was still a bit unconvinced: ¡°You really can¡¯t finish it?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s expression was helpless: ¡°¡­¡­Really.¡± Finally, He Jitian was convinced. He raised his hand and cut a small piece off, but still left most of it on Lin Rufei¡¯s plate. Lin Rufei wanted to say something but finally decided not to say anything. Looking at He Jitian¡¯s expression, if he said he could not eat again, it was like he wasn¡¯t giving face to the He family. The lamb looked like it weighed more than a hundred pounds. Adding Lin Rufei, there were seven people total around the table. After He Jitian efficiently divided the lamb, the crowd then feasted on the food. When Lin Rufei tasted a piece, he thought that the taste was indeed very good. Although the lamb was large, the taste was very tender. The outside was crispy and it was covered in a layer of rich dipping sauce. The meat inside was soft and juicy, especially the fatty and lean parts, they were particularly extra fragrant. Lin Rufei also followed their example and got his hands on it, however, he found that he had a hard time biting it off. Finally, He Wanxiang handed him a small knife, indicating that he should use it to cut the meat. After the meat was eaten, they began to drink the wine. He Jitian probably notified the people at the table in advance, so no one forced Lin Rufei to drink, and everyone acted very easy-going. He Jitian asked Lin Rufei about the matters on Kunlun and Lin Rufei simply replied that the atmosphere wasn¡¯t bad. The more wine they drink, the better the atmosphere became at the table. Originally, He Jitian was worried that Lin Rufei, the son of a big family, would not be used to such a way of eating in their family. However, seeing that Lin Rufei did not have any attitude, he gradually relaxed. Lin Rufei chewed the lamb and also picked up the face-size wine bowl to take a sip. Almost immediately, his pale face emerged with a bright red and he could not help but cough lowly a few times. This was the strongest wine Lin Rufei had ever drunk, but although it was strong, the taste was also very good. The flavor was mellow and there was a long-lasting aftertaste. It was good wine. Lin Rufei had never had such a lively meal. After the He family became happy after drinking, they were no longer restrained like in the beginning. Some people cut the meat, some people chatted, and some people even happily told dirty jokes. However, just after the jokes were finished the person received a smack on the head from He Jitian and they also earned a harsh glare. The person was a little confused from the smack until he saw his own father¡¯s unkind eyes. Only then did he immediately wake up and said embarrassingly: ¡°Lin gongzi, do not mind, ah, I, I¡¯m used to telling dirty jokes¡­..¡± Lin Rufei could not help but laugh and said, ¡°No harm, no harm, by nature we desire food and sex[4].¡° A big piece of meat, a big mouthful of wine, this scene in front of him made Lin Rufei really experience what Jianghu was like. He had to say, he really loved this lively atmosphere of the He family. One after another, the jugs of wine were brought up. Slightly drunkenness began to spread on the table and the people became more and more open. Lin Rufei had also drank a little too much and since he wasn¡¯t good at drinking, his consciousness gradually began to blur. He felt someone wrapped their arm around his shoulder and loudly asking how Lin Bianyu was. With a twist of his head, he saw that it was He Xieyi. ¡°Yes, my brother is very good.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°He was first in the sword competition again this year.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t go!¡± He Xieyi grumbled, ¡°Next time when I go, the first place will be mine!¡± As he said this, he then slapped his chest with a loud thud. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he had too much to drink, but Lin Rufei had no more scruples when he talked. He shook his head with a glare: ¡°No, you¡¯re definitely not number one. My second brother is the most powerful.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡ª¡± He Xieyi wanted to say a swear word, but in the end, he swallowed it back down, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I lost to your second brother a few years ago because my kung fu was not yet complete. Now, I¡¯m not the same as I was a few years ago! ¡° ¡°My second brother is also not the same second brother from a few years ago!¡± How could Lin Rufei stand someone bad-mouthing his second brother, ¡°You can¡¯t win!¡± ¡°I can win!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± ¡°I definitely can¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°You definitely can¡¯t¡ª¡ª¡± The two were quarreling like children and the more they quarreled, the more energetic they got. They argued back and forth and drank at the same time. He Wanxiang wanted to persuade them, but he was slapped away by He Xieyi, saying that adults were talking about something so children should not get involved. The alcohol also got into Lin Rufei¡¯s head. He nodded vaguely and said, ¡®yes, yes, yes, this is an adult matter. Today we must distinguish between right and wrong.¡¯ Watching this scene, He Wanxiang cried and laughed. At first, he was worried that Lin Rufei would not be used to such an atmosphere, but he had adapted better than anyone else, and after a few rounds of drinking, he had already hooked up with He Xieyi and called him ¡°brother.¡± But looking as the two men became more and more fierce from their talk, he was inexplicably a little worried. After all, his elder brother¡¯s, He Xieyi¡¯s, wine capacity wasn¡¯t really good. Lin Rufei also became confused after drinking. His wine bowl was filled one after another and finally, his consciousness completely blurred. He only vaguely remembered that he seemed to be arguing fiercely with He Xieyi. As to whether there was a result from their argument, he did not know¡­¡­ The next day, Lin Rufei woke up with a splitting headache. He opened his eyes with difficulty, covered his head, and let out a weak moan: ¡°Ah¡­¡­headache, headache, ah¡­¡­¡± After muttering this aloud, he felt his head being gently picked up and placed onto someone¡¯s lap. It was gently being kneaded and when he looked up, he saw Gu Xuandu¡¯s helpless expression. ¡°If you knew that you would have a headache, why did you still drink so much?¡± Gu Xuandu lectured. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to either.¡± Lin Rufei squinted his eyes comfortably like a lazy cat, ¡°The atmosphere was too good and unknowingly, I had drunk a bunch.¡± He squinted for a while more and always felt that something was not quite right, ¡°Ssss¡­¡­how come my body also hurts so much?¡± Gu Xuandu helplessly asked, ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± Lin Rufei replied blankly: ¡°Remember what?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei immediately felt that the situation was a little bit wrong, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, I drank too much and don¡¯t remember anything.¡± Gu Xuandu reached out and picked up Lin Rufei. Before Lin Rufei could protest, he was taken to the window by Gu Xuandu, ¡°Look for yourself.¡± Lin Rufei was confused and looked out the window. He was instantly stunned by the situation outside. He saw that almost all the wooden houses outside were reduced to wreckage, almost as if they had been crushed by a giant beast. But fortunately, the houses were all wooden structures, even if it was destroyed, it could also be quickly rebuilt. However, exactly what happened for it to become like this? Lin Rufei looked up at Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Lin Rufei had a premonition of what was going on but still held on to a sliver of hope. He blinked his eyes and whispered, ¡°It has nothing to do with me, right?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Gu Xuandu placed Lin Rufei back on the bed again and said sorrowfully, ¡°Who do you think it has to do with then?¡± Lin Rufei cowered, ¡°This¡­¡­this was really my doing?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°Not you.¡± Lin Rufei was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Gu Xuandu added: ¡°It was you and He Xieyi who did it together.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu suddenly added strength to the hand that was pressing against Lin Rufei¡¯s temple and Lin Rufei hissed in pain: ¡°Lighter¡­¡­Senior, lighter¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu tsked and seemed to be very dissatisfied. Lin Rufei originally thought he was angry about the fight between himself and He Xieyi, but who knew that Gu Xuandu would quietly say: ¡°You did not use the sword when you fought yesterday.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°The one you used was the black wooden shield.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s tone was almost like he was gnashing his teeth, ¡°Xiao Jiu, don¡¯t you want to say something? I¡¯ve been teaching you swordplay for so long¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei suddenly felt weak and smiled, ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I have had too much to drink?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°After the wine, the truth comes out.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Do you have something against Gu Yu?¡± Following Gu Xuandu¡¯s words, the sword that Lin Rufei hung by the bed also began buzzing and Lin Rufei could even hear a little bit of grievance from it. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes flashed. He weakly covered his head and said pitifully, ¡°Senior, my head hurts so much.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°It hurts really bad.¡± Lin Rufei looked anxiously at Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu finally let out a long sigh, ¡°Forget it, forget it¡± And he didn¡¯t continue bothering Lin Rufei about said matter and simply continued to slowly knead Lin Rufei¡¯s temple again. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei finally breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart. He thought that this method used since childhood was still pretty good. Back when he was on Kunlun, when he did not want to drink medicine, he would use this expression to deal with his maids or older siblings. Unless the disease was particularly serious, this method was almost tried and true. Gu Xuandu continued kneading Lin Rufei¡¯s temple for a while. Lin Rufei was so comfortable that he almost fell asleep, however, he heard Fu Hua¡¯s voice outside: ¡°Young master, are you awake?¡± ¡°Mnn¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei answered. ¡°Young master, I¡¯ve made you a hangover soup.¡± Fu Hua came in with the soup and medicine. ¡°Why do you look so pale?¡± Fu Hua was a little worried, ¡°Is it a headache?¡± ¡°It hurts a lot.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°How did I come back last night?¡± Fu Hua hesitated, ¡°It was¡­¡­He Wanxiang who sent you back.¡± She coughed dryly, ¡°Doesn¡¯t young master remember what happened last night?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. Fu Hua then briefly retold Lin Rufei exactly what had happened last night; Lin Rufei and He Xieyi were both drunk and nearing the end, the two of them had argued over who was the best: He Xieyi or Lin Bianyu. Who knew that as they argued, they would actually start fighting. The fight was so intense that the whole He family was torn down. The two of them were tired of fighting and had sat on the ground to rest when suddenly, He Xieyi started to attack Lin Rufei with profanity. However, Lin Rufei was unable to fight back. Finally, he got angry and grabbed He Xieyi and beat him up again. Lin Rufei froze. He was completely unable to imagine the scene described by Fu Hua. ¡°But in the end, young master won! That He Xieyi was knocked unconscious by you with a wooden shield.¡± Seeing that Lin Rufei was stunned with some panic, Fu Hua hurriedly reassured, ¡°But you still came back walking!¡± Lin Rufei fell into a long silence. ¡°Then¡­¡­young master would like to have some hangover soup first?¡± Fu Hua asked timidly. ¡°I¡¯ll have some.¡± Lin Rufei said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s better to sober up early.¡± Fu Hua couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Usually, Lin Rufei rarely drank alcohol let alone getting drunk. Even if he was drunk, at most it was slightly drunk and wouldn¡¯t make such a big scene like last night. But for some reason, when Fu Hua saw Lin Rufei, who was drinking and making trouble, she felt a sense of relief, like her own child had finally grown up and was able to make trouble. Lin Rufei was naturally unaware of his own maid¡¯s strange mood at this time. He was still figuring out how to apologize to the He family when there was suddenly a knock on the door. ¡°Young master, young master, are you awake?¡± Yu Rui poked her head in, ¡°Wanxiang is here to see you.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Yesterday it was He gongzi, but today it¡¯s Wanxiang?¡± Yu Rui¡¯s cheeks instantly burst into red and she said in annoyance, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t tease me!¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Sigh, the little girl has grown up and doesn¡¯t allow young master to tease her anymore.¡± Yu Rui let out a ¡°humph¡± and turned around to call He Wanxiang in. When He Wanxiang entered the room, he noticed Lin Rufei lying on the bed and called out to Lin gongzi with a smile. ¡°He gongzi, I¡¯m really sorry, I didn¡¯t expect my wine capacity to be that bad.¡± Lin Rufei ashamedly said, ¡°I destroyed so many of your houses¡­¡­¡± As he said this, he started to cough and his thin shoulders couldn¡¯t stop shaking. It was as if in the next moment, he would suddenly faint over. If He Wanxiang had seen Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance before, he probably would have thought he was too weak. However, after last night¡¯s incident, He Wanxiang found that Lin Rufei was not a fuel-saving lamp[5]. He saw with his own eyes the fight between Lin Rufei and He Xieyi. The weapon and moves Lin Rufei used were very odd, most of them which he had never seen before, but with these odd moves, he was able to fight with his elder brother and in the end, knock out He Xieyi with a shield. Although he could see that He Xieyi did not use his full strength, this was already enough to surprise He Wanxiang. ¡°There is no need to feel guilty, Lin gongzi, our He family has long been used to it.¡± He Wanxiang waved his hand and laughed, ¡°Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t all live in wooden houses. As long as you guys don¡¯t hurt the ancestral hall, we wouldn¡¯t mind even if Lin gongzi razed the entire He family to the ground.¡± In fact, not only would they not mind, they would probably respect this guest even more, after all, the He family honored martial arts. On the contrary, Lin Rufei¡¯s weak image at the beginning was not so popular in the He family. When Lin Rufei saw that He Wanxiang indeed did not have the intention to blame him, he finally let out a sigh of relief. It was only the first day he had arrived at their house and he had already demolished their houses. If this wasn¡¯t the He family and was somewhere else, he may have already been invited out. ¡°How is your brother now?¡± Lin Rufei suddenly remembered Fu Hua¡¯s words. Did he really knock He Xieyi unconscious? ¡°Mnn¡­¡­Should be awake at this moment.¡± He Wanxiang replied, ¡°Does Lin gongzi want to go take a look?¡± ¡°Take a look, take a look.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head in a hurry. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take you there.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°He was originally staying next to Lin gongzi, but yesterday he battered his own house and had to make do with a night at my father¡¯s place.¡± Lin Rufei washed up simply, changed his clothes, and followed He Wanxiang to He Xieyi¡¯s place. When they entered through the doorway, they saw He Xieyi lying pitifully on the bench in the living room, moaning desolately. Compared to Lin Rufei¡¯s treatment, where he had a massage and a sobriety soup, he was in a very miserable state. No one in the house, whether maids or family, looked at him at all and they almost all treated him as air. He Wanxiang took noticed that Lin Rufei was a bit surprised so he explained, ¡°My brother likes to drink, so he often has a hangover, the family is used to it.¡± When He Xieyi saw them coming, he originally wanted to continue lying down. However, he immediately sat up and waved at Lin Rufei and his voice sounded a bit shy at first: ¡°Lin gongzi, you¡¯re here. Come here, come in and play.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± How come these words sound a little off? ¡°Ouch, why does this head of mine hurt so much.¡± He Xieyi muttered, ¡°Did I have too much to drink? But I also drank a lot before, ah¡­¡­ugh¡­¡­¡± He thought he had a hangover headache, but in reality though, that stinging red bump on his forehead was very conspicuous. Lin Rufei was even more guilty when he saw this. Under He Xieyi¡¯s warm invitation, he slowly walking in front of him and asked him about his health. He Xieyi was not aware that his headache had anything to do with Lin Rufei and vigorously patted Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Lin gongzi, you really hid your true colors, ah. I thought you did not know how to use a sword, who expected that your sword intent would be so severe!¡± Lin Rufei responded shyly, ¡°You flatter me, you flatter me.¡± He Xieyi: ¡°It¡¯s just, why don¡¯t you use your sword?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was fine if he didn¡¯t say anything, but as soon as he mentioned it, he could feel Gu Xuandu, who was next to him, casting him an unpleasant look. Lin Rufei said arduously: ¡°Just¡­¡­probably because I drank too much.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He Xieyi nodded thoughtfully and said that since he was able to use the shield so well, then his sword must be even more powerful. Against Gu Xuandu¡¯s thorny-like gaze, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t dare say anything and the smile on his face almost couldn¡¯t hang on. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Why won¡¯t you use the sword? ! ! ! Lin Rufei: Because I don¡¯t want to be a ¡­¡­. Sword person[6]? Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­.. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Jitian means Extreme Sky/Heaven. [2] Xieyi means relaxed. [3] Not smiling at all. [4] He¡¯s saying that sex is as natural as wanting food: ¡°Appetite and lust are only natural.¡± [5] Somebody who is easy deal with. [6] Reminder; the word for sword person sounds like the words for ¡°b**ch.¡± CH 66 He Xieyi, with that big eye-catching bump on his head, conversed with Lin Rufei for a while; from what kind of wine Lin Rufei liked to what kind of food Lin Rufei liked to eat. The more they talk, the more they got to know each other and as the two of them continued to talk more and more about each other, He Xieyi really wanted to get up from the bed and have a drink with Lin Rufei when they got excited. Fortunately, although this brother, He Xieyi, wasn¡¯t very reliable, the younger brother, He Wanxiang, was still very calm. When he saw that his brother wanted to jump up, he grabbed his brother¡¯s shoulders and pressed him back down: ¡°Lin gongzi¡¯s head also hurts, just let him off the hook.¡± Lin Rufei hurriedly agreed and said that his head also ached from last night. ¡°Oh, forget it then.¡± He Xieyi said with a regretful look that carried an unfulfilled desire, ¡°I thought you were a good drinker, it¡¯s been a long time since I had such a good time.¡± When Lin Rufei heard him praise him for his good drinking capacity, he said arduously: ¡°How can He gongzi tell¡­¡­that I am a good drinker?¡± He Xieyi scratched his head: ¡°I¡¯ve hardly ever been drunk to the point of unconsciousness, since Lin gongzi was able to knock me out, he must be a good drinker.¡± When these words came out, Lin Rufei and He Wanxiang both stared at the bump on He Xieyi¡¯s head for a moment in silence. But the two of them tacitly agreed not to say anything and changed the subject. Lin Rufei looked at the hot sunshine outside and said it was a good day to sleep. Since He gongzi had a headache, he should take a good rest first and he would not continue to bother him. Not waiting for He Xieyi to offer a deterrent, Lin Rufei and He Wanxiang slipped out. When they left the room, they stared at each other and couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter. He Wanxiang shook his head, ¡°My brother, ah¡­¡­hahahahaha.¡± Lin Rufei also laughed, saying that He Xieyi was an interesting person, no, to be precise, the whole He family was very interesting. As the two were chatting and heading out, they suddenly heard a clattering sound of horse hooves coming. Lin Rufei looked for the sound and saw a man galloping past, heading for the residence of the He family head. This person had entered the He family fortress but did not slow down in the slightest and did not intend to dismount. The He family members on the roadside moved out of the way and showed dissatisfaction with that person. Lin Rufei also noticed that He Wanxiang¡¯s expression changed slightly after seeing that man, like a coldness carrying a hint of displeasure. In all the days he spent with He Wanxiang, Lin Rufei had never seen such a negative expression on his face. But He Wanxiang did not mention it so he also did not feel appropriate to ask. Lin Rufei turned his head and saw that the man, who had just sped off, was stopped by a servant of the He family. He was now looking very angry: ¡°Why won¡¯t he see me?! Does your He family just sit and watch someone die without helping?!¡± ¡°The family head has something to do.¡± The servant reached out to stop him, ¡°Sir, please go back.¡± ¡°Something to do? How can there be something to do every time!¡± The man said angrily, ¡°I think he just doesn¡¯t want to see me!¡± The servant didn¡¯t say anything in response and continued looking at him coldly. When the man saw that the servant was not going to let him pass, he looked around and landed his eyes on Lin Rufei and He Wanxiang. Lin Rufei secretly muttered a ¡°bad,¡± and indeed, the man rushed in front of them in a few steps: ¡°I recognize you. You are He Jitian¡¯s son, He Wanxiang, right?!!¡± However, He Wanxiang did not answer. His hands were crossed against his chest and he simply gave him a cold look. Being stared at by He Wanxiang, the man cowered for a moment. However, he quickly gathered enough courage again and questioned loudly: ¡°What is going on in your He family?! There are demons eating people on the road, are you guys going to do something or not?!¡± He Wanxiang replied, ¡°This matter is out of my hands, go look for my father.¡± ¡°If I could find him, I would have done so already, but your father refuses to see me!¡± The man was indignant, ¡°That demon has eaten so many people!¡± He Wanxiang crooked his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t eat them so what are you yelling at me for?¡± The man was choked to death by He Wanxiang¡¯s words. He had wanted to say something else in retaliation, but He Wanxiang already waved his hand and stated impatiently, ¡°If you have anything else, go look for my father, I can¡¯t control that much.¡± After saying that, he turned around and left, not giving this person another chance to speak. Lin Rufei followed behind He Wanxiang and also walked away. He noticed that before walking away, the man had twisted around again and continued to argue with the servant. It seemed as if he was going to see the He family head today no matter what. Only after walking to a place out of sight did He Wanxiang sigh and say, ¡°Lin gongzi, please don¡¯t misunderstand. It¡¯s not that our He family doesn¡¯t want to take care of this matter, but it¡¯s really a bit complicated.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You mean the demons on the official road?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°We got the news that there were some demons, at the third level, on the official road and the He family sent someone there. Who knew that the demon¡¯s cultivation level was not actually at the third level and it beat up the He family disciple.¡± His tone when he said this, was a bit gloomy. From time to time, demons from the Bu¡¯e Continent roam to Yaoguang and it was common for cultivators to subdue demons and remove them. However, demons were physically strong and even ones with a cultivation at the third level could already match that of human cultivators at the fifth level. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t easy for demons to cultivate so the number was still very small. Otherwise, the humans probably would have long been wiped out. ¡°Not actually at the third level? Then what level is that?¡± Lin Rufei was a little surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t know, my father didn¡¯t say.¡± He Wanxiang touched his nose and said hesitantly, ¡°But my father told us not to get involved in this matter, saying he would take care of it, so I¡¯m not too sure about the details.¡± Lin Rufei showed a thoughtful look. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this matter anymore.¡± He Wanxiang sighed, ¡°Lin gongzi, I see you don¡¯t look too well, do you want to go back and rest first?¡± Lin Rufei nodded and said yes. His head was still hurting so it would be best if he could rest a little longer. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Thus, He Wanxiang took him back to the place he was staying at and told him to take a good rest before leaving. Lin Rufei casually ate something to pad his stomach, then laid back down on the bed. He occasionally chatted with Gu Xuandu and unknowingly, he fell asleep. Gu Xuandu gazed at Lin Rufei¡¯s sleeping face for a long time and only after confirming that he was asleep did he slowly get up and fly out of the window. He had slept for a long time. Lin Rufei woke up in a haziness, he thought that it should have been dark, but when he saw that it was still bright outside, he called out to Fu Hua in a daze and asked her what time it was. ¡°Gongzi, it¡¯s already midnight.¡± Fu Hua answered, ¡°Is gongzi hungry, do you want to get up and eat something?¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°It¡¯s midnight?¡± He sat up from the bed and looked out the bright window. He even thought he was being delusional, ¡°How come it¡¯s not dark even at midnight?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it seems like something is glowing.¡± Fu Hua responded, ¡°It¡¯s been bright since the evening. We thought it was the He family¡¯s bonfire at first, but when we took a closer look, we thought that even a bonfire wouldn¡¯t look like this either.¡± Lin Rufei went to the window and looked carefully, only to find that the golden light was coming from the room of the He family¡¯s ancestral hall. This light was a pure golden color and it was completely different from the general firelight, reminding Lin Rufei of the color of the sun. It was already midnight, but because of this light, the whole sky was illuminated, just like daylight. Lin Rufei stated, ¡°I¡¯ll go out and take a look.¡± He changed his clothes and headed over towards the light. The light was really coming from the ancestral hall and many He family members had gathered outside the ancestral hall. However, their faces were not scared, instead, it was full of excitement as they discussed something in a passionate and heated tone. Lin Rufei listened to a few sentences before he vaguely understood what was happening. It turned out that the Xuyu tree, in the ancestral hall, had bore fruit and had produced hundreds of iron-gold walnuts in one breath. The golden light emitted from the iron-gold walnuts illuminated the whole He family, as if it were daylight, and it had also attracted everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Why is Lin gongzi here?¡± Being tapped on the shoulder, Lin Rufei turned his head and noticed He Xieyi. He Xieyi still had that huge red bump on his head and he was standing next to him watching the liveliness. Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Oh, I woke up and saw this bright light, so I thought I¡¯d come and take a look.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the walnut tree that¡¯s bearing fruit.¡± He Xieyi explained, ¡°Wanxiang took you in to see the Xuyu tree, right?¡± ¡°Seen it.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± He Xieyi said with a smile, ¡°One more look is one more look, right?¡± ¡°How so?¡± Lin Rufei felt that He Xieyi was implying something from his words. ¡°Hmm¡­¡­¡± He Xieyi muttered, ¡°When things reach an extreme, they will decline?¡± He reached out again and put his arm around Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulders. He asked if he wanted to go in to take a look. Not many people could see this Xuyu tree that was filled with walnuts, but since Lin Rufei just happened to be a guest at their house, then it must be his fate. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Is it convenient?¡± He always felt that this was a private matter of the He family, and in the end, he was an outsider. ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡± He Xieyi chattered without worry, ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not like you can pick them off. Showing it to you a few more times is good too, so you can be envious.¡± Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He Xieyi then led Lin Rufei towards the ancestral hall. Although the guards didn¡¯t know Lin Rufei, they still knew of him (HXY), so no one stopped them. The two of them entered the backyard of the ancestral hall unhindered and Lin Rufei saw many members of He¡¯s family, as well as He Jitian, standing in the center of the crowd. Compared to He Xieyi¡¯s calm expression, most of the He family members were excited and eager to try. He Jitian was saying something to them, but Lin Rufei was too far away to hear it clearly. He Xieyi said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind them, let¡¯s go see the walnut tree.¡± And he pulled Lin Rufei into the backyard. Once in the yard, Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes took in the striking Xuyu tree. At this time, the tree was covered with dense iron-gold walnuts. Before, the dense golden dark lines that were only on the tree trunk were now at this time, spread onto every leaf. These dark lines allowed the tree to emit a beautiful golden light. And at first glance, it didn¡¯t even look like a living thing, rather, it was more like a delicate sculpture, beautiful to the extreme. The most amazing thing was that this golden light was not blinding. It was very soft and it made people unable to tear their gazes away. He Xieyi looked at the tree with great interest. He said that being able to see this appearance of the Xuyu tree in his life was really worth it. Lin Rufei murmured: ¡°Why is it suddenly bearing walnuts?¡± He Xieyi looked at Lin Rufei: ¡°Maybe¡­¡­it met someone it likes?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Then it must especially like them.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± He Xieyi nodded. The two of them were looking at the walnuts and on the other end, the He family members were eager to try. He Wanxiang appeared out of nowhere and pat Lin Rufei on the shoulder, ¡°Lin gongzi, why are you and my brother here?¡± Lin Rufei was startled by his pat and only after hearing his voice, did he show a helpless look, ¡°Da gongzi said he would lead me in to see the walnuts.¡± He found that the He family all like to greet each other like this. They don¡¯t call out to people and would always pat their shoulders first before talking. If their relationship was better, then they would directly put their arms around the neck. ¡°Oh.¡± He joked and said, ¡°Looks good, right?¡± ¡°Good looking, good looking.¡± He Xieyi nodded. The two brothers then looked at the walnuts with fascination. They looked at them with great interest and from time to time, they also commented that if some of the walnuts were bigger, then they must also taste very good. ¡°I¡¯ve never eaten such delicious walnuts in my life.¡± As the only one in this generation of the He family who had eaten iron-gold walnuts, he was now passing on his experience to his brother, ¡°When you pick them later, remember to choose a big one with more meat.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°The one in the upper left corner looks especially big.¡± He Xieyi smacked his mouth, ¡°Quickly, go and find a spot in the front, don¡¯t let the others get ahead of you.¡± He Wanxiang nodded his head. After greeting Lin Rufei, he turned around and left. Lin Rufei said, ¡°You¡¯re not going?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m not going.¡± He Xieyi said, ¡°I already had three of them, that¡¯s enough.¡± He said it so calmly that Lin Rufei was a little impressed with him. Everyone knew the usefulness of the walnuts and naturally, more was better. With He Xieyi¡¯s current status in the He family, even if he was the first to pick, most likely no one would dare to comment. But he showed little interest and became a spectator together with Lin Rufei. While Lin Rufei and He Xieyi were talking, the He family had already lined up to pick walnuts. It was indeed a bit comical to see such a group of big men, excited and cautiously lining up at the same time. Lin Rufei also saw He Jitian, who was standing outside the crowd to maintain order. However, what surprised him was that He Jitian¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too happy. It was more bland, and from his expression, it was a bit similar to He Xieyi. Finally, the first He family member walked up to the Xuyu tree and stretched out his hand to touch the first iron-gold walnut. Everyone watched with bated breath. Lin Rufei was also driven by the atmosphere and slightly tensed up. But when the man¡¯s hand took hold of the walnut, the iron-gold walnut, that originally seemed to be shaky and was about to bend the branches, did not move at all. No matter how hard he pulled, he could not pluck it off. The crowd let out a regretful cacophony. The man raised his hand and tried two more, but the results still did not change. So with a long sigh, he turned away with his head hanging. ¡°Pity.¡± Lin Rufei also felt very sorry and sighed. He Xieyi, however, shook his head, ¡°Nothing can be forced.¡± He was actually quite open-minded. One by one, the He family members went towards the Xuyu tree, and unless they could pick the walnuts, each of them could only try three times. The tree full of golden, shaking walnuts simply made people unable to resist the temptation. If it was last year, where there were only two or three, then they could blame their bad luck. If these hundreds of iron-gold walnuts could not be picked, then it would really make people feel regretful. ¡°The year that I picked, I had good luck.¡± Seeing his family members return one by one with a lost expression, He Xieyi casually talked about that year, ¡°I was the eldest, so I was the first one to pick. That year, there were three walnuts so I picked them three times, and they all came off for me.¡± He paused for a moment and continued, ¡°The rest of the people did not even have the opportunity to touch a walnut. You should understand, this kind of thing, although no one says it, their hearts will carry a grudge..¡­.¡± After all, even the opportunity to try was deprived so having some resentment surface was also normal. Lin Rufei could understand their feelings. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°But luckily, the Xuyu tree soon bore six more walnuts.¡± He Xieyi said, ¡°This is actually a very strange thing. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken at least a few decades for the Xuyu tree to bear fruit again. But this time, it hasn¡¯t even been ten years when six were born just this spring. Everyone in the clan was rejoicing, only my father felt something wrong. I didn¡¯t understand at first, but today I think I understand.¡± ¡°Understood what?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him. ¡°There must be a demon when things go wrong.¡± He Xieyi said, ¡°The He family has prospered for a hundred years with this tree. However, it seems that in the coming days, we will have to find another.¡± He had said these words so plainly, but it also carried a hint of regret. Lin Rufei heard the meaning behind his words and showed some surprise. ¡°There is no need to worry so much.¡± He Xieyi once again put his arm around Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulders and said with a big grin, ¡°Would the people actually die from holding in their urine[1]?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Lin Rufei also laughed. Unknowingly, half of the people had already gone to pick walnuts, but none of the walnuts were picked, and Lin Rufei finally saw He Wanxiang. He Wanxiang looked serious and he could tell that he was extremely nervous. He took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the Xuyu tree. He slowly reached out his hand and held onto the first walnut. Everyone¡¯s eyes fell onto He Wanxiang¡¯s body. They watched as he slightly pulled; batah[2] and the walnut actually fell off in response and landed easily into his hand. ¡°Oh!!!!¡± The people present let out a violent cheer, seeing that someone finally picked a walnut, everyone was about to jump up with joy. ¡°Nice job kiddo!¡± He Xieyi watched as his brother was the first one to successfully pick a walnut and revealed a wildly joyful look, ¡°You have good taste, you really picked the one with the most meat!¡± Lin Rufei was crying and laughing, thinking that the He family members were too honest. He Wanxiang looked at the walnut in his hand and was overjoyed. He carefully put it into his pocket, took a deep breath, and then reached for the second walnut. This time, he was still able to pluck it off without a hitch. Soon, it was followed by the third, the fourth, and when he picked the fifth, there was no other sound in the room. Everyone held their breath and looked at He Wanxiang nervously. However, his luck ended when he picked the sixth. No matter how hard He Wanxiang pulled, the sixth walnut did not budge. Even when He Wanxiang used excessive force to the point that blue tendons could be seen on his forehead, the walnut still did not move. It was as if it was cast in iron. Seeing this scene, He Wanxiang could only choose to give up. However, his bulging pockets told everyone that his harvest had been enough. ¡°Hoo¡­¡­didn¡¯t think that this kid hid his true colors!¡± He Xieyi¡¯s eyes were glowing as he stared at He Wanxiang, ¡°Perhaps their words were right, I did block their chance.¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°You don¡¯t have to think of it like that. After all, in case he also picked the walnuts back then, then he wouldn¡¯t have the chance today.¡± Good fortune followed upon disaster and disaster lurked within good fortune. Fortune and misfortune, who could say it clearly? After picking the walnuts, He Wanxiang seemed to be calm as he left the crowd. He walked to their side and said in a deep voice: ¡°Brother, I picked five!¡± ¡°I saw! That¡¯s my good brother!¡± He Xieyi patted He Wanxiang¡¯s shoulder. He Wanxiang said, ¡°Brother, I picked five!!¡± He Xieyi said again, ¡°I saw¡­¡­¡± He Wanxiang looped, ¡°Brother, I picked five!!¡± He Xieyi was suspicious. Finally, he felt that there was something wrong with his brother so he reached out his hand and waved it in front of He Wanxiang. However, He Wanxiang did not blink and with the same tone of voice, he continued: ¡°Brother¡­¡­¡± But before he could finish his words, he received a knifehand strike from He Xieyi and directly fainted. Lin Rufei was stunned by this development: ¡°This¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He Xieyi was calm and simply waved his hand, ¡°He was too excited. He¡¯ll be fine after a nap.¡± After saying that, he threw He Wanxiang¡¯s body directly to his feet and his other foot was placed on top of He Wanxiang¡¯s pocket. He explained, ¡°To prevent others from stealing his walnuts.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The way you two brothers care for each other is really a bit refreshing, ah. He Wanxiang was struck unconscious by He Xieyi in full view of everyone, but no one was surprised. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the Xuyu tree in front of them. With He Wanxiang¡¯s start, the crowd¡¯s lost confidence was picked up once again and they continued to burn their gaze at the Xuyu tree with hungry wolf-like eyes. It was like they were desperately trying to stare down a few walnuts with their passionate gaze. But some things couldn¡¯t be achieved just by thinking. For the rest of the He family, only one other person had been able to pick another one. Even until the last person finished trying, there was not another who was able to harvest any. It was as if these more than a hundred walnuts were not born for the He family. Seeing this scene, the people present showed their regret. However, at this time, He Jitian, who had been standing silently on the side, suddenly appeared. He was staring at a shovel and slowly and leisurely walked towards the Xuyu tree¡¯s side. Probably because his movements looked too natural, the crowd did not react. It wasn¡¯t until he used a shovel and directly dug to the root of the tree, did he begin to shovel the soil with force. ¡°Family head, what are you doing!!!¡± ¡°Father, what are you doing!!¡± After seeing He Jitian¡¯s action, all of his family members showed a look of panic. But probably because of He Jitian¡¯s accumulated authority, no one dared to go forward and stop him. He Jitian raised his hand to wipe the sweat on his forehead and explained, ¡°Actually, there is something that I have never told you.¡± While shoveling the soil, he explained to the people, ¡°Every generation of the He family head will inherit an ancestral teaching about the Xuyu tree.¡± ¡°What ancestral teaching?¡± The crowd watched his movements and had a bad feeling in their hearts. ¡°It¡¯s the agreement between our ancestors and the Heavenly Ruler.¡± He Jitian answered, ¡°Back then, when the Heavenly Ruler gifted the He family with the Xuyu tree, he preserved the He family¡¯s prosperity for a hundred years and also set a rule with the He family.¡± His voice was not loud, but everyone present could hear it clearly, ¡°That is, when a certain day, the Xuyu tree gives birth to a hundred iron-gold walnuts, we must break its roots and then take out what is under the tree.¡± The crowd was dumbfounded. Some people still refused to believe and tried to persuade He Jitian not to do so. After all, so many iron-gold walnuts, if the He family could get it, how many experts would come out from it, ah? Faced with this person¡¯s question, He Jitian only asked one question, ¡°Can you pick it?¡± The crowd had nothing to say. ¡°Just tried it, right?¡± He Jitian said, ¡°I¡¯ve made an exception for you guys and let you try it one by one first, and what happened?¡± He said indifferently, ¡°Didn¡¯t we still only pick the six pieces originally belonging to the He family?¡± At this moment, the fruit was still abundant on the Xuyu tree, and the iron-gold walnuts were as brilliant as the stars. There was silence in the field. He Jitian said: ¡°I know your thoughts, but there are some things that people with a shallow fortune can not take up. A hundred iron-gold walnuts, our He family is not yet blessed to take them, if you want to take them by force, I¡¯m afraid the loss will not be worth the gain.¡± His appearance might be rough but his mind was meticulous. Lin Rufei did not expect such a scene. He watched with widened eyes as He Jitian slowly dug out the tree and soon following that, the Xuyu tree fell. Lin Rufei felt his shoulder being gently pressed down by someone. He originally thought it was He Xieyi, but when he turned his head to look, he found out that it was Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu was standing behind him, looking weary. He hung his head and rested his chin on his shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°I¡¯m a little tired.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But it¡¯s okay. If I lean on Xiao Jiu for a while¡­¡­I¡¯ll be fine.¡± When Lin Rufei took in his appearance, he also felt some heartache, so he stood up straight and let Gu Xuandu¡¯s chest pressed against his back. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: I¡¯m a bit tired. Lin Rufei: Eat six walnuts[3] ¡­¡­ to supplement the brain? Gu Xuandu: Then it is better to replace the walnuts with Xiao Jiu, after all, Xiao Jiu[4] strengthens the yang[5]. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Unable to solve a problem due to the inflexibility of one¡¯s thinking; in this context it means that they shouldn¡¯t sit and do nothing, like holding in their pee. And to find another solution (i.e. using the bathroom). [2] Just an onomatopoeia. [3] I think it¡¯s an ad for a drink. Will not link any pictures though. [4] In case people forgot, Xiao Jiu can mean little leeks. [5] Uh, the translation here was ¡°aphrodisiac,¡± but that didn¡¯t really make sense in this context so I stuck with the direct translation which was strengthening the yang. CH 67 It was rare for Lin Rufei to feel that Gu Xuandu would reveal such a vulnerable look. Although he didn¡¯t know what was going on, Lin Rufei chose to trust him unconditionally. He quietly stood in place and allowed Gu Xuandu to lean his body weight on his own body. He Jitian¡¯s action was very fast and efficient. Soon, he dug out most of the Xuyu tree¡¯s roots. When the He family saw this, their heart ached, but still, no one dared to go forward to stop him. They could only watch as He Jitian dug out the Xuyu tree little by little. However, when the Xuyu tree was mostly dug out, the iron-gold walnuts on the tree suddenly turned into golden dots of star fire and they slowly fell off the tree. The crowd was shocked to see such a spectacle, but what surprised them the most had still yet to come. This spectacular scene of star fires looked like they had life. They gathered in one direction and finally landed next to a certain someone, who was present at the scene. That person was the noble guest¡­¡­Lin Rufei, who arrived at the He family yesterday. Lin Rufei was also stunned by this scene. More than a hundred iron-gold walnuts, all turned into star fires and fell onto his head and shoulders. Before he could react, it quickly merged into his body. He reached out to grab one and the star fire reverted to its walnut-like form in his hand. Lin Rufei looked at the walnut in his hand and his heart suddenly felt a trace of uneasiness. He raised his eyes to look, indeed, the He family members were all staring at him. However, these gazes carried amazement, doubts, and also a little bit of ill-intent. He Jitian, who was still holding the shovel, actually showed some surprise, however, he very quickly recovered his calmness. He continued to wield the shovel without regard for others and continued to dig up the soil. Soon, he dug out the Xuyu tree by its roots and the Xuyu tree, which was originally not considered big, fell to the ground with a thump. It was accompanied by low sobbing sounds coming from the He family crowd. Some of the He family¡¯s youngsters watched as their family¡¯s most precious treasure tree was dug up by the roots and they were unable to accept this fact for quite a while. He Jitian naturally also heard, however, he remained unmoved. He continued to dig down harder and harder and the solid layer gradually lessened. A blood-red box was soon revealed at the bottom and when He Jitian finally saw this red box, he let out an obvious long sigh of relief. He dropped the shovel in his hand and carefully took the red box out. ¡°Father, what is this?¡± He Xieyi was still considered calm and was not surprised by the strangeness present. He opened his mouth to ask after seeing the red box being unveiled from the Earth. After taking out the red box, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the dirt off the box in great focus. Everyone thought his next move would be to open the red box, but who knew that he didn¡¯t have any intention of opening it. Instead, he held it and walked towards Lin Rufei. Currently, Lin Rufei was covered in star fire glow and at a glance, he looked like a glowing golden man. When he saw He Jitian¡¯s action, he was slightly stunned and sputtered, ¡°He family head?¡± He Jitian smiled and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, take it.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°But¡­¡­¡± ¡°This is originally yours.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know who you are, according to the ancestral teachings, this should be yours.¡± This was a very strange statement. Lin Rufei was clearly standing here, but He Jitian said he didn¡¯t know who he was. Lin Rufei slightly hesitated, but He Jitian¡¯s eyes were very resolute, as if he would not leave unless Lin Rufei took the box. Thus, in the end, Lin Rufei had to stretch out his hand and take the red box. The red box was extremely heavy in his hands and he didn¡¯t know exactly what it contained. Lin Rufei whispered a ¡°thank you¡± to He Jitian, but He Jitian waved his hand. He said that these were the rules of the ancestral teaching and it was what their family should do, so Lin Rufei did not need to thank him. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s all disperse.¡± After all this, He Jitian seemed to be a bit tired. He asked the He family to disperse and instructed He Xieyi to send Lin Rufei back to his room. Lin Rufei wanted to politely refuse, but He Xieyi reached out and wrapped his arms around his neck, smiling, ¡°It¡¯s already this time, so don¡¯t be polite, Lin gongzi.¡± He lowered his voice, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the eyes of these people, it¡¯s safer for me to send you.¡± The He family¡¯s eyes revealed that they were itching to eat Lin Rufei alive, although they tried their best to suppress it because of He Jitian, it was already very obvious. Lin Rufei also noticed this so he did not persist further. He Xieyi sent Lin Rufei to the door and only after watching him enter the room did he turned to leave. After he left, he saw He Jitian standing not far away. He still had the shovel in his hand and was just watching from afar with an obscure expression. ¡°Father.¡± He Xieyi walked up to He Jitian and called out, ¡°What exactly is Lin gongzi¡¯s origin?¡± He Jitian gave He Xieyi a deep look, ¡°Do you know where the Heavenly Ruler ended up back then?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t the Heavenly Ruler step through the void and left?¡± He Xieyi frowned, ¡°What does father mean by this?¡± He Jitian shook his head: ¡°This matter is extremely secretive, only a few people know about it. The ancestors of our He family were close friends of the Heavenly Ruler, so they know a little bit as well.¡± He Xieyi stared with wide eyes. He felt that his father¡¯s words had touched on some unspeakable truth. ¡°The Heavenly Ruler indeed stepped through the void.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Only he didn¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°Then where is he now?!¡± He Xieyi asked excitedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°This is the biggest secret in the world. Even the family head doesn¡¯t know, he only knew that the Heavenly Ruler hasn¡¯t left, but he doesn¡¯t know exactly where he is.¡± He Xieyi showed a look of confusion. ¡°But the thing buried under the Xuyu tree should be related to the Heavenly Ruler.¡± He Jitian said. ¡°So this Lin gongzi, is also related to the Heavenly Ruler?¡± He Xieyi caught the hidden meaning in He Jitian¡¯s words. He Jitian nodded his head. He Xieyi revealed a deep and thoughtful look. When Lin Rufei entered the room, he put down the red box in his hand. Gu Xuandu sat down next to the red box and stretched out his fingers. He gently touched the red box for a moment and Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Is it your stuff in the box?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Should I open it now?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Mnn.¡± For some reason, Lin Rufei was inexplicably a little nervous. The red box was not locked and there was only a metal buckle. With a lift of the hand, it could easily be opened. But for some reason, Lin Rufei felt that what was inside the box was heavier than he had imagined. He pursed his lips slightly and revealed a tense look. However, he hesitated to start. When Gu Xuandu saw this, he smiled. He gently embraced Lin Rufei from behind and held his hand, ¡°Xiao Jiu, there is nothing to fear. I am here.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s body heat transmitted to Lin Rufei¡¯s body through his thin clothes. He calmed his mind and gave a hum in agreement. He didn¡¯t seem to be as panicked as he was a while ago so he gingerly reached out his hand and lifted the clasp on the red box. The red box opened with a soft click and when Lin Rufei saw clearly what was inside, his whole body froze in place. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. In the red box, there laid a broken skeleton. On the very top, there was a tragic white skull. The skull was scarred with many wounds and there was even a wound that ran through the entire top of the skull, almost as if it wanted to split the head in half. The other bones cushioned below the skull were also broken and he could not even find a completely intact bone. Lin Rufei stared at the skeleton fragments and his nose suddenly felt sour[1]. Tears fell down and he was a little confused. It took him a moment to realize that he was crying. Gu Xuandu, who was behind him, raised his hand to wipe away his tears. His tone was a bit helpless: ¡°What is Xiao Jiu crying about?¡± Lin Rufei answered: ¡°I¡­¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡­I just wanted to cry,¡± His heart was suffering an unbearable pain that even his words took on a choking taste, ¡°It must¡¯ve been very painful.¡± ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Gu Xuandu used his chin to rub against the top of Lin Rufei¡¯s head. It was like he was trying to soothe Lin Rufei¡¯s sad emotions, ¡°Really, I¡¯m not lying to you.¡± Lin Rufei choked out, ¡°Don¡¯t say any more.¡± Gu Xuandu wanted to say more, but Lin Rufei interrupted him roughly, ¡°Don¡¯t say any more! How can it not hurt?!¡± He pointed to the wound on the skeleton, ¡°It¡¯s already wounded like this, how can it not hurt?!¡± Gu Xuandu simply kept quiet. ¡°What exactly happened to you and what does it have to do with me?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Senior, when will you be willing to tell me?¡± Gu Xuandu continued to remain silent. Lin Rufei suddenly withdrew his strength. He covered his face and stopped talking altogether. He really couldn¡¯t do anything about Gu Xuandu, who refused to cooperate. However, Gu Xuandu simply smiled. He turned his head and gently touched Lin Rufei¡¯s ear with his lips and said in a warm voice, ¡°Xiao Jiu¡¯s helpless look is really nostalgic, ah.¡± After he finished speaking, he touched the bones in the red box with his fingertips. The bones that were touched by Gu Xuandu turned into a golden light that lingered around his whole body. He closed his eyes, exhaled a heavy breath and his expression seemed to be relieved. Lin Rufei watched from the sidelines. Gu Xuandu¡¯s red outfit became more vivid and he looked more spirited. It was like adding a few more brushstrokes to a faded painting. After all this, Gu Xuandu yawned and asked Lin Rufei if he was sleepy. Lin Rufei said, ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Is Xiao Jiu angry with me?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face was cold and he didn¡¯t say anything. Gu Xuandu comforted, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry anymore.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I said I¡¯m not angry.¡± Gu Xuandu, however, laughed and he began to laugh louder and louder. Lin Rufei frowned at him before he finally stopped, ¡°No, no, no. Xiao Jiu is obviously angry, how can I laugh?¡± The laugh in his eyes still could not be concealed despite these words. Lin Rufei had a sense of powerlessness, one that he could not do anything about the matter. This Gu Xuandu seemed to be good at talking, but in fact, he was also very stubborn to his bones. Usually, he would agree happily but in reality, he still did what he wanted. It was indeed getting a little late and Lin Rufei also felt tired. He did a simple wash-up and then headed off to bed. However, he tossed and turned around for quite a while and simply could not fall asleep. His mind was full of that skeletal appearance from inside that box. He knew that if he asked Gu Xuandu, Gu Xuandu would not tell him, so a thought came to his mind and he drifted off to sleep. The next day, it was still a hot sunny day. Lin Rufei got up early and listlessly ate the breakfast brought by Fu Hua. When Fu Hua saw that Lin Rufei was not in good spirits, she asked him if he was not feeling well. Lin Rufei shook his head: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s too hot.¡± Fu Hua replied, ¡°The weather is indeed a bit hot. Should I ask the He family for some ice to make some mung bean soup for young master to drink?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much appetite.¡± ¡°You have to eat even if you don¡¯t have an appetite.¡± Fu Hua was a bit anxious, ¡°Young master is already in poor health, how can he not eat anything?¡± Lin Rufei responded perfunctorily, and when Fu Hua saw this, she could only sigh in response. After eating, Lin Rufei went to find He Jitian. On his entire way there, the He family member¡¯s eyes all fell upon him. Most of these gazes were very complicated: there was some curiosity and some hostility, which was normal, and Lin Rufei also did not take it to heart. When Lin Rufei finally found He Jitian, he was still eating breakfast. The He family¡¯s breakfast was quite unusual, it was a large bowl of braised noodles[2]. It looked very good, but the portion size was quite substantial. When He Jitian saw Lin Rufei coming, he greeted him warmly and told him to have a seat. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°He family head, I have some things I want to talk to you about in private.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± He Jitian waved his hand and the servants and family members beside him all left in an understanding manner. Lin Rufei brought up, ¡°The red box you left me last night, I wonder if the He family head knows whose stuff it was? He Jitian said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? There wasn¡¯t anything bad in the box, right?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. ¡°Oh.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Although it¡¯s not written on the top of the ancestral teachings, I guess that the red box should be left by the Heavenly Ruler.¡± ¡°What? The Heavenly Ruler left it behind?¡± Lin Rufei wondered. He Jitian replied, ¡°It¡¯s just my personal guess because the Xuyu tree was a gift from the Heavenly Ruler to the He family. Since that¡¯s the case, then what¡¯s buried under the Xuyu tree should also be from the Heavenly Ruler himself.¡± Lin Rufei frowned. He Jitian asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei suddenly remembered the countless statues of the Heavenly Ruler, dressed in red, within the country of Dajing. The thought did cross his mind at the time but it felt too ridiculous so he had left it behind. Who knew that when he arrived at the He family and encountered this situation, this thought came back to his mind again. Although it was a bit unbelievable, he always felt that this was the true answer. ¡°Nothing.¡± Lin Rufei finally answered hesitantly, ¡°Does the family head know where exactly the Heavenly Ruler went back then?¡± He Jitian shook his head and answered that he didn¡¯t know. Lin Rufei could only give up. The whereabouts of the Heavenly Ruler were indeed a mystery. The most common claim was that he had left the earthly world and ascended so He Jitian not knowing was normal. Lin Rufei remembered the broken skeleton and asked: ¡°Has the Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­ever been injured?¡± ¡°Injured? How could the Heavenly Ruler be injured?¡± When He Jitian heard Lin Rufei¡¯s question, he laughed out loud, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler already has a cultivation at the tenth level, no one in the world could beat him. He once entered Bu¡¯e alone and beheaded the King of All Demons. Such a person, who in the world could hurt him?¡± Indeed, He Jitian¡¯s description was not exaggerated. The might of the Heavenly Ruler was heard all over the world and there were traces of him everywhere in the world. This was true of Dajing and also of the He family, and almost every top cultivator family would be inextricably linked to the Heavenly Ruler. He Jitian¡¯s words were indeed true, but if Lin Rufei¡¯s guess was right, then why was the skeleton so broken? Lin Rufei was deep in thought. Seeing that Lin Rufei hadn¡¯t said anything back in response, He Jitian did not urge him and continued to eat his braised noodles happily. His appetite was very good and the way he ate the noodles inexplicably made people feel very appetized. Lin Rufei was watching from the side, but He Jitian was a little embarrassed from his gaze. He wiped off his mouth and asked: ¡°Lin gongzi, do you want to have a bowl too?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°No need, I¡¯ve just eaten.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just have a small bowl for a taste.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°This is my wife¡¯s cooking, it tastes very good.¡± Lin Rufei hesitated, ¡°Then¡­¡­just a small bowl?¡± He Jitian smiled and beckoned his wife over to give Lin Rufei a small bowl. Thus, the two of them started to eat the noodles together. He Jitian asked Lin Rufei why he suddenly brought up the Heavenly Ruler, what was in that box, and was it related to the Heavenly Ruler. Lin Rufei, however, answered all the questions vaguely, saying that he didn¡¯t know if it was related, and asked He Jitian why he had remembered to give the box to him. He Jitian said that it was an ancestral teaching. The ancestor of the He family said that if someone could induce the Xuyu tree to give birth to a hundred iron-gold walnuts, then he had to dig out the thing under the Xuyu tree and give it to that person. He just didn¡¯t think that that person would be Lin Rufei. In Lin Rufei¡¯s heart, he also thought that the person may not be himself, and Gu Xuandu, who was invisible to everyone¡­¡­. But the taste of these braised noodles was really good. The texture of the noodles was al dente and the soup base was rich. Compared to the noodles Lin Rufei had eaten before, it was very different. Lin Rufei, carried along the flow by He Jitian, also had a few more bites. Just as he was planning to learn more from He Jitian about some other things, a noisy noise came from outside the door. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. He Jitian¡¯s expression changed drastically. He was about to stand up and bail out with his bowl when the door was knocked open and someone, whom Lin Rufei had met yesterday, barged in. He grabbed He Jitian, who had wanted to run but didn¡¯t, and panted out, ¡°He family head, you¡¯re finally willing to see me!!!¡± This was the same person who had wanted to see He Jitian yesterday but was stopped by the servant. He didn¡¯t expect him to come again today and actually barge in. He Jitian gave the servant an unkind look and the servant muttered nervously, ¡°I¡­¡­didn¡¯t think he would dare to rush inside.¡± ¡°He family head, what do you mean by this?!¡± The man yelled angrily, ¡°Do you not want to care about us anymore? That demon is still continuing to eat people!¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t care anymore, didn¡¯t I send people there? The injured disciples of the He family are still lying in bed, do you want me to take you to see them?¡± The man continued, ¡°They were injured because they are not good at learning the art. You can¡¯t just leave us alone because of this, right?!!¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Can¡¯t manage it, can¡¯t manage it.¡± He waved his hand, ¡°This demon is too powerful, who can beat it?¡± He was pretending to be afraid but anyone could hear the mockery in his tone. The man¡¯s face stiffened and he said hatefully, ¡°He family head, you¡¯re being unkind, that demon has eaten so many innocent passersby¡­¡­¡± ¡°Innocent passersby?¡± He Jitian snorted, ¡°I say, Daoist Priest Chen, other people don¡¯t know, you think I still don¡¯t know? It did eat people, but it did not eat a few innocent passersby.¡± The visitor, who was called Daoist Priest Chen by He Jitian, looked slightly stiff. ¡°You deliberately put out the news, wasn¡¯t it just to create panic?¡± He Jitian waved his hand in boredom, ¡°Our He family is not yours to use as you wish. I did not see you these days because I wanted to give you some face, don¡¯t be shameless.¡± ¡°You¡­¡­you!!!¡± Daoist Priest Chen¡¯s expression turned livid. It seemed that he didn¡¯t expect He Jitian would suddenly tear his face[3]. ¡°But if you want us to help you, it¡¯s not impossible.¡± Just when Daoist Priest Chen thought that there was no more turnaround in this matter, He Jitian turned his words around again. ¡°What do you want?¡± Daoist Priest Chen asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what I want?¡± He Jitian replied, ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s that thing that makes the demons refuse to leave.¡± Daoist Priest Chen sputtered out, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡­¡­¡± He Jitian waved his hand very ruthlessly, ¡°Pu Tuan, send the guest away.¡± The servant called Pu Tuan immediately rushed in. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to escort this Daoist Priest Chen out. Daoist Priest Chen was startled by Pu Tuan¡¯s aura and hurriedly said, ¡°Hey, hey, hey, family head, family head. Don¡¯t be so hasty, we can still negotiate, ah!¡± ¡°There is nothing to negotiate, either hand over the stuff or leave immediately.¡± He Jitian said coldly. ¡°Hand¡­¡­Handing it over is possible.¡± Daoist Priest Chen clenched his teeth, ¡°Only, you have to promise to extinguish that thing.¡± He Jitian answered, ¡°That¡¯s natural.¡± Chen Daoist said, ¡°Then I will bring the thing here this afternoon! You have to keep your word!¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Our He family have always kept our word.¡± Daoist Priest Chen let out a ¡°hmph,¡± turned around, and left. He Jitian stared at the Daoist Priest Chen¡¯s wretched back as he disappeared before spitting viciously towards the ground: ¡°What a sh*tty Daoist Priest. Is that thing something you can eat? Are you not afraid of shattering your teeth!?¡± After saying that, he suddenly remembered that Lin Rufei was still next to him and his face quickly piled with a kind smile: ¡®Nephew Lin was not frightened, right?¡¯ ¡°No, no.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that he was not that vulnerable, and asked what had happened. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s a long story.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°It¡¯s all because these stupid Daoist Priests were too greedy and caused trouble that they shouldn¡¯t have.¡± He briefly described the situation and only then did Lin Rufei know exactly what had happened. It turned out that a group of Daoist Priests had stolen a few things belonging to the demon from somewhere and pissed off the demons. The demon could not enter the Daoist temple where the Daoist Priests live, so they blocked off the road that they must take to go out. At first, Daoist Priest Chen came to the He family for help and the He family did not think much of anything. When they heard them say that the demon only had a cultivation at the third level, they casually sent a few disciples over. Who knew that the few disciples were actually seriously injured after returning, although it did not cost their lives, they still needed to recuperate for a long time. After this incident, He Jitian also noticed that there was something wrong with this matter and proceeded to do check it out, after careful investigation, he found that he was pitted by this group of bull-nosed[4] Daoist Priests. To put it bluntly, they took all the benefits but the He family had to clean up their mess. Although He Jitian was a brutal person, he was not a brainless person. After inquiring around, he determined that the group of demons would only attack the Daoist Priests, so he simply hung them out to dry for a while and watched them worry anxiously. The Daoist Priests, in order to force the He family to take action as soon as possible, began to spread rumors of demon attacks on passersby, so that people who didn¡¯t know of the situation, wouldn¡¯t dare to take that road again. In He Jitian¡¯s eyes, he was not the least bit anxious. Anyway, their He family lived on Stone Edge Mountain, so who the f*ck cared about what they said under the mountain? They stood firm on their decision. After Lin Rufei listened, he also felt that this group of Daoist Priests were a little too much. But this group of demons was also very bold. This was the Yaoguang continent¡¯s central region and there were countless powerful cultivators. Even if the He family didn¡¯t take action, sooner or later, the situation would be cleaned up. ¡°But what exactly did the Daoist Priests take,¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°To be able to make this group of demons so crazy?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it must be something good.¡± He Jitian responded, ¡°If Lin gongzi has nothing to do, come and join in on the fun.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and said yes. Growing this big, he had never seen a demon with his own eyes before. The group of Daoist Priests did not know how long they had been blocked, and indeed, they seemed to have become very anxious. As soon as the noon hour passed, they hurriedly rushed up from the bottom of the mountain, just in time to meet them at lunch. This He Jitian made an evil move. He did not greet them to eat and let them stand to the side to watch until the crowd was almost finished. Then, he called him in. Daoist Priest Chen was furious but did not dare to offend He Jitian. He could only grind his teeth and say: ¡®Has the He family head eaten enough? Do you want to take two more bites?¡¯ He Jitian patted his own head and said, ¡®You are right, I really did not eat enough. I will go in right now to take two more bites.¡¯ After saying that, he turned around and left. This made Daoist Priest Chen so angry that his eyes widened. Lin Rufei was watching the show from the side and felt that it was really funny. He Jitian¡¯s bullying appearance was really too funny. But it was no wonder he didn¡¯t want to give Daoist Priest Chen a good expression, those few seriously injured He family disciples were still lying in bed and could not get up. Although Daoist Priest Chen was angry and about to vomit blood, he had to get help no matter what. So once again, he stood under the hard sun for a while. Just when Lin Rufei thought he was about to faint, He Jitian called him in. He also seemingly kindly let the servant bring a bowl of mung bean soup and said it was for our Daoist Priest Chen to eliminate the heat. How could Daoist Priest Chen have the nerve to drink? He held his breath and fling the thing He Jitian asked for onto the table: ¡°Take it! I hope you do what you said you would do and get rid of those things as soon as possible!¡± He Jitian took what Daoist Priest Chen flung out. He opened the cloth bag and took a look and his expression suddenly changed drastically: ¡°How did you get this stuff?!¡± ¡°I bought it.¡± Daoist Priest Chen answered, ¡°Someone was selling it, so we bought it!¡± ¡°How can someone sell this?!¡± He Jitian¡¯s expression was ugly, ¡°Do you know what this is??¡± Daoist Priest Chen said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a some demon¡¯s egg? Has the He family head not even seen this before?¡± ¡°Yes, they are indeed demon¡¯s eggs.¡± He Jitian gritted his teeth, ¡°But do you know that this is a king-level egg?¡± Daoist Priest Chen froze in place and didn¡¯t even respond for a while, ¡°A king-level egg? What do you mean?¡± He Jitian laughed in anger, ¡°Do you know about the Seventh King of Bu¡¯e?¡± Daoist Priest Chen nodded, ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Back then, after the King of All Demons was killed, the forces of the Bu¡¯e Continent were divided, and after that, the Seventh King was formed. He Jitian said, ¡°Hmph, the son of the Seventh King is in your hands!¡± Daoist Priest Chen¡¯s hand shook and his face was ashen: ¡°He, He family head, don¡¯t joke about such a stuff with me.¡± ¡°Joke?¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Do you think this joke is funny?¡± Daoist Priest Chen cried in fear on the spot, ¡°I, I also didn¡¯t know, ah. Someone really sold it to me¡­¡­¡± ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: If you hide anything from me again, I¡¯ll break your bones! Gu Xuandu: Guess how these bones in the box broke? Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Describe sadness and grief. [2] Braised Noodles. [3] Have no consideration for someone¡¯s feelings. [4] Daoist (facetious)(old). CH 68 There were actually people in this world who dare sell Bu¡¯e Seventh King¡¯s egg? This was a very strange thing to hear indeed. But compared to the curious look on Lin Rufei¡¯s face, this Daoist Priest Chen was really ashened after listening to He Jitian¡¯s words. Two warring units, sweat hung all over his face and under He Jitian¡¯s unkind gaze, he finally stammered the whole thing out. It turned out that a few dozen days ago, a young man suddenly came to their Daoist temple and said that he wanted to sell them something. Daoist Priest Chen had not given the man any thought until the man laid out the thing he wanted to sell in front of them. ¡°He family head, as you know, demon eggs are a good product for cultivation and are always unavailable.¡± Daoist Priest Chen rubbed his hands. His tone was a bit embarrassed as he whispered, ¡°Just from a glance, this demon looked like a good thing¡­¡­I¡­¡­So I bought it.¡± ¡°How much did you spend?¡± He Jitian asked. Daoist Priest Chen smiled embarrassingly and held out three fingers. He Jitian said, ¡°Three hundred gold?¡± ¡°No¡­¡­no¡­¡­¡± Daoist Priest Chen whispered, ¡°Three copper coins.¡± He Jitian immediately rolled his eyes very nonchalantly and said, ¡°You actually dare to buy it?¡± As Daoist Priest Chen said, these days, demon eggs were always rare things. Demons eggs with this kind of quality, not to mention three hundred gold, even doubling the price and they still might not be able to buy it. As for the price of three copper coins, it was clear that it was telling Daoist Priest Chen that this demon egg was a troublesome thing. Daoist Priest Chen actually had the courage to accept it, it really was like a man who was never content, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Daoist Priest Chen also knew he was in the wrong, so he laughed in vain. He simply thought that the person didn¡¯t know the market price, furthermore, even if it was something troublesome, he thought that when the time came, he could just return it. He thought it was a pretty good idea, but when things really landed upon him, he couldn¡¯t bear it. He Jitian sneered, ¡°If so, why didn¡¯t you tell me about it in the first place?¡± Daoist Priest Chen mumbled about and did not speak for a long time. Seeing this scene, He Jitian waved his hand at Daoist Priest Chen in boredom, ¡°Leave the things, you go first.¡± Daoist Priest Chen wanted to say something else but stopped himself. ¡°What else do you have to say?¡± He Jitian gave him a side glance and an impatient attitude. ¡°Just¡­¡­¡± Daoist Priest Chen said, ¡°He family head, if this is the demon king¡¯s egg, isn¡¯t it bad to return it just like this?¡± He Jitian asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Those demons are not good things.¡± Daoist Priest Chen waved his hand with a righteous look, ¡°If we just return his egg, wouldn¡¯t that just strengthen the demons?!¡± He Jitian smiled, ¡°What Daoist Priest Chen said is not unreasonable.¡± Just as Daoist Priest Chen was being happy, he heard He Jitian add, ¡°In that case, how about I give Daoist Priest Chen this opportunity to do the right thing for Heaven?¡± Daoist Priest Chen instantly shut up and said that he still had something to do so he would take his leave and that he would be troubling the He family head to take care of this matter. After saying that, he left in a hurry, as if he was afraid that He Jitian would catch him and hold him responsible. He Jitian watched him close the door and leave. He then anrgily spat towards the ground and cursed in his dialect: ¡°F*ck this son of a b*tch, bear than[1]¡­¡­¡± After cursing, he realized that Lin Rufei was still there, and said with a smile: ¡°My bad Lin gongzi, I am a rough person and just love to say a few foul words.¡± Lin Rufei blinked: ¡°What does ¡®bear than¡¯ mean?¡± He Jitian did not expect Lin Rufei to ask this question and he froze. He remained like that for some time before he finally responded, ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡­describing someone as very bearish?¡± To be honest, cursing at people for so many years, who actually cared about what certain swear words meant. Lin Rufei revealed a thoughtful look. When Gu Xuandu, who was next to Lin Rufei, saw his family¡¯s Xiao Jiu¡¯s expression, he really wanted to reach out and plug Lin Rufei¡¯s ears. He did not want these words to taint the ears of his family¡¯s little gongzi. ¡°So what does He family head intend to do now?¡± Lin Rufei once again ignored Gu Xuandu and continued to ask. The He family head sighed and rubbed his head: ¡°What else can I do? Stealing someone¡¯s egg and was found out by them, naturally, I have to return it. Although he is a demon, if we really pissed him off and let him make a fuss here, I¡¯m afraid the number of mortals implicated will be countless, ah.¡± If a king-level demon went on a killing spree in human territory, the number of deaths and injuries would be in the tens of thousands, furthermore, in this case, they were the ones still in the wrong. Since the demon did not lose his mind and only blocked the way to and from the Daoist temple, in that case, there was still room for maneuvering. As Lin Rufei pondered over these matters, his gaze fell back onto the ordinary-looking demon egg. This demon egg was snow-white in color and was shaped like a large chicken egg, to be honest, there was nothing special about it. This was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time seeing a demon¡¯s egg so he was a bit curious and asked He Jitian if he could touch it. ¡°Touch it, feel free to touch it.¡± He Jitian waved his hand indifferently, ¡°The demon¡¯s egg is hard, ordinary weapons can not even break its skin, let alone the demon king¡¯s egg. This egg, even if it was that boy He Xieyi, I¡¯m afraid it will take two or three sword slashes to break¡­¡­¡± When Lin Rufei heard these words, his composure relaxed. He stretched out his hand and gently rubbed the demon egg. The shell of the demon egg was not as smooth as it looked and it was actually quite a bit rough. After careful observation, he found that above the epidermis, was a layer of fine scales. From touch, the temperature was extremely low and even in this hot Summer day, it was still very cold. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei was touching the egg with great interest, but there was suddenly a crunching sound next to his ear. He initially thought he heard wrong until his finger touched a slit and his originally smiling face suddenly froze. ¡°He family head¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei called out softly. The He family head sat across from Lin Rufei and did not see what was happening on his side. He was still shaking his huge fan and fanning himself, muttering that he would ask He Xieyi to bring the egg to the demon king later and resolve this matter earlier. Hearing Lin Rufei call out to him, he immediately raised his head with a smile, ¡°Lin gongzi, what is it?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s throat moved slightly and he said in a trembling voice: ¡°This demon egg¡­¡­is indestructible, right?¡± The He family head was filled with bewilderment, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then what if.¡± Lin Rufei weighed his words and muttered out carefully, ¡°What if it shatters on its own?¡± The two of them stared at each other for a long time without sharing any words. He didn¡¯t know how long time had passed, but the He family head obviously realized something from the dead silence. His eyes widened slightly and he showed a little bit of panic, ¡°Lin, Lin gongzi, don¡¯t joke about this.¡± Lin Rufei forced out a laugh: ¡°I¡­¡­am not joking, ah.¡± As soon as those words fell, the previous inaudible crunch suddenly became louder and it was accompanied by a very audible crisp click. The white demon egg in front of him cracked into two halves. The eggshell revealed a pair of blood-red eyes and a soft cry. The He family head and Lin Rufei were both dumbfounded. They watched as the white demon egg cracked and a slimy little thing crawling out. That small thing¡¯s form was like a newborn kitten, it was covered entirely in a coat of snow-white fur. Seeing such a thing, He Jitian, who had been frozen in place, finally reacted. He shouted: ¡°Lin gongzi! Don¡¯t look at its eyes!!!¡± However, his words seemed to be a little too late, Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes had already met with that thing. The pair of red eyes, because they had just opened, still carried a hint of bewilderment. However, soon, this bewilderment turned into delight and eagerness and the little thing clumsily crawled out of its eggshell. It twisted and turned towards Lin Rufei as it opened its mouth and let out a slimy cry. He Jitian let out a remorseful growl and spoke a series of expletives that Lin Rufei could not understand. He laughed miserably: ¡°This damned Daoist Priest Chen. He actually dared to set me up here¡ª¡ªdamn it¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei was baffled. Seeing Lin Rufei still with a face of uncertainty, Gu Xuandu, who was on the side, smiled and said slowly: ¡°Xiao Jiu has never seen a demon, right?¡± Lin Rufei twisted his head to look at him. ¡°Powerful demons like these, they all have a characteristic.¡± Gu Xuandu continued in a warm voice, ¡°That is, when it comes out of the egg, it will recognize the first person it meets its eyes with as its mother.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Just as Gu Xuandu finished explaining, the little kitten wobbling on the table, bit the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s outerwear with its mouth and raised those big watery eyes. ¡°It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over¡ª¡ª¡± He Jitian grabbed his hair and said, ¡°It¡¯s over!!!¡± When he saw Lin Rufei standing still, he hurriedly explained the demon¡¯s habits to Lin Rufei again and Lin Rufei fell into a long silence. When the little thing saw that Lin Rufei was ignoring him, its face fell, and it cried out desperately. It looked like a cat and its voice was even similar to a cat. Its groaning and screaming gradually softened most of his heart. However, when He Jitian heard this sound, he was like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on. He almost jumped up from the ground and shouted, ¡°Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, quickly pick it up!¡± Lin Rufei responded, ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You quickly tell it to stop crying!¡± He Jitian said, ¡°It¡¯s connected to the Great Demon¡¯s bloodline, if it continues to scream, I¡¯m afraid it will bring the Great Demon here!!!¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he had to stretch out his hand and picked up the kitten. Despite the egg looking very big, this little thing was only a small size and was extremely light in his hands. If not for the special red eyes, most likely people would really recognize it as an ordinary kitten. Because it was very small, Lin Rufei could not help but treat it as something fragile. He was very afraid of hurting it, but the little kitten was very natural. It quickly found a comfortable position on Lin Rufei¡¯s hand and soon fell asleep while sticking to him. Before going to sleep, it also didn¡¯t forget to smack his lips, humming twice in satisfaction. This scene originally should have made people soft-hearted, but He Jitian acted like he had seen a monster. He was so scared out of his mind that his whole head was covered in sweat. Even a strong wipe could not wipe that sweat clean. When he saw that the little kitten fell asleep, he finally breathed out a sigh of relief. He gritted his teeth and started cursing at the Daoist Priest Chen once again. ¡°So what now?¡± Lin Rufei stared at the little thing in his hand. ¡°Now?¡± He Jitian looked at the kitten in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand with a frown. It was like he was looking at a hot potato, ¡°¡­¡­I¡­¡­may have to trouble Lin gongzi. Tomorrow, please take a trip together with Xieyi. Hopefully, the Great Demon is reasonable and not too angry.¡± Although that was what he had said, there was obviously no confidence in his heart. After thinking about it, he added, ¡°If it is angry then we don¡¯t have a choice. We can only let Xieyi beat him back.¡± Lin Rufei was crying and laughing, he thought in his heart: how did they suddenly go back to the first method? He Jitian then advised Lin Rufei with a few more words, mostly about how he should be careful with this little thing: one was not to hurt it and the other was not to be hurt by it. Lin Rufei listened carefully to He Jitian¡¯s words but the little thing in his hand became impatient. It grunted a few times and showed his bottom towards He Jitian, as if it was disgusted by the noise. When He Jitian noticed this scene, he also did not dare to say anything more. He frowned and called someone to send Lin Rufei back and said that he and He Xieyi should discuss about tomorrow¡¯s matter. Lin Rufei could only carry the little demon back to his room. Just as he sat down after entering the room, the little demon began to whimper. Lin Rufei was a bit at a loss for words but Gu Xuandu, who was beside him, said with interest: ¡°It¡¯s hungry.¡± Lin Rufei asked: ¡°Senior knows a lot about demons?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been to Bu¡¯e before.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°So I know a few things about it.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Then it is so small, what can it eat? Should I ask Fu Hua to find some goat¡¯s milk?¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°No, demons are not that delicate. Just ask your maid to bring half a fan[2] of beef.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Half a fan, so much? Can it finish eating?¡± Gu Xuandu laughed and said, ¡°There is only not enough to eat and no such thing as too much food.¡± Since Gu Xuandu was so sure, Lin Rufei called Fu Hua and asked her to bring half a fan of beef, with special instructions to bring fresh ones. Although Fu Hua did not know what Lin Rufei wanted beef for, she still obediently went out, and in a short while, she came back with half a fan of beef ribs. He didn¡¯t know if it was because it smelled the blood from the ribs, but the little kitten grunted even more. Lin Rufei originally wanted to cut the meat and feed it to the kitten, but Gu Xuandu told him to just put the kitten directly on top of the beef. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment but did as Gu Xuandu said. However, looking at the little thing¡¯s teeth, he didn¡¯t know how it would eat. As Lin Rufei was thinking so, he then saw the little thing open its mouth contentedly and began to lick at the beef hard. Its pink tongue was covered with a layer of fine small spines and this layer of small spines shaved the beef directly from the bones, gliding it down its mouth contentedly. Lin Rufei stared and said, ¡°If it decided to lick someone¡­..¡± Gu Xuandu laughed: ¡°The strong are always respected on the Bu¡¯e Continent. Even such a toddler will die quickly if it doesn¡¯t have a strong survival ability.¡± However, in a blink of an eye, the kitten had actually finished half a fan of beef. After showing a look of insatiable satisfaction on his face, he began to grunt at Lin Rufei again, wanting to come to Lin Rufei¡¯s side. Lin Rufei used water to simply clean up the bloodstains on its body. He felt that the little kitten¡¯s fur was indeed not the same as ordinary animals. It seemed soft, but in fact, it carried a toughness. It was very smooth and soft and when the blood stained its coat, just a single wipe would get rid of it. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that after the kitten had eaten its filled, it seemed to have gotten a little bigger and his appearance was clearer. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei listened to its humming sound and took it into his arms. Then, he asked Gu Xuandu what kind of demon¡¯s cub this was. Gu Xuandu propped up his chin and rubbed his finger on the kitten cub¡¯s head, ¡°Looking at its appearance, it should be the cub of a Ye Mo.¡± The little kitten cub that was rubbed on the head by Gu Xuandu was very unhappy and it let out two cries. It suddenly raised its head and bit Gu Xuandu¡¯s finger. Lin Rufei was shocked at this, but he noticed Gu Xuandu simply pulling his finger out without a care and flicking the kitten on its head, eliciting two aggrieved little grunts: ¡°But this kind of demon is most protective of its cubs and will definitely be unhappy to know that its son has recognized someone else as its parent.¡± Lin Rufei replied awkwardly, ¡°If I had known, I would not have gone to join in on the fun.¡± Gu Xuandu laughed: ¡°Even if you weren¡¯t there, there would still be someone else. If this little thing decides to recognize He Jitian as its father¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei remembered the rough appearance of He Jitian and then looked at the small thing less than the size of a palm, he sighed: ¡°But this is too much of a coincidence.¡± Gu Xuandu pondered, ¡°It is very coincidental.¡± After eating and drinking, the kitten opened its mouth and yawned. Soon, it fell back asleep. Lin Rufei wanted to put it on the bed, but who knew that it would keep crying as long as it was far away from him. Because of He Jitian¡¯s instructions to Lin Rufei, he had to sit by the bed and accompany the little kitten. Gu Xuandu was so disgusted with the kitten. Despite Lin Rufei¡¯s obstruction, he reached out and picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck and threw it to the corner of the bed. When Lin Rufei saw his actions, he hurriedly told Gu Xuandu to not bully the child. Gu Xuandu tsked and said: ¡°Child? This demon egg may be older than you.¡± He also said that demons like the Ye Mos always dawdle very much and it took more than a hundred years to conceive a child. When it gave birth, even though it was still an egg, it would still take at least twenty years to hatch. Lin Rufei mumbled, ¡°No wonder the number of demons is so scarce.¡± ¡°Heaven has its own rules. Although the demon race is brutal in strength, in reality, it was very difficult to reproduce. The Ye Mo could become the Seventh King of Bu¡¯e naturally because it has its unique features.¡± Gu Xuandu carelessly chattered about the behind-the-scenes of another continent, ¡°Only the higher level demons have difficulty conceiving and raising children. Look, like this little guy, it won¡¯t come out if it doesn¡¯t have five or six hundred years of effort.¡± The little one, who was just thrown towards the bedside by Gu Xuandu, was now trying to wail at Gu Xuandu. But unfortunately, its voice was very childish and sounded non-threatening. Most likely it noticed the futility of its own efforts and the little one looked at Lin Rufei with tears in his eyes, as if it was asking him for help. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was a little soft from its gaze so he picked up the little guy and scratched its chin, stopping it from crying. With a headache, he stated: ¡°Such a precious little thing, if its parents saw that it recognized me¡­¡­..wouldn¡¯t it be a troublesome problem?¡± Gu Xuandu replied: ¡°It¡¯s more than troublesome. Although the Ye Mo¡¯s nature in the demon world is quite mild, if it encounters this kind of thing, I¡¯m afraid it also would not be able to calm down.¡± Lin Rufei was distressed: ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Gu Xuandu laughed: ¡°But with that He Xieyi, you don¡¯t have to worry about being swallowed in one bite. When the time comes, stand a little farther away. If you don¡¯t join in on the fun, then you should be fine.¡± Only then was Lin Rufei relieved. The little one was nestled contently in Lin Rufei¡¯s arms and it was sucking on Lin Rufei¡¯s thumb with great relish. Originally Lin Rufei was worried that its tongue was too sharp and would cut him, but the little one, although only a few hours old, was already able to control its body perfectly and could easily retract the spikes on its tongue when licking Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei scratched its head and felt that it was more and more like a cute little cat. That night, Lin Rufei had slept well and the next day, He Xieyi came early with a frowning face that was similar to that of yesterday¡¯s He Jitian. Lin Rufei had just gotten up and didn¡¯t even have the chance to change his clothes yet. He was currently drinking the rice porridge brought by Fu Hua and when he noticed this look on his face, he could not help but be happy: ¡°Why this look?¡± He Xieyi let out a sigh and said, ¡®I didn¡¯t expect to involve Lin gongzi in this matter, so I will have to trouble Lin gongzi to accompany me on this trip.¡¯ Lin Rufei responded, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, but I¡¯m afraid this Ye Mo will be angry when he sees that his child has recognized me¡­¡­¡± ¡°If its angry then its angry, what else can we do?¡± He Xieyi had a headache from this entire situation, ¡°In any case, we have to return the pup. Otherwise, is it expected for us to raise it for him?¡± This was also true, Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°Then I will go with you after I change my clothes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling, Lin gongzi.¡± He Xieyi sighed once again. The weather was equally hot today so Lin Rufei changed into a thin outfit and followed He Xieyi out. The little kitten was tucked into his arms and seemed to be hungry again as it began to grunt incessantly. Because it was morning, Lin Rufei had only fed it some meat. However, since he thought that he would be sent back later anyways, he had decided not to feed it too much, so at this time it was picking at Lin Rufei¡¯s fingers and sucking unsatisfactorily. At first glance, it looked very cute¡ªif they didn¡¯t know what its parents looked like. The weather was really too hot. He Xieyi was afraid that Lin Rufei would get a heatstroke so he went to ask for a carriage. Then, he wore a hat himself and sat outside to drive the carriage. On the way, he and Lin Rufei chatted about what happened afterward. He said later that Lin Rufei would not need to go over and should just wait in the carriage on the side. He was afraid that when the time came, he and the Great Demon would have a fight. Originally, he wanted to say that it would be bad if he injured Lin Rufei, but when the words came to his mouth, he remembered that he seemed to be neck-and-neck when fighting with Lin Rufei, so he rigidly changed his words: ¡°It would be bad to implicate Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei was happy to hear that. The carriage went down the mountain and went straight to the mountain road where the Great Demon was located. At the entrance of the mountain road, He Xieyi took the kitten from Lin Rufei¡¯s grasps and just as he was about to leave, the kitten let out a mournful cry. It was wailing without a stop as tears flowed continuously down its eyes. It really did look pitiful. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was softened by its crying. Originally, he wanted to ask whether he should accompany He Xieyi, but Gu Xuandu pressed his hand and shook his head, ¡°Don¡¯t go, if the Great Demon sees its young son so close to you, it will certainly be unhappy.¡± Lin Rufei pondered over those words carefully and realized he had to give up. The little kitten, that was wrapped in He Xieyi¡¯s hand, was struggling desperately but could not break free no matter what. Lin Rufei looked at He Xieyi¡¯s back and for no reason, a feeling of melancholy bloomed in his heart. He propped up his chin and said, ¡°I found out that I quite like children.¡± Gu Xuandu repeated, ¡°Like children?¡± Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Xuandu looked Lin Rufei up and down and then fell into silence. Lin Rufei noticed that after a while Gu Xuandu had not answered him again so he asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Gu Xuandu gave him a serious look: ¡°Nothing.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­Really nothing?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Well, Xiao Jiu¡¯s body is still too weak.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°?¡± Gu Xuandu muttered: ¡°Another tonic should be almost enough.¡± Lin Rufei was confused, he didn¡¯t understand what Gu Xuandu was talking about. What did he need a tonic for? What¡¯s wrong with him that he needed to make up for it? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] This is probably part of a curse word that means ¡°motherf*cker¡± but because HJT never finished the phrase, it was cut off. And the cut off part means ¡°Bear than.¡± Apparently describing someone as ¡°bear¡± is quite derogatory so it is used in curse words. [2] According to Google, this is about ~85 kg (~190 lbs) CH 69 He Xieyi took the screaming kitten cub over there and after entering the mountain road with a heavy face, no more sound could be heard. Lin Rufei waited in the carriage at first, but then he got a little impatient. In the end, he decided to get out of the carriage and wait under the shade of a tree by the roadside. The weather was hot and his ear was full of noisy cicadas. A layer of fine sweat surface on Lin Rufei¡¯s skin and his hands could not stop fanning the wind. In his heart, just as he was thinking about how there was no movement on He Xieyi¡¯s side, he heard a deafening angry roar not far away from here¡ªthis roar obviously did not belong to humans and it was more like the sound made by some large beast. As soon as Lin Rufei heard this sound, he knew something bad had happened. As expected, in the next moment, he saw a black and a white sword light rising up to the sky. The white one should belong to He Xieyi[1] and as for the black one¡­¡­Lin Rufei was currently concentrating on looking up, but suddenly, beside him, a familiar grumble resounded. He was slightly stunned, looked down, and froze in place. The demon cub, that was supposed to be with He Xieyi, was now happily squatting at his feet, and its body, which was only the size of a hand, was now a circle bigger, almost reaching Lin Rufei¡¯s knees. When it saw Lin Rufei looking over, it was very excited and headed over. The blood-red eyes were full of a desire that couldn¡¯t be denied and just from looking at it, it could be determined that it was excitedly saying: ¡®Touch me, touch me, touch me, touch me!¡¯ Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He wanted to touch it, but its parent was fighting just over there so it was probably not a good idea to do so. In the end, Lin Rufei looked over at the two fervent fighters and then looked at the still eager little kitten. Secretly, he proceeded to reach out and touched its head, then scratched its chin. When he noticed its eyes squinting happily, he showed a smile: ¡°Good boy.¡± The little kitten hummed comfortably and almost rolled around on the ground. As Lin Rufei was stroking the little one, there was suddenly a gust of wind overhead. He reacted quickly and took out the wooden shield from his ring to block it in front of himself, ¡°Woosh!¡± A sharp sound and Lin Rufei¡¯s arm felt a huge force. It was accompanied by a man¡¯s angry roar¡ª¡±You¡¯re treating my son like a cat!!¡± Lin Rufei smiled sheepishly: ¡°Misunderstanding, it¡¯s all a misunderstanding.¡± When Gu Xuandu saw this scene from the side, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Stop it now! Don¡¯t hurt the innocent!¡± He Xieyi also rushed over and his head was covered in sweat. ¡°Hurt the innocent?¡± Although the man had withdrawn his sword, his eyes were sharper than the sword. Once it was locked on Lin Rufei, it did not dare move away. His hand reached out and pointed the sword blade at Lin Rufei, ¡°Is he the father my son recognized?¡± He Xieyi smiled bitterly, ¡°This¡­¡­is indeed a misunderstanding. It¡¯s just that Lin gongzi coincidentally happened to be present at that time.¡± The man sneered: ¡°There is no such thing as a coincidence in this world.¡± He Xieyi was speechless. This man wore black clothes and had black hair. At first glance, he was no different from an ordinary human. Only because of his blood-red eyes, would others be able to tell of his unusual identity. He looked at Lin Rufei and growled coldly: ¡°You human stole my son, and caused my son to identify the wrong father. I didn¡¯t go on a killing spree is already giving your He family face.¡± As he said this, his tone grew heavier, ¡°He! He must die!¡± And as soon as his words fell, the aura on his body soared. The anger surrounding his body almost turned into a substantial flame, burning everything up in its path. He Xieyi looked as if he had a headache. Just as he was about to persuade the other, the adult Ye Mo had once again raised the black longsword in his hand. Lin Rufei was about to meet him with a wooden shield, but Gu Xuandu pressed his hand and said, ¡°Use your sword.¡± Lin Rufei froze for a moment but listened to Gu Xuandu¡¯s advice anyway. He placed down the wooden shield and pulled out the long-unseen Gu Yu, that had been hanging at his waist. Gu Yu had never seen blood ever since it had started following Lin Rufei. Now that it finally had the opportunity to show itself, it was naturally extremely excited. Just as the sword was unsheathed, it emitted a buzzing sound. Lin Rufei was about to raise his sword to meet him, but the Ye Mo, who was about to slash down, suddenly stopped moving in mid-air and looked at him with a doubtful look. ¡°Where did you get this sword?!¡± Ye Mo asked. Lin Rufei responded, ¡°A gift from a friend.¡± ¡°A gift?¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°What friend? When did you receive it? What is your name?¡± He asked one question after another and his tone sounded very impatient. Lin Rufei was stunned but introduced himself anyway. He said that he was the fourth son of the Lin family on the Kunlun Mountains, Lin Rufei. And as for the friend, he only had a one-sided encounter with him on the Xiliang Mountains¡­¡­ ¡°A one-sided encounter, what does he look like? What kind of clothes was he wearing?!¡± Ye Mo asked again. Lin Rufei glanced at Gu Xuandu out of the corner of his eye and answered, ¡°He was born with a very good-looking face and wears a red outfit.¡± He then paused and was somewhat puzzled, ¡°Why are you asking this?¡± The Ye Mo was silent for a moment. He looked at the sword in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Forget it.¡± With that, he picked up the curious little kitten next to him and turned to leave. Lin Rufei sensed something and shouted after him, ¡°Wait!¡± Ye Mo turned back. ¡°Do you know the owner of this sword?!¡± Lin Rufei felt something unusual from the Ye Mo¡¯s words. Ye Mo said, ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± Ye Mo responded coldly, ¡°Using the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword, yet you don¡¯t know the Heavenly Ruler?¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°What!¡± He Xieyi and Lin Rufei both uttered in surprise almost at the same time. Both of them had astonishment written on their faces as they uttered the same words, ¡°This is the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword?!¡± The Ye Mo narrowed his eyes. His gaze was particularly sizing up Lin Rufei and He Xieyi, ¡°So you don¡¯t even know whose sword you¡¯re using?¡± ¡°How could this be the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword?!¡± He Xieyi said, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler has been missing for a hundred years¡­¡­¡± ¡°This is the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword.¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°I had seen him once a few hundred years ago.¡± At that time, he was still an immature young demon. He had witnessed the man¡¯s poise as he raided the King¡¯s city in red and beheaded The King of All Demons. And the huge sword case on his back was also deeply engraved into his mind. He could never forget it. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The Heavenly Ruler was a low-key and mysterious person. In Jianghu, the rumors about him were innumerable. The Ye Mo did not believe in those rumors and only believed in his own eyes. He saw with his own eyes that the Heavenly Ruler was carrying a huge sword case with at least twenty-four swords in it. And this one, in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, was one of them. ¡°Could it be that the person you saw, Lin gongzi, was the Heavenly Ruler?!¡± He Xieyi was incomparably excited. Lin Rufei glanced at Gu Xuandu, who was standing next to him in silence, out of the corner of his eyes, and muttered, ¡°This¡­¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡­¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°Since you are a friend of the Heavenly Ruler, I will give you some face.¡± He raised his chin and proudly and indifferently announced, ¡°But if there is a second time, I will ensure that there is no one alive in the city behind you.¡± Unfortunately, the little kitten in his arms really didn¡¯t give its father any face. It cried incessantly and reached out its paws towards Lin Rufei, trying to break free from the Ye Mo¡¯s arms. The Ye Mo was annoyed by the crying so he raised his hand and grabbed the kitten by its scruff. The kitten¡¯s eyes widened as it froze in place. Ye Mo impatiently bit the kitten¡¯s ear: ¡°Stupid kid, stop it.¡± The little kitten cub that was bitten by its own father grunted twice. In the end, it was still giving Lin Rufei a reluctant look. It seemed that the Ye Mo did not realize that he was still in human form, and reflexively tried to take the kitten cub with his mouth. Only when he put it to his lips did he realize that his appearance at this time was not suitable for such a thing, so he gave an unhappy ¡°hmph¡± and simply transformed into his original form. The adult Ye Mo also had snow-white fur and from its appearance, it was somewhat like a huge leopard. However, the fur was long so its description was also more delicate. Its body was very large, much taller than He Xieyi. Opening its mouth, it picked up the still struggling kitten and then a layer of black clouds rose from beneath its feet and its form gradually dissipated. Lin Rufei and He Xeiyi were still standing in the same place. Both of them were shocked by the news that the Ye Mo had just revealed and it took them a while to get over it. ¡°Let¡¯s go back?¡± Lin Rufei suggested. ¡°Mnn, let¡¯s go.¡± He Xieyi nodded his head in agreement. On the way back, the carriage had been very quiet and due to the presence of He Xieyi, Lin Rufei could not say anything to Gu Xuandu. After reaching the room with great difficulty, Lin Rufei hurriedly closed the window and door. He then sat in front of Gu Xuandu with a serious expression. ¡°Senior.¡± This ¡°senior¡± sounded extra heavy, but it made Gu Xuandu laugh. He propped his chin and inclined his head to look at Lin Rufei, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Are you the Heavenly Ruler?¡± Although the thought had crossed his mind before, Lin Rufei still felt that it was too ridiculous. How could the Heavenly Ruler, a character that only existed in the history books, follow him around, teach him sword-play, and even give him his sword? Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°Yes¡­¡­and no.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The literal meaning.¡± His attitude looked indifferent and his calm appearance formed a stark contrast with the torn Lin Rufei, ¡°Is it that important whether I am or not?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°Naturally it¡¯s important.¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Why is it so important?¡± Lin Rufei opened his mouth to answer, but when the words came to his lips, he froze because he realized that he really couldn¡¯t answer the question. To him, the Heavenly Ruler was just an unattainable legend, and whether the legend was true or not, it actually had no effect on him. ¡°You see, you can¡¯t answer it, right?¡± Gu Xuandu cut in, ¡°So what if I¡¯m the Heavenly Ruler? There is nothing that will change because of that.¡± Lin Rufei frowned, ¡°No¡­¡­it¡¯s not like that.¡± ¡°It is like this.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°The name ¡®Heavenly Ruler¡¯ was taken for the people of the world. But the world is vast, is there still a person who remembers the original name of the Heavenly Ruler? Does Xiao Jiu know what the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s name is?¡± Lin Rufei was silent. He indeed did not know, in fact, everyone had simply called him the Heavenly Ruler, but as for the name of the Heavenly Ruler before, no one actually knew. Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gu Xuandu waved his hand and laughed again. ¡°Senior¡­¡­how did you become like this?¡± Lin Rufei hesitantly asked, ¡°Were you injured by someone?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°Bad luck. When stepping through the void, I did not withstand the thunder tribulation. So the thunder tribulation scattered my souls.¡± The words were said lightly but Lin Rufei frowned as he listened. Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Only because of the thunder tribulation?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Gu Xuandu replied. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t believe it at all. He clearly remembered the box buried in the roots when the He family¡¯s Xuyu tree fell down a few days ago. That box did not contain ordinary objects but a pile of white bones. If Gu Xuandu died because of the thunder tribulation, not to mention his soul, just the flesh alone could not be preserved. So how would he be able to leave so many scarred bones? But now it seemed that Gu Xuandu simply didn¡¯t want to dwell on this matter, so he casually found an excuse just to skimp through it. Lin Rufei slightly pursed his lips and no longer spoke. Gu Xuandu also did not expect that the Ye Mo would recognize Gu Yu. If he had known, he would have let his Xiao Jiu continue using that wooden shield. That year, the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword case had twenty-four swords, from Li Chun[2] to Da Han. (t/n: I am assuming that the last sentence was referring to the name of the swords because ¡°Da Han¡± was mentioned¡­.however, if it isn¡¯t then the sentence simply translated to ¡°From the beginning of spring to the end of winter¡±) And that small sword case contained a Chun Qiu. (t/n: again, assuming it¡¯s referring to the sword name, otherwise it translates to ¡°took from Spring until Autumn to fill up.¡±) Gu Xuandu fell into a long memory train. He remembered a lot of things and a lot of people. He didn¡¯t know if it was the aftermath of the dry bones, but the many people and things that he had forgotten, all came back to his mind. The atmosphere in the room was extraordinarily silent. Lin Rufei sipped his cold tea and fondled the hilt of Gu Yu in his hand. Beside him, Gu Xuandu sat sideways with a silent and cold look, just like the Buddha statue seen in Dajing¡¯s shrine. He didn¡¯t know how long they had sat in the room, but there was suddenly a knock on the door from outside. When Lin Rufei said come in, he saw He Wanxiang enter. He Wanxiang smiled, ¡°What are you doing, Lin gongzi?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Nothing, I have nothing to do so I am just sitting and staring.¡± He Wanxiang said, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you come with me for a walk? My brother said that there is something he wants to show to Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What is it?¡± He Wanxiang responded, ¡°Lin gongzi will know when you get there.¡± Lin Rufei then got up and followed out after He Wanxiang. The two of them walked all the way towards the ancestral hall. When he went in, Lin Rufei saw that He Jitian and He Xieyi were also there. The two of them were standing by the desk and discussing something around it. When they saw Lin Rufei coming, they waved at him happily, indicating to him to hurry over. ¡°What is this?¡± Lin Rufei walked behind the two men and saw a thick book with a few pages already turned in front of them. ¡°This is the family tree of our He family.¡± He Jitian said, ¡°Lin gongzi, I¡¯ve already listened to Xieyi talk about what happened today.¡± He had to say, being stared at by a tall and imposing strong man with eager and pitiful eyes was definitely not a pleasant thing. Lin Rufei secretly touched the goosebumps on his arm and calmly stated, ¡°He family head, if you have something to say, just say it.¡± He family head said: ¡°It¡¯s like this. Didn¡¯t that Ye Mo say that Lin gongzi had met the Heavenly Ruler before?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if that was the Heavenly Ruler.¡± He family head rubbed his hands and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this why we¡­¡­called Lin gongzi over to confirm.¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows, ¡°How are we going to confirm?¡± He family head smiled: ¡°Lin gongzi might not know, but the He family owes a great favor towards the Heavenly Ruler, so back then the He family head specially used a spell to save the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s appearance.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Really?¡± He family head replied, ¡°Naturally. However, this spell, using it once means we lose another opportunity to use it, so it is rarely used on a regular basis.¡± As he said this, he turned the family tree over a few pages to reveal a circular formation. Then he took out a top-quality spirit stone from his pocket and carefully placed it in the center of the formation. After the formation was lit up by the spiritual power coming from the stone, a lifelike picture scroll was displayed in front of the three people¡¯s eyes. The man in the scroll was dressed in red with a long and two short swords at his waist and was smiling with his head turned. The man was extremely beautiful, with long, narrow eyes. He had sharp eyebrows slanting on his temples and his thin lips were slightly pursed, the colors were like the Spring flowers. He pulled on the reins and the horse underneath stopped galloping. He seemed to have seen something and with a smile on his face, he raised his hand and pulled out the sword at his waist. He placed a gentle kiss on it and said in a warm voice: ¡°Long time no see.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s body and mind were shaken. That man¡¯s face he had seen countless times. It was the senior, who had followed him for quite a long time, Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu was indeed the Heavenly Ruler. ¡°Wait, wait, didn¡¯t that demon say that the Heavenly Ruler was carrying a sword case?¡± He Xieyi remembered a detail, ¡°Why did he only have three swords in the scroll?¡± He Jitian shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± He was also a little puzzled, ¡°But I remember that in some history books, it also wrote that the Heavenly Ruler had a sword case, and in the sword case there were twenty-four solar terms[3].¡± He Xieyi was a little confused: ¡°I heard that the Heavenly Ruler loved his sword blades the most. In this world, is it possible that there is still someone who can hurt his swords?¡± He Jitian shook his head, indicating that he didn¡¯t know either. They were simply talking when the two then dropped their eyes onto Gu Yu that was hanging on the side of Lin Rufei¡¯s waist. Lin Rufei understood tacitly. He took out Gu Yu and said, ¡°When senior gave me this sword, he told me that the blade was named Gu Yu.¡± ¡°Good sword, good sword!¡± Before even touching the sword, He Jitian already began to praise loudly and he stared at the sword in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand full of envy, ¡°It seems that Lin gongzi is indeed destined to be with the Heavenly Ruler!¡± No wonder that tree full of iron-gold walnuts all fell because of Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei said, ¡°He family head, since there is a portrait of the Heavenly Ruler in the family tree, is there anything about the Heavenly Ruler recorded in it?¡± He Jitian said, ¡°There is indeed a record, but not much.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Can you tell me about it?¡± He Jitian replied, ¡°Of course you can.¡± He obviously already knew the family tree by heart, and after flipping through a few pages, he flipped to the place Lin Rufei had wanted to read and said, ¡°Lin gongzi can read it for himself¡± Lin Rufei nodded. The family tree seemed to be a bit old, but it was very well preserved. However, He Jitian was right. The records that the He family had about the Heavenly Ruler were not too many. Most of them were some minor trivialities. Lin Rufei looked through it roughly but felt that the Heavenly Ruler in the family tree was very different from Gu Xuandu. In the He family records, the Heavenly Ruler was a great swordsman, but actually had a mild temperament and rarely got angry. And then looking at the temperamental Gu Xuandu, no matter how he looked, it all felt a bit incongruous. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei looked at it several times before closing the family tree. Then, he turned his head to look at Gu Xuandu but found that he was also looking in silence at the lifelike painting floating above his head. The look was full of nostalgia and Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken, but he always felt that he could see traces of wet water in Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes. Lin Rufei turned his head back and thanked He Jitian. ¡°So Lin gongzi, was the person you saw the Heavenly Ruler?¡± He Jitian asked, blinking eyes in excitement. Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head. He Jitian asked, ¡°No?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Mnn, no.¡± From Gu Xuandu¡¯s attitude, he felt that Gu Xuandu did not want others to know about his existence, so in that case, he would do as he wished. When He Jitian heard this, he let out a long sigh of regret. He said it was a pity that the Heavenly Ruler suddenly disappeared that day. Everyone thought he had broken the void and ascended to immortality, but there were rumors that the Heavenly Ruler had actually failed to ascend to immortality and his Daoist heart was broken. All sorts of talk were rampant and it was difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. It would be best if they could find out the truth about that year. Lin Rufei said, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler probably has his own reasons if he doesn¡¯t want to appear.¡± ¡°Maybe so.¡± He Jitian muttered, ¡°No matter, no matter. It¡¯s better not to force.¡± Having said all that, He Xieyi still shyly approached Lin Rufei and begged him to have a match with him, saying that he wanted to see the style and beauty of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword, Gu Yu. In the end, Lin Rufei could only agree. However, he said that he could not control Gu Yu too well at the moment, so for the competition, they had to find a deserted place otherwise, he feared that he would hurt others. He Xieyi hurriedly said yes. After reading the family tree, Lin Rufei found an unoccupied place, grabbed Gu Xuandu, and called out another ¡°senior.¡± Only this time the words, ¡°Heavenly Ruler¡± was added after the word ¡°senior.¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei with a frown and said, ¡°Xiao Jiu, I¡¯ll be happy if you call me senior, but you mustn¡¯t ever call me Heavenly Ruler.¡± Lin Rufei inexplicably asked, ¡°W¡­¡­why?¡± Gu Xuandu reached out and wrapped his arms around Lin Rufei¡¯s neck, ¡°Because¡­¡­I want you to?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Xiao Jiu be good, listen to senior¡¯s words, ah.¡± Lin Rufei had nothing to say. But although Gu Xuandu¡¯s words sounded like a joke, in fact, his tone was very insistent and Lin Rufei had no choice but to give up. ¡°If all those things that senior lost are recovered, can senior recover his normal body?¡± Lin Rufei asked another question that he was more concerned about. ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei then said excitedly, ¡°Then, wouldn¡¯t it mean that the Heavenly Ruler can come back?¡± Gu Xuandu, however, was silent, and just when Lin Rufei thought he would not say anything, he added in a soft voice, ¡°I hope there will be that day.¡± Lin Rufei revealed a smile. The matter of the He family was considered solved. The next afternoon, Lin Rufei and He Xieyi had a sword fight. Although it was said to be a sword fight, it was more like a Gu Yu exhibition. Almost all of the He family members were there and they were all staring at Gu Yu so hard that their eyeballs almost popped out. Lin Rufei was a little creeped out by this group of people. He originally wanted to put Gu Yu down on the table but was stopped when He Xieyi reached out. He Xieyi, with a serious face, said the sword was to match the hero. The swords that hung at the waist were the really good swords. Lin Rufei was speechless by his words and could only sit in place to continue to bear the baptism of the crowd¡¯s gaze. Only when the crowd was finally satisfied with the look, was Lin Rufei released. Lin Rufei head back to the room listlessly and when Fu Hua noticed him, she smiled and asked what was wrong. Lin Rufei said, ¡°The He family is really difficult to refuse.¡± Fu Hua laughed, ¡°Gongzi, is that all you want to say?¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Actually, I also want to say some curse words.¡± Fu Hua froze for a moment, then heard her little gongzi spit out the phrase: motherf*cker Fu Hua: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This place was not suitable to stay for a long time, this thought emerged in the two people¡¯s minds at the same time. Lin Rufei, who had just cursed, was refreshed. He asked Fu Hua where Yu Rui had gone off to and how come he hasn¡¯t seen her even at this time? Fu Hua smiled and said that the He family¡¯s gongzi had asked Yu Rui out, saying that he was going to buy her corn candy. Lin Rufei was immediately invigorated when he heard this, ¡®corn candy, what corn candy, where are these two people at, can I also join in on the fun?¡¯ Fu Hua said: ¡°They seemed to be at the back of the mountain. Does gongzi want to go and see?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Go, go, go, go. Let¡¯s go and try the corn candy.¡± Fu Hua laughed at this. So Lin Rufei and Fu Hua both snuck out the door and headed straight towards the back of the mountain. Gu Xuandu also followed closely behind them. Looking at the tiptoeing Lin Rufei and Fu Hua, who lifted her skirt up with a sneaky face, he really wanted to let out a long sigh. The back of the He family¡¯s mountain was not large. Lin Rufei and Fu Hua quickly found Yu Rui and He Wanxiang, who were currently chatting. Yu Rui¡¯s cheeks were bulging as she happily chewed on her corn candy. She also carried a bag in her hand and talked while she ate. He Wanxiang was simply quietly listening on the side. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk.¡± Lin Rufei whispered, ¡°This corn candy looks very delicious.¡± Fu Hua said sourly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s such a hot day, and I don¡¯t know where he bought it from, this He gongzi really took the trouble.¡± Lin Rufei responded, ¡°Alas, once the girl grows up, it¡¯s hard to make her stay.¡± After saying that, he also gave a glance at Fu Hua. Fu Hua¡¯s face turned red and she muttered: ¡°Young master don¡¯t tease me, clearly it¡¯s this girl Yu Rui whose Spring heart is budding¡­¡­¡± The two of them watched for a while. Seeing that Yu Rui and He Wanxiang had endless words, and endless corn candy, he also did not have the heart to go over there to disturb them. He went back to his room with a sense of disinterest. Halfway back, Lin Rufei said that he wanted to take a stroll around, so he waved his hand and told Fu Hua head back first. He casually found a remote shade and sat beneath it to cool off. The next day after tomorrow, he probably would leave the He family. His next destination had not yet been decided, but if he followed the road, then nothing wrong would happen. As Lin Rufei was thinking about this, he felt something tugging at the corner of his outfit. He thought it was his own imagination at first, but when he looked down, he saw a snow-white kitten biting hard at the corner of his outfit. Lin Rufei¡¯s first reaction was that he was mistaken, however, the next moment a sorrowful voice resounded next to his ear: ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei was startled and reflexively twisted his head. He narrowly missed colliding with the face behind him and he glared: ¡°You¡­¡­How come you are here? You haven¡¯t gone back yet?¡± The person who called out to him was the same Ye Mo that he had seen the day before, but compared to the previous days, his appearance looked much more wretched. And when he called out ¡°Lin gongzi,¡± it sounded like it was squeezed through gritted teeth. Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°You¡­¡­what is your¡­¡­name again?¡± He suddenly remembered that he did not know the name of this Ye Mo. Ye Mo coldly said: ¡°Chi Yu.¡± ¡°Chi Yu gongzi, how come you¡¯re still here?¡± Lin Rufei blinked his eyes and stepped back under Chi Yu¡¯s unkind glare. ¡°Why don¡¯t you guess as to why I¡¯m here?¡± Chi Yu asked grimly. As if in response to his words, the little kitten, that bit the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s outfit, crawled on all fours into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms. It grunted and whined, trying to act spoiled. Lin Rufei looked at the kitten and understood most of what was going on. In the end, he was the one who was in the wrong and his smile became a little embarrassed, ¡°This¡­¡­ ¡° ¡°Stupid pup refuses to eat.¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°You feed it first.¡± Lin Rufei could only say yes. Chi Yu coldly grunted. With a flick of his long sleeves, a freshly hunted deer appeared on the ground. Lin Rufei bent down and put the kitten on the body of the deer. The kitten smacked its lips and started devouring it happily. Lin Rufei felt as if Chi Yu¡¯s unkind gaze was nailed to his head like a needle. He could only raise his head stiffly and smile dryly, ¡°This¡­¡­weather is pretty good.¡± As if to confirm his words, the sky suddenly struck down a loud thunder. Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Did it have to be so effective, ah? Chi Yu narrowed his eyes: ¡°Yes, the weather is pretty good.¡± His humanoid appearance was not actually cold. Instead, his pair of round cat eyes, at first glance, looked very cute. But the rich scent of blood made it so that he was not cute. Especially when his gaze fell on people, there was always a fear that in the next moment, they would be killed. Lin Rufei restrained this feeling and said calmly: ¡°So, when do you plan to go back?¡± Chi Yu glanced at the little thing that was still happily gnawing on the venison and said coldly, ¡°When it¡¯s not that stupid.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°Little kitten cub¡­¡­¡± He had been calling this little thing in his head ¡°little kitten cub¡± the entire time. However, when Chi Yu gave him a glare, he realized that it wasn¡¯t appropriate and quickly changed his words, ¡°What is your son¡¯s name again? ¡° Chi Yu answered, ¡°I haven¡¯t named him yet.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You can name it now.¡± Chi Yu harrumphed, ¡°Even if I haven¡¯t named him yet, he¡¯s not ¡®little kitten cub.¡¯¡± Lin Rufei almost choked when he heard those words. The little thing was probably really hungry and had eaten until it was round. Then, it slowly walked itself into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms again and puffed out its round little belly. Unlike its hairy back, the little thing¡¯s belly had little hair and was just pink skin, which felt especially good to the touch. However, Lin Rufei did not dare to touch more. After all, its parent was still standing next to them, and their expression wasn¡¯t very good. ¡°Here¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei slowly lifted the kitten up and gave it back to Chi Yu. Chi Yu grunted and took it very unhappily, but although he had a bad expression, he still moved very gently and gently placed the little kitten cub into the pocket of his shirt. Unfortunately, the kitten was very ungrateful. It began grunting and crying, trying to break free from his hands to go back towards Lin Rufei. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei could only pretend that he did not see. Chi Yu fed the cub, turned around, and left. His back was very ruthless, leaving Lin Rufei sighing alone, ¡®Why does this Ye Mo family look so much like a cat? Chi Yu, Chi Yu, mishearing could make it sound like eating fish[4].¡¯ When Gu Xuandu heard this, he burst out in laughter and said that Lin Rufei must not say the word ¡°cat¡± in front of the Ye Mos, they were very sensitive to this word. ¡°This is the little cub¡¯s father? How come I didn¡¯t see his mother?¡± On the way back, Lin Rufei started conversing with Gu Xuandu. Who knew that Gu Xuandu would say that Ye Mos only needed one to have a baby. Whether male or female, only one was needed. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He then asked if it was still necessary to distinguish between male and female. ¡°Good question, I have also asked.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°The one that I had asked almost give me two scratches in annoyance.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Although the Ye Mo is strong, they are actually very small in number and there are no more than two hundred of them in the entire Bu¡¯e Continent.¡± Gu Xuandu explained, ¡°So it¡¯s not easy for them to find the same race. Thus, they evolved. As long as the cultivation level is high enough, they can hatch eggs.¡± As Lin Rufei listened to Gu Xuandu¡¯s explanation, he always felt that something was wrong. He frowned and said ¡®senior, ah, you told me yesterday to take a good tonic. Don¡¯t tell me this is what you meant?¡¯ Gu Xuandu laughed, ¡°I was just kidding.¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°That¡¯s really quite funny¡­¡­¡± And then with a grave look, he decided not to continue this topic with Gu Xuandu in the future. He was keenly aware of the existence of some kind of danger. On the third day, Lin Rufei intended to leave the He family. The young girl, Yu Rui, who had eaten her fill of corn candy, couldn¡¯t let go of the candy or the person who gave it to her. Lin Rufei teased He Wanxiang, saying that when the next sword competition comes, He Wanxiang must remember to come to Kunlun with He Xieyi and to not forget to bring the betrothal gift. He Wanxiang frankly smiled and nodded yes causing Yu Rui to shyly burrow into Fu Hua¡¯s arms. But He Xieyi, this brother, did not seem to understand, ¡®What betrothal gift, ah, who¡¯s getting married?¡¯ Lin Rufei looked at his appearance and let out a long sigh. In his heart, he thought: No wonder your cultivation level was so high but still remained still single. Some things are innate, ah. The carriage drove out of the He family and towards the official road, but only soon after they entered the official road, Lin Rufei heard a thud on the roof of the carriage. It seemed that something heavy had fallen upon it. Fu Hua, who was driving the carriage, was startled and hastily stopped the carriage. She turned her head towards the carriage roof and saw a man in black sitting at the front of the carriage. A pair of blood-red eyes stared at her with very bad intent. This stare made the hairs on Fu Hua¡¯s body all stand up and before she could speak, she saw Lin Rufei lift the carriage curtain with a pair of slender hands. With a helpless expression, he said: ¡°It¡¯s hot outside, come inside to talk.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The man directly turned into a shadow and entered the carriage. Lin Rufei was eating a plum smoothie made by Yu Rui with clear honey inside. The sweet and sour pickled plums dyed the snow-white smoothie into an attractive vermilion color, and just smelling the sweet and sour smell also relieved some of the heat. Being stared at like this made it hard for Lin Rufei to take the next bite so he asked, ¡°Do you¡­¡­want to eat some?¡± In regards to Lin Rufei¡¯s good intentions, Chi Yu was full of doubts: ¡°You won¡¯t poison it, right?¡± Lin Rufei said: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Do all these demons speak so straightforwardly? Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s helpless expression, Chi Yu humphed again. He took the smoothie and finished it in a few bites. After eating, he raised his chin and said in a cold voice: ¡°Even if you poison me, I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Lin Rufei found that it was too hot to fight with him and simply waved his hand listlessly, signaling Yu Rui to make another bowl. Yu Rui was caught off guard by this unexpected guest and whispered, ¡°Gongzi, who is this?¡± Lin Rufei covered his face and thought for a long time before finally stifling out a sentence: ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡­the father of a little kid I know.¡± Yu Rui asked, ¡°Little kid?¡± Lin Rufei nodded: ¡°Mnn, a kid.¡± Yu Rui stated blankly: ¡°Then why is he looking for gongzi?¡± Chi Yu cut in coldly, ¡°Because your gongzi has tricked my son.¡± Yu Rui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°Tricked my son into calling him father.¡± Yu Rui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was tempted to say, ¡°I¡¯m not, I didn¡¯t,¡± but who knew that when Chi Yu¡¯s hand reached out, the little thing crawled out of his sleeve. It originally had a wilted appearance, but once it saw Lin Rufei, it immediately came to life again. It hurriedly wobbled towards Lin Rufei¡¯s front and crawled into Lin Rufei¡¯s arm from his sleeve. If it could speak human, it would probably shout, ¡°father you finally came, this strange uncle is so scary.¡± Lin Rufei instantly lost the breath to retort. In a friendly manner, he said that he really didn¡¯t mean to. Chi Yu waved his hand and stopped Lin Rufei¡¯s words. He looked very serious and Lin Rufei thought he was going to say something important. However, who knew that this guy would point to the ice in Yu Rui¡¯s hand and said seriously: ¡°Another bowl.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± While Chi Yu was eating the smoothie, Lin Rufei picked up the little thing and looked at it carefully. The little thing was worthy of the demon tribe. It really grew faster day by day. Now, it had grown another circle larger, but its teeth still had not yet grown out and its voice was still childish. If the weather wasn¡¯t too hot, it would be a good thing to hold in the arms to keep warm. After eating the smoothie, Chi Yu said that his child should be fed again. Then he raised his eyes to look at Lin Rufei. Yu Rui was startled by the look in Chi Yu¡¯s eyes. She said, ¡®If you want to feed your child, what are you looking at my gongzi for?¡¯ Chi Yu harrumphed, ¡°My child only eats food fed by your gongzi.¡± Yu Rui: ¡°How old is your child?¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°Four days.¡± Yu Rui thought to herself: Isn¡¯t this still in the stage of drinking milk? My family¡¯s gongzi is a man, how can he feed your little doll. However, she did not dare to say anything aloud. Instead, she just thought that this person was a little bit wrong in the head. Lin Rufei let out a long sigh. In his heart, he thought that at that time, he really should not have touched the egg without permission. Look what it brought, he got a son out of it, and it even brought along its father. When Gu Xuandu saw the melancholy look on Lin Rufei¡¯s face, he smiled very happily until Lin Rufei glared at him several times. Then, he shuffled to Lin Rufei¡¯s side and bit him on his ear: ¡°Xiao Jiu, don¡¯t worry, demons grow up very fast. Once it grows up, it will know that this was all a misunderstanding. At most, he would follow you for a month¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei muttered that wasn¡¯t a month long enough? Gu Xuandu could see clearly what Lin Rufei was thinking about in his heart. He smiled and soothed him: ¡°Why don¡¯t you just think of it as raising two cats?¡± Lin Rufei looked at Chi Yu, who was seriously looking at Yu Rui making smoothies. In his heart, he thought to himself: My cat doesn¡¯t eat smoothies. Sigh¡­¡­.forget it, forget it. After all, he was in the wrong. After completely giving up the struggle, the atmosphere in the carriage strangely became harmonious. Yu Rui¡¯s brain was not very bright, so she did not realize the differences that Chi Yu had. Currently, she was happily discussing with him a question about whether putting more plums made the smoothie delicious or if putting more honey would make it more delicious. Chi Yu¡¯s baby son was now in Lin Rufei¡¯s arms. It was attached to Lin Rufei and refused to let go. Lin Rufei began to have a headache as he thought about where they were going to go next. However, no matter where, they could not take these two with them¡­¡­He was afraid that before he entered the place, they would beat them out as if they were demons. But now the most important thing was to feed the kitten in his arms first. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] So what was written was ¡°He Jitian,¡± but that didn¡¯t make sense. At first I thought this was a typo and that the author meant He Xieyi (since he was the one with LRF) but the whole paragraph and the coming ones all had HJT. Thus, I changed all of them to HXY because HJT doesn¡¯t make sense here since in the last chapter, HJT asked LRF to go with HXY and further down the chapter, HJT says to LRF that he heard what happened today from HXY¡­¡­. [2] Li Chun means Springtime, hmm the Heavenly Ruler sure liked to name his swords under seasons/weathers. [3] ¡°a day marking one of the 24 divisions of the solar year in the traditional Chinese calendar; solar terms¡± So maybe they weren¡¯t sword names? [4] Eating fish = Chi Yu ³ÔÓã and then Chi Yu¡¯s name is ³ãÓÝ. Different tonations. CH 70 The kitten needed to be fed so Lin Rufei had to stop the carriage halfway and have Fu Hua go to a nearby town to buy some beef and lamb meat. The maids didn¡¯t know what Lin Rufei wanted the meat for at first until they brought it to him and watched him put the kitten in his arms on top of the meat. The fresh meat weighing several dozen pounds, after entering the mouth of the kitten, disappeared quickly. Although it had not yet grown all its teeth, for eating meat, this kind of thing was already at its fingertips. It took it less than an incense to cleanly finish the meat, leaving only a few pieces of snow-white bones. Lin Rufei had seen it before, so he was still calm, but Yu Rui was dumbfounded. She said that this little cat really knew how to eat. When Chi Yu heard the word ¡°cat,¡± he frowned and let out a cold humph. Lin Rufei hurriedly patted Yu Rui¡¯s arm and gave her a look: ¡°Not a cat.¡± Yu Rui looked at Lin Rufei dumbfoundedly: ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°This is not a cat.¡± Yu Rui asked, ¡°Then what is it?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°It¡¯s his son.¡± Yu Rui looked horrified: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After feeding his son, Chi Yu left with an unhappy face. No, it should be said that from the beginning to the end, Lin Rufei never saw a happy look on his face. After he left, Yu Rui said, ¡°Gongzi, how in the world did you offend him? He never showed a smile from the beginning to the end.¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly and waved his hand, saying that it was a long story¡­¡­but still, he repeatedly instructed Fu Hua and Yu Rui, that in front of Chi Yu to not ever mention the word ¡°cat,¡± lest he gets angry. Yu Rui said yes in a daze and Fu Hua seemed to have understood something, several times she wanted to speak but then decided against it. Lin Rufei probably knew what she wanted to say and told her not to worry, he had a sense of propriety. Several invitations had already been sent out and Lin Rufei planned their next route. He decided to go to the nearest She family first. The She family was very close to the Shen family, so when the time came, he could head to both. Lin Rufei was not familiar with the She family, but he knew the Shen family very well. Who let his sister, Lin Weirui, fall in love with the Shen family¡¯s son Shen Wucui? However, Shen Wucui seemed to be scared by Lin Weirui¡¯s jumpy nature and had not dared to propose marriage. This time, when Lin Rufei headed over, if he could meet Shen Wucui, then it would be the perfect time for him to explore his intentions. Last night, there had been a rainstorm so the weather was slightly cooler but still very hot. When the weather was hot, Lin Rufei only had little appetite. Except for ice, he simply did not want to eat other things. But Fu Hua said that if he ate too much ice, he would also lose appetite so she refused to let Lin Rufei eat it all the time. Thus, Lin Rufei¡¯s dinner was only a simple bowl of porridge and he ate some small side dishes along with it. He didn¡¯t know if it was because the wind was strong and he had caught a cold, but Lin Rufei had a cough again. This time, this cough was a bit more aggressive and it was accompanied by a low fever. Lin Rufei, who already had no appetite, didn¡¯t want to eat anything even more. Because she was worried about Lin Rufei¡¯s health, Fu Hua didn¡¯t dare to continue their journey. Instead, she checked into the nearest inn and headed to the nearby pharmacy to prescribe some medicine for Lin Rufei. It was said that a long illness made the patient a good doctor[1]. Fu Hua had given Lin Rufei medicine for a long time so for an ordinary cold, she knew very well what to do. It was hot outside so it was also not very cool in the room. Lin Rufei sat by the window in a single outfit and from time to time, he would let out a cough or two. When Gu Xuandu saw that he was not feeling well, he went out and came back with two or three pieces of hawthorn cake[2] in his hand and handed them to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei took them and ate them slowly and leisurely. He was about to chat with Gu Xuandu when an upside-down head suddenly appeared from the window in front of him and almost scared Lin Rufei out of his chair: ¡°Cough cough cough¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°What are you eating?¡± The head that popped up suddenly asked. Lin Rufei was so frightened that he covered his mouth and coughed violently. Only after he had finally recovered did he helplessly say, ¡°Next time, can you not appear so suddenly?¡± Chi Yu had no self-awareness and he stared at the hawthorn cake in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand: ¡°Is it good?¡± Lin Rufei cried and laughed as he reached out and handed him a piece. Chi Yu took it and swallowed it whole in one bite. Afterward, he looked at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°How about it, do you like it?¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°I ate it too fast, I didn¡¯t taste it.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Are you Zhu Bajie[3]? But he did not dare say it aloud. After sighing, he handed out the last piece and urged Chi Yu to eat slowly, saying that there was only this piece left. Chi Yu ate very slowly this time and from time to time, he would smack his lips. He looked very serious as he savored the taste and after he finished eating, Lin Rufei thought he was going to leave, but who knew that he would ask: ¡°Where are you going next?¡± Lin Rufei simply replied, ¡°Follow the official road all the way to the south.¡± Chi Yu asked, ¡°You¡¯re going to the sea?¡± Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°Yes, that is my intention.¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°Then remember to stay away from the Ruo River.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Why?¡± However, Chi Yu simply looked at him silenty without responding and directly walked away. Lin Rufei originally thought that this big cat¡­¡­No, that was not right, that this Ye Mo was very difficult to serve. However, after a few days together, he found that his character was actually okay. He wasn¡¯t too surly and he spent most of his time eating. Lin Rufei¡¯s fingers slowly drew circles on the table, ¡°Why should I stay away from the Ruo River?¡± Gu Xuandu raised his head and looked out the window: ¡°Probably because it¡¯s going to rain.¡± Lin Rufei repeated, ¡°Rain?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded, ¡°Mnn.¡± The Ruo River was a big river that ran through almost half of the Yaoguang continent, flowing from the steep mountains to the low hilly plains and eventually merging into the vast ocean. In accordance with Lin Rufei¡¯s journey, after about two or three more days, he would be able to see this big river. He just didn¡¯t know why Chi Yu had told him to stay away from this big river. Gu Xuandu said it was going to rain, but the sky did not look cloudy nor did it look like a rainstorm would happen. With this in mind, Lin Rufei¡¯s finger, that had been drawing circles on the table, was suddenly pressed down by Gu Xuandu, who said in a warm voice: ¡°What is Xiao Jiu worried about, why don¡¯t you tell senior?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head and smiled, ¡°Nothing.¡± He stood up, stretched his back, and muttered that he was sleepy. When Gu Xuandu took in his appearance, his expression was a bit obscure. However, in the end, he didn¡¯t say anything and only pursed his lips slightly. Lin Rufei thought Gu Xuandu¡¯s comment about rain was just a casual remark, but who knew that in the middle of the night, he was awakened from his dream by the rumble of thunder. He opened his eyes and immediately noticed the pouring rain outside, which was frighteningly heavy. Bean-sized raindrops fell from the sky. It was like a curtain, covering the whole world and it made people unable to distinguish between day and night. A gap was left in the window of the inn to allow the wind out, but now, the sound of the wind through the gap changed the feel it gave, howling like a creepy cry. Lin Rufei was still wrapped in the quilt as he vaguely asked what time it was. Gu Xuandu reached out and gently touched his forehead to make sure he didn¡¯t have a fever again before answering softly, ¡°Go back to sleep, it¡¯s still early before dawn.¡± Lin Rufei said in a dazed voice that it was raining quite heavily. Gu Xuandu agreed, ¡°It is very heavy.¡± Lin Rufei mumbled, ¡°Will it stop at dawn?¡± After he finished saying this, he fell back asleep again. Gu Xuandu seemed to have answered something but he didn¡¯t really remember. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The next morning, Lin Rufei was woken up by Fu Hua¡¯s knocking. Fu Hua said, ¡®gongzi, it¡¯s almost noon. It¡¯s better to get up and eat something before going back to sleep.¡¯ Lin Rufei sat up blankly and said, ¡°It¡¯s noon?¡± He turned his head to look out the window, ¡°Hasn¡¯t the rain stopped yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fu Hua replied, ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell when it will stop.¡± Lin Rufei was still a bit confused from his sleep. And only after he got up and washed up did he wake up a bit, but he still didn¡¯t have much of an appetite. He sat at the table and ate the food absentmindedly. It was raining so hard but Lin Rufei suddenly remembered Chi Yu and his son. In his heart, he was wondering where these big and small two cats were hiding to avoid the rain. In the middle of this thought, the window directly crashed open because of a shadow. Lin Rufei took a closer look and saw a big snow-white cat with a crying kitten in its mouth jumped lightly onto the table in front of him. Lin Rufei immediately recognized the identity of the visitor from the cat¡¯s crimson eyes and disdainful expression. It was none other than Chi Yu. This was the second time Lin Rufei had seen the original form of this adult Ye Mo and he felt that no matter how he looked at this Ye Mo, it looked like a cat. The biggest difference it had with a cat was that it looked more vicious¡ªhe just didn¡¯t know if Chi Yu had made this expression on purpose. Chi Yu threw the kitten, that was in his mouth, onto the table and then shook the hair on his body hard, throwing Lin Rufei a faceful of water. Lin Rufei originally wanted to say something in complaint, but who knew that the big cat would point his chin at the kitten and Lin Rufei immediately felt guilty: ¡°Come, come, come, I will help the little¡­¡­little Ye Mo wipe off the water so that it doesn¡¯t catch a cold.¡± As he said this, he went to the side to get a clean handkerchief. Then, he took the little cat cub into his arms and carefully wiped it down. Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at Lin Rufei for a while. Seeing that Lin Rufei did not overstep the mark, he licked his own fur that was soaked from the heavy rainwater. The little kitten was still very unhappy when he was being held by Chi Yu, but as soon as he entered Lin Rufei¡¯s arms, he started to purr. Lin Rufei was a bit baffled by this and just as he was about to ask if the kitten was uncomfortable, he heard Gu Xuandu next to him explain with a smile that this was a sign that the Ye Mo liked him. Only then did Lin Rufei show a look of understanding. ¡°When is this rain going to stop?¡± Lin Rufei muttered casually. ¡°Half a month.¡± Chi Yu actually replied back. Lin Rufei exclaimed, ¡°Half a month? That¡¯s too much! Wouldn¡¯t the whole city be flooded in half a month?¡± Chi Yu looked at Lin Rufei, as if he was very dissatisfied with him questioning his words, and let out a ¡°hmph.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°So¡­¡­Do you want something to eat?¡± Only then did Chi Yu¡¯s expression ease up a bit, ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei hurriedly headed out and asked Fu Hua to buy some meat. Fu Hua agreed and soon came back with fresh meat. However, when she came back, she saw two large white cats, one small and one large, squatting in the house. Her eyes immediately lit up and before Lin Rufei could say anything to stop her, she entered the room with one big step, reached out, and picked up Chi Yu. She held him against her chest and rubbed him twice: ¡°Where did the big cat come from? You¡¯re so cute!! Is it because it¡¯s raining so hard outside that you came in to take shelter??¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened. Just as he was about to ask Fu Hua to put the Ye Mo down so as not to annoy him, he saw a bit of shame appear on the Ye Mo¡¯s face. Following that, he gave a raspy purr: ¡°Meow.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yo, it¡¯s just that the voice is a bit coarse.¡± Fu Hua muttered. The Ye Mo also did not forget to glare at Lin Rufei a few times, threatening him not to open his mouth. Lin Rufei cried and laughed and could only sit and watch as Fu Hua petted it all over. Finally, she reluctantly placed it back down and said that the medicine was still simmering outside and asked Lin Rufei to keep an eye on the big cat. Lin Rufei waved his hand in a hopeless manner, indicating for Fu Hua to go. Once Fu Hua left, the disdainful look returned to the Ye Mo¡¯s face. Lin Rufei secretly muttered that the difference in treatment was too great. However, Gu Xuandu smiled and explained that the Ye Mo liked young women most, preferably unmarried girls and that although Lin Rufei met the condition of being unmarried, he was a man. Lin Rufei was speechless from Gu Xuandu¡¯s explanation. He had still been wondering yesterday why the Ye Mo was indifferent to Yu Rui¡¯s offense, but today he finally understood. Ye Mo licked its fur clean and ate the meat brought by Fu Hua, but it had no intention of leaving. Lin Rufei asked carefully if he was going to leave and was met with a blank stare from the Ye Mo. He said that it was raining so hard outside, where was he going to go? It had only been a few days and Lin Rufei was already getting impatient. As he finished speaking, he placed his paws on the bulging pink stomach of his cub. Then he said that if Lin Rufei wanted him to leave, he could do so. As long as the little cub called him ¡°father,¡± he would go back to Bu¡¯e immediately. The little cub grunted incessantly, but unfortunately, it had no teeth and no claws. Against its father¡¯s control, it had no power to fight back and could only look at Lin Rufei with longing eyes. In the end, Lin Rufei was a fake father. In front of its real father, he didn¡¯t have much courage. He could only tactfully take out a corn candy from his pocket and asked if Chi Yu wanted one or two. Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at the candy with a somewhat disdainful look. Lin Rufei originally thought this deal was a failure, but who knew that in the next moment, he would actually throw the little cub into Lin Rufei¡¯s arm and then take the corn candy in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± So this disdainful expression was actually made for whom to see? Gu Xuandu was enjoying the show from the side. He was also amused by Lin Rufei¡¯s helpless look and said that in actuality, the demons on the Bu¡¯e continent were also divided into good and bad. Demons like the Ye Mo were a relatively simple kind. What they did every day was to find food and fight, and when they grew powerful from their battles, they would give birth to a child themselves. Lin Rufei stroked the kitten¡¯s head. Then he looked at the Ye Mo, who was eating corn candy with a frown on his face, and thought that Gu Xuandu¡¯s description was probably true. Ye Mo said that the rain would last for half a month, but Lin Rufei didn¡¯t take it seriously. However, from morning until night, the rain never let up and shallow layers of puddles had soon accumulated everywhere on the streets. Lin Rufei had stayed in the inn all day and was really bored out of his mind. In the end, he found an umbrella and planned to go for a walk outside. But when Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw that Lin Rufei was still coughing, they were worried that Lin Rufei¡¯s condition would worsen. However, seeing his determined attitude, they had no choice but to stop persuading him. As Lin Rufei went for a walk on the street, his shoes and socks were immediately half wet, so he simply took them off and walked barefoot on the green stone streets. Because of the rainstorm, there were not many people on the street and only a few lonely stores were open. Without the hawkers¡¯ hawking, the only sound left in the ears was the sound of the rain. Walking through the rain, there was a kind of lonely feeling of being the only one left in the world. Fortunately, Lin Rufei still had Gu Xuandu standing beside him. Since they were alone, Lin Rufei took the opportunity to ask some curious questions about the old days. The Heavenly Ruler, Gu Xuandu, had no arrogance from the moment he came to Lin Rufei¡¯s side, so Lin Rufei asked and he answered. He said something about the war that year, about the friends he knew, and about the demons he had killed. The rain passed through Gu Xuandu¡¯s body making him look like a reflection, as he described in detail the landscape from a hundred years ago. Lin Rufei listened with fascination. ¡°Does senior want to go back?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Go back? Go back to where?¡± Gu Xuandu questioned. ¡°Naturally, to that year.¡± Lin Rufei responded. Gu Xuandu looked at him tenderly: ¡°It¡¯s fine now, I don¡¯t want to go back.¡± Lin Rufei looked up at the sky. The rain really didn¡¯t have the idea to stop at all and he sighed: ¡°The rain is so heavy, how is it good?¡± He had just finished saying this when he noticed a man in a woven raincoat walking across the street towards him. The man was wearing a hat that completely covered his face and the alley was a bit narrow. Lin Rufei turned sideways, intending to let him go first but just as the man brushed past Lin Rufei, he smelled a faint scent of blood. He looked down and saw that the rainwater, at the man¡¯s feet, was dyed scarlet. Lin Rufei was slightly stunned, but the man had already disappeared from his sight. When he returned to the inn, Lin Rufei saw the Ye Mo lying on the table by the window, squinting his eyes and taking a nap. Gu Xuandu took a towel for himself and squatted down halfway to help Lin Rufei wipe his bare feet clean. Lin Rufei was still dazed and when he noticed Gu Xuandu¡¯s action, he hurriedly called out, ¡°Senior¡­¡­¡± ¡°Shhh.¡± Gu Xuandu made a gesture of silence. He pointed to the Ye Mo, who was still taking a nap on the side, and indicated for Lin Rufei not to speak. Lin Rufei had wanted to say something but ended up closing his mouth because of this. Instead, he looked at Gu Xuandu, who was carefully wiping his toes clean, and a faint sweetness of red inexplicably surfaced on his cheeks. Gu Xuandu dried Lin Rufei¡¯s feet and helped him put on his socks. The atmosphere between the two was a bit strange and Lin Rufei did not notice that the eyes of the originally sound asleep Ye Mo cracked open a bit and was currently casting a thoughtful look towards him. ¡°You stink.¡± Lin Rufei, who had just stood up after putting on his shoes and socks again, heard a disgusted voice from Chi Yu, ¡°It smells like fish.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Fishy smell? Do cats not like fish?¡± Chi Yu immediately stomped his feet in anger at his words, ¡°Who are you calling a cat?!!¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡ª¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°Hmph!!!¡± He jumped down from the table and carefully observed Lin Rufei for a while. He sniffed the corner of Lin Rufei¡¯s clothes again and slightly narrowed his eyes, ¡°Did you encounter something outside?¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei immediately remembered the person he met in the alley and hesitantly talked about it. ¡°Oh.¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°So it¡¯s here.¡± He turned around and jumped back onto the table, lazily stretching his body, ¡°Are you going to hurry on your journey today?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s impossible to hurry with this rain.¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°That¡¯s good, lest you encounter something out there that will swallow you up in one bite.¡± He opened his mouth and yawned, revealing a row of sharp white teeth, ¡°Your sword, how in the world did you get it?¡± After saying that, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t trick me with ¡®a gift from a friend.¡¯¡± His eyes were sharp and incomparable and they carried a strong suspicion, ¡°You can be a friend of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s?¡± Lin Rufei said innocently, ¡°Why can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Hmph, look at your body!!!¡± Ye Mo looked at Lin Rufei critically, ¡°Walking three steps and panting twice, getting sick when the wind blows, how could a figure as powerful as the Heavenly Ruler be friends with you?!¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he thought to himself: your Heavenly Ruler was just wiping my feet, but he didn¡¯t dare to say anything aloud. He simply explained in a nice voice and good temper, ¡®You don¡¯t know the Heavenly Ruler that well so how do you know that the Heavenly Ruler wouldn¡¯t befriend someone like me? What if the Heavenly Ruler likes sick people like me, then what are you going to do?¡¯ ¡°To tell you the truth, you human beings don¡¯t know the Heavenly Ruler as well as we demons do.¡± As the Ye Mo talked about the person who once killed their King of All Demons, there wasn¡¯t the slightest shadow of hatred in his tone. Instead, it was full of admiration and desire. Should be, the demon race had always respected strong. As long as someone was strong enough, who cared if they were human, ghost, monster, or demon. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Lin Rufei said curiously. ¡°I¡¯ve read your human texts and they all say that the Heavenly Ruler was gentle and didn¡¯t get angry and that although he had a profound cultivation, he had the world in mind.¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not true!¡± His voice became very loud: ¡°The Heavenly Ruler was obviously a perverse person! He never blinked when he killed demons and he completely had nothing to do with gentleness!¡± When he said this, Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu out of the corner of his eyes. He thought that this description was more apt to Gu Xuandu. Although Gu Xuandu deliberately behaved very gently around him, the occasional hostile aura that came out was really frightening. Most likely he, who had this nature, was also very lazy to disguise it when he was human. ¡°There¡¯s probably some misunderstanding in the texts.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°After all, no one has seen the Heavenly Ruler for so many years.¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°That¡¯s why I said, you humans don¡¯t know him as well as we demons do. And how can you be friends with such a character? Tell me¡ªwhere exactly did you get the sword blade from.¡± He scratched the table anxiously, making an ear-piercing creaking sound; the demon world always had the rumor that the Heavenly Ruler had fallen, however, they were never able to find the remains or tomb of the Heavenly Ruler. Although, he did feel a hint or two of implication from this person, Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei spread his hands: ¡°It¡¯s still the same story. I can¡¯t help it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, revealing an ominous glint. In the face of his threat, Lin Rufei just propped his chin up and looked at him, without the slightest intention of backing down. The little Ye Mo beside him was also awakened. As soon as he opened his eyes and saw his fake father being threatened, he immediately grunted and bit the big Ye Mo¡¯s foot with his small mouth that hadn¡¯t grown teeth yet. Then, he began to kick hard with his hind legs. Chi Yu roared in anger and rushed to bite his own son¡¯s ear. The little Ye Mo that was bitten, screamed. This made Lin Rufei¡¯s heart ached and felt funny at the same time. The window resounded once again with continuous thunder. The rain had been falling for the whole day without the slightest intention of lessening. Instead, it rained harder and harder, causing the whole city to panic. If it really was half a month like Ye Mo had said, then most likely the whole city would be flooded. They shouldn¡¯t even think about rushing their journey. Lin Rufei looked out the window, ¡°What is this rain all about.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something up there.¡± Ye Mo seemed to hate the fishy smell on Lin Rufei¡¯s body. He sucked in his nose and turned away from him a bit, ¡°Once it kills one, the rain will probably stop.¡± There¡¯s something up there? Lin Rufei looked up at the cloudy sky. Currently, there was not only heavy rain but also lightning and thunder, which at first glance looked very horrible. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Then when will it kill one?¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°Half a month.¡± He blinked at Lin Rufei, ¡°Otherwise, should you go join in on the fun?¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t say anything, but he always felt that this Ye Mo had no good intentions. Although he did not know what was fighting in the sky, he thought that such a big battle, certainly would not be a good thing to provoke. But although Lin Rufei did not want to get involved, some things were getting worse. The amount of rain was simply too amazing and after another night¡¯s work, almost the entire street was flooded. Yesterday he could still step out but today, the water already reached over his thighs. The tables and chairs on the first floor of the inn were all floating up and the situation looked very bad. ¡°What should we do, gongzi?¡± Fu Hua frowned when she saw this heavy rain. Other travelers in the inn were also worried along with her. Whether it was the guests or residents of the city, most of them were mortals without cultivation. Although they could directly leave this place by sword, the people left behind could only wait for death. In this low-lying area of the Central Plains, there was no place to hide. The people were talking on the second floor with worried looks. Lin Rufei shook his head, indicating that he did not know, but he still found an unoccupied corner and looked eagerly at Gu Xuandu. He called out ¡°senior.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes darkened as he heard Lin Rufei¡¯s soft voice, ¡°Speak.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°This rain really can¡¯t be stopped?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°There is a way.¡± Lin Rufei immediately grew excited: ¡°What should be done?¡± Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Beat up the cat, who is squatting in your room with nothing to do, up into the sky.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This seemed to be quite difficult, he had not fought with cats before. Gu Xuandu squinted at him: ¡°This is a perfect chance to let Gu Yu out and in on some action.¡± Ever since Gu Yu had been with Lin Rufei, its status wasn¡¯t as good as the wooden shield. He tried several times to correct Lin Rufei¡¯s habits, but failed time and again. This time, he finally seized the opportunity to urge, ¡°Do not use the shield. ah.¡± Lin Rufei suddenly frowned. He always felt that this senior was deliberately making things difficult for him. Although the Ye Mo looked cute, it was at least one of the seven demon kings on the Bu¡¯e Continent. He was just a poor, weak, and helpless swordsman, how could he possibly beat it? But Gu Xuandu would not say any other methods. Lin Rufei could only go back to the room and look at Chi Yu with a sigh. The demon was naturally not concerned about the lives of other humans. Currently, it was happily smoothing the hair of the kitten. Lin Rufei stood by the window, looking at the heavy rain. Just as he was thinking about whether there was any other way, he heard a sharp cry from Chi Yu behind him: ¡°Ow¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei turned around and saw that Chi Yu had stood up from the table. He was looking at him with a hostile face and all his hairs were standing up, just like a big cat with fried hair. He sharply called Lin Rufei¡¯s name: ¡°Lin Rufei¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Hm?¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°How dare you pull my tail¡ª¡ª!¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded on the spot. He turned his head and saw Gu Xuandu, who was standing next to Chi Yu with a look of innocence. Facing Lin Rufei¡¯s questioning eyes, Gu Xuandu looked very calm. He simply spread his hands to make an ¡°I don¡¯t know what he is talking about¡± expression. However, the few hairs in his hand revealed exactly what this unreliable senior just did. Chi Yu said, ¡°What are you looking at?!!!¡± He flashed his sharp claws and gestured at Lin Rufei a few times fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯t think that because my son treats you like a father, I won¡¯t dare to strike at you!¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He really couldn¡¯t argue with a hundred mouths[4]. Chi Yu roared with irritation. Under Lin Rufei¡¯s gentle voice, he finally calmed down. He tucked away his tail and simply turned his back towards Lin Rufei. He had a look of ¡°I am angry, you must not come to mess with me again.¡± The breath in Lin Rufei¡¯s throat had not yet fallen when he saw Gu Xuandu reveal a mischievous smile. He stretched out his hand towards Chi Yu¡¯s curled up tail and pulled¡ª¡ª ¡°Shameless!!!!¡± Chi Yu fiercely hurled up from the table and rushed towards Lin Rufei. His already very red eyes were now so angry that they could bleed. Lin Rufei was frightened by his appearance and reflexively pulled Gu Yu that was on the side of his waist. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Yu caught a blow from Chi Yu. Lin Rufei swung his sword with his backhand and raised up a snow-white sword Qi. Chi Yu twisted to dodge. With another claw, it was deadlocked on Lin Rufei¡¯s Gu Yu. ¡°Quickly¡ªquickly¡ªswing the sword¡ª¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu, who was enjoying the show, did not feel that things were a big deal, ¡°Use the method I taught you, try it quickly!¡± At this point, there was no other way. Lin Rufei could only try as if he was using the wooden shield and drew out the sword intent in his body before attaching it to Gu Yu. Gu Yu felt the sword intent and issued an excited buzz and soon, the sword blade exploded with a dazzling white light. When Chi Yu felt the sword intent, he paused for a second. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Lin Rufei, who was holding the hilt of Gu Yu¡¯s sword, raised his hand and swung down again. Chi Yu¡¯s sharp claws were the best weapons. Even a thousand blades could not destroy it. If it was an ordinary blade that was grabbed by his claws, then it would be broken into pieces. Even if the best sword resisted his blow, it would probably leave a few grooves. Chi Yu was sure that with a little more force, Gu Yu would be destroyed by his claws. However, Lin Rufei did not give him this opportunity. He watched as Lin Rufei slowly swung down the sword blade. This action was nothing special and was as if it was just a lighthearted attempt. However, Chi Yu felt a surge of sword intent. This sword intent came suddenly as if it was from Lin Rufei¡¯s body. And when the sword intent surged towards his body, he actually felt a sharp pain that tore at his soul. This pain forced his claws to release. He wanted to twist his body to stay in mid-air, but this unstoppable sword Qi was like a giant object. It wrapped around him and flew straight to the sky where it was still raining heavily. How could there be such a strong sword intent? ¡­¡­ Before flying out Chi Yu only had such a thought left in his head until he broke through the clouds and smashed heavily into someone¡¯s body. The person was looking down and setting up a formation. Reaching out, he caught Chi Yu, who was about to hit his face and after a careful look, he asked puzzledly, ¡®where did this cat come from?¡¯ Chi Yu, who had just suffered a loss at Lin Rufei¡¯s place, could not stand to hear the word ¡°cat.¡± With a howl, his body surged. He instantly turned into a beast that was a dozen meters high and bit down on the man. Lin Rufei did not have the same complex mental activities as Chi Yu. He only knew that Gu Yu was bitten by the big cat so he swung hard and the big cat turned into a meteor, disappearing right in front of his eyes. Furthermore, he also smashed a hole through the dark clouds in the distance. Lin Rufei looked around towards the window: ¡°Where¡¯s the cat!¡± Gu Xuandu gloated: ¡°Thrown out by you.¡± Lin Rufei shook a little: ¡°Thrown where?¡± Gu Xuandu pointed to the sky. Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Once the cat flew away, there was someone who was happy in the room. It was exactly the little cub that was being groomed under the big cat. The bad guy was gone, leaving only him and his dad, which was naturally something to be happy about. The little one ran to Lin Rufei¡¯s, rubbing hard, and whining coyly. How could Lin Rufei stand this? In the end, he picked it up and continued to comb the kitten¡¯s hair with a comb. After combing for a while, he realized that something was not right. Lin Rufei turned his head and glared at Gu Xuandu: ¡°Senior¡ªhow can you just grab other people¡¯s tails?!¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But he¡¯s not human.¡± (t/n: human and people have the same character) Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why are you so good at talking, senior? When Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei¡¯s shocked expression, he could not help but laugh: ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Didn¡¯t Xiao Jiu want the rain to stop? Don¡¯t worry. Since the big cat is up there, the rain will stop soon.¡± Lin Rufei said arduously, ¡°Then how did senior know I would throw him up there?¡± ¡°Because Xiao Jiu had never been able to master the strength he exerts on the sword.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Ye Mo¡¯s claws are the most powerful weapon and usually their way of fighting is to crush the sword blade first. As soon as Xiao Jiu waved his sword, it must have gone up.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­ so what exactly is above the rain curtain?¡± ¡°Mnn ¡­¡­ probably a cultivator trying to catch something and also a demon trying to run away.¡± Gu Xuandu stroked his chin as he said, ¡°I have not seen such a person in a long time, one who can disregard the death of the people around.¡± Lin Rufei had some disbelief: ¡°This rain was made by a person? I thought it was ¡­¡­ demons.¡± ¡°It should be a formation.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Wait and see, I guess it will come down soon.¡± So Lin Rufei continued to come the little kitten¡¯s hair while looking out the window. As Gu Xuandu said, the originally heavy rain gradually lessened. Although not completely clear, the vaguely visible sky was becoming brighter. Lin Rufei had good eyes and noticed that there seemed to be something above the overcast clouds, splitting and closing, as if in a fight. Gu Xuandu also stood in front of the window and watched, ¡°It¡¯s almost back.¡± Lin Rufei said in a deep voice: ¡°Senior, I have one thing I want to ask you.¡± Gu Xuandu thought he was going to say something important, so he lowered his voice, ¡°Speak!¡± Lin Rufei said seriously: ¡°That tail, how did it feel?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­ Exell¡­¡­ ent.¡± The two looked at each other, both understanding tacitly and Gu Xuandu said: ¡°How about I find an opportunity for you to have a touch?¡± Lin Rufei nodded and reached an evil deal with Gu Xuandu. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Idea is that when a person has been sick for a long time and is familiar with pathology and medicine, he can become a good doctor. [2] Hawthorn Cake. [3] Reference to the famous Pig in ¡°Journey to the West¡± [4] Unable to give a convincing explanation in self-defense. CH 71 Lin Rufei also couldn¡¯t say how long the two of them had been fighting in the sky, but gradually, the two days of rain finally stopped. The people, who had been worried about this matter, finally were able to sigh in relief. The fight above also gradually came to an end and Lin Rufei saw a huge cat-shaped demon, holding something in his mouth, flying towards his side. The closer he got to him, the smaller the demon¡¯s figure became. Lin Rufei fixed his eyes on it and confirmed the identity of the demon¡ªit was the one he had thrown out with his sword. The most striking thing was that he was holding a man in green clothes in his mouth. The man seemed to have been beaten up by Chi Yu since his face was swollen and his mouth was still chanting about something. Chi Yu was so irritated by his chants that he raised his hand and gave him a claw, almost knocking him out completely. When Chi Yu returned to the inn, he had almost become the size of a normal cat, so the person he was carrying in his mouth, soon became out of place. With a ¡°bah¡±, he threw the man onto the ground like garbage and then stomped on him, cursing at Lin Rufei: ¡°Shameless! Do it again[1]!¡± He was still bothered about the fact that Lin Rufei had pulled him by the tail. Lin Rufei quickly waved his hand and said, ¡°No more, no more.¡± ¡°Why not? You were so excited about it just now!¡± The Ye Mo ground his teeth and said hatefully, ¡°The tail of a Ye Mo is a man¡¯s waist and a woman¡¯s hand! You actually dare reach out and touch it, you are really looking for death¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°But didn¡¯t my maid also touch it just now?¡± Ye Mo frowned: ¡°How is that the same?¡± Lin Rufei stared, ¡°How is it different?¡± Ye Mo replied as a matter of fact, ¡°Your maid is a lovely and cute girl! What are you? You¡¯re a disgusting man¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei mumbled in his heart, ¡°Can you not say the words ¡®disgusting man¡¯ so cutely?¡± but since the Ye Mo was still angry, he didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud. In the end, he could only laugh dryly twice, barely easing the atmosphere. The man, who had been thrown to the ground by the Ye Mo, woke up in a daze while they had been talking, attracting Ye Mo¡¯s attention. As soon as the man woke up, he heard the conversation between Lin Rufei and the Ye Mo and immediately got up from the ground. Pointing at Lin Rufei, he accused in shock: ¡°You, you, you are actually having an affair with a demon!¡± Lin Rufei ignored him and pointed to the newly cleared sky outside, ¡°Did you make the rain come down?¡± ¡°It was me.¡± This person had actually admitted it with a pat on his chest, not feeling anything wrong with his actions at all. Lin Rufei stated, ¡°If it had continued to rain, the whole city would be flooded. Do you know how many people would have died?¡± The man said indifferently: ¡°Life, old age, sickness, and death are things that people must go through. As for drowning, it¡¯s just a different choice, what¡¯s so strange about it?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°Your reasoning is very strange.¡± ¡°Not strange, not strange.¡± This man was young in appearance, if he only looked at his face, he would most likely have thought that he was just a teenager. But judging from his cultivation level, those who dare to set up a formation in the sky, could not be a teenager. Faced with Lin Rufei¡¯s question, he shook his head, ¡°I am eliminating harm for the people. Perish a city of people to ensure a side of peace.¡± Lin Rufei paused: ¡°Peace?¡± He said, ¡°You probably don¡¯t know, recently a jiao has entered the Ruo River. That jiao has got a human¡¯s seal of approval and as long as it heads into the sea, it will turn into an evil dragon. Then, when the time comes, it will be more trouble.¡± He continued with a serious face, ¡°That¡¯s why I will set up a formation on his way in order to stop it. At most, the rain will continue for half a month and half a month later, this jiao will be trapped here by me.¡± After he finished, he seemed to remember something and then glanced at the Ye Mo¡¯s unpleasant eyes. He immediately sat up straight and whispered: ¡°It seems I have said this all in vain. You and this demon also have a relationship and it looks like a pretty good one¡­¡­¡± Ye Mo angrily retorted: ¡°Who has a good relationship with him! What nonsense are you talking about!¡± Lin Rufei ignored the big angry cat and asked, ¡°Half a month of rain? How many people are you trying to kill here?¡± The surrounding areas were all plains. If it really rained for half a month, most likely there wouldn¡¯t be many people left in this area. This person spread his hands and shook his head, making an ¡°I do not know what you are talking about expression.¡± When Lin Rufei saw this, he was angered and amused: ¡°Since you did things this way, did no one say anything?¡± ¡°They dare?¡± The man puffed up his chest, ¡°None of them are as good as me, so why should they say anything about me.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°If they are better than you, then they can say something about you?¡± The person responded, ¡°Of course.¡± Lin Rufei pointed at the Ye Mo, ¡°Look, you were captured by him, so he is naturally more powerful than you. According to you, shouldn¡¯t you listen to him?¡± Ye Mo smiled and snorted cooperatively from the side. He twisted and jumped onto the table, licking his front paws and growling disdainfully, ¡°Who wants this kind of waste to be my little brother.¡± ¡°Who are you to call me a waste?¡± The man was irritated by the word ¡°waste¡± and jumped eight feet high. Ye Mo said, ¡°Just to kill a simple jiao and you need so many people to die as well. If you¡¯re not a waste then what are you?¡± He laughed coldly. The man¡¯s jaw dropped and he was momentarily choked to death by the Ye Mo¡¯s words. ¡°Besides, what is an evil jiao? If it eats people then it¡¯s an evil jiao?¡± Ye Mo continued, ¡°People eat pork and beef, demons eat people, it¡¯s just a cycle of the divine principle. There¡¯s nothing wrong with humans killing jiao, so why do you need to add the word ¡®evil¡¯ to the word jiao?¡± He stood up and came up to the man: ¡°In terms of pork and cattle, then aren¡¯t you also an evil person?¡± The man said, ¡°How am I an evil person¡ª¡ª¡± Ye Mo asked, ¡°Have you ever eaten pork?¡± The man was speechless. Lin Rufei listened with great interest as the two of them fought. He realized that the Ye Mo¡¯s eloquence was not bad at all and that he was able to block this man from saying another word. In this Jianghu, many people had strange reasoning and only those with a stronger fist could tell others the ideals they wanted them to say. ¡°What you say seems to be somewhat reasonable.¡± This person stroked his chin and also took in the Ye Mo¡¯s words, ¡°So it is reasonable if the pig or cow came to me for revenge and it is also reasonable for me to kill the jiao.¡± He was also a smart one and was able to actually rationalize Ye Mo¡¯s logic in such a short amount of time, ¡°Since we all have a point, what did you bring me back for?¡± The Ye Mo grinned and extended his sharp claws, ¡°I am a demon, what do you think I brought you back for?¡± When the man saw Ye Mo¡¯s claws, he looked at Lin Rufei with a frightened expression, as if he wanted to ask Lin Rufei for help. However, Lin Rufei simply smiled and added for the Ye Mo: ¡°Naturally he brought you back to eat.¡± This person: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ye Mo said, ¡°It makes sense for you to kill demons and it makes sense for me to eat people. Since everyone has a point, what are you waiting for? Unless you¡¯re going to drill yourself into my mouth?¡± As he said this, he opened his mouth, revealing rows of snow-white teeth. The man let out a long sigh: ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± After saying this, he actually tried to drill himself into the Ye Mo¡¯s mouth. This rash action cause both the Ye Mo and Lin Rufei to freeze in their position. The Ye Mo, whose teeth had been pressed down, instantly jumped far away. He spat out bah, bah, bah, several times, ¡°What are you doing touching my mouth, stinky man¡ª¡ª¡± This person: ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to eat me?¡± Ye Mo: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The man added: ¡°I¡¯ll drill myself into it.¡± The Ye Mo¡¯s face distorted and his voice became vicious: ¡°Who wants to eat a man? If I want to eat, I will definitely eat a cute little girl.¡± After saying this, he didn¡¯t know what he had remembered, but he let out an uneasy ¡°hmph.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This person¡¯s actions made Lin Rufei not know whether he should cry or laugh. He didn¡¯t know whether to say that the person was simple-minded or say that he was stubborn so in the end, he simply waved his hand, ¡°If you want to catch the jiao, you can. But using a professional formation is not allowed. Otherwise, the people who died in your hands will perhaps be more than the people who died in the hands of the jiao.¡± The man sighed: ¡°Your words have some truth.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Where exactly are you from and what is your name?¡± ¡°My name is She Yizhi.¡± He said, ¡°From the She family.¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he thought that this matter was very coincidental. He didn¡¯t expect to meet the She family here and he had a good name, a snake[2]. He had long heard that the She family was very good at formations but he did not expect it to be so powerful that it would rain for half a month. ¡°And who are you? Why are you hanging out[3] with this powerful demon?¡± She Yizhi asked. ¡°Who¡¯s hanging out with him!¡± Before Lin Rufei could answer, Chi Yu sat up first and growled angrily, ¡°If you say any more nonsense, I will really swallow you in one bite!¡± She Yizhi stated: ¡°Then swallow, ah, didn¡¯t I agree to it just now?¡± Chi Yu replied coldly, ¡°Do you think anyone would rush to eat sh*t.¡± She Yizhi, who had been compared to sh*t, glared. He almost rolled up his sleeve and discussed with Chi Yu his taste but Lin Rufei hurriedly stopped him, saying that he should calm down. Sometimes it was good to taste bad, if the taste was too good, he may not see the sun tomorrow. She Yizhi barely took in Lin Rufei¡¯s words and thought, ¡°What you said seems to make sense.¡± Only then did Lin Rufei breathe a sigh of relief. This She Yizhi was really a rash young man. If he really pissed off the already bad-tempered Chi Yu and was really eaten, Lin Rufei would not be able to explain properly to the She family. Lin Rufei asked about the jiao again and She Yizhi started to talk very slowly. He said that the jiao had been found in the Ruo River and was very powerful. The first to find that jiao was actually his elder brother. However, his elder brother was somehow bewitched by the jiao and did not tell others until recently, when he was suddenly injured by the jiao and almost lost his life. Only then, did the public know the existence of the jiao. Him being the younger brother, naturally, he could not just sit idly. Thus, he searched for the jiao¡¯s traces for a long while and also set up a formation in the clouds so that it would rain. He wanted to kill the jiao in this place, but who knew that only after two days, a big cat suddenly appeared in the sky and then, he was plucked down by it. Speaking of demons, She Yizhi was very indignant. He said that they were completely free of human moral restraints and more than that, they were not reputable. They become hostile in just a blink of an eye and were simply not trustworthy. Only, when he said this, he forgot that he was sitting next to an unkind demon until he heard the sound of Chi Yu¡¯s tail whirring in the air. Soon, he realized that he seemed to have said too much and laughed embarrassingly: ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t generalize either. There are still some¡­¡­credible demons.¡± ¡°Hmph, what good are you humans again?¡± Chi Yu sneered, ¡°If someone hadn¡¯t stolen my egg and tried to rob my son, you think I would be here?¡± She Yizhi was shocked, ¡°There was someone who was able to steal your egg?¡± Chi Yu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± She Yizhi pondered for a moment: ¡°It seems you are not as powerful as I thought.¡± Chi Yu pounced towards She Yizhi once again and by the time he had gotten up again, She Yizhi¡¯s face had a few more bloodstains. Although She Yizhi¡¯s formation was powerful, his combat ability seemed very bad. He was trampled on by Chi Yu without the ability to fight back and could only lie on the ground screaming in pain. Lin Rufei was very impressed with him; he admired his ability to poke at Chi Yu¡¯s pain points with every word. Lin Rufei pondered over this matter and in the end, he decided to introduce himself. She Yizhi also knew of the Lin family but was a bit surprised to hear that the person in front of him was Lin Rufei: ¡°I have long heard of Lin gongzi¡¯s name. My father has been waiting at home, why did Lin gongzi stay here for so long?¡± In his heart, Lin Rufei thought to himself: How dare you ask, it¡¯s all because of you. He reached out and pointed out the window, ¡°I haven¡¯t bought the boat I want to row with yet.¡± She Yizhi didn¡¯t understand so he asked, ¡°Why do you want to row a boat?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Look outside.¡± Although the rain had stopped, the water outside still had not yet receded and the whole street was filled with cloudy rainwater. She Yizhi took a glance at it, laughed embarrassingly, and said, ¡®so that¡¯s how it is. But it does not matter, after the formation stops, the rain will also stop. Soon the water will recede. It¡¯s only a pity that the jiao will run away again. I don¡¯t know when I can find its trail again.¡¯ Chi Yu was not a nosy demon, if Lin Rufei had not thrown him out, he would not have been interested in She Yizhi, so She Yizhi did not say anything else and the atmosphere in the room gradually melted down. Lin Rufei originally had thought to send She Yizhi back after the water had receded so that he would not cause further harm to others, however, Gu Xuandu suddenly appeared out of thin air and came up to Lin Rufei¡¯s ear, asking him if he wanted to be happy. ¡°Happy?¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously. Gu Xuandu raised his chin towards Chi Yu¡¯s tail. Lin Rufei¡¯s hands instantly itched, but there was still some hesitation laced in his tone: ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem good to just take action¡­¡­like this, right?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°If you don¡¯t take action now, then there will be no one to take the blame for you later.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Come on, come on.¡± Gu Xuandu was instructing his own family¡¯s little gongzi to do bad things, ¡°Reach out and grab it, leave the rest to She Yizhi.¡± Although Lin Rufei was a little hesitant, under Gu Xuandu¡¯s best efforts of compulsion, he still slowly walked behind Chi Yu, who was now looking out the window with his back to them with a lazy look. His tail wagged from time to time, looking very languid. She Yizhi was behind Chi Yu, sitting in a very obedient posture. When he noticed Lin Rufei, he didn¡¯t understand why he was coming over and cast a confused look at him. Lin Rufei returned his glance with an apologetic smile. Before She Yizhi could react to what Lin Rufei¡¯s smile meant, he saw the handsome, noble little gongzi extend his white, slender hands and, with a swift movement, he gently pinch the tail that was slowly wagging in front of him. ¡°OW!!!¡± The owner of the tail immediately jumped eight feet high. When he turned around and saw She Yizhi sitting behind him, he almost immediately locked onto his target, ¡°Damn you! Who let you pull my tail¡ª¡ª¡± After he finished growling, he immediately lunged at him. She Yizhi had no time to explain before he was pinned to the ground, letting out a miserable scream. Lin Rufei had his hands tucked behind his back, looking innocent, and he even said in a warm voice: ¡°Chi Yu, be gentle, don¡¯t hurt the person.¡± She Yizhi: ¡°¡­¡­????¡± What¡¯s wrong with you, Lin gongzi?? By the time She Yizhi got back up from the ground, he had a few more bruises on his face. He looked at Lin Rufei with incredulous eyes and pointed at Lin Rufei in a trembling voice: ¡°Lin gongzi¡­¡­you¡­¡­you¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei grieved and lamented: ¡°She gongzi, ah. He even said that the tail could not be touched. Why couldn¡¯t you resist the urge?¡± She Yizhi was so angry with Lin Rufei that his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Chi Yu was now considered to be pissed off. He no longer had his back turned to them and narrowed his eyes at the both of them. Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, that was currently behind his back, was rubbing with satisfaction, thinking that no wonder Gu Xuandu had touched it twice, the tail felt too good. It was soft, slippery, and fluffy. When he grasped it, it was like he was touching a soft cloud and it really made it hard for someone to stop. He could not help but envy Fu Hua who could stroke the cat casually. I hate not being a daughter, ah, Lin Rufei secretly let out a sigh. She Yizhi began to doubt the whole world after seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s ugly side. He stared at Lin Rufei¡¯s gentle and innocent expression and if it weren¡¯t for the wounds on his face that were still aching in pain, he probably would have thought that everything that had just happened was just his imagination. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. However, She Yizhi¡¯s strong desire for survival still made him silently move away from Chi Yu and coincidentally, he noticed the little kitten sleeping on the bed. He had just suffered a lot from Chi Yu and now when he saw such a cute kitten, most of his heart softened and he reached out to pet it: ¡°Where did the kitten come from?¡ª¡± Lin Rufei had no time to stop him when She Yizhi took action. As for the result of this touch, Lin Rufei could not bear to continue describing it. He could only say that Chi Yu¡¯s methods were extremely cruel and She Yizhi, who was unable to fight back, shed crystal tears. When Fu Hua entered through the door, she saw a strange young man sitting by her gongzi¡¯s bed crying and the big cat, the one that she had touched before, was screaming viciously at the strange man. The man¡¯s face was full of claw scratches, although not too serious, it still looked very miserable. Lin Rufei was standing by the window sighing, saying: ¡®humans, once they become unlucky, even cold water would get stuck between their teeth.¡¯ ¡°Gongzi?¡± Fu Hua did not know what had happened and took a few steps towards the bed. With natural movements, she picked up the big cat and tenderly stroked its head, ¡°Who is this. ah?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°She family¡¯s She gongzi.¡± Fu Hua asked, ¡°She gongzi? How come he is here?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°That¡¯s a long story.¡± Fu Hua said, ¡°I saw that the rain outside has stopped and it seems that the water will recede tomorrow.¡± She looked at She gongzi but noticed him staring at her with a stunned expression. She was suddenly bewildered, ¡°She gongzi, why are you looking at me like this?¡± She Yizhi was actually not looking at Fu Hua, instead, he was looking at a certain demon, who was now nestling in Fu Hua¡¯s arms, tenderly squinting his eyes with a face of enjoyment. He almost wanted to sob and accuse the demon of differential treatment, but due to the wound that had just fallen on his face, he finally closed his mouth, hung his head, and said sadly, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you look good.¡± Fu Hua didn¡¯t understand. Lin Rufei smiled and then proceeded to ask Fu Hua to book another room, saying that tomorrow She gongzi would leave with them. Fu Hua let out an ¡°oh,¡± and reluctantly let the big cat down before heading out. When Chi Yu saw that Fu Hua had left, he slowly jumped onto the bed and then kicked She Yizhi to keep him away from him. She Yizhi was also considered to have his temper bullied out of him. He silently changed his position and continued to look at Lin Rufei with sorrow. Lin Rufei could only pretend not to see. In his heart, he thought to himself that he really shouldn¡¯t do any more bad things otherwise, he would always feel guilty. Gu Xuandu was very indifferent and was full of bright smiles. If he hadn¡¯t been worried that She Yizhi¡¯s face would be scratched into a fleshy mess, he would have made a move on Chi Yu¡¯s tail again. After a difficult day, when they were about to depart the next day, She Yizhi was dying in the corner. Lin Rufei sat next to him, holding the kitten in his arms while Chi Yu was being held in Yu Rui¡¯s arms. One moment he was being fed a piece of corn candy and the next, he was being fed a piece of plum cake, in the end, he became the most dashing one out of all of them. She Yizhi let out a long sigh and the sorrow in his eyes almost turned concrete. He didn¡¯t know whether he was envious of Fu Hua, who could pet Chi Yu¡¯s hair, or envious of Chi Yu, who could lie in the arms of a beautiful maid, or even both. Lin Rufei had his head bowed and still donned a harmless and gentle look. If not for yesterday, where She Yizhi was set up by him, he probably would have believed in his harmlessness. After the water receded, there was still a lot of mud on the road and the carriage did not dare to travel too fast on it. But halfway through their travels, Gu Xuandu, who had been relaxed, suddenly straightened up as if listening to some sound. When Lin Rufei saw this, he asked in a low voice: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Something is following us.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What is it?¡± However, Gu Xuandu did not answer. Instead, he glanced at She Yizhi, who was currently dozing off, and slowly relaxed his posture again, ¡°I guess it¡¯s coming for this guy.¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°Nothing hostile, don¡¯t mind it.¡± Lin Rufei gave an ¡°oh.¡± Chi Yu, who had been taking a nap with his eyes closed, also seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes halfway and glanced in Lin Rufei¡¯s direction, but very quickly, he withdrew his gaze and gave a lazy meow. Lin Rufei also seemed to have noticed something strange. He seemed to have smelled a strong scent of water. Logically speaking, the rain had just stopped not too long ago so it was very normal if there was a strong scent of water. However, this scent seemed to be a little different from the ordinary smell of water and it was right now circling around them. It was only faintly discernible and made it impossible for people to ignore. She Yizhi, whose eyes were closed, also woke up and he seemed to notice something. Sitting upright, he asked, ¡°Do you guys smell anything?¡± Chi Yu lifted his eyelids and gave him a look. She Yizhi wondered: ¡°Why did it suddenly decide to come to me? Is it not afraid of death? Strange, strange, before, it desperately tried to avoid me, did it eat some kind of wrong medicine today?¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked: ¡°Is it the jiao you wanted to kill before?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± She Yizhi took a deep breath and savored the watery smell that permeated throughout the air. His voice was a bit cold as he spoke, ¡°This disgusting fishy smell, I can¡¯t forget it in my life.¡± As he spoke, he pulled out an orange-yellow talisman from his pocket. The symbols on that talisman were actually a rare ice-blue color and before it was even used, a surging spiritual aura came through. ¡°Since it has come to my door.¡± She Yizhi grinned, ¡°Then I will not be polite.¡± ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] It¡¯s like saying, ¡°I dare you to do it again!¡± [2] Not sure if this was on purpose or a typo, but She Yizhi¡¯s name is ÙÜÒ»Ö®: and the word for ¡°a snake¡± is ÉßÒ»Ö», sounds similar to She Yizhi just different tonations on the zhi. So maybe LRF heard it wrong or it¡¯s the author¡¯s typo ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ [3] This is more derogatory, it¡¯s like ¡°mixing in with the wrong crowd.¡± CH 72 Sitting in the carriage, She Yizhi was about to fling out the talisman, however, a cold wind suddenly blew up in mid-air causing the entire carriage to shake. Accompanying this strange wind, was a strong fishy smell. When She Yizhi noticed this, his expression suddenly changed. He shouted a ¡°bad¡± and intended to get up and leave the carriage. However, who knew that Chi Yu, who had been sitting on the side, would suddenly lift up his claws and make a move on She Yizhi, whose back was currently facing him. She Yizhi was directly scratched into confusion. He staggered a few steps and fell back down into the carriage. Just as he was stunned, the wind outside stopped and the fishy smell, which made people feel uncomfortable, quickly faded away. ¡°What did you swipe at me for?¡± She Yizhi twisted his head and looked at Chi Yu with grievance. Chi Yu licked his paws without a single concern and lazily replied: ¡°If I want to swipe, then I will swipe.¡± She Yizhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Chi Yu asked: ¡°What, you got a problem with it?¡± She Yizhi didn¡¯t dare to have a problem with it since he couldn¡¯t win against Chi Yu. After feeling that the thing outside was gone, he shrunk his neck and continued sitting in the corner sighing. Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and glared at him causing She Yizhi to not even dare to breathe out. His little daughter-in-law¡¯s appearance really made Lin Rufei want to laugh. The next few days, the sky did not rain again and Lin Rufei no longer felt the aura of the jiao. It seemed that since that time, the jiao had completely disappeared. Although She Yizhi still wanted to catch the jiao, he still did not dare to offend Chi Yu. Even though he was proficient in formations, he was really powerless against face-to-face combat and just a single attack from Chi Yu¡¯s claws could take half of his life. Helplessly frightened, She Yizhi chose to endure in a very sensible manner. It wasn¡¯t until the carriage had traveled for about six or seven days and had finally entered the She family¡¯s territory that he rose up and laughed at Chi Yu, ¡°Hahahahahaha, once we enter this city gate, it will be my She family¡¯s territory!!¡± Chi Yu was, at the moment, enjoying a gentle caress in Fu Hua¡¯s arms and when he heard She Yizhi¡¯s words, he lifted his eyes indifferently, ¡°So what do you want to do?¡± She Yizhi loudly announced, ¡°I want to touch you! I also want to touch your son! I want to touch your whole family¡ª¡ª¡± It must be said that if Chi Yu wasn¡¯t in his original form, She Yizhi¡¯s words would have sounded immoral, but even if Chi Yu was in his Ye Mo form, he still had a bad temper as usual. So in broad daylight, in full view of everyone, She Yizhi, who was attempting to be immoral, was beaten up and finally entered his house with a few more blood marks on his face, looking very messy. Lin Rufei followed the downcast man and entered the She family¡¯s compound. The She family wasn¡¯t too big, but he could clearly feel the difference it had with other sword-cultivating families. Whether it was the walls or the beams, almost every place he could see was covered with all kinds of talismans. Some of these talismans Lin Rufei knew and some of them he had never seen before, so it was quite clear that the family did attach great importance to these. The invitation in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand was for She Yizhi¡¯s elder brother, the one he said that had been injured by the jiao. The She family was a bit surprised by Lin Rufei¡¯s arrival, but their attitude was quite eager, except that She Yizhi¡¯s mother was surprised when she saw the various bruises on her son¡¯s face. She said, ¡®Son, ah. This time you went out, which girl did you molest for you to be scratched into this messy state?¡¯ After hearing his mother¡¯s question, She Yizhi howled and cried, ¡°Mother, you do not know, I messed with a powerful little wild cat and he almost scratched me to death¡­¡­¡± When Mother She heard the word ¡°wild cat,¡± her expression looked slightly strange: ¡°Little wild cat? Is it pretty?¡± ¡°It is pretty.¡± She Yizhi rubbed his nose, ¡°Shiny and smooth, it just won¡¯t let me touch it. Even if it doesn¡¯t let me touch it, it wouldn¡¯t let me touch its son either¡­¡­.¡± Mother She froze, ¡°It already has a son?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She Yizhi replied, ¡°The son is as beautiful as he is.¡± The two of them were like chickens speaking to ducks[1]. He didn¡¯t know what Mother She had misunderstood, but her eyes soon turned from pity to condemnation, ¡®Son, we are a decent family, how can we just touch others? And besides, they already have a son. You deserved to be scratched into this messy state!¡¯ She Yizhi was bewildered: ¡°Then what should I do to be able to touch it?¡± Mother She answered, ¡°You have to at least welcome people into the door[2].¡± Hearing this, She Yizhi shivered and shook his head like a rattle-drum[3], ¡°No, no, I must be crazy if I was to welcome him in.¡± Lin Rufei, who had been standing on the side and listening in on the conversation between mother and son, found it funny. He didn¡¯t know what kind of picture Mother She had conjured up in her mind to look at She Yizhi with such a reproachful look, but little did she know, her son had met not some charming young woman, but a real wild cat. The wild cat did not follow She Yizhi in and instead, he went to someplace else with his son in his mouth. Only after Lin Rufei was settled in, did he emerge from the window with a crooked head, casually throwing his son onto Lin Rufei¡¯s bed. Then he lay down by the window, tidying up his fur slowly and methodically, ¡°I don¡¯t like it here.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The Ye Mo narrowed its eyes, ¡°There are quite a few talismans in this residence that can inhibit demonic power, which is annoying.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Does it have an effect on you?¡± ¡°Yes, but not much.¡± Ye Mo replied, ¡°But for many small demons, it¡¯s something very deadly.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Is the jiao considered a small demon?¡± The Ye Mo answered, ¡°All demons that live on Yaoguang are small demons.¡± His crimson eyes revealed a disdainful look, ¡°Only those who can survive on Bu¡¯e are big demons.¡± Lin Rufei showed a thoughtful look. When She Yizhi came to find Lin Rufei, he didn¡¯t dare to come in directly. He first looked left and right with his head, and only after seeing the Ye Mo on the bed did he cautiously enter the room, standing far away from the Ye Mo, ¡°Lin gongzi, my elder brother knows you are here and has set up a banquet to invite you over for a little chat.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Why do you have this expression?¡± She Yizhi said honestly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid he will beat me up.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Why would he beat you up if you don¡¯t provoke him?¡± She Yizhi muttered, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Lin gongzi will provoke him.¡± It seemed that he still remembered the time when Lin Rufei pulled the Ye Mo¡¯s tail and made him take the blame for it. Lin Rufei laughed out loud while the Ye Mo threw a blank stare at She Yizhi and said, ¡®You think Lin Rufei is as disgusting as you are. Wait, Lin Rufei, didn¡¯t you also grab my tail twice? So both you and that She Yizhi are not anything good¡ª¡ª¡¯ In the end, the room became a scene where She Yizhi looked at Lin Rufei with resentment and Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu with condemnation. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. After traveling to many places, Lin Rufei had finally gotten used to going to banquets and had even learned to say a few dignified-sounding polite greetings compared to when he first came down from the mountain. He thought that the banquet set up by She Yizhi¡¯s elder brother was no different from the previous one. However, when he went there, he saw that She Yizhi¡¯s elder brother was still lying in bed, looking like he was not able to recover from his serious injuries, despite there still being a sumptuous banquet in the room. When he noticed Lin Rufei arriving, he got up from bed with difficulty and greeted Lin Rufei to sit. Lin Rufei was frightened by the situation and quickly said, ¡®if you have injuries you should recuperate first. Eating isn¡¯t urgent.¡¯ She Yizhi¡¯s elder brother was named She Jingxian and he had a cultivation at the seventh level. Although he was born into a formation family, he had pretty good sword skills. However, now that his body was wrapped tightly all over, at first glance, his figure didn¡¯t look human and it was very terrifying to see. Lin Rufei muttered in his heart that didn¡¯t know how he got into this state. ¡°Nothing, nothing, I¡¯m not really hurt, it¡¯s just that my mother is too nervous.¡± She Jingxian waved his hand indifferently, ¡°My father passed away early and I am in charge of the family, so if there is any poor hospitality, Lin gongzi is not to blame.¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± He simply took out the invitation and handed it over to She Jingxian. She Jingxian took it with his hand and thanked Lin Rufei, and casually asked how Lin Rufei came back with She Yizhi. Lin Rufei then casually retold the situation of how he was passing through a small town and suddenly it started raining heavily, only to find that She Yizhi was setting up a formation to catch demons. Who knew that after listening to Lin Rufei¡¯s description, his expression became more and more ugly, and finally he slapped the table in anger, pointing at She Yizhi¡¯s nose and scolding: ¡°Who told you to catch it!?¡± She Yizhi was still holding his chopsticks and eating his food, so when he heard She Jingxian¡¯s voice, he was at a loss, ¡°Big brother was hurt by the demon, isn¡¯t it natural to kill the demon?¡± She Jingxian yelled, ¡°Even if you want to kill the demon, you shouldn¡¯t dare to hurt the innocent like that!¡± She Yizhi had wanted to say something else as well but was soon interrupted by She Jingxian, who angrily told She Yizhi to go to the ancestral hall to reflect on himself. She Jingxian then apologized to Lin Rufei, saying that his younger brother had been spoiled by the family since he was young and had little contact with outsiders, so it was difficult for him to distinguish right from wrong in certain matters, and that he was grateful to Lin Rufei for stopping him and not letting him create a big disaster. This She Jingxian, although wrapped tightly in a messy white cloth, his eyes that were peeking out from behind the white banadages were still very good-looking. His appearance should have been very handsome and when he reprimanded She Yizhi, he was even more imposing and stern so that people could not refute. In the end, this was the She family¡¯s business so Lin Rufei didn¡¯t feel appropriate to comment. He nodded his head and said that there was no need to punish so heavily, after all, nothing big ended up happening. She Jingxian smiled bitterly: ¡°If something really had happened, then it would be too late.¡± Then as if nothing had happened, he asked Lin Rufei about the jiao. He probably wanted to know if the jiao had suffered at the hands of his brother. Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°It definitely suffered some loss.¡± She Jingxian went rigid. ¡°But it should be nothing major, just some minor injuries.¡± Lin Rufei remembered the man he met in the alley wearing a bamboo hat and a woven coat, ¡°What is the relationship between She gongzi and the jiao?¡± ¡°There is no relationship.¡± She Jingxian muttered, ¡°I just happened to meet him when I went to control the flooding.¡± When the jiao entered the sea, it would be followed by a flood. The She family was next to the Ruo River, so it was only natural to have floods. But looking at She Jingxian¡¯s words and attitude, Lin Rufei did not believe that he had nothing to do with the jiao at all. However, She Jingxian did not want to admit to it so Lin Rufei also could not say anything more about it. After the wine and food, he then got up and said goodbye in order to let She Jingxian have a good rest. The weather was not as hot as it had been a few days ago. Lin Rufei had nothing to do so he and Gu Xuandu took a stroll together towards the Ruo River. The terrain here was wide and flat and the river was also endless. It was vast and mighty, a very spectacular sight to see. If he followed the Ruo River a little further, it would be the sea that Lin Rufei had never seen before. He had begun to look forward to the seaside scenery and was very eager to try. At this time, it was exactly evening and the beautiful sunset dyed the everlasting clouds red and the area where the sky and the sea met became blurred, as if the ground and the sky had become one. The wind at the river was a bit strong and there were many willows planted by the roadside. Furthermore, there were plenty of children playing on the river bank, seeking the coolness it provided. Lin Rufei simply took off his shoes and socks and also walked along on the river bank. He felt the cold river water over his ankles, bringing a comfortable coolness. ¡°Don¡¯t be greedy for the cold, be careful of getting sick.¡± Gu Xuandu said at the side, although he had said this, he also did not want to stop Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei answered, ¡°I think I am not that weak now.¡± After saying this, he patted his not-so-sturdy chest. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he used too much force, but he started coughing violently and almost passed out directly. Gu Xuan was crying and laughing: ¡°You can¡¯t be a little lighter on yourself?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Cough cough cough cough¡ª¡ª¡± After finally recovering from the cough, Lin Rufei headed to the river to find a stone large enough for him to sit down and rest. Because it was Summer, the sky turned dark relatively late. After the sun went down, it became the best time for people to move around and the Ruo River was soon bustling with activity. In addition to children, there were many patient anglers. Lin Rufei looked for a while, then intended to leave. But who knew that the touch beneath his feet would suddenly feel somewhat wrong and the originally clear water seemed to have become swampy, grasping his feet with a death grip. Just as Lin Rufei was thinking about what this was, a familiar figure showed up not too far away. Although the sky was still sunny, that person was still wearing a straw coat and bamboo hat and in the crowd, he looked very out of place. However, the smell of water on his body told Lin Rufei his identity. His steps stopped in front of Lin Rufei and through the bamboo hat, Lin Rufei saw a touch of gold. Lin Rufei was immediately on alert and his hand went to the Gu Yu that was hanging on his waist. The man slowly approached Lin Rufei and just as Lin Rufei was about to draw his sword, he heard a faint: ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± This voice was something Lin Rufei had never heard before, but for some reason, Lin Rufei somehow felt that it was also familiar. As he was thinking so, the man parted his veil, revealing a handsome face. On this face, there was a pair of beautiful golden eyes and it was very different compared to the pupils of a normal person. His pupils were as vertical as a snake¡¯s and in the area of his left eye, there was a very obvious scar. This scar ran from his forehead to the corner of his eye and was particularly eye-catching. ¡°You know me?¡± Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Have we met somewhere before?¡± He had already confirmed the identity of the person in front of him and after thinking over it, he finally remembered something, ¡°You¡­¡­are the evil jiao in the Canglan River?!¡± The man nodded his head. ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Lin Rufei was puzzled, ¡°I remember that you already got the title, have you already gone to the sea?¡± The evil jiao shook his head, he didn¡¯t seem to be able to speak well and the words he spat out were very difficult to understand at times. Lin Rufei listened for quite a while before he finally understood what he meant. It turned out that heading to the sea was not something easy, especially if it was an evil jiao that wanted a title and was also being targeted. But the cycle of divine principle was the way it was. Even drinks all had a fixed number[4]. ¡°Why did you want to find me?¡± Lin Rufei asked him. ¡°Go¡­¡­to see him¡­¡­¡± Muttered the evil jiao. Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°Who?¡± The evil jiao replied: ¡°She Jingxian.¡± Lin Rufei was curious, ¡°What are you going to see him for? You injured him and now the She family is itching to skin you.¡± The evil Jiao pursed his lips slightly and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡± Lin Rufei became even more and more curious. He simply sat down on the ground and asked the evil jiao exactly what was going on between him and She Jingxian. The evil jiao began to intermittently talked about him and She Jingxian and after Lin Rufei listened thoughtfully, he said, ¡°So you are actually very close friends?¡± The evil jiao nodded and continued slowly: ¡°That¡¯s right, but then something happened and I inadvertently hurt him.¡± Lin Rufei let out an ¡°oh,¡± then continued: ¡°So you want to go see him, right?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± The evil jiao said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you get into She residence?¡± ¡°There are formations, so I can¡¯t get in.¡± The evil jiao replied, ¡°It will make my original form appear.¡± It seemed that the evil jiao was indeed not as powerful as the Ye Mo. The Ye Mo was not afraid of the formation in the She residence in the slightest and even the kitten wasn¡¯t affected, but it seemed that the evil jiao was not like them. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Then how am I going to help you?¡± The evil jiao replied, ¡°Bring him¡­¡­out.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Why?¡± The evil jiao asked. ¡°He seems to be badly injured.¡± After all, when Lin Rufei had took in She Jingxian¡¯s appearance, he was very tightly wrapped up all over his body. When the evil jiao heard this, he revealed a look of anxiety, ¡°But, I, I clearly didn¡¯t exert any force.¡± Lin Rufei doubted, ¡°Exactly what is going on between you two?¡± The evil jiao refused to say. He only shook his head and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei immediately sensed something but he did not continue to press on this matter. He just said that he would try, but he couldn¡¯t necessarily guarantee success. He also asked the evil jiao when it would continue its journey towards the sea. The evil jiao said that when the next rain comes, he would leave this place and that if Lin Rufei could, he hoped that he would be able to bring out She Jingxian before then. Lin Rufei nodded and said okay. Only then did the evil jiao turn around and leave. Looking at his back, Lin Rufei pondered, ¡°Are the evil jiao and She Jingxian really friends?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Otherwise?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Why do I feel that the two of them are strange?¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei and laughed: ¡°Xiao Jiu is finally starting to understand things properly.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Understand what properly?¡± Gu Xuandu, however, didn¡¯t say anything in response. In his heart, he thought that if it had been a few months ago, Lin Rufei would have never have thought about the things between men and men in that way, but fortunately, after experiencing a lot of things, Lin Rufei had obviously understood the possibility of men and men, which was convenient for him. ¡°Ah-choo!¡± Lin Rufei suddenly let out a sneeze. He rubbed his nose and muttered, ¡°Who is thinking of me[5]¡­¡­?¡± After meeting with the evil jiao, Lin Rufei returned to the She residence. The punished She Yizhi had just come out of the ancestral hall when he bumped into Lin Rufei in a listless manner. When Lin Rufei noticed his appearance, he found it amusing and asked, ¡®She little gongzi, what¡¯s wrong? Why are you so downhearted?¡¯ She Yizhi responded, ¡°Lin gongzi, what exactly do you think my brother is thinking about?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± She Yizhi continued, ¡°Obviously, it was his intention to catch the jiao, but when it came to me, it became a reason to be punished.¡± Lin Rufei hummed, ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Strange, strange.¡± She Yizhi stated, ¡°I can¡¯t understand what he is thinking.¡± After saying these words, he sniffled and muttered out two sentences, ¡°But if the evil jiao becomes a big cat, I guess I would be reluctant too.¡± Lin Rufei repeated, ¡°Reluctant?¡± She Yizhi nodded. In fact, the whole She family was quite strange. Logically speaking, if She Yizhi hated the jiao so much, he should have naturally dislike the demon known as the Ye Mo. But there was never an excessive disgust from him. Especially if he could, then he would prefer to take the Ye Mo into his arms and love it properly. But if it was to say that the She family had no prejudice against demons, then why would the entire courtyard be arranged to prevent the demons from entering the formation? No matter how he looked at this situation, it was quite contradictory. But She Jingxian definitely had history with the evil jiao. Exactly what was going on between this person and this jiao, Lin Rufei also could not say. If he couldn¡¯t say it, then he won¡¯t bother to say it. He simply found She Jingxian and relayed the evil jiao¡¯s message from this morning to him. Originally, She Jingxian had still been lying on his bed, but as soon as he heard Lin Rufei¡¯s words, he sat up and said he would go out with Lin Rufei immediately after changing his clothes. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded at his lively appearance, ¡°She gongzi, aren¡¯t you injured?¡± Only then did She Jingxian remember what happened and let out another ¡°ouch,¡± deliberately limping. He said that as long as he could see his old friends, this injury did not matter. As he said this, he went to the back of the screen to change his clothes and came out in high spirits, dragging Lin Rufei and heading out. When he left through the door, he happened to meet his brother, She Yizhi, who looked at his brother¡¯s appearance and was dumbfounded, ¡®Brother, when did your injury heal? Weren¡¯t you still lying in bed half-dead yesterday?¡¯ She Jingxian responded, ¡®What do you know, you little brat? If I wasn¡¯t half-dead, then I would be driven out to work again.¡¯ She Yizhi was completely speechless at this and simply watched as She Jingxian and Lin Rufei headed out. Lin Rufei and the evil jiao had agreed to meet at the riverside. She Jingxian walked as fast as he could that he almost had wanted to use the sword instead of walking. In the end, Lin Rufei stopped him and said politely, ¡®yesterday you were still at home wrapped like a dumpling, it wouldn¡¯t be good if you act so high-profiled today.¡¯ She Jingxian pondered over those words and realized that he was right so he endured the urge. The two soon arrived at the river and summoned the jiao under the blistering sun. Only then did Lin Rufei learn that the jiao¡¯s name was Tian Shui, it was rather quite elegant. After calling for a while, they did not see the shadow of the jiao. Just as Lin Rufei wondered if there was an accident, he suddenly noticed that in the middle of the Ruo River, a column of water had appeared and then the column of water condensed into the shape of a man. It was the jiao who had come to ask Lin Rufei for help yesterday. ¡°Tian Shui!!!¡± She Jingxian shouted surprisedly. Tian Shui walked up to She Jingxian and before he could react, She Jingxian reached out and hugged him heavily. He looked a little uncomfortable but still didn¡¯t reject She Jingxian, ¡°She Jingxian, I heard that you are very badly injured.¡± She Jingxian mumbled: ¡°Mnn¡­¡­it is quite bad.¡± Tian Shui asked, ¡°Really?¡± She Jingxian continued, ¡°How about I show you?¡± Before Tian Shui could finish, he happily unbuckled his trouser belt and Tian Shui chided angrily, ¡°What are you doing?¡± She Jingxian asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted to see?¡± Tian Shui responded, ¡°I wanted to see your wounds, why did you unbuckle your belt?¡± Thus, Lin Rufei heard this decent-looking She family member spit out, ¡°But what I hurt is my butt.¡± Tian Shui: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± After a long silence, Lin Rufei finally got up and said farewell, saying, ¡®You guys should talk first. I still have something to do so I¡¯ll leave first.¡¯ (t/n): D-Did what I think happened? ¦²(¤Ã ¡ã§¥ ¡ã;)¤Ã ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: It¡¯s good being friends with Senior, but there is one disadvantage. Gu Xuandu: What disadvantage? Lin Rufei: My butt hurts. Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­¡­. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] People not understanding each other. [2] Welcome into the family; i.e. marriage. [3] Rattle-drum. [4] Even a mouthful of water and a mouthful of food is determined by heavenly numbers: everything is determined by heavenly numbers; everything is according to fate. [5] It is believed that if you sneeze, someone is talking about you or thinking about you. CH 73 Lin Rufei did not dare to continue to listen. Despite Tian Shui¡¯s obstruction, he walked to the next riverbank and watched the two from a distance, but did not come closer. Although he could not hear their conversation from this distance, he could still see the two of them. She Jingxian and Tian Shui talked for a while when suddenly, there seemed to be some kind of argument. Tian Shui¡¯s expression showed obvious displeasure and he turned around to leave, however, She Jingxian reached out with his hand and pressed them on his shoulder, saying something to him emotionally. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What is going on between them?¡± Gu Xuandu stroked his chin, savoring their movements: ¡°There must be something fishy.¡± Lin Rufei twisted his head to look at him: ¡°Could it be that Tian Shui and She Jingxian really do have an affair?¡± When Gu Xuandu heard those words, he was silent for about two seconds, and then replied rejoicefully: ¡°My family¡¯s Xiao Jiu has really grown up¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± What¡¯s with this tone? On the other end, She Jingxian and Tian Shui¡¯s argument had reached a fierce point. She Jingxian suddenly reached out and hugged Tian Shui, kissing him heavily on the lips. Lin Rufei looked dumbfounded from the side and his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. Gu Xuandu then covered Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes with his hand and his voice was thick with laughter: ¡°Don¡¯t look, don¡¯t look[1].¡± Lin Rufei asked vaguely, ¡°Are they really in¡­¡­that kind of relationship?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Lin Rufei was silent for a long time. Although he had a hunch at first, it was still very shocking when he actually saw the two entwined together. After all, She Jingxian was a real human and his family¡¯s attitude toward demons wasn¡¯t all to good. Furthermore, he actually had feelings for a jiao¡­¡­ The two of them kissed for quite some time on the riverbank. Lin Rufei felt that he was an eyesore standing here so he simply turned around and walked away. He also did not know when She Jingxian had finally left. Instead, it was not until the evening that She Yizhi said his brother had returned. ¡°Where exactly did my brother go with you yesterday, Lin gongzi?¡± She Yizhi asked, ¡°How come when he came back, his injuries were all healed and he even bounced around.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, indicating that it wasn¡¯t easy for him to explain. ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± She Yizhi was very suspicious and his mouth began chanting one after another. Chi Yu, who had been lying in the room, obviously knew where She Jingxian had gone and snorted at She Yizhi¡¯s words, as if he was laughing at him. She Yizhi glared, unconvinced, ¡°What are you laughing at me for?¡± Chi Yu responded, ¡°I¡¯ll laugh if I want to, what are you going to do about it?¡± She Yizhi muttered angrily, ¡°You are only¡ª¡ª¡± He was going to say ¡°big cat,¡± but the scar on his face reminded him that he could not say some things casually, in the end, he made a hard turn on his words and responded, ¡°You big Ye Mo, you are so annoying!¡± Lin Rufei thought to himself; the words ¡°big Ye Mo¡± didn¡¯t sound imposing at all. Chi Yu sneered, ¡°Is that so?¡± He then flashed his white claws. She Yizhi immediately shrank his neck. In the end, he still conceded and muttered, ¡°He¡¯s really fierce.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Aren¡¯t all demons fierce?¡± She Yizhi replied, ¡°Hey, not necessarily.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Not necessarily?¡± She Yizhi stated, ¡°Actually, my mother said that our family was originally not demon hunters.¡± Lin Rufei then showed a curious look. Only then did She Yizhi slowly talk about his family¡¯s history. It turned out that in the beginning, She Yizhi¡¯s family was actually not very proficient in formations and that they were all actually quite good at swordplay. But his She family physique was special and they would always attract some strange demons. Most of these demons came for the She family¡¯s bodies, wanting to devour their flesh to enhance their cultivation. However, the most troublesome thing was that when these demons appear, they usually disguise themselves and do not reveal their hideous faces right from the start. The She family was cheated again and again, and finally, they learned their lesson. They began to learn formations specifically for the demons and sealed the family courtyard off, not allowing the demons to enter. As time went by, the She family¡¯s formations became more and more powerful, but their sword skills soon deteriorated. But this was considered a good thing since the She family was never cheated by demons again and everyone became a great demon hunter. Although She Yizhi¡¯s swordsmanship was terrible, his formation was one of the best. If Lin Rufei had not stopped him a few days ago, most likely Tian Shui would have been trapped in the formation. As Lin Rufei listened to She Yizhi¡¯s words, he asked, ¡°So your family was often cheated by demons in the past?¡± ¡°Tell me about it, it¡¯s clearly written in the family tree.¡± She Yizhi replied miserably, ¡°So since I was a child, my mother has told me to stay away from those demons¡ª¡ª¡± Chi Yu said coldly, ¡°If you¡¯re going to talk then talk, don¡¯t gesture at my tail.¡± She Yizhi glared: ¡°I really didn¡¯t pull it last time.¡± Chi Yu: ¡°If you didn¡¯t pull it then are you telling me that Lin Rufei did?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­Actually, I didn¡¯t pull it that time either.¡± Chi Yu: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, could it have been a ghost then?!¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± She Yizhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Heh, you humans like to lie the most.¡± Chi Yu spitefully stated, ¡°They will do anything to achieve their goals and in the end, they even put the blame on the demons!¡± She Yizhi muttered, ¡°How can you say that? I have seen with my own eyes how one of my uncles was almost swallowed by his wife on his wedding day.¡± ¡°Swallowed in one bite?¡± Chi Yu narrowed his eyes, ¡°The higher demons are most faithful in the matter of companionship, how could they swallow your uncle in one bite?¡± She Yizhi replied: ¡°You¡¯re lying. He really did almost get swallowed in one bite.¡± Chi Yu answered, ¡°No. What kind of demon did your uncle marry?¡± She Yizhi responded: ¡°A beautiful mantis girl.¡± Chi Yu was silent for a while, then he let out a long sigh, ¡®your She family really isn¡¯t afraid of death. You guys even dare to marry a mantis girl. Being able to survive until now is really a miracle.¡¯ (t/n: for those who may not know, female mantis would eat their male partners for nutrition during or after mating.) She Yizhi then said very frankly, ¡®my ancestors had even married cockroach spirits, how could they be afraid of a praying mantis?¡¯ Lin Rufei and Chi Yu both showed their admiration for She Yizhi, thinking that the She family members were really powerful, being able to make this move. ¡°But not now, since the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s great formation was set up, there are fewer and fewer demons nearby.¡± She Yizhi lamented the recessionary business today, ¡°They are little demons that can¡¯t take shape and after finally finding an evil jiao to practice on, I got scolded by my big brother.¡± Chi Yu said strangely: ¡°Practice? If you want to practice, why don¡¯t you go to Bu¡¯e? Instead, you¡¯re here bullying the little demons.¡± She Yizhi replied honestly: ¡°Can¡¯t win against them and I¡¯m afraid of death.¡± Chi Yu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± This person, he didn¡¯t want any face. The dazed little cat cub sleeping on the bed grunted and moaned and Lin Rufei had long gotten used to it. He reacted faster than Chi Yu and in a few steps, he was at the bedside. He picked up the little cat cub and started coaxing it. Chi Yu coldly said, ¡®you don¡¯t have to be so competent. This is my son, although it is still very silly, later it will certainly be smart.¡¯ She Yizhi curiously asked, ¡°Where is its mother?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a mother.¡± Lin Rufei replied. ¡°How was it born without a mother?¡± She Yizhi froze. Lin Rufei pointed at Chi Yu: ¡°He gave birth to it himself.¡± She Yizhi sighed: ¡°Then he probably won¡¯t become smart in the future.¡± Because of this sentence, She Yizhi¡¯s face had another seven or eight more bloodstains, and if Lin Rufei had not stopped him, his whole face might have been completely finished today. At the evening meal, both She Yizhi and She Jingxian arrived, but the two brothers¡¯ faces were full of depression. Mother She questioned, ¡®did the two of you have a fight? How come you guys have several blood marks on your faces?¡¯ However, both of them spoke almost simultaneously, saying they had been scratched by a cat. Lin Rufei thought in his heart that She Yizhi¡¯s face could be explained, but the problem was how She Jingxian was also scratched so badly. Did he do something to piss off Tian Shui? But given the presence of Mother She, he did not dare to ask. After dinner, Lin Rufei found She Jingxian and asked him what was going on between him and Tian Shui. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. She Jingxian sat on a chair, looking a bit depressed, ¡°It¡¯s nothing really, it¡¯s just that he¡¯s leaving and I¡¯m a bit sad.¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°Hmm?¡± She Jingxian continued, ¡°He¡¯s going to the sea.¡± And then smiled, ¡°Has Lin gongzi ever seen a jiao go into the sea?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°No.¡± She Jingxian said, ¡°It is very difficult for a jiao to travel to sea. The more bad things he has done, the greater the calamity. He wasn¡¯t a kind demon so when he walked to the edge of the seaport, he was already covered in wounds. When I saw him on the beach, I picked him up.¡± When he first saw Tian Shui, Tian Shui had shrunk into a small jiao the size of chopsticks. There were wounds all over its body and it was on its last breath. If he had only looked at its appearance, he really could not see any hint of it being a jiao. ¡°Doesn¡¯t your family dislike demons? You just brought it back home?¡± Lin Rufei thought it was a bit strange. She Jingxian answered: ¡°Maybe because it was in such a miserable state, I did not see that it was a jiao and thought it was a beltfish spirit¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu laughed loudly next to him. ¡°Like one of those very ordinary kinds of beltfish spirit.¡± She Jingxian sighed, ¡°I thought it had created a little flood and tricked a few children into drowning so he was not able to transform. The taste of these beltfish spirits could not be better and it tasted best when used for stews.¡± He then smacked his lips nostalgically. Demons could eat people, but people could also eat demons and there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. Just when Lin Rufei remembered the scene of She Jingxian and Tian Shui kissing, he automatically thought that the two probably had a romantic encounter. But who would have thought that their encounter would not only be unromantic, but it would also be mixed with the fishy smell of seafood. Lin Rufei cried and laughed: ¡°So you cooked him?¡± She Jingxian touched his nose: ¡°The jiao is powerful, it couldn¡¯t be cooked[2].¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He had to say, judging his appearance alone, She Jingxian should have been a very stable type of person, but soon after getting to know him a little bit more, Lin Rufei saw that She Jingxian¡¯s stable outer appearance showed a restless soul. Not only was She Jingxian unable to cook Tian Shui, but he also woke him up and the two immediately fought thereafter. Tian Shui had been seriously injured so he was naturally not a match against She Jingxian. So She Jingxian then grabbed this dying little jiao and locked it up in the room. The jiao heading to sea was really not a good thing for the people living by the Ruo River. As a result, She Jingxian did not let Tian Shui go. After some time and being tormented for quite a while, the two of them developed feelings that should not have been there. Lin Rufei listened from the side. Originally, he was a little touched at this story, but ever since hearing She Jingxian said that he mistook Tian Shui as a beltfish and wanted to stew him, his face became expressionless. After listening, he asked: ¡°Why do you like Tian Shui?¡± She Jingxian looked deeply at Lin Rufei and then spat out three words, ¡°He¡¯s good looking.¡± Lin Rufei:¡±¡­¡­¡± He was shocked at the shallowness of humans. ¡°If he was a beltfish spirit, would you still have such a phase?¡± Lin Rufei asked a question to which the answer had long been obvious. She Jingxian thought for a moment: ¡°Does Lin gongzi want to taste the beltfish spirit?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± She Jingxian: ¡°It¡¯s really delicious.¡± Lin Rufei let out a long sigh and then decided to give up. She Jingxian then continued to talk about what had happened next between him and Tian Shui. It turned out that after Tian Shui had recovered from his injury, he wanted to continue entering the sea and then after entering the sea, Tian Shui would transform from a jiao to a dragon. She Jingxian knew that the seawater could trap a jiao, but not a dragon, and Tian Shui, who had become a dragon, would leave Yaoguang sooner or later. So the two of them had an argument and Tian Shui unintentionally injured She Jingxian. Then, it attracted other members of the She family and Tian Shui fled in haste while She Jingxian was forced to recuperate at home. He was not seriously injured, but in order to make Tian Shui worry, he deliberately acted as if he was dying. However, the plan of man was not as good as the plan of God. Tian Shui was indeed worried about She Jingxian, but She Yizhi suddenly struck out and almost killed Tian Shui. Now that Tian Shui and She Jingxian have met again and after knowing that She Jingxian¡¯s health was fine, Tian Shui wanted to leave. She Jingxian persuaded in every possible way but was unable to move him so he could only return home disappointed. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°So he¡¯s gone?¡± She Jingxian blinked his eyes, but there was not much loss in his demeanor: ¡°Maybe.¡± However, Lin Rufei perceived something else from his expression. The two of them stopped talking and sipped the cold tea in front of them. This day¡¯s dinner was actually soup stewed with a beltfish spirit. The beltfish spirit had been caught by Gu Xuandu and it looked no different from an ordinary fish. The only notable difference was that its body was particularly long. Lin Rufei, Fu Hua, and Yu Rui grew up living on the Kunlun Mountains and the chances of them eating fresh seafood were very little so this was actually their first time seeing such fresh seafood. ¡°How do we cook this?¡± Fu Hua asked in bewilderment while carrying the beltfish. Lin Rufei responded hesitantly, ¡°Stew?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s good to eat it directly.¡± Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and waved his tail. Fu Hua and Yu Rui already knew Chi Yu¡¯s identity, but still weren¡¯t too wary of the cute big cat being a powerful demon, ¡°Eating it raw will give you diarrhea, so why not make a braise and then a soup.¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head in agreement. So Fu Hua and Yu Rui then headed out while holding the beltfish spirit. Although they have not cooked beltfish before, they have cooked ordinary fish before and it probably wouldn¡¯t be too much different. Thus, in the evening, Lin Rufei¡¯s room had a constant stream of tempting aroma. The beltfish spirit was quite long so section of it was stewed, a section of it was braised, and another section was stir-fried. Although they had not taken a bite of it yet, just the aroma wafting out was already very delightful. Lin Rufei tasted a piece and exclaimed in amazement: ¡°Delicious!¡± The meat was firm and flavorful and most importantly, there were no small bones like the ones in the freshwater fishes. With seaweed together, the taste of the soup was extra delicious and Chi Yu was also very satisfied. Although he was still in his original form, Fu Hua and Yu Rui had long prepared a fill that belonged just for him. He ate without chopsticks and gulped it down even the meat with bones together. Lin Rufei finished eating and then wandered around the area, perfectly content. Since he was busy for the first two days, he also didn¡¯t think much about the surrounding scenery. The Ruo River was near the sea and most of the surrounding residents also fished for a living. In the stores along the street, there were many beautiful-looking shellfish and coral. Lin Rufei picked out quite a lot and intended to gift them to his brothers and sister when he headed back home. There were also vendors with fish baskets selling fish on the roadside, but most of the fish in the deep sea was dead after being salvaged. Furthermore, the weather was hot, so they didn¡¯t look very fresh anymore. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Xiao Jiu likes to eat fish?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never eaten sea fish before.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll catch some more for you tomorrow.¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°There is a particularly delicious redfish in this sea, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s still there after several hundred years though.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Senior has been here before?¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°I came here with an old friend before.¡± An intoxicating tenderness surfaced on his lips, ¡°He also likes to eat fish.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. For some reason, Lin Rufei¡¯s heart slightly paused when he heard the words ¡°old friend¡± coming from Gu Xuandu¡¯s mouth. It seemed that he often heard the existence of such a person from Gu Xuandu¡¯s mouth and he seemed to have taken up a great amount in Gu Xuandu¡¯s life. Lin Rufei said, ¡°The old friend who made mung bean cakes for senior and made wine for senior to drink?¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei: ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Where is he¡­¡­now and does he know that senior is still alive?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled and replied, ¡°I think he knows.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t he come to find senior?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°There must be some reason for him not to come to find me, but it doesn¡¯t matter. If he doesn¡¯t come to me, I can go to him.¡± His tone was firm, as if he was repeating a vow. Lin Rufei slightly pursed his lips. For some reason, there was some strange feeling in his heart, but he quickly put this feeling to the back of his mind and conversed with Gu Xuandu about other things. Gu Xuandu then proceeded to talk about this place hundreds of years ago, saying that he had once passed by here before, but at that time it was still a small fishing village and now several hundred years later, it had become a lush town. At that time, the demons were rampant, and not many people dared to live by the Ruo River. It was only until later, when the Heavenly Ruler laid a large formation in Yaoguang, did people flourish and their strengths gradually prevailed. However, this person, who had laid down the Grand Formation, was right now beside him at this time causing Lin Rufei to naturally look at him in a different way, but Gu Xuandu disliked it very much when Lin Rufei called him Heavenly Ruler. As long as Lin Rufei called him that, he would slightly frown and sigh: ¡°I don¡¯t like it when Xiao Jiu calls me that.¡± He would then blink, showing a cunning look, ¡°You can just call me senior.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t senior the Heavenly Ruler?¡± Lin Rufei did not understand why Gu Xuandu was so sensitive. Gu Xuandu laughed, ¡°Xiao Jiu will know sooner or later, but for now, let me keep the suspense.¡± Lin Rufei could only agree. Unknowingly, the two had walked to the Ruo River where they saw many fishing boats fishing. Lin Rufei then picked up a few flat sand stones on the riverside and made an action that showed he wanted to skip the stone. He threw the stone out and just as the stone was thrown out, he saw a familiar figure floating in the middle of the river. It was Tian Shui, who he had seen yesterday. ¡°Tian Shui, why are you here?¡± Lin Rufei asked. Tian Shui shook his head and then took out something from his pocket. He handed it to Lin Rufei and asked him to give it to She Jingxian on his behalf. Lin Rufei received the item, when he noticed that it was a very beautiful scale, he wondered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it to him yourself?¡± Tian Shui replied, ¡°I have to go.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Tian Shui continued, ¡°Thank you, Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei asked again, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it to him yourself?¡± Tian Shui then sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid.¡± Lin Rufei frowned, showing a disapproving look. However, Tian Shui simply smiled as he said, ¡°How long does Lin gongzi think that one person can wait for another?¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a futile wait.¡± Tian Shui continued, ¡°You don¡¯t know when he will return and you don¡¯t know if you can still see him. How long do you think such a wait can be?¡± However, Lin Rufei did not understand Tian Shui¡¯s words. ¡°When I was once a jiao, I was so delirious that I vaguely remember what one person once said to me.¡± Tian Shui said, ¡°He said it didn¡¯t matter how long he waited, as long as that person had the slightest possibility of returning, he would wait again.¡± He lifted his hand and touched the scar on his forehead, ¡°He seems to have really waited.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t let She Jingxian wait for me.¡± Tian Shui continued, ¡°I am an evil jiao and have eaten countless people. Whether I can survive the last tribulation is unknown.¡± He smiled beautifully, ¡°Although I was lucky and was able to get Lin gongzi¡¯s seal of approval, the matter of traveling to the sea is inherently difficult and dangerous; entering the sea as a jiao is not an easy task.¡± Everything had a cause and effect ¡°Then you should at least talk to him face to face.¡± Lin Rufei said. ¡°I did.¡± Tian Shui replied, ¡°I told him to wait for me for six months.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Tian Shui continued, ¡°If I can pass the lightning tribulation, I will come back. If I can¡¯t, tell him to stop waiting.¡± Lin Rufei called out, ¡°Wait¡­¡­¡± Tian Shui gave a hum in acknowledgement. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°The person you said that was waiting for someone, does¡­¡­..it have something to do with me?¡± Tian Shui smiled charmingly and then shook his head: ¡°Lin gongzi will know later. This matter is not quite appropriate for me to say.¡± After he said this, he didn¡¯t know if it was intentional or unintentional, but he actually glanced towards the direction where Gu Xuandu was. Gu Xuandu¡¯s complexion had become dark and he reached out, gently grabbed onto Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist. Lin Rufei¡¯s attention was on Tian Shui so he was unaware of Gu Xuandu¡¯s strangeness. He still wanted to persuade Tian Shui, but Tian Shui had already decided to go. He turned around and left, blending together with the Ruo River in front of them. The scale was cupped in Lin Rufei¡¯s palm. The scale was beautifully rounded and at first glance, it looked like jade. However, Lin Rufei was a little anxious since he didn¡¯t know how to talk about this matter with She Jingxian. It was only when Gu Xuandu held his hand and led him back a few steps that he came back to his senses. ¡°Senior.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t want to get involved at all.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Then let¡¯s not get involved.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t just not give the scale.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°So troublesome¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu pondered over this matter, ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just chase that jiao back?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°He already headed off into the sea, how are we going to give chase?¡± Gu Xuandu then let out a wry smile: ¡°Isn¡¯t the She family¡¯s youngest son quite powerful at catching demons? If he could force the jiao to other places, then wanting to chase it back is also not a difficult thing. Come, let¡¯s go find him.¡± She Yizhi, who was still at home drawing talismans, sneezed a few times. He rubbed his nose strangely, muttering about whether he had caught a cold or not. Just as he finished muttering, the Lin family¡¯s gongzi barged in energetically and with a nervous face, he said, ¡°She Yizhi, not good, your big brother was captured by the demon.¡± She Yizhi exclaimed in horror, ¡°Ah? Really?¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Naturally it¡¯s true, I never lie. Quick, come with me.¡± She Yizhi grabbed the talisman and followed Lin Rufei outside, but before running a few steps, he suddenly felt that something was not quite right. Lin Rufei never lied? This sentence, after thinking it through carefully, seemed to be not quite right¡­¡­ ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: Every day senior is teaching me to do bad things. Gu Xuandu: Hello everyone, my nickname is Gu Bad things[3]. Lin Rufei: ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] The full meaning of these words is ¡°Don¡¯t look at something that is not consistent with propriety¡± But that¡¯s too long and GXD says it twice so I shortened it. [2] Right here it actually means undercooked, what it means is that no matter how long he cooked it, the jiao remained undercooked. [3] I think the implication here is that the ¡°do¡± is the double entendre since ¡°doing¡± someone could also mean s*x. So I believe that GXD turned his nickname into that(bad things) so that LRF is considered ¡°doing¡± him, if you get what I mean ( ?~ ?? ?¡ã) CH 74 However, before She Yizhi could fully comprehend, he was dragged off by Lin Rufei again. He didn¡¯t know where this Lin gongzi, who had a weak body, got all his strength from but he pulled She Yizhi and walked as fast as if he was flying. Soon, they arrived at the edge of the Ruo River: ¡°Quick, quickly catch him back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry.¡± She Yizhi took out a stack of talismans from his pocket and slowly said, ¡°First let me set up a formation.¡± Lin Rufei had never seen anyone set up a formation before, so he watched with curiosity from the side. She Yizhi took in a deep breath and then held a talisman with his finger. Suddenly, there was a flash of spiritual energy at his fingertips and the talisman lit up in a flash. With the talisman as the framework and the cinnabar as the flesh and blood, a complete spell formation was soon constructed right in front of Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes. After this spell formation was laid, with She Yizhi¡¯s mouth whispering the mantra, it began to slowly rise into mid-air, forming a swirling cloud as it gradually spread out towards the surroundings. The cloud formation was accompanied by lightning and thunder and a cold raindrop fell from the sky, hitting Lin Rufei right on his cheek. ¡°It¡¯s about to rain.¡± She Yizhi also floated in mid-air and called out to Lin Rufei, ¡°Lin gongzi, you¡¯d better go and find a place to take shelter from the rain first, I¡¯ll come back to you after I catch that jiao.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°How long will it take?¡± She Yizhi thought for a moment and then gave Lin Rufei an affirmative answer, ¡°With the experience from last time, he can¡¯t escape this time. Don¡¯t worry, it will be quick.¡± He even confidently patted his chest. Lin Rufei nodded then turned around and walked to an abandoned hut by the river. The hut had a fisherman¡¯s boat inside and was not locked, so it was just right for sheltering from the rain. She Yizhi seemed to be very excited, so much so that there was even a smile on his face. Made sense. After learning for so long and finally being able to encounter a demon to practice on, it was normal for She Yizhi to be happy. As Lin Rufei thought so, he didn¡¯t forget to raise his voice to tell She Yizhi not to hurt the jiao¡¯s life, but just to catch him. She Yizhi responded distantly and he didn¡¯t know if he had heard him clearly. She Yizhi¡¯s figure disappeared into the clouds with the slowly rising formation and as soon as he entered the clouds, it immediately began to rain in the sky, just as Lin Rufei had seen before. ¡°Can we catch it?¡± Lin Rufei was a little worried, ¡°Before catching it, would it flood the She residence first?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, ¡°That is a possibility.¡± ¡°But this She Yizhi is really something.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen such a complicated formation before.¡± Gu Xuandu stated, ¡°It¡¯s not something profound, if Xiao Jiu wants to learn, I can teach you.¡± Lin Rufei gave Gu Xuandu a look, ¡°Is there anything else, something that senior doesn¡¯t know?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°It¡¯s because my teacher was great at teaching.¡± Lin Rufei came to life: ¡°Senior¡¯s teacher?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, however, he did not elaborate further. As the two people¡¯s conversation ended here, there was suddenly a loud thunder resounding outside. Lin Rufei looked up and saw a long, narrow figure weaving back and forth in the clouds, eagerly trying to fly away from here, but instead, was trapped by an invisible barrier. ¡°Since the Yaoguang Grand Formation was laid down, it has had a huge impact on demons.¡± Gu Xuandu said indifferently, ¡°I did not expect that after only a hundred years of work, the jiao would be so weak that a formation of little power could trap him into such a wretched state.¡± He spoke with a touch of lament and at first, it sounded like he was speaking out for the jiao, but in fact, he was feeling sorry for the gradual loss of the talismanic formation skills. Previously, Tian Shui had been injured in She Yizhi¡¯s formation. He didn¡¯t know if the injury was serious but it seemed that he still suffered some effects at this time. In the rumble of thunder, Lin Rufei seemed to have vaguely heard a few low dragon¡¯s roar. However, the dragon¡¯s roar was soon interrupted by the burst of thunder and between Heaven and Earth, only the sound of rain was left. Lin Rufei simply found a position to sit on the ground, quietly waiting. The darkness of the sky made it impossible for Lin Rufei to tell how long it had been outside. Around evening, the majestic rain suddenly became much less intense and the thunder and lightning gradually dispersed. When Lin Rufei heard the sound of feet stepping in the puddle, he stood up and noticed She Yizhi standing outside, smiling brightly. Despite She Yizhi¡¯s body being soaked through, he was still all smiles. He walked towards Lin Rufei with his chest puffed up and he seemed to be carrying something in his hand. When he saw Lin Rufei looking over, he raised his hand happily and shouted, ¡°Lin gongzi, I caught it!!¡± ¡°So fast?¡± Lin Rufei was a little surprised. ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t expect to be so fast either.¡± She Yizhi was also a bit puzzled, ¡°But he doesn¡¯t seem to be planning to escape¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t hurt him, did you?¡± ¡°No.¡± She Yizhi shook his head. As he said this, She Yizhi walked towards Lin Rufei and only then did Lin Rufei see clearly what he was carrying in his hand. It seemed to be a bag made of cloth. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but after careful observation, he found that the outside of the bag was embroidered with a layer of complex talismanic symbols. At this time, under the catalyst of She Yizhi¡¯s spiritual power, it was glowing light white. ¡°He¡¯s inside?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Mnn, want to take a look?¡± She Yizhi replied. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look.¡± Lin Rufei took the bag from She Yizhi¡¯s hand and opened it to see the trapped Tian Shui inside. Unlike the ferocious Tian Shui that he had seen in the river, the current Tian Shui had shrunk in size and was banging around in the bag, looking pitiful and cute. However, seeing him in this state, Lin Rufei finally understood why She Jingxian mistook it as a beltfish spirit and cooked it. He had to say, this appearance of Tian Shui, and the beltfish spirit he saw yesterday, were really quite similar¡­¡­. Lin Rufei said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± She Yizhi asked dumbly. ¡°Go back, ah.¡± Lin Rufei answered. ¡°Go back?¡± She Yizhi was puzzled, ¡°Why go back? Don¡¯t you need to find a place to kill the jiao first to avenge my big brother?¡± Lin Rufei replied in a warm voice: ¡°If you take revenge, it wouldn¡¯t be enjoyable. This jiao hurt your big brother, let him do it, wouldn¡¯t that be better?¡± She Yizhi was dazed by Lin Rufei¡¯s remarks. Scratching his head, he couldn¡¯t think of what was wrong and agreed, ¡°There seems to be some truth, so let¡¯s hurry back.¡± Lin Rufei showed a kind smile and patted the little fool¡¯s shoulder. The two then headed back to the She residence. Once the formation stopped, the rain under the sky had also stopped. However, there were still some shallow puddles on the street. Lin Rufei stepped on the stone slab, carrying the jiao in his hand, and entered She Jingxian¡¯s room with light steps. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. She Jingxian was sitting on a chair meditating. No one knew what he was thinking about, but when he heard the two¡¯s footsteps he casually asked without even turning his head back, ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Big Brother, big Brother.¡± She Yizhi felt that he had done something big and happily called out to his big brother, ¡°I helped you get revenge!¡± She Jingxian was surprised and turned around, ¡°Revenge?¡± She Yizhi asnwered: ¡°Yes! Weren¡¯t you injured by the jiao? Just now I went to set up a formation¡ª¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he saw She Jingxian almost jumped down from his chair, rushing to him and yelling angrily, ¡°Did you go find him again? Didn¡¯t I say you weren¡¯t allowed to go? What have you done? What have you done?¡± She Yizhi was stunned and turned to look at Lin Rufei in a hurry. His eyes were horrified as it expressed to Lin Rufei¡­¡­.¡®this wasn¡¯t the same as how you said it would be, ah.¡¯ Lin Rufei very calmly revealed a smile: ¡°Yes, She little gongzi, why won¡¯t you listen to your big brother?¡± She Yizhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°What a naughty child.¡± She Yizhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He finally figured out what was wrong at this point. Why on earth would he believe such nonsense that Lin gongzi wouldn¡¯t lie to people¡ª¡ªhe was obviously just being lied to¡ª¡ª However, at this point, it was too late to say anything. Hearing that She Yizhi had once again made a move against the jiao, She Jingxian was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He practially jumped eight feet high until Lin Rufei handed the bag in his hand over to him, ¡°Brother She, calm down first. Your brother did not hurt the jiao, he just trapped him in the bag.¡± When She Jingxian heard this, he instantly calmed down. He carefully reached out to take the bag and saw the beltfish spirit¡¯s uncontrollable struggle inside¡­¡­no, this was the jiao. ¡°You didn¡¯t hurt him, did you?¡± She Jingxian worriedly asked. ¡°No.¡± She Yizhi was very aggrieved, ¡°Big brother, why are you like this, ah? In the end, is your brother, me, more important or is this demon more important? ¡° She Jingxian didn¡¯t even raise his head: ¡°Of course you are important.¡± She Yizhi asked, ¡°Then why did you yell at me?¡± She Jingxian stated: ¡°I am your big brother, what¡¯s wrong with yelling at you? If you dare not listen to me, I will even beat you up.¡± She Yizhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡± You two are both big liars. Lin Rufei held back the smile on his lips. He said that he had something to say to She Jingxian and asked She Yizhi to leave for a while. She Yizhi was going to retort, but when he saw his big brother¡¯s fierce look, the words that were about to spill out of his mouth were swallowed back down. In the end, he still felt wronged and left the room with tears in his eyes. Looking at him like this, even Lin Rufei felt a trace of guilt surfacing in his heart. But he didn¡¯t feel guilty for long and soon, he put it behind him. He took out the scale from his bosom, the one that Tian Shui had given to him, and handed them to She Jingxian. He then repeated what Tian Shui said to She Jingxian. She Jingxian was shocked to see the scale and said, ¡®Isn¡¯t this the reverse scale of the jiao? It grows on Tian Shui¡¯s tail vertebrae, how could it be in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand?¡¯ Then, when he heard that Tian Shui had handed the reverse scale to Lin Rufei, his expression suddenly changed and he asked sorrowfully, ¡°Is he trying to run away?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°¡­¡­ Replacing the word ¡®run¡¯ with the word ¡®leave¡¯ may be more appropriate.¡± She Jingxian exclaimed: ¡°He is trying to leave home?!¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Forget it, do as you please. ¡°Is Lin gongzi aware of Tian Shui¡¯s plan and that¡¯s why you had my brother go and capture him back?¡± After She Jingxian realized what had happened, his nervous expression finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, I was wrong about my brother.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a good boy.¡± Then inwardly muttered, if he wasn¡¯t a good boy, he wouldn¡¯t have been fooled so easily. ¡°Thank you, Lin gongzi, for making this possible.¡± With Tian Shui in his hand, She Jingxian thanked in a warm voice, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the help of Lin gongzi, I¡¯m afraid I would have really let Tian Shui go.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What does She gongzi plan to do next?¡± Although Tian Shui was temporarily kept, it was not a permanent solution. She Jingxian responded with a smile, ¡°There is always a way.¡± But he didn¡¯t say what it was. Instead, he raised his voice and called in She Yizhi, who had been waiting outside. She Yizhi thought he was going to be lectured again and shrunk his neck with an aggrieved expression, looking as if he was about to cry. Who knew that his elder brother, who was always stern, would pat his head with a gentle expression and say, ¡®little brother, you finally understand things.¡¯ She Yizhi was frightened as he stared in horror: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, big brother?¡± Reaching out again, he grabbed Lin Rufei¡¯s sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Lin gongzi, what did you do to my brother? Did he take the wrong medicine?¡± She Jingxian suddenly had a cold look on his face once again as he said morosely, ¡°She Yizhi, I think your skin is itching again[1].¡° She Yizhi sighed with relief, ¡°This is the big brother I know. Lin Rufei had nothing to say as he looked at She Yizhi. In his heart, he thought that maybe this is what it meant to learn things the hard way¡­.. All in all, She Yizhi was complimented by She Jingxian and after making sure that his big brother was really complimenting him, the innocent little gongzi of the She family resumed his bright smile and left with a skip in his step. Lin Rufei looked at his retreating figure and it was like he had seen himself when he was still on the Kunlun Mountains. But now he was no longer the same little gongzi of the Lin family. Under his senior¡¯s teaching, he had successfully mastered the skills of deception and integrated into this complex Jianghu. While thinking this, Gu Xuandu suddenly reached out and pinched Lin Rufei on the cheek. Lin Rufei was a little confused by this pinch and asked, ¡®senior, why did you pinch me?¡¯ Gu Xuandu said: ¡°Looking at your silly smile made me want to pinch.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Oh well. If he pinched then he pinched. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t like he lost a piece of meat. In the end, what She Jingxian was going to do with Tian Shui, Lin Rufei did not ask. Originally, he had planned to rest in the She residence for a few more days, but who knew that he would suddenly receive a letter from the Kunlun Mountains. The letter was sent by Lin Weirui. Lin Rufei originally thought it was a family letter, like the old days, but after reading the contents of the letter, he immediately got nervous. It turned out that something had happened to the Shen family. Shen Wucui, whom Lin Weirui loved, was seriously injured by an unknown swordsman. The swordsman came and went without a trace and his identity was a mystery, disappearing right after injuring Shen Wucui. Lin Weirui was very anxious when she received this news that she wanted to trouble Lin Rufei to go and see her beloved on the way. After reading the letter, Lin Rufei sent a message back to Lin Weirui, saying that he was now at the She residence and would leave for the Shen residence immediately to see what was going on there. He also said that Lin Weirui should not be anxious, saying that Shen Wucui should not be seriously hurt. After getting this letter, Lin Rufei had planned to leave immediately, but before leaving, he went to look for She Jingxian once again. When he arrived at She Jingxian¡¯s residence, he noticed that in She Jingxian¡¯s house, there was an additional large transparent fish tank made of crystal. This fish tank was filled with beautiful fishes, seaweeds, and corals, making it look very stunning. Lin Rufei took a look at the fish tank. He seemed to have a hunch about something and showed a hint of hesitation. She Jingxian probably noticed what Lin Rufei wanted to say and smiled, ¡°Lin gongzi, life is only a hundred years long, if you meet someone you like, you must be quick.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be too forced?¡± ¡°It is most difficult for two lovers to love each other, so why would there be any of what you said?¡± She Jingxian questioned back, ¡°He is timid so I will carry his burden for him.¡± He looked quite aloof about this and soon returned to the steady demeanor he had when they first met. Lin Rufei balled his hand and gave a salute to She Jingxian, before turning around and leaving. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. She Jingxian asked She Yizhi to send Lin Rufei to the carriage. She Yizhi stood in front of the carriage and was still a bit reluctant to leave, saying, ¡®how come Lin gongzi is in such a hurry to leave. Are you really not going to stay for a few days?¡¯ Lin Rufei said there was something back at home and he had to leave, but if there was a chance to meet again in the future, he would come back. She Yizhi wanted to say something else but stopped. When Lin Rufei noticed this, he told him to say what he had wanted to say. She Yizhi replied, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not anything important.¡± As he said this, he went up to the carriage and sat close to Lin Rufei. Then with a swift move, he pulled on the tail of Chi Yu, who was currently lying next to Lin Rufei, taking a nap. Chi Yu¡¯s furry tail once again suffered, only the next moment, the person screaming in agony became She Yizhi. However, he did not care. After being scratched, he stood on the side of the carriage giggling and waving at Lin Rufei. He said that Lin gongzi should come and play again next time. Chi Yu was so angry that he hurled insults at She Yizhi and even Lin Rufei was also called ¡°a mean and cunning human being.¡± Lin Rufei pretended not to hear, waved at She Yizhi with a gentle expression, and said goodbye to the She family. A dozen days have passed, but the little kitten was still clinging to Lin Rufei as usual. Usually, it would only eat when Lin Rufei fed it. But as long as it left Lin Rufei for a distance greater than a foot, it would grunt and scream. It made Chi Yu so angry that he exclaimed he had never seen such a stupid cub before. Lin Rufei did not care. He smiled and stroked the soft pink belly of the kitten: ¡°Maybe it is inherited from the father.¡± Chi Yu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± You¡¯re quite good with your mouth, eh. Fu Hua and Yu Rui completely ignored the underlying turmoil between Chi Yu and his own son. They held Chi Yu in their arms and have almost touched him all over. Although Chi Yu said that humans were stupid, his body was still very honest. After being touched by Fu Hua, he could not help but squint his eyes and meow with a coarse voice. This made Lin Rufei, who had been looking, feel a wave of emotions and made him hate that he was not born a beautiful woman. The distance from the She family to the Shen family was not that far. As long as they followed along the Ruo River, they would arrive in about four or five days. The Shen family lived at the mouth of the sea. After Lin Rufei traveled for a few days, he saw the vastness of the ocean for the first time. As a person who grew up on the Kunlun Mountains, it was his first time seeing the sea so Lin Rufei was still a bit shocked. He stopped the carriage and stared for a good while before continuing on the road. At this time, the sky was blue and cloudless. The area where the blue sea and the blue sky met, almost melted into one, turning into a single color. The sea was billowing along with the salty sea breeze, and from time to time, he could hear tweeting terns gliding low in the air. On the azure sea, a few fishing boats could be seen faintly; some were big and some were small, but they all became part of the scenery. When they arrived at the beach, the temperature had dropped quite a bit instead. Lin Rufei followed the coastline and soon found his destination¡ªthe Shen family, who lived in the Mirage City by the sea. But before he even got close, Lin Rufei then perceived the unusual atmosphere of the Shen family. Chi Yu seemed to have felt it too. Originally, he had been lying tamely in Fu Hua¡¯s arms but suddenly, he stood up with a grave expression. He grabbed the cub by its scruff and directly jumped out of the carriage window, off into the unknown. Lin Rufei could not even stop him in time and could only see his snow-white back disappearing into the shoreline. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± The carriage was stopped by the guards at the city gate and questioned in an unkind tone. Lin Rufei lifted the vehicle and made his intentions clear. The guard¡¯s expression softened when he heard that he was from the Lin family but still said that he had to go and ask for some instructions before he could let Lin Rufei in. Lin Rufei nodded and did not make things difficult for the guard. The guards acted quickly and soon got the news and allowed Lin Rufei¡¯s carriage to pass through. The name Mirage City was taken from the meaning of mirage and the Shen family had been flourishing in this place for a hundred years. The Shen family had outstanding sword skills and their family¡¯s style was strict. Lin Rufei once had the privilege of meeting his third sister Lin Weirui¡¯s interest, Shen Wucui. It was just that the characters of this Shen gongzi and Lin Weirui were completely different. Although he was handsome, everything was about rules. He behaved straightforwardly and rarely did anything out of the ordinary. Lin Weirui was the kind whose nature could turn the whole world upside down. Initially, she said she liked Shen Wucui and everyone only thought she was joking. However, they did not expect Lin Weirui to actually be serious. It was a pity that after Shen Wucui was teased by Lin Weirui several times, he became somewhat afraid of this quirky Lin family¡¯s young miss. Every time he saw Lin Weirui, he desperately wanted to hide. This time, Shen Wucui was injured, Lin Weirui would probably also be very heartbroken. The Mirage City was heavily guarded. From time to time, he could see the guards searching through the crowds. They must have been trying to find the person who injured Shen Wucui, but Lin Rufei thought they were being a bit redundant. If they were able to injure Shen Wucui, then they must have very excellent sword skills, how could these guards possibly find any traces of that person? But since the Shen family had made such a big deal, most likely Shen Wucui¡¯s injury wasn¡¯t all that light. Lin Rufei thought with some concern. When he arrived at the entrance of the Shen family, there were already underlings of the Shen family who had received the news and were waiting in advance. When they noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s arrival, they were very enthusiastic and helped him take the carriage. They then said that the Shen family had arranged a residence for Lin Rufei and would take him there immediately. Lin Rufei asked about Shen Wucui in the passing and the servant hesitantly responded, ¡°Lin gongzi, my gongzi is awake, but he is not willing to see the guests¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Is he badly injured?¡± The servant replied, ¡°Yes, the injury is very serious. He was in a coma for almost ten days and only woke up yesterday. But after waking up, he seems to be in a bad state. Dozens of physicians came and went already¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°And the swordsman that wounded him?¡± ¡°He left after injuring gongzi, but he gave word that he would come back.¡± The servant continued, ¡°Our gongzi is good-tempered and kind, I don¡¯t know how he ended up provoking such a God of killing.¡± Lin Rufei soon fell into silence. ¡°If you want to see my gongzi, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to wait a few days.¡± The servant answered. Lin Rufei nodded his head, indicating that he understood. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s sad expression, the servant said comfortingly that Lin gongzi shouldn¡¯t worry too much. After all, he had now woken up. That means that his life was not in imminent danger, although he was injured, he could always recuperate¡­¡­ Lin Rufei, however, just listened and did not answer. He followed the servant into the residence, which was a beautiful floating house[2] facing the sea. Outside the window, he could see the beautiful sea horizon and the beach. The house was cleaned as the servant told Lin Rufei that he should rest here for a while and that the head of the Shen family was still busy at the moment. When he was finished, he would send someone to invite Lin gongzi over for a chat. Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that he was not in a hurry, and allowed them to finish the important things first. Gu Xuandu did not look too well from the moment he stepped foot into Mirage City. Lin Rufei waited until the servants had retired before he found the opportunity to ask. ¡°I felt a familiar aura.¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°Like meeting an acquaintance.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Acquaintance? Is it your acquaintance or mine?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Ours.¡± Lin Rufei froze. He had rarely seen such a displeased look on Gu Xuandu¡¯s face and he did not know why that acquaintance would cause such strong antipathy from Gu Xuandu. ******** The author has something to say: Tomorrow I have to take my mother for a re-examination, so I may be late updating, and will be taking a leave of absence in advance. Lin Rufei: Today, I learned how to lie to others from senior. Lying to others was very fun. Gu Xuandu: Why don¡¯t you learn something else with me? Lin Rufei: What? Formations? Gu Xuandu: ¡­¡­. Lin Rufei: Wait, Wait, Wait. Senior, why are you untying my belt? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Someone whose skin is itching is implying that they want to be beaten. [2] Something like these 2. CH 75 Shen Wucui¡¯s situation was indeed not good. Lin Rufei had stayed with the Shen family for three days before he was finally able to meet him. During that time, Lin Rufei and the Shen family head also met. From the family head¡¯s tired face, it could be seen that things were not going too well. The family head did not say anything more to Lin Rufei and simply described the situation that had happened that day. It turned out that Shen Wucui had been idly wandering on the beach and suddenly, encountered a strange swordsman. When the swordsman noticed Shen Wucui, he did not say single word before he made a move right as he went up to him. Logically speaking, Shen Wucui, who was a cultivator at the seventh level, should not have been taken down by just a few moves, but Shen Wucui was easily defeated by the rogue swordsman. He actually failed to keep a round under that person! And by the time the others found Shen Wucui, he had already been stabbed with a sword right through his lifeline. They nearly failed to save him. Although the Shen family head calmly told this story, Lin Rufei could still experience a thrilling taste from it. ¡°Lin gongzi has come at a bad time.¡± The Shen family head said with a bitter smile and let out a sigh, ¡°Otherwise, I would have asked Wucui to receive you personally.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°No matter. It was my sister who heard that something had happened to Shen gongzi and she was a bit worried, so she asked me to rush over here on a fast horse.¡± The Shen family head revealed a smile, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Weirui, is she doing well?¡± ¡°Very well. Just before I left, my elder brother took her into the ancestral hall and beat her up.¡± Lin Rufei, however, did not hesitate to betray his own sister. The Shen family head laughed at his words and then told Lin Rufei to stay for a few days. When Shen Wucui recovered from his injuries, he would invite him to meet again. However, it was still best not to wander around, after all, the murderer had not yet been found. Lin Rufei nodded his head in agreement. The two of them then proceeded to chat for a while longer before the Shen family head was called over for other matters. It was obvious that he was indeed very busy, but in view of the relationship between the Shen and Lin families, he still took the time to meet Lin Rufei alone. Although Lin Rufei was worried about Shen Wucui, there weren¡¯t many things he could do so he simply rested for two days. During these two days, he spent most of the time at the beach. As a person who had never seen the sea, he had to say, this place was really too fascinating. The beach skerries, small fish, shells, and even the plain seaweed, in Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes, were all endowed with magical power. He liked to step on the soft sand with his bare feet and watch as a small crab rested in a conch. And when his finger gently pressed on the tiny critter, it would shrink back into its shell in fear. On the coast, he could also often see beautiful little fishes. Most of them were colorful and very different from the inland fishes. Gu Xuandu lazily sat on the skerry, that was on the side, and introduced these fishes to Lin Rufei seriously. Only, these introductions were very unromantic. It was mostly about which fish tasted good and which fish could not be eaten. Lin Rufei also did not know what to say. He looked at Gu Xuandu in puzzlement, ¡®Senior has eaten all these fish before?¡¯ ¡°Almost.¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°I was born by the seaside. The seaside has mostly fish. I had eaten so many that I wanted to vomit.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Senior was born in Yaoguang? ¡° ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I was born in Xuandu.¡± (t/n: just realize that the Xuandu Continent has the same characters as GXD) Lin Rufei revealed a surprised look. The Xuandu Continent was right next to Yaoguang, but the two continents were separated by a wide ocean so very few people could travel between the two places. Because not only were the waves rough, there were countless ferocious demonic beasts at the bottom of the sea. To go back and forth between the two places was simply a matter of death. Gu Xuandu was the most famous Heavenly Ruler on the Yaoguang continent, but he was not born in Yaoguang and was instead born in Xuandu, Lin Rufei was naturally a bit surprised by this. Without waiting for him to ask, Gu Xuandu continued, ¡°At that time I was still young. I was adopted by an old friend and came to Yaoguang from Xuandu and never went back after that.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Did that old friend bring the young senior from Xuandu to Yaoguang?¡± As he asked this, he was thinking about how powerful that person must have been. Not only did he pass through this vast sea by himself, but he even brought a small doll with no strength at all along with him. Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°He is indeed powerful.¡± Then continued indifferently, ¡°At least much more powerful than me.¡± A person who was more powerful than the Heavenly Ruler? Did a person like that really exist? In Lin Rufei¡¯s impression, the Heavenly Ruler was already insurmountably powerful, ¡°Then where is he now?¡± ¡°Dead.¡± Gu Xuandu spat out the word. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei and a faint smile surfaced on his face. However, what came out of his mouth were heartbreaking words, ¡°He was too kind-hearted and always couldn¡¯t stand to see people suffer. You should know, such a person becomes tired as he lives on and when he dies, he becomes extraordinarily miserable.¡± Lin Rufei muttered softly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Gu Xuandu waved his hand. He, however, had no sadness on his face, ¡°But it¡¯s okay now?¡± Lin Rufei was stunned: ¡°Okay?¡± Gu Xuandu said in a warm voice: ¡°Luckily there are fishes to eat.¡± (t/n: so the meaning of the characters ¡°»¹ºÃ¡± change according to context. In the previous case it meant ¡°fine/okay¡± But in GXD¡¯s next sentence, it can mean luckily/fortunately/thankfully. This is something that gets lost in translation that¡¯s why the words might not exactly make sense in English, but just know they are the same Chinese characters) Lin Rufei revealed an unsure look. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. However, their last lunch was the fish that Gu Xuandu had caught from the sea. He already knew what kind of fish tasted good so catching fish was not a difficult task for him. In the end, their trip to the sea was a full harvest. Not only did he catch fish, but he also gathered some beautiful shells and gave them to Lin Rufei with a smile. The shells in the deep sea were naturally no match compared to the ones by the seaside so Lin Rufei took them with surprise. He carefully hid them in his bosom and then placed them on the table in the room for viewing. When Fu Hua noticed these, she smiled and asked her gongzi where he found such beautiful shells. Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Someone gave it to me.¡± ¡°A gift?¡± Yu Rui brightened up and blinked, ¡°Gongzi, you can¡¯t just casually receive these seashore shells.¡± Lin Rufei was confused, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yu Rui responded, ¡°I heard that there was a custom here. They said that in the past, the fishing village conditions weren¡¯t too good. If you had a person you love and couldn¡¯t prepare a betrothal gift, you would go to the deep sea to find the most beautiful shell as a betrothal gift to give to your lover. If the lover accepts, the two of them would be considered finished with the ceremony¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei stared: ¡°But I am a man.¡± Yu Rui replied with a smile: ¡°Both men and women are the same. Gongzi, did you not see that on those fishing boats during the day, there were many girls picking shells? Seeing that the shells in gongzi¡¯s hand are so unique, I think that person also spent a lot of effort selecting them.¡± When Yu Rui stated this as a matter of fact, Gu Xuandu had also been listening. He propped up his chin, but did not say anything. He simply stared at Lin Rufei with interest. Logically speaking, Lin Rufei should be used to it, but his ears still became red under Gu Xuandu¡¯s intense gaze. He gritted his teeth and pretended to be calm and then asked Fu Hua what they were eating tonight. Fu Hua answered, ¡°Let¡¯s eat fish, didn¡¯t gongzi bring back some fish?¡± She laughed, ¡°Did the girl who gave you the shells give them to you together? These fishes are strange-looking, I have never seen them before, but since the shells are so nice, the taste of these fishes must not be bad either.¡± Lin Rufei could not stand it anymore and pushed the two maids out of the room, rushing them to cook. As it turned out, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were right. The fish that Gu Xuandu caught were oddly shaped, but they all tasted quite good. Because they were so fresh, just steaming them was enough to be tasty. Lin Rufei praised it after tasting a piece. As the three of them, master and servants, were eating the fish, Chi Yu, who had escaped halfway yesterday, appeared at the window again with his cub in his mouth. After dumping the cub onto the table, he circled around the fish in front of him. Lin Rufei wanted to feed Chi Yu something, but Chi Yu refused. ¡°Don¡¯t want to eat.¡± Chi Yu narrowed his eyes in disgust, ¡°This Shen family stinks, no appetite.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°It stinks?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chi Yu answered, ¡°Even before I came in, I smelled the overwhelming stench of corpses.¡± He tsked and nudged his son, who was currently wailing, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for this little thing, I wouldn¡¯t have come in.¡± Lin Rufei sniffed hard with his nose, but he didn¡¯t smell the scent that Chi Yu had described. Chi Yu muttered disdainfully, ¡°Stop sniffing, you are human.¡± Lin Rufei spread his hands: ¡°Then should I feed your son first?¡± Chi Yu¡¯s tail flicked, signaling that it was okay. Lin Rufei then took the kitten into his arms, rubbed its little head, and asked Fu Hua to bring over the extra fish to feed it to the little kitten. Just as the kitten had eaten his fill and revealed a look of contentment, Chi Yu picked it up with its mouth once again and jumped towards the window. He turned his head towards Lin Rufei and advised, ¡°You¡¯d better leave here early, it¡¯s disgusting.¡± After saying that, he turned around and jumped away. He indeed looked annoyed with the place. ¡°Do you guys smell anything?¡± Lin Rufei asked the maids. Fu Hua and Yu Rui all had blank looks on their faces and shook their heads together. As they were chatting, they suddenly heard a loud commotion outside. It was followed by several people shouting at the top of their lungs and Lin Rufei vaguely heard someone shouting: ¡°Go get the doctor!¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei headed to the window and saw the chaos outside. He guessed that something had happened to Shen Wucui but there was currently no way to know. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the Shen family?¡± Lin Rufei remembered that Gu Xuandu had mentioned a phrase yesterday, ¡°smelled a familiar aura¡± and opened his mouth to ask in a low voice. Gu Xuandu narrowed his eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see what¡¯s going on with Shen gongzi first.¡± Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Although he had wanted to see Shen Wucui, it was not actually an easy task. Lin Rufei made a request beforehand and it still took another day before he was arranged to meet with Shen Wucui. Before they met, Lin Rufei was carefully instructed by the physician to try not to let Shen gongzi say too much. Although he had woken up, his body was still not in good condition. But the Shen family head was still a little embarrassed and asked Lin gongzi to understand. Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Being able to see Shen gongzi is naturally good. What¡¯s there not to understand?¡± The Shen family head then nodded his head gratefully. As an important son of the Shen family, the place where Shen Wucui was recovering from his injuries was heavily guarded. Lin Rufei passed through several guards before finally entering the inner room. But as soon as he stepped into the room, Lin Rufei felt that something was wrong. The smell of medicine was not the only thing that permeated the room, there was also a faint smell of rotting blood. Although this smell was mixed with the rich scent of medicine, it was still caught by Lin Rufei¡¯s nose. At this time, a full dozen days have passed since Shen Wucui was injured, but Shen Wucui¡¯s wounds were actually rotting. It seemed like Shen Wucui¡¯s condition was far from good. Although he mentally prepared himself beforehand, Lin Rufei¡¯s heart still gently thumped. After turning a corner, Lin Rufei finally caught sight of Shen Wucui lying on the bed. It was currently the height of Summer, but the cooling inside the house was very well done as large amounts of ice were placed in the four corners. Shen Wucui was lying on the bed, wearing white. His clothes, however, were not completely tied and it revealed his waist and abdomen wrapped in white cloth. It could be faintly seen that the white cloth was stained with dark red bloodstains. Shen Wucui¡¯s face was ashen and his breath was weak, but when he saw Lin Rufei coming, he still braced himself to smile at him and greeted in a warm voice: ¡°Lin gongzi has come a long way but I could not receive you, I am really sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you move now.¡± Lin Rufei said hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t tear the wound.¡± Shen Wucui replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Lin Rufei thought to himself: Your ¡®not a big deal¡¯ is very unconvincing. However, he did not argue with Shen Wucui further and simply sat down beside him. He then noticed that the scent of rotting had become even stronger once he sat down and it was as if the wound had not been treated properly. Shen Wucui asked, ¡°Is your sister doing good lately?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°She is very good, just a little worried about you.¡± He hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Shen gongzi, can you tell me what the swordsman, who had hurt you that day, looked like?¡± ¡°What did he look like?¡± Shen Wucui mumbled, ¡°He was young and looked like he was a teenager, but his sword skill was very fierce. If I must say something something special about him then¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei became curious, ¡°What?¡± Shen Wucui replied, ¡°That is, I cannot see through his cultivation.¡± He, himself, also showed a somewhat doubtful look. ¡°How is that possible?¡± Lin Rufei exclaimed incredulously, ¡°Shen gongzi couldn¡¯t even see through that person¡¯s cultivation?¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t even detect that person¡¯s breath.¡± Shen Wucui sighed, ¡°From the time he appeared to the time he disappeared, I¡­¡­couldn¡¯t even sense his presence.¡± Lin Rufei frowned, ¡°Could it be that that person has a powerful magic treasure?¡± Shen Wucui shook his head and soon stopped talking again. It seemed that he was indeed seriously injured. Even just saying a few words was very laborious for him. Although Lin Rufei still wanted to ask for more details, he also could not bear to disturb Shen Wucui. Coincidentally, the doctor also came in to change Shen Wucui¡¯s medicine so Lin Rufei stepped back and stood to the side. But when the physician lifted the white cloth and revealed the wound between Shen Wucui¡¯s waist and abdomen, Lin Rufei still sucked in a breath of cold air. He noticed that Shen Wucui¡¯s abdomen actually had an open large hole and the surrounding flesh muscles, that were wounded by sharp weapons, had no signs of healing. Not only that, but it also revealed a rotting color. Shen Wucui closed his eyes and whispered: ¡°Still no?¡± The physician shook his head with difficulty. ¡°No matter.¡± Seeing this scene, Shen Wucui looked calm and said indifferently, ¡°This is probably my Shen Wucui¡¯s life.¡± The physician answered, ¡°Gongzi does not need to be too pessimistic. As long as you catch that swordsman and interrogate him to find out exactly what poison he used, you can¡­¡­¡± Shen Wucui smiled, but with it carried a hint of self-deprecation: ¡°If I, a swordsman with a cultivation at the seventh level, could barely survive a round under him, what will the Shen family use to catch him?¡± He then exhaled a breath and continued, ¡°You¡­¡­don¡¯t say anything too serious to my father, lest he worries.¡± The physician, however, did not dare to reply. Shen Wucui also no longer spoke and continued to close his eyes to recuperate. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The process of changing the medicine was very slow and painful and when the medicine was finally finished being changed, the only traces of blood left on Shen Wucui¡¯s face could no longer be seen. Lin Rufei knew that the situation was not good and he became extremely anxious. He didn¡¯t want to bother Shen Wucui anymore and intended to leave with the physician, but Shen Wucui stopped him. ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Shen Wucui called out in a low voice, ¡°I have a favor to ask.¡± Lin Rufei responded, ¡°Please speak, Shen gongzi.¡± Shen Wucui stretched out his hand and with great difficulty, pulled out something from the bedside cabinet and placed it in front of Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei took a good look at it and noticed that it was a beautiful pouch. The pouch was embroidered with two ducks making threatening gestures and Lin Rufei hesitantly said: ¡°This duck pouch¡­¡­¡± Shen Wucui was breathless: ¡°These are mandarin ducks[1].¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Sorry, he didn¡¯t mean it. ¡°Your sister embroidered it.¡± Shen Wucui let out a low laugh as he sensed Lin Rufei¡¯s embarrassment, ¡°She gave it to me, I lied to her and said that I lost it¡­¡­you¡­¡­return it to her for me.¡± When Lin Rufei heard this, he knew that things were heading downhill. He was about to open his mouth to persuade but stopped himself when he noticed Shen Wucui waving his hand before calmly speaking, ¡°I know what you want to say, no need to persuade me. If I can get well, I will personally give it to your sister. If I can¡¯t get well, please do it for me.¡± Lin Rufei said firmly, ¡°You will definitely be able to get well.¡± Shen Wucui only smiled at his words and didn¡¯t say anything in response. However, this smile of his had a few traces of sadness. He also no longer spoke and tiredly closed his eyes once more. Lin Rufei held the pouch in his hand and came out of the inner room with his eyebrows tightly knitted, keeping quiet for a long time. Only when he reached a place where there was no one, did he hurriedly ask Gu Xuandu, ¡°Senior, who exactly hurt Shen gongzi? How did he get hurt so badly¡ªcan we find him¡ª¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu frowned, ¡°But even if we find him, Shen gongzi may not necessarily be saved.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lin Rufei froze and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Shen gongzi poisoned? As long as we find the person who gave the poison¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an ordinary poison.¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°It¡¯s corpse poison.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Corpse poison?¡± Gu Xuandu muttered, ¡°That¡¯s right, the poison that exists only on the corpse.¡± He sighed and then said, ¡°I¡­¡­will try my best to help you look for it, but it depends on Shen gongzi¡¯s luck if I can find it.¡± He suddenly paused for a moment, stroked his chin, and thought, ¡°Or you can ask Chi Yu. He should be a little more sensitive to this kind of stuff and his efficiency may be faster than mine.¡± Lin Rufei pondered about it and nodded, ¡°Okay, senior will help me find it first and I¡¯ll see if I can get Chi Yu to help.¡± Chi Yu¡¯s cub needed to be fed twice a day, once at noon and definitely again at night. Gu Xuandu was currently nowhere to be seen, so he must have gone to search for that person while Lin Rufei waited anxiously at home. Luckily, Chi Yu came early. When he noticed Lin Rufei walking in a circle like a headless fly, he fussily asked, ¡°What are you walking in a circle for?¡± When Lin Rufei heard his voice, he hurriedly asked, ¡°Chi Yu! Can I trouble you to do me a favor?¡± Chi Yu narrowed his eyes, ¡°You, a human, want me, a demon, to do you a favor? Did I hear you right?¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± Chi Yu lazily licked his paws and lazily interrupted Lin Rufei, ¡°Tell me what it is first, and then I will consider whether to help you or not.¡± Lin Rufei then proceeded to tell him about the matter regarding Shen Wucui, highlighting that he was heavily poisoned. ¡°Oh, so you are trying to find the origins of the stench, right?¡± Chi Yu asked. Lin Rufei nodded his head. ¡°Then if I help you, how are you going to repay me?¡± Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and stared at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei inquired, ¡°What do you want?¡± Chi Yu, ¡°Tsk, what I want, I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t give.¡± Lin Rufei let out a sigh, but after thinking for a moment, he said seriously, ¡°How about this, if you help me find that person, I will promise you a request. As long as I don¡¯t do any evil and don¡¯t hurt others¡¯ lives, I will try to help you achieve it.¡± Chi Yu surveyed Lin Rufei for a long time and just when Lin Rufei thought he wouldn¡¯t agree, this Ye Mo stretched his back lazily and responded, ¡°Alright.¡± Then he threw the little kitten, that was playing on the side, into Fu Hua¡¯s arms and raised his chin at Lin Rufei, signaling him to follow him. Lin Rufei stepped out of the house. He probably realized that he was running too fast and that Lin Rufei would not be able to keep up, so Chi Yu deliberately slowed down his pace and took Lin Rufei all the way out of Mirage City, towards the sea. At this time, the sun had already set and the original azure seawater turned a deep black, lapping hard against the beach and skerries, stirring up a burst of clattering water. If the sea during the daytime still carried a gentle and accommodating taste, then the sea during the night was like a horrible abyss, as if it was going to swallow everything that came near. ¡°That smell is coming from this direction.¡± Chi Yu¡¯s sense of smell was really sensitive and he took Lin Rufei all the way forward almost without the slightest hesitation. Only, his expression was somewhat unpleasant. It seemed that this smell was very disgusting, ¡°If you find that person, what do you want to do?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Since it was him who gave the poison, he should have the antidote. If not, then we can only take him back first before discussing anything else.¡± Treat a dead horse as if it were a living one[2]. Looking at Shen Wucui¡¯s appearance, he probably wouldn¡¯t last for long, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been so anxious and even troubled Chi Yu for help. ¡°Take him back?¡± Chi Yu asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that you can¡¯t beat him?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°One always has to try.¡± Chi Yu looked critically at Lin Rufei and then muttered with dissatisfaction, ¡°You humans really don¡¯t know how much weight you have[3]. That thing can beat the Shen family¡¯s gongzi into that state, even if you find him, you are simply delivering yourself on a silver platter.¡± Lin Rufei was noncommittal and responded indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it when we find him.¡± Chi Yu sighed, ¡°Troublesome.¡± Although he disliked Lin Rufei¡¯s insouciance, his pace did not slow down. Soon, the lights of Mirage City behind them were getting farther and farther away. Lin Rufei followed Chi Yu along the seaside for a long time until the surrounding scenery became more and more unfamiliar. There were no more lights or people around, only waves and noisy insects. The surrounding was also getting darker and darker and Chi Yu¡¯s footsteps gradually slowed down. His expression became grave and his blood-red eyes in the darkness were like two beautiful night pearls as he suddenly spoke out: ¡°The stench is getting stronger, that thing is nearby.¡± He twisted his head and looked at Lin Rufei, ¡°I¡¯ll warn you first, this thing is certainly not ordinary. Even though we are so far away, the smell from the Shen family is still so strong. If you are injured by him, you may die even faster than the Shen gongzi¡­¡­Lin Rufei, you have to think carefully.¡± Lin Rufei stated, ¡°I¡¯ve already thought about it, lead the way.¡± Chi Yu no longer spoke. He turned and jumped onto a desolate skerry. That skerry was attached with moss and was very slippery. Lin Rufei had to slow down and walk slowly. But fortunately, Chi Yu did not go far before he suddenly stopped and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s just ahead, see?¡± Lin Rufei looked carefully and under the moonlight, he caught a glimpse of a person sitting on the skerry. The person¡¯s back was facing him and his dark figure was like a black ink stain. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Mandarin Ducks: can be used to symbolize an affectionate couple. [2] Idiom: to keep trying everything in a desperate situation. [3] It means that you do not know how much you can do or how much ability you have. CH 76 The man did not seem to have noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s arrival. He was still sitting on the edge of the skerry and not moving, like a frozen statue. Lin Rufei¡¯s hand gripped the hilt of his sword by his waist and walked slowly along the slippery skerry, towards the man step by step. As he got closer, he was barely able to see the outline of the man in the darkness. He seemed to be a young swordsman, the shape of his back seemed somewhat thin and his long black hair was not tied up, rather, it was just draped roughly and scattered over the back of his head. Probably because he got a little closer, Lin Rufei also finally smelled the scent that Gu Xuandu and Chi Yu had once described. It was a hard-to-describe smell, like the scent of meat in the hot Summer gradually rotting. Just sniffing it alone could make a person¡¯s chest uncomfortable. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± When Lin Rufei came close to a certain distance, that person had suddenly opened his mouth. His voice was unexpectedly young, like a teenager, but it was very unfamiliar. Lin Rufei was sure that before this, he indeed had never heard this voice anywhere else. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Are you the one who injured Shen Wucui?¡± ¡°It was me.¡± The man slowly stood up and turned around. The moonlight was not bright, but it was enough for Lin Rufei to see his face clearly. Lin Rufei originally thought that he did not recognize him, but when he caught a glimpse of his face, he realized that Gu Xuandu¡¯s words were right. The swordsman in front of him was indeed an acquaintance of his and the two of them had met once before. However, how could Lin Rufei have imagined that he would see him again here? That was right, he was the swordsman, Mo Changshan, who had always been protected in the arms of that heartfelt guard dog, Mo Zhaocai, on the Xiliang Mountains. Mo Changshan, who originally had one head left, actually came back to life. Not only was he alive, but he also once again held a sword blade in his hand and became a powerful swordsman. There was a circle of black lines on his neck, which at first glance looked like a tattoo, but if he were to observe closely and carefully, he would find that it was simply a thin circle of needle and thread that had sewn Mo Changshan¡¯s head on top of this body. ¡°Mo Changshan?!¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. He never expected to see Mo Changshan here. That day, when Mo Zhaocai died, he had buried Mo Changshan and Mo Zhaocai together, so how could Mo Changshan appear here?! Mo Changshan¡¯s black pupils were as dark as night and he did not have the slightest reaction to Lin Rufei¡¯s words, ¡°Lin Rufei, I have been waiting for you for a long time.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Waiting for me?¡± Mo Changshan smiled slightly: ¡°Draw your sword, let me see if you are still you.¡± These words were really inexplicable, but before Lin Rufei could react, the sword on Mo Changshan¡¯s waist was already out of its sheath. The snow-white blade was so striking even in the black night. With a strong fishy smell, it waved an inescapable arc as it was held in Mo Changshan¡¯s hand. Lin Rufei raised his hand to counter. Gu Yu buzzed with excitement, as if it had met an evenly matched opponent. The white blades met and an ear-splitting sound of metal touching metal pierced through the nightly air. Lin Rufei felt Mo Changshan¡¯s aura soar and he heard him say, ¡°Good sword.¡± Not a praise, just a comment. Then he withdrew his hand and made another move. At first, Lin Rufei¡¯s counterattacks were a bit stiff, but soon, he developed a strange feeling, as if he was fused with the sword in his hand. Gu Xuandu had personally taught him every move and style and it became his instinct. Under the concentration and quietness, wielding the sword had become instinctive. The snow-white sword light became faster and faster and the two figures also became a blur of a shadow. A harsh sword Qi left a deep trace in the skerry and Chi Yu narrowed his eyes as he watched the two figures intertwine before jumping to a distance. He watched for a while but suddenly, perceived the appearance of someone by his side. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of striking red. ¡°Why have you just arrived?¡± Chi Yu coldly asked, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that your little gongzi will die like this?¡± ¡°No.¡± The person who came was none other than Gu Xuandu, who looked slightly cold, with his hands crossed against his chest, ¡°You know of my existence?¡± ¡°That little gongzi talks to himself every day. I thought he was stupid at first.¡± Chi Yu replied, ¡°Only later did I find out that he seemed to be talking to someone who could not be seen.¡± He wagged his tail and continued, ¡°After all, he was sane from beginning to end and wasn¡¯t quite like a madman.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled slightly at his words. Chi Yu asked, ¡°Who is that person?¡± He was referring to the swordsman who was currently fighting with Lin Rufei. Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°An old friend.¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°It¡¯s really unlucky to have such a friend.¡± Gu Xuandu actually did not retort either but instead nodded approvingly, ¡°Who says it isn¡¯t.¡± While they were talking, Lin Rufei and Mo Changshan had already entered the fierce point of the battle. Lin Rufei did not intend to kill, but was not quite able to control the sword in his hand. The raging sword intent that he cleaved out already left a few marks on the sword blade in Mo Changshan¡¯s hand and also left a few wounds on Mo Changshan¡¯s body. However, the places where Mo Changshan was injured had no traces of blood at all. He was like a lifeless puppet that was just using his instincts to cope with Lin Rufei¡¯s attacks. Lin Rufei panted slightly. Sensing that Mo Changshan was deliberately stalling, he took a deep breath and intended to fight quickly and end the battle quickly. ¡°Gu Yu.¡± Lin Rufei let out a soft cry. Gu Yu answered and the white light above the sword blade shone brightly as Lin Rufei exclaimed, ¡°Come¡ª¡ª¡± Mo Changshan felt the surging sword intent on Lin Rufei¡¯s body and he took two fierce steps back. Previously, Lin Rufei used the sword moves taught by Gu Xuandu, but the current appearance of him raising his sword looked a bit jerky. He took a deep breath and felt the sword intent in his body, as if it was tumbling and surging. He raised his hand, waved his sword, and the majestic sword intent that was induced by Gu Yu, chopped down heavily towards the opposite person. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Mo Changshan¡¯s pupils shrank. He did not dare to take this move directly. He had intended to dodge by flying away with the sword, but who knew that the range of this move was so great that even though he had escaped dozens of feet away, he was still struck by Lin Rufei head-on. He turned around to receive the attack, but the moment the sword blade in his hand touched the raging sword intent, it directly shattered and even Mo Changshan¡¯s right arm was cut off. However, his face did not have any color of pain and he simply frowned, as if in disgust with his bulky body. ¡°Don¡¯t run, hand over the antidote!!!¡± Lin Rufei roared. ¡°Antidote?¡± Mo Changshan was still suspended in mid-air as he looked at Lin Rufei from above. Although his right hand was gone and his clothes were torn by the wind, his expression was still calm, as if it was not himself who was injured. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Shen Wucui¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°There is no cure for corpse poison.¡± Mo Changshan smiled. He tilted his head and looked at Lin Rufei, ¡°But there is another method.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Another method?¡± Mo Changshan then pointed his hand towards Gu Xuandu, who was standing on the shore, and said, ¡°He knows, you can ask him.¡± Then, with the only hand left, he slowly patted his clothes, as if to pat away the dust on it. He smiled and continued, ¡°Lin gongzi, I am satisfied with you. Let¡¯s stop here today, you and I¡­¡­will talk again some other day.¡± ¡°Who are you? Why did you turn Mo Changshan like this¡ª¡± Lin Rufei shouted sternly, ¡°Stop. You can¡¯t go¡ª¡ª¡± But his words were still a little too late. With a turn, Mo Changshan disappeared into the boundless night. Lin Rufei gasped heavily and felt a tickle in his throat. After letting out a few low coughs, he actually coughed up bright red bloodstains. When he noticed the bloodstains in his hand, he frowned. He casually took out the silk handkerchief in his sleeve, wiped haphazardly, and threw it into the seawater next to him. (t/n: Littering is not good guys, don¡¯t learn from LRF D:) ¡°Xiao Jiu, are you all right?¡± Gu Xuandu arrived late this time. Lin Rufei frowned at him and asked, ¡°Senior, you heard his words just now, right?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei continued, ¡°There is no cure for the corpse poison? But then he said you had a method?¡± Gu Xuandu sighed and his tone was somehow a bit helpless: ¡°Although there is a method, it¡¯s better not to use it.¡± Lin Rufei was exasperated, ¡°You should at least tell me about it.¡± Gu Xuandu frowned: ¡°Let¡¯s go back first, I¡¯ll tell you slowly on the way.¡± Lin Rufei finally nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Chi Yu had disappeared some time ago. He probably really hated that thing. After all, for him, who had a keen sense of smell, Mo Changshan was a corpse that had decayed, and the smell that was emitted from his body made him very uncomfortable. On the way back, Lin Rufei looked quite worried at the whole situation. Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t stand to see this look on his Xiao Jiu, so he reached out and held Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. Their fingers were interlocked, causing Lin Rufei to freeze. ¡°Don¡¯t frown, Xiao Jiu.¡± Gu Xuandu said in a warm voice, ¡°I can¡¯t stand to see this look on Xiao Jiu.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand was still cold as usual. However, on this hot Summer day, holding it wasn¡¯t unpleasant, so Lin Rufei did not struggle and allowed him hold it. He then whispered: ¡°If Shen Wucui died, my sister will be very sad.¡± Gu Xuandu sighed, ¡°But that really isn¡¯t a good method.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s not a good method, we should still try it.¡± Lin Rufei was firm, ¡°Although my sister looks easy-going, her nature is actually very stubborn. She first met Shen Wucui when she was only a few years old and immediately took a liking to the handsome little gongzi. However, I heard my second brother say that at that time Shen Wucui was pampered and was even more timid than a girl. My sister likes him but did not know what to do, so every day she would go to the mountains to catch some strange insects. She had to scare him into tears at least once every day before she was satisfied.¡± As he reminisced this story, he had wanted to laugh aloud, but when the smile reached his lips, they soon melted away and he whispered, ¡°I originally thought Shen Wucui only felt fear towards my sister until today, when I realized that he was also interested in my sister.¡± Gu Xuandu let out a long sigh, ¡°But Shen Wucui may not be willing to use that method.¡± Lin Rufei stated, ¡°You can tell me first.¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°It is true that corpse poison is incurable, but it can be eased by other methods. There is a method in the world that allows the lives of two people to be interconnected. Shen Wucui is badly injured and his vitality is gradually decreasing. But if you add the vitality of the other one, he may be able to pull through.¡± As he spoke, his emotions seemed a bit agitated, ¡°And as long as this method is used, the two lives will be linked together forever, bound together for good or ill, and in this life, they can not be separated.¡± Lin Rufei slightly froze, he did not expect to hear such a method: ¡°T-There is no other way?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head. Lin Rufei knitted his brows and gave it a good thought. Gu Xuandu continued: ¡°Although this method can solve the problem for a while, the consequences are endless. Think about it, if the two people are connected, I¡¯m afraid they can never be separated in this life¡­¡­For some people, isn¡¯t it more terrible than death?¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it again.¡± He then coughed a few more times and his face was becoming slightly more pale. When Gu Xuandu took notice of this, his heart slightly ached and he held Lin Rufei¡¯s hand a bit tighter. After that, the two proceeded to talk about the fleeing Mo Changshan. Gu Xuandu explained that the person controlling Mo Changshan should be near the Shen family, however, since he did not have the smell of rotting on him it probably wouldn¡¯t be easy to find. Lin Rufei then asked Gu Xuandu strangely; asking why that person wanted to hurt Shen Wucui, however, Gu Xuandu did not say anything. He just took a deep look at Lin Rufei and said: ¡°Some people do not need a reason to do things. If they want to, then they¡¯ll do it, and will not care about the consequences.¡± Lin Rufei inquired, ¡°Isn¡¯t such a person very scary?¡± Gu Xuandu agreed, ¡°Indeed, they are scary.¡± The two of them headed back to the house. After showering and dressing, he then hurriedly went to sleep. Originally, Lin Rufei¡¯s mind was full of thoughts and he wasn¡¯t able to sleep, but because he had just fought with Mo Changshan for a good amount of time, he was a bit tired and he closed his eyes. However, all he could think of was Shen Wucui¡¯s frail appearance and his heart entered into a turmoil for a long time before he reluctantly fell asleep. The next day, it was a sunny day. Lin Rufei got up early. Fu Hua brought freshly boiled seafood porridge and several delicious side dishes. But unfortunately, Lin Rufei did not have an appetite and after a few bites, he stopped moving his chopsticks. Just as Fu Hua was about to persuade Lin Rufei to eat some more, there was suddenly a loud noise outside the door. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart dropped, thinking that something had happened with Shen Wucui. Just as he anxiously wanted to stand up, an energetic figure burst through the door. Before Lin Rufei could react, he was hugged by that person. The young girl¡¯s delicate voice rang out and Lin Rufei immediately recognized it as his third sister whom he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. ¡°Xiao Jiu, sister misses you to death. I haven¡¯t seen you these days, have you eaten well? Let sister take a look at how much weight you have lost.¡± When Lin Weirui saw Lin Rufei, she started talking endlessly. Lin Rufei was surprised: ¡°Sister, why are you here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I was worried about you.¡± Lin Weirui laughed. ¡°Are you worried about me, or about your little lover?¡± Lin Rufei teased his sister. ¡°Both of them.¡± Lin Weirui rubbed her nose and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ve been having a lot of panic attacks these past few days. I thought something was going to happen, so I rushed over here¡­¡­Xiao Jiu, how is the situation over there with Wucui? I heard that he woke up, has his injury been stabilized?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated slightly, but still replied, ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui¡¯s face froze. She obviously felt the lack of confidence in Lin Rufei¡¯s words, ¡°Or, was there an accident? Xiao Jiu, what has happened to this Shen family, you must not hide it from me.¡± Since Lin Weirui had arrived at the Shen residence, he certainly was not able to hide this matter forever. Although Lin Rufei was afraid that Lin Weirui would worry, he still slowly told in detail about the whole situation that had happened. When Lin Weirui heard that Shen Wucui was seriously injured and the poison had not been resolved, her whole breath became gloomy and she uttered coldly, ¡°What a waste. It¡¯s been so many days and they still can¡¯t catch a single person.¡± After finishing her words, she held her sword and was about to head out. When Lin Rufei took notice of this, he immediately asked, ¡°Sister, where are you going?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to catch someone.¡± Lin Weirui said as a matter of course. Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go see Shen gongzi first?¡± ¡°It¡¯s worrying even if I go see him, so I might as well catch the person first.¡± Lin Weirui frowned and explained thusly so. Lin Rufei stopped her: ¡°Don¡¯t go, I saw that man last night.¡± Lin Weirui was surprised: ¡°Saw him? Then how come you didn¡¯t catch him?¡± Lin Rufei forced a smile: ¡°Because that person said, Shen gongzi was poisoned with corpse poison. There is no¡­¡­antidote.¡± Lin Weirui¡¯s expression blanked out for a moment, as if unable to accept the meaning of Lin Rufei¡¯s words. But very soon it picked right back up and she became spirited once again. She waved her hand and said seriously: ¡°Xiao Jiu, you do not know, Jianghu is dangerous. That person must have lied to you when he said that there was no antidote¡­¡­¡­Moreover, the corpse poison is such an obscure poison, how could Wucui be so unlucky?¡± When she muttered the last part, it was like she was talking to herself¡ª¡ªlike she was comforting herself. After saying this, she nodded to herself and said, ¡®You¡¯re right. I have just arrived so I shouldn¡¯t have to rush to that person. I should first take a look at my family¡¯s petulant little girl.¡¯ ¡°Petulant little girl¡± was the nickname Lin Weirui had given to Shen Wucui and at that time, it made Shen Wucui very angry. Lin Weirui joked that when Shen Wucui was able to beat her, she would give him a name change. It was actually teenage Shen Wucui who angrily asked her what she was going to change the nickname to and Lin Weirui smilingly said that she would change it to ¡°big girl.¡± Shen Wucui was speechless as he was teased by Lin Weirui. He really couldn¡¯t do anything against Lin Weirui. The laughter of the past was still vivid in his mind. However, in the blink of an eye, Shen Wucui was dying. Even Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t accept it, let alone Lin Weirui. Before Lin Weirui headed out, Lin Rufei clearly saw the faint vapor floating under her eyes. It seemed that Lin Weirui also had a premonition in her heart. Lin Rufei sat in the house looking anxious. With anxiety on his mind, he continuously drank the tea. After finishing about two or three pots, Fu Hua finally could no longer stand it and held down the teapot saying, ¡®Gongzi, don¡¯t drink anymore. If you drink too much tea, you will also lose moral integrity. Your body is inherently weak, if you drink too much I¡¯m afraid you would lose appetite later.¡¯ So in the end, Lin Rufei¡¯s right to drink tea was also deprived. He could only sit idly and propped up his chin while being deep in thought. Finally, he slapped the table, gritted his teeth, and said, ¡°It can¡¯t stay like this.¡± Gu Xuandu was surprised by Lin Rufei: ¡°What?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer. If Shen Wucui really dies, there¡¯s no chance of redemption.¡± He took a deep breath, ¡°I have to save him. Senior, that method you said, how exactly should I use it?¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Gu Xuandu listened, feeling as if something was wrong somewhere, and immediately tensed up, ¡°You want to save Shen Wucui?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°If Shen Wucui died, I don¡¯t know how said my sister would be.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Even so, you can¡¯t go¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei faintly froze before he realized that Gu Xuandu had misunderstood his meaning and he explained with a bitter smile, ¡°Of course it¡¯s impossible for me to go. Even if I wanted to, my sister wouldn¡¯t be willing. Who would be willing to let the person they love the most be linked to another person¡¯s life?¡± Gu Xuandu quieted, ¡°Then what you want to do¡­..¡± Lin Rufei stated, ¡°Take this method and tell my sister.¡± Gu Xuandu wanted to say something but stopped. Lin Rufei continued, ¡°I will tell my sister, as for how she chooses, it¡¯s her business.¡± ¡°What if she regrets it?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°This could be a lifetime, a few hundred years¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, ¡°I just know that if I tell her now, she may regret it later. However, if I don¡¯t tell her now, she will regret it now.¡± The Lin family had always had a long-lasting love. After his mother¡¯s death, his father was devastated for a long time. Lin Weirui was stubborn, otherwise, she would not have liked Shen Wucui for more than ten years. It was hard to imagine if in such a situation Shen Wucui suddenly passed away, Lin Weirui probably could not bear this huge blow. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei already had a decision in his heart, so he no longer hesitated and stepped out. Gu Xuandu also did not continue to persuade and followed behind Lin Rufei, but his expression looked quite a bit complicated. Since Lin Weirui suddenly came to the Shen family, it didn¡¯t seem to be a good thing for the Shen family because she came due to the uneasiness in her heart. Swordsmen, who cultivated, would give rise to some premonition in advance for certain upcoming events. Lin Rufei went to Shen Wucui¡¯s room and from afar, he heard Lin Weirui talking to Shen Wucui, who occasionally let out a low laugh and seemed to be in good spirits. When Lin Weirui saw Lin Rufei coming, she got up and smiled, ¡°Then you rest first, I will talk with my brother.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shen Wucui replied with a smile. Lin Rufei had just arrived when he was pulled out of the room by Lin Weirui. Just as he was wondering why Lin Weirui was in such a hurry, Lin Weirui jumped into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms and cried out in grief the moment after she had left Shen Wucui¡¯s room. She was afraid that Shen Wucui would hear her so she did not dare to cry too loudly and only silently shed her tears, which made Lin Rufei¡¯s heart ache even more. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, good girl, don¡¯t cry.¡± Lin Rufei patted her head, like when she had coaxed him to drink medicine when he was a child, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, it will be okay.¡± ¡°How can it be okay?¡± Lin Weirui wailed in despair, ¡°Did you see that? They have already started using spirit stones for him to hang on to his life¡­¡­.I should have come earlier¡­¡­how come I decided to delay so long?¡­¡­.¡± Using spirit stones to hang onto one¡¯s life, already meant that the person was dying. Shen Wucui¡¯s spirited appearance was probably a final radiance of a setting sun. Lin Weirui was no longer a child who could be fooled. When she saw this scene, how could she not understand what was happening? She was sad, but she didn¡¯t dare to show it in front of Shen Wucui. She could only be strong and tell Shen Wucui some interesting stories. And only when Lin Rufei arrived could she not hold on any longer. She hurriedly pulled him out of the room and just as they left, the tears that she had desperately held in, burst out and couldn¡¯t be stopped. When Lin Rufei looked at her painful appearance, he was also heartbroken. Lin Weirui said, ¡°No, we can¡¯t wait any longer, we must catch that swordsman. He is the one who gave the poison, only he can cure the poison on Wucui.¡± She didn¡¯t wallow in her great sadness and forced herself to calm down and grasp onto the only hope, ¡°He must be found.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Sister, listen to me¡­¡­¡± ¡°I know what you are going to say. Even if there is no cure for the corpse poison, can I only watch Wucui die in pain like this?¡± Lin Weirui gritted her teeth. Her eyes were scarlet from hatred and pain, ¡°No, I, Lin Weirui, will never resign myself to fate!¡± Lin Rufei whispered: ¡°Actually¡­¡­there is another way to save Brother Shen¡¯s life.¡± Lin Weirui asked, ¡°What method?¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips before slowly telling Lin Weirui the method that Gu Xuandu told him about. Lin Weirui looked extremely serious, afraid that she would miss a word, and when she heard that she could give Shen Wucui a shared life, Lin Rufei witnessed his sister¡¯s eyes lighting up. Not only did Lin Weirui not feel afraid, but she rubbed her hands with excitement: ¡°Is there really such a good thing in this world?¡± Lin Rufei uttered helplessly, ¡°Sister, you call this a good thing?¡± ¡°Of course it is.¡± Lin Weirui smiled cheekily, ¡°When a woman marries, aren¡¯t what they fear most is that their husbands are unfaithful? With this method, he still dares to be unfaithful and go out to hook up with others?¡± Lin Rufei could only admire his sister¡¯s way of thinking and said helplessly, ¡°Do you think Shen gongzi will go out and hook up with other girls?¡± ¡°No.¡± Lin Weirui still had confidence in Shen Wucui and replied honestly, ¡°But he is so beautiful, there will always be other girls who would hit on him.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui continued, ¡°This is also not allowed. Not to mention girls, I won¡¯t even allow him to keep a female cat.¡± Lin Rufei suddenly felt sympathy for Shen Wucui. In his heart, he thought that being liked by a girl like his sister was, in a way, quite a troublesome thing. ¡°My silly little brother.¡± Although Lin Weirui was quite a bit shorter than Lin Rufei, she still liked to hug Lin Rufei¡¯s neck like she did when she was a child. She came up to Lin Rufei¡¯s ear and said, ¡°Since there is such a good method, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier. You even made me lose face by shedding horse urine[1]. Pah! Pah! Pah! Shameful.¡± Lin Rufei let out a long sigh, ¡°I¡¯m just worried about¡­¡­¡± ¡°I know what you are worried about.¡± Lin Weirui cut in, ¡°But that is something that regular people have to worry about, I, Lin Weirui, am not afraid at all.¡± She patted her chest and continued with a serious look, ¡°My entire life, I have set my mind on only one person. It may be a burden for others to be connected to his life, but for me¡­¡­ ¡° She smiled shyly, ¡°It is a kind of reward, ah. ¡° Lin Rufei looked quite helpless. Although he saw that Lin Weirui was joking, the determination in her expression didn¡¯t look fake, so then, he also knew his third sister¡¯s intentions. After Lin Weirui finished conversing with Lin Rufei, she turned around and left. She also waved her hand at Lin Rufei when she was leaving and told him to go back first to rest. She said that since she wanted to marry the Shen family¡¯s son, she had to go to the Shen family head to propose marriage. This matter was after all, about a lifetime so it could not be done in a sloppy manner. Lin Rufei was helpless. He really admired his sister. Even at this time, she still had the heart to joke. Although Lin Weirui said that she was going to propose marriage, she was certainly going to the Shen family head to discuss this matter. After all, Shen Wucui was his most beloved son, before performing such a method, they had to get his family¡¯s consent. As for Shen Wucui himself, Lin Weirui had no intention to listen to his opinion from the beginning to the end. After all, Lin Weirui knew her childhood friend very well after so many years and he definitely would not agree to this method. But Lin Weirui didn¡¯t care. She didn¡¯t need his consent, she just wanted him to live. Lin Rufei, however, did not rush back to the house and instead walked around the beach, as the refreshing sea breeze blew away some of the dryness in his heart. Lin Rufei bent down and idly fiddled with the seaweed and small fishes that were swimming in the sea. Seeing this, Gu Xuandu asked him why he was unhappy and Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m quite happy.¡± He sighed, ¡°I just hope that when Shen gongzi gets better, he won¡¯t blame me for this.¡± Gu Xuandu did not comment on this and simply responded lazily, ¡°What is there to blame you for? To live and die with the one you love is supposed to be a happy thing.¡± After he finished, he added in a low voice: ¡°It¡¯s better than being left alone in this world. A hundred times better.¡± ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Cantonese humor: meaning to cry, to weep, to burst into tears. CH 77 For some reason, Lin Rufei actually heard a bit of heartache in Gu Xuandu¡¯s words. He wanted to say something but did not know what to say and finally, decided not to say anything at all. He simply reached out his hand and held Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand, just as he had done before. When Gu Xuandu noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s action, he was slightly stunned at first, but in the next moment, the corners of his mouth curved up, ¡°How can you take advantage of me, Xiao Jiu?¡± Lin Rufei blinked and said seriously, ¡°Maybe because senior took advantage of me first.¡± After saying this, the two looked at each other and laughed, the heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly relaxed a lot. Over there, Lin Weirui went fast and came back fast. However, she came back with the Shen family head. The gaze that the Shen family head had when he looked at Lin Rufei was a bit complicated and he said arduously: ¡°Many thanks¡­¡­Lin gongzi.¡± He was probably thanking Lin Rufei for telling such a method to Lin Weirui. After all, if Lin Rufei had not said so, Lin Weirui would also not have had to take the risk. Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that the Shen family head did not need to be polite. Lin Weirui, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t wait any longer and once again asked Lin Rufei about the process in detail, asking for every single little detail. This method of exchanging the life force between two people required a complex formation. It required a dozen pieces of high-grade spirit stones as a base and then use live animals to start the formation after the complex pattern was drawn with cinnabar. Lin Weirui was a bit curious as to where Lin Rufei learned this method from and Lin Rufei¡¯s excuse was that he had met a powerful formation expert before coming here. Fortunately, Lin Weirui¡¯s mind was not on it. She nodded after listening and did not ask in detail. The place where the formation was to be set up was a relatively open mud field chosen by Lin Rufei. He carefully set up the spirit stones and then Gu Xuandu held his hand from behind before lying on the ground to draw up the formation in detail. The weather was hot and Lin Rufei was sweating profusely after drawing most of it. His chest was heaving so much and he couldn¡¯t stop panting. Lin Weirui looked really heartbroken, however, she couldn¡¯t draw for Lin Rufei. She could only hold up an umbrella to help him shade from the sun. While fanning him, she would keep saying that Xiao Jiu had worked hard. Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head, saying that it was okay. He wasn¡¯t that fragile nor was he made of paper mache. Lin Weirui continued with a sad face, ¡®Even if my Xiao Jiu is a piece of paper, then it is still a gold foil one.¡¯ Lin Rufei was amused by her. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief and continued to bend over to work hard. This was Lin Rufei¡¯s first time setting up a formation, but with Gu Xuandu¡¯s help, the drawn formation looked decent. After a morning of tormenting, the formation finally took shape, however, Lin Rufei was soaked through and his expression didn¡¯t look too good. But the good thing was that the formation was finally finished. The next thing they needed was to bring a live chicken into the formation. And then after killing the live chicken, they could start the formation spell. Of course, all this must be said by Lin Weirui. However, before that, they needed to place the protagonist into the center of the formation. Lin Rufei finished drawing the formation and his whole body was stripped of strength. When he stood up, he almost fell back down again. Luckily, he was held by Lin Weirui, who took noticed of his situation, so he didn¡¯t fall to the ground. ¡°Why does your expression look so bad?¡± Lin Weirui was a little worried, ¡°Xiao Jiu?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious, it just seems to take some energy to set up the formation.¡± He coughed a few times and his thin shoulders shook uncontrollably. ¡°Does Xiao Jiu need to go back and rest first?¡± Lin Weirui added, ¡°The weather seems to be very hot¡­¡­have the maids prepare ice for you to relieve the heat.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯ll just sit on the side. Let¡¯s talk about the rest after the formation is finished.¡± When Lin Weirui saw Lin Rufei¡¯s firmness, she could only helplessly agree. Then she carefully helped him to the shade of a nearby tree and helped him sit down before turning around to continue with her next task. Shen Wucui was soon carried over and his expression was ugly as hell, but his consciousness was still clear. When he saw the formation, he frowned and breathlessly asked: ¡°This is the antidote to the poison? Why does it look¡­¡­strange¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui let out a sigh and then said, ¡®Anyway, it is able to detoxify the poison, so why do you care whether it is strange or not?¡¯ As she said this, she waved her hand, allowing the subordinates to bring Shen Wucui to the center of the formation. Then she lifted up the long-prepared live chicken and walked to Shen Wucui¡¯s side. The atmosphere around was very tense and the Shen family head did not dare to breathe. Almost all of them stared with bated breath at Lin Weirui¡¯s movements. Although Lin Weirui was joking with Shen Wucui, her hand holding the knife trembled slightly which revealed her nervousness. Shen Wucui inquired, ¡°Weirui? What are you doing?¡± ¡°To detoxify the poison.¡± Lin Weirui took a deep breath and smiled more brightly, ¡°This is a formation to dispel the poison. After activating it, it will be able to pull out the corpse poison from your body.¡± After she said this, she raised her hand and cut the neck of the live chicken. The bright red hot blood gushed out but did not fall to the ground. As if by an invisible force, it was slowly pulled into every corner of the formation. When the blood entered the formation, a burst of red light wrapped around Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui, who were in the middle of the formation. Lin Rufei could not see the scene inside and became slightly worried. This scene, however, did not last long and soon the red light gradually dissipated, revealing the two people in the center of the formation. Lin Weirui, who was originally standing in place, was now half kneeling on the ground and her flushed face was now pale. Shen Wucui, on the other hand, had fainted directly. However, his breath seemed to be much smoother than a few days ago when Lin Rufei saw him and his cheeks also had some more color to it. ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui tried to stand up, but stumbled a step and fell to the ground. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart tightened and he hurriedly stepped forward to hold her, ¡°It¡¯s OK now, quickly take them both back.¡± After Lin Rufei¡¯s command, the underlings of the Shen family, who had been around because they were afraid of breaking the formation and did not dare to go forward, swarmed up and placed both Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui onto chairs. Then they carefully carried them back to the room. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When they arrived at the room, the physician came to check on Shen Wucui¡¯s condition. After lifting the clothes on his waist and abdomen, Lin Rufei saw that the hideous wounds of the previous days were mostly healed, and most importantly, new flesh buds had been issued on them. Furthermore, there was no longer that rotting smell and Shen Wucui¡¯s breathing was now steady and smooth. It seemed to no longer be a serious problem. Rather, Lin Weirui¡¯s condition was a little worse. She was lying helplessly on the bed. After hearing that Shen Wucui was no longer in serious condition, she revealed a smile with difficulty: ¡°Luckily, it was a success. Otherwise, I really hurt myself for nothing¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked urgently, ¡°Where does it hurt?¡± Lin Weirui pointed to her abdomen. Seeing this, the physician hurriedly told the others to leave, not caring to avoid suspicion, and carefully lifted up half of Lin Weirui¡¯s clothes. Although Lin Rufei had been mentally prepared, after seeing the wound that appeared out of nowhere on Lin Weirui¡¯s waist and abdomen, he still had the urge to cry. Lin Weirui and Lin Rufei were the same. Since childhood, they were both spoiled by the Lin family growing up and have never suffered such a heavy injury. The location and shape of the wound and the one on Shen Wucui¡¯s body were almost identical. However, in the end, Lin Weirui was still a girl. Her waist was much slimmer and the wound on her body looked more striking and hideous. ¡°Is it a big one?¡± Lin Weirui straightened up her body to take a look at it, however, she accidentally pulled on the injury and couldn¡¯t help but let out a hiss as she was forced to lie back down. ¡°Auntie[1], you have to stop moving.¡± Lin Rufei felt his heart ache just from looking, so he quickly pressed her down, ¡°Be careful, otherwise, you¡¯ll aggravate the wound.¡± Lin Weirui struggled, ¡°Xiao Jiu, quickly help me check. Is it long? Will it leave a scar? Oh my God, if this is seen, how ugly it must be.¡± She muttered and was rather worried about this matter. Lin Rufei was made anxious by her. He knew that their lifeforce was now shared, but did not expect that even the wounds would appear on Lin Weirui¡¯s body. He had a moment of heartache and finally experienced the helplessness his siblings had for him on Lin Weirui. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°When the wound is healed, let Wan Yao find you the best scar removal medicine, by then nothing will remain.¡± Only then did Lin Weirui settle down and ask a few questions about Shen Wucui¡¯s condition, and only after learning that he was well, did she close her eyes in peace. The Shen family physician carefully administered medicine to Lin Weirui and bandaged her wound before following Lin Rufei out of the room. Lin Rufei asked about Lin Weirui¡¯s injuries and was relieved when the physician said that it was only a flesh wound and that she would get better in a few days. Shen Wucui¡¯s life was finally saved. Shen Wucui¡¯s mother cried tears of joy and thanked Lin Rufei, who said with a bitter smile that it was not necessary to thank him but to thank his sister. Shen Wucui¡¯s mother wiped her tears and said that when Shen Wucui was well, she would let him go to Kunlun to propose marriage. The two children were almost the same age, so it was not beautiful to delay any longer. However, she did not know that Shen Wucui and Lin Weirui¡¯s lives were now linked and was just simply grateful to Lin Weirui. In fact, in the entire Shen family, in addition to Lin Rufei and Lin Weirui, only the head of the Shen family knew about this matter. This kind of thing, the fewer people who know of it, the better. Otherwise, it would be detrimental to the two. After Lin Rufei confirmed that Lin Weirui had no problem, he was also a little tired. However, his entire body was covered in sweat which made him unable to sleep, so he asked Fu Hua to prepare a bathtub and went in for a good wash. The water was warm and not too hot. As Lin Rufei was soaking in it, he soon drifted off to sleep. He leaned against the bucket and his head couldn¡¯t stop lolling to the side. Soon, his consciousness became muddled. There seemed to be someone whispering in his ears, but Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t hear it clearly. After seeing that there was no reaction, there was a helpless sigh and he felt himself being picked up from the tub, wrapped in a dry towel, and then gently placed on the soft bed. A comfortable sigh came out of his mouth, and Lin Rufei, like a cat, involuntarily rubbed against the soft mattress and fell asleep. This sleep ended up lasting for a whole day and when he got up again, it was already the next day. When Lin Rufei opened his eyes, his mind was still confused and he asked blankly, ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s noon.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice was right next to him. Lin Rufei exclaimed, ¡°Noon? I¡¯ve slept for a day?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°A little hungry.¡± Lin Rufei rubbed his stomach, feeling a bit uncomfortable, ¡°Is my third sister okay?¡± ¡°Pretty good.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°She woke up earlier than you. She even came to see you just now and when she saw that there was nothing wrong with you, she went out to find Shen Wucui.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Her injury is fine?¡± ¡°Sigh.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It seems to be nothing, she¡¯s still alive and kicking¡­¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know exactly what Lin Weirui had done to make Gu Xuandu show such a helpless look but Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t help but show a smile, ¡°Then I¡¯m up too.¡± After washing up and having Yu Rui prepare some food, Lin Rufei sat at the table and ate slowly. Just in time, Chi Yu had jumped in through the window. As usual, he dropped the cub in his mouth onto the bed and raised his head, indicating that it was time for Lin Rufei to nurse the baby. Lin Rufei could only ask the maids for some more fresh meat and while feeding the kitten cub, he watched as Chi Yu jumped into the arms of his own maids and gently enjoyed the petting. ¡°Is that person still around?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s around anymore.¡± Chi Yu replied in a slow voice, ¡°The scent is already very faint.¡± Lin Rufei let out a soft sigh. Chi Yu said, ¡°That corpse is easy to find, but it would be troublesome if you want to find the person who is manipulating it.¡± He narrowed his eyes, ¡°You humans really have so many tricks up your sleeves.¡± Lin Rufei smiled and nodded, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± After feeding the kitten cub, Lin Rufei headed out. Although he was a little uncomfortable, he was still barely able to hold it in. He wanted to see for himself how Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui were doing. Who knew that after two steps out of the room, Lin Rufei looked up and saw Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui on the beach. Shen Wucui was sitting and Lin Weirui was standing next to him, gesticulating and saying something, laughing from time to time. Although they were far away, Lin Rufei could clearly see the helpless look on Shen Wucui¡¯s face. ¡°Hahahahaha, I thought you were really going to die.¡± Lin Weirui had her hands on her hips, looking lively. If Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know that she had a wound on her waist, he probably would have thought that this girl was in good spirits, ¡°If you were gone, I¡¯d have to find another man and I¡¯d have to watch them grow up, so troublesome!¡± Shen Wucui asked, ¡°Who are you going to find?¡± Lin Weirui answered, ¡°Anyone is fine.¡± Shen Wucui frowned. Lin Weirui was happy again and went over to him. She actually took advantage of Shen Wucui¡¯s lack of reaction and fiercely landed a bite mark on his cheek before quickly running away: ¡°Hahahahahahaha, but since you¡¯re well, then I don¡¯t have to worry about anything else. Come, come, come, let me make a mark first, so that you won¡¯t be hooked away by another demon spirit.¡± Shen Wucui sat in place. He was dumbfounded from being bitten directly, however, after reacting he could only look at Lin Weirui¡¯s back and let out a sigh. If it was before, Lin Rufei would probably only hear the taste of helplessness in this sigh from him. But for some reason, this time, he actually perceived this helplessness to be mixed with some hint of doting. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Weirui left, leaving Shen Wucui alone. Thus, Lin Rufei slowly walked up next to Shen Wucui¡¯s side. ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Shen Wucui greeted Lin Rufei. ¡°Mnn.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°My sister really¡­¡­still has that out of tune[2] look.¡± Although she and Shen Wucui had not yet confirmed their relationship, she still shamelessly bit Shen Wucui on the face. Shen Wucui couldn¡¯t do anything about her and finally, could only let her be. ¡°It¡¯s good to be lively.¡± Shen Wucui said in a warm voice, ¡°Lively girls are more well-liked.¡± Lin Rufei nodded and then asked about his injuries. Shen Wucui replied that he could now walk and as long as the corpse poison was removed, his self-healing ability was still very strong. However, when the topic came to getting rid of the poison, Shen Wucui hesitated for a moment and suddenly bowed to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was startled by Shen Wucui¡¯s action and asked what was wrong. ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Shen Wucui said, ¡°I want to ask, that poison, how exactly did you get rid of it?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°It is with the formation¡­¡­¡± However, he was interrupted by Shen Wucui before he could even finish his sentence. The Shen family¡¯s son, who had always been a scrupulous man, looked serious to the extreme and deliberated his words, ¡°I know it was with the formation, but we all know that there is no antidote for corpse poison. If there was a way to solve it, I¡¯m afraid there would not be so many deaths. Lin gongzi¡¯s formation probably has a special feature, but there is no free lunch in this world.¡± His tone became a little raw, ¡°I¡­¡­just now on Weirui¡¯s body, I smelled the same scent.¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. ¡°I just want to know what she paid in order to save me.¡± Shen Wucui sighed. Regarding whether or not to tell Shen Wucui about this matter, Lin Rufei and Lin Weirui never reached a consensus. Lin Weirui, however, did not want to tell him. In her words, if Shen Wucui knew, he would be ashamed of himself and him marrying her would just be him repaying the favor. However, Lin Rufei knew that Shen Wucui was also interested in Lin Weirui, so he thought it would not be good to hide such an important matter from Shen Wucui. Seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s difficulty, Shen Wucui sighed deeply and said, ¡°Weirui has always had big decisions, so if I ask her, she will definitely not say anything.¡± He paused slightly, ¡°If Lin gongzi finds it very difficult to say, then let¡¯s forget it.¡± He was still very understanding. Doing things for others was the way of a gentleman. This was probably the only way for him to attract Lin Weirui. Lin Rufei thought about it, ¡°Shen gongzi, it¡¯s not a problem for me to tell you, but before that, I have a question I want to ask you.¡± Shen Wucui said, ¡°Please speak.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Do you like my sister?¡± After he said this sentence, he got an instant answer, because once the word ¡°like¡± was mentioned, Shen Wucui¡¯s fair face became mostly red. His eyes also became uneasy and he said nervously, ¡°Like¡­¡­like¡­¡­¡± He ¡°liked¡± for half a day, before finally spitting out the word ¡°her.¡± This shy appearance was a stark contrast to the way Lin Weirui just molested him shamelessly. Lin Rufei thought that it really was whatever kind of pot was matched with whatever kind of cover. Facing a person like Shen Wucui, one should be direct. If both of them are so euphemistic, only a ghost would know when they would share their thoughts. ¡°So you do like my sister, right?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you propose marriage to my sister earlier and delayed until now? My sister has been waiting for you to be enlightened all these years.¡± When Shen Wucui heard this, he wilted and bit his lip, ¡°I¡­¡­actually¡­¡­always wanted to go, but, my cultivation level is not as high as Weirui¡¯s, so I¡¯m a little embarrassed.¡± Lin Rufei froze. ¡°When I first saw Weirui at the age of ten, I fell in love with her.¡± Shen Wucui dropped his gaze and his white cheeks flushed with a brilliant red, as if he was drunk, ¡°At that time, my cultivation level was around the same as Weirui¡¯s. Just, mother taught me since childhood that a man was to protect his own wife, so I quietly set a rule for myself¡­¡­When I have a higher cultivation than Weirui, I will go to Kunlun to propose marriage.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He seemed to have guessed the ending. ¡°Who knew Weirui was that good?¡± Shen Wucui laughed bitterly, ¡°I am old-fashioned and uninteresting, I really can¡¯t understand why she likes me. I always worry if she is simply teasing me¡­¡­I had already prepared a betrothal gift when I was at the sixth level of cultivation, but who knew that your sister¡­¡­your sister¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei remembered what happened back then. That year, Lin Weirui had just reached sixteen. One day, she rushed into his courtyard crying and said that Shen Wucui was a heartless man. He secretly prepared a betrothal gift and no one knew which girl he intended to marry. He didn¡¯t know where she got this news from, but Lin Weirui jumped into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms and cried a few times. Then she dried her tears and rubbed her palms together, saying that Shen Wucui could only belong to her, Lin Weirui, and that if anyone dared to make a move on him, she would definitely beat that person to the point of them being unable to take care of themselves¡ª¡ª At that time, Lin Rufei thought that Lin Weirui was joking and didn¡¯t take her words seriously, but who knew that after a few days, news came from Kunlun that Lin Weirui had gone to the Shen family and snuck into Shen Wucui¡¯s room at night. He didn¡¯t know what she had done but early the next morning, Shen Wucui had put all the betrothal gifts back. This matter was still a mystery, but looking at Shen Wucui¡¯s humiliated appearance, it seemed that his sister Lin Weirui had indeed done something bad. Lin Rufei asked a question, but Shen Wucui shook his head repeatedly and refused to say anything. Lin Rufei saw that his eyes were red, as if he was about to cry, and he really wanted to say an admiration to his sister. Lin Weirui had really pitted herself. Lin Rufei thought melancholy. ¡°Because of that matter, I did get angry with your sister for a long time.¡± Shen Wucui said in a low voice, ¡°Then by mistake[3], somehow it dragged on until now¡­¡­I was injured this time and my life was hanging by a thread and I also figured out a lot of things. Life in this world must be enjoyed to the fullest, too many concerns¡­¡­becomes a burden.¡± Having said that, Lin Rufei felt that there was no point in continuing to hide this matter from Shen Wucui. He then lowered his eyes and told him about the formation and the life exchange. The more Shen Wucui listened, the paler his face became, and finally, his body started to shake, ¡°How, how could this happen, Weirui, Weirui shared half of my life?¡± He suddenly became angry, ¡°How could you allow her to do such a ridiculous thing¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei pacified, ¡°Shen gongzi, please calm down.¡± Shen Wucui said angrily, ¡°Lin gongzi, Weirui is your sister, how could you bear it?!!¡± Lin Rufei responded calmly, ¡°It is because she is my sister that I respect her opinion. I only ask Shen gongzi one thing, that is, if the same situation were to happen, would Shen gongzi be willing to enter that formation to renew my sister¡¯s life?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Shen Wucui gave Lin Rufei an answer without even thinking, ¡°How could I just stand by and watch Weirui die.¡± Lin Rufei spread his hands: ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that settle it? My sister likes your heart no less than you like hers. Could it be that you want her to watch as you die?¡± Shen Wucui was speechless: ¡°Then¡­¡­you could always have found someone else¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei sighed: ¡°Do you think that with my sister¡¯s possessive nature, she is willing to see you and another person¡¯s life be linked?¡± Shen Wucui did not respond. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, Shen gongzi, it¡¯s probably about some inner thoughts of guilt.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°In fact, you don¡¯t have to be so. My sister wants everything from you, but that does not include guilt. She does not want to tell you because she is afraid that the feelings between you two will be mixed with other things.¡± As he said this, he pulled out the duck¡­..oh, no, it was a mandarin duck pouch, that Shen Wucui handed to him before, from his cuffs, ¡°Since Shen gongzi has recovered, you can give this to my sister with your own hands.¡± Shen Wucui pursed his lips and reached out to accept it. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei knew that with his character, it might take some time to accept this matter, but he was in no hurry. After all, it would happen sooner or later. Lin Rufei smiled and said that Shen gongzi should not make him wait too long for this cup of wedding wine. Then he turned around and left, leaving Shen Wucui standing in the same place, with the pouch held tightly in his hand. Back inside the house, Lin Rufei saw Lin Weirui sitting by the window, ¡°Weren¡¯t you bullying Shen gongzi outside just now, why are you so listless now?¡± Lin Weirui replied, ¡°I was just thinking.¡± Lin Rufei asked: ¡°Thinking about what?¡± Lin Weirui said, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about the person who injured Wucui. Where is he and why did he suddenly strike at Wucui.¡± She cupped her chin, ¡°I heard Wucui say that the two of them didn¡¯t even know each other. They simply shared a glance before he was fiercely stabbed. That person hasn¡¯t been found yet and I don¡¯t know if he will appear again.¡± When she spoke of appearing, her hand heavily gripped the sword on the side of her waist, and she grinned, revealing rows of eerie white teeth. Lin Rufei suddenly remembered Mo Changshan¡¯s cold face and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. That person should not treat Mo Changshan like that. Mo Changshan, as a powerful swordsman, should have died with more dignity. ¡°What were you talking about outside with Shen Wucui?¡± Before Lin Rufei could think of anything, Lin Weirui changed the subject and asked with a smile. ¡°You almost bullied Shen gongzi into tears.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°What else can I say? Sister, where on earth did you develop the habit of biting people on their faces, how do you want him to go out and meet people?¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Lin Weirui replied indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s best for people to see that he is already taken.¡± She patted Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder and continued, ¡°Brother, you don¡¯t know how sought-after he is and how fierce my competition is.¡± She then tilted his head and let out a long sigh, making a gesture of vicissitude. Lin Rufei felt angry and funny: ¡°Should I tell you that Shen Wucui had intended to come to Kunlun to propose marriage when he was fourteen years old and that the betrothal gift was ready, but someone did something and had the betrothal gift taken away?¡± When Lin Weirui heard Lin Rufei¡¯s words, her expression froze for a moment: ¡°What? What did you say?¡± Lin Rufei repeated: ¡°I said, that year, what exactly did you do when you snuck into someone¡¯s house? You¡¯ve spoiled a beautiful event for yourself.¡± Lin Weirui¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets: ¡°The person he wanted to propose to was me?!¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Otherwise?¡± ¡°No wonder he was so angry¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui lost her soul, ¡°I¡¯m such a big fool.¡± ¡°So what exactly did you do?¡± Lin Rufei was most curious about this. Lin Weirui replied, ¡°Can¡¯t be said, can¡¯t be said.¡± She waved her hand and continued in a low voice, ¡°If I tell you, with his nature, I¡¯m afraid that he¡¯ll be so ashamed that he¡¯ll jump into the sea and kill himself.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He was now even more curious. What exactly did his sister do that could make the good-tempered Shen gongzi angry like that? (t/n: Weirui and Wucui are low-key giving me Gu Xiang and Cao Weining vibes @[email protected] anyone else?) ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Xiao Jiu took the initiative to hold my hand for the first time. Rounding up, it¡¯s equivalent to we have become married. Lin Rufei: You¡¯ve rounded a bit too much, ah. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] A maternal family¡¯s honorific for a daughter who has been married. [2] Unruly. [3] I shortened it, but the full meaning is ¡°Error or mistake due to a strange combination of circumstances.¡± CH 78 However, in the end, it was still the love affair between two young people and Lin Rufei didn¡¯t feel quite appropriate to continue asking questions. After using Lin Rufei¡¯s formation, Shen Wucui¡¯s injury was finally gradually healing and his body no longer emitted that uncomfortable scent of death. The only downside was that if he wanted the wound to heal completely, it would still take some days, the same went for Lin Weirui. Luckily, Lin Rufei was finally able to send out this invitation. He had been in Jianghu for so many days and at almost every destination, the invitation in his hand was like a hot potato and it was impossible not to have something happen. Although Lin Rufei felt helpless, there was no other way. Who would have thought that before he arrived, Shen Wucui would get stabbed first? The Summer, which was even longer than previous years, finally passed. After the first day of Autumn, it had rained a few times and the weather finally turned cooler. Lin Rufei stayed with the Shen family for some days before he planned on leaving after he saw that Lin Weirui¡¯s injury was almost healed. Lin Weirui told Lin Rufei a thousand times not to tell their elder brother about what had happened at the Shen residence. She said that if he found out about this matter, she would have to suffer a flesh wound. Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°You haven¡¯t returned in so long and the Shen family¡¯s matter also became very serious, how could elder brother not know?¡± ¡°Then what can be done?¡± Lin Weirui was most afraid of Lin Minzhi and asked with a worried face. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Lin Rufei teased his sister, ¡°At most, you¡¯ll just get a whipping. You know elder brother has a sharp mouth but is soft-hearted, he won¡¯t hit you too hard.¡± Lin Weirui stared straight at him and said, ¡®Xiao Jiu, you¡¯ve turned bad.¡¯ ¡°Actually, if you don¡¯t want to get whipped then that¡¯s fine too.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°When the time comes, just show elder brother the wound on your waist and abdomen. I can guarantee that elder brother would be too heartbroken to beat you.¡± Lin Weirui muttered, ¡°No, no, big brother will definitely be more angry when he sees it. Although he can¡¯t bear to beat me anymore, he probably won¡¯t say a word to me for ten days to a half month¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei spread his hands and made a helpless look: ¡°Then I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Weirui let out a long sigh then scratched her head with an extraordinarily distressed look. Lin Rufei watched from the side, smiling, and said that he would leave the Shen family in a few days. If sister¡¯s injury was better, remember to go back earlier and not let their brothers worry again. ¡°You¡¯re gonna leave just like this?¡± Lin Weirui was still a little reluctant, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Xiao Jiu for some days, quickly, let sister give a kiss or two.¡± As she said this, she reached out her arms. Lin Rufei ruthlessly refused Lin Weirui¡¯s request, saying she¡¯d better go kiss her Shen gongzi. Lin Weirui shook her head and sighed: ¡°You¡¯ve grown up and won¡¯t kiss your sister anymore.¡± Lin Rufei simply pretended not to hear. He didn¡¯t know what was going on these days, but Chi Yu, who had always been calm, was a bit agitated now. He was no longer leisure anymore and every time he brought the little one over, he stood at the window and couldn¡¯t stop pacing back and forth. Lin Rufei asked him what was wrong and he looked at Lin Rufei before replying in a deep voice: ¡°It¡¯s almost a month.¡± ¡°A month?¡± Lin Rufei still hadn¡¯t reacted yet. Chi Yu pointed to the kitten in Lin Rufei¡¯s arms, which was happily sucking on Lin Rufei¡¯s finger, and Lin Rufei finally let out an ¡°oh¡± before saying, ¡°So fast.¡± The kitten was growing fast. Not only had his body become fat, but the teeth in his mouth have also emerged. However, he had been smart since childhood. Although he liked to suck on Lin Rufei¡¯s finger, he never bit through Lin Rufei¡¯s skin, so Lin Rufei also allowed him do as he pleased. Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Hopefully, he¡¯ll be smarter.¡± And to stop recognizing Lin Rufei as his father. A month-old Ye Mo would have a clear mind and could also take on human form. Take on a human form? Hearing this, Lin Rufei was a bit curious. But Chi Yu obviously did not want him to see it. After he finished feeding, he quickly carried the cub away and Lin Rufei showed a regretful look. After deciding to leave, Fu Hua packed their bags and planned their departure in a few days. The weather was getting cooler so Lin Rufei changed into his Autumn clothes early and the talismans in the carriage were also changed. Lin Rufei thought he and Chi Yu would never meet again. But who knew that within a few days, Chi Yu reappeared at Lin Rufei¡¯s doorstep with a livid look on his face, only this time in human form and with a small little doll in his arms that was making faint crying sounds. The little doll had a chubby little face with a pair of big eyes that surfaced with thick vapor. In Chi Yu¡¯s bosom, he became a small crying person until he saw Lin Rufei, and only then did he cry out: ¡°Dada¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was shocked when he heard it calling him ¡°daddy.¡± Chi Yu took a few steps to Lin Rufei¡¯s side and threw the little Ye Mo into Lin Rufei¡¯s arm, like he was throwing garbage, just short of spitting on him. When the little dumpling got into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms, it immediately laughed happily and the Ye Mo complained gloomily, ¡°Laugh my ass, laugh again and I¡¯ll cut your tongue off.¡± The little dumpling seemed to understand his own father¡¯s words and immediately shut his mouth before looking at Lin Rufei with an aggrieved look. Lin Rufei said: ¡°This¡­¡­¡± ¡°Continue to nurse it.¡± Chi Yu crossed his hands against his chest and muttered coldly, ¡°How could I have given birth to such a stupid thing.¡± Lin Rufei lost his smile. After asking a few more questions, he learned that the little Ye Mo had indeed successfully transformed. However, after the transformation, he was still not a fan of Chi Yu, this old father. Under the threat of the Ye Mo, it barely endured a few days before finally breaking down and at the risk of annoying his own father then being swallowed in one bite, it cried, wanting to see Lin Rufei. As a result, when Chi Yu saw Lin Rufei now, he secretly ground his teeth and even seriously thought about whether he should simply eat Lin Rufei and be done with it. Lin Rufei just pretended that he didn¡¯t see Chi Yu¡¯s threatening eyes and warmly summoned Fu Hua to bring the little Ye Mo¡¯s favorite food. He then asked in passing if the little Ye Mo had a name. ¡°It¡¯s called Stupid.¡± Ye Mo replied. Lin Rufei said: ¡°¡­¡­¡± You are really a demon scum. After feeding the child, Lin Rufei handed it back into Chi Yu¡¯s arms. And when Chi Yu was ready to leave, he turned his head to look at Lin Rufei, ¡°You should be more careful these days.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Lin Rufei faintly froze, ¡°What?¡± ¡°The person who hurt Shen Wucui before seems to have returned.¡± Chi Yu answered, ¡°The scent on him is too faint, I can¡¯t be sure, so I¡¯m warning you in advance.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s expression tightened, ¡°Thanks for the reminder.¡± Then Chi Yu left with the child in his arms. ¡°That person came back? Came back for what?¡± Lin Rufei got anxious, ¡°Should we catch that person first¡­¡­Besides, isn¡¯t Mo Changshan already dead, how on earth did he manage to bring the dead back to life?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°There is no method in the world to bring the dead back to life.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What about Mo Changshan?¡± Gu Xuandu questioned him back, ¡°Do you think he¡¯s alive?¡± Lin Rufei remembered that night when he saw Mo Changsan¡¯s appearance. Indeed, rather than saying that that man was Mo Changshan, it would be better to say that he was a weapon that held Mo Changshan¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t know what kind of mastermind was behind it that could do such a desecration of the dead. ¡°If I just leave, will he turn against the Shen family again?¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and felt that this matter should not be left like this, ¡°Senior, can we still find him?¡± Who knew that after hearing Lin Rufei¡¯s words, Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression looked a bit strange, ¡°Xiao Jiu wants to see him?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Then there is no need for us to look.¡± He leaned on the edge of the bed, looking at the waves outside the window, and continued lightly, ¡°He will come to us himself.¡± Lin Rufei was stunned, ¡°You mean Mo Changshan? Why would he want to find us? Is he here to avenge his dog?¡± But that seemed to make no sense, ¡°But it wasn¡¯t us who killed Mo Zhaocai¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, but kept quiet. It seemed that he had no means of explaining the meaning behind his words. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Although Chi Yu had warned Lin Rufei, the next few days were calm and quiet and there were no accidents at all. Lin Rufei¡¯s luggage was almost ready and the day before he left, Lin Rufei, who had finished his bath and was planning to sleep, saw an unexpected guest at the door. The man¡¯s face was wrapped in a thick white cloth, revealing only a pair of gloomy black eyes and the most striking thing was the long black snake wrapped around his arm. The long snake hissed and spat out its tongue. Before approaching, it emitted an overly obvious dangerous aura. Lin Rufei was still leaning against the side of the bed looking at miscellaneous books and only when he was tapped by Gu Xuandu on the back of his hand, did he realize that at some point, such a person stood at the doorway of his room. He appeared silently, as if he was a ghost, and startled Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei immediately sat up straight and looked at the man warily: ¡°Who are you?¡± The man slowly walked up to Lin Rufei. And with an extremely uncomfortable gaze, he looked Lin Rufei up and down. Lin Rufei pressed on the sword at the side of his waist and asked in a cold voice: ¡°Isn¡¯t it inappropriate for you to come here uninvited?¡± The man suddenly smiled. Although the lower half of his face was covered, the curved corners of his eyes still revealed his very good mood. He didn¡¯t know if it was Lin his imagination, but when this man smiled, Lin Rufei felt that the gloomy aura surrounding this man¡¯s body had mostly dispersed and on the contrary, there was a little bit more innocence. This person took a few steps towards Lin Rufei and before Lin Rufei could react, his next action was actually to bend down halfway and kneel in front of Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei originally thought he was here to pick a fight but was instead frozen by his action. He stared: ¡°You¡­¡­¡± ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± His voice was hoarse and very unpleasant to listen to. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lin Rufei was taken aback. ¡°I¡¯ve been searching for you for a long time.¡± His eyes were almost greedy, as if he was a traveler in the desert who had been walking for a long time and finally saw a clear spring. Just like that, he reached out his hand towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei, however, naturally refused to be grabbed by him. He reflexively stepped back a bit and used Gu Yu to restrain his hand that had wanted to reach over. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± Lin Rufei frowned. He felt that this person¡¯s brain wasn¡¯t quite functioning properly. The man, who had been ruthlessly rejected by Lin Rufei, showed an aggrieved look. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t trust Gu Xuandu.¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He never thought that he would hear the name Gu Xuandu coming from this man¡¯s mouth. ¡°He¡¯s a deceitful liar!¡± He hissed. Because of these intense emotions, his black eyes also flushed crimson and the black snake in his hand also began to twist and turn with his intense emotions. For a while, the situation looked particularly gruesome. He continued in a fierce voice, ¡°Lin gongzi, if you believe him, you will definitely be harmed extremely badly¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei glanced at the culprit that came out from this person¡¯s mouth, only to see Gu Xuandu indifferently leaning against the window table. He slightly tilted his head and looked at the man kneeling in front of Lin Rufei like a fool. He seemed to have noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze and smiled charmingly before he made a helpless show of hands to Lin Rufei. However, he did not take this person¡¯s words to heart in the slightest. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You know Gu Xuandu?¡± The man answered, ¡°I naturally know¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Then do you know¡­¡­¡± ¡°I know. I know everything.¡± His emotions seemed to be very unstable and his fingers dug harshly into the ground. Because he dug too hard, the nails on his hands were actually chipped open one by one and his voice was also like crying blood. Lin Rufei felt some discomfort after listening as he continued, ¡°I know, but what kind of Heavenly Ruler is he? He does not deserve to be called the Heavenly Ruler¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei knitted his brows. Probably because he noticed that Lin Rufei¡¯s expression was a bit unpretentious, he then stopped and mumbled in a low voice: ¡°Lin gongzi, believe me once, I have never lied to you¡­¡­¡± Whether it was his words or the manner of speaking, there was a strong sense of incongruity floating on this person. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You and I just met for the first time, so where did the ¡®I have never lied to you¡¯ come from? That Mo Changshan was made by you, right? Why did you do that¡ª¡ªand why did you hurt Shen Wucui?!¡± But the man responded indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just some minor things, if Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t like it, I won¡¯t do it again in the future.¡± His face showed a kind of ingratiation and his kneeling foot moved forward. It was like he was itching to come towards Lin Rufei¡¯s side, ¡°Lin gongzi, where are you going next?¡± Lin Rufei, naturally, could not trust a person he had only met once so he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t say anything.¡± He was not annoyed when he saw Lin Rufei¡¯s refusal. ¡°Of course he won¡¯t tell you.¡± Gu Xuandu, who had been standing to the side, suddenly opened his mouth. Lin Rufei originally thought that his voice would be inaudible to the person in front of him, but who knew that this person would actually turned his head back. When he noticed Gu Xuandu standing by the window, a light of hatred shot out of both eyes. ¡°He only listens to my words.¡± Gu Xuandu raised his head slightly and stepped towards Lin Rufei¡¯s side. He bent down, picked up Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, and with a provocative look, he dropped a soft kiss on the back of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. His action was so abrupt that before Lin Rufei could react, he heard the man kneeling beneath the bed let out a hissing roar, and then, he rushed towards Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu lifted his foot and kicked the man far away. He landed heavily on the table sitting at the side and caused a loud noise. ¡°It was like this hundreds of years ago and it will be like this hundreds of years later.¡± Gu Xuandu slowly walked to the man¡¯s side, stepped on the chair next to him, and looked at the man from above. His body was filled with a dense killing aura that Lin Rufei had never seen before. His words, word for word, sounded very gentle at first, but one could feel the gnashing teeth behind them, ¡°Waste is waste.¡± The man sat on the ground and stared at Gu Xuandu with resentment. Although he was insulted like this, he laughed with a smile and replied in a strained voice: ¡°Gu Xuandu, what allows you to be so arrogant? Do you really think that you are still the omnipotent Lord Heavenly Ruler from a hundred years ago? Hehe¡­¡­you can¡¯t even stay solid for long. You¡¯re just a pathetic ghost and still have the nerve to call me waste?¡± Gu Xuandu raised an eyebrow: ¡°The ghost can kiss him, can you?¡± The man was shaking with anger. ¡°Can¡¯t, right?¡± Gu Xuandu mocked him mercilessly, ¡°I told you a long time ago, no matter how much time has passed, the ending of things will not change.¡± The man still wanted to say something, but Fu Hua called out from outside the room. She must have heard the noise that had resounded inside the room and came to check on the situation. Gu Xuandu narrowed his eyes, gave a low laugh, and said lazily: ¡°Fu Hua can¡¯t see me, but she can see you. If she sees you in Lin gongzi¡¯s room, I don¡¯t know how much trouble you will cause him.¡± After he said this, the man hurriedly got up from the ground and went out directly through the window. Just as he left, Fu Hua pushed open the door and saw the room in a mess. She revealed a stunned expression and asked, ¡°Gongzi, what happened?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Lin Rufei replied perfunctorily, ¡°It¡¯s just that my practice has gone astray just now.¡± ¡°Really?¡± However, Fu Hua was a bit unconvinced. When she was outside the room, she clearly heard the sound of talking in the room. But when she came in, there was only Lin Rufei. ¡°There¡¯s really nothing going on.¡± Lin Rufei waved his hand, yawned, and revealed a sleepy expression, ¡°You can come back tomorrow to clean up, I¡¯m a little sleepy so I¡¯ll sleep first.¡± Fu Hua froze, but still responded, ¡°Then¡­¡­okay.¡± But she was still a little uneasy. So she said a few more words, saying that if gongzi encountered something, he should not carry the burden alone and that he must tell them. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. What else could Lin Rufei say? He could only nod and say yes. Only then did Fu Hua turn around and leave. Only when she left, she still looked a bit worried. She probably thought that her young master¡¯s hysteria was getting worse. After sending away his maid, Lin Rufei let out a long breath. He looked at Gu Xuandu and saw him standing by the bed with a smile on his face, ¡°Senior, who is that person?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°An¡­¡­old acquaintance.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°A friend?¡± Gu Xuandu sighed, ¡°Do you think a relationship like ours is worthy of the word ¡®friend?¡¯¡± That was true, Lin Rufei thought to himself. Just a few words from Gu Xuandu made that person angry as hell. Although Gu Xuandu was smiling from the beginning to the end, Lin Rufei was still able to keenly perceive that the few words said by that person also made Gu Xuandu a little upset. It seemed that the two of them were not only old acquaintances, but they were also old acquaintances who knew each other very well. ¡°What exactly happened a few hundred years ago?¡± Lin Rufei was getting more and more curious. When the Heavenly Ruler suddenly disappeared, most of the people thought that he had stepped through the void and soared away. However, now he was clearly standing in front of him, still alive and quarreling with others. So such an argument, then, was clearly untenable. The Heavenly Ruler¡¯s cultivation was extremely high. That year, he had been unmatched so who injured him and made him lose his physical body, leaving only the appearance of his spiritual one? Lin Rufei could not understand. ¡°When I can condense into an entity, I¡¯ll tell Xiao Jiu what he wants to know.¡± Gu Xuandu stretched out his hand and gently stroked Lin Rufei¡¯s hair, his expression was gentle to the extreme. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°How long before senior can condense into an entity?¡± ¡°Just a little longer.¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°When my heart is found.¡± He continued, ¡°I will be able to reconstruct a physical body and by then, I will be able to stay by Xiao Jiu¡¯s side all the time.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Heart? Does senior know where his heart is?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°Hundreds of years ago, I handed my heart to a person and if that person is still alive, he will certainly safeguard it for me.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Who?¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°Wu Min.¡± When Lin Rufei heard the words Wu Min, he froze slightly. He had some impression of this name, as if he had heard it somewhere before. After thinking carefully, he sucked in a breath of cold air: ¡°But senior, Wu Min had already died in the Witch Rebellion a hundred years ago¡­¡­¡± He then remembered that he had seen the name Wu Min in several history books. It seemed that Wu Min was a Great Witch of the witch tribe with the ability to pass through the sky. Only, a hundred years ago, he died in an accident during the Witch Rebellion. Later, after the Witch Rebellion subsided, the name Wu Min was passed down for a long time. ¡°Dead? Really dead?¡± Gu Xuandu was a little unconvinced. ¡°Really.¡± Lin Rufei replied. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it several times in books. It seems to say that he died at the hands of his own younger brother¡­¡­The exact circumstances, I can¡¯t remember very well.¡± Gu Xuandu frowned, ¡°How can he be so careless.¡± Lin Rufei also did not know what to say. He contemplated for a while before saying that the Shen family was not too far from the witch tribe so why don¡¯t they head over there and help Gu Xuandu find his heart? Since it was such an important thing, even if Wu Min died, he would definitely hand it over to his descendants for safekeeping. Gu Xuandu sighed and said he could only do so. Lin Rufei chatted with Gu Xuandu for another while before he developed a strong sense of sleepiness. He let out a yawn, crawled into bed, and fell asleep in a daze. The next day, Fu Hua came in and cleaned up the messy room before preparing the carriage, asking Lin Rufei if they would leave today. Lin Rufei nodded and said, ¡°No more delays. I¡¯ll go greet my sister and then we¡¯ll leave.¡± Fu Hua nodded. Lin Weirui¡¯s injury was almost healed. Even at breakfast time, she did not forget to show affection with Shen Wucui. But the way they showed love was a bit strange. Most of the time it was Lin Weirui who fed Shen Wucui with an evil smile and Shen Wucui with a bitter look on his face. However, he still had to open his mouth no matter what as he vaguely complained: ¡°Weirui¡­¡­..feed less, I¡­¡­can¡¯t eat anymore¡­¡­¡± Lin Weirui said: ¡°Look at you, you¡¯re so thin. Your injury also just healed, if you don¡¯t eat more how can you get well faster?¡± If it were not for the fact that Lin Rufei knew the nature of his third sister like the back of his hand, he probably would have really thought that she was concerned about Shen Wucui. ¡°Sister, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Lin Rufei knocked on the door to get the two people¡¯s attention. ¡°You¡¯re leaving now?¡± Lin Weirui hurriedly put down the things in her hands, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were leaving this afternoon?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°It¡¯s better to leave in the morning, it¡¯s cooler.¡± Lin Weirui stated, ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you off.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll also come along.¡± Shen Wucui swallowed the food in his mouth with difficulty and stood up after Lin Weirui. Lin Rufei smiled, nodded, and didn¡¯t say anything else. The three of them walked towards the carriage and Lin Weirui watched as Lin Rufei got into it. Fu Hua raised the whip in her hand, cracked it, and the carriage sped away, raising a cloud of dust before gradually disappearing from the view of the two. ¡°Xiao Jiu seems to have grown up a lot.¡± Lin Weirui hesitated to withdraw her eyes. She continued looking in the direction where Lin Rufei disappeared, looking despondent, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or a bad thing.¡± Shen Wucui answered with a smile, ¡°Naturally it¡¯s a good thing.¡± Lin Weirui smiled bitterly, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She pulled up a strand of hair hanging down from her ear and whispered, ¡°Just watching him grow up always makes me feel a bit sad for some reason.¡± Shen Wucui replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Although a bit stiff, he still made an effort to hold Lin Weirui¡¯s hand. ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Weirui curved the corners of her eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: This is not my friend. Lin Rufei: He¡¯s¡­¡­ Gu Xuandu: He¡¯s my love rival. Lin Rufei: Eh? CH 79 South of Yunxiang, there was a place called Wuyu, which was the hometown of the witch tribe. Compared with other places, Wuyu was located in a long and narrow canyon, surrounded by mountains and water. The terrain was closed and with Wuyu as the hometown of witchcraft, outsiders were very fearful. Thus for most people, it was a very mysterious place. Qi Yansheng, who Lin Rufei had met in the Meng family before, was his first acquaintance with the witch tribe. However, now it seemed that Qi Yansheng had a pretty decent personality and was not as weird as the witch tribe was rumored to be. Gu Xuandu said that the witch tribe being eccentric in nature was actually misinformation. Due to the fact that they were isolated from the world and didn¡¯t know much about the rules of the common world, they rarely left Wuyu except for specific times, thus, giving the people outside such a strange impression of them. Of course, those like Qi Yansheng, who was able to be smooth and slick in establishing social relations, were a minority in the witch tribe as most of them were somewhat introverted. Lin Rufei whispered: ¡°That person who came to my room the day before was¡­¡­also a member of the witch tribe, right?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What was his name?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Wu Ao.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That¡¯s a good name. It sounds like when Chi Yu cries, oo ao oo ao[1].¡± Gu Xuandu almost laughed out loud. ¡°I feel like this person has a strange temper.¡± Lin Rufei pondered, ¡°I thought he was going to come find trouble for me, however, he ended up doing that which really surprised me. But if he had good intentions towards me, why would he hurt Shen Wucui? Even my sister was also injured.¡± However, Gu Xuandu simply smiled and kept quiet, shaking his head. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°And if we go to Wuyu this time, won¡¯t we just happen to be going to his hometown.¡± He didn¡¯t really like Wu Ao, ¡°Will we run into him again?¡± Gu Xuandu sighed and there was a little more helplessness in his tone, ¡°No matter where we go, we are going to encounter him.¡± The two talked for another while until Yu Rui muttered, ¡°Who are you talking to, gongzi?¡± Only then did Lin Rufei shut up and then perfunctorily said that he was memorizing a book. Yu Rui chewed on the corn candy and looked at her gongzi suspiciously. In her heart, she was a little worried, thinking that her gongzi¡¯s hysteria of talking to himself probably would not get better¡­¡­ Lin Rufei looked at Yu Rui and asked, ¡°You eat so much candy every day, are you not afraid of ruining your teeth?¡± Yu Rui grinned and opened her mouth, revealing a row of neat little white teeth, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. I have brushed my teeth properly.¡± She didn¡¯t care about such a thing at all. Although it was Lin Rufei¡¯s offhand comment, his prophecy had actually become true and the next night, Yu Rui¡¯s face was suddenly half swollen. Fu Hua pinched Yu Rui¡¯s mouth and looked left then right, before frowning: ¡°Yu Rui, have you really brushed your teeth properly? These teeth are half-ruined¡­¡­¡± Yu Rui cried, ¡°I really did.¡± Fu Hua asked, ¡°Then how can the teeth be ruined?¡± ¡°Sigh.¡± Lin Rufei sighed and said, ¡°Although she brushed her teeth, she was chewing on the corn candy her lover gave her at night when she slept. It would be strange if her teeth didn¡¯t become ruined.¡± Yu Rui cried out in pain and tears, saying it was all He Wanxiang, that bad thing¡¯s fault; why did he have to make the corn candy so delicious? Fu Hua was angry but also thought that this matter was funny. She grabbed Yu Rui¡¯s nose and pinched it: ¡°Even tasty things are sugar. If you eat too much, not only will you ruin your teeth, but you will also grow fat. Let¡¯s see if He Wanxiang will still like you after you become fat.¡± Yu Rui then cried even more. Lin Rufei cried and laughed and asked Fu Hua to stop scaring the child. Coincidentally, Chi Yu dragged his family over and when he saw Yu Rui crying, like raindrops on a pear blossom, he frowned and asked how Lin Rufei could bully his own maid. Lin Rufei let out a long sigh and replied that he didn¡¯t have the heart to bully. Then he proceeded to tell the story of Yu Rui eating corn candy and ruining her teeth. When Chi Yu heard this, he also laughed aloud. This made Yu Rui so angry that she pulled harshly on his hair. However, he didn¡¯t resist and simply squinted his eyes in Fu Hua¡¯s embrace as he spread himself out like a pancake with a face full of comfort. Lin Rufei hugged the little Ye Mo and asked why Chi Yu was so much like a scum. ¡°If Chi Yu is a scum, then what are you?¡± Gu Xuandu asked slyly. ¡°A wet nurse?¡± Lin Rufei replied tentatively. Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t comment on it and instead, he just looked up and gave Chi Yu a thoughtful glance. Although the next place they were going to was Wuyu, Lin Rufei was still afraid of Wu Ao. Gu Xuandu did tell Lin Rufei not to worry so much, saying that Wu Ao probably wouldn¡¯t make a move against Lin Rufei and even if he did make one, it would be against him. Lin Rufei wondered why Wu Ao was so disgusted with Gu Xuandu, however, Gu Xuandu simply answered with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s not disgust, it¡¯s jealousy.¡± ¡°Jealousy?¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Jealous of what?¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°Of course he is jealous that I have someone by my side. Look at how miserable he is. Hundreds of years ago there was only that black snake with him, hundreds of years later there is still only that black snake. I can¡¯t even stand to watch any longer.¡± He had said this in a joking tone so Lin Rufei also could not help but let out a smile. However, this smile still had a hint of worry in it. In short, the feeling that Wu Ao gave to Lin Rufei had not been a good one. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This place was near the sea. And after the beginning of Autumn, the weather was not as hot. An Autumn shower brought in the coolness and this year¡¯s rain was extraordinarily abundant. After Lin Rufei left the Shen family, the sun had not come out once, which was quite a comfortable feeling. From the Shen family to Wuyu, it would take about ten days of traveling and if he traveled slower, it would probably take even longer. The closer they got to Wuyu, the more Lin Rufei could feel the scornful attitude of the people around him towards this place. As soon as they heard of his destination, most of their faces would show some fear or disapproval. ¡°Gongzi, do you really want to go to Wuyu?¡± The inn¡¯s Xiao Er was very enthusiastic. However, after hearing Lin Rufei ask for directions, he frowned, ¡°That place is very evil, it is said that those who go in never come out.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°That powerful?¡± ¡°Tell me about it.¡± The Xiao Er poured tea for Lin Rufei and whispered, ¡°If you want to go, just follow the big road to the east and keep going. However, you have to think about it before you go. But gongzi, what are you going there for?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated, ¡°To¡­¡­do something.¡± The Xiao Er then shook his head and sighed, saying that it was better not to do whatever he was going to do. Wuyu, this place, was one they never dared to approach. Even if they did not get close to it, they could still see a lot of strange things. In short, as long as it was related to Wuyu, it wasn¡¯t anything good. Lin Rufei asked curiously, ¡°Strange things?¡± The Xiao Er replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°For example?¡± He took out reward money from his sleeve and handed it to the Xiao Er. The Xiao Er smiled as soon as he saw the reward money. He took it and continued with a smile, ¡°This Wuyu is located in the middle of the canyon. The road on the east is the only way to the inside. The people around all avoid Wuyu so very few people would go. Until a certain year¡­It was also during the Autumn and that road suddenly fogged up¡­¡­¡± He deliberately lowered his voice, making a ghastly look. It scared Yu Rui into grabbing Fu Hua¡¯s hand as she stared at the Xiao Er with round eyes. The Xiao Er continued: ¡°Someone just so happened to be passing nearby and saw a dozen shadowy figures appearing in the fog. At first, the person thought that someone was just passing by, but who knew that after a closer look, he felt that there was something wrong. He noticed that the movements of those dozens of people were very stiff, it was not stepped by step like ordinary people but jumping. The more that person looked, the more wrong it appeared to be. Just as he was about to leave, who knew that¡­¡­..¡± He suddenly increased his voice, ¡°Who knew that a hand suddenly stretched out from behind him and gave his shoulder a hard slap. He then lost consciousness. By the time the others found out, the dozen of figures actually had another person added in!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Rui and Fu Hua were scared paled. However, Lin Rufei listened with great interest and also commented, ¡°Pretty good story.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t gongzi afraid?¡± When the Xiao Er saw that Lin Rufei did not react at all, he was a bit unaccepting. After all, this was the ghost story that he kept at the bottom of his chest[2]. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid.¡± Lin Rufei took a sip of tea and stated indifferently, ¡°It sounds like a fabricated story.¡± ¡°Why?¡± The Xiao Er wondered. Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°If something really happened to him, then who told you guys the story? Could it be that the dead can still speak?¡­¡­¡± After he finished this sentence, he suddenly remembered Mo Changshan. And then after a moment of silence, he mused, ¡°The dead really seemed to be able to speak, ah.¡± ¡°Young master, just stop scaring us.¡± Yu Rui muttered with a crying voice, ¡°That place is so scary, do we really have to go?¡± ¡°Go.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it interesting?¡± It was obvious that Lin Rufei was the only one who found Wuyu interesting. Whether it was the Xiao Er or his maids, they all had disapproving looks on their faces. When the Xiao Er saw that he could not be persuaded, he no longer kept trying. He simply sighed and told Lin Rufei to greet his family first before entering that place so as to avoid a sudden disappearance, making his family worry. Lin Rufei thanked his kindness and after pondering over it, it really was about the time to send a letter back to Kunlun. When the Xiao Er told the story, Gu Xuandu also listened with interest. When they got back to the room, Lin Rufei asked Gu Xuandu if this story was true or not. ¡°It might be true.¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°The witch tribe is indeed very good at catching corpses[3]. Occasionally, they¡¯ll accept some commissions from the outside so it¡¯s quite normal to be seen. However, the story near the end was a bit wrong, I think someone probably added some oil and vinegar[4] to it.¡± Lin Rufei mused, ¡°You¡¯re right. Most of the folk legends have been added with some oil and vinegar.¡± Lin Rufei stayed at the inn for one night. He had originally intended to enter Wuyu the next day, but who knew that just as he got up in the morning, he saw that the outside was covered with a layer of fog. The fog was very dense and he was not able to see clearly anything that was just a few feet away. ¡°Young master, do we still have to go?¡± After listening to yesterday¡¯s story, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were a little anxious. And today, there was actually fog just like in the story, which made the two even more afraid. In the end, they were both still little girls. If it was Lin Weirui, this naughty child, she probably would depart immediately in excitement the moment she saw the fog. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Let¡¯s wait. Generally, the fog should be dispersed at noon. When that time comes, we will set out.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui sighed with relief. But the sky did not follow people¡¯s wishes. This dense fog didn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary mountain mist. Even when the sun came out, there was no intention of dissipating. Lin Rufei could only go ask the inn¡¯s Xiao Er, asking him when the fog would dissipate. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say.¡± The Xiao Er replied, ¡°Usually it clears around noon, but if it doesn¡¯t clear at noon, it will last for several days. Once it took more than ten days for it to clear. Gongzi, are you still going to enter even with such a dense fog?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Will one get lost?¡± The Xiao Er replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know if one would get lost, but there¡¯s only one way in. As for what it looks like inside, no one knows.¡± Lin Rufei thought: ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait until tomorrow. If it doesn¡¯t disperse tomorrow, I¡¯ll go in following the main road.¡± Although there was fog, he at least had a Gu Xuandu by his side. Gu Xuandu should probably know Wuyu very well so there shouldn¡¯t be too big of a surprise. The Xiao Er tried to persuade with a few more words, but seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s firm attitude, he left with a sigh. The weather seemed to be against Lin Rufei. By the next day, the fog still had not lightened at all. It was still thick and scary and no one could say when the fog would dissipate. Lin Rufei decided not to wait any longer and got on the carriage with his maids. Fu Hua and Yu Rui were a bit scared so Lin Rufei simply let them both sit inside while he drove the carriage himself. Of course, the maids were reluctant to hear this order at first. Since when has a servant ever sat inside enjoying while the master did the hard work? Lin Rufei also did not persuade. He simply smiled and asked: ¡®if you guys are out driving the carriage, are you not afraid of a hand suddenly reaching out from behind and patting you guys on your shoulders?¡¯ This successfully scared the two maids, who turned pale at his words. And without saying anything, they silently shrank into the carriage. Probably because they were still concerned about Lin Rufei, they refused to put down the carriage curtain, saying that they were going to help and guard their young master¡¯s back. Lin Rufei laughed at Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s reaction and Gu Xuandu commented that Xiao Jiu was really becoming bad. Lin Rufei then looked at him, ¡°I learned it all from senior.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei cursed, ¡°Motherf*cker, this fog is really big.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Did you also learn this from me? When Gu Xuandu heard this expletive, he gritted his teeth in secret hatred for a long time. In his heart, he thought that the He family was really a disaster that he couldn¡¯t avoid. However, looking at Lin Rufei¡¯s happy expression and laughter, he(LRF) probably felt that he(LRF) had finally learned a phrase that could exclaim his mood¡ª¡ª¡±Motherf*cker!¡± was much more imposing than ¡°Oh my God.¡± Gu Xuandu held his forehead in distress. He was trying to think of ways to let his family¡¯s little gongzi forget that word sooner. But for now, it seemed unlikely. Wielding the whip in his hand, Lin Rufei drove the carriage all the way along the east road. The fog was too thick so he did not dare speed up the carriage, after all, he was not familiar with the road and could not see the obstacles around him. However, as the carriage gradually went deeper down the road, the surrounding scenery seemed to change. Lin Rufei, through the thick fog, vaguely felt that many tall mountains had appeared around him. This area was originally a plains area so he could not understand where these mountains had come from. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Senior, is it still the same as when you visited before?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± Gu Xuandu responded, ¡°Wuyu is very closed and has a long life per capita so I guess it hasn¡¯t changed much in a few hundred years.¡± He was a little emotional, ¡°Just didn¡¯t expect that Wu Min actually died. I thought he would live longer than me¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°You and Wu Min were very close?¡± After asking this, he felt a little ridiculous. Yeah, if Gu Xuandu and Wu Min were not on good terms, how would he give him his heart for safekeeping? If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu then talked to Lin Rufei about some past events back in the days. He said that he and Wu Min were about the same age and had similar personalities. At first, they were at odds with each other, and it wasn¡¯t until something happened later on that his temperament changed drastically and his relationship with Wu Min also eased up. Like this, two mutually disagreeable people finally became close friends by mistake. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°A lot of things must have happened back then, right?¡± ¡°A lot.¡± Gu Xuandu looked lazy, ¡°Back then, there was no such peace like now. Before the Yaoguang¡¯s Grand Formation was laid, there were demons that plagued the Earth everywhere. But because there was an increase in demons, the cultivators also became more powerful. After all, if people don¡¯t cultivate nowadays, they¡¯ll simply be ordinary humans. However, if they didn¡¯t cultivate back then, then they would die.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°Senior, tell me some more.¡± No one would not be curious about what had happened back then. Although history books were also recorded, it wasn¡¯t as vividly described compared to someone who had witnessed it. He straightened up and revealed a curious look, ¡°Everyone said that the Heavenly Ruler gave his best to lay down the Yaoguang Grand Formation to protect all the living beings and that his cultivation was greatly damaged, and only after many years of silence did he emerge again. Senior, laying down the Grand Formation was difficult, right?¡± Gu Xuandu gave him a deep look, ¡°It was difficult.¡± ¡°Were you seriously injured at that time?¡± Lin Rufei said. Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Very serious.¡± He sighed, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler was the most kind-hearted and also the most unloving. Although he saved the world¡¯s life by laying down the Grand Formation, I don¡¯t know how many people¡¯s hearts he broke around him.¡± Lin Rufei found it a bit strange. When Gu Xuandu talked about the Heavenly Ruler, he seemed to be talking about someone else, but he was obviously the Heavenly Ruler himself. ¡°Has senior ever regretted it?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°Me? I regret every moment.¡± Gu Xuandu muttered, ¡°But the Heavenly Ruler never had a moment of regret. The Heavenly Ruler, the Heavenly Ruler. As his name suggests, he was born to be the King of Heaven. The King of Kings. Loved by all the people and dedicated to all the people¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu was also smiling when he said this. However, Lin Rufei, for some reason, could see some bleakness in his smile. And after a moment of silence, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand before continuing in a low voice, ¡°If senior doesn¡¯t want to smile anymore, then don¡¯t smile.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°I¡¯m a little bit unaccustomed to Xiao Jiu being the one to take the initiative.¡± He turned his hand around and interlocked his fingers with Lin Rufei. Reluctantly, he picked up his spirits again and talked about something else. Of course, this time, he simply picked something interesting to lighten up the heavy atmosphere. Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu were talking with great interest, but they did not know that the maids in the carriage were frightened to death. Yu Rui shrank in Fu Hua¡¯s arms and the two embraced each other while shivering. Yu Rui whispered with a crying voice: ¡°Sister Fu Hua, who is the young master talking to, ah?¡± Fu Hua replied in a trembling voice: ¡°He¡¯s probably¡­¡­talking to himself.¡± ¡°But how can there also be questions and answers?¡± Yu Rui asked, ¡°Why do I feel that something is wrong with young master? Do you think young master is also bewitched?¡± Fu Hua barely replied calmly, ¡°Hasn¡¯t young master always been bewitched?¡± Stroking Yu Rui¡¯s head, she continued soothingly, ¡°Calm down, we should have gotten used to it.¡± Yu Rui answered, ¡°But I can¡¯t get used to it.¡± Fu Hua smiled bitterly: ¡°To be honest¡­¡­I can¡¯t get used to it either.¡± Then the two of them hugged each other tightly and continued to comfort each other in the heavy fog while listening to their own young master whispering to himself as the situation became more and more bizarre. The carriage had been traveling for a day and they didn¡¯t know where their position was, however even as the sky darkened, the fog was still thick. After looking around, Lin Rufei chose a relatively flat place to light a campfire for the night. Yu Rui and Fu Hua had been scared all day and were already a bit exhausted so Lin Rufei volunteered to let the two rest first and wait until the second half of the night for their night watch. However, Fu Hua refused no matter what. She said that young master had been tired all day so how could he continue to keep watch at night? She then told Let Lin Rufei to have a good rest and that she would guard the first half of the night and Yu Rui would guard the second half of the night. Just as Yu Rui wanted to agree, she then saw Lin Rufei grimly smile: ¡°Although there is nothing during the day, it¡¯s not certain what will come out at night, oh.¡± Yu Rui was annoyed: ¡°Young master you¡¯re so bad! Don¡¯t scare us on purpose!!¡± Lin Rufei teased, ¡°How do you know that I am your young master?¡± Yu Rui glared. ¡°The fog was so thick during the day, so maybe you two were distracted and young master was replaced.¡± Lin Rufei mused, ¡°Actually, what is in front of you is just a demon that looks exactly like your young master¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!!!¡± Witnessing her young master¡¯s taste for the first time, Yu Rui simply wanted to jump to Lin Rufei¡¯s side and use her small fists to hammer against his chest. Lin Rufei could not help but laugh, exposing himself. He said. ¡®Alright, alright. How about this; I sleep for the first half of the night and you guys sleep for the second half of the night. You two should keep each other company, otherwise, you might have your souls scared away.¡¯ Fu Hua and Yu Rui¡¯s expressions were not good but they still agreed. Sometimes being timid was actually a cute thing and Lin Rufei found his maids¡¯ pale appearance particularly cute. After he urged the two of them, he then went to rest first, leaving the two of them sitting around the campfire. The sky was getting dark. With the addition of this fog, almost nothing was visible. Yu Rui was a little scared so she leaned closer to Fu Hua and asked, ¡°Sister Fu Hua, there really won¡¯t be demons here, right?¡± Fu Hua replied: ¡°Do not be afraid of demons. Look, isn¡¯t Chi Yu also a demon and he is so cute.¡± Yu Rui mumbled, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± The two then fell silent and there was only the crackling sound of the campfire in front of them. Yu Rui yawned and was a little sleepy, but soon, she felt her shoulder being patted. She thought it was Fu Hua reminding her, so she rubbed her eyes and said, ¡°Sister Fu Hua, don¡¯t pat me on the shoulder, I¡¯m scared.¡± She would always remember that ghost story. Fu Hua turned her head in bewilderment and reeponded, ¡°Huh? I did not pat you, ah.¡± Yu Rui froze: ¡°Then¡­¡­¡± The moment her words fell, she felt her shoulder being patted again and this time, Fu Hua¡¯s two hands were in front of her so it was impossible for her to be the one patting. Yu Rui¡¯s body suddenly froze and her face became pale as paper. Fu Hua saw Yu Rui¡¯s changes and also instantly understood. She swallowed heavily and asked, ¡°Someone¡­¡­.someone really patted you?¡± Yu Rui nodded stiffly. ¡°Let, let me take a look.¡± Fu Hua slowly twisted her head, however, she saw nothing. Behind them, there was only an endless fog and darkness. It was like a huge vortex, sucking in all the light and heat. ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡± Fu Hua responded, ¡°No demons, no people.¡± Yu Rui whimpered and cried. She clearly felt someone patting her shoulder. Who knew that just after two cries, her young master¡¯s voice laced with laughter resounded: ¡°Are you that scared, ah?¡± ¡°Wuwuwuwuwu, young master, please don¡¯t joke with us anymore!!!¡± Yu Rui cried and screamed, ¡°You¡¯ll really scare someone to death, okay?!!!¡± In the mist, her young master¡¯s figure loomed and his tone was still laced with some laughter: ¡°Really?¡± Fu Hua suddenly felt that something was wrong. She grabbed Yu Rui and shook her head heavily at her. Then, with her chin, she pointed it in the direction of the carriage. The carriage was very close to them and the curtains were not closed, so if they simply took a look, they would be able to see Lin Rufei, who was sleeping soundly inside. However, if Lin Rufei was sleeping in the carriage, then at this time, standing behind them and smiling at them¡­¡­was exactly¡­..what?¡­¡­. CH 80 Fu Hua and Yu Rui looked at each other and they both saw the color of fear in each other¡¯s eyes. They stiffened their necks and took a look at the person sleeping in the carriage and then slowly turned their heads to look at the inconspicuous figure in the fog. The maids seemed to have realized the truth and the figure in the fog took a step backward, disappearing into the covers of the darkness. ¡°Uwaaa¡ª¡ª¡± The great fear made Yu Rui burst into fierce cries. She grabbed Fu Hua¡¯s hand, like a child who had been bullied, and was crying out of breath, ¡°Sister Fu Hua, what the hell is that thing, ah? I¡¯m really scared¡­¡­¡± Although Fu Hua was also pale, fortunately, she was able to barely control her emotions as she whispered: ¡°Don¡¯t yell, don¡¯t wake up young master¡­¡­¡± Yu Rui cried, ¡°Is that really young master? Could young master have already been captured by the demons?¡± Seeing her pitiful appearance, Fu Hua was really annoyed and amused at the same time. She clenched her teeth and responded, ¡°Do not¡­¡­do not be afraid. Those stories are deliberately used to scare people. Didn¡¯t you see that that thing did not dare to come close?¡± If her voice was not shaking, Fu Hua¡¯s words may have been more credible. Yu Rui could only cry and nod her head. Lin Rufei, who was sleeping, had already woken up. He had always been a light sleeper and the slightest noise would wake him up, not to mention the miserable screams of the two maids. Just as he woke up, Lin Rufei was still a bit confused and it took him a while to recover as he asked Gu Xuandu, who was next to him, in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Xuandu then proceeded to tell Lin Rufei about what had just happened in a laughing tone. ¡°What is that thing?¡± Lin Rufei came to life as soon as he heard it. Gu Xuandu mused, ¡°I guess it should be someone from the witch tribe.¡± Lin Rufei pondered about it for a bit. He decided not to go back to sleep and climbed out of the carriage. When Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw Lin Rufei awake, they did not dare to approach. Trembling, they asked their young master why he wasn¡¯t sleeping. Lin Rufei smiled: ¡°Continue sleeping? If I continue sleeping, you guys will have your souls scared away. Get into the carriage, I¡¯ll keep watch.¡± ¡°How is that appropriate¡­¡­¡± Yu Rui mumbled. ¡°What? Not afraid that later on, another young master will tap you on the shoulders again?¡± Lin Rufei teased her. As soon as Yu Rui heard this, she immediately stopped insisting. Like a scared rabbit, she dashed into the carriage. Fu Hua¡¯s voice trembled: ¡°Young master, I think I should accompany you.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Lin Rufei put on his outerwear and waved his hand indifferently, ¡°I am not afraid of these, but I would like to see exactly what is pretending to be a ghost. Fu Hua, you and Yu Rui should go to sleep together and remember to let down the carriage curtain.¡± Fu Hua had wanted to say something, but after seeing Lin Rufei¡¯s resolute look, she had to give up and followed Yu Rui into the carriage. Lin Rufei casually sat down by the campfire and surveyed the surroundings. He had to say, this place during the nighttime was definitely a few points scarier than during the day. The darkness and the fog were like a giant hood that covered them all, with only the faint light emanating from the poor campfire in front of them. The fog behind them felt like it was hiding some invisible monster and as long as he turned around, it would pounce. This was a canyon, so the mountain wind during the night was also a little strong and the whistling wind added a few layers of eeriness to this place. Not to mention Fu Hua and Yu Rui, even if a man with decent courage kept watch alone, he probably would also feel a little nervous. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Is Xiao Jiu afraid?¡± ¡°Afraid?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, ¡°What is there to be afraid of?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face did not have the slightest trace of fear. Instead, he surveyed the surroundings with interest, ¡°In fact, the most frightening thing is not what is in the dark, but your own imagination.¡± The unknown was the scariest because you visualize that thing as what you fear the most. Gu Xuandu sighed: ¡°Xiao Jiu is quite courageous.¡± The corners of Lin Rufei¡¯s mouth hooked up but he kept quiet. The mountain wind howled and the campfire in front of him swayed. After being tense all day, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were also a little tired. When they entered the carriage, they soon fell into a deep sleep. Gu Xuandu was chatting with Lin Rufei as Lin Rufei poked the campfire forcefully with a stick. He listened as Gu Xuandu talk about some things from the past; he had said that in fact, Bu¡¯e was a very interesting place. Although it was the land of the demons, there was a lot of beauty that could not be seen on the other continents. For example, a small island named Antuo, which had half snowy days and half sunny days all year round. It was a pity that the demons there were so fierce that only a few humans could go to Bu¡¯e. If there was a chance later, he wanted to go over there with Lin Rufei to check it out. As Lin Rufei was listening with fascination, a strange wind blew in and directly extinguished the campfire in front of him. Lin Rufei was slightly stunned. Just as he was about to take out a fire torch from his pocket to relight the campfire, a sobbing sound came from behind him, accompanied by a blood-curdling cry. ¡°Young master, young master, where are you¡­¡­¡± ¡°Young master, we are so scared¡­¡­¡± It was the voices of Fu Hua and Yu Rui. If this was an ordinary person, they would probably be scared to death by now. Gu Xuandu took a glance at Lin Rufei. He probably wanted to see some colors of fear on his face, but who knew that his little gongzi didn¡¯t have the slightest trace of fear. Instead, he was full of curiosity and directly stood up: ¡°Who is screaming?¡± With his hand on Gu Yu, he then headed towards the source of the sound. Although it was very dark, the direction was still very clear and the location of the sound was not at all in the direction that their carriage was located. Lin Rufei took a few steps towards the back and the sound became more and more clear, however, it also became more and more creepy. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Young master¡­¡­young master¡­¡­¡± His maid¡¯s voice was getting closer and closer. Suddenly, Lin Rufei felt as if his foot was grabbed by something. He lowered his head and saw a pair of tragic white hands grabbing onto his ankle. The hand seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and anyone who saw this would feel a numbness in their scalp. However, Lin Rufei grinned, bent straight down, grabbed the pale hand, and said in a warm voice, ¡°Got you.¡± The desolate cries instantly disappeared, turning into a hushed silence. The hand that had been grabbed by Lin Rufei stiffened for a moment. It wanted to retract, but Lin Rufei was unwilling to do so. With a fierce force, he pulled the figure out of the fog. However, who knew that the owner of the hand looked exactly like Fu Hua, only her face was as white as paper and was not at all like a living person. If ordinary people saw this situation, they probably would have long let go of the hand out of fear. However, Lin Rufei just inclined his head and made a puzzled expression. He directly lifted his hands and pulled on that person¡¯s face, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not a disguise, ah. Then why does it look so much like my little maid?¡± ¡°Young master.¡± The person that was caught by Lin Rufei sighed quietly and said, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t look at my face.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows, ¡°What would happen if I looked at it?¡± The person suddenly laughed. And the more she laughed the more her features distorted, and finally, her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were like melted wax as they all fused together, turning into a white face with nothing on it. This scene was horrible to the extreme that even Lin Rufei froze. But even though he was shocked, he did not have the slightest intention to let go of the hand. Instead, he grasped it more tightly. The person struggled, but could not break free from Lin Rufei¡¯s grasp, and the atmosphere somehow became a little awkward as they faced each other. Lin Rufei questioned: ¡°No more?¡± The person: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei commented: ¡°It was still quite scary.¡± The person: ¡°¡­¡­¡± If he still had his facial features, then they would probably be distorted at this time. Lin Rufei could even stubbornly see a bit of helplessness on that white face of his. ¡°You¡¯re from the witch tribe, right?¡± Lin Rufei grabbed his hand and looked him up and down. It was said that a face could be faked, but a figure was very difficult to fake. This person in front of him had a similar figure to Fu Hua and Yu Rui. If he was just a little bit shorter, he would be more like a half-grown child, ¡°Why are you scaring people like this?¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Having been exposed, the man let out a long sigh and his facial features once again appeared on his face, only this time, it was different from Fu Hua and Yu Rui. It was a youthful teenager¡¯s face and his black eyes looked at Lin Rufei with a bit of helplessness: ¡°You, you are not afraid?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Not afraid.¡± The man: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you!¡± As the man said this, he then drew the weapon on the side of his waist and attacked Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei, however, was prepared. He grabbed him with one hand and his other pulled out Gu Yu from its scabbard. He held the blade directly against the man¡¯s neck and with a slight force, it cut his neck revealing a trace of blood. ¡°Don¡¯t move around carelessly. My sword skills aren¡¯t that great.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I¡¯m unable to control the strength and a simple carelessness will have your head cut off. By then, if you really became a ghost, you won¡¯t have a place to argue anymore.¡± The man suddenly froze in place. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Lin Rufei asked him. ¡°Wu Xing[1].¡± Seeing that his life was in danger, he obediently chose to answer Lin Rufei¡¯s question. ¡°Wu Xing? You really are from the witch tribe.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°Why are you scaring people here?¡± Wu Xing refused to say until the sword in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand pressed down slightly harder, then he responded in an aggrieved manner, ¡°Because it¡¯s boring.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°My mother forbids me to go out, saying that there are bad people out there. After finally having a foreigner visit, If I don¡¯t scare them a bit then it would be too much of a loss.¡± Wu Xing argued with conviction. Lin Rufei mumbled, ¡°You¡¯re that bored, ah?¡± ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Wu Xing sighed, ¡°They are all afraid of the inside and simply don¡¯t dare to come in. I don¡¯t even have a playmate so it¡¯s even more boring¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei sighed: ¡°Have you not thought about why they are afraid of the inside?¡± Wu Xing shook his head. Lin Rufei answered him, ¡°It¡¯s all because you scared them away!¡± Wu Xing froze and then showed a look of understanding: ¡°Oh¡­¡­that does seem to be the case.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s face ended up revealing a look of helplessness, thinking that Gu Xuandu really knew the witch tribe quite well. The people of this tribe looked like they were inexperienced with the outside world and the person in front of them was a perfect example of this. Lin Rufei mulled over this situation and then said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold you, but you still shouldn¡¯t run. I just want to ask you a few questions.¡± Wu Xing hesitated for a moment, but still nodded, intending to agree to Lin Rufei¡¯s proposal. Lin Rufei let go of his hand and turned towards the campfire and Wu Xing asked behind him, ¡°You¡¯re really not afraid that I¡¯ll run away?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m going to the witch tribe anyway, if you run away, I¡¯ll just go to your house to complain.¡± Wu Xing was speechless at this. He no longer mentioned anything about slipping away and silently followed behind Lin Rufei. The best way to control a naughty child was to go to their house and complain. Lin Rufei was already very knowledgeable about this. Lin Rufei found the campfire, re-lit it, and sat down on the ground. Wu Xing obediently sat next to him and shyly discussed with Lin Rufei, saying that he could not tell his mother about this because his mother¡¯s rattan whip was really painful¡­¡­ Lin Rufei mused, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. What do you want to ask? I¡¯m familiar with the witch tribe.¡± Wu Xing responded as he patted his chest. Borrowing the light of the campfire, Lin Rufei took a closer look at the child beside him. He found that his attire was somewhat similar to that of Wu Ao, whom he had seen before, only his face was not wrapped in a white face scarf. Wu Xing should only be in his teens, which was the age where one was naughty. No wonder he had nothing to do and came out in the middle of the night to scare people. ¡°I¡¯ve come to pick up something that an old friend left here.¡± Lin Rufei relayed, ¡°Has the Great Witch of your clan, Wu Min, passed away?¡± ¡°Great Witch?¡± Wu Xing mumbled, ¡°Yes, he passed away several hundred years ago.¡± He scratched his head, ¡°What are you asking him for?¡± ¡°My old friend¡¯s things were left with him.¡± Lin Rufei replied. ¡°Huh? Then you might not be able to ask for it back.¡± Wu Xing lowered his voice, as if he was a bit scared of something, ¡°After he died, everything about him was destroyed, not even a portrait was left.¡± Lin Rufei froze, ¡°How could this be?¡± Even though it had been hundreds of years, the reputation of the Great Witch Wu Min was still very loud. In many historical materials, one would be able to see his shadow. Originally, his death was already a very regrettable thing, but listening to Wu Xing¡¯s description, this matter obviously goes beyond that. Wu Xing continued, ¡°Sigh, the winner takes all. No matter how powerful he was back then, as long as he lost, then everything would be gone.¡± He waved his hand, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what had happened, but our clan¡¯s historical materials about Wu Min were all burned. Perhaps, we don¡¯t even know him as well as you outsiders know him¡­..Since I grew up, I only heard his name a few times from my mother. If you want to find him, you will have to be disappointed. ¡° Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°What happened to the witch tribe that year?¡± History said that the Great Witch fought for power, but Lin Rufei felt that if it was only a fight for power, why would it come to this extent. Wu Xing stretched out his hands: ¡°I also want to know, but the records are all gone, so fewer and fewer people know.¡± He blinked, came closer, and said, ¡°Gongzi, what did you leave with Wu Min?¡± Lin Rufei responded, ¡°My friend¡¯s heart.¡± Wu Xing clapped his hands, ¡°So it¡¯s a love debt.¡± Gu Xuandu stared from the side, his expression was one that screamed: ¡°Xiao Jiu, don¡¯t joke about this,¡± and Lin Rufei could not help but laugh. Wu Xing asked what gongzi was laughing at. Lin Rufei curved the corners of his eyes: ¡°I¡¯m laughing at the person standing behind you.¡± Wu Xing did not believe it. In an indifferent manner, he said, ¡®Don¡¯t try lying to me, I am not afraid of these.¡¯ But who knew that in the next moment, he felt his shoulder being tapped and the bright smile suddenly froze on his face. He then slowly turned his head. Not to mention a human figure, even a ghostly shadow could not be seen. Wu Xing¡¯s pupils contracted and he asked in a trembling voice: ¡°Who¡­¡­who tapped my shoulder¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was clearly sitting opposite him and the two timid maids naturally did not have such courage. There should be no one else nearby, so¡­¡­who was that¡­¡­ Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Of course it¡¯s a ghost. This time, I did not lie to you.¡± Wu Xing wailed. He stood up and had wanted to run, however, he was stopped by Lin Rufei in a timely manner. Lin Rufei smiled and said that it was a joke. What tapped on Wu Xing¡¯s shoulder just now was actually just a talisman. He told Wu Xing to never scare anyone again. If the person was courageous, then it was still okay. But if it was someone who didn¡¯t have any guts, they would probably die on the spot from being scared to death. Wu Xing nodded hastily and said he would never scare people in the future. Then he proceeded to ask if that was really just a talisman? Lin Rufei smiled and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Talisman, I¡¯m just a talisman?¡± Gu Xuandu placed his chin on Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder. Looking at Lin Rufei¡¯s white jade-like earlobe, he couldn¡¯t help but lightly take a bite, ¡°Since Xiao Jiu said this, I am quite unhappy.¡± Lin Rufei, however, did not say anything as he felt the itch brought by Gu Xuandu and whispered, ¡°Senior, stop making a scene.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°I want to make a scene.¡± As he said this, he unhappily took another bite. After this fright, Wu Xing became more honest. He sat obediently beside Lin Rufei, who took this opportunity to ask some more questions about the witch tribe. He learned that the witch tribe was currently in the hands of Wu Min¡¯s eldest apprentice and that the people of witch tribe were actually not quite the same as the normal people. Even though their cultivation levels were not high, their life expectancy was long. Wu Min¡¯s eldest apprentice, Wu Yin, not only had a high cultivation level but had also lived for several hundred years. ¡°If you want to find something that was placed at Wu Min¡¯s place, you¡¯ll probably have to bother him.¡± Wu Xing continued, ¡°But he has a good temper and is Wu Xing¡¯s disciple. If you go to him, you should be able to ask about it.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Many thanks.¡± Wu Xing responded, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°When will this mountain mist dissipate?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wu Xing answered truthfully, ¡°In the canyon, it¡¯s normal to have the mountain mist and we are used to it. Even if the mist persists for seven or eight days, it¡¯s not much of a problem for us. But of course, for a foreigner like you, it¡¯s very easy to get lost. However, you¡¯re lucky to have met me, I can take you back.¡± He was also a big talker and didn¡¯t bother to think about the two little girls lying in the carriage who were scared by him. As they talked until almost dawn, Wu Xing was getting a little sleepy. He wasn¡¯t that fussy and simply lied down beside Lin Rufei, closed his eyes, and slept. When Lin Rufei saw his defenseless look, he wanted to cry and laugh. He muttered that the people of the witch tribe really didn¡¯t have any guards against people ¡°The living environment is more pure, right?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But what happened in the witch tribe is a bit strange.¡± With Wu Xing asleep, Lin Rufei was finally able to talk to Gu Xuandu without any worries, ¡°You¡¯re talking about Wu Min being killed?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu answered, ¡°It¡¯s normal to be killed. It¡¯s just strange why they deliberately erased his traces.¡± Although the witch tribe had always respected the strongest, they usually also had great respect for the strongest person who had lost a battle. Even if Wu Min had been the underdog in the power struggle, he shouldn¡¯t have been in such a sorry state, and besides, his disciple Wu Yin was still the current Great Witch, so how could he have allowed the traces of his master to be erased? Gu Xuandu believed that there was something fishy about this. Lin Rufei nodded and agreed with Gu Xuandu, ¡°It seems that something has indeed happened to the witch tribe. Let¡¯s follow him tomorrow and check out the situation first.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only way to go.¡± Gu Xuandu replied. After the next day dawned, the mountain mists had still not yet dissipated, however, compared to yesterday, it had faded quite a bit. As soon as Fu Hua and Yu Rui got up, they noticed Wu Xing lying beside Lin Rufei and wondered exactly where Lin Rufei had gotten a child in the middle of the night. Furthermore, they asked why Lin Rufei always had fateful encounters with kids. Lin Rufei thought to himself that he didn¡¯t want this fate; the situation with Chi Yu had still not finished. But in the past two days, he did not see Chi Yu and he didn¡¯t know if the little cub had successfully weaned so that he no longer had to continue following Lin Rufei. ¡°This little friend is not simple.¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°You two don¡¯t underestimate him.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t he simple?¡± Yu Rui asked curiously. Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Last night, weren¡¯t you guys scared to death? He¡¯s the one who did that.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui both froze at his words. Lin Rufei thought Yu Rui was going to say something, but the next moment she rolled up her sleeves, wanting to go up and beat someone. It seemed that yesterday, she was indeed scared very badly and was now still very angry about it. Lin Rufei quickly stopped Yu Rui, saying not to beat him up. They would soon head to this child¡¯s home. If you beat him up, it would be hard to explain this to his parents. Wu Xing was awakened by the noisy sound. Rubbing his eyes, he asked what was wrong, only to find himself being glared angrily at by two beautiful girls. Instantly, he recalled his doings from yesterday¡¯s doings and smiled embarrassingly: ¡°Good morning¡­¡­good morning, ah¡­¡­¡± ¡°Good? Where is it good? Why are you such a nasty person?!¡± Yu Rui waved her small fist, ¡°If gongzi didn¡¯t stop me, I would have to beat you up into pulp!¡± Wu Xing laughed dryly twice and did not have the guts to retort. He shrunk his neck, but finally, under the auspices of Lin Rufei, he quietly apologized to the maids and the matter was finally considered finished. Finally, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were relieved since they no longer had to be scared. Wu Xing sat pitifully in the carriage and said that Lin Rufei¡¯s sisters were so fierce, ah. Who knew that when Fu Hua heard his words, she smiled and turned her head, revealing a row of white morose teeth: ¡°Is that so? Am I very fierce?¡± ¡°Not fierce, not fierce.¡± Wu Xing once again conceded, ¡°I deserved it[2].¡± Fu Hua glared at him and reluctantly gave up. The journey was much faster with Wu Xing leading the way and Lin Rufei asked him, along the way, what taboos there were in the witch tribe. Wu Xing pondered over this question but couldn¡¯t come up with any. He said that most of the people in their tribe were actually quite good-tempered. Except for the occasional scare for fun, they basically rarely made things difficult for travelers. He just didn¡¯t know why the people outside were always afraid of them. After listening to this, Lin Rufei cursed silently in his heart; with this kind of method for scaring, if there were travelers who still dared to enter, then that was seeing a ghost[3]. Of course, he did not say it aloud. And with a gentle voice, he simply said that maybe the outsiders do not know the difference between good and bad and could not see the witch tribe¡¯s heart of gold. He then casually asked in passing, if Wu Xing recognized someone named Wu Ao. After listening, Wu Xing actually slapped his thigh: ¡°Wu Ao, you mean the Wu Ao who followed the Heavenly Ruler?¡± Lin Rufei grew excited: ¡°You know him?¡± Wu Xing said, ¡°Of course I know him. He was a disciple under the Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­Logically speaking, he should be very famous, ah. Why? You don¡¯t know?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°I indeed did not know.¡± He felt that it was a bit strange, ¡°Wo Ao really was a disciple of the Heavenly Ruler?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Xing nodded, ¡°It¡¯s just that a hundred years ago after the Heavenly Ruler disappeared, he also disappeared. However, he¡¯s still a celebrity of our witch tribe.¡± Lin Rufei glanced at Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu, however, said expressionlessly, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I don¡¯t have such an obnoxious disciple.¡± That was quite true. The two of them did not look like old friends but more like enemies, let alone like a deep affectionate master and disciple. Lin Rufei felt that things were really getting more and more complicated. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei holds his heart: Whose heart is it[4]~ Gu Xuandu: Mines! ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Wu Xing: Wu meaning ¡°witch¡± and Xing meaning ¡°torture/sentence/punishment.¡± [2] Guilty and deserves to be punished. [3] Absurd. [4] Pretty sure this is a reference to a song because I¡¯ve heard it before , if you guys want to listen to it here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZXE20ScmPY the lyric mentioned above starts at 1:13. CH 81 According to Wu Xing, currently, Wu Ao¡¯s status in the witch tribe seemed to be somewhat higher than Wu Min. It was just that the outside world and the witch tribe were opposites, so there was almost no record of Wu Ao in all the historical sources. Only when he arrived at the Shen family did he learn of the name Wu Ao for the first time. It seemed that Wu Xing was indeed not very defensive against outsiders. All the questions that Lin Rufei asked, he would answer almost all the ones he knew. Unfortunately, Fu Hua and Yu Rui still refused to give that boy any good expression since he almost scared them half to death. Wu Xing didn¡¯t have any other ways, so he sat on the side, putting on a pretense of good behavior. As they got closer to the witch tribe, the fog also dispersed a lot and he could see the people of the witch tribe walking around. When these witch tribe members noticed the foreign carriage, they revealed looks of curiosity. Wu Xing greeted them all. Along the way, he didn¡¯t see any defensive forces until they reached the entrance of the witch tribe. And only then did Lin Rufei see two witch tribe guards with weapons in a relaxed manner. The guard recognized Wu Xing, smiled, and greeted him. He asked how his results were and how many people he scared this time. However, just as Wu Xing puffed up his chest and was going to brag about it, he suddenly felt something off. With the turn of his head, he saw the gloomy gazes of the two maids, who were previously scared by him, from the carriage. Wu Xing¡¯s face suddenly stiffened, scratching his head, he said smiling: ¡°No, none. None of them were frightened.¡± ¡°Is this person a friend? Why did he come to the witch tribe?¡± The guards then turned their attention back to Lin Rufei, looking at their tall carriage. ¡°He¡¯s a friend, I guess.¡± Wu Xing replied, ¡°They are here to find the Great Witch, it seems that they want to retrieve something that was previously placed in the witch tribe.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like that. Then I will send you in.¡± The guard didn¡¯t check anything else and simply nodded at Wu Xing¡¯s words, saying that the Great Witch was practicing at the altar at the moment and was probably just finishing up. Wu Xing nodded and said okay. So the guard took Lin Rufei¡¯s carriage and brought them to the altar. Lin Rufei then asked if it would be too intrusive. After all, in most places, the ritual was a very private matter. However, the guard waved his hand indifferently, saying that it did not matter. Since Lin Rufei was Wu Xing¡¯s friend, then he was their friend. There was no need to be so formal in treating friends. In fact, he and Wu Xing had only briefly met once and Lin Rufei could not help but feel a little worried about their defenselessness. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about them. Although the witch tribe is simple in nature, they are not stupid. They still have a very clear distinction between good and bad people.¡± Gu Xuandu spoke up, ¡°Besides, there are not many people who dare to provoke them, they all know that the witch tribe people will seek revenge. If they provoke one, they have offended a whole tribe.¡± Lin Rufei nodded slightly, signaling that he understood. Under the guidance of the guards, Lin Rufei soon saw the altar of their tribe. The altar was made of stone, with a huge vermilion formation painted in the middle, and several giant stone pillars standing nearby¡ªlooking quite mysterious. In the very center of the altar, kneeled a man dressed in black. The man¡¯s black outfit was embroidered with exquisite Tengshe[1] designs and soaring clouds. He was holding a simple scepter in his hand and had his head bowed as he chanted something. Near the altar, there were also people of the witch tribe kneeling. They were all staring at the man with devout eyes, bowing unceasingly. When Lin Rufei arrived, the ritual was just coming to an end. The man stood up and said something in the local dialect that Lin Rufei did not understand and the people got up and dispersed. He continued to stand in the middle of the altar for a while before walking towards them. Seeing the man arrived in front of them, Wu Xing and the guard half-kneeled down and saluted him. Wu Yin raised his hand and only then did the two of them rose up. ¡°This one is?¡± Wu Yin asked as he looked at Lin Rufei. ¡°Great Witch, this is a friend I made outside.¡± Wu Xing happily introduced Lin Rufei, giving Wu Yin a brief description of how the two met. After listening, Wu Yin pondered for a moment, ¡°I wonder what Lin gongzi has come to my witch tribe for?¡± He was indeed handsome and looked like he had a good temper. He spoke in a soft tone that carried a warm flavor, making people feel like a Spring breeze. No wonder Wu Xing¡¯s face was full of fondness when he talked about this Great Witch. Lin Rufei answered, ¡°I am here to retrieve something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Wu Yin asked. ¡°A hundred years ago, a senior said he left something to Wu Min of the witch tribe and asked me to come and retrieve it for him. Only, I also don¡¯t know what that thing is.¡± Lin Rufei deliberated on his wording. ¡°Wu Min?¡± Wu Yin was slightly surprised to hear his master¡¯s name, ¡°Lin gongzi knows my master, Wu Min?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. ¡°I thought that Lin gongzi and my master were old acquaintances.¡± Wu Yin smiled regretfully. ¡°I¡¯m only in my twenties, so how would I know such a powerful Great Witch?¡± Lin Rufei also laughed. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Wu Yin trailed off, ¡°It¡¯s just that my master passed away a hundred years ago. Everything he owned at the time was unfortunately burned. Your senior¡¯s thing probably didn¡¯t make it.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°But that thing is very important ¡­¡­¡± Wu Yin hesitated for a moment, ¡°How about this, let¡¯s find a place to talk slowly, you describe it carefully and see if I can find some clues.¡± He said while making a gesture of invitation. Lin Rufei nodded and followed him forward. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The two of them didn¡¯t have to walk long before Wu Yin stopped in front of a floating house and said that this was his residence, inviting Lin Rufei to go up and have a seat. Lin Rufei was slightly surprised by Wu Yin¡¯s lack of unfamiliarity with outsiders. However, on second thought, he felt that Wu Yin and Wu Xing were somewhat similar in that they were not guarded against outsiders, and it seemed that this was indeed a characteristic of their tribe. Climbing up the stairs to the upper floors, Lin Rufei stepped onto the wooden floor and followed Wu Yin into the house. However, he soon noticed a man in the room sitting on the edge of the bed with his side facing them, looking down at the pages of a book in his hands. When he saw them coming back, he didn¡¯t raise his head too much and said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Back.¡± Wu Yin smiled in response. The man¡¯s appearance was also pretty good, but he looked slightly cold. However, this coldness turned into a happy warmth when he noticed Wu Yin. The two did not care about the presence of Lin Rufei, an outsider, as they simply hugged and kissed each other. Lin Rufei was slightly surprised at this scene and when Wu Xing saw him, he smiled and introduced, ¡°This is Wu Yin¡¯s ¡®A-Yu,¡¯ or what you guys call a ¡®lover¡¯ over there.¡± Lin Rufei had seen many men fall in love, but this was the first time that he saw it this openly and honestly. Seeing that Wu Xing and the guard¡¯s expression did not change, they obviously were long used to it and not surprised at all. ¡°Pardon us, Lin gongzi.¡± Wu Yin said in a warm voice, ¡°The people of our witch tribe are open and they don¡¯t care about the difference between men and women. As long as they love each other, they can form a partnership.¡± Lin Rufei was thoughtful, ¡°That¡¯s pretty nice.¡± ¡°Wu Xing, you guys should go out first.¡± Wu Yin said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Lin gongzi alone.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Then Wu Xing and the guard left together, leaving Lin Rufei and two others in the room. Wu Yin¡¯s lover didn¡¯t seem to like talking much, so after nodding slightly at Lin Rufei, he also got up and head off into the side room, leaving only Lin Rufei and Wu Yin in the living room. Wu Yin got up and poured a cup of hot tea for Lin Rufei, ¡°Where did you come from, Lin gongzi?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°From Kunlun.¡± Wu Yin asked, ¡°Kunlun? That¡¯s a long way off.¡± His fingers rubbed the edge of the teacup delicately, as if he was thinking about something, ¡°Since Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t know what that thing is, you should probably know the identity of the senior who wanted you to retrieve that thing¡­¡­.I wonder if you can tell me?¡± Just as Lin Rufei was about to say, Gu Xuandu told him morosely, ¡°Don¡¯t tell him.¡± Lin Rufei paused slightly and then shook his head. Gu Xuandu continued, ¡°This Wu Yin really isn¡¯t a good thing.¡± Although Lin Rufei wondered why Gu Xuandu said that, Wu Yin was right in front of him, so he couldn¡¯t ask that question directly. ¡°Then it¡¯s a pity.¡± Wu Yin sighed and his black eyes showed some regret, ¡°I thought it was an old friend I knew and could catch up on the old times.¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°Actually, I was simply entrusted by them so I really don¡¯t know much.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Wu Yin muttered, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± He was silent for a moment but then smiled again, ¡°But even though we can¡¯t find that thing, Lin gongzi has come a long way so you are also considered a valuable guest of our witch tribe. You must have a good time here for a few days.¡± Lin Rufei found it very difficult to refuse so he had to agree. Wu Yin continued to converse with Lin Rufei about other things and asked him about the outside world before introducing some of the customs and scenery of the witch tribe. The two talked until noon before Wu Yin finally summoned the servants and prepared a meal to treat Lin Rufei. Then, he had someone take him to a room to rest. Only after entering the room did Lin Rufei look at Gu Xuandu and ask, ¡°Senior, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s face was icy cold. Lin Rufei was shocked by his appearance and before he could ask about it, he heard Gu Xuandu say, ¡°Wu Min is not dead.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lin Rufei froze, ¡°Wu Min didn¡¯t die¡­¡­How does senior know that?¡± Gu Xuandu laughed mockingly, ¡°Of course I know because I saw him.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Where¡­¡­¡± He was originally going to ask where, but halfway through the sentence, he was blessed to understand what Gu Xuandu meant. His body trembled violently and his eyes full of incredulity, ¡°You mean, the man in Wu Yin¡¯s house¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Wu Min.¡± Gu Xuandu gritted his teeth, ¡°That time, I told Wu Min that his disciple was wolfish and ambitious, but he didn¡¯t take it seriously, now it seems that I was really right.¡± Lin Rufei was silent for a while. He was so shocked by this matter that he could not speak and it was only after a long while that he hesitantly ask, ¡°In that case, shouldn¡¯t he hide Wu Min? Why would he invite me to sit in his house? What if I recognized Wu Min¡­¡­¡± Gu Xuandu sneered, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he just wanted to know if you know him. If you really knew Wu Min, seeing him in Wu Yin¡¯s house and being that close to him would definitely make you slip up and then it would become a question of whether you could leave the witch tribe alive.¡± Although Wu Yin looked so pure, he didn¡¯t expect him to actually be such a powerful character. Lin Rufei could only feel cold air running straight up his spine: ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Gu Xuandu took a deep breath: ¡°Wu Yin must have done something to Wu Min, perhaps sealed his memory, perhaps drained his soul. First, let¡¯s try and contact Wu Min without alerting the snake and see if we can wake him up. Of course, if it doesn¡¯t work there is no need to force it. After all, this is Wu Yin¡¯s territory and it is not good to fight him head-on.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. ¡°Also, now that you know about this, remember not to reveal yourself in front of Wu Yin.¡± Gu Xuandu added, ¡°He is a smart man and can easily see your slip ups.¡± Lin Rufei could only agree. He then asked about Wu Yin and Wu Min back then and Gu Xuandu responded intermittently. A hundred years ago, the witch tribe had two great witches. One was Wu Min and the other was his disciple, Wu Yin. Wu Yin had been practicing with Wu Min since he was just a child. The two were like father and son and their relationship was very good. Wu Min was cold and arrogant and never took anything seriously, while Wu Yin was gentle and tolerant even in the face of Wu Min¡¯s bad nature. In the eyes of outsiders, Wu Yin had suffered a lot of grievances with Wu Min, but only those who understood the master and disciple would understand, in fact, the dominant one in the relationship was Wu Yin. Wu Min was too lazy to show up for many things, so Wu Yin had to solve it in his stead and over time, Wu Yin became the spokesman for Wu Min. Although Gu Xuandu had a good relationship with Wu Min, he did not like his disciple. In his opinion, Wu Yin was not as good as Wu Min since his thoughts were too many and varied, which delayed his cultivation. Gu Xuandu also mentioned these things to Wu Min, but Wu Min did not take it to heart and only said that people were different, if everyone was like him, no one would be able to stand it. Since Gu Xuandu saw him say so, he also let it go and did not mention this matter again. Later, some accidents happened and Gu Xuandu no longer had the energy to care about Wu Yin and Wu Min¡¯s situation. He handed his heart over to Wu Min¡¯s hands, counting on him to take good care of it for him. However, who knew that within a few years after he left, such a thing happened to the witch tribe. According to Lin Rufei¡¯s description, Wu Min should have died in the witch tribe¡¯s great war, but now, not only did he not die, but he also became Wu Yin¡¯s lover. He didn¡¯t even need to think to know that Wu Yin must have done a lot of tampering with this matter. After listening to Gu Xuandu¡¯s description, Lin Rufei propped up his chin and mumbled, ¡°Senior, how dare this Wu Yin be so bold that he even made a move on his own master.¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being the master?¡± Lin Rufei was confused, ¡°Huh?¡± Gu Xuandu knocked on the table, ¡°The point isn¡¯t about laying his hands on his master, it¡¯s about the two lovers being compatible!¡± He turned to Lin Rufei and stated righteously, ¡°If Xiao Jiu made a move on me, I would be quite willing.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks flushed red and he immediately replied nervously, ¡°Senior, what are you talking about, don¡¯t joke about it.¡± Gu Xuandu answered with a straight face, ¡°Senior is not joking.¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips and uncomfortably averted his gaze. Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t push him either. Anyway, Lin Rufei was about to get used to his presence soon that he sometimes even took the initiative to hold his hand. Although Lin Rufei did not realize what this action meant, subtly, this frog in warm water would sooner or later be cooked by him. Since the journey had been tiring for several days, his body was a bit tired and should be well-rested. However, Lin Rufei had something on his mind and could not fall asleep no matter what. On the soft couch, he took a quick nap before getting up and wandering around the vicinity of the residence. The witch tribe was located in the middle of a canyon so there was little sunlight. Adding on that the mountains were surrounded by mist these days, it was very cool, like late Autumn. Lin Rufei, as a newcomer to this place, really felt the hospitality of the witch tribe members. Even simply walking on the roadside, he would get called upon and either be handed a few pieces of snacks or exchanging a few words of small talk. The gazes of the people around him were mostly full of curiosity and desire, and Lin Rufei really had the feeling that he had become some kind of rare and exotic beast. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei asked many members of the witch tribe about Wu Min. And as Wu Xing had stated, most of them did not know about Wu Min¡¯s existence. And the very few who did, only knew that Wu Min was an ancient Great Witch, but nothing else. Furthermore, they also did they know how Wu Yin had reached this point. In order to welcome him as an honored guest, the witch tribe members laid out a sumptuous dinner. Lin Rufei, Fu Hua, and Yu Rui all went to attend. On the bonfire in front of them, a huge roasted lamb was being roasted and the crowd was singing and dancing around it. They also drank and chatted away, making the atmosphere very lively. Although Lin Rufei was worried about Gu Xuandu, he was infected by the atmosphere and had a few drinks himself. When the dinner atmosphere reached its peak, Lin Rufei found that Wu Yin, who was supposed to be in the center of the party, was nowhere to be found. He thought that this was a bit strange but Wu Xing was not surprised by this. He said that it must be that person, the one living in the Great Witch¡¯s house, having a temper tantrum. Lin Rufei was intrigued and asked, ¡°What, does he often have temper tantrums?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Xing scratched his head, ¡°He¡¯s from the outside, doesn¡¯t like to talk much, and rarely participates in our activities. He just likes to be left alone¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°How long has he been here?¡± Wu Xing answered, ¡°Some years, I think. He came before I was born.¡± He continued: ¡°He seldom goes out so I usually don¡¯t see him either. However, he is very clingy and can¡¯t leave the Great Witch¡¯s side even if it is only half a step.¡± As he said this, he smiled shyly, ¡°The Great Witch likes him very much and the two of them have a good relationship. It would be lucky if I could meet someone I like so much in the future as well.¡± Lin Rufei teased him, ¡°What kind do you like?¡± ¡°I just like cute little girls.¡± Wu Xing whispered, ¡°Ones like your maids are quite good.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°But since you¡¯ve scared them like that, how can you expect them to still like you?¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui, after all, were still angry about being scared by Wu Xing. Wu Xing simply stared at him and couldn¡¯t say anything. He muttered two words then continued to eat his food. Having eaten and drunken to their heart¡¯s content, everyone was satisfied and returned back to their residences and the bonfire in the square was also extinguished. Lin Rufei took a walk around the are before heading back to his place. And before heading back, he asked Wu Xing some things about their tribe¡¯s rituals. Wu Xing was quite honest and whatever Lin Rufei asked, he answered. He said that their tribe generally worshiped once a year and that the days they worshipped on were usually foggy. Lin Rufei then asked how many days it usually took for the ritual and Wu Xing thought about it before replying, ¡°It¡¯s usually about ten days.¡± Lin Rufei calculated the days of the fog: ¡°They¡¯ve been worshipping for about three or four days now?¡± ¡°Almost.¡± Wu Xing rubbed his nose, ¡°If Lin gongzi wants to go, it¡¯s better to wait until the fog clears. Although there is only one road in this canyon, there are still some fierce beasts, it¡¯s not that safe.¡± Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± After Wu Xing left, Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu worked out a plan, ¡°Since the ritual still has a few days left, could we take advantage of the time when Wu Yin is worshipping to sneak into his house and see Wu Min?¡± Gu Xuandu mused, ¡°Yes, but Wu Yin is a Great Witch and his house will definitely have some restrictions so it¡¯s better to lure Wu Min out.¡± Lin Rufei agreed, ¡°I will try tomorrow.¡± Gu Xuandu nodded and then told Lin Rufei to put his own safety first, if it really didn¡¯t work, then just to give up. He didn¡¯t need a physical body that much. Lin Rufei knew he was comforting him so he didn¡¯t say a word. Who wouldn¡¯t want a physical body? If he couldn¡¯t find Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart, then did he want him to stay by his side in the form of a ghost for the rest of his life? Not to mention the fact that it would be taken as hysteria, if the relationship between the two had further development, in the future¡­¡­Thinking about it, Lin Rufei suddenly realized that he was getting sidetracked and immediately grew embarrassed as he awkwardly coughed twice. Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei¡¯s scarlet ears with suspicion and asked, ¡®Xiao Jiu, what are you thinking about?¡¯ Lin Rufei replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about tomorrow¡¯s plan.¡± Gu Xuandu continued, ¡°You can think about it, but why are you blushing?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated, ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s just a little hot.¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Lin Rufei no longer said anything in response and simply closed his eyes, pretending he was asleep. Gu Xuandu just stared at his sleeping face for quite a while as his expression changed unpredictably. Suddenly, his figure gradually dissipated into the air. The next day, Lin Rufei got up early in the morning and left after he washed up and had a simple breakfast. According to what he had thought up yesterday, he first went to the altar to confirm, and indeed saw Wu Yin kneeling in the center of the altar like yesterday and worshipping reverently. Then he headed over to Wu Yin¡¯s residence by memory but did not go in. Instead, he took out the talisman of transmission in his pocket, wrote a few words, and folded the letter paper into the shape of a paper crane before sending it into Wu Yin¡¯s house. Watching the paper crane fly in through the window, Lin Rufei was a little uneasy and asked, ¡°Will he come out? What if he doesn¡¯t come out?¡± Gu Xuandu calmed him, ¡°It¡¯s okay, if he doesn¡¯t come out, we¡¯ll think of another way.¡± Fortunately, not long after the paper crane flew in, the door of Wu Yin¡¯s house was opened. Wu Min¡¯s face held some suspicion as he looked around outside. After seeing Lin Rufei standing nearby not too far away, he frowned slightly, and slowly stepped towards his side. ¡°He¡¯s coming!¡± Lin Rufei worriedly said, ¡°How should I tell him¡­¡­should I get straight to the point?¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°Let¡¯s act according to the circumstances, but don¡¯t stimulate him to hate on us that he would attract Wu Yin over.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. While the two were talking, Wu Min had already walked up to Lin Rufei. His expression was as cold as the one he saw yesterday and his voice was also very soft. He raised his hand and the paper crane Lin Rufei had sent in was resting in his hand: ¡°Yours?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Wu Min asked. In the paper crane, Lin Rufei said that he had something important to discuss. If it was someone else, Wu Min would not even have paid attention to it. But for some reason, he smelled a strange familiar aura on Lin Rufei; an aura that made Wu Min choose to come see him even after hesitating. Lin Rufei clenched his teeth: ¡°Let me take the liberty to ask¡­¡­¡­Do you still remember what happened before?¡± Wu Min was confused, ¡°Before?¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°A few hundred years ago. Wu Min, ¡°A few hundred years ago? I am not yet over a hundred years old, how can I remember what happened a hundred years ago?¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. Wu Min asked, ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Lin Rufei gritted his teeth, ¡°I know you, you shouldn¡¯t be Wu Yin¡¯s lover.¡± Wu Min questioned, ¡°Then who should I be?¡± Lin Rufei took a deep breath and answered in a deep voice, ¡°You should be Wu Yin¡¯s master, Wu Min¡ª¡ªI¡¯ve seen you before.¡± Wu Min¡¯s expression soon changed dramatically. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Knocking on the blackboard[2]! The point is not the master-disciple relationship, it¡¯s that he was unwilling! Lin Rufei: What if I¡¯m unwilling? Gu Xuandu: Impossible! Lin Rufei: What if? Gu Xuandu: What if? I have a million ways to make you willing. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] A mythological flying snake. [2] Focus point/the main focus/the important stuff. CH 82 ¡°What did you say?¡± After hearing Lin Rufei¡¯s words, Wu Min¡¯s emotions became slightly agitated. He grabbed Lin Rufei and whispered, ¡°Who are you saying I am?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Wu Min, do you remember the Heavenly Ruler?¡± Wu Min narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a thoughtful look, ¡°I don¡¯t remember, but I know him.¡± Lin Rufei observed Wu Min¡¯s expression and noticed some clues from his expression. He didn¡¯t know what Wu Min¡¯s name was now, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t be the name Wu Min. However, since he reacted so much to the word Wu Min, there was probably a reason to it. As expected, Wu Min looked back at his residence and nodded at Lin Rufei, ¡°Tell me what you know, in detail.¡± Lin Rufei inquired, ¡°What do you remember?¡± Wu Min shook his head and replied hesitantly, ¡°I don¡¯t remember much, but¡­¡­I have a vague impression.¡± His memory was very bad now and many past events could not be remembered. However, occasionally some strange fragments would appear in his mind and most of these fragments would have some people and images that he had never seen before. After experiencing it more than once, Wu Min also developed some suspicions in his heart. For some reason, Wu Min did not tell Wu Yin about these things even though the two of them have a pretty good relationship. Lin Rufei then intermittently told him about Wu Min and Wu Yin¡¯s history and the more Wu Min listened, the deeper his frown became. Finally, there was some confusion between his expressions: ¡°So you mean, Wu Yin and I were once master and disciple, then something happened and we got together?¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t talk too much, after all, he didn¡¯t know the truth back then either. He just euphemistically stated that this was indeed the case back then, he just didn¡¯t know what had happened later on to make Wu Min and Wu Yin have the relationship they have now. Wu Min continued questioning, ¡°What is the reason for you to come to the witch tribe this time?¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°A senior of mine left something at your place and wanted me to retrieve it, so I made a special trip over here.¡± Wu Min asked, ¡°My place?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Wu Min pushed, ¡°What thing?¡± Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wu Min, however, persisted, ¡°Who is your senior? Since he wanted to store something with me, my relationship with him should be good, right?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, he is the¡­¡­Heavenly Ruler.¡± Wu Min exclaimed, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler? I¡¯m friends with the Heavenly Ruler?¡± Although he didn¡¯t know who he was, he still knew the name ¡°Heavenly Ruler.¡± Wu Min¡¯s expression changed, finally, he raised his head and glanced in the direction Lin Rufei came from, ¡°You should go back first, come back here tomorrow to look for me, his ceremony is almost over and he will be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. ¡°Be careful with everything you do.¡± Wu Min whispered. Lin Rufei turned around and left. When he was walking back to his residence, he happened to see Wu Yin, who had finished his rituals, walking past him. The two of them looked at each other and Wu Yin cast a light smile at Lin Rufei. If he didn¡¯t have something in mind, the witch tribe was actually quite a nice place to live. Not only was the climate cool but the food was also to Lin Rufei¡¯s liking¡ªvery refreshing¡ªand the people of the witch tribe were also not xenophobic. In fact, they were very warm to Lin Rufei, a foreigner, and whenever Lin Rufei went out for a walk empty-handed, he would come back with all kinds of small gifts in his hands. But Lin Rufei¡¯s mind was preoccupied with Wu Min¡¯s matter, so he didn¡¯t have the heart to walk around. After waiting until the next day, when Lin Rufei saw Wu Yin appear at the altar, he immediately ran to Wu Min¡¯s residence and after releasing the paper crane as he had done yesterday, he stood in place and waited patiently. After waiting for a few moments, the door was slowly pushed open. However, when Lin Rufei saw the person who came out from inside, he froze in place. Wu Yin, who should have been at the altar, was standing at the door, staring at him with an unfriendly expression, while Wu Min was nowhere to be seen. Lin Rufei failed to undermine the foundation and was caught red-handed. Currently, the situation he was in was a bit awkward as Wu Yin called out quietly, ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei could only bite the bullet and reply, ¡°Great Witch.¡± Wu Yin mused, ¡°Since you are here, why don¡¯t you come in for a chat?¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Where is Wu Min? You didn¡¯t do anything to him, did you?¡± Wu Yin smiled, ¡°He is my lover, what can I do to him? He is tired and is still sleeping at this moment.¡± Lin Rufei mulled over his words but then said bluntly, ¡°If I go in, will you think of killing me?¡± Wu Yin curbed his smile and responded lightly, ¡°What are you joking about, Lin gongzi? Since you are a friend of the Heavenly Ruler, why would I do anything to you?¡± As expected, Wu Yin already knew all about this. Although Lin Rufei was prepared for it before, when he heard Wu Yin¡¯s words, he still sighed, ¡°Okay.¡± He definitely wanted to get his hands on Gu Xuandu¡¯s stuff, and since that was the case, sooner or later he would have to confront Wu Yin. He stepped into the house but did not see Wu Min anywhere. Wu Yin sat down in front of him, smoothly poured him a cup of hot tea, ¡°Stop looking, he is not well and is sleeping in the inner room.¡± Lin Rufei inquired, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything to him, did you?¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®anything?¡¯¡± Wu Yin asked, ¡°Lin gongzi, did you misunderstand something? He is my beloved person, how could I do anything to him?¡± He then took a sip of the tea in front of him and his posture looked quite relaxed, not at all like he was about to have a fall out with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei frowned slightly at his words and did not touch the tea in front of him. Wu Yin, however, didn¡¯t care and said to himself, ¡°Lin gongzi came here to look for the old thing left by the Heavenly Ruler, in that case, why say something to him that you shouldn¡¯t have?¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°Am I not right?¡± Wu Yin smiled, ¡°Could it be that Lin gongzi knew what happened back then?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°I know some of it.¡± Wu Yin asked, ¡°For example?¡± ¡°For example, he was your master.¡± Lin Rufei answered. Wu Yin smiled coldly at his words. He then rose to his feet and stared down at Lin Rufei from a high position. The goodwill, that was once in his eyes, had all disappeared leaving only cold frost behind as he exclaimed, ¡°Ridiculous! I don¡¯t know where you found some books that haven¡¯t been destroyed, but you think you know the truth after reading them? That year the Heavenly Ruler fell and the witch tribe was in chaos, it¡¯s been more than a few hundred years since then and Lin gongzi wants to convict me on the basis of a few books?!¡± Lin Rufei caught a key point: ¡°The fall of the Heavenly Ruler?¡± ¡°Oh? Lin gongzi doesn¡¯t even know this?¡± The members of the witch tribe all had a long life span and although Wu Yin was not very old back then, he was still a witness to all the events. ¡°Why exactly did the Heavenly Ruler fall?¡± This was one of the things Lin Rufei was most confused about, ¡°Is it because of the failed ascension?¡± It seemed that the folk legends were mostly untrue. The Heavenly Ruler did not ascend but fell instead. ¡°Haha, the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s cultivation was at the tenth level and even he failed to ascend. I¡¯m afraid no one else in the world would succeed in ascending.¡± Wu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler did something against the fate of the Heavens, that¡¯s why his flesh body broke down and his soul scattered, ending in annihilation¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Exactly what happened¡­¡­¡± He also tried asking Gu Xuandu, but Gu Xuandu refused to say anything. ¡°You want to know?¡± Wu Yin muttered coldly, ¡°But why should I tell you?¡± Lin Rufei remarked, ¡°That¡¯s quite true. So what exactly did you want to express by saying so much?¡± Wu Yin vocalized, ¡°I just want to tell Lin gongzi that some things are not as you seem. You think that I have harmed my master but maybe I actually saved him.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°In order to save him, you destroyed all the existence about him from the world?¡± ¡°People are all greedy.¡± Wu Yin didn¡¯t look guilty at all and calmly responded, ¡°When you¡¯ve finally got what you always wanted, it¡¯s hard to hand it over again.¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded for a moment. Wu Yin continued¡±Lin gongzi, please don¡¯t blame me for threatening you. If you still want to return to your Kunlun alive, then don¡¯t interfere in the matter between me and my master.¡± He narrowed his eyes and a thick killing intent arose from his body, ¡°Otherwise, don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless.¡± ¡°Not interfering is possible.¡± Lin Rufei answered, ¡°You just need to find the thing I want.¡± ¡°What thing?¡± Wu Yin exclaimed, ¡°You can¡¯t tell me who handed it over nor can you describe what it is, so how can I find it for you?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°The thing is very important, Wu Min will surely keep it very well. Plus, there is something special about that thing. It is not an ordinary treasure¡­¡­If you see it, you will surely recognize it at once.¡± But Wu Yin shook his head, saying that most of Wu Min¡¯s things were destroyed that year and none of the things left behind matched Lin Rufei¡¯s description. However, when he had said these words, he seemed to have remembered something and revealed some traces of hesitation. When Lin Rufei asked again, he said it was nothing. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The two of them talked for a long time. However, Wu Min, who was supposedly still resting, woke up at some point and stood at the door of the bedroom in a single outfit. He looked at the two of them coldly and when they finally noticed him, they didn¡¯t know how long he had been standing there. When Wu Yin saw him, his expression immediately softened. He got up and walked to his side, whispering something to him in their dialect. Wu Min though, was fed up. He waved his hand and turned around to go back to his room. However, Wu Yin grabbed his hand and gently pulled him into his arms. The two of them were in a lingering atmosphere and Lin Rufei immediately caught glimpses of some ambiguous red marks on Wu Min¡¯s neckline causing him to quickly avert his gaze with some discomfort. When the two of them finally finished lingering, Wu Yin took Wu Min¡¯s hand and walked towards Lin Rufei, ¡°If you two have anything to say, say it in front of me.¡± Wu Min glared at him: ¡°If you¡¯re here, do you think Lin gongzi dares to say anything?¡± Wu Yin coaxed, ¡°But I¡¯m not at ease.¡± Wu Min asked, ¡°What are you not at ease about? Are you afraid that Lin gongzi will abduct me?¡± Wu Yin sighed, ¡°Forget it, you two can talk, I¡¯ll be outside.¡± He then looked at Lin Rufei and muttered, ¡°Whatever he asks, you can answer.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t think he would have a chance to talk to Wu Min, but looking at Wu Yin¡¯s appearance, it was true that he didn¡¯t really look guilty. Did he really misunderstand him and Wu Min? Wu Yin turned around and head out while Wu Min looked indifferent. He picked up the cup of tea that Wu Yin had drunk out of and took a sip, ¡°Since Lin gongzi felt that it was inconvenient to tell Wu Yin, I wonder if it¡¯s convenient to tell me. Exactly what are you looking for? I¡¯ll try hard to remember and see if I can recall it.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°You and Wu Yin¡­¡­¡± ¡°After you spoke with me yesterday, I remembered something else and after I remembered, I did not want to continue to look deeper into this matter.¡± Wu Min replied, ¡°He did lie to me, but sometimes it¡¯s better not knowing the truth about some things.¡± Lin Rufei mumbled, ¡°How could this be¡­¡­¡± Wu Min raised his eyes and looked at Lin Rufei: ¡°Lin gongzi is a bit like an old friend I know.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°An old friend?¡± Wu Min answered, ¡°That¡¯s right, an old friend.¡± He then continued, ¡°At first I just felt that there was a familiarity in your aura, however, after thinking about it all last night, I realized that Lin gongzi even has some similarities with him in your eyebrows.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°Then who is the old friend?¡± Wu Min trailed off, ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡­the Heavenly Ruler.¡± Lin Rufei froze. He never expected to hear such a sentence from Wu Min¡¯s mouth. He immediately felt that Wu Min¡¯s memory still seemed a little unreliable, after all, Gu Xuandu was right beside him and he did not feel the slightest resemblance to Gu Xuandu at all, ¡°How is that possible, how can I resemble the Heavenly Ruler?¡± Wu Min questioned, ¡°Why is it impossible?¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s appearance in picture books before and it¡¯s very different from mine¡­¡­Are you remembering it wrong ¡­¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t remember wrongly.¡± Wu Min, however, was certain. Lin Rufei decided not to dwell on this matter anymore. Gu Xuandu was the Heavenly Ruler and this was something that had already been confirmed so Wu Min must have remembered wrong. Besides, whether he looked like the Heavenly Ruler or not didn¡¯t really matter much. Maybe it was just a coincidence. ¡°Then do you remember what the Heavenly Ruler handed to you?¡± Since Wu Min¡¯s memory had recovered a little, Lin Rufei asked the question he most wanted to know the answer to. He was originally not too hopeful, but Wu Min nodded slowly as he replied, ¡°I remember.¡± Lin Rufei exclaimed with surprise, ¡°Remember?¡± Wu Min nodded, ¡°Yes, my memory was intermittent before, but after Lin gongzi reminded me of some things, I remembered them all.¡± However, there was no joy on his face, ¡°That thing was very important, I did take care of it seriously, but then the witch tribe was in turmoil and I was too busy to take care of myself, so with negligence, that thing was unfortunately stolen.¡± ¡°Stolen?!¡± Lin Rufei was surprised, ¡°Do you know who stole it?¡± Wu Min sighed, ¡°I guessed a few, just¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was anxious, ¡°Just what?¡± Wu Min continued, ¡°It¡¯s just that even if it really was him, it¡¯s not really possible for you to find him.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± Wu Min answered, ¡°The Heavenly Ruler¡¯s second disciple, Wu Ao.¡± Lin Rufei froze once again. He never thought it would be this person. Only, he suddenly remembered something else: ¡°Wait, wait a minute, second disciple? Meaning, there is also an eldest disciple?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Wu Min nodded. Although the name of the Heavenly Ruler was known all over the world, not many people knew of his disciples. Whether it was the eldest disciple or the second disciple, they both seemed to be unrecorded in the book, as if the Gods were hidden. This was actually a very strange thing. After all, their master was so powerful, how could the disciples have no fame at all? ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard of it? Logically speaking, if the Heavenly Ruler was so famous, his disciples should have some records, right?¡± Lin Rufei felt this matter to be very strange. ¡°There¡¯s nothing strange about it.¡± Wu Min looked calm, ¡°Maybe there was some reason why they couldn¡¯t reveal their identity. Wu Ao was from the witch tribe and I also knew him well. After he became the disciple of the Heavenly Ruler, he rarely ever came back. Only after the Heavenly Ruler had an accident did he completely disappear, so I never thought that he would sneak into the witch tribe and steal the thing that the Heavenly Ruler left with me.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Was the relationship between the Heavenly Ruler and Wu Ao very bad?¡± Wu Min sighed: ¡°Actually¡­¡­It wasn¡¯t bad. The Heavenly Ruler was gentle. Although he had an extremely high cultivation, his heart was compassionate. He only had two disciples under his name so how could he bear to let these two disciples suffer?¡± Lin Rufei pondered on that, but he still believed that Gu Xuandu¡¯s perverse nature did not match up with gentleness at all. However, Wu Min and Gu Xuandu were good friends, no matter how much he thought about it, the stranger it became. But he did not rush to ask questions and patiently continued listening to what Wu Min was saying. ¡°Therefore, the relationship between the master and disciples is not bad.¡± Wu Min continued, ¡°Unfortunately, later, in order to lay the Yaoguang Grand Formation, the Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­the Heavenly Ruler was greatly injured, and the master-disciple relationship was broken.¡± However, Lin Rufei found it incomprehensible: ¡°Why would a wound break the master-disciple relationship?¡± Wu Min sighed: ¡°This involves the secret of the Heavenly Ruler, it¡¯s not appropriate for me to say too much to you.¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°But even so, the Heavenly Ruler treated his disciples generously. Even if his body was injured, his disciples should still remember the goodness the Heavenly Ruler provided for them¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Wu Min smiled bitterly, ¡°They all remembered it.¡± Lin Rufei was curious, ¡°What happened afterward?¡± Wu Min replied, ¡°Later, the Heavenly Ruler got better, but unfortunately the relationship with Wu Ao became increasingly stiff and I did not expect that in the end, Wu Ao would do such a thing. In my current state, I can¡¯t find any trace of Wu Ao at all.¡± Lin Rufei sighed: ¡°Then I have to go back and think about how to find Wu Ao.¡± Wu Min smiled slightly, ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best.¡± Since the matter was mostly figured out, Lin Rufei got up and planned to say goodbye. However, before he left, he was still a bit worried about Wu Min¡¯s situation. He lowered his voice and asked if Wu Min was sure that he really didn¡¯t want to leave Wu Yin, and that if Wu Min was being threatened, he could find a way to save Wu Min. Wu Min responded, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Lin gongzi. You don¡¯t have to worry about me, Wu Yin is very good to me.¡± Lin Rufei asked to make sure, ¡°Really?¡± Wu Min nodded his head. When he reached the door, he noticed Wu Yin sitting on a bamboo chair outside the house with his eyes closed and taking a nap. When he heard Lin Rufei¡¯s footsteps, he opened his mouth and said, ¡°Lin gongzi is a bodhisattva who has crossed the river[1], it is better to take care of yourself first.¡± Lin Rufei responded, ¡°Thank you, Great Witch, for reminding me.¡± Wu Yin said, ¡°I won¡¯t see you off.¡± Lin Rufei then turned around and left. Although Wu Yin had acted kindly in front of Wu Min, in fact, he still remembered the hatred he had when Lin Rufei quietly went to find Wu Min. Therefore, even at this time, he still didn¡¯t give Lin Rufei a good expression. After Lin Rufei left, Wu Yin entered the house once more and saw Wu Min sitting at the table, silently fondling the teacup in his hand, ¡°He¡¯s gone?¡± ¡°Gone.¡± Wu Yin slowly walked behind Wu Min and hugged him hard. Wu Min was a little breathless from being hugged and let out a low cough or two. However, he did not tell Wu Yin to release him. He tapped his finger against the teacup and faintly asked, ¡°Now you know to be afraid?¡± Wu Yin buried his head hard into Wu Min¡¯s neck, sniffing the unique light fragrance on Wu Min¡¯s body, and responding in a muffled voice, ¡°Master is not allowed to leave and no one is going to take Master away from me.¡± Wu Min sighed, ¡°You are also quite ruthless.¡± ¡°How can I keep you if I¡¯m not ruthless?¡± Wu Yin laughed, ¡°Look at what happened to the Heavenly Ruler. Wasn¡¯t it because his disciple was not ruthless enough and couldn¡¯t bear to¡­¡­¡± Wu Min pursed his lips and did not speak. ¡°If he had been more ruthless, how would he have ended up in this state today?¡± Wu Yin continued, ¡°The flesh was lost, the soul was scattered, and he doesn¡¯t even have a decent appearance anymore. Even hugging the person you love for a moment longer became a luxury¡± Wu Min was silent for a long time: ¡°But in the end, he still came back.¡± ¡°So what if he came back?¡± Wu Yin chastised, ¡°The thing he left with you had long been taken away by Wu Ao. How much Wu Ao hated you, you should know yourself¡­¡­although I do not know what that thing is, but I think it must be very important if he was willing to leave it with you¡­¡­¡± Wu Min looked at him obliquely: ¡°You are not afraid that I will blame you?¡± ¡°What would I be afraid of? I did not harm Master, at most, I just left some selfishness.¡± He nibbled on Wu Min¡¯s ear and watched with satisfaction as a faint tooth mark was soon left on it. ¡°Let go if you¡¯re not afraid.¡± Wu Min uttered unhappily, ¡°If you hold even tighter, I won¡¯t be able to breathe.¡± Although Wu Yin said he didn¡¯t care, he still desperately wanted to insert the person in front of him into his own body. He knew that Wu Min didn¡¯t care about those things, but even though he knew that Wu Min didn¡¯t care, he was still worried that Wu Min would blame him. Wu Yin mumbled: ¡°Not loosening.¡± Wu Min sighed: ¡°You, ah¡­¡­¡± ¡°Just won¡¯t let go.¡± Wu Yin said with a smile, ¡°If I let go, Master will run away with someone.¡± Wu Min no longer responded. Hundreds of years ago, he was the most prestigious witch of the witch tribe and there were countless disciples under him, however, all of them were afraid of him. And only Wu Yin was not afraid of his indifference. From childhood until he grew up, he was like a stink bug that liked to stick on his back. After a long time though, he had also gotten used to it and then even gradually began to rely on Wu Yin. He didn¡¯t like interacting or getting along with anyone, but he was still the Great Witch of the witch tribe so he was still forced to take over many affairs. However, in the end, most of these things Wu Yin took care of, which saved Wu Min a lot of trouble. Later, when the witch tribe was in turmoil, Wu Min was greatly injured and nearly killed. Wu Yin used his best efforts to save him with a secret method however, parts of his memories ended up being severely missing. And after being accompanied by a long slumber, Wu Min¡¯s body finally recovered gradually. But he couldn¡¯t remember who he really was. Wu Min then told him a new name, one which had nothing to do with Wu Min, and only represented an ordinary mortal. Since then, Wu Min¡¯s memory had been intermittent. Sometimes, he would remember something from the past and sometimes he would suspect that Wu Yin had an impure mind, but after thinking about it, Wu Yin¡¯s impure mind seemed to have only one thing, which was¡­¡­ ¡°Stop messing around.¡± Wu Min sensed something and his tone didn¡¯t sound good, ¡°My waist still hurts.¡± Wu Yin was aggrieved, ¡°Master doesn¡¯t like me anymore, he¡¯s always yelling at me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Master.¡± Wu Min was a little uncomfortable, ¡°Call me by my name.¡± Noticing some shyness on Wu Min¡¯s face, Wu Yin smiled wryly, ¡°Is Master shy?¡± He came up to Wu Min¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Master¡¯s shy look is the cutest. His body is red all over¡­..¡± The latter words were too whispered and somewhat inaudible, but when Wu Min heard it, he immediately dealt Wu Yin a blow and said, annoyed, ¡± Wu Yin!¡± ¡°Oops!¡± Wu Yin blinked his eyes. Wu Min said: ¡°Don¡¯t you dare¡ª¡± Before he could finish his threatening words, he was kissed and embraced by Wu Yin again with great force. His body that originally wanted to resist, relaxed because it sensed something. Although Wu Yin was smiling, he was still a bit uneasy. He didn¡¯t know if Wu Min would blame him nor did he know if Wu Min would just follow Lin Rufei and leave. However, he didn¡¯t dare ask and could only express it through his actions. Wu Min let out a long sigh and gave up struggling, allowing Wu Yin to vent his tense emotions. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: So that¡¯s how it is! Master and disciple could actually be like this? ! Gu Xuandu: Welcoming Xiao Jiu, who just opened a door to a new world~ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] In a difficult situation himself and is not able to help others. CH 83 As Lin Rufei headed back, he was thinking about how to find Wu Ao along the way. Gu Xuandu did not appear when Lin Rufei met with them, and only when he returned to the house did he reveal himself once again. However, he did not seem to be in good spirits and simply sat on the side, waiting quietly for Lin Rufei. He did not open his mouth to speak. Lin Rufei was a little worried about Gu Xuandu: ¡°Senior, exactly what is going on with you and that Wu Ao?¡± Gu Xuandu lazily replied: ¡°That¡¯s how it was, didn¡¯t you hear it all?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I heard it, but I think it¡¯s a bit strange. Since you two had a good master-disciple relationship before, I think there should still be some friendship. Even if you guys fell apart later, why did he have to do things this way?¡± He looked at Gu Xuandu sadly, ¡°This heart is very important to senior, if we really can¡¯t get it back¡­¡­¡± But Gu Xuandu simply smiled. It seemed that Lin Rufei¡¯s concern was not on his mind as he responded indifferently, ¡°If we can¡¯t get it back, then so be it. With Xiao Jiu by my side, it is enough.¡± As he said this, he leaned over and placed his chin on Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulder. Lin Rufei could only let him do as he pleased, but in his heart, he was still calculating on how to find Wu Ao. After a few days, Lin Rufei still did not come up with any good ideas. His knowledge of Wu Ao was limited to the Shen family matter and he really could not think of where to find him. But Lin Rufei did not expect that the person he wanted to find, actually found him on his own accord. Since the sixth day of coming to the witch tribe, there still had been no news of Wu Ao, however, he then suddenly appeared. It was a cool morning. Lin Rufei had just eaten the breakfast prepared by Fu Hua and was planning to go out to chat with the people of the witch tribe. Who knew that the moment he went out, he saw a familiar figure standing outside his door. He even thought he was mistaken at first and rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he was not hallucinating. Wu Ao was actually standing at his door, with a pleasing smile on his face, as he called out, ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei looked at him warily, ¡°Wu Ao? Why are you here?¡± After the initial surprise, Lin Rufei immediately became defensive again. One who was unaccountably solicitous, was hiding evil intentions. The sudden appearance of Wu Ao was definitely not a good thing. Wu Ao answered, ¡°Lin gongzi, didn¡¯t you want to find me?¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°How do you know that? Have you been following me?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°I didn¡¯t follow you, but as long as that thing is in my hand, you will definitely come to me.¡± He walked up to Lin Rufei and the long black snake coiled on his arm couldn¡¯t stop spitting out its tongue, hissing, as if it was echoing his excited mood. He looked at Lin Rufei greedily and said in a hoarse voice arduously, ¡°It¡¯s windy outside, Lin gongzi, can we go inside for a while.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them entered the house, but Gu Xuandu was nowhere to be seen. He didn¡¯t know if he hated Wu Ao so much to the point that he didn¡¯t even want to see him. ¡°It¡¯s been a hard journey for Lin gongzi.¡± Wu Ao pulled out a stiff smile. He doesn¡¯t seem to smile often so when he smiled, it looked like his whole face was slightly distorted. He muttered and repeated the words just now, ¡°It¡¯s really been hard¡­¡­¡± ¡°Where did you put the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s thing?¡± Lin Rufei did not want to dwell more with him and went straight to the point. However, who knew that when Wu Ao heard Lin Rufei¡¯s words, he got agitated all of a sudden and yelled angrily, ¡°That Gu Xuandu can¡¯t be considered as the Heavenly Ruler! He is just a deceitful liar, Lin gongzi must not be deceived by him, he¡­¡­he¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°Even if you have some dissatisfaction with him, he was once your master, you shouldn¡¯t talk about him like this¡­¡­¡± ¡°!!!¡± Wu Ao jumped up due to his agitation and his face was now scarlet with anger. He seemed to want to swear a series of expletives, but not a single word came out because his mouth was not very ingenious. Lin Rufei looked at him with concern. Just as he felt that he was going to faint from this anger, this Wu Ao spat out a sentence: ¡°Lies¡­¡­he is not, he is not my master!¡± Lin Rufei froze: ¡°Your master is not the Heavenly Ruler?¡± ¡°Naturally, it is the Heavenly Ruler.¡± Wu Ao puffed up his chest and proudly said, ¡°My master is the best person in the world.¡± Lin Rufei looked at Wu Ao incredulously. At this moment, the truth of the matter had been laid out in full in front of him. Although there was an inkling of suspicion before, Lin Rufei felt that his speculation was too absurd and very soon put it behind him. But in front of him was one of the participants in history, and looking at him, it did not look like he was lying. He said that Gu Xuandu was not his master and that his master was the Heavenly Ruler. Then didn¡¯t that mean that Gu Xuandu was not the Heavenly Ruler? Or to put it another way, there was more than one Heavenly Ruler in this world. After this thought came to my mind, many things that he thought were strange before became clear at this time. Such as why the Heavenly Ruler varied so much amongst different people; why some people say that he was kind-hearted, and others say he was hostile¡ªit turned out that there was more than one Heavenly Ruler; one was Wu Ao¡¯s master and the other was Gu Xuandu. Lin Rufei was full of incredulity and asked, ¡°Are you saying that there were two Heavenly Rulers in the world?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Ao did not intend to conceal this matter and replied sorrowfully, ¡°That Gu Xuandu is not worthy of the name Heavenly Ruler. He is just a big liar who uses the Heavenly Ruler name and deceives his master and humiliates his ancestors. The whole world was deceived by him, not knowing that the real Heavenly Ruler had fallen¡­¡­long ago.¡± This matter sounded too appalling at first and Lin Rufei was also full of shock. He looked at Wu Ao and asked, ¡°Exactly what happened back then?¡± Wu Ao said coldly: ¡°What did Gu Xuandu tell you?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°He didn¡¯t mention much about what happened back then¡­¡­¡± Even if Gu Xuandu did say something, he mostly talked about some travelogues and rarely mentioned news about the Heavenly Ruler, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t tell Lin Rufei how he actually fell. At first, Lin Rufei thought he just did not want to mention the sadness of that year. Now that he thought about it carefully, there were probably some things that weren¡¯t easy to talk about. After all, there was still the matter about there being two Heavenly Rulers, which was too incredible and no one could have imagined it. ¡°I can tell you what happened back then if you want.¡± Wu Ao replied, ¡°But first I have to trouble you, Lin gongzi, to come back to Kunlun with me.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Back to Kunlun for what?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°There are some things that I want Lin gongzi to help with.¡± Lin Rufei questioned warily, ¡°Me? What can I do to help you?¡± Wu Ao smiled: ¡°Lin gongzi need not be so nervous, I will not harm you. However, this matter, only you can help me¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei pondered over his proposal for a moment, ¡°If you want my help, then that is possible. Only, you have to hand over the thing you took from Wu Min.¡± Although Gu Xuandu was not the Heavenly Ruler, Lin Rufei still thought of him in his heart. But who knew that Wu Ao immediately exploded and almost made a move when he heard that, ¡°Lin gongzi, that Gu Xuandu is really not a good person, why do you still need to think about him? I destroyed that thing of his a long time ago, he will never get it in his entire life!¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a pity, I may not be able to help with this favor then.¡± He spread his hands, making a helpless expression. Wu Ao¡¯s eyes were now bright red with anger as he stared fiercely at Lin Rufei for a moment. Then, hanging his head in defeat, he muttered, ¡°How could this happen? It¡¯s been hundreds of years, how could it still be like this¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying, but he was not in a hurry so he slowly sipped on his tea. He didn¡¯t know how much Wu Ao had struggled with his heart, but in the end, he clenched his teeth, ¡°Okay. I can give it back to him, but you must immediately depart with me back to Kunlun!¡± Lin Rufei nodded, ¡°Yes, as long as you hand over the thing first.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Wu Ao gritted his teeth and chanted something. Only, he did it in the local dialect, which Lin Rufei did not quite understand. But he didn¡¯t need to understand, he just needed Wu Ao to hand over Gu Xuandu¡¯s thing. Before Wu Ao left, he made an agreement with Lin Rufei that he would return in a few days and bring the thing that Lin Rufei wanted. However, he asked that when the time came, for Lin Rufei to leave with him and return to Kunlun. Lin Rufei agreed. After Wu Ao left, Lin Rufei called out to Gu Xuandu for quite a while before he finally showed up. But for some reason, his figure was much lighter than usual, like an ink painting that was about to fade. Lin Rufei called out worriedly to his senior and Gu Xuandu only raised his head to look at him. His expression had more than a touch of sadness as he looked at Lin Rufei with a pair of narrow, half-lidded, phoenix eyes: ¡°Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Is what Wu Ao said true?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Xuandu nodded his head. Lin Rufei hesitated, ¡°So there really were two Heavenly Rulers in the world? You¡­¡­are the later one?¡± Gu Xuandu nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei mulled over this for a moment before carefully saying, ¡°Then the first Heavenly Ruler, how did he fall?¡± After he asked this, he was afraid that Gu Xuandu would misunderstand his meaning and hastily added, ¡°I believe everything you say.¡± But Gu Xuandu simply smiled, ¡°If Xiao Jiu wants to know, I will tell you everything.¡± After these words left his mouth, his body suddenly shook like water rippling, making Lin Rufei¡¯s heart go on edge as he watched. He was about to go forward to support Gu Xuandu but saw Gu Xuandu waving his hand, indicating that he was not hindered. ¡°Does Xiao Jiu know how the Yaoguang Continent¡¯s Grand Formation was laid?¡± Gu Xuandu asked slowly. Lin Rufei said, ¡°I only know that the formation was laid by the Heavenly Ruler, I don¡¯t know how¡­¡­it was laid.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled bitterly, ¡°Yes, the people in the world only know that the Heavenly Ruler laid the formation to protect Yaoguang for a hundred years. However, they don¡¯t know how difficult it was to lay this formation.¡± He said weakly, ¡°A formation that wants to protect a continent must have a formation eye that drives the operation of the formation. This formation was extremely large and consumed a lot of spiritual energy and spirit stones were already completely insufficient.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened as he remembered Fu Yu of the Fu Family Village and opened his mouth slightly, ¡°Senior means¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yes, the Heavenly Ruler was compassionate at heart and couldn¡¯t stand to see the world suffer.¡± Gu Xuandu smiled slightly, ¡°Moreover, that year, the demons were planning to attack Yaoguang again. Seeing that the battle was imminent, the Heavenly Ruler knew that he could not wait any longer so he fed the tiger with his body; he gave up his flesh, and became the eye of the Yaoguang Grand Formation.¡± Although he had a smile on his face, his eyes were actually crying, ¡°Xiao Jiu, I tried to persuade him for a long, long time, but he refused to listen. I said that I only had him left but he thought I was lying¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu dumbfoundedly. He knew Gu Xuandu was sad but he didn¡¯t know how to comfort him, so he gently held onto his hand. Gu Xuandu acted fast and quickly wrapped Lin Rufei¡¯s hand fiercely within his palm. ¡°At that time I was too weak and couldn¡¯t stop him.¡± Gu Xuandu continued, ¡°I could only watch him go. I only hated myself for being too much of a waste. If I was strong enough, I could also have been the formation eye and he wouldn¡¯t have to do all this.¡± A tidal wave of intent emerged in his eyes, but it passed instantly and his tone faded again. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What happened afterward?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Afterward? Then I became the Heavenly Ruler, which was what he asked me to do. Although I was a little bit fed up with it, I didn¡¯t want to disobey his wishes.¡± He continued lightly, ¡°But my nature and his were naturally different. When I meet someone I hate, I will not think of ways to get along with that person and will only find them troublesome as I kill them with my sword.¡± He sighed softly, ¡°Now that I think about it, I shouldn¡¯t have done that. After all, what I did had to be counted on his head. However, I was young and I didn¡¯t care about that. I loved him to death, and I also hated him to death. He had the world in his heart, but I only had him. Say, how could this be good?¡± Although he would still have been able to resist the demon¡¯s invasion, if the Heavenly Ruler had not given up his flesh to lay the formation that year, he didn¡¯t know how many people would die. Several hundred years have passed and the people on the Yaoguang Continent still couldn¡¯t forget the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s name all because of that formation. But no one knew the price the Heavenly Ruler had to pay in order to lay the formation. Lin Rufei felt a little heartache as he listened. He naturally could hear Gu Xuandu¡¯s affection for the first Heavenly Ruler. He wanted to say something, but for some reason, he also felt a little uncomfortable after seeing Gu Xuandu¡¯s difficult appearance, so he lowered his head and only whispered comfortingly, ¡°Senior don¡¯t be sad.¡± ¡°No, I have long since stopped being sad.¡± Gu Xuandu probably took notice of Lin Rufei¡¯s mood change and smiled again. He held Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, holding it very tightly, ¡°As long as Xiao Jiu is with me, I¡¯m not sad at all.¡± He said in a warm voice, ¡°Does Xiao Jiu like me?¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t expect Gu Xuandu to ask suddenly so he was a bit stunned for a while and answered reflexively, ¡°Of course I do.¡± ¡°No, what I¡¯m asking is not the kind of like between seniors and juniors.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s the kind of like between a man and a woman.¡± He blinked and his black eyes were full of Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance, ¡°Will Xiao Jiu want to kiss me? Will he feel unhappy if I spoke to others? Will¡­¡­his heart only contain me alone?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks suddenly reddened, and after a long time, he finally pursed his lips and gave a hum of agreement. Gu Xuandu curved his eyes and smiled lightly. He pulled Lin Rufei¡¯s hand up and pressed it to his chest, ¡°Me too, I also really like Xiao Jiu.¡± Logically speaking, Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t have a physical body. However, the back of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand unexpectedly felt the strength of a heartbeat thumping. Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart was not calm like his appearance, instead, it was rapidly beating, as if it was about to pop out of his chest cavity. Lin Rufei was a bit embarrassed by his action and turned his head, revealing bright red ears as he whispered: ¡°Senior¡¯s heartbeat is so fast. ¡° ¡°To tell you the truth.¡± Gu Xuandu righteously said, ¡°The first time I saw Xiao Jiu, this heartbeat was even faster. I just didn¡¯t feel like it was appropriate to tell Xiao Jiu, afraid that Xiao Jiu would take me as a strange lecher.¡± Lin Rufei laughed in disbelief: ¡°Why would I¡­¡­¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°What about Xiao Jiu?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°When Xiao Jiu sees me, will his heart also beat fast?¡± Lin Rufei was at a loss for words because of Gu Xuandu¡¯s bluntness. However, Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t give him a hard time. He smiled and pinched Lin Rufei¡¯s reddened earlobe with his finger and then let him go. Lin Rufei also talked about the matter regarding Wu Ao. He said that Wu Ao had came over and he made sure that the thing was in his hands. Once he(LRF) got the thing, he would then go back to Kunlun. When Lin Rufei said this, he did not tell Gu Xuandu all about his transactions he had with Wu Ao. He had a feeling in his heart that the heart in Wu Ao¡¯s hand might be with him at all times, and because of this, it would have a certain suppressive effect on Gu Xuandu. Therefore, Gu Xuandu could not show himself in the presence of Wu Ao as he did on the Xiliang Mountains. If this was the case, Gu Xuandu may not know the content of the conversation between him and Wu Ao. Although he didn¡¯t know why Wu Ao asked him to follow him back to Kunlun, he believed that there must be something going on. Gu Xuandu and Wu Ao¡¯s relationship was so bad so he certainly would come out to stop him. Lin Rufei didn¡¯t want to let Gu Xuandu lose his most important heart because of him. As Lin Rufei expected, after listening, Gu Xuandu did not know the content of their conversation and only knew that Wu Ao had come to visit. However, he still repeatedly urged Lin Rufei not to listen to Wu Ao, saying that Wu Ao was a madman and did things all out of order without regard to the consequences and that his temperament was even worse than his. Lin Rufei cried and laughed: ¡°Senior also knows that your temperament is bad?¡± Gu Xuandu did not avoid this and simply said frankly: ¡°With people, some self-awareness is a good thing.¡± Lin Rufei muttered, ¡°A temperament that can be worse than senior¡¯s, how scary must that be?¡± ¡°Just look at what he has done.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Shen Wucui did not provoke him yet he went up and stabbed him with a sword. Look what happened, he almost killed the person. Tsk. He wasn¡¯t even born good-looking, no wonder the Heavenly Ruler did not like him.¡± With his narrow-minded look, it did make some people want to laugh. Lin Rufei did not hold back, and a smile surfaced upon his lips, ¡°Then what was senior and the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s relationship that year?¡± ¡°It was a¡­¡­ master-disciple relationship.¡± Gu Xuandu replied, ¡°I am the eldest disciple of the Heavenly Ruler.¡± Lin Rufei froze and immediately remembered Wu Min and Wu Yin¡¯s situation. In the few days that he had stayed in the witch tribe, he could see the two of them being very, very sweet to each other every single day. At first, it was a little uncomfortable, but then later on, he also frankly accepted it. Although Wu Yin looked amiable, he was actually really possessive. Even when other people took a few more glances at Wu Min, he would be unhappy. Fortunately, Wu Min also did not like to go out so the two were also quite suitable for each other. Gu Xuandu and his master probably also experienced such a thing, making Lin Rufei¡¯s heart feel sour: ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°He is good-tempered, but the disciples he took in were getting stranger by the by. I entered around the same time as Wu Ao; he was accepted three days after me.¡± Gu Xuandu then started talking about that year and coldly continued, ¡°It¡¯s also thanks to his luck. If some more days had passed, then the Heavenly Ruler would only have me as his only disciple¡­..¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°How could that be? Wasn¡¯t the Heavenly Ruler good-tempered?¡± ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s just that his temper was too good, which made people worry a lot.¡± Lin Rufei rubbed his nose and thought that he(LRF) also seemed to have a pretty good temper. Gu Xuandu continued, ¡°I¡¯m smarter than that guy Wu Ao, so that guy was always jealous. However, the jealousy can¡¯t be helped, after all, the Heavenly Ruler simply just liked me more.¡± He said this with a smile and his words were full of provocation, ¡°It¡¯ll be better if he was angered to death.¡± This naughty child-like tone made the smile on Lin Rufei¡¯s face intensify and he coaxed, ¡°Senior is really great.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± Lin Rufei voiced, ¡°After I have recovered senior¡¯s heart, then senior can come back to Kunlun with me.¡± Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei was a little embarrassed, but he still gathered enough courage to say what was on his mind, ¡°My brothers and sister are so doting on me, so I don¡¯t think they would mind if the person I found was a man.¡± Gu Xuandu replied in a warm voice, ¡°Okay, as Xiao Jiu wishes.¡± Lin Rufei smiled brightly. The two of them then talked for a long time. And only until it was dark did Lin Rufei head to bed in order to rest. Gu Xuandu lay behind him this time with Lin Rufei¡¯s back against his chest. This was the first time they were so close to each other. Lin Rufei sniffed the light cherry blossom fragrance between Gu Xuandu¡¯s hair and fell into a deep slumber. Originally, Lin Rufei thought that it would take a few days for Wu Ao to pick up that thing, but who knew that the very next day, he saw Wu Ao¡¯s figure standing outside the window. He was looking at Lin Rufei through the window but did not have the intention to wake Lin Rufei up. His appearance, however, ended up being a shock to Lin Rufei. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Lin Rufei sat up from the bed. As expected, he really didn¡¯t see Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure anywhere in the room. He rubbed his eyes and muttered, ¡°How long have you been here, why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Lin gongzi can sleep if he wants to, I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡± He smiled. Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t. If other people see you at my door, then the situation wouldn¡¯t be good. The thing I asked for yesterday, did you bring it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Ao took out a small wooden box from his bosom. Judging from the size of the box, it should be Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart. Lin Rufei reached out to take it, but Wu Ao retracted his hand and retracted the wooden box. Lin Rufei looked at him suspiciously, however, Wu Ao stated cautiously, ¡°Lin gongzi can take this thing, but you need to go back to Kunlun with me first. Once we return, I will give the thing to you.¡± Lin Rufei said strangely, ¡°But that¡¯s not what you said at the beginning.¡± ¡°I regret it.¡± Wu Ao was really frank. Lin Rufei frowned: ¡°It¡¯s not a good habit to go back on your words.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to either.¡± Wu Ao sighed, ¡°After all, if that guy Gu Xuandu came back early, it would add a lot of trouble for me.¡± He seemed to feel that his tone of voice was a bit heavy, so an obviously pleasing smile once again surfaced on his face. He looked at Lin Rufei and whispered, ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t blame me. Once you get to Kunlun, you¡¯ll know what¡¯s going on.¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°¡­¡­You really can¡¯t give me the thing first? What if once we get to Kunlun, you still refuse to fulfill your promise?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Kunlun Lin gongzi¡¯s home?¡± Wu Ao laughed, ¡°When we get to Lin gongzi¡¯s territory, why would Lin gongzi still be afraid that I won¡¯t keep my promise.¡± Lin Rufei frowned, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to tell.¡± Wu Ao sighed, ¡°If you still don¡¯t believe me, I can sign a contract with you. The contract was made with spiritual power as a medium so no one will dare break it.¡± Lin Rufei thought about it and replied, ¡°Alright then.¡± Only then did the two of them agree. Wu Ao was somewhat happy though. After muttering to Lin Rufei that they needed to leave early, he turned around and left. Lin Rufei watched his figure and felt a bit complicated in his heart. He knew that there must be a reason why Wu Ao needed him to go back to Kunlun. However, Wu Ao had Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart in his hand, so he could only make a deal with him. As for what was waiting for him on Kunlun, he could only adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation. CH 84 Before leaving this place, Lin Rufei went to greet Wu Min first. Wu Yin was naturally very happy that he was leaving, but he didn¡¯t dare to show it too obviously. He just sat next to Wu Min and smiled lightly. No matter how he looked, the smile looked more and more sincere, like he could not wait to send Lin Rufei out of the witch tribe himself. When Wu Min heard that Lin Rufei was going to leave soon, he showed some doubt and asked him if he had encountered something. Lin Rufei denied it all. He simply said that his family had some accidents and his brothers told him to go back to Kunlun early. Other than that, there really was nothing else. ¡°Kunlun? It¡¯s been a long time since I heard that name¡­¡­¡± Wu Min fell into the past memories as he let out a low sigh. ¡°The Great Witch has been to Kunlun before?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± Wu Min denied, ¡°But an old friend I knew was buried there.¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips and suddenly opened his mouth, ¡°Great Witch¡­¡­you once said before that I have a few resemblances to the Heavenly Ruler?¡± He showed a little apprehension, ¡°This resemblance, is it a facial resemblance?¡± ¡°Facial resemblance? No, there is not a single point of resemblance between you and the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s face.¡± Wu Min said, ¡°Only the aura is somewhat similar, but so much time has passed, I also have some difficulty remembering so I may have made a mistake.¡± He looked at Lin Rufei and asked doubtfully, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head: ¡°Nothing, just a little curious.¡± Wu Min asked with some disbelief, ¡°Really nothing?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Nothing.¡± Yesterday, when Gu Xuandu confessed his love to him, he had thought about it in his mind; whether it was because he looked like the Heavenly Ruler that Gu Xuandu looked at him differently, so he couldn¡¯t help but ask Wu Min to confirm this. Now that he got the answer from Wu Min, he felt that his thoughts were too narrow-minded. A hundred years have passed, there weren¡¯t that many people in the world left who looked like the Heavenly Ruler that could be coincidentally stumbled upon by Gu Xuandu. Since Lin Rufei had something on his mind, he inevitably looked depressed in front of Wu Min. However, no matter how much Wu Min asked, he wasn¡¯t going to talk about it, in the end, Wu Min had to give up. ¡°If you meet Wu Ao, you must be very careful.¡± This was Wu Min¡¯s last advice to Lin Rufei, ¡°He is obstinate on the wrong path and very disgusted with the Heavenly Ruler. If he knew that you were looking for the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s old thing, I¡¯m afraid it would be detrimental to you¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly, ¡°I¡¯ve already met him.¡± ¡°Met?¡± Wu Min was surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei gave Wu Min a careful account of what he had encountered at the Shen family. After listening, Wu Min frowned and said, ¡®he had actually resurrected Mo Changshan, how could this forbidden technique be used casually? This Wu Ao really had no propriety¡­¡­¡¯ Lin Rufei knew that Wu Min knew a lot about what had happened back then, so he took the opportunity to ask: ¡°Great Witch, I heard that the two disciples of the Heavenly Ruler had a bad relationship, do you know why this is?¡± Wu Min sighed, ¡°Yes, I do know, it¡¯s¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°It¡¯s what?¡± Wu Min said helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s because they always like to compete for favor.¡± Lin Rufei froze. Wu Min mulled over it before telling Lin Rufei what had happened back then. However, he didn¡¯t mention anything specific about the Heavenly Ruler, only that both Wu Ao and Gu Xuandu had the same master, so most likely he was the first Heavenly Ruler. Wu Ao and Gu Xuandu were both fatherless and motherless orphans and were adopted by the first Heavenly Ruler when they were young. The Heavenly Ruler was good-natured and naturally treated children quite well so these two disciples were almost always spoiled as they grew up. Wu Ao was introverted and did not compete for favor as much as Gu Xuandu. Plus, with Gu Xuandu¡¯s shameless nature, over time, Gu Xuandu and the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s relationship become better and better. Although the Heavenly Ruler also treated Wu Ao well, some things were always unevenly distributed[1]¡­¡­ In the end, Wu Ao did not hate the Heavenly Ruler and instead pushed all his hate onto Gu Xuandu. Furthermore, an accident also happened later on. If it were not for the fact that Wu Ao was not as powerful as Gu Xuandu, he probably would have killed Gu Xuandu by now. Of course, Gu Xuandu was also not someone one should mess with. Before the accident, he gave Wu Ao serious injuries¡ª¡ªthese things though, Wu Min was also very vague about. In the end, Lin Rufei used his own efforts to piece the information together. As for what exactly happened, Lin Rufei guessed that it had something to do with the first Heavenly Ruler, but further down the line, Wu Min stopped talking about it. ¡°I will be careful, thanks for reminding me, Great Witch.¡± Lin Rufei bowed to Wu Min and turned to walk away. Wu Min looked at him with a gloomy look until his back was pressed against Wu Yin¡¯s chest. Wu Yin narrowed his eyes at Lin Rufei, like he was looking at a dead person, ¡°Don¡¯t like you talking to him.¡± Wu Min gave him an oblique look, ¡°Luckily, I don¡¯t have a second direct disciple.¡± ¡°If you did, he would be dead now.¡± Wu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m much more ruthless than that Wu Ao.¡± Wu Min sighed and stopped talking altogether. On Lin Rufei¡¯s side, he had already prepared the luggage and was planning to leave the witch tribe. When Wu Xing heard that they were leaving, he was still a bit unhappy as he had thought he could still play with Lin Rufei for a few more days. But seeing that Lin Rufei was determined to go, he did not insist. Instead, he got into Lin Rufei¡¯s carriage and kindly sent Lin Rufei to the entrance of the canyon. At this moment, the canyon¡¯s mountain mist had not yet dispersed, Wu Xing stood at the entrance of the canyon and reluctantly bid goodbye to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei stroked his head and took out a packet of Yu Rui¡¯s corn candy before stuffing it into his hand, ¡°Next time when you see a pretty girl, don¡¯t scare her like this.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wu Xing nodded, ¡°Where are you going, Lin gongzi?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± Lin Rufei said with a smile. Wu Xing asked confusedly, ¡°Is it that Lin gongzi is homesick?¡± Lin Rufei paused and nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m homesick.¡± Wu Xing murmured, ¡°Then you have to go back earlier. I¡¯ll be especially homesick when I go out to play for a few days, for the food at home, and my A-ma[2].¡± He waved his hand at Lin Rufei, ¡°Go, go. Go back early.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go back early.¡± Lin Rufei smiled. He had been away from Kunlun for half a year, but he still had a few more sword competition invitations in his hand that he hadn¡¯t been able to deliver yet. If he were to head back this time, his brothers and sister would definitely be a bit worried thus, it was better to send them a message in advance. Lin Rufei sent a letter back in advance. In the letter, he naturally did not mention the matter of Wu Ao and only said that he was homesick for the past few days, wanting to come back to see. When Lin Bianyu and Lin Minzhi received the letter, how could they bear for their younger brother to suffer such distress? The next day, they returned the message and asked Lin Rufei to come back immediately. They said that they had already prepared all his favorite food and that they all missed him. When Lin Rufei received the letter, his eyes were a little moist. He reached out and rubbed and finally rubbed away the dampness in his eyes. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu knew that Lin Rufei was leaving, but he did not know that they were going back to Kunlun. The carriage had been on the road for three days before he noticed that something was wrong and asked Lin Rufei if he was going in the wrong direction. Lin Rufei shook his head and said he hadn¡¯t gone the wrong way, his invitations had been delivered and it was time to go home¡ª¡ªthis was naturally a lie to Gu Xuandu, but Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t know the list of invitations in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand therefore, he was only a little suspicious, ¡°Then why is Xiao Jiu heading back?¡± Lin Rufei smiled: ¡°After the invitations are delivered, aren¡¯t I supposed to head home? Besides, I¡¯ve been out for so long, I¡¯m also a little homesick.¡± Saying that, he observed Gu Xuandu¡¯s situation. Probably because Wu Ao was still nearby and the thing in his hand was suppressing Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul. As a result, Gu Xuandu¡¯s body still showed a translucent appearance that was about to dissipate and the time he appeared next to Lin Rufei was also getting less and less. Lin Rufei had just had his feelings connected with him and this was the time where they acted affectionately, but, Gu Xuandu¡¯s presence was increasingly thin. He was barely able to pull out a smile and joked with Gu Xuandu, saying that when he went back this time, he would have to tell his brothers about Gu Xuandu. Furthermore, to also prepare a dowry and then an eight carriage sedan chair[3] to marry Gu Xuandu into the family. Gu Xuandu listened and laughed, said okay, and that his dowry was also ready. The two talked for a while before Gu Xuandu showed traces of tiredness. Lin Rufei quickly told him to get some rest and although Gu Xuandu was somewhat reluctant, forced by his physical condition, he had to disappear in front of Lin Rufei. Now there was only Lin Rufei in the carriage by himself. He lifted the curtain and looked out of the window for a while, with countless thoughts floating in his mind. Lin Rufei was not a naive person. There must be some reason for Wu Ao having him go back to Kunlun before he was willing to hand over that thing to him. But what this reason was, Lin Rufei also was not able to guess and Wu Ao would also not tell him. Lin Rufei¡¯s mind was heavy and with the rush to hurry on the road, he persisted for more than ten days just like that. Furthermore, after entering the coolness of Autumn, Lin Rufei fell sick just like that. Fu Hua and Yu Rui did not see Lin Rufei all morning. When they knocked on the door and no one answered, they really didn¡¯t have any other methods. They broke down the door and saw their gongzi¡¯s face burning scarlet, lying on the couch unconscious. Seeing such a scene. Fu Hua and Yu Rui were very anxious. One of them took care of Lin Rufei, while the other one hurried to the town to get some medicine prescribed for fever. Lin Rufei was dazed by the fever. He had a wet towel placed on his forehead and barely drank some medicine before he regained some consciousness. He muttered and asked himself what was wrong. Yu Rui was wiping tears on the side, she said, ¡®Gongzi, you¡¯re sick. Let¡¯s not be so anxious to rush, okay? Although I understand that young master wants to go back, if your body suddenly breaks down, wouldn¡¯t second young master be more worried?¡± Lin Rufei looked at the roof beams, sighed, and said, ¡°How did I just get sick.¡± ¡°Young master¡¯s health is already bad along with this rushing, regardless of the time of day or night¡­¡­¡± Yu Rui sobbed. Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°What are you crying for? If the worst comes to worst, we won¡¯t be in such a hurry afterward. I just wanted to go home early.¡± Yu Rui shook her head and replied sadly: ¡°Young master can hide from others, but can you still hide from us two? You obviously have something on your mind¡­¡­¡± For more than ten days, Lin Rufei¡¯s face hardly ever showed a smile, and only occasionally, when talking to himself in the carriage, would it bring him some smile. At first, Yu Rui and Fu Hua were worried that Lin Rufei¡¯s hysteria was getting more serious, but later on, they desperately wished that Lin Rufei would talk to himself more. At least, during the times he talked to himself, Lin Rufei¡¯s tone sounded very relaxed. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t have anything in their heart?¡± Lin Rufei said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just fell ill because I was in such a hurry¡­¡­.¡± Yu Rui still wanted to say something else but was stopped by Fu Hua. Fu Hua patted her shoulder and shook her head, ¡°Do not say anything, young master is still sick, let young master rest first.¡± Fu Hua grabbed Yu Rui and left, very soon, the room was quiet once again. Lin Rufei was a little tired and he slowly closed his eyes halfway. In a trance, it seemed that someone appeared beside his bed and was gently changing the towel. He thought it was Gu Xuandu, but who knew that when he opened his eyes, he actually saw Wu Ao. Lin Rufei reflexively tried to get up from the bed, however, his body had little strength and he fell back down. Instead, Wu Ao took a step back and raised his hands to show that he meant no harm. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lin Rufei frowned at him. ¡°I just saw that you were sick and came in to take a look.¡± Wu Ao¡¯s voice was still hoarse as usual, he stumbled on his words and said, ¡°I won¡¯t, hurt you.¡± Lin Rufei did not believe him and continued to stare at Wu Ao warily. But Wu Ao could not stand Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze and he hissed: ¡°Why do you not believe me? What bad things, have I done?¡± (t/n: the comas are there to show that he is stumbling on his words, not because of my grammar ) Lin Rufei replied, ¡°You stabbed my brother-in-law.¡± Wu Ao said hatefully, ¡°That¡¯s, because, he appeared at, the wrong time.¡± Lin Rufei calmly said, ¡°So you have done bad things.¡± Wu Ao stared. Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Besides, there is also Mo Changshan. Why did you have to dig out his head? Is it bad to let him rest in peace?¡± Wu Ao responded, ¡°Resurrection was originally his wish, I just, helped him realize this wish, that¡¯s all.¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips, only to feel that this Wu Ao was full of crooked reasoning and that he(LRF) really couldn¡¯t communicate clearly with him(WA). Fortunately, Wu Ao also did not intend to continue to entangle with Lin Rufei on this matter, ¡°You get well, don¡¯t be in such a hurry¡­¡­to head home.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Then can you give me Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart in advance?¡± Who knew that when he heard the words ¡°Gu Xuandu,¡± Wu Ao, who had finally calmed down, erupted again. His eyes were red and he almost growled in a roaring tone, ¡°Gu Xuandu, why do you always think about Gu Xuandu? He is obviously the one who hurt you the most¡ª¡ªwhy do you always think about him?¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei was dumbfounded by his yelling, however, he didn¡¯t panic too much. He simply muttered strangely, ¡°If I don¡¯t think of him, do I think of you?¡± Wu Ao froze and then his face turned mostly red. He whispered, ¡°If you want to think of me, it¡¯s, it¡¯s not impossible.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Was there something wrong with this person? Seeing the surprise on Lin Rufei¡¯s face, Wu Ao then returned to his senses and said in a low voice: ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t hurt you, I¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You won¡¯t hurt me?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei continued, ¡°Then why do you want me to go back to Kunlun for?¡± Wu Ao answered, ¡°Don¡¯t you ever wonder why your body is so weak, but the sword intent in your body is so strong?¡± Lin Rufei became curious, ¡°Do you know why?¡± ¡°Of course I know!!!¡± Wu Ao¡¯s expression was fierce, ¡°It¡¯s because someone snatched away something that belonged to you.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What thing?¡± ¡°When we get to Kunlun, Lin gongzi will know!¡± Wu Ao laughed and he was laughing in satisfaction, ¡°I will return what belonged to Lin gongzi, to Lin gongzi. As for that scumbag, Gu Xuandu, I will let Lin gongzi take care of it himself.¡± Lin Rufei pursed his lips and did not say anything. Really as he expected, Kunlun had something that Wu Ao must have and that was why he forced Lin Rufei to go back. When Lin Rufei thought of this, his chest flooded with an itchiness, and involuntarily covered his throat to cough heavily a few times. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. When Wu Ao saw this, he immediately turned around and poured water, handing it over to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei found out that the worry on his face didn¡¯t seem fake and that he really was worried about him. Lin Rufei drank the water, suppressed the itching, and said, ¡°You and I don¡¯t know each other, even if my things were taken away from me, why are you so angry?¡± Wu Ao¡¯s lips wriggled, as if he wanted to say something, but finally, he swallowed the words back down his throat, and just answered in a hateful voice: ¡°I, Wu Ao, just can¡¯t stand to see injustice. Lin gongzi is a good man and naturally, deserves something better.¡± Lin Rufei was silent. When Wu Ao saw that Lin Rufei was no longer coughing, he then turned to leave. With a complicated expression, Lin Rufei stared at his back. He always felt that this matter seemed to be getting more and more complicated. In the evening, Gu Xuandu finally appeared in front of Lin Rufei and his physical appearance had faded a lot. At first glance, it seemed like he was about to disappear and even his voice was indistinct as a feather, making Lin Rufei very worried. ¡°How did senior become this way?¡± Lin Rufei wanted to hold Gu Xuandu¡¯s hand, but his fingers passed through his body and he asked sadly, ¡°Is it because of Wu Ao? I don¡¯t think that Wu Ao is an unreasonable person, why don¡¯t I talk to him and ask him to stay away from you?¡± Gu Xuandu sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but why is Xiao Jiu sick again?¡± He didn¡¯t know that Lin Rufei was in a hurry to return to Kunlun and only thought it was because of the change in weather and the tiring journey. Lin Rufei also had no intention to tell him. He wanted to be close to Gu Xuandu, but Gu Xuandu was like a wandering soul at this time, unable to condense into an entity. Probably because he saw the longing on Lin Rufei¡¯s face, Gu Xuandu sat on the edge of Lin Rufei¡¯s bed and slowly stretched out his fingers to gently stroke the back of Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. His fingertips were even colder than usual, causing some unpleasant thoughts to surface in Lin Rufei¡¯s heart. He tried to hold Gu Xuandu with his opposite hand but found that Gu Xuandu could only touch with his fingers, as if all his strength was gathered in his fingertips. ¡°Senior.¡± Lin Rufei was a little panicked, ¡°You¡¯re not going to disappear, are you?¡± ¡°How can I bear to disappear?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled as his fingers slid across Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks. From his forehead to the bridge of his nose, to his lips, inch by inch, as if he wanted to keep Lin Rufei¡¯s appearance firmly in his mind. Lin Rufei gently bit Gu Xuandu¡¯s fingertips. His eyelashes drooped halfway and his expression was sad. Gu Xuandu, who had never seen Lin Rufei looking like this, spoke up to comfort him and asked, ¡®Xiao Jiu, what¡¯s wrong?¡¯ Lin Rufei licked Gu Xuandu¡¯s finger, feeling that Gu Xuandu¡¯s finger was cold as a piece of ice and that it could not be warmed no matter what he did: ¡°Senior, I am a little worried.¡± ¡°Worried about what? Wu Ao?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Xiao Jiu don¡¯t worry. Although he is indeed very annoying, he will not hurt the innocent. At least¡­¡­he will not be detrimental to Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Then what about senior?¡± Gu Xuandu: ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Will he be detrimental to senior?¡± Gu Xuandu lost his smile: ¡°He would like me to die sooner rather than later.¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°Why exactly did it come to this?¡± Gu Xuandu froze for a moment before answering, ¡°Some things, even if you start over, will not change.¡± Lin Rufei kept quiet. Gu Xuandu¡¯s fingers once again returned to a transparent state and the only part of his body where they could touch each other also disappeared. Lin Rufei was worried about Gu Xuandu, so he told him to go rest, and Gu Xuandu was afraid that Lin Rufei¡¯s condition would worsen, so he urged him a few times before disappearing out of sight. Looking at the empty bed, Lin Rufei tossed and turned but could not sleep. The high fever made his consciousness become a bit chaotic and although he lost the ability to think, he always felt a strong sense of unease floating inside. The sickness came like a landslide. Lin Rufei was sick for three days straight and his fever only faded on the afternoon of the third day. His cheeks, which were already pale, were even more bloodless this time, making his maids very distressed. In these days, Wu Ao was wandering around Lin Rufei¡¯s place, resulting in less and less time for Gu Xuandu to appear. Lin Rufei politely mentioned this matter with Wu Ao, but although Wu Ao agreed, he still refused to leave. The result was that Gu Xuandu was suppressed by the power of the heart and could not appear in front of Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart was concerned and his impression of Wu Ao grew a little worse. However, after these few days together, he found that Wu Ao faced him with a strange ingratiating attitude, which made Lin Rufei very uncomfortable. But Wu Ao was completely unaware of his own problems and couldn¡¯t wait to stick to Lin Rufei¡¯s side every single day. Even if Lin Rufei drove him away, he would find him secretly hiding outside the house around the corner and so on, peeping in his direction. This happened a few more times. Lin Rufei, who was still sick, did not have much energy to fight with him and could only let him do as he pleased. During these three days, Lin Rufei was rarely clear-headed and was mostly in a semi-consciousness. When he was unconscious, many strange images surfaced in his mind and he even saw Gu Xuandu in a red outfit. Gu Xuandu seemed to be roaring and crying at someone since his voice sounded very miserable. Lin Rufei struggled and finally woke up from his dream. His body was covered with cold sweat and he had only recovered slightly before he fell unconscious once again. Lin Rufei¡¯s condition made Fu Hua and Yu Rui extremely anxious. Seeing that Lin Rufei was not recovering at all, they had even intended to go to Kunlun directly to invite Wan Yao over. Fortunately, at this time, Lin Rufei¡¯s fever had finally gone down and his consciousness was gradually clearing up. Only then did Fu Hua and Yu Rui let out this long breath of relief. They made some light food for Lin Rufei and carefully fed him. ¡°If young master still hadn¡¯t recovered, I would have gone to Kunlun with the sword to drag Wan Yao over.¡± Fu Hua chided worriedly, ¡°Although young master has also been sick before, when was it ever as treacherous as this time?¡± Lin Rufei smiled weakly, ¡°It¡¯s not that serious.¡± ¡°Not that serious? You¡¯ve been burning for three days!¡± Fu Hua exclaimed, ¡°I have seen plenty of people who died because the fever burned their brains. If young master¡¯s fever still hadn¡¯t gone down, I don¡¯t know what I would have done¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei comforted warmly, ¡°Alright, stop crying. Haven¡¯t I recovered?¡± ¡°You did recover, but you shouldn¡¯t exhaust yourself again like before.¡± Fu Hua murmured, ¡°We will soon return to Kunlun, if second young master saw young master¡¯s current appearance, he wouldn¡¯t know how to worry.¡± At the mention of his second brother, a smile surfaced on Lin Rufei¡¯s face and he nodded: ¡°Okay.¡± The flesh that Lin Rufei had finally gained on his face, were all gone due to his sudden serious illness and his chin had once again become sharp. It was extraordinarily heartbreaking to see. Most of the time Gu Xuandu appeared in the evening. If Lin Rufei was sleeping, he would watch him in silence and if Lin Rufei was awake, he would chat with him. ¡°Xiao Jiu has finally recovered from his illness.¡± Gu Xuandu said in a warm voice, ¡°If you still haven¡¯t gotten better, I would have been worried to death.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Senior, I had a dream when I was sick.¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°What did you dream about?¡± Lin Rufei trailed off, ¡°I dreamt¡­¡­¡± He was going to say that he dreamt of Gu Xuandu was crying, but when the words came to the tip of his tongue, he took a hard turn and said, ¡°I dreamt that you were wearing a red outfit and smiling at me. ¡° Gu Xuandu arched his eyebrows: ¡°Like this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Rufei moved over and tried to kiss the corner of Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes. However, he passed through his body, and for a while, he was a bit disappointed but still, he forced a smile on his face, ¡°Just like that.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Oh no, I am going to disappear soon. I can only use all my efforts to get a certain area make contact with Xiao Jiu. Lin Rufei: Senior, if you have something to say, then say it, why are you taking off your pants? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Not worry about scarcity, but rather about uneven distribution. (So like THR¡¯s affections were unevenly distributed between the two of them uwu). [2] Another way of referring to his mother. [3] Eight carriage sedan chair: The sedan chair carried by eight people for the big officials in feudal times. Later, it was used to refer to the way of receiving distinguished guests in a grand manner. CH 85 According to their previous calculations, if they continued to hurry through the night and then travel day and night, they would be able to return to the Kunlun territory in about twenty days. Unfortunately, Lin Rufei suddenly fell ill, so the trip was forced to slow down. No matter what Lin Rufei said, Fu Hua and Yu Rui refused to let him continue working hard. In the end, Lin Rufei had no choice but to travel during the day and rest at night, slowing down their journey home. Wu Ao didn¡¯t mind this and only told Lin Rufei to take care of his health. Lin Rufei was thinking of Gu Xuandu in his heart and simply wanted to head back early. So with this traveling and stopping, rushing through the daytime and resting in an inn during the nighttime, finally, they were getting closer to Kunlun. One night, Chi Yu, who had been missing for a while, suddenly appeared. He was still holding the little cub in his mouth. The little cub was much bigger than before, but it still looked excited when it saw Lin Rufei, wanting Lin Rufei to hug it. Lin Rufei had not seen the little kitten cub in ages and also missed it a little. Then he reached out and took the little thing into his arms, rubbing its silky fur. Chi Yu looked Lin Rufei up and down. He narrowed his eyes and questioned critically, ¡°Why have you lost so much weight?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Have I lost weight?¡± ¡°Mnn.¡± Chi Yu said, ¡°Have you been abused?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°I just suddenly got sick for a while¡­¡­¡± Chi Yu, ¡°I¡¯m going to head back.¡± Lin Rufei was stunned, ¡°You¡¯re leaving now?¡± ¡°Mnn, even though it¡¯s still dependent on you, it¡¯s old enough to know that you¡¯re not its real father.¡± Chi Yu yawned. His front paws were on the ground as he lazily stretched his body, ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯d really like to leave him here and forget about it.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a pity, I was going to invite you to have a seat at my place.¡± Chi Yu answered, ¡°Forget it then. Looking at the direction you¡¯re going, it¡¯s getting closer and closer to that Grand Formation. I¡¯m a demon, I wouldn¡¯t dare to go further.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Grand Formation? Are you saying that the¡­¡­Yaoguang Grand Formation laid by the Heavenly Ruler is on Kunlun?¡± He seemed to realize something and opened his eyes wide in a tentative manner. ¡°Yes.¡± Chi Yu looked at Lin Rufei strangely, ¡°You didn¡¯t even know about this?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± Lin Rufei shook his head, ¡°The people only know that the Grand Formation was on the Yaoguang Continent. However, they do not know exactly where it is, perhaps to prevent people from destroying it¡­¡­¡± The formation was only effective against the demons and the closer the demons were to it, the stronger the effect. So the only ones who could destroy the formation were humans. Because of this, the Heavenly Ruler had never announced where the formation was located. Chi Yu said, ¡°Alright. Then, I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Lin Rufei called out, ¡°I still owe you a request, aren¡¯t you going to say it now?¡± Chi Yu cocked his head, ¡°I have nothing to ask of you now. I¡¯ll keep it for now in case you become a great character later on.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°What if I die later?¡± Chi Yu gave Lin Rufei a blank look, ¡°Then consider it a loss for me.¡± He jumped into Lin Rufei¡¯s arms and took the reluctant little cub into his mouth, then jumped up to the window with his tail wagging. The little cub¡¯s eyes fell onto Lin Rufei¡¯s body from the beginning until the end and the reluctance in them was very obvious. It seemed that even if it had its own consciousness, it would still have a special attachment to the first person it sees after coming out of its shell. ¡°Remember to stay alive.¡± Before leaving, Chi Yu did not forget to advise Lin Rufei, ¡°Look how skinny you are getting, tsk, I always feel like I¡¯m going to suffer a loss.¡± Lin Rufei just smiled and waved his hand at him, ¡°Be safe.¡± Chi Yu humphed, turned his head, and jumped out of the window. He had just gone out when Fu Hua and Yu Rui came in, holding hot soup for Lin Rufei. Puzzled, she asked: ¡°I heard Chi Yu¡¯s voice just now, is he back?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Just left, said he was going back to the demon world.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Fu Hua and Yu Rui both showed a depressed look, ¡°He left just like that? I haven¡¯t said goodbye to him yet.¡± The two people have completely treated Chi Yu as a cute big cat, rubbing his hair every day and catching feelings from it. Now when they heard that Chi Yu was going back to the demon world, they couldn¡¯t help but feel some regret. Who knew that just as the two people finished talking, Chi Yu, who had originally left, stuck out his head from outside. Then, with a coarse voice, he meowed. When Lin Rufei looked at this scene, he almost laughed out loud. The final result was that Chi Yu enjoyed another half an hour of Fu Hua and Yu Rui rubbing his fur before leaving reluctantly, saying that he did not know if he would have the opportunity to meet such lovely little girls again. Lin Rufei said, ¡®go, go. Even if you take a few more looks, I won¡¯t give the little girls to you.¡¯ Chi Yu humphed. Holding his son in his mouth, he tilted his head and walked away. Lin Rufei looked at his back and the smile on his face gradually faded. Then he asked Fu Hua how far they still were from Kunlun. ¡°Seven or eight days away.¡± Fu Hua replied worriedly, ¡°Young master, why do you have to go back in such a hurry? Second young master will be distressed when he sees you in this state.¡± In just a dozen days, Lin Rufei had lost quite some weight. At first, it seemed like it was a cold caused by the strain of the long journey, but with Fu Hua¡¯s understanding of Lin Rufei over the years, she always felt that her young master was hiding something in his heart. However, no matter how much they asked, Lin Rufei refused to talk about the matter. ¡°I¡¯m just a little homesick.¡± Lin Rufei smiled. Fu Hua wanted to say something, but finally swallowed her words and exhaled a sigh. Lin Rufei was left alone in the room once again. He sat by the window, looking out at the scenery and thinking about what Chi Yu had said to him just now. It was the first time he knew that the Yaoguang Grand Formation was located near Kunlun, but where exactly it was, was still a mystery. Furthermore, what does this Grand Formation have to do with Wu Ao¡¯s request for him to return to Kunlun? Lin Rufei was a little distracted. He started coughing hard and his thin shoulders shook uncontrollably, like a thin candle trembling in the wind. A cup of water was handed to him. Lin Rufei originally thought it was Gu Xuandu and was about to show a smile, but when he turned his head, he noticed that it was Wu Ao. ¡°Cough, cough. You, why are you here?¡± Lin Rufei said with difficulty, covering his mouth. ¡°Drink some water first, Lin gongzi.¡± Wu Ao responded. Lin Rufei frowned. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Seeing that Lin Rufei did not reach out, Wu Ao still persisted in passing the water to Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei forced the itch down and said, ¡°I have promised you to go back to Kunlun, can¡¯t you stay away from me?¡± As long as he was nearby, Gu Xuandu would be suppressed by the heart and could not manifest at all. Who knew that when Wu Ao heard this, he actually showed a hurt expression. Clenching his teeth, he replied in a low voice, ¡°Lin gongzi, that Gu Xuandu really isn¡¯t a good thing.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°You¡¯ve already said that many times.¡± ¡°But you never took my words to heart!¡± Wu Ao exclaimed angrily. Lin Rufei looked at him and there wasn¡¯t any expression on his face. Wu Ao gritted his teeth. His eyes were red with hatred as he said, ¡°Lin gongzi, you might not know, but back then the Heavenly Ruler wasn¡¯t necessarily going to fall. It¡¯s all because of that Gu Xuandu, it¡¯s all because of that Gu Xuandu¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Because of him?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all his fault.¡± Wu Ao gnashed his teeth. ¡°Why would it be his fault?¡± Lin Rufei wondered. Wu Ao said: ¡°Although the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s physical body fell, his soul was still alive, and that Gu Xuandu took the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul. Originally, if the soul was handed over to me, I could have brought the Heavenly Ruler back to life, but he refused to do so. I have long known that he harbored evil intentions, but I did not expect¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei froze in his tracks: ¡°You mean the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul is still with Gu Xuandu?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Naturally.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What happened afterward?¡± Wu Ao trailed off, ¡°Afterward¡­¡­¡± He took a glance at Lin Rufei and his tone turned cold, ¡°Afterward, in order to ascend, Gu Xuandu used the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul to resist the heavenly tribulation and the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul flew away¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei froze in place. He did not know if what Wu Ao said was true or not, but thought that at least some degrees of it were true. Now that he was remembering the time he spent with Gu Xuandu, from Gu Xuandu¡¯s words, it seemed that he would always mention an old friend that he had spent a lot of time with. He just didn¡¯t know if that old friend was the Heavenly Ruler that Wu Ao had mentioned. ¡°That¡¯s why Lin gongzi, you shouldn¡¯t trust him anymore, okay?¡± Wu Ao came up to Lin Rufei. That smile on his face was humble and incomparable, with a taste of ingratiation, ¡°Isn¡¯t Lin gongzi physically weak? As long as you believe in me, I can definitely give you a healthy body. And when the time comes, with the strong sword intent in your body, you will be the most powerful person in the world.¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Exactly, you haven¡¯t said why you wanted to help me?¡± Wu Ao smiled, ¡°Because, helping Lin Rufei can make Gu Xuandu unhappy, ah. As long as he is unhappy, I will be happy.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°I understand, you can go now.¡± Wu Ao froze. Lin Rufei continued, ¡°I¡¯m a little tired.¡± Hearing that Lin Rufei was tired, Wu Ao did not insist any further and turned around, leaving through the window. After Lin Rufei had listened to Wu Ao, he called Gu Xuandu¡¯s name softly. However, no matter how much he had called out to him, Gu Xuandu did not appear. Lin Rufei was a bit disappointed but reluctantly kept up his spirit as he joked with himself, ¡°It seems that Fu Hua and Yu Rui finally don¡¯t have to worry anymore, this hysteria is almost cured¡­..¡± And then he turned his head and noticed the water on the table that was left by Wu Ao. Lin Rufei raised his hand and picked up the cup. He sipped half a mouthful and felt that the intolerable itch in the throat had calmed down a lot. A long journey was always exhausting. Even though Fu Hua stuffed the carriage with soft bedding, it was still bumpy, thus Lin Rufei spent a few more drowsy days before finally arriving at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. When he had left this place, it was still Spring with the grass and flowers flourishing. However, when he came back, it was already late Autumn. The grass withered and the leaves on the trees all turned into a dusky yellow. Fortunately, the branches were hanging with fruit. When Lin Rufei passed by the town, he saw a persimmon tree whose branches were bent by the plentiful fruits. Fu Hua also saw it and asked Lin Rufei with a smile if he wanted to try one. Lin Rufei nodded and said he would like to try one. Then with a leap, Fu Hua passed over the treetops and came back with a few more ripe persimmons in her arms. Peeling off the thin skin, there was rich flesh. Lin Rufei took a bite and curled the corners of his mouth: ¡°It¡¯s so sweet.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s so sweet.¡± Yu Rui grinned contentedly, ¡°Finally, I¡¯m back. The corn candy outside always seems to taste not quite right.¡± Fu Hua smiled and joked, ¡°Not quite right? Weren¡¯t you looking quite happy when eating He Wanxiang¡¯s corn candy? You even ruined your teeth.¡± Yu Rui pouted, ¡°Sister Fu Hua is really annoying!¡± Fu Hua flicked her forehead: ¡°Give me back the persimmon if you think I¡¯m annoying.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Yu Rui humphed. When they arrived at home, Lin Rufei¡¯s mood was much more comfortable and they would just so happened pass by the cherry blossom grove at the bottom of the mountain. Lin Rufei also missed this cherry blossom grove a little, after all, it was where he met Gu Xuandu. Although now it was Autumn and the cherry blossoms were gone, there should be some ripe fruits in their place. He just didn¡¯t know if the fruits this year would be sweet or not¡­¡­. As he thought of this, Lin Rufei suddenly heard Fu Hua let out a shriek from outside the carriage, ¡°How could this be¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The cherry, cherry blossom forest¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua uttered, ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡± Lin Rufei froze for a moment and then hastily lifted the carriage curtain to look out of the window. When he saw the view clearly outside, it was like he was struck by lightning as his whole person was glued in place. He only saw that the cherry blossom forest, which had stretched for more than ten miles, had all been turned into charred black ashes, with not a single cherry blossom tree in sight and only scorched soil remaining. ¡°How did the cherry blossom forest get burned down?¡± Yu Rui also saw the scene outside and panicked, ¡°Was it a fire?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Fu Hua shook her head, ¡°Let¡¯s¡­¡­go back first. Such a big thing¡­¡­¡± As she said this, she cast a worried glance at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei, however, didn¡¯t utter a single word and simply looked silently at the scorched cherry blossom forest in front of him. And only after a long time did he softly say: ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± The good mood they had just from arriving home all disappeared because of this scene. On their way back, the atmosphere in the carriage was stiff as hell. Although Yu Rui reluctantly said something funny to ease Lin Rufei¡¯s mood, Lin Rufei could not laugh aloud. He leaned against the corner of the carriage with his eyes closed, unwilling to speak. Yu Rui could only stop talking and look at Fu Hua in a panic. Before they came back this time, Lin Bianyu had instructed them to say in advance when they arrived at the foot of the mountain. But with the idea of surprising Lin Bianyu and the others, they did not reveal their whereabouts. Previously, Fu Hua had thought it was a bit strange. Only when she saw that Lin Rufei¡¯s favorite cherry blossom forest had become like this did she realize Lin Bianyu¡¯s good intentions. It turned out that Lin Bianyu was only worried about his brother¡¯s sadness so he thought that if he came to pick them up, he would be able to hide this matter. However, it was too late now to say anything. Lin Rufei had seen the cherry blossom forest¡¯s miserable appearance¡­¡­ On their way back to the Kunlun Sect, Fu Hua hurriedly sent news to Lin Bianyu telling him that they had returned. Following the winding mountain road all the way to the mountain gate, they saw Lin Bianyu waiting at the entrance in advance as expected. When he saw Lin Rufei¡¯s carriage, a smile immediately surfaced on his face as he called out: ¡°Xiao Jiu!¡± When Lin Rufei heard his second brother¡¯s voice from inside the carriage, the sadness on his face dispersed a lot. He lifted the curtain and smiled, ¡°Second brother!¡± After the carriage stopped, Lin Rufei jumped out of the carriage. When Lin Bianyu saw him, he looked at him carefully, and frowned: ¡°How come you have lost weight.¡± Lin Rufei coughed twice: ¡°I was in too much of a hurry to come back and got sick from exhaustion.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Why were you in such a hurry?¡± Lin Bianyu asked, ¡°I told you to tell me in advance when you have returned, how come you only told me when you arrived at the mountain gate?¡± As he said this, he gave Fu Hua and Yu Rui a condemning glare. ¡°Second brother, don¡¯t blame them. I was the one who told them not to tell you.¡± Lin Rufei carried a smile without revealing much of anything, ¡°I wanted to give you a surprise¡­¡­¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°The fact that you are back is the biggest surprise.¡± He then continued, ¡°Let¡¯s go, a banquet has been prepared. We¡¯re waiting for you to come back.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Where is big brother?¡± Lin Bianyu sighed, ¡°These few days, something has happened in the Kunlun Sect so he is busy. No need to worry about him, when it¡¯s time to eat, he should be back.¡± As the two of them were talking and heading inside, Lin Bianyu asked Lin Rufei about the people and things he had met along the way. But of course, the focus was on whether anyone had bullied Lin Rufei and if there was someone, he would definitely help Lin Rufei get back at them. When Lin Rufei heard this, he simply laughed and told his second brother not to worry. Although he wasn¡¯t bullied, he did end up bullying a few people. However, Lin Bianyu looked at Lin Rufei and suddenly said, ¡°If Xiao Jiu doesn¡¯t want to laugh, then don¡¯t laugh anymore.¡± Lin Rufei froze. ¡°It¡¯s second brother¡¯s fault for not protecting that cherry blossom forest under the mountain.¡± In the end, it was impossible to avoid this topic and Lin Bianyu¡¯s mood also looked a bit low, ¡°That day, I happened to have some matter to take care of and had to leave Kunlun. By the time I heard the news and came back, that cherry blossom forest had been mostly burned down¡­¡­.¡± Lin Rufei uttered, ¡°How could it be¡­¡­burned?¡­¡­¡± ¡°It was someone who deliberately set the fire.¡± Lin Bianyu clenched his teeth, ¡°The fire was also a spiritual fire that could not be extinguished by ordinary water so the mortals in town could not do anything. By the time Kunlun got the news, there was not much left of the cherry blossom forest¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°And the group of monkeys?¡± He remembered the golden one; the Monkey King who liked to tease him. Lin Bianyu sighed, ¡°The monkeys are fine. They were smart and ran away before the fire spread. They probably went to the other peaks now. Only the cherry blossom forest is gone so they probably will not come back¡­¡­¡± He looked at Lin Rufei sadly, ¡°Xiao Jiu, sorry.¡± Lin Rufei reluctantly let out a smile, ¡°The fire was not set by second brother, so what is second brother apologizing for?¡± He then forced himself to cheer up, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. Second brother, quickly tell me what interesting things have happened on Kunlun these days.¡± Lin Bianyu then talked about some interesting things that had been going on and finally, the atmosphere was not as stiff as it was a while ago. The family banquet was very sumptuous and the dishes were all Lin Rufei¡¯s favorites. Wan Yao also came by and carefully checked Lin Rufei¡¯s body. Although he said that he had lost some weight, in the end, he was healthier than before. He told Lin Bianyu not to worry and that he would be fine after being prescribed some tonic medicine to recuperate. Lin Rufei¡¯s appetite was not good. However, he was afraid of spoiling his family¡¯s mood so he tried his best to stuff his mouth with things. But Lin Bianyu could see that. Sighing, he stroked his head and said that if Xiao Jiu doesn¡¯t want to eat, then he doesn¡¯t have to. Lin Minzhi frowned and asked who had bullied Xiao Jiu and why he didn¡¯t look too happy. ¡°It¡¯s all because of that arsonist bastard.¡± Lin Bianyu said through clenched teeth, ¡°If I catch him, I¡¯ll skin him alive!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that person is not simple either. I just don¡¯t know why he came to set the fire.¡± Lin Minzhi said unhappily, ¡°There isn¡¯t anything valuable in the cherry blossom forest, it¡¯s really inexplicable. I don¡¯t know what to make of it.¡± Lin Bianyu also nodded his head. After the meal, Lin Bianyu was afraid that Lin Rufei would be tired and hurriedly told him to go back and rest. After a long time, Lin Rufei returned to his small courtyard and saw the slender cherry blossom tree planted in the courtyard. He walked up to the cherry blossom tree, gently stroked its branches, and called out to his senior. However, Gu Xuandu still did not appear. It was as if his existence was just because Lin Rufei had hysteria and now that the hysteria was cured, he could no longer be seen. The cherry blossom forest was gone, but there was still this single seedling left. Only after Lin Rufei watered the tree did he then go back to the room to rest. Although they didn¡¯t know that Lin Rufei was coming back today, the courtyard was still very clean and he could tell that someone had been taking care of it for a long time. There was not a single weed in the courtyard and not a trace of dust could be felt on the furniture, simply as if Lin Rufei had never left the place. After late Autumn, the weather turned cooler and the wind during the night was a bit strong. Lin Rufei could not sleep, so he sat by the window and stared. From his position, with a glance out, he could see the tiny cherry blossom tree trembling in the wind, shaking its slender branches, looking extraordinarily pitiful. Lin Rufei called out, ¡°Wu Ao.¡± He didn¡¯t know if Wu Ao was near him, but he thought that he wouldn¡¯t be too far away. After he called out to Wu Ao, sure enough, a black figure appeared in his courtyard and it replied, ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± His voice was a bit surprised, as if he didn¡¯t expect Lin Rufei to call him by his name. ¡°I have arrived at Kunlun.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Where is your promise?¡± Wu Ao replied, ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t be in a hurry. When my business is finished, the thing will naturally be handed over to you.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t go back on your word.¡± ¡°Naturally, I won¡¯t go back on my word.¡± Wu Ao did not expect Lin Rufei to talk about this matter so he was a bit disappointed, ¡°That thing is just a piece of junk to me, it is useless for me to keep it.¡± Lin Rufei gave a hum. Wu Ao asked, ¡°Does Lin gongzi have anything else to say?¡± Lin Rufei raised his eyes to look at him. Wu Ao was standing in the darkness and his face could not be seen very well, but Lin Rufei could still hear the hint of expectation in his tone. So what exactly was he expecting? Some doubts surfaced in Lin Rufei¡¯s mind: ¡°Wu Ao, have we known each other before?¡± Wu Ao whispered, ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei wondered, ¡°Then do you hate me?¡± Wu Ao exclaimed, ¡°Of course not.¡± Lin Rufei, ¡°Did you burn down the cherry blossom forest at the foot of the mountain?¡± Wu Ao was silent. Lin Rufei said, ¡°You burned it, didn¡¯t you?¡± Wu Ao answered, ¡°Yes, I burned it.¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly. He wanted to say something to him but felt as if there was no point in saying it. This Wu Ao¡¯s strength was a mystery. Even following him up the mountain, Lin Bianyu, who was at the eighth level of cultivation, did not discover his existence. If such a person wanted to burn down a cherry blossom forest, it was a very simple matter and he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Wu Ao asked, ¡°Does Lin gongzi blame me?¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°So what if I blame you? You think it¡¯s possible for me to beat you up?¡± He waved his hand with little interest, ¡°You can go.¡± Wu Ao continued, ¡°Lin gongzi summoned me here, just to ask this?¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Otherwise?¡± Wu Ao sighed lightly, ¡°Lin Gongzi, it¡¯s just a cherry blossom forest, why are you so upset? If you like it, I will plant another hundred miles of cherry blossom trees¡­¡­for you as compensation, okay?¡± Lin Rufei lost his smile: ¡°No need.¡± He got up and without waiting for Wu Ao¡¯s reply, he closed his window. Wu Ao watched Lin Rufei¡¯s movements and continued to stand still, as if he was a petrified sculpture. Lin Rufei had no intention of caring about him and went back to bed alone. He closed his eyes halfway in order to take a nap, however, in his half-asleep and half-awake state, he seemed to have seen Gu Xuandu, who had not shown himself in a few days. But Gu Xuandu¡¯s figure had faded a lot compared to the previous days and at first, it looked like only a thin shadow was left. Lin Rufei¡¯s heart tightened and he woke up from his shallow sleep. However, after he woke up, he looked around but Gu Xuandu was nowhere to be seen. Then he looked up and saw Wu Ao¡¯s vague figure through the window¡­¡­still standing outside. He hadn¡¯t left yet? Lin Rufei thought. How come he looked so sad? Obviously, with the cherry blossom forest burned down, the one who should be sad should be himself. So how come this Wu Ao also felt a bit pitiful? ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Xiao Jiu, he bullied me and set my house on fire. Lin Rufei: Motherf*cker¡ª¡ª Wu Ao lighting up a torch: FFFFFFF[1] I will burn you guys, this pair of dog couple[2]! ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] According to Baidu: FFFFFFF means to ¡°burn heterosexuals¡± (in this case, it can be interpreted as men without girlfriends against men with girlfriends.) ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ Please correct me if I am wrong. [2] Kind of derogatory. Anyways, although I wrote ¡°couple,¡± the direct translation was ¡°Dog male male,¡± so it refers to a gay couple. CH 86 That night, Lin Rufei did not sleep too well. The next day, the fever that had been suppressed came back and this time it was Lin Bianyu and his other sibling¡¯s turn to worry about him. Wan Yao came several times to check him out and after a careful examination, he frowned and said that Lin Rufei was sick because he was overly worried. After hearing this, Lin Bianyu asked who had upset Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei shook his head and didn¡¯t answer him. Originally, Lin Bianyu had wanted to continue asking questions, however, he was dragged out of the room by Wan Yao. Outside, he instructed him that if Lin Rufei didn¡¯t want to say, then don¡¯t force him. Lin Rufei originally got sick because of his bad mood, if he continued to force him, it would probably aggravate his condition. Since the doctor already said so, Lin Bianyu had no choice but to give up. Although Lin Rufei was sick, he was always thinking about Gu Xuandu¡¯s matter and did not have the heart to recuperate. At first, Wu Ao was planning to let Lin Rufei get well and then continue with the next matter, but Lin Rufei refused after knowing his intention. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I will get well, so I don¡¯t want to wait any longer.¡± Lin Rufei coughed lowly as he said so. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to wait a bit longer?¡± Wu Ao asked. ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°What exactly do you want to do, tell me frankly.¡± Wu Ao sighed, ¡°Then I will come to you tonight.¡± After saying that, he turned around and left. Come to look for him tonight? Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know what this Wu Ao wanted to do, but he didn¡¯t think it was something pleasant. He sat on the bed and pondered over this for a moment. His hand gently stroked Gu Yu on the side of his waist, as if this could make his heart settle down. After nightfall, Wu Ao came to look for Lin Rufei as promised. Originally, Lin Rufei was a little worried about whether he would be able to come in, after all, because he was sick these few days, Lin Bianyu was worried about his health and had been staying in his courtyard. However, Wu Ao easily bypassed Lin Bianyu and snuck into his room. Since Wu Ao was able to do this, that meant that his cultivation was certainly higher than Lin Bianyu¡¯s and not just by a little bit. When Lin Rufei realized this, he also extinguished the idea of telling Lin Bianyu. As Gu Xuandu had said, Wu Ao had no inhibitions when it came to doing things, and only in the face of Lin Rufei, would he show a bit of helplessness. Although he didn¡¯t know the reason, in the end, Lin Rufei was not willing to also involve his second brother. Wu Ao said a ¡°forgive me¡± before he grasped Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist. He seemed a little embarrassed since a few smears of red appeared on his cheeks. Lin Rufei was busy thinking about other things so he did not notice Wu Ao¡¯s strange appearance. After Wu Ao grabbed him, he then took off and flew away with his sword. This was the first time Lin Rufei saw Wu Ao¡¯s sword blade and it was quite different from ordinary swords. The blade was black and slender like a willow leaf and the black snake, which was previously coiled around Wu Ao, was excited after seeing Lin Rufei. Probably because he was afraid that Lin Rufei wouldn¡¯t like it, Wu Ao reached out and stuffed the long snake into his bosom, reprimanded it a few times, and did not even allow it to show its head. The two of them followed the Kunlun Mountains all the way up and flew over a dozen tall and lofty mountain tops. Kunlun was very big and the mountains were continuous. Because it was late Autumn, many of the trees on the mountains had turned a dazzling golden color. At first glance, it looked as if they were magnificent blankets, giving the onlookers a spectacular sight. Although it was already dark, the moon tonight was large, bright, and shining, illuminating the surroundings like daylight. ¡°How much longer?¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Where exactly are you taking me?¡± ¡°When we arrive, you¡¯ll know.¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Can¡¯t travel too fast, it¡¯s windy and you¡¯re still sick.¡± Lin Rufei frowned slightly, only to feel that this Wu Ao was simply a combination of contradictions. Wu Ao apparently did not care about Lin Rufei¡¯s opinion at this time, he was now focused on rushing and his expression was slightly gloomy. He didn¡¯t know how long they had traveled on the sword, but just when Lin Rufei was sleepy and yawned, Wu Ao finally stopped. ¡°The Kunlun Mountains are continuous, it is a good dragon vein[1].¡± Wu Ao pointed to their feet, ¡°Here, is where ten thousand dragons converge and where the most abundant spiritual energy lies. It is suitable for, laying, a grand formation.¡± He finished these words with difficulty and turned his head to look at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What are you trying to do by bringing me to the Kunlun Grand Formation?¡± Wu Ao smiled charmingly and said something Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t understand: ¡°Want to, once again, see him.¡± He flew down with Lin Rufei, weaving through the dense woods, and before long, a heavy stone door appeared in front of Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes. That heavy stone door was so tall that it seemed to have appeared in the forest out of thin air, and at first, it looked a bit abrupt and strange. Wu Ao was not surprised at all. He walked up, reached out, and carefully touched the stone door, as if looking for something. Lin Rufei stood behind him and watched his actions carefully before frowning slightly, ¡°Exactly what the hell are you doing?¡± Wu Ao asked instead of answering, ¡°Lin gongzi, do you know when the Kunlun Sect was created?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°A few hundred years ago?¡± ¡°Yes, a few hundred years ago.¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Kunlun is located at the junction of two continents, where strong demonic beasts are rampant. It is a place where humans simply can not live. And only after the Grand Formation was laid down did the people gradually flourish¡­¡­Kunlun Sect was also formed around that time.¡± He turned his head to look at Lin Rufei, ¡°The rest of the people do not know where the Grand Formation is. And only the Sect Leader knows why the Kunlun Sect was settled on Kunlun.¡± Kunlun was remote and lacking in materials, so it was indeed not a good place to settle down at. But Lin Rufei had never thought that the Kunlun Sect was actually somewhat related to the formation laid down by the Heavenly Ruler. As Wu Ao said this, his eyes gazing around brightened up. It seemed that he had finally found what he was looking for. With a fierce force from his hands, the stone door issued a booming sound, and then a blood-red formation surfaced on top of the stone door. Wu Ao turned around and said to Lin Rufei, ¡°Lin gongzi, come here.¡± Lin Rufei hesitantly stepped forward. Wu Ao instructed, ¡°Put your hand on it.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°I can put my hand on it, but first you must hand over Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart.¡± Wu Ao froze, then exclaimed angrily: ¡°You, how come you¡¯re still thinking about him even at this time?!¡± Lin Rufei did not care about Wu Ao¡¯s anger. He coughed twice and then calmly said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this what we agreed upon? Since I¡¯m already here, do you still think that I will back out? Besides, no one knows what would happen if I placed my hand on it. In case I die like this, what if you renege?¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Wu Ao¡¯s expression was gloomy. After listening to Lin Rufei¡¯s words, he finally did not refute. He took out a vermillion wooden box from his bosom and opened it to reveal what was inside. It was indeed a complete heart, and the most incredible thing was that the heart was still beating hard. Lin Rufei reached out and took it, gazing at it carefully. Wu Ao said, ¡°Now, that¡¯s okay, right?¡± ¡°Mn.¡± Lin Rufei called out, ¡°Senior, are you there?¡± No one answered. Lin Rufei was a little disappointed. Just when he thought Gu Xuandu was not there, Gu Xuandu¡¯s soft voice suddenly sounded beside him. Although it was faint, as if it was going to disappear, Lin Rufei clearly heard it: ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Lin Rufei was surprised, ¡°Senior!¡± He excitedly opened the box and handed over the heart in his hand, ¡°Your heart, it¡¯s found. Are you able to retrieve it?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± After disappearing for a long time, he finally revealed himself in front of Lin Rufei once again. Lin Rufei saw his translucent hand covering the beating blood-red heart, and with a slight force, he squeezed the heart into his hand. The next moment, the red on the beating heart began to pulsate towards Gu Xuandu¡¯s body, filling his flesh and blood with great speed. However, the moment when Gu Xuandu¡¯s flesh and blood reconstructed to reveal his body, Wu Ao, who had been quietly standing on the side, unsheathed his sword and stabbed at Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu seemed to have expected it, and at the same time, he pulled out Shuang Jiang from the side of his waist. The two blades then met with a clear crisp sound. ¡°Long time no see, Gu Xuandu.¡± Wu Ao gritted his teeth and his voice seemed to bleed with hatred. ¡°Long time no see.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice was also cold, ¡°You¡¯re not dead yet?¡± ¡°Dead? Even if you die, I won¡¯t die.¡± The next moment, Wu Ao suddenly withdrew his sword blade and looked at Lin Rufei with a smile, ¡°Lin gongzi, what I promised you, I have done, now please.¡± He rushed towards the stone door and made a gesture of invitation to Lin Rufei. ¡°Xiao Jiu, don¡¯t go!¡± Gu Xuandu wanted to step forward to stop him but was stopped by Wu Ao¡¯s reaching hand. Lin Rufei smiled bitterly, ¡°Senior, although I don¡¯t want to go either, can you beat him?¡± Gu Xuandu frowned. His body had just recovered so he was still very weak so naturally, he wasn¡¯t able to beat Wu Ao. He wanted to say something, but Wu Ao interrupted him in a cold voice, ¡°Gu Xuandu, if you dare to say another word, I will dig out your heart again¡ª¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu clenched his teeth, ¡°Wu Ao, stop being crazy!!¡± ¡°Crazy?¡± Wu Ao laughed loudly at his words and retorted in a hateful voice, ¡°If I were to go crazy, I should have gone crazy a hundred years ago. Gu Xuandu, you deceitful thing! You who have betrayed our master and extinguished the ancestors, who are you to call me crazy?¡± Gu Xuandu gave him a cold look, ¡°I know what you are going to do and you will regret it.¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Regret? Hehe¡­¡­how could I regret it?¡± ¡°You will definitely regret it.¡± Gu Xuandu closed his eyes, ¡°What kind of person is he, do you still not understand? If I couldn¡¯t keep him, you wouldn¡¯t be able to either.¡± Wu Ao exclaimed, ¡°Shut up, shut up, shut up!!¡± He didn¡¯t know how Gu Xuandu¡¯s words irritated Wu Ao, but he shouted ¡°shut up¡± three times in a row with his increasingly loud voice. Then he turned his head to look at Lin Rufei again and hissed, ¡°Lin gongzi, go, go, go and put your hand on¡ª¡ªyou promised me.¡± Lin Rufei didn¡¯t have any other choice and could only obey Wu Ao¡¯s words. He stepped forward and hesitantly pressed his hand on the formation. Who knew that as soon as he pressed his hand on it, he felt a huge suction hit him. The formation seemed like a bottomless black hole, greedily sucking up the raging sword intent in his body. ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± Luckily, this process was very short. Before Lin Rufei could fully react, he was drained of his strength and his body was about to fall softly to the ground. When Gu Xuandu saw this scene, he wanted to come over to catch Lin Rufei. However, he was stopped by Wu Ao, who caught Lin Rufei¡¯s body that had lost its strength and said coldly, ¡°Stay away from him!¡± Gu Xuandu laughed in anger, ¡°Are you qualified to say that?¡± Wu Ao replied, ¡°Why am I not qualified? Do you think everyone is like you, harboring that dirty thought of deceiving the master and destroying the ancestor?!¡± Gu Xuandu crossed his arms against his chest: ¡°No matter how dirty it was, he still liked it.¡± Wu Ao yelled, ¡°It¡¯s because you forced him!¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°How do you know that I forced him?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Otherwise, why else would he agree?!¡± Gu Xuandu spread his hands: ¡°The phrase ¡®two lovers in love¡¯ is not difficult to understand, right?¡± Wu Ao still wanted to sneer back, but the dusty century-old stone door behind him made a loud sound, and then slowly opened up. Under the bright moonlight, countless dust danced around and the air circulating inside emitted an aura of decay. Wu Ao hugged Lin Rufei before heading inside and Gu Xuandu could only follow behind: ¡°Wu Ao, you really are crazy.¡± Wu Aoi didn¡¯t bother with him. After entering the stone door, there was a wide avenue with many intricate patterns of stone slabs on both sides. After Gu Xuandu and Wu Ao came in, they did not speak again, as if they were afraid of disturbing something. Lin Rufei, who was being held by Wu Ao, felt Gu Xuandu¡¯s gaze on him from time to time and he could feel that this gaze contained anxiety and anger. It seemed that if he was in a position to defeat Wu Ao, he probably would have made his move by now. The avenue was very long and as the three of them walked slowly, they felt as if they had walked for an eternity. Lin Rufei closed his eyes halfway. He was muddled and did not understand exactly where they were going. Just when he felt like he was about to pass out, Wu Ao¡¯s footsteps finally stopped. Gu Xuandu also stopped next to him and at the same time, both of their eyes fell onto a stone house at the end of the avenue. The stone house was very large and there were also formations painted on all four walls. The most striking thing within this stone house was a large stone coffin in the center of it all. ¡°Is he in there?¡± Wu Ao asked in a soft voice. Rather than asking Gu Xuandu, it was more like he was talking to himself. Gu Xuandu also did not answer. As the two stared at the stone coffin, time seemed to have froze. No one knew how long it took before Gu Xuandu finally let out a long breath, ¡°Do you really want to do it? Even if it goes against his last wish, even if it will make him feel pain, you still want to do it?¡± ¡°Why would he feel pain?¡± Wu Ao looked at Gu Xuandu strangely, ¡°I¡¯m saving him? Shouldn¡¯t he be happy?¡± Gu Xuandu sneered, ¡°That¡¯s probably the reason why he likes me and not you.¡± ¡°Bullsh*t!!¡± Wu Ao yelled angrily, ¡°He likes you? If you hadn¡¯t taken advantage of him in the first place, how could he have liked you?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°I took advantage of someone?¡± He gave Lin Rufei a careless glance and gave a strained smile, ¡°Although it¡¯s not quite appropriate for me to say this, but now I think I should tell you that we had already confirmed our relationship before he set up the Grand Formation.¡± Wu Ao yelled, ¡°Impossible!¡± Gu Xuandu sighed, ¡°Whether you believe it or not, is up to you.¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°If you confirmed your relationship with him, why didn¡¯t you stop him in the first place?¡± ¡°Do you think I didn¡¯t try stopping him?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s voice was soft that he even snorted, yet anyone could hear the pain in his tone that could not be suppressed, ¡°I almost used my life to stop him, but he did not listen so what could I do?¡± Lin Rufei listened to the conversation between Wu Ao and Gu Xuandu and fell into silence. He had been suffering from a low fever before this and now that he was drained of the sword intent in his body, he just felt that it was so difficult to breathe. However, Gu Xuandu¡¯s words still caused a shallow pain to float in his chest and he thought of what Wu Min had said. Wu Min said that he was somewhat similar to the Heavenly Ruler; could it be that the reason Gu Xuandu found him was really because of this? They hadn¡¯t even known each other for a year, but this kind of feeling looked so thin in front of the memories that have been entangled for a hundred years. Lin Rufei wanted to ask Gu Xuandu some questions, but the words turned into a slight sigh. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I know I can¡¯t stop you. However, since you have already made up your mind, can I have a few more words with him?¡± Naturally, he was referring to Lin Rufei. Wu Ao stared at Gu Xuandu suspiciously, ¡°What are you up to again?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I can¡¯t beat you so what else can I do? I just want to say a few words to him to calm him down.¡± Wu Ao hesitated for a moment but still agreed. He told Gu Xuandu not to make trouble, otherwise, he would not be soft against him. Gu Xuandu only laughed at his words and said, ¡®Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re afraid that when he wakes up he will blame you, that¡¯s why you¡¯re being soft right now?¡¯ Wu Ao coldly let out a ¡°hmph¡± and handed Lin Rufei over into Gu Xuandu¡¯s hands. Finally, Lin Rufei was carefully taken into Gu Xuandu¡¯s arms. Gu Xuandu reached out and stroked Lin Rufei¡¯s hair, smiling, ¡°Xiao Jiu, long time no see.¡± His hand finally regained its warmth and it was no longer as cold as it had been at the beginning. Lin Rufei had little strength and could only look at him with half-lidded eyes. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard for Xiao Jiu.¡± Gu Xuandu comforted, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for implicating you.¡± He held Lin Rufei¡¯s fingertips and his thin lips pursed out into a taut straight line, ¡°Xiao Jiu, no matter what happens after that, you must not blame me.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart went cold and he whispered, ¡°What are you going to¡­¡­do?¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to try it again.¡± Lin Rufei was confused, ¡°Try what again?¡± Gu Xuandu shook his head and then stopped talking. Lin Rufei looked at him in despair. He did not know what Gu Xuandu and Wu Ao were going to do, but he believed that it must be related to the Heavenly Ruler. Since things have come to this point, no matter how stupid Lin Rufei was, he should understand that he was somewhat special¡­¡­But was his existence just a tool for the two? The knots in Lin Rufei¡¯s grew tighter, but he could not say the words of reproach. He simply powerlessly closed his eyes once again. Wu Ao stretched out his hand, signaling Gu Xuandu to return Lin Rufei. Gu Xuandu muttered something before handing Lin Rufei back into Wu Ao¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Wu Ao took a deep breath and looked at Lin Rufei with a smile, ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t be afraid, it will be over soon.¡± Lin Rufei did not say anything. Wu Ao carried Lin Rufei towards the stone coffin. After he reached the coffin, he gently put Lin Rufei onto the ground and lifted up the coffin lid. The lid of the coffin fell heavily to the ground with a ground-rumbling sound and Wu Ao carefully picked Lin Rufei up again, ¡°Long time no see.¡± He was greeting the person in the coffin. Only to see a handsome man in red clothes lying in the coffin. The man¡¯s face was handsome and his temperament was warm. He was quietly lying within the coffin, as if he were simply sleeping. ¡°Master, I missed you so much.¡± Wu Ao had only looked at him, but the tears started to overflow. He choked and wanted to say more, but his mouth could not be opened. Lin Rufei quietly observed Gu Xuandu¡¯s expression. Gu Xuandu looked serious, but he was not as sad as Wu Ao. He seemed to notice Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze, which wasn¡¯t really that obvious, and the corners of his lips hooked up into an arc, casting a reassuring smile at Lin Rufei. ¡°Although I do not know what you want to do to me. However, since we are already here, you should at least tell me clearly now.¡± Lin Rufei coldly interrupted Wu Ao, ¡°Even if I have to die, I should be allowed to die with understanding.¡± Wu Ao: ¡°Lin gongzi, don¡¯t be afraid, you naturally won¡¯t die¡­¡­¡± He broke away from his trance, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°If I won¡¯t die, then what are you going to do?¡± Gu Xuandu slowly said: ¡°A hundred years ago, the Heavenly Ruler used his flesh as the eye of the Yaoguang Continent¡¯s Grand Formation. In order to maintain the operation of the Yaoguang Grand Formation, although the flesh body is gone, the soul is still there. I used the twenty-four swords in the sword box to forcefully preserve the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul. And now only Da Han, Shuang Jiang, and Gu Yu are the only ones left of the twenty-four swords, the rest of the sword blades are all lost¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei suddenly understood something, ¡°How¡­¡­am I related to the divine soul of the Heavenly Ruler?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s related.¡± Wu Ao smiled and said the truth that Lin Rufei should have discovered long ago, ¡°Lin gongzi, you are the reincarnation of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s divine soul.¡± That day when Lin Rufei was born, a majestic vision was born. Ten thousand birds took the form of a phoenix in the evening blaze; this was precisely the sign of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s divine soul coming into being. Everyone in the world knew about the vision, but they didn¡¯t know what it meant. It was a pity that Lin Rufei¡¯s physical body was too weak to withstand the majestic sword intent of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul, which resulted in constant illness and even the inability to practice swords. And only until later, when Gu Xuandu appeared, did Lin Rufei¡¯s physical condition improve. Lin Rufei listened in a daze. Although he had long guessed that he was related to the Heavenly Ruler, how could he have thought that he was actually the reincarnation of the Heavenly Ruler? Moreover, he thought from the beginning to the end that Gu Xuandu was the Heavenly Ruler, however, he never expected that the other Heavenly Ruler was himself. ¡°So Lin gongzi, you don¡¯t have to be afraid. I¡¯m just helping you to find a body that can withstand the sword intent.¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°When you get back into the body of the Heavenly Ruler, you will remember what happened before¡­¡­when the time comes¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei interrupted him, ¡°Will the Yaoguang Grand Formation still be there by then?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Since the eye of the formation will be gone, naturally it won¡¯t exist anymore.¡± Wu Ao said in annoyance, ¡°Shut up!! He has already done so much for Yaoguang, so what if he finally found his body? I have already experimented with that Mo Changshan, but unfortunately, his soul was no longer in the living body. Now, with the body of the Heavenly Ruler plus the soul of Lin gongzi¡­¡­I can definitely bring the Heavenly Ruler back to life!¡± Gu Xuandu questioned, ¡°Why are you so agitated? I wasn¡¯t even scolding you.¡± He smiled, ¡°Just, have you thought about it properly? If the Heavenly Ruler wakes up and sees that the Grand Formation he worked so hard to set up was damaged by you, are you still expecting him to smile at you?¡± Wu Ao disdainfully said, ¡°So what? I don¡¯t care.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°If you really didn¡¯t care, you shouldn¡¯t have done such a thing.¡± ¡°Gu Xuandu!! Who are you to say that to me?!!¡± Wu Ao became enraged, ¡°You couldn¡¯t keep him in the first place, but you want him to die for you again? Again and again, exactly how many times do you want him to sacrifice for you??¡± Gu Xuandu laughed coldly, ¡°Why do you care?¡± These words were a bit inexplicable and Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t quite comprehend them. When Wu Ao saw Lin Rufei¡¯s unknowing expression, he pointed to Gu Xuandu and sneered: ¡°Lin gongzi, you really don¡¯t know anything. When the Heavenly Ruler died, although his physical body was gone, his soul still existed. However, who knew that this Gu Xuandu, with his wild ambition, actually concealed this matter from me and also secretly kept the soul around¡­¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°You mean me?¡± ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s not you! Rather, it¡¯s that sword named Da Han!¡± Wu Ao told the shocking truth, ¡°Back then, there were twenty-four blades in the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s sword box. Later on, they were damaged, leaving only Da Han, Shuang Jiang, and Gu Yu. This Gu Xuandu actually took the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul and quietly incorporated his soul into Da Han, making the Heavenly Ruler become Da Han¡¯s sword spirit!!!¡± Gu Xuandu exhaled deeply, ¡°If I don¡¯t do that, the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul will dissipate. Are you telling me you have other methods?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°Obviously, if you take out the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s flesh, you can¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Gu Xuandu roared, ¡°You don¡¯t know anything at all! Do you know how much effort it took him to set up this Grand Formation? Yes, who doesn¡¯t want to be accompanied by him all the time? But you can bear it, I can¡¯t!¡± After he finished roaring, his eyes were already red from anger, ¡°Wu Ao, I know you resent him for leaving us, but the Heavenly Ruler was originally the King of Heaven, since he was given this name¡­¡­¡± ¡°You do not understand anything!¡± Wu Ao sternly scolded and his voice actually carried a trembling cry, ¡°I don¡¯t want him to be the Heavenly Ruler, I only want him to be my master. Without him, I, Wu Ao¡ª¡ªam nothing¡ª¡ª¡± Then his voice suddenly became much quieter, ¡°I, I really, really miss him, ah.¡± ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: Being single for too long makes one easily twisted. Lin Rufei: How long has senior been single for? Gu Xuandu: A few hundred years¡­¡­.. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­.. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Terrain that resembles a dragon. CH 87 Wu Ao was someone from the witch tribe and since childhood, he had never left the tribe. But that time was very different compared to now. At that time, the Yaoguang Grand Formation had not yet been laid and for the demons in the Yaoguang Continent, wanting to survive was not an easy task. Wu Ao didn¡¯t have any special background and was just an ordinary member of the witch tribe. If one desperately wanted to find out something special about him, it was that his parents died early. In those days, a child wanting to survive without their parents was simply a very difficult thing. The difficulties they had to face were not only limited to demons but also hunger and cold. Even though hundreds of years have passed, Wu Ao still clearly remembered the day he met with the Heavenly Ruler. It was on a cold, Winter morning. That day, it had been really cold and Wu Ao had gone to the river early. He wanted to make a hole so that he would be able to get some water to drink. However, the ice on the river was too thick. After smashing on it countless times, he still could not break through it. His stomach, which had not been filled in a few days, rumbled hungrily. Wu Ao wiped away his tears. Clenching his teeth, he took out a not-so-sharp blade and started chiseling on the ice bed little by little. Soon though, his body was getting colder and colder and his movements were gradually stiffening. The tears that were hanging on his cheeks even condensed into ice crumbs due to the severe coldness. Wu Ao felt his own strength rapidly flowing away and he gasped as he lied down on the ice, like a small frozen animal. Every year, Winter was the most difficult time. There were countless people who died in this terrible season, and soon, he would be one of them. And when the next Spring arrived, his body would sink into the river, becoming food for the fishes. Wu Ao¡¯s breath was fading quickly by the moment and just when he was about to lose consciousness, he heard the sound of footsteps beside his ears. Using his last strength, Wu Ao raised his head with great difficulty. In the moment he saw the visitor, he even thought it had been an imagination he conjured up before he died¡ª¡ªhe saw a man dressed in red. The man squatted down halfway, silently reaching out with his hand and tenderly wiping away the fine ice crumbs from his cheeks. ¡°Why are you here?¡± The man¡¯s voice was very soft. Very soft and it was warm like the sun in Spring, ¡°Poor little guy.¡± Wu Ao struggled to grab a corner of the man¡¯s outfit, as if he was grabbing onto his last hope. His frozen black lips trembled, but he could not speak. The man, however, seemed to have understood his meaning and he used those warm hands to pick up Wu Ao. When Wu Ao felt the warmth of the man¡¯s chest, his heart breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly closed his eyes, revealing a smile of satisfaction. If this was just an illusion, even if he died like this, then perhaps, it was a happy thing. However, Wu Ao did not die and he was saved by the Heavenly Ruler. Not only was he saved, but he also became a disciple under the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s name. The Heavenly Ruler often came and went without a trace. To be able to become a disciple of the Heavenly Ruler was already a rare fortune. Wu Ao knew how to be satisfied. He originally had nothing, so the things he wanted were naturally not much. However, as long as it was something he had grasped, he would not let go of it again no matter what. The Heavenly Ruler was gentle and loved his disciples. He only had two disciples, one was called Gu Xuandu, and the other, Wu Ao. But the two disciples had very different personalities. Gu Xuandu was perverse and extroverted and he would always think of some dumbfounding wicked ideas. Wu Ao was gloomy and introverted and because his speech wasn¡¯t very fluent, he rarely communicated with people. If one wanted to point out something that the two of them had in common, it was no doubt that it was their terrible desire to monopolize. Because of these two disciples, the Heavenly Ruler did not accept a third disciple. In those unsettled times, just like that, the Heavenly Ruler carefully raised two children. He taught them swordplay and the three of them relied on each other. If it had been so, it would have been a blessing. But unfortunately, Heaven does not follow the wishes of man. A simple thought from the Heavenly Ruler completely changed the fate of these three. The Heavenly Ruler wanted to lay down the Yaoguang Grand Formation in order to put an end to the demon invasion sufferings. At first, this thing sounded like it was a hundred benefits with no harm. However, in reality, they all know very well in their hearts that if this formation wanted to operate, they must find a special formation eye and the Heavenly Ruler wanted to use his own flesh as the formation eye for the formation to operate¡­¡­ At that time, Gu Xuandu had already been connected by heart with the Heavenly Ruler. They were just afraid that Wu Ao wouldn¡¯t be happy, so for the time being, they had not told him. Although Wu Ao did not know the special relationship between the Heavenly Ruler and his senior disciple brother, he clearly understood what this Yaoguang Grand Formation meant. However, the moment he knew everything, it was already too late. The Heavenly Ruler had long ago quietly laid the formation on Kunlun and only the eye of the formation was missing, then it could be activated. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡± This was something that Wu Ao could not comprehend. He was desperate to the extreme and uncontrollable hatred wanted to burst through his chest. He stammered, but sobbed out every word, ¡°If he wanted to set up the formation, he could have waited a few hundred more years. When I have cultivated to a higher cultivation level, wouldn¡¯t it be better if I replaced him?¡± Gu Xuandu gave him a deep look and calmly said, ¡°I did try.¡± It was just lightly three words, but no one knew how much blood and tears were hidden behind it. He and the Heavenly Ruler went all the way south and saw the tragic situation of countless living souls and what made the Heavenly Ruler make up his mind right then and there, was the battle in Dajing City. The demons came in through the air and the Heavenly Ruler tried his best to kill countless, but the people in the city were still killed and injured by these fiends. They were just ordinary people, even if they killed the demons, they could not be revived. After the battle, the ancient city that was built for a thousand years, only had a blanket of scorched Earth remaining. After the battle, the Heavenly Ruler heard the cries of a child. He and Gu Xuandu followed the sound and saw a little girl lying on the corpses of her parents, helplessly howling. The Heavenly Ruler was about to go forward to pick up the child, but a half-dead demon suddenly appeared and swallowed the girl in a mouthful. The Heavenly Ruler drew his sword and broke open the belly of the demon, but the demon¡¯s stomach was full of terrible venom and the little girl was no longer alive. The Heavenly Ruler stared at the corpse of the child in front of him for quite a while without saying a single word. Gu Xuandu was a little worried and reached out to hold his hand. After a long time, the Heavenly Ruler turned his head and said in a warm voice: ¡°Xuandu, we can¡¯t wait any longer.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Master¡­¡­¡± ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer.¡± The Heavenly Ruler said, ¡°I will rush to Kunlun on the same day, the matter of the Grand Formation can¡¯t be delayed.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Even so, you shouldn¡¯t¡­¡­¡± He wanted to persuade again. The Heavenly Ruler simply curved his eyebrows and patted his head. Even though he had grown taller than the Heavenly Ruler, the Heavenly Ruler still treated him like a half-grown child: ¡°Xuandu, I do not want to see such a thing happen again.¡± Gu Xuandu was speechless. ¡°I also do not want to see more children like you and Wu Ao.¡± The Heavenly Ruler let out a long breath, ¡°No more waiting.¡± If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu¡¯s chest became dull, as if he was choking on something, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer, okay? When I become as good as you are¡­¡­let me go, okay?¡± The Heavenly Ruler had once said that he(GXD) was a genius. Only at the age of twenty-something and his cultivation had already reached the eighth level. Just give him another fifty years, no, thirty years would be enough, and he would definitely be able to break through the eighth level of cultivation and replace the Heavenly Ruler as the eye in the Grand Formation. But the Heavenly Ruler showed a wry smile, ¡°No.¡± Gu Xuandu uttered, ¡°What?¡± The Heavenly Ruler sighed, ¡°Silly Xuandu, if you can¡¯t bear it, do you think I can?¡± Gu Xuandu stood frozen in place. ¡°Let me be selfish for once, okay?¡± He discussed with him in a tone that was like coaxing a child, ¡°Just once.¡± Gu Xuandu wasn¡¯t able to say anything. He knew his nature well. At first, he seemed calm and casual, but if he had made up his mind, he would be obstinate. No matter what anyone said, it could not change his mind. This parting, as early as when they had met, was already destined. The only thing Gu Xuandu could do was to accept it. He respected him, even if his heart had been painfully wretched, he could only regain his spirit and forced himself to show a smile. Because they knew Wu Ao¡¯s nature, Gu Xuandu and the Heavenly Ruler dare not tell him of this matter in advance. By the time Wu Ao knew, all things had become a foregone conclusion. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?! Gu Xuandu, you hateful liar¡ª¡ª¡± Unable to be angry at the Heavenly Ruler, Wu Ao cast all his anger on Gu Xuandu. He was like a deserted beast and his eyes were red with hatred. ¡°You did it on purpose, didn¡¯t you? You did it on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± Gu Xuandu silently looked at Wu Ao and replied lightly, ¡°Yes, I did it on purpose.¡± ¡°Where is his soul?¡± Wu Ao cried, ¡°If we can find the soul, he can be resurrected¡­¡­right, resurrected. The witch tribe must have such a method¡­¡­¡± He muttered brokenly and his expression was almost crazy. Gu Xuandu frowned at him: ¡°How are you going to resurrect him?¡± Wu Ao said, ¡°As long as we find his physical body and have it supplemented by the soul, master will be able to return!¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°What about the Grand Formation?¡± Wu Ao answered indifferently, ¡°What does the Grand Formation have to do with me?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled bitterly. Now that things have reached this stage, he began to envy Wu Ao. If he could do as he wished, he would not be in this situation. With his understanding of his own younger disciple brother, Wu Ao really would do it; destroying the Grand Formation in order to resurrect the Heavenly Ruler. So Gu Xuandu lied. He said that the Heavenly Ruler was gone and his soul dissipated with him. He also added that the formation was the only thing left behind by the Heavenly Ruler, so that Wu Ao should not have other thoughts about the formation. When Wu Ao heard this, he went crazy and almost tried his best to kill Gu Xuandu. In his eyes, this senior disciple brother had become a hateful liar. If only he had told him about the Grand Formation earlier, he would have used his life to stop the Heavenly Ruler from doing it. Like this, two disciple brothers broke off their relationship. For a long time afterward, Gu Xuandu did not see Wu Ao and Wu Ao seemed to have disappeared from the world. The Heavenly Ruler was originally the reason for his existence and now that the Heavenly Ruler was gone, he had lost the motivation to live. Gu Xuandu felt the same way as Wu Ao, however, he was much luckier than Wu Ao. He looked at the buzzing Da Han in his hand and showed a bitter smile. For the sake of the formation, the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s flesh was sacrificed, but at least it left his soul intact. However, the sword intent contained in the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s soul was too thick. Because his physical body was not dead, he simply could not enter the cycle of reincarnation and he could only gradually dissipate in the mortal world. Gu Xuandu, who could not let go, thought about it and finally came up with a foolproof method. Without moving the body, he would place the soul of the Heavenly Ruler within the sword blade and then use the sword to nourish the soul, allowing the Heavenly Ruler to keep his soul intact. Only, the soul that entered the sword blade became ignorant, just like a toddler. Gu Xuandu was heartbroken but he was also happy. Heartbroken because he saw his lover become like this and happy because he at least did not lose him completely. Before the Heavenly Ruler left, he cautioned Gu Xuandu about many things and also asked him to replace him as the Heavenly Ruler in order to deter the demons. Told him to do righteousness and protect the world for him. The Heavenly Ruler¡¯s heart was very big and it could hold the whole world but Gu Xuandu¡¯s heart was small and could only hold one person. But for the sake of their promise, Gu Xuandu still put on a red outfit and gradually lived into his likeness. The day he finally reached the tenth level of cultivation, he personally entered Bu¡¯e and beheaded the Demon King. At that point, great chaos reigned throughout Bu¡¯e. The demons no longer had a leader and also lost the intention to invade Yaoguang. The people of Yaoguang thus enjoyed a hundred years of peace with no more war. Gu Xuandu became the new Heavenly Ruler. But in the end, he wasn¡¯t able to learn his gentle nature. When doing things, he did it based on his true conscience. As a result, in the eyes of different people, the Heavenly Ruler became somewhat different. Some think he was hostile and scary while others think he had a gentle nature. Gu Xuandu carefully raised Da Han. Now that he had a cultivation at the tenth level, no one in the world could hurt him. However, it was a pity that the sword spirit could not condense into an entity. It could only talk to him, but it could not even give him a hug. However, Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t care too much. What he loved was his soul, so no matter what he became, he would like it. In addition to his ten levels of cultivation, in a few days, he would be able to step through the void and soar into immortality and to the immortal world. Perhaps then there would be a way to make the love of his life condensed into a solid entity. With such thoughts, Gu Xuandu became more diligent in cultivating, but who knew that¡­¡­ ¡°But who knew that at the time of ascension, the thunder tribulation of that day was actually a hundred times more fierce than usual.¡± Wu Ao¡¯s voice was ghostly, like a malevolent ghost, ¡°You were unable to resist it, and under the danger, just as your soul was about to fly away, you actually used Da Han to resist the heavenly thunder¡ªDa Han broke and the soul of the Heavenly Ruler also suffered heavy damage¡ª¡ªGu Xuandu, although you are able to say words of flattery, the things you are bitterly disappointing!!¡± Gu Xuandu did not retort and simply looked at Wu Ao indifferently. Wu Ao snickered: ¡°You were struck by the heavenly thunder and your flesh was damaged. After that, you had no choice but to live on top of a cherry blossom tree. You came close to Lin Rufei just to get him to help you find your physical body!!!¡± Gu Xuandu slowly said, ¡°There is some truth to that.¡± ¡°Look, he dares not refute! Lin gongzi¡­¡­¡± Wu Ao exclaimed, ¡°You should finally understand, in the end, what kind of person this Gu Xuandu is!!¡± Lin Rufei, however, simply responded indifferently: ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what kind of person he is, I only know that you are not a good thing.¡± Wu Ao¡¯s expression stiffened. Lin Rufei said: ¡°Since Gu Xuandu has used Da Han to resist the heavenly tribulation, even if he was seriously injured, he should have ascended to immortality. Why would he appear here and even in such a wretched state? Now that he is the only one in the world with a cultivation at the tenth level¡­¡­.¡± He looked at Gu Xuandu and continued softly, ¡°Xuandu, if I do not retrieve my memory¡­¡­will you¡­¡­still like me?¡± Gu Xuandu lost his smile. He patted Lin Rufei on his head and had some helplessness in his tone: ¡°Silly Xiao Jiu, when did I ever want you to get back your memories? You are you, whether you have the memories of the Heavenly Ruler or not, I am pleased with you. If possible, I naturally want to protect you for a lifetime so that you are happy as the most beloved little gongzi of the Kunlun Sect. How could I bear to let you manage other things?¡­..It¡¯s only a pity¡­..¡± It was a pity that during his calculation, he missed Wu Ao, this anomaly. He originally thought that Wu Ao simply had resentment in his heart, but he did not expect that even after several hundred years, he was still trying to resurrect the Heavenly Ruler. At this time, the Seventh King of Bu¡¯e had already appeared and he also didn¡¯t have his ten levels of cultivation. If the Grand Formation suddenly broke, he was afraid that the mortal world would be in another terrible situation. However, Wu Ao obviously did not care about those things. If there was no Heavenly Ruler, he would have frozen to death long ago on that cold river. He only lived for one person and one person only. He just wanted to meet with him again. Without him, he was just a humble grain of dust. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The words that should have been said, were all said and Wu Ao¡¯s expression gradually turned cold. He reached out and held the body of the Heavenly Ruler out of the stone coffin. The surrounding stone slabs seemed to feel the trembling coming from the eye of the formation and began to buzz uncontrollably. Soon, the ground beneath their feet also trembled. Gu Xuandu suddenly squatted down halfway and held Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. Now that he had a body, the palm of his hand also had a temperature. Even under such a tense atmosphere, he was smiling and raised his hand to wipe away the dust on Lin Rufei¡¯s hair. Gu Xuandu said: ¡°I really like Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart ached very much as he whispered, ¡°Senior¡­¡­¡± ¡°Especially when Xiao Jiu calls me senior.¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that I can¡¯t continue to accompany you anymore.¡± He showed an apologetic smile, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry that I can¡¯t watch Xiao Jiu become great.¡± Lin Rufei sensed something and grabbed Gu Xuandu, his voice was trembling badly, ¡°Gu Xuandu, what are you going to do?¡± Gu Xuandu raised his head and looked around. At this time, all of Wu Ao¡¯s attention was on the Heavenly Ruler and he simply didn¡¯t care about Gu Xuandu and Lin Rufei on the side. Gu Xuandu smiled: ¡°Xiao Jiu, take a guess?¡± ¡°No¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes widened slightly, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡­..¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Xiao Jiu can¡¯t bear it?¡± and then he sighed, ¡°Actually, I can¡¯t bear it either, it¡¯s just that¡­¡­¡± He smiled bitterly, ¡°There always has to be someone who has to do it.¡± But he no longer wanted to be the one left behind. It was the same every time. Every single time. When the Heavenly Ruler laid down the Grand Formation and when Da Han fended off the thunder tribulation and shattered for him. In order to let Lin Rufei¡¯s soul re-enter the reincarnation, he scattered all his cultivation and could only parasitize in the cherry blossom forest, quietly waiting for his birth. A hundred years was like a dull knife that grounded people and Gu Xuandu felt very painful as he was being grounded. He did not want to wait anymore and he was also afraid of being left behind. It was enough to experience this kind of thing once, but it just so happened that he also experienced it a second time. If he was going to experience it a third time, he was really going to go crazy. ¡°Let me be selfish once.¡± Gu Xuandu murmured, ¡°OK?¡± Lin Rufei was about to open his mouth but his lips were soon sealed by another pair. Gu Xuandu gave him a burning kiss. The kiss was so hot and forceful that it was like Gu Xuandu was trying to push Lin Rufei into his own body. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes were watery and he choked up slightly. At the end of the kiss, both of their breaths were a little unsteady. In the end, Lin Rufei was in tears. His fingers hooked on Gu Xuandu¡¯s sleeve and refused to let go. Gu Xuandu kissed away Lin Rufei¡¯s tears and placed a kiss on his thick eyelashes: ¡°I know Xiao Jiu isn¡¯t willing, but if the Grand Formation breaks, has Xiao Jiu thought about what will happen to Kunlun?¡± Kunlun was the border of Yaoguang and once the formation breaks, the first to suffer was that place. Not to mention the Kunlun Sect, just the mortals who lived here, probably no one would be spared. Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes gradually dulled. Gu Xuandu got up and walked towards the stone coffin. At this time, Wu Ao had already taken out the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body and was looking at Gu Xuandu with cold eyes. Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t care and simply waved his hand at him: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, some things I do have to apologize to you.¡± Wu Ao sneered. Gu Xuandu said, ¡°But if it wasn¡¯t for your twisted nature, it wouldn¡¯t have been hidden from you.¡± He sighed, ¡°I also did not expect that we, disciple brothers, would come to this point today.¡± Wu Ao gritted his teeth, ¡°Scumbag, if you hadn¡¯t swindled master while he was weak, how could he have been with you?!¡± As he said this, he pointed to Lin Rufei, ¡°Lin gongzi is ignorant, so you used your beauty to confuse him!¡± Gu Xuandu thought about it. He felt that since things had already come to this point, it seemed that there was no need to continue to hide, so he said with a smile, ¡°Want me to tell you a secret?¡± Wu Ao asked, ¡°What?¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°When I was with master, it was master who confessed his love first.¡± Wu Ao froze. Gu Xuandu spread his hands: ¡°Bet you didn¡¯t expect that.¡± Wu Ao almost jumped from anger. The veins on his forehead all bulged out and he almost pulled out his sword to make a move or two against Gu Xuandu. When Gu Xuandu saw this, he let out a loud laugh, ¡®You, ah, you, ah. Usually, you only know to cultivate and don¡¯t even have the guts to look at an erotic picture so how would you understand these things? Me and master¡¯s heart have already connected, so when did it become you, this demon¡¯s, turn to oppose us?¡¯ Wu Ao almost fainted from anger. If he wasn¡¯t still holding onto the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body, he probably would have already made his move. Even Gu Xuandu, who had a smug look, could also see that in this relationship, Wu Ao really couldn¡¯t do anything to his elder disciple brother. Just as the two people were talking, the vibration of the ground became more and more intense. The formation that was painted in the vicinity also began to emit a blinding red light and they watched as the formation was about to collapse because of the loss of the formation eye. Gu Xuandu smiled. He turned back and called out a ¡°Xiao Jiu,¡± then took a step across the room and entered the stone coffin. Then, his body began to emit a rich red light that started to spread all the way along towards the formation. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded at all of this and softly answered back: ¡°Xuandu.¡± But his Xuandu had already closed his eyes and fell into a long, long sleep. Lin Rufei staggered up and tried to walk to the stone coffin, but was stopped by Wu Ao. Wu Ao said, ¡°Lin gongzi.¡± Lin Rufei looked at him and smiled bitterly, ¡°Wu Ao, haven¡¯t you ever thought about how the Heavenly Ruler would blame you if he really woke up?¡± Wu Ao calmly said, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of his blame.¡± He reached out and grabbed Lin Rufei¡¯s wrist, smiling, ¡°Lin gongzi, come on.¡± Although his voice was gentle, his grip was very firm and he forcefully pulled Lin Rufei to the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s side. The Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body had his eyes closed. At first, he looked no different from a normal person. Wu Ao gently helped smooth his hair and then pulled out two talismans from his bosom, ¡°Mo Changshan, set up the formation.¡± Suddenly, Mo Changshan appeared out of nowhere. It seemed that this Wu Ao indeed still had something up his sleeves probably because he was afraid of Gu Xuandu messing things up. But now that Gu Xuandu had been forced to be the eye of the formation, no one could stop him anymore. Lin Rufei, who was drained of sword intent, sat down on the ground, weakly and silently as he looked at the coffin next to him. Mo Changshan, on the other hand, under Wu Ao¡¯s command, silently lowered his head and drew the formation with the cinnabar in his hand. Lin Rufei suddenly asked, ¡°Do you still remember Mo Zhaocai?¡± Mo Changshan did not respond. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Lin Rufei muttered softly, ¡°He always wanted to revive you and even brought your head with him everywhere, but in the end, he ended up dying himself. He was a good dog.¡± Mo Changshan¡¯s movement paused inaudibly, but upon closer inspection, it seemed like it had just been Lin Rufei¡¯s imagination. It was quite true. After all, what Wu Ao resurrected was only his physical body. A body without a soul, how could there possibly be any emotions? Lin Rufei thought with some disappointment. ******** The author has something to say: Gu Xuandu: No matter what you become, I will always love you. Lin Rufei: Really? Gu Xuandu: Really. Even if you turn to ash, I will recognize you. Lin Rufei: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Why do I feel like you are cursing? CH 88 Wu Ao didn¡¯t mind Lin Rufei talking to Mo Changshan since he seemed to have extra confidence in manipulating this corpse that was resurrected by himself. With Mo Changshan¡¯s careful strokes, the scarlet cinnabar formed a complete formation on the ground. Wu Ao stood aside, carefully holding the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body in his arms while quietly waiting for the formation to be completed. When the last stroke of the formation was finally painted on, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t know whether he should be smiling bitterly or feeling relieved. Although Wu Ao¡¯s tone was very polite, his actions weren¡¯t easy to refuse. He forcibly brought him into the formation and affixed a talisman to his body. ¡°Lin gongzi, when the formation is activated, your soul will be able to enter the body of the Heavenly Ruler.¡± Wu Ao smiled, ¡°When that time comes, you will not only recover your memories, but also no longer have to worry about your weak body¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei knew that Wu Ao had already made up his mind and wouldn¡¯t change it even if he said something. In the end, he decided to close his mouth and not say anything at all. Wu Ao laughed and made a gesture to Mo Changshan. Mo Changshan understood and walked to the side of the formation. His black soulless eyes quietly gazed at Lin Rufei and after that, Wu Ao started reciting an incantation. Not long after that, the formation under Lin Rufei began to emit a dazzling red light. The Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body was lying next to Lin Rufei¡¯s and this was the first time Lin Rufei had seen his appearance up close. Indeed, there was no similarity in their looks at all, but the aura on their bodies made them feel somewhat familiar. No wonder when Wu Min saw him at that time, he remembered the Heavenly Ruler. As the light of the formation became more and more dazzling, Lin Rufei felt something continuously pulling away from his body while at the same time, also taking away the heat and temperature of his body. He felt a little tired and his eyelids were getting heavy, unknowingly, his consciousness gradually faded away. Beside him, Wu Ao, let out an excited shout. Only what was shouted, Lin Rufei could no longer clearly hear. In this general state of mortality, Lin Rufei seemed to have seen Gu Xuandu¡¯s face. Gu Xuandu seemed to be standing across from him, smiling lightly at him. Lin Rufei involuntarily reached out his hand and gently called out, ¡°Xuandu¡­¡­¡± The light of the surrounding formation was blindingly bright and Lin Rufei¡¯s consciousness sank into the darkness. He didn¡¯t know how long it took, but the boundless darkness started lifting, revealing a corner and a glimpse of light. Lin Rufei saw a thin child through this slit. The child, thin and small, was crouching in a dirty alley looking for food. And after noticing his presence, he raised his head in alert and stared at him with a deadly stare. Lin Rufei heard himself make a sound. Although the voice should have sounded strange, he felt that it was somewhat familiar, as if it should have belonged to him. The voice said, ¡°Little one, want something to eat?¡± The child stared at Lin Rufei and shook his head heavily, refusing to take a step closer. ¡°Really don¡¯t want it?¡± The voice brought about some laughter. He probably saw through the child¡¯s sheepish character, ¡°It¡¯s a meat bun that I just bought, it¡¯s delicious.¡± The child was still shaking his head, but his rumbling stomach revealed his hunger. Hearing his stomach screaming, a hint of shame surfaced on the child¡¯s face. He stood up and turned around, immediately wanting to run away. However, who knew that after simply running two steps, he then tripped over something and fell heavily on the ground. Just from listening, he could tell that it was painful. This child looked only four or five years old, which is the age of needing care. This fall seemed to be extremely heavy, but he did not cry and simply got up from the ground silently. He carefully rubbed his red eyes, limping, and wanting to leave. ¡°Don¡¯t go, kid.¡± Lin Rufei saw himself reaching out to stop him. He then handed the meat bun in his hand to the child, ¡°What are you afraid of? Are you worried about me poisoning you?¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, you bad thing, I¡¯m not going to eat your food!¡± The child yelled. After a moment of silence, he let out a low laugh, withdrew his hand, and took a heavy bite on the meat bun before swallowing it: ¡°Now you¡¯re not afraid, are you?¡± The child froze. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked him, ¡°Where are your parents?¡± In the end, the child was very hungry. He stared at the meat bun placed in front of his eyes again and was unable to stop himself from swallowing his saliva. Under the war between Heaven and man, he finally reached out and took the meat bun that had been bitten and gnawed it wretchedly. While he gnawed, he answered vaguely, ¡°I don¡¯t have a name, nor¡­¡­parents.¡± Lin Rufei suddenly understood who the child was and who the owner of the voice was, so this was the encounter between the Heavenly Ruler and Gu Xuandu. This was the memory that belonged to the Heavenly Ruler. Lin Rufei looked greedily, looking at Gu Xuandu, the version in which he had never seen before. The Heavenly Ruler asked softly: ¡°Do you want to go with me?¡± The child questioned, ¡°Where to?¡± The Heavenly Ruler replied, ¡°To Yaoguang.¡± The child looked at him suspiciously, ¡°It¡¯s so far away and across the sea, how are you going to get there?¡± The Heavenly Ruler smiled, ¡°Naturally, I will fly there.¡± When he raised his hand, the sword box behind his back gave a light sound and twenty-four blades surrounded him in mid-air. When the child saw this scene, his eyes widened slightly and he completely dropped his guard. He rushed to the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s side and grabbed the corner of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s clothes, ¡°Immortal, Great Immortal. I am willing, I am willing to go with you.¡± His eyes were filled with tears, ¡°No matter what I have to do, I am willing. Please take me with you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± the Heavenly Ruler smiled, ¡°Then, come with me.¡± He slightly leaned down and took those small hands into his. Lin Rufei also felt the touch of the palm of his hand. And since Gu Xuandu was still a toddler, his hands were still so small, so soft, and there were no calluses on them from sword practice, only sweat from tension, sticky, but it wasn¡¯t annoying. He held him, walking forward, and asked softly: ¡°What is your father¡¯s surname, do you remember?¡± The child shook his head and whispered that he didn¡¯t remember. ¡°Then you will take my surname.¡± He said, ¡°My surname is Gu, and you were born on the Xuandu continent, so I¡¯ll call you Gu Xuandu.¡± ¡°Gu Xuandu?¡± The child was confused and asked, ¡°Is this name nice?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± He said, ¡°The female flower of the peach blossom is named Hongyu, and the male flower is named Xuandu.¡± He was in a good mood and smiled brightly, ¡°How about we make your nickname Gu Taohua[1]?¡± The child said, ¡°Okay, okay.¡± This was their first encounter and it was the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s most memorable piece of memory. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The traces left by the countless years turned into fragments and all of it flooded into Lin Rufei¡¯s mind. He let out a low cry of pain, but still could not resist it and could only let the tide wash over him. This time, he saw Wu Ao again, saw him wretched on the ice layer. Wu Ao was even thinner than Gu Xuandu, wrapped in tattered outerwear with a face that was frozen red. His lips were black, as if a little later, he would have died on the river. He held the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s hand and sobbed lowly as he asked, ¡°Will you leave me behind?¡± ¡°No.¡± He held Wu Ao in his arms, warming his body, ¡°I won¡¯t leave you here.¡± ¡°You really won¡¯t leave me behind?¡± Wu Ao tilted his head and stared at him with fascination, ¡°It¡¯s so cold here, I¡¯m alone, I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Really.¡± This was the promise he gave him. He thought that this child was afraid and just needed security, but he didn¡¯t know that this child would remember this promise for hundreds of years. The days of raising Gu Xuandu and Wu Ao were the happiest memories he¡¯d ever had. Both children were so interesting and brought countless joys to the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s uneventful life. He taught them swordplay, taught them to read and write, and watched them grow from less than knee-high little children to taller than himself. It was a pity that the world did not give them much time. That year, when he and Gu Xuandu had exchanged their feelings, Gu Xuandu was twenty years old. Gu Xuandu was born intelligent and had excellent natural talent. When he turned twenty that year, he had already reached the eighth level of cultivation. The Heavenly Ruler was away for a year due to urgent matters and when he came back, he felt that Gu Xuandu was a bit strange, as if in a year¡¯s time, the child who was still pampered in his arms had grown into an adult. Gu Xuandu was smarter than Wu Ao and his desires were also much more stronger than Wu Ao¡¯s. Wu Ao just wanted the Heavenly Ruler to be his companion, like family, but Gu Xuandu was eager for something else. Since he longed for it, he went to do it, like the Spring breeze moistening things, occupying the entire world of the Heavenly Ruler. Since the Heavenly Ruler liked to drink tea, he(GXD) would personally go out and pick them. Since the Heavenly Ruler liked cherry blossoms, he would plant a thousand miles of cherry blossoms and unknowingly, the Heavenly Ruler would soon be in his arms. Even when confessing his love, it was the Heavenly Ruler who took the initiative. The Heavenly Ruler had never been a person who liked to hesitate, after perceiving his own feelings, he told Gu Xuandu straightforwardly. Of course, he was also a little worried that Gu Xuandu would be disgusted, so his voice sounded a little sullen. He said that he had thoughts about Gu Xuandu that he should not have, and if Gu Xuandu felt disgusted, he would simply leave. Who knew that after hearing this, Gu Xuandu was ecstatic. He immediately reached out to embrace him and gave him a heavy kiss. This was the beginning of the two. Lin Rufei was deeply infected by this strong emotion, as if he had personally gone back in time to several hundred years. But nothing was perfect. This kind of life did not last long for them. When the demons invaded Yaoguang, the world¡¯s lives were in ruins and the Heavenly Ruler finally could no longer stand by and watch. This was a painful memory. Lin Rufei even heard Gu Xuandu¡¯s sad plea. He begged him, asking him if they could wait some more days. Just until he cultivated to the ninth level so that he could become the formation¡¯s eye. Such thoughts were rightfully rejected. ¡°Xuandu, your cultivation level isn¡¯t there yet and we can not wait any longer¡­¡­¡± That was what the Heavenly Ruler said to him, however, Lin Rufei knew that this was just an excuse. Since Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t bear it, could the Heavenly Ruler bear it? In the end, he couldn¡¯t bear seeing this child, one who he had raised up by himself, sleeping in a stone coffin for the world¡¯s sake. He was called the Heavenly Ruler, so naturally, he should bear the weight of this name. In the end, Gu Xuandu finally agreed. That period, exactly how painful did he feel? Lin Rufei also could not say. In short, when he saw him again, his body must have carried the smell of alcohol. The smell of alcohol was sometimes strong and sometimes light, but no matter what, it wouldn¡¯t make a person drunk. The Grand Formation was laid on Kunlun little by little, as if it was a countdown towards death. Even after a hundred years, Lin Rufei also felt this cruelty. Every time Gu Xuandu appeared in front of his eyes, he also pretended not to care. However, this forced smile of his was even more painful than crying and pleading. The Heavenly Ruler couldn¡¯t bear to let the world go on like this and he also couldn¡¯t bear to let him go. But in the end, he could only pick one of the two. The battle in the city of Dajing became the turning point of the whole thing. Countless humans lost their lives to the demons. Even if the Heavenly Ruler gave all his efforts to expel the demons, the dead still would not come back. It was said that when the strong people fight, it was the weak ones that suffered. After the battle in Dajing, almost everything turned into a ruin. Everywhere he looked, there wasn¡¯t a single intact building. There were children crying, there were wives howling, there were seriously injured cultivators moaning in pain, and the whole world became like a purgatory. However, this was only the beginning. Next, the demon¡¯s movements would become more and more frequent. The Demon King just had to break a hole in the void and the next entrance would be the next Dajing. Although the Heavenly Ruler was at the ninth level of cultivation, he could not protect every single one of them. ¡°No more waiting.¡± He stared at the child¡¯s corpse and muttered to Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu forced a smile, ¡°Wait a little longer, okay? When I become as good as you are¡­¡­let me go, okay?¡± Rightfully so, the Heavenly Ruler refused. This time, he wanted to be selfish for once. Kunlun should have been a good place, the mountains were continuous and it was the place where the veins of ten thousand dragons converge. It was a pity that it was located at the border of Yaoguang and Bu¡¯e, where the demons were rampant and the people were not happy. The Heavenly Ruler intended to set up the Grand Formation here, using his flesh as the eye of the formation in order to operate the Grand Formation. As long as the Grand Formation was set up, demons below the seventh level would no longer be able to enter Yaoguang. As for the demons above the seventh level, the number was already small, so if they really came, there were other cultivators who could resist, and at least the situation in Dajing would not occur again. Things went on in an orderly manner, but not many people knew about it. Only until the last moment did the Heavenly Ruler tell Wu Ao about it. As expected, when Wu Ao heard the news, he nearly broke down. He cried and begged the Heavenly Ruler not to do so. ¡°Lord Heavenly Ruler, Lord Heavenly Ruler, please don¡¯t go, okay?¡± Wu Ao lowly pulled at the corner of his clothes, just like when he met the Heavenly Ruler as a young child. His face was full of panic, as if he was left in the snow as a child and about to freeze to death, ¡°Let me do it, give me some more days, I will be able to reach the ninth level. When I get to the ninth level, I will go be the eye of that formation, Lord Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­ ¡° The Heavenly Ruler stroked his head, like when he was young, only this time, he did not say yes. The Yaoguang Grand Formation was laid. The formation eye entered the stone coffin and although the flesh was there, the soul was not. Gu Xuandu secretly kept the soul, but did not dare to tell Wu Ao of this. Wu Ao, who had just lost the Heavenly Ruler, had been close to madness. If this formation wasn¡¯t laid by the Heavenly Ruler himself, and the fact that even after destruction it would not be able to call the Heavenly Ruler back, he probably would have made his move against it already. But once it had left the body, the soul of the Heavenly Ruler, that couldn¡¯t enter the reincarnation, would soon dissipate. Gu Xuandu really had no other choice. He could only send the soul into Da Han and carefully nourish it. This was another memory. At first, it was muddled and only sporadic images flashed by. It was only later that his consciousness gradually emerge. ¡°This is Taohua.¡± Gu Xuandu taught his lover, as his lover had taught him before, ¡°It¡¯s my name.¡± ¡°Taohua?¡± The sword spirit was confused, ¡°Your name?¡± ¡°Yes, and remember, my name is Gu Xuandu.¡± He could not touch him, but simply looking, he was satisfied, ¡°The female flower of the peach blossom is called Hongyu and the male flower is called Xuandu. I am Gu Xuandu.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± The sword spirit murmured. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gu Xuandu smiled, ¡°I like this name too.¡± As long as it was something you gave, I would always like it. The two were together for about a few hundred years, during which the Yaoguang Continent benefited from the Grand Formation and flourished for hundreds of years. And Gu Xuandu had finally reached the tenth level from the ninth level of cultivation, surpassing the Heavenly Ruler back then. When he reached the tenth level, the first thing he did was to go straight to Bu¡¯e and behead the Demon King. Ten thousand demons witnessed this with their own eyes. They watched as a swordsman in red, carrying three sword blades, stepping into the air, waving his sword, and chopping off a head to the ground. This head, which had brought countless pain to Yaoguang, was so light that it was not even as heavy as a sword blade. Gu Xuandu looked at the head and casually threw it aside before stepping back into the air. The ten thousand demons looked at his back and all was quiet. After that, it was a long and beautiful period of time. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Gu Xuandu took Da Han and traveled all over the provinces. He went back to Xuandu and saw the places where he had lived. He went to Qionglong and saw the towering overhanging mountains. He went to Bu¡¯e and exchanged vows with Da Han on that half snowy and half clear island. They saw countless Springs, Autumns, Winters, and Summers. They believed that they would never have to part again. Even if he could not touch him and wasn¡¯t even able to hug, the two had been connected and didn¡¯t need anything else. Just when Gu Xuandu thought that he would live with Da Han just like that, the Heavens took everything away from him again. After reaching the tenth level, he would be able to step through the void and ascend to the immortal world. This was the thing that every cultivator desired the most. Although Gu Xuandu did not have any desire to ascend to immortality, rumors said that there was a method in the Heavenly Realm that allowed the sword spirit to have a physical body, so he also started harboring this idea. However, when the thunder tribulation descended, Gu Xuandu realized that something was wrong. The thunder was too strong and he could not resist it at all. He had used all the magic treasures, but could only block ninety-nine. The hundredth thunder was the most powerful one. As long as he fell, Gu Xuandu could only end up with his soul scattered. But even so, he did not intend to use Da Han. Instead, he hugged the sword in his arms, wanting to protect it to death. The sword spirit could live for thousands of years and even if its master died, it could still find a new one. Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t bear to bury him with himself. He used his last strength and dropped a kiss on top of the sword hilt. But if Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t bear to, how was Da Han willing either? Lin Rufei saw the dense dark clouds in the sky as well as the flash of lightning and roaring thunder. There were raindrops falling, wetting Gu Xuandu¡¯s hair. He tilted his head and the rain fell down his chin low, as if they were tears. The lightning flashed again. It was accompanied by continuous thunder with the momentum that could shake Heaven and Earth. The heavenly tribulation gathered into a belt of blinding light. Seeing that it would fall soon, Gu Xuandu loosened his grip, wanting to let Da Han fall from his hands to the ground. However, who knew that at this time, Da Han unsheathed himself and with a cold light, swept towards Gu Xuandu¡¯s head. ¡°No¡ª¡ª¡± With a harsh scream, the thunder fell and the snow-white sword blade resisted most of it before flying into pieces, turning into blackened ashes and disappearing into oblivion. The memory ended there, however, Lin Rufei could still vaguely hear Gu Xuandu¡¯s harsh howling and the desperate cry of grief. At this point, Lin Rufei finally understood why Gu Xuandu had a sad smile in his eyes when he was lying down in the stone coffin. At least this time, he did not have to be the one left behind and he also no longer had to wait in that cherry blossom forest for a hundred years just to wait for the reincarnation of his beloved. Instead of tasting the despair of parting again, he preferred to fall into a long, peaceful sleep. The darkness completely faded and Lin Rufei slowly opened his eyes. He thought that when he opened his eyes, he would see Wu Ao, however, he didn¡¯t even see his silhouette. Instead, the ground was a mess, as if someone had just fought here. Lin Rufei rose from the ground with difficulty, however, he saw the body of the Heavenly Ruler next to him. Currently, he already had all the memories of the Heavenly Ruler, so when he saw the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body still lying on the side, he couldn¡¯t help but still be in some trance. What happened? According to Wu Ao¡¯s plan, shouldn¡¯t he enter the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body? Why was it only the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s memory? Lin Rufei still had little strength. Just as he was pondering over this thought of his, he heard the sound of fighting coming from the outside. He froze slightly, limped out, and actually saw Wu Ao standing aside with a gloomy face. Two figures were rumbling in the sky and it was actually Lin Bianyu and Mo Changshan. ¡°Lord Heavenly Ruler.¡± When Wu Ao saw that Lin Rufei was awake, he revealed a look of surprise. He walked to Lin Rufei¡¯s side and shouted out this sentence in a trembling voice. Lin Rufei pursed his lips and responded in a low voice, ¡°Wu Ao.¡± When he saw Wu Ao, he remembered the child who was freezing to death by the river, and the words that should have been full of blame turned into a low sigh on his lips, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­¡± ¡°Lord Heavenly Ruler.¡± Wu Ao cried, almost choking on his words. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± Lin Rufei was a little tired. In fact, his consciousness was even now a little confused. All kinds of messy memories were constantly converging in his brain and currently, he still hadn¡¯t had the time to fully receive all of it. After knowing the past, the disgust for Wu Ao was mixed with some guilt and self-blame. ¡°I just wanted to see you one more time.¡± Wu Ao uttered painfully. ¡°Even if you saw me, what¡¯s the point? I¡¯m not me anymore.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°My last name is Lin now and I am the youngest son of the Lin family, not your Lord Heavenly Ruler.¡± Wu Ao, ¡°I know, I know.¡± He said he knew, but his expression was still lost in thought. Lin Rufei looked up to the mid-air, Mo Changshan and Lin Bianyu were currently still fighting. He didn¡¯t know how Wu Ao managed to make Mo Changshan return to his peak state, but when he fought, his moves were ruthless. Lin Bianyu didn¡¯t want to hurt him, so for a while, the battle situation between the two was quite worrying. ¡°Lord Heavenly Ruler, I just, want to ask a question.¡± Wu Ao clenched his teeth again and trembled, ¡°That Gu Xuandu, did he lie to you?¡± He looked at Lin Rufei eagerly, as if he wanted to get the answer he wanted from Lin Rufei¡¯s expression. And the only way to give him the strength to continue talking, was with this answer. ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly, ¡°These three lives, he and I were two lovers. Da Han was not damaged by him, but voluntarily resisted the heavenly calamity. This life, he also had not mentioned the matter of the Heavenly Ruler¡­¡­¡± Wu Ao looked dumbfoundedly at Lin Rufei: ¡°Heavenly Ruler, do you not blame him?¡± Lin Rufei shook his head. ¡°What about me?¡± Wu Ao wanted to laugh and cry. He looked at his hands and asked in a strained voice. ¡°What about me? After I did all this, Lord Heavenly Ruler, will you blame me?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him hesitantly and he sensed that something seemed wrong with Wu Ao¡¯s mental state. As expected, in the next moment, a maniacal smile surfaced on Wu Ao¡¯s face: ¡°Three hundred years, three hundred years, ah¡­¡­what exactly am I waiting for? I still¡­¡­was left behind¡­¡­¡± and thrown into that cold, cold river. ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: My surname is Gu, and you were also born on the Xuandu Continent, in this case¡­¡­ Gu Xuandu: 0.0 Lin Rufei: You¡¯ll be called Gu Dalu[2]. Gu Xuandu: ? ? ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Technically¡­.Taohua means peach blossoms¡­.but because the English title for this is ¡°cherry blossoms¡± so¡­.. Uh yeah. [2] Dalu means continent. CH 89 They all said that those who were pitiful always had some insufferable sides. For Wu Ao, this sentence was very suitable. In mid-air, the two had entered the peak of the fight. In the end, Lin Bianyu had the more superior skills. One swing from Tian Xiao, which was in his hands, and Mo Changshan¡¯s sword broke in half. Since the sword in the swordsman¡¯s hand had been broken, the victory was naturally decided, and the sharp blade of Tian Xiao fell on top of Mo Changshan¡¯s neck. The two men looked at each other and the atmosphere seemed to be frozen stiffed. Lin Bianyu stared at the person opposite him and his eyes were full of disbelief. He had obviously recognized that this person was his teenage rival, Mo Changshan. However, Mo Changshan had died that year and now that he had suddenly reappeared, he was naturally amazed. The Kunlun Sect, being ordered to guard the Grand Formation, was a top-secret matter. Now that the Sect Master was in seclusion, this matter naturally fell on Lin Bianyu¡¯s head. This night, when Lin Bianyu heard the sound and arrived at the scene, he noticed that the stone door wide open. He hurriedly entered and actually saw his most beloved brother, Lin Rufei, lying silently amidst a blood-red formation and was next to someone who was whispering incantations. When Lin Bianyu happened upon this scene, he was very alarmed and immediately drew his sword and headed over. However, halfway there, a black-clad swordsman appeared, forcibly trying to stop him. The two of them fought for a time and it was difficult to distinguish who had the upper hand. At first, Lin Bianyu just thought that this swordsman had some minor familiarity, but soon, he realized that not only was he familiar, but this black-clothed swordsman was emitting a strong aura of death. It was actually his friend Mo Changshan, whom he had met when he was younger! Back then, Mo Changshan was as gifted as he was in swordsmanship and was known as the twin stars on the western mountains. With two stars, one being Jade(Yu) and the other being Mountain(Shan). That year, Mo Changshan was very aspirational and vigorous, but unfortunately, the Mo family suffered a great disaster later on and Mo Changshan¡¯s life was taken by an unknown swordsman. At that time, this incident was a very big deal that even Lin Bianyu also knew a thing or two about it. But even though the Mo family spent a lot of effort to offer a reward, they still failed to catch the killer. As one of the twin stars, although he and Mo Changshan did not have a deep friendship, this matter also made him sigh with regret. He pondered that if Mo Changshan did not die, he would now have another opponent to duel with. However, he never expected that after decades, he would see the living Mo Changshan here. Then why did the dead Mo Changshan appear here? Lin Bianyu called out his name: ¡°Mo Changshan?¡± Mo Changshan was restrained by Lin Bianyu, but he did not show any fear. His face remained expressionless, like a stiff stone. His black eyes were sunken, and he could not see a single spirit. It was as if he was just a puppet acting on instinct. Lin Bianyu frowned slightly. He soon realized something and turned his head to look at Wu Ao, who had been standing aside. He noticed that Lin Rufei had woken up at some point, came out of the cave, and was saying something with Wu Ao. He was very excited, hissing fiercely at Lin Rufei and trying to reach out and grab him, the situation looked very dangerous. Lin Bianyu gazed at them. With no more hesitation, he turned back and flew towards Wu Ao. ¡°Why on earth did I fall to this point?!!¡± Wu Ao roared, his crimson eyes filled with anger and despair as he shouted at Lin Rufei. However, the words he said seemed to be actually for his own ears, ¡°I just wanted to stay with him all the time, why¡­¡­why can¡¯t I even do this?!!!¡± The harsh sword intent came from mid-air, but Wu Ao, as if he was oblivious to it, allowed Lin Bianyu¡¯s sword to stab him in the vitals. ¡°Wuuu¡­¡­¡± He let out a sad cry. Wu Ao slightly lowered his head and took in the cold snow-white sword blade passing through his abdomen. Tears fell from his eyes but it was not because he was injured. It was because Lin Rufei was looking at him with those incomparable sad eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lin Rufei said bitterly, ¡°Wu Ao¡­¡­¡± Wu Ao pulled out a bitter smile as he muttered in a trembling voice, ¡°Heavenly Ruler, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s sorry.¡± Lin Bianyu did not know what exactly had happened between Wu Ao and Lin Rufei. But because he saw the formation and the unconscious Lin Rufei, he rightfully felt that the person in front of him was going to be detrimental to his brother, so in the end, he did not hold back in the slightest. It was only the man¡¯s attitude of not hiding or dodging that made Lin Bianyu feel a little puzzled. He also could not see Wu Ao¡¯s cultivation level and thought he was a powerful character. But why did he not hide or dodge, and instead took his sword straight on? As Lin Bianyu was pondering over this phenomenon, he then heard Wu Ao bawling like an aggrieved child. He slowly kneeled onto the ground as the blood and tears wet the black mud beneath him. Lin Rufei looked at him in silence and only rich sorrow remained in his gaze. However, he did not talk to Wu Ao. Instead, he turned around and walked slowly towards the formation. Lin Bianyu wanted to call out to him, but for some reason, the words that came to his lips were forcefully swallowed back down. Blood was still dripping from Tian Xiao¡¯s blade and when Lin Bianyu looked at the man bawling in front of him, he felt that it all seemed so absurd. Lin Rufei walked back into the formation and saw Gu Xuandu sleeping in the stone coffin. This was the first time Lin Rufei saw Gu Xuandu sleeping. He closed his narrow eyes and his features were not quite as beautiful as when he was awake, instead, it carried a few tones of innocence. Lin Rufei slowly stretched out his fingers and his fingertips touched his forehead down along the bridge of his nose and slowly to his chin. He hung his head quietly. In the end, he could not hold back and a tear plopped right on top of Gu Xuandu¡¯s cheek. It all happened so suddenly that he was powerless to stop it. Only after he was forced to accept the memory and barely regained himself did he realize what it really meant when Gu Xuandu had entered the stone coffin. Although they had established a relationship, they were never really together. Lin Rufei naively thought that they still had many, many more years, but he did not know that the accident had come earlier than tomorrow. A hundred years of memory, whether it was the Heavenly Ruler or Da Han, could not be separated from the person in front of him. Every moment of his life seemed to be occupied by the person in front of him and now seeing his sleeping appearance, it was as if someone had choked him hard on the neck. ¡°Xiao Jiu?¡± A hesitant call came from behind him. In the end, Lin Bianyu was uneasy and followed him in. Lin Rufei was silent. ¡°Xiao Jiu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Bianyu was so worried that he walked over to Lin Rufei¡¯s side and noticed the person in the stone coffin. Lin Rufei shook his head and forced a smile: ¡°I¡­¡­am fine. Brother, can I trouble you to go out and watch Wu Ao?¡± Lin Bianyu asked, ¡°That person outside is called Wu Ao?¡± Lin Rufei nodded his head. Lin Bianyu said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go now.¡± But he was still a bit uneasy, ¡°Who is this person? Is he a friend of yours? Are you¡­¡­okay?¡± Lin Rufei forced another smile, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± But looking at his tired appearance, he didn¡¯t look like he was fine. Lin Bianyu was very anxious, however, he didn¡¯t know exactly what to say. In the end, he could only whisper to him not to be afraid and if Lin Rufei had something to say, he should tell him and then he(LBY) would certainly solve it. However, Lin Rufei just shook his head and did not say anything until Lin Bianyu showed a helpless look, turned around, and walked outside. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Wait.¡± Lin Rufei suddenly called out. Lin Bianyu was surprised and turned around, thinking that Lin Rufei had figured it out and was willing to talk about it. But who knew that Lin Rufei was simply telling Lin Bianyu to help Wu Ao treat his wounds and to not let him die. Lin Bianyu frowned: ¡°But, Xiao Jiu, he is not a good person.¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly, ¡°I know.¡± Lin Bianyu pursed his lips. When he noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s difficult expression, he also stopped asking. He also didn¡¯t know why, but when he said that Wu Ao wasn¡¯t a good person, Lin Rufei¡¯s face surfaced with some shame. It was almost as if Wu Ao was actually taught by him. But by the time Lin Bianyu went outside, he(WA) had already disappeared, leaving behind only a bloodstain and Mo Changshan, who was standing there in silence. When he saw Mo Changshan, he was still a little defensive, but when he noticed that Mo Changshan had no intention of drawing his sword, he walked up to him and asked, ¡°You are Mo Changshan, right? Why are you here? What did that man do to you?¡± Mo Changshan simply looked at Lin Bianyu and did not answer. Lin Bianyu questioned, ¡°Are you okay?¡± He tentatively reached out and patted Mo Changshan on the shoulder, however, Mo Changshan still did not respond. And if he had not blinked occasionally, probably no one would have taken him for a living person. Lin Bianyu knew in his heart that Mo Changshan¡¯s appearance was definitely related to the man called Wu Ao. He could have chased after the blood trail, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t let Lin Rufei be alone inside, so he simply found a place and began to sit down and wait. Lin Rufei slowly dried his tears and took a deep breath. If he did not have the memory of the Heavenly Ruler, he probably would be helpless in the face of a crisis as he stared at Gu Xuandu lying in front of him. Luckily, in the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s memory, there was also a method of unravelling, but this unravelling method also came with after-effects. Lin Rufei now had very little sword intent left in his body and he didn¡¯t know if he could successfully set up a spell formation to protect Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul. While thinking, he cut a slit on his hand, lowered his head, and began to use blood to set up the formation. A normal formation could be done with cinnabar, but this one was too powerful and could only be triggered by blood. However, Lin Rufei was busy thinking about other things and did not feel the wound on his hand. His body did feel a little cold though and he did not know that his already bloodless face had become pale white. This formation was somewhat complicated, but Lin Rufei did not dare to stop, because once Gu Xuandu entered the stone coffin, his soul would leave the body. If it was not retrieved early, he was afraid that it would dissipate very quickly. Lin Rufei lowered his head and filled every corner of the formation little by little and when the painting was completely finished, his hands were already covered with dense wounds. ¡°Cough cough cough.¡± Coughing lowly a few times, Lin Rufei braced himself for discomfort and struggled to finish the last stroke. Finally, he pulled out Gu Yu on the side of his waist with force and inserted it into the center of the formation. This was precisely the method that Gu Xuandu had used to recall him into the sword. He just didn¡¯t know if it would work when used on Gu Xuandu¡¯s body. Lin Rufei was apprehensive, but still gritted his teeth and drove his sword intent to fill the entire formation. The formation began to emit a faint light and the light gradually gathered on top of Gu Yu. Soon, Gu Yu started humming, as if in response. However, other than that, there was no other reaction. The few remaining sword intent in Lin Rufei¡¯s body was about to be exhausted. His expectant gaze gradually dulled and a bitter smile of despair surfaced on his lips. But at that moment, an insignificant glowing flame slowly rose from the stone coffin, although insignificant, it still made Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes bright. The small glowing flame slowly rose, attracted by the formation, and finally fell on top of Gu Yu¡¯s sword scabbard. Just as the two touched, there was a crisp sound, and then the formation dulled. Lin Rufei also fell to the ground, as if he had lost all his strength and started coughing uncontrollably, like he wanted to cough out his lungs. Lin Bianyu, who had been standing guard outside, arrived when he heard this familiar sound and noticed the wretched Lin Rufei. After noticing the wound on Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, panic surfaced in his eyes: ¡°Xiao Jiu¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s shoulders trembled as he pointed to the sword blade. Lin Bianyu asked, ¡°You want that sword?¡± He took a few steps and helped Lin Rufei pull out the sword blade, then carefully brought it to Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, ¡°Is this it?¡± Lin Rufei reluctantly smiled. He took Gu Yu from Lin Bianyu¡¯s hand, carefully put it into the scabbard, and hugged it tightly against his arms. Mo Changshan, who had been waiting outside the door, also walked in, and when Lin Bianyu saw him, he showed a wary look. However, Mo Changshan did not even look at them, instead, he went to another person still lying on the ground. It was the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body. Mo Changshan bent down and seemed to want to pick up the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body, but who knew that just as his hand touched the skin of the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s flesh, the skin dissipated in his hand like annihilated powder, turning into fine dust. Mo Changshan did not seem to expect this at all and froze in place. Lin Rufei smiled bitterly and with his last strength, he whispered: ¡°A hundred years have passed since the formation was laid, once you take the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s body out of the formation, naturally it will decay¡­..¡± Mo Changshan paused before saying arduously, ¡°Why didn¡¯t, you say so?¡± Hearing this tone, it was somewhat like he was relaying Wu Ao¡¯s words. Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Before I recovered my memory, I also didn¡¯t know. I just didn¡¯t understand why Xuandu didn¡¯t say anything either.¡± Mo Changshan¡¯s face remained expressionless, but his voice trembled a bit: ¡°You¡¯re right. Even if he did say something, I would not, have believed.¡± Mo Changshan turned around and left. But Lin Rufei shouted at him: ¡°Wait.¡± Mo Changshan paused. ¡°Can you stop manipulating Mo Changshan?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s tone was a little bitter, ¡°Wu Ao, I know you feel bad. What happened back then, it¡¯s true that I was wrong for hiding it from you, but this Mo Changshan is innocent, he¡­¡­was a great swordsman back then and shouldn¡¯t be reduced to such a state.¡± A long silence began and just when Lin Rufei thought Wu Ao would not agree, Mo Changshan answered in a low voice: ¡°Okay.¡± Then he walked out and never looked back again. Lin Rufei had lost too much blood and was holding on to his last breath. After sending Mo Changshan away, he fell directly into Lin Bianyu¡¯s arms unconsciously. But even so, he still used his wounded hands to hold Gu Yu tightly, as if holding on to his own life. Lin Bianyu did not understand what had happened from the start to the end, but after seeing the curtain finally fall over the matter, he exhaled a breath and carefully carried Lin Rufei back. Lin Rufei also didn¡¯t know how long he had been unconscious for but when he woke up once again, the outside world seemed to have undergone a deep change. Between his daze, it was just possible for him to see the outside through the window. The flowers and trees in the courtyard had withered and fallen out of their leaves, and so had the slender cherry blossom tree, standing alone in the corner, looking pitiful. After Lin Rufei sat up from the bed with difficulty, his first action was to raise his eyes and look around. Soon, he found what he was looking for beside the bed. Gu Yu was lying quietly by the side. Lin Rufei reached out and took it into his hand, gently fondling it for a moment, before a smile appeared on his lips. The person outside seemed to have heard Lin Rufei¡¯s movement and pushed the door open to see him awake. Immediately, they called out in surprise: ¡°Young master!¡± Lin Rufei looked up and said, ¡°Fu Hua?¡± Fu Hua said with surprise, ¡°Young master, you are finally awake!!!¡± She also looked a bit haggard, probably because she had been constantly worrying about Lin Rufei. ¡°How long have I been sleeping?¡± Lin Rufei asked. ¡°It¡¯s been a few dozens of days.¡± Speaking of this matter, Fu Hua couldn¡¯t control her tears, ¡°Physician Wan Yao said that you had lost too much blood and injured your core. With so much blood, no one knew how long it was going to take for you to replenish it.¡± Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°Alright, alright, no more crying, I¡¯m awake now, aren¡¯t I?¡± Fu Hua continued to bawl for a while before she calmed down and asked Lin Rufei if he wanted to eat something. Only then did Lin Rufei realize he was hungry and asked to have a bowl of congee[1]. Fu Hua turned around and went out, bringing back light porridge and small side dishes over to Lin Rufei. She also said she had informed second young master and that after they heard the news, they were immediately making their way over. Lin Rufei smiled and nodded. He slowly got up and did a simple wash-up before drinking the congee. After lying in bed for dozens of days, his body had become somewhat nimble and the cuts on his right hand had all been carefully bandaged, so Lin Rufei took a spoon with his left hand and awkwardly scooped up the congee, and sent it into his mouth. The taste of the congee was very light, but it was just right. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Bianyu and the others came over quickly, together with Lin Weirui and Lin Minzhi. As the three of them entered into the room, Lin Weirui was the first to rush over to Lin Rufei¡¯s side, bawling and hugging him. Her tears were smeared all over her face as she cried out, ¡®Xiao Jiu you scared sister to death, you bad boy with no conscience, how can you not discuss anything with us? If Lin Bianyu was just slightly late, wouldn¡¯t we all have to witness your deathbed?¡¯ Lin Rufei was breathless from Lin Weirui¡¯s hug, but in the end, he was still weak and also did not dare to resist, simply allowing Lin Weirui to grumble about her complaints. Lin Minzhi let Lin Weirui cry for a while before he reached out and pulled her away. Frowning, he said, ¡°Okay, Xiao Jiu just woke up, don¡¯t scare him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried.¡± Lin Weirui¡¯s nose was red as she bit her lip, ¡°The child has grown up and he has his own ideas now. Whatever is on his mind, he¡¯s not willing to tell us anymore.¡± Lin Rufei smiled bitterly: ¡°Sister, I am already twenty-something years old¡­¡­¡± ¡°Even if you¡¯re twenty-something years old, you¡¯re still my little brother!¡± Lin Weirui grunted, ¡°Look at you, your hand was so badly injured and you were the one that actually did it yourself! You, ah!¡± Lin Rufei was at a disadvantage, so he lowered his head and kept quiet. Lin Bianyu sighed and asked Lin Weirui to stop talking. He then sat down next to Lin Rufei and asked him in a warm voice if he was still uncomfortable. Lin Rufei shook his head and said he was not uncomfortable, just felt a little weak. ¡°Too much blood loss and you¡¯ve injured your vitality.¡± Lin Bianyu sighed, ¡°Wan Yao said you can only slowly recuperate.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Understandable.¡± Lin Bianyu wanted to say something but then stopped himself. Most likely he had wanted to ask Lin Rufei about that day. However, Lin Rufei was in a difficult position; he didn¡¯t know how to explain to them. It wasn¡¯t like he could say that he had the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s memory, right? And that he also saw his own disciples fighting among themselves. Lin Rufei could only pretend to be invisible under his gaze. Lin Bianyu probably understood Lin Rufei¡¯s mood, so in the end, he did not ask about the matter at all. The three of them talked to Lin Rufei for a while and when they noticed that he was a bit tired again, they decided to let him rest and got up to leave. Lin Rufei drank the porridge and headed back to sleep for a while. After sleeping, he got up from the bed and carried Gu Yu to the courtyard to take a look at the poor cherry blossom tree. The cherry blossom tree was still standing there and it finally didn¡¯t look out of place amidst the surrounding flowers and plants. Lin Rufei touched its branches and touched its only few remaining withered leaves before finally turning his gaze to Gu Yu resting in his arms. There wasn¡¯t much change to Gu Yu. Lin Rufei stared at it and then revealed a slight smile. He slowly drew his sword and the blade came out of the sheath with a humming sound. The snow-white blade projected a dappled light on the ground as Lin Rufei gently stroked the blade with his finger and slowly asked, ¡°Are you there?¡± No one answered. ¡°Xuandu?¡± Lin Rufei called out again. There was still no response. Lin Rufei frowned slightly and after thinking for a moment, he sighed and whispered, ¡°Senior?¡± The sword buzzed and actually responded to Lin Rufei¡¯s call. Lin Rufei bit his lower lip in shame and chided in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯re still messing with me even at this time?¡± Gu Yu didn¡¯t listen. Lin Rufei lifted his hand and gently touched Gu Yu to the cherry blossom tree. Very soon, a flickering glow emerged from above Gu Yu, heading towards the cherry blossom tree. When Lin Rufei saw this scene, he let out a heavy sigh of relief and murmured: ¡°Fortunately I was able to bring you back, otherwise if Wu Ao had burned it all in a breath¡­¡­..we would have been in big trouble.¡± (t/n: He is referring to the cherry blossom tree because WA burned the whole grove at the foot of the mountain) The glowing fire fell onto the tiny cherry blossom tree and transformed into a budding flower bud. On its bare branches, it looked immensely abrupt. Lin Rufei touched the bud with his fingertips, and the bud trembled lightly, as if in response. Lin Rufei looked at the flower bud¡¯s soft and sweet look and couldn¡¯t resist bending over and giving it a light kiss. The bud wasn¡¯t cold, but actually slightly warm, just like the time Gu Xuandu had held Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. ¡°Take your time, there¡¯s no rush.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°We still have a lot of time, we can wait slowly.¡± As he said this, he stroked the tree trunk again with a gentle smile in his tone, ¡°Gu Xuandu, is it still satisfactory for you to hear when I called you ¡®senior¡¯ again?¡± When the Heavenly Ruler was Gu Xuandu¡¯s master, naturally it was impossible to call Gu Xuandu ¡®senior.¡¯ Logically speaking, the sword spirits were also older than Gu Xuandu so they were called by their names. But in the end, when it came to Lin Rufei, Gu Xuandu ended up taking a big advantage from him. No wonder when he first called Gu Xuandu ¡®senior,¡¯ Gu Xuandu had a strange expression on his face. Now that he thought about it, he was probably being secretly delighted. But now Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul was just a flower bud, Lin Rufei couldn¡¯t do anything about it and could only spoil him. After pondering for a moment, he simply went back into the room and moved a bench over before sitting under the cherry blossom tree and dozing off. The sun was out today amidst the clear and refreshing Autumn weather. Since it wasn¡¯t too cold, Lin Rufei fell asleep in a daze. However, in this haze, he seemed to have felt a soft touch on his forehead but when he woke up again, he didn¡¯t see anything, only a thick cloak on his body. Most likely Fu Hua and Yu Rui were afraid that he would catch a cold so they carefully layered it over him. It was getting a little dark, so Fu Hua called him to come in for a meal. Lin Rufei stood up from the bench. He yawned, stretched lazily, and looked towards the cherry blossom bud, bidding it with a smile, ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± A breeze blew by and the cherry blossom tree swayed its branches, as if responding to Lin Rufei¡¯s farewell¡­¡­See you tomorrow. Tomorrow was probably going to be a good day, Lin Rufei thought. When that time comes, he would take another nap by his beloved cherry blossom¡¯s side. (t/n: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn, cliffhanger??? (£þy¨Œ,£þ)¨q ) ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] Congee CH 90 Wu Ao was lying on the ground with his last breath. His abdomen had been pierced by Tian Xiao and it now had a gaping wound. The wound wasn¡¯t large in general, but it was very deep and blood was constantly bubbling out of it. But Wu Ao didn¡¯t have the slightest intention to stop the blood flow. He simply stared with widened eyes as he quietly gazed at the sky overhead. The sky had already darkened and the nightly wind whistled. Because of losing too much blood, he began to feel somewhat cold. The black snake that had been coiled in his hand seemed to have sensed his master¡¯s gradually declining breath and became agitated, wandering in Wu Ao¡¯s hand. Wu Ao was unaware and just silently stroked its smooth body. His eyes were slightly half-lidded, showing a tired look. Everything that had happened was completely different from what he had expected. The Heavenly Ruler had been voluntary from the beginning to the end, whether it was becoming Gu Xuandu¡¯s lover or being attached to Da Han. His thoughts, were only his wishful thinking. Even if Lin Rufei, who had recovered his memories, didn¡¯t mention anything at all, he could still taste the hint of disappointment in those eyes. He was disappointed in him, disappointed in everything he had done, but he also would not speak out to chastise and at most just sadly gazed at him. Wu Ao covered his eyes with his arm, sobbing sadly. He would probably die here alone, just as he had been born here alone. His parents had passed away so early that he couldn¡¯t even remember what they had looked like and his world was chaotic until he was adopted by the Heavenly Ruler. The appearance of the Heavenly Ruler ripped open the curtain of chaos and brought him a warm light, and he thought he was going to be in the world of light forever until he was one day left behind. Consciousness gradually blurred, Wu Ao curled his body and closed his eyes, yet in the haze, he felt himself fall into an embrace, which gave him the illusion of returning to his mother¡¯s body. Wu Ao closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber. A long time later, Wu Ao woke up from the dream again. He opened his eyes blankly and the first thing he saw was a burning campfire with a silent figure, who had their back turned towards, him sitting next to the campfire. Wu Ao reflexively wanted to get up, but agitated his abdominal wound and let out a slight cry of pain. He lowered his head to look carefully, and incredibly, he found that his wound had actually been treated. Although the technique was very rough, at least it had stopped the bleeding. ¡°Who¡­¡­who saved me?¡± Wu Ao asked, bewildered. No one answered. Mo Changshan sat by the fire, his black eyes were still dull, much less responding to his question. However, there were only the two of them here. The person who saved him, naturally, there was only one answer. Only, Wu Ao revealed a look of disbelief. He stared at Mo Changshan, like he was staring at a monster. Although he could revive Mo Changshan, he did not call upon Mo Changshan¡¯s soul, so logically speaking, Mo Changshan should only be a puppet acting on instinct but how could a puppet save him? Wu Ao thought with such doubts. Mo Changshan remained silent. The two of them faced each other and the atmosphere was stilled, only the fire in front of them would incessantly emit a crackling sound. ¡°Are you the one who saved me?¡± Wu Ao smiled bitterly. Mo Changshan did not speak. ¡°What¡¯s the point of saving me?¡± Wu Ao muttered, ¡°He doesn¡¯t want me anymore.¡± Mo Changshan still looked at Wu Ao quietly, unmoving. Wu Ao was silent for a moment and suddenly spoke, ¡°Do you want to go to the Xiliang Mountains to see?¡± There was still no response. Wu Ao was a little disappointed, sighed slightly, and whispered, ¡°Your dog, named Zhaocai, is buried in the Xiliang Mountains.¡± He thought Mo Changshan would still remain quiet, but who knew that in the next moment, he heard a small but extraordinarily resolute voice: ¡°Okay.¡± Wu Ao looked up in astonishment: ¡°You can think now?¡± Mo Changshan, however, was still the same as when he had first seen him. His eyes were lightless and he was unable to see a trace of spirit. It was as if the word ¡°okay¡± just now, did not come out of his mouth at all. Wu Ao smiled and the smile was a little bitter. But in the end, he was smiling, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you¡­¡­to see.¡± xxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Autumn wind was somewhat similar to the Spring breeze. It was just different from the warmth of Spring, carrying a hint of coolness inside. September to October, it was once again the season to eat crabs. The crabs were transported from the great lake a hundred miles away and although the taste was very good, it was still cold so Lin Rufei was not able to eat more than necessary. Although he now had the memory of the Heavenly Ruler, Lin Rufei¡¯s life did not change much. He was still drinking medicine every day to recuperate from injuries, unusually leisurely. Sure enough, that slender cherry blossom tree was really becoming different. Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul was now inhabiting it and not only did it not have the intention to dissipate, but it was also actually being nourished. Lin Rufei¡¯s brain came up with various ways to help him resurrect but the premise was that he needed to find a suitable body first. The body needed to be made of special materials, otherwise, he was afraid it wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain Gu Xuandu. Just as Lin Rufei was still worried about where to find the material, one day, when he was washing, he suddenly looked up and saw himself in the mirror. This mirror was the one gifted to him by Lin Weirui and it was much clearer than the ordinary copper mirror. His reflection in it was in perfect detail and as soon as Lin Rufei raised his head, he noticed something unusual in his eye. It was a pink cherry blossom swirling in his eye. Lin Rufei was stunned at first and then overjoyed. He raised his hand and covered his eye¡ª¡ªhe knew what to use for Gu Xuandu¡¯s body. Gu Xuandu was still on the branch at this time. As late Autumn arrived, everything withered and the little flower bud that stood alone on the branch stood out at this time. Even Fu Hua and Yu Rui felt that it was quite a strange phenomenon, saying, ¡®this cherry blossom doesn¡¯t bloom in Spring but actually in Autumn? Is it actually a plum blossom?¡¯ Lin Rufei joked that it must have felt that it didn¡¯t bloom enough in Spring, which was why it was also making up for it in Autumn. Fu Hua and Yu Rui still felt strange, but they didn¡¯t think too much of it. However, Lin Bianyu noticed something right away and asked Lin Rufei with a frown if the bud had anything to do with Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei frankly admitted and told Lin Bianyu some things. Of course, he still omitted the details of the Heavenly Ruler and the formation. He simply said that he had met a powerful senior and that the senior gave him the sword and taught him sword techniques. However, later on, that senior encountered some things and his soul was now recuperating on the cherry blossom tree. Lin Bianyu frowned as soon as he heard that and asked, ¡°So, at that time, he tripped me over on purpose?¡± Lin Rufei froze for a moment before he finally understood what Lin Bianyu was talking about. He couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter and tears, ¡°Brother¡­¡­stop bickering with him.¡± Lin Bianyu coldly snorted and narrowed his eyes: ¡°I naturally won¡¯t bicker with him.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°¡­¡­¡± How come this tone of yours sounds so unreliable, ah? Seeing Lin Bianyu¡¯s hateful look, he apparently had a lot of remarks about this senior. In the end, he could only kindly and patiently persuade for a long time before finally helping Lin Bianyu calm down the fire inside him. However, Lin Bianyu still had a deep prejudice against this ¡°so-called¡± senior of his and believe that he had cheated his young brother, who was not experienced in the world. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This year¡¯s cold weather came fast and the first snow fell in the middle of November. Lin Rufei was still sleeping when he was awakened by the sound of rustling snow. The first thing he did when he woke up was to put on his cloak and head out to see the cherry blossom tree in his yard. A thin layer of snow had already accumulated on the bud. Lin Rufei gently swept the snow off with his fingers and called for Fu Hua and Yu Rui to fetch some bamboo and wood to build a snow barrier for the cherry blossom tree. While Fu Hua was building, she urged Lin Rufei to go inside to change into thicker clothing. However, Lin Rufei simply stood still and said he was not cold. ¡°And you say it¡¯s not cold? Look, the tip of your nose is already frozen red.¡± Fu Hua chided, ¡°Young master, go quickly, don¡¯t go and get sick again.¡± In the end, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t have any choice and could only head back inside. When he came out again, the bamboo frame was already set up. Lin Rufei gently swept the snow off the cherry blossom tree. Fu Hua was afraid of Lin Rufei catching a cold and had originally wanted to do it herself, however, she was stopped by Lin Rufei. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Lin Rufei smiled. His fingertips gently glided over the trunk of the tree and seeing the soft bud tremble slightly with his movements, as if shouting at him that it was an itchy feeling, Lin Rufei said, ¡°When I wait until Spring, will you bloom?¡± The cherry blossom naturally could not answer. ¡°If you decide to bloom, you should blossom a few more buds.¡± Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t be as wretched as last Spring.¡± The Winter on Kunlun was long and silent. It was actually warmer at the bottom of the mountains, but Lin Rufei did not want to go down there. After returning to Kunlun, he also visited the town again but each time he would pass by that scorched cherry blossom forest. After Winter, the snow fell onto the cherry blossom grove and the white snow and the scorched black ground formed a stark contrast. Lin Rufei stood in place for a while, then turned around and went back, and never went back down the mountain after that. Fu Hua probably knew what was on Lin Rufei¡¯s mind and did not dare to persuade. However, she was still afraid that Lin Rufei would catch a cold, so she burned a lot of charcoal fire and she even burned out all the earthworms in the room. The room was warm enough for him to wear a single coat, but Lin Rufei¡¯s body was weak and the charcoal fire was too dry, as more continued to burn, the more he would cough. In addition, Lin Rufei liked to head outside all day, so Fu Hua and Yu Rui had to boil a few more warmers for Lin Rufei to carry close to him. In December, heavy snowfall arrived, covering the entire world. Lin Rufei, holding an umbrella and holding a warmer in his arms, was standing in the courtyard talking to the cherry blossom tree. He said that today, Shen Wucui had come over to propose marriage. Lin Weirui was so happy that she even ate a few more bowls of rice. Shen Wucui also asked about the betrothal gift, but Lin Weirui, this child, simply gave him an elbow and wrapped her arms around Shen Wucui¡¯s shoulder. She said that since they were in such a good relationship, what was the point of a betrothal gift? He just had to give her a kiss and she would marry him right away. As a result, the thin-skinned Shen Wucui was bashful and beet red in the face. Finally, Lin Minzhi couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, he reached out and dragged Lin Weirui back. Gritting his teeth, he asked why she couldn¡¯t be more reserved as a girl. Lin Weirui was full of innocence and simply replied that she had been very reserved. And that if she hadn¡¯t been reserved, probably at this time she would have excitedly headed over to the Shen family to propose¡­¡­.She had wanted to say something else until she noticed Lin Minzhi¡¯s unkind eyes, then she hurriedly shut her mouth and made an innocent stance. She knew that if she opened her mouth again, she was afraid to be whipped again. The cherry blossom tree stood quietly in the courtyard and did not answer. Lin Rufei¡¯s voice was soft and the atmosphere was also harmonious. In the blink of an eye, it was already New Year¡¯s Eve. Wan Yao came to check on Lin Rufei¡¯s body to make sure that he had almost recovered from his previous injuries. However, there were still a lot of hideous wounds left on his hands which looked a bit out of place. Lin Rufei could care less about such matters. Which swordsmen didn¡¯t have wounds on their bodies? New Year¡¯s Eve was a big festival and the usually calm Kunlun also followed the liveliness. Too many things had happened this year and it was time to have a good year to celebrate. Since Lin Bianyu had given the word, the whole Kunlun was naturally eager to respond. Big red lanterns and window flowers[1] were hung on every eave and corner of the houses. Lin Weirui had gotten her hands on a large pile of firecrackers and fireworks from somewhere, saying that she wanted to have a good time on the night of the New Year. Lin Minzhi didn¡¯t persuade this time, when he noticed that Lin Weirui was looking a little lonesome, he said that once Lin Weirui really married into the Shen family, this nature of hers must be changed¡­¡­ Lin Weirui hummed but she did not answer. ¡°Change, why change?¡± Lin Bianyu commented indifferently, ¡°With the backing of the Kunlun Sect, are we still afraid that someone will dare to bully Weirui?¡± Lin Minzhi sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of someone bullying Weirui, I¡¯m afraid of Weirui bullying someone else. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know Shen Wucui¡¯s nature. Since he had met Weirui, I don¡¯t know if it is considered his good luck or his calamity.¡± He and Lin Bianyu did not know that Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui were now connected in life and naturally had some sympathy for the old-fashioned Shen family¡¯s son. After all, he had met such a difficult girl as Weirui, who was difficult to meet even in a hundred years. Lin Weirui giggled then wiggled her eyebrows at Lin Minzhi. She then grabbed Lin Rufei, who was watching the show, and said, ¡°Come on, Xiao Jiu, let¡¯s not talk to these two old people, let¡¯s go out and set off fireworks. Lin Rufei smiled and nodded his head. On the day of New Year¡¯s Eve, the snow had stopped, but Heaven and Earth were still white. Lin Rufei, draped in a cloak, stood in the snow and looked up at the flowers. Lin Weirui was laughing and joking with the maids, talking about which fireworks were the most beautiful. But halfway through, Lin Rufei felt something in his heart and glanced in a certain direction, however, he saw no one. He thought he was being paranoid and then smiled to himself, thinking that with that person¡¯s nature, he probably won¡¯t be coming back. But he didn¡¯t know that someone was cowering in the corner, covering his pounding heart, murmuring: ¡°Fortunately, I was not seen.¡± Standing beside him, the man in black was still expressionless, but since the two had been together for a long time, he saw what was in the mind of the man in black and muttered annoyedly: ¡°I¡¯m not afraid either, just¡­¡­just¡­¡­¡± His eyes dropped halfway as he murmured, ¡°Afraid that he will blame me.¡± ¡°Will he?¡± The man in black asked. ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± He laughed bitterly, ¡°He is so good-natured, how could he possibly blame me?¡± The fireworks exploded one after another in the sky. Lin Rufei looked at the fireworks, but suddenly remembered something and smiled, ¡°Sister, leave some for me. I want to release them when I head back to the courtyard.¡± Lin Weirui stated, ¡°Why do you want to release them when you go back?¡± She asked suspiciously, ¡°Xiao Jiu, do you now have a golden house for a beloved[2] in your courtyard? You didn¡¯t use to be like this.¡± Lin Rufei now liked to stay in the courtyard and nowadays, he hardly ever comes out. Several times when she went to look for him, she would see him standing in front of the cherry blossom tree, either weeding, watering, or staring at that flower bud with a light smile. The cherry blossom tree was also strange to the extreme. Other cherry blossom trees bloomed in the Spring, but this one grew a bud during the Winter, and it didn¡¯t even blossom as it simply hung alone on the top of the tree. If not for Lin Rufei telling her not to touch it, she may have long been itching to pick that thing off. Listening to Lin Weirui, Lin Rufei did not refute and smiled wryly: ¡°Yes, in the house, there is a beautiful beauty hidden.¡± ¡°Where, where?¡± Lin Weirui asked, ¡°How come I didn¡¯t see it?¡± Lin Rufei stated seriously: ¡°Only a smart person can see it. Second brother, you saw it, right?¡± ¡°I saw it.¡± Lin Bianyu said sorrowfully. He naturally knew what Lin Rufei was talking about. Lin Weirui glared, saying that they must be hiding something from her. Lin Rufei waved his hand and said that he was sleepy, so he would go back first. Then he turned around and slipped away, leaving Lin Weirui shouting at him from behind. Taking the fireworks to the courtyard, Lin Rufei walked towards the cherry blossom tree. He first greeted and said that today was the New Year. It was very lively outside and he had bought some fireworks back, especially to show him. Thus, he lit a firecracker, watching as it gave off a warm and soft orange light in the courtyard. Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks were also illuminated by the light, ¡°I¡¯ve missed you.¡± A grain of snow fell from the sky and fell upon Lin Rufei¡¯s eyelashes. The feeling was a little icy and he frowned slightly, his tone brought along some helpless sigh: ¡°Those hundreds of years, how did you make it thus far?¡± Amidst that hundred miles of cherry blossom forest, he had no one to talk to. Gu Xuandu could only wait for that unknown future that he had never seen before. That day, when Da Han shattered and was about to dissipate, Gu Xuandu could have ascended to Heaven, but he still liberated his own body just to preserve his soul. He was then successfully reincarnated as the youngest son of the Kunlun Sect and Gu Xuandu finally ended that long wait when he saw the vision of Lin Rufei¡¯s birth. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. The fireworks dissipated and the courtyard was quiet once again. Lin Rufei walked up to the flower bud and reached out to brush upon it. The bud was soft and Lin Rufei watched it tremble slightly at his fingertips as he whispered softly, ¡°Come back soon.¡± The breeze blew by and the branches quivered lightly, as if nodding their heads to his words. Once Winter was over, it would be Spring again. But this Winter seemed to be much longer than usual and only until March, did the snow gradually start melting. Everything was reviving, the grass and trees all started to sprout new shoots, and in just one night, many lovely greens sprouted on that tree branch. Lin Rufei raised his hand to touch it, quite like seeing his favorite child grow little teeth, and said with a smile, ¡°Finally, you sprouted.¡± The cherry blossom tree naturally could not speak. The other grasses and trees in the courtyard also began to turn green quickly. After just a few days¡¯ work, the snow-covered Earth returned to an earthy black, and in a few days, the black was layered with a blanket of rich green. Lin Rufei sat in the courtyard playing chess with Lin Bianyu, who asked, ¡°It¡¯s a nice day today, why don¡¯t Xiao Jiu and I go down to the mountains for a stroll?¡± Lin Rufei was a little hesitant. ¡°The pagoda tree flowers in town are also in bloom.¡± Lin Bianyu said, ¡°It would be good to pick some and wrap them in dumplings.¡± When Lin Rufei saw Lin Bianyu¡¯s strong persuasion, he had to agree. In the end, Fu Hua brought her horse and found a thick cloak for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei rode on the horse and as he headed outside and he also noticed that the mountain gate was very busy. As he continued the road down the mountains, he would very soon pass that cherry blossom forest. Lin Rufei originally thought that he would see the melancholy of scorched earth, but who knew that when he arrived at the scene, the scorched earth was gone and in its place, there was now a dense forest. But this forest was still a little bit on the shorter side and it seemed to be just planted saplings. Interspersed with some already blooming cherry blossom trees, it looked a little out of place compared with the surrounding area. Lin Rufei showed his surprise and asked Lin Bianyu what this was all about. Lin Bianyu said, ¡°Knowing that Xiao Jiu likes cherry blossom trees, I sent people to clean out the burnt cherry blossoms and planted new seedlings. Supplemented by a big formation to help them grow, in a few days, these cherry blossom trees should be able to grow, although it will take some years to bloom, but I think it won¡¯t take too long.¡± Lin Rufei asked, ¡°What about those cherry blossom trees?¡± Lin Bianyu smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but when I came down here to deal with the scorched Earth, I found that there were suddenly more cherry blossom trees¡­¡­and they were all in bloom, so although it was strange, I just left them alone.¡± Lin Rufei blinked. He seemed to have realized something and nodded, revealing a smile. The town was as lively as usual and the pagoda trees, like last year, produced plenty of dense buds. Lin Bianyu climbed up the tree, picking the pagoda flowers by the handful, while Lin Rufei stood at the bottom with a cloth pocket, waiting to catch them. The two brothers were very down-to-earth as they attracted people who could not help but cast a gaze. Fortunately, Lin Rufei didn¡¯t care about such things. When the bag was full, the two headed back home. Lin Rufei also discussed with Lin Bianyu about the food they were going to have for lunch today, saying that since they were going to eat dumplings in the evening, they should just eat something random for lunch. Lin Weirui would be getting married soon and Shen Wucui said that he would come over in late June to give the betrothal gift, when that time comes, Kunlun could definitely make a big deal of it. When it came to Lin Weirui¡¯s marriage, Lin Rufei was heartbroken and comforted at the same time. But in the end, for Lin Weirui, it was a good thing. As the two of them chatted away, they showed a heartfelt smile, saying that when a girl grows up, they couldn¡¯t keep her in the house anymore, ah¡­.. When they arrived back at the courtyard, Lin Bianyu took the pagoda flowers and sent Fu Hua and Yu Rui to deal with them. Lin Rufei came into the courtyard as usual and was about to look at the bud, but then he suddenly noticed that the branches were empty and nothing was left. Lin Rufei looked dumbfounded at this scene for a long time before he started searching in panic. However, after looking around all over the grass, he saw no signs of the bud and Lin Rufei immediately grew anxious. He hurriedly called out, ¡°Fu Hua, Fu Hua! ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Fu Hua was startled by Lin Rufei panic calls. Lin Rufei asked, ¡°Has anyone come into the courtyard?¡± Fu Hua responded, ¡°No, no one has come in. Young Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei hurried eagerly, ¡°Where is the flower bud? Where is the bud on the cherry blossom tree?¡± Fu Hua froze, seemingly not expecting Lin Rufei to become so anxious because of this matter, ¡°Oh, young master. The flower bud you¡¯re talking about was blown down just now by a gust of wind. I saw it fall on the ground, so I picked it up and placed it on the table in your room.¡± Everyone knew that the cherry blossom tree was their young master¡¯s treasure, naturally, the flower bud was as well. Although she didn¡¯t know why the bud suddenly fell, she knew that her young master would certainly be heartbroken, so when Fu Hua noticed it, she picked it up and placed it in Lin Rufei¡¯s room. When Lin Rufei heard these words, he let out a long breath of relief before hurriedly running into his room. Indeed, he really saw the flower bud intact on the table, only, because it had fallen onto the ground, the flower bud was now covered in some dirt. Lin Rufei carefully took it in his hand and gently swept away the floating dust on it: ¡°Why so fast?¡± The bud stayed in Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, like an embryo about to spit out its pistil. Lin Rufei took a look at the Spring colors outside and lost his smile: ¡°So it seems, it¡¯s also already Spring¡­¡­so it should be time.¡± He opened his eyes and his fingertips lightly brushed against them. He suddenly noticed that there were tears falling and in those tears, a tinge of pink was mixed in. Lin Rufei opened his eyes again and a single cherry blossom petal slowly fell from his eyes, like a feather, quietly landing on top of the bud. When the flower bud and the cherry blossom petal touched, there was actually a slight tremor and the petals began to slowly bloom. Just like that, it revealed the white pistil, and in the center of the pistil, lay a naked little man. The little man also seemed to have noticed Lin Rufei¡¯s gaze and in a sense of haziness, he also opened his eyes, rubbing them, emitting tiny little cries. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] An examples of window flowers: (they come in various designs) [2] Golden house hiding a beloved: basically like hiding/keeping a lover. CH 91 This little man looked about seventy or eighty percent similar to Gu Xuandu, but his features were much more tender. Clearly, he was just a smaller version of Gu Xuandu. When Lin Rufei noted down his appearance, he could not help but reach out his hand and gently poke him. The little man wasn¡¯t able to stand still from the impact and directly fell to the ground from Lin Rufei¡¯s poke. Looking up, he gave Lin Rufei an aggrieved expression and in the next moment, he started howling and crying. Lin Rufei immediately panicked when he saw him crying and then quickly picked him up carefully with his fingers, calling out, ¡°No more crying, no more crying. No more crying, Xuandu, ah.¡± The smaller version of Gu Xuandu hugged Lin Rufei¡¯s finger and with an aggrieved look, he gave Lin Rufei¡¯s finger a bite. However, because he was small, there wasn¡¯t actually much strength and it just felt like he was being scratched. Lin Rufei was amused by him and mumbled: ¡°How did you become like this?¡­..¡± As he finished saying these words, he felt his heart ache a little. In the end, it was probably because there was still an impact when the soul had separated from the physical body. However, this situation was much better than that of the Heavenly Ruler because that ordinary-looking cherry blossom tree outside in the courtyard was Gu Xuandu¡¯s lifeline and it could nurture Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul. This little thing was so small that Lin Rufei felt a little overwhelmed after holding him in his hand. However, when Fu Hua and Yu Rui heard the sound, they came in to look. And at a glance, they noticed the thumb-sized little man shyly hiding in Lin Rufei¡¯s hair. Seeing them come in, he poked out his head to look in their way. ¡°Yo, what¡¯s this?¡± Yu Rui asked in amazement. ¡°Could it be that the cherry blossom has become a spirit?¡± Fu Hua immediately noticed the blooming bud lying on the table. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡­a friend of mine.¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°His physical body was injured, only the soul was left and for some reason, he became this way.¡± ¡°This is also¡­¡­way too cute.¡± Yu Rui looked at the tiny little doll and pink stars immediately emerged in her eyes. It was like she had desperately wanted to go over and give him a big hug. Just, Gu Xuandu was extremely afraid of strangers and quickly leaned towards Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei then smoothly swept him into his bosom and said: ¡°He is timid, do not scare him.¡± That being said, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were still very happy to see the little man¡¯s bare arms and hands and immediately volunteered to pull out the needle and thread to sew him some small clothes. These two girls probably were just treating Gu Xuandu like he was a doll. After putting on the clothes, Gu Xuandu slipped out of Lin Rufei¡¯s hair and he didn¡¯t seem to be as scared as he had been when he had first woken up. Instead, he was quite curious about everything around him. Looking left and looking right, he would play and play until he suddenly started sobbing. It must be said that this was the first time Lin Rufei had seen such a fragile Gu Xuandu, and while he was heartbroken, he found him extraordinarily cute. He touched his tiny face and asked, ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Gu Xuandu touched his belly and looked at Lin Rufei with an aggrieved look. Lin Rufei then immediately understood. He quickly told Fu Hua and Yu Rui to prepare some food. Because he didn¡¯t know what Gu Xuandu wanted to eat, he asked them to prepare a little bit of everything and then anxiously brought it to Gu Xuandu, letting him choose. Gu Xuandu crawled to the top of the rice with difficulty. He cupped a small ball of rice with his small hands, ate a few bites, and then burped, feeling quite full. He then rubbed his eyes, revealing a sleepy look. When Lin Rufei saw this, he carefully carried him down and put him back into the cherry blossom. The moment Gu Xuandu entered the cherry blossom, the petals closed again and wrapped Gu Xuandu in it. Lin Rufei knew that it would take some time to raise Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul, but he was not in a hurry. After having the memory of the Heavenly Ruler, he also had a method to deal with the majestic sword intent in his body, so at least he did not have to worry about it hurting himself again. As long as he took time, he would soon break through the level. With this little doll, Lin Rufei, who originally didn¡¯t like heading out, had now completely disappeared. Lin Bianyu and the others didn¡¯t know what was going on until they realized they hadn¡¯t seen Lin Rufei for a few days. Thus, they came over to take a look, but before they could enter the house, they heard the sound of a child laughing. Lin Weirui¡¯s eyes were wide open and she was excited, saying, ¡®is it possible that my Xiao Jiu has grown up and tricked a girl from somewhere? I mean, after all, he is already twenty-something, it is the age to get married¡­..¡¯ Lin Bianyu glared at his unreliable sister, ignored her, and pushed the door open. But who knew that after heading in, they did indeed notice a child. However, this child was a little bit different from the ordinary child and was only the size of a thumb. He was now standing on Lin Rufei¡¯s hand, holding a fruit larger than his head and nibbling on it. Seeing them come in, he revealed a wary look and immediately shrunk himself back into Lin Rufei¡¯s sleeve. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. ¡°Wow, what is this?¡± Lin Weirui¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Xiao Jiu, where did you get such a cute doll?¡± Lin Rufei laughed bitterly and then had to tell Lin Weirui and Lin Bianyu again what he had said to Fu Hua and Yu Rui. However, the two of them had strange expressions donning their faces after hearing this and Lin Weirui asked, ¡°So what do you need to nurture this senior¡¯s soul?¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°It is best to nurture with soul-nurturing wood, but it seems that there is no such thing in the Kunlun Sect.¡± ¡°What do you mean there isn¡¯t?!¡± Lin Weirui exclaimed with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re lucky, a few days ago, the Shen family happened to come over to deliver the betrothal gift and there just so happened to be a piece of soul-nurturing wood in it. I just don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the kind you want, why don¡¯t you come over with me to take a look?¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Such a coincidence?¡± Lin Weirui responded, ¡°Yes, it is indeed a coincidence.¡± The Shen family¡¯s betrothal gift was very sincere and there were countless treasures inside. Lin Weirui had taken a general look at it and coincidentally saw a piece of soul-nurturing wood. This thing was very rare, but it also typically wouldn¡¯t be used, therefore, Lin Weirui remembered it very well. She just didn¡¯t expect it to come in handy for Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei nodded and placed the little man back into the flower bud, telling him that he and Lin Weirui were going out and would be back soon. He then instructed his second brother to keep an eye on him and told him not to let the little one fall to the ground. Lin Bianyu¡¯s expression was still unpredictable, but he still smiled and nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± After Lin Rufei and Lin Weirui left, Lin Bianyu narrowed his eyes and gazed at the little thing in front of him. He knew that there had been something by Lin Rufei¡¯s side before, but he didn¡¯t know exactly what it was. Now, after finally solving this long confusion, he believed that it was this little thing in front of him that had deliberately tripped him with a cherry blossom branch that year. ¡°Who would¡¯ve expected that you¡¯ll end up like this one day too.¡± When Lin Bianyu noticed the little man with his bottom stuck out and struggling to chew on the fruit, he snickered and gently nudged him with his finger. Although he didn¡¯t use any strength, the little man was delicate and was pushed directly onto the ground. The fruit also rolled to the edge of the table. The little man was confused for a moment and then he reacted, turning his head to look at him, his eyes began to quickly gather tears as he opened his mouth and wailed: ¡°Uwaaaaaaaa¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Bianyu was startled by the sound of the little man crying and panicked, ¡°Why are you crying, I didn¡¯t hit you.¡± The little man looked at him, ignored him, and continued to cry. Lin Bianyu uttered, ¡°Hey, did you do that on purpose?¡± The little man hmphed and continued to cry: ¡°Wuwuwuwuwuwuwu¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Bianyu finally understood his intention and clenched his teeth: ¡°You are doing this on purpose, right?¡± The little man simply ignored Lin Bianyu and continued to cry on his own. Although Lin Bianyu knew he was doing it on purpose, he could not do anything about it. He was such a small thing and it wasn¡¯t plausible for him to simply beat him up. Furthermore, this was still his brother¡¯s precious treasure, if Lin Rufei came back and saw this scene¡ª¡ªLin Bianyu immediately felt an oncoming headache. Lin Rufei and Lin Weirui came back after picking up the soul-nurturing wood. When they entered, they saw Gu Xuandu, who was bawling his eyes out, and Lin Bianyu, who was sitting next to him with his hands crossed against his chest and a gloomy look on his face. When Lin Rufei saw Gu Xuandu crying so sadly, he hurriedly went forward to take him into his arms and asked in a warm voice, ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Gu Xuandu rubbed his eyes while pointing at Lin Bianyu. ¡°It has nothing to do with me!¡± Lin Bianyu defended, ¡°I just touched him!¡± Gu Xuandu then pointed to his cheek, which was indeed red. He looked at Lin Rufei with an aggrieved expression, as if he had just been bullied. Lin Rufei suddenly cried and laughed. He knew Lin Bianyu¡¯s nature very well; he was very proud, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t deliberately bully such a small little doll. He was probably just curious like he(LRF) had been and reached out to give him a little poke. However, he didn¡¯t know that the little man was delicate and weak and that even a simple poke would make him cry. But although Lin Rufei was clear in his heart, he didn¡¯t say so with his mouth. In the end, he kindly soothed the little one, coaxing him until he finally stopped crying. When Lin Rufei was coaxing the little man, Lin Bianyu was staring sorrowfully at the side causing Lin Weirui to laugh and ask, ¡°Second brother, what¡¯s with your expression?¡± Lin Bianyu gave a disgusted tsk: ¡°It¡¯s not something good.¡± Lin Weirui simply laughed out loud. With the soul-nurturing wood, Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul state was much more stable. Lin Rufei found that his body began to gradually grow larger with the stability of the soul. At first, he was only the size of a thumb but now he was as big as a palm. Fu Hua and Yu Rui were quite idle on a daily basis so they would often always make clothes for Gu Xuandu to wear. Looking at their appearances, they probably were treating Gu Xuandu like a doll. But what made Lin Rufei more worried was that Gu Xuandu still didn¡¯t seem to remember the old days. His consciousness was still in a daze and originally, he was worried that this state of mind would last forever. However, who knew that when he had been woken up by Gu Xuandu one day, Gu Xuandu suddenly grasped his finger and hummed childishly: ¡°Xiao Jiu¡­¡­ ¡° Lin Rufei was surprised: ¡°Xuandu?¡± Being able to call out his name, then he must have remembered something. However, Gu Xuandu only knew these two words: ¡°Xiao Jiu¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei was not in a hurry though. Patting him on his head, he asked if he was hungry and Gu Xuandu nodded. From this day on, Gu Xuandu¡¯s state began to gradually improve, not only did he remember his own name, but he also recovered some other memories. However, these memories were still a bit confusing and messy. Probably because a long time had passed, but the good memories and bad memories were currently now mixed up together. When he remembered the good things, Gu Xuandu would be happy and call out to Xiao Jiu, telling him how the candy paintings sold in that town were really delicious and that he wanted to eat another one. And when he remembered the bad things, he would whimper and cry, crying out to not leave him again. That he was really afraid to wait another few hundred years. That cherry blossom forest was really big and it was extra cold when it rained. He couldn¡¯t do anything but wait and wait, as if waiting for a cherry blossom that would never bloom in the Winter. When Lin Rufei listened, his heart ached very badly. He took him into his arms and carefully soothed him. Gu Xuandu cried and cried until he finally fell asleep but his long eyelashes were still stained with teardrops. Lin Rufei gently stroked his hair and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, I will never leave you alone again.¡± In the blink of an eye, June had arrived and it was the day Lin Weirui was to be married. Kunlun, and the ten miles surrounding it, were donned in bright red. Lin Bianyu watched as the two crossed the fire bowl[1] and performed their marriage ceremonies. Since his father had not yet come out of seclusion, his elder brother had to be the one sitting in the elder¡¯s seat, drinking the few cups of tea handed to him by the couple. After being sent to the bridal chamber, there was then a lively banquet. Although this was a good thing, as Lin Weirui¡¯s maiden family, Lin Rufei was still a bit heartbroken. He casually ate something, then left the banquet and found a quiet place to rest. Gu Xuandu crawled out from his sleeves, looking like he had just woken up. Rubbing his eyes, he then vaguely asked why Xiao Jiu was unhappy. ¡°How can I be unhappy when I see my sister getting married?¡± Lin Rufei muttered. ¡°But Xiao Jiu is unhappy.¡± Gu Xuandu cocked his head and whispered, ¡°I know Xiao Jiu is unhappy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not unhappy, just feel like sighing.¡± and Lin Rufei sighed, ¡°Sister is now going to the Shen family and I do not know how long it will take for her to come back and visit¡­¡­Xuandu, are you hungry?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Xuandu?¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Xiao Jiu call me senior anymore?¡± He grunted and pouted, ¡°I want to hear Xiao Jiu call me senior!¡± Such a small thing using such a childish tone to say unreasonable words was really a bit overwhelming. Lin Rufei cried and laughed, reached out, and gently pinched his cheeks, ¡°Look at your appearance and you still expect me to call you senior?¡± ¡°But that¡¯s what Xiao Jiu used to call me.¡± Gu Xuandu was still unconvinced and argued vaguely, ¡°Xiao Jiu has changed and doesn¡¯t like me anymore!¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Wait until you grow up.¡± Gu Xuandu held in his sobs as giant tears rolled down his cheeks. He was very well aware of his current appearance, but the most heartbreaking was that if he asked something of Fu Hua and Yu Rui, they would always agree to his requests. However, Lin Rufei had long been used to it, after smiling and pinching his nose, he said, ¡®okay, okay, don¡¯t cry anymore. You¡¯re already a grownup, why are you still crying? Don¡¯t you find it shameful?¡¯ ¡°Not shameful.¡± Gu Xuandu sullenly hummed, ¡°As long as Xiao Jiu does not dislike me, I will not be ashamed.¡± After saying that, he looked at Lin Rufei once again, ¡°Does Xiao Jiu dislike me?¡± ¡°Little ancestor, how could I dare to dislike you?¡± Lin Rufei laughed, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back.¡± He picked up Gu Xuandu and the two of them then headed back to the banquet together. Lin Bianyu was currently making Shen Wucui drink, however, Lin Minzhi did not join in on the liveliness. He simply sat on the side drinking alone. His aura and appearance made the other people hesitate to come forward and join in on the fun. Only Lin Rufei, his younger brother, would smile as he sat down next to him saying, ¡®Big brother, take it easy. Don¡¯t drink too much.¡¯ ¡°I won¡¯t drink too much.¡± When Lin Minzhi noticed Lin Rufei, his expression gradually softened, ¡°I¡¯m just happy today, so I ended up drinking a few more cups.¡± Although he said he was happy, there was no noticeable joy on his face. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. It was expected, after all, when a daughter gets married, it was the mother¡¯s side of that family that felt sad. Although Lin Bianyu was smiling, he didn¡¯t hold back at all in coercing Shen Wucui to drink. Poor Shen Wucui was already red in the face and kept shaking his head in refusal, but Lin Bianyu wrapped his arms around his neck and poured another cup down his throat. Finally, it was Lin Minzhi who spoke up and told Lin Bianyu that it was enough. Weirui was still waiting and if he sent a drunkard in, Weirui might not exactly be happy. Lin Bianyu deeply thought about his words and although he believed that she would be quite amused and happy at this sight, he stilled stopped himself and patted Shen Wucui on the shoulder, saying, ¡®go ahead, go ahead, I¡¯m not going to play with you anymore, I¡¯ll find someone else to drink with.¡¯ Saying this, he carried the wine jug and left, looking for another unlucky egg to continue drinking with. People like Lin Bianyu, who were at the eighth level of cultivation, wanting to get completely drunk was simply impossible. Lin Rufei also drank a few cups but he then remembered the jug of turquoise wine that Gu Xuandu had given him to drink. Even after a long time, Lin Rufei still remembered the taste of that jug. But unfortunately, although the wine was good, drunkenness was also quite amazing, and simply after a few cups, Lin Rufei already felt somewhat confused. After having drunk such an amazing wine and then drinking other kinds of wine, it really felt like he was drinking water. Later, when he regained the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s memories, Lin Rufei realized that this wine was made by the Heavenly Ruler especially for Gu Xuandu, using many rare herbs and now it was difficult to reconstitute it. Lin Rufei stroked the wine cup and many thoughts passed through his mind. When Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul was almost ready, he would leave Kunlun again to look for materials in order to construct his body and then send out the remaining invitations along the way¡­¡­ Thinking about it, Lin Rufei also ended up drinking a little too much. His pale cheeks reddened and his eyes began to drift. When Lin Minzhi noticed this, he summoned his subordinates to send Lin Rufei back to his courtyard. The weather was good today and after the sky darkened, a sky full of brightly lit stars was visible. Lin Rufei was helped into the house by Fu Hua and Yu Rui, but he refused to rest and sleep. Slipping into the courtyard, he gazed at the lonely cherry blossom tree and his mouth kept on chattering. He did not know what he was reciting, but it seemed that he had a lot of things he had wanted to say to Gu Xuandu and now he was saying it all in one go. Tired of talking, he turned back and laid down on the chair in the courtyard in order to take a nap. In a trance, someone from behind him gently pressed against him, murmuring close to his ear: ¡°How did I not know before, that Xiao Jiu is so good at talking about love¡­¡­¡± Lin Rufei wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids were glued shut so he wasn¡¯t able to re-open them. After struggling for a while, he then gave up and hummed twice in acknowledgment. A low chuckle then came, accompanied by some helpless doting. Someone then layered an outerwear on top of his body to expel the night¡¯s chill. The next morning, Lin Rufei woke up in the room. After the hangover, he had a pretty bad headache and was currently sitting on the bed, grunting, as he summoned Fu Hua and Yu Rui. ¡°Young master drank a lot yesterday.¡± Fu Hua carried the hangover soup and seemed like she had long prepared for this, ¡°Now you must have a terrible headache. Quick, drink the hangover soup.¡± Lin Rufei let out a sound and asked, ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Little doll?¡± Fu Hua knew what Lin Rufei was asking, ¡°Yu Rui just steamed some fresh date cake[2], so she brought him over to eat a little.¡± Lin Rufei: ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡± Fu Hua asked, ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Rufei questioned, ¡°Who sent me in last night?¡± Fu Hua replied, ¡°It was me and Yu Rui. We saw young master sleeping outside, so we helped him in.¡± Lin Rufei nodded. His memory of last night was not very clear but he still had some vague impressions. However, these impressions were very fuzzy. He seemed to have remembered hearing someone whispering something in his ear, but after careful recollection, he could not remember much, as if everything that he had experienced was just a dream. Lin Rufei drank the hangover soup and finally felt that the headache was relieved. After getting up and doing a simple wash, he headed outside and noticed that Gu Xuandu was holding a piece of date cake and feasting on it happily. Although under the nourishment of the soul-nurturing wood, he was still only palm-sized despite Gu Xuandu¡¯s body growing a lot. However, it was better than before when he was only the size of a thumb. After all, now he didn¡¯t have to worry about accidentally injuring him. Fu Hua and Yu Rui stood next to each other. They were looking at Gu Xuandu with kind eyes, as if they were a mother gazing warmly at her beloved son, which made Lin Rufei want to laugh and cry. The date cake was freshly baked and tasted very good. Gu Xuandu also liked to eat this kind of pastry, but he was not big in size so his meal size was also small. After eating half a piece, he suddenly put down the date cake and covered his stomach, crying that it hurt. Lin Rufei was taken aback and hastily picked him up, asking him where he was uncomfortable. ¡°My stomach hurts.¡± Gu Xuandu complained, pointing to his belly. Lin Rufei lifted his clothes to take a look, only to find that this little one ate until his belly was round and his tone became a bit helpless: ¡°How much has he eaten?¡± ¡°Half a piece.¡± Yu Rui replied at the side, ¡°I kept an eye on him and didn¡¯t dare to let him eat more.¡± ¡°Half a piece?¡± Fu Hua asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t he just eat half a piece?¡± Yu Rui: ¡°Huh?¡± The two stared at each other. Gu Xuandu was huffing and puffing and it was obvious that he had eaten too much and was bloating. Lin Rufei had no choice but to let the two bring over some digestion medicine and then carefully rubbed Gu Xuandu¡¯s belly. Gu Xuandu was already small in size, so with his round belly look, he was quite cute and ridiculous. Lin Rufei adjusted his strength and only after rubbing his belly for a while did he not hurt anymore. Rubbing his eyes, he began to mumble that he was sleepy. Lin Rufei fetched another soul-nurturing wood, letting him sleep next to it. He then covered him with a blanket before he finally breathed a sigh of relief. The previous doubts about Gu Xuandu were also left behind, thinking that although his(GXD) memory was gradually recovering, his(GXD) body would certainly not recover that fast, and what had happened that night was probably a hallucination caused by his own drunkenness. After Lin Weirui¡¯s marriage, Kunlun had become much more lonely, but luckily, Lin Rufei had long been accustomed to it and most of the time, he would just stay in the courtyard. But occasionally, when the weather was nice, he would still find time to go down to the mountain to see the cherry blossom forest. With the additional support from the formation, this cherry blossom forest also grew very quickly. In just a few months of work, it had already opened bright green branches and leaves. But even so, if it wanted to bloom, it would probably still have to wait a few more rounds of Spring and Autumn. Lin Rufei took Gu Xuandu to the cherry blossom forest and although he really liked the forest, Gu Xuandu was very averse to this place. Once inside, he started crying and fussing that Lin Rufei had to come out immediately. ¡°No more crying, no more crying.¡± Lin Rufei comforted his little one, ¡°We won¡¯t go in anymore, ah. No more crying.¡± ¡°Wuwuwuwuwuwu.¡± The little one had tears rolling down his cheeks as he clung to Lin Rufei¡¯s hand. He looked wrong to death as his mouth continued to chant that Xiao Jiu was bad, Xiao Jiu was bad. ¡°How is Xiao Jiu bad?¡± Lin Rufei was helpless. ¡°Xiao Jiu left me here.¡± Gu Xuandu choked, ¡°So I waited and waited and waited and waited¡­¡­I thought I would never see him again.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart clenched at those words and blamed himself for not thinking about this. He did not expect that his favorite cherry blossom forest, would be Gu Xuandu¡¯s sadness. He kissed the top of his head and continued to whisper comforting words, telling Xuandu not to cry anymore and that they would never come here again. ¡°I won¡¯t cry if you call me senior.¡± Who knew that he actually still remembered this stubbornly and looked impatiently at Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°Want me to call you senior? Then grow up quickly.¡± He then trailed off, ¡°When you grow up, I will call you senior properly, as many times as you want.¡± Little Gu Xuandu puffed up his little fist. (t/n: I can¡¯t guys, this chapter was too cute!!! (*¨R¦á¨Q)) ******** The author has something to say: Lin Rufei: This is my friend, you guys can call him¡­¡­.Dudu? Gu Xuandu: ? ? ? ? ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] A wedding custom, the idea is to keep away bad luck and bring in prosperity. [2] Date cake: CH 92 Gu Xuandu temporarily wouldn¡¯t be hearing him call him senior. He didn¡¯t know how many days he needed in order to change from the size of the palm to big. After being nourished for a period of time near the soul-nurturing wood, Gu Xuandu¡¯s soul had become much more stable. However, once he grew to the size of a palm, he no longer grew any more, but his memory was still slowly recovering. Although these memories were still a jumbled mess, he had remembered a lot about Lin Rufei and what he had experienced before. And Lin Rufei¡¯s plan to leave Kunlun had also been put onto the agenda. Lin Bianyu and the others were deeply worried about their youngest brother¡¯s proposal to continue to send invitations. Apparently, they had learned from Fu Hua about what Lin Rufei had experienced along the way. It was simply a series of twists and turns, experiencing eighty-one[1] difficulties before finally delivering the invitations to the families. When Lin Bianyu listened to this, he was very upset and muttered, ¡®Xiao Jiu, it seems to be quite difficult for you to send the invitations. How about I help you send the rest and you just stay on Kunlun properly?¡¯ Lin Rufei looked at Lin Bianyu helplessly, ¡°Second brother, those are all coincidences. Are you telling me that when you sent out invitations, you didn¡¯t encounter anything?¡± Lin Bianyu shook his head, ¡°No.¡± Lin Rufei then looked at his eldest brother. But who knew that Lin Minzhi would also shake his head, albeit a bit more seriously, indicating that he also had been very stable all the way and that the most troublesome thing he encountered was only a few small demons who tried to take advantage of women. None of which were as plentiful as Lin Rufei¡¯s journey. Lin Rufei stared and he was a little incredulous: ¡°So looking at it like this, I am simply a calamity star?¡± From the moment he visited Xie Zhiyao, no matter where he went afterward, there was always an accident. Lin Bianyu quickly defended his family¡¯s little cub and said, ¡®How is Xiao Jiu a calamity star? It¡¯s just that Xiao Jiu¡¯s luck isn¡¯t too good and coincidentally encountered accidents whenever he visited a residence.¡¯ However, in the end, sending invitations was indeed too dangerous and it was better for him to do it. Lin Rufei carefully considered for a while, but finally refused Lin Bianyu¡¯s proposal, insisting on sending the invitations by himself. Seeing that Lin Bianyu could no longer persuade him, he had to give up and sat silently on the side, sulking. Lin Minzhi sighed. He was at least better persuaded than Lin Bianyu. He muttered helplessly that if Lin Rufei really wanted to go, then he must be careful in everything and to always put his life first, not to be careless. Lin Rufei¡ª¡ªagreed and then also set a departure time with Lin Minzhi. After that, he turned his head to try and coax his second brother. Although Lin Bianyu was angry, in the end, he couldn¡¯t let his family¡¯s most beloved youngest brother suffer. He frowned and sighed: ¡°Xiao Jiu has grown up, he already has his own ideas. Brother can¡¯t stop you anymore, just please be more careful when you travel outside, if you are injured, the family will be heartbroken.¡± Lin Rufei obediently agreed. Once June was over, it was soon early Summer. Lin Rufei had his luggage prepared and climbed onto the horse. A palm-sized Gu Xuandu was currently hiding in his chest and from time to time, he would peek his head out to look curiously at the outside world. This time Fu Hua and Yu Rui would have liked to follow, but Lin Rufei¡¯s attitude was firm and refused no matter what. He simply said that he wanted to travel lightly[2]. Furthermore, there weren¡¯t that many invitations left and after he delivered them all, he would return. ¡°Young master, you must come back early.¡± His maids cried as they gazed at Lin Rufei with sadness. Lin Rufei smiled at them and replied, ¡°Okay.¡± The horse then leaped with the raised of the whip and the stallion galloped, following the mountain path all the way down Kunlun. The cherry blossom forest, which had been previously scorched black, was now lush and green. It looked like it wouldn¡¯t be long before the original appearance was once again restored to this land. Xiao Xuan was a little sleepy. Rubbing his eyes, he burrowed himself into Lin Rufei¡¯s bosom, curled up into a ball, and slept. Lin Rufei was busy rushing as he went over the plans he made in his mind several more times. Now that he had the memory of the Heavenly Ruler, he knew exactly what could be used to build Gu Xuandu¡¯s body. So this time, his goal wasn¡¯t only to deliver the invitation, but to also gather materials. However, in the end, he was no longer the powerful Heavenly Ruler of that year. He was just the youngest son of the Lin family on the Kunlun Mountains who had no power. Thus, because this journey was going to be difficult and dangerous, Lin Rufei was also not too confident. But looking down at the little man sleeping in his embrace, the sorrow in his heart turned into a gentle smile on his lips. No matter how hard things were, he would do it. Just like Gu Xuandu, who had been waiting for him for a hundred years. Time flew and in a flash, it would soon be the next sword competition. (t/n: nani?! ¦²(¤Ã ¡ã§¥ ¡ã;)¤Ã that¡¯s a bit abrupt¡­I was hoping to get details about LRF¡¯s journey and how he built GXD¡¯s body¡­¡­but I guess not¡­) The Kunlun sword competition occurred once every four years and it was a grand event celebrated on the entire Kunlun Mountains. Before the competition even started, it was already a lively scene above the mountains and below the mountains. Lin Bianyu just so happened to have to receive several sons of various families, so early in the morning, along with a few Kunlun disciples, he headed to the gate. His eyes wandered over the hawkers coming and going at the mountain gate and just as he was thinking about something, his shoulder was suddenly tapped by someone. Lin Bianyu was startled, he actually did not feel someone come up behind him. Stunned, he turned around and saw a smiling face. ¡°Xiao Jiu!!!¡± Lin Bianyu uttered in amazement. ¡°Second Brother!¡± It was indeed Lin Rufei¡¯s voice. He was wearing a white outfit and was still wearing the same cloak he wore when he left the mountains with a face full of smiles. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. Lin Bianyu asked: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me when you came back? Did you receive the letter I sent to you before? Why didn¡¯t you answer my letter when you received it? Where did you go, how come it took you so long to come back¡ª¡ª¡± This series of questions showed the inner anxiety that Lin Bianyu had. Lin Rufei laughed: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, didn¡¯t I come back in good shape?¡± He then blinked and whispered, ¡°I also brought someone back with me.¡± From Lin Rufei¡¯s shy eyes, Lin Bianyu felt something off and hesitantly asked, ¡°Brought someone back? Which¡­¡­family¡¯s young miss?¡± ¡°Not a young miss.¡± Lin Rufei answered. ¡°Then what is it?¡± Lin Bianyu asked. ¡°It¡¯s a gongzi.¡± In a shy tone of voice with some decisiveness, Lin Rufei¡¯s hand reached out and pulled someone along. It was someone who had been standing behind him for a while and he introduced, ¡°Second brother, this is my lover, Gu Xuandu.¡± Lin Bianyu¡¯s eyes widened and he didn¡¯t speak for a long time. This Gu Xuandu was obviously the palm-sized little man from before, but at this time, he had grown into a full adult appearance. Wearing a bright red outfit, he was currently looking at him with a smile. His appearance was actually very good and his pair of narrow phoenix eyes were slightly curved, as if it was a new cycle of the moon. It really was the color of Spring flowers. However, when the two of them stared into each other¡¯s eyes, they both saw a hint of unkindness. But the unkindness in Gu Xuandu¡¯s eyes seemed to have just been Lin Bianyu¡¯s imagination and with a blink of an eye, he called out innocently: ¡°Brother-in-law.¡± ¡°Who is your brother-in-law?¡± Lin Bianyu clenched his teeth and was close to drawing his sword. Gu Xuandu, however, didn¡¯t mind his disgust at all and smiled straightly with his narrowed eyes. Lin Rufei was afraid that Lin Bianyu would have a fit on the spot, so he hurriedly said that he was a little tired and would go back to rest first and that he would talk about this matter later. Although Lin Bianyu was deeply concerned, when he finally saw Lin Rufei after a long time of no contact, he also didn¡¯t have the heart to be too harsh. After hearing him say that he was tired, he told him to go rest and then gave an unkind glare at Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu looked innocently and stretched his hands. Lin Rufei was afraid that the two of them would quarrel and hurriedly pulled him away. Today, Lin Bianyu didn¡¯t give anyone a pleasant expression. Even when he saw guests coming over, he only barely pulled the corners of his mouth, giving a hard smile. The onlookers were baffled, muttering that something big must have happened on Kunlun, otherwise, why would the Lin family¡¯s second son, who was usually very amiable, have this look?¡­¡­ After finally finishing his business, Lin Bianyu headed straight to Lin Rufei¡¯s courtyard. But just as he entered, he noticed that Lin Rufei was eating with Gu Xuandu. He sat down opposite the two of them and slapped down his sword, Tian Xiao, onto the table and mumbled darkly, ¡°I need an explanation.¡± Lin Rufei replied, ¡°Second brother, don¡¯t be anxious, I¡¯ll tell you slowly.¡± He weighed his words carefully then talked about what he had encountered during the past few years. After leaving Kunlun, he had delivered the rest of the invitations and as soon as he had finished delivering them, he had planned to come back. However, something unexpected happened along the way. He somehow met a cultivator with bad intentions halfway on his journey home and fell into a secret realm. He stayed in the secret realm for a long time before finally escaping, and later on, for personal reasons, he headed to Bu¡¯e, which then enabled him to come back in time. During the middle of his journey, there certainly were matters that delayed him from coming back soon. The words he said were few and in reality, quite an understatement, but what wasn¡¯t difficult to hear from his tone, were the hardships he had faced. As Lin Bianyu listened, his heart ached. Lin Rufei was born on Kunlun, and since young, he had never suffered such grievances. He raised his head and carefully looked at Lin Rufei, only to find that Lin Rufei¡¯s body seemed to have become much better than before. At least his breath was not as weak as when it had been when he was a teenager. The two continued to talk while Gu Xuandu was eating on the side. After Lin Bianyu finished listening, he pointed with his hand: ¡°Then what about him?¡± Lin Rufei muttered: ¡°He¡­¡­he somehow, grew up.¡± He did not dare to tell Lin Bianyu that he had gone out to construct a physical body for Gu Xuandu, so he made a random excuse, intending to muddle through with it. However, Lin Bianyu was not that easy to fool. With his eyes narrowed, he then coldly stated: ¡°In fact, how he grew up, I do not care very much. I just care about how he became your lover.¡± Lin Rufei was speechless. He smiled bitterly and called out to his second brother. ¡°Xiao Jiu don¡¯t blame me for being bad-tempered! You are young and you don¡¯t know the dangers of the Jianghu. The people in this Jianghu are sinister and the ones they like to cheat the most are the little gongzis like you who don¡¯t know the world.¡± Lin Bianyu was already very unhappy when he sent Lin Weirui off to get married, but now that Lin Rufei brought back another one, he simply could not bear it, ¡°This gongzi, what is your name and where are you from?¡± Gu Xuandu replied frankly: ¡°My name is Gu Xuandu, both parents died, and I am now a wandering swordsman.¡± ¡°Oh? You also use the sword?¡± Lin Bianyu asked, ¡°Since we both love swords, would it be possible for you and me to have a sparring session?¡± Lin Rufei stared with wide eyes and hurriedly opened his mouth to persuade him. And only after he had said all the good words he could manage, did he finally dissuade Lin Bianyu from this idea. However, it was obvious that Lin Bianyu wasn¡¯t very willing and if Lin Rufei had not stopped him, he would have really pulled out Tian Xiao and killed this bastard with one strike. Lin Rufei sent Lin Bianyu along his merry way before finally letting out a long sigh of relief. However, Gu Xuandu laughed and wrapped his arms around Lin Rufei¡¯s waist from behind before rubbing their heads together. Lin Rufei turned his head to look at him, ¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s temper wasn¡¯t too good and those who offended him never had a good end. ¡°Why should I be angry?¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°I should be happy that someone is spoiling Xiao Jiu.¡± Lin Rufei hesitated, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± Gu Xuandu said seriously, ¡°The thing I am most worried about is Xiao Jiu suffering.¡± Lin Rufei¡¯s heart softened at this and he twisted his head to drop a kiss on the tip of his hair. If you aren¡¯t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don¡¯t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don¡¯t bite. This sword competition, which happened every four years, was more lively than usual. Probably because this sword competition was filled with familiar people, Lin Rufei also went to join in on the fun. He saw Liu Rugong with Luo Shen, saw Fu Yu holding onto Mo Mo, and he also saw Xuan Qing, whom he had not seen for a long time. With the memory of the Heavenly Ruler, Lin Rufei also knew that Xuan Qing was once an old friend of the Heavenly Ruler and knew about the secret matter that there were two Heavenly Rulers in the world. However, Xuan Qing never mentioned it and when he saw Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu, he simply bowed to the two of them and said, ¡°Long time no see.¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± Lin Rufei smiled, ¡°Why did Master Xuan Qing suddenly want to attend this sword competition?¡± Xuan Qing replied, ¡°I just miss my old friends. I figured it was about time, so I wanted to come and see them.¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°You came at the perfect time.¡± Kunlun had set up a sumptuous banquet for all the guests, but right after Lin Rufei found himself a seat, he felt that the situation wasn¡¯t quite right. He was surrounded by old acquaintances he hadn¡¯t seen in years, all staring at him intently. Liu Rugong was the first to stand up. He headed over to him with a smile as he raised his cup in a toast, saying that he was grateful for the portrait of Luo Shen painted by Lin gongzi and every time he gazed at that portrait, he would reminisce, making it hard for him to sleep. Other people could not see, but Lin Rufei saw clearly. Behind Liu Rugong, was a familiar-looking burly man with a look so hideous that it could stop a child crying in the night. In the end, he was also still slightly guilty. Without a reply, he raised his cup and drank the wine. Fu Yu also came and Mo Mo was still by his side, only, he was now a teenager. Probably because he had been following Fu Yu, he no longer had a silly look on his face. Fu Yu didn¡¯t say anything as he raised his glass and drank. How could Lin Rufei not give face? So he returned with another glass. Then came the eldest son of the Meng family and the She family¡¯s She Jingxian, one after another and one cup after another. Lin Rufei had always been a bad drinker and very soon, his cheeks surfaced with redness as his consciousness also began to blur. But since they were finally able to get together after a long time, how were the people willing to let Lin Rufei go? In the end, Lin Rufei was finally drunk out of his mind. Gu Xuandu was watching this entire process with a smile on his face, like he was watching the fire from the other side of the river[3], until Lin Rufei began to grunt and pout. Then he finally helped him refuse the drinks before picking up Lin Rufei and leaving the banquet. Lin Rufei was drunk and his cheeks were scarlet. He leaned on Gu Xuandu¡¯s shoulder and muttered that he couldn¡¯t drink anymore. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Are you sure you can¡¯t drink anymore?¡± Lin Rufei looked at him in confusion and nodded seriously. ¡°Then let¡¯s not drink anymore.¡± Gu Xuandu¡¯s gentle voice soothed. The two of them headed back to the courtyard and he gently lowered Lin Rufei onto the bed. Gu Xuandu looked at him, ¡°These years have been hard for you.¡± Lin Rufei, however, didn¡¯t respond to his words. He simply reached out and hugged Gu Xuandu¡¯s waist tightly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°Why do you want to apologize?¡± Lin Rufei said, ¡°Only after going through what you¡¯ve been through did I realize how much you¡¯ve suffered.¡± Gu Xuandu lost his smile: ¡°It¡¯s all in the past.¡± Lin Rufei mumbled, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He straightened his hair and smiled gently, ¡°Although there are still some small troubles, I¡¯m really happy now.¡± ¡°Small troubles?¡± Lin Rufei looked up blankly. Before he could finish his sentence, there was a sudden knock on the door. The sound was very nonchalant as Gu Xuandu spread his hands, ¡°Look.¡± And he stood up and headed over to open the door, and as expected, he saw Lin Bianyu standing outside the door with a gloomy face, saying, ¡®why did you close the door? Xiao Jiu is drunk, you can¡¯t take advantage of him while he is drunk.¡¯ Gu Xuandu couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his comment. Lin Rufei¡¯s cheeks reddened even more and asked what his second brother was doing. Lin Bianyu exclaimed angrily: ¡°This, this is not decent! Even if you want to be together, you have to be married!¡± Gu Xuandu said, ¡°Then I will come to you tomorrow to send the betrothal gift!¡± Lin Bianyu roared: ¡°Why should you send the betrothal gift¡ª¡ª¡± Gu Xuandu didn¡¯t really care: ¡°Fine, then tomorrow I¡¯ll ask Xiao Jiu to send the betrothal gift.¡± The corner of his lips hooked up as he laughed, ¡°Brother-in-law, more anger is detrimental to the body.¡± Lin Rufei nodded blankly next to him, saying, ¡®second brother, don¡¯t be angry, Gu Xuandu will be a good daughter-in-law.¡¯ Lin Bianyu was furious that he actually started laughing. Slamming the door, he left Gu Xuandu standing in place laughing, as tears fell from his eyes. He turned back to the bedside, lifted Lin Rufei¡¯s chin, and asked in a warm voice: ¡°What does Xiao Jiu intend to give as a betrothal gift in order to marry me?¡± Lin Rufei replied righteously, saying that if he wanted to marry the Heavenly Ruler, then he naturally could not use mortal items. And that that thing, must be the Heavenly Ruler¡¯s favorite. Gu Xuandu asked, ¡°For example?¡± Lin Rufei smiled slyly and pointed to himself: ¡°For example, how about me?¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Gu Xuandu leaned over and dropped a kiss on his lips, ¡°Then¡­¡­it¡¯s settled.¡± e n d (t/n:) And that¡¯s the end of the main story guys!! Congratulations for making it to the end, but don¡¯t worry, there are still seven extras after this. I will be releasing them all in the next day so that you guys don¡¯t have to wait too long! Thank you for reading CBUaWS ******** The author has something to say: This is the end! Thank you guys for accompanying me during this period of time. I¡¯ve always wanted to try a variety of subjects, from transmigration to spiritual, from spiritual to farming and then back to traditional. With you guys with me, I have been very, very happy and I will see you guys in the next book! I will put in effort and give you guys all a kiss one by one = 3 = Extras will not be released daily and will probably be uploaded intermittently! ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ [1] The saying here is basically a multiplication table saying (where 9¡Á9=81) This simply means that he had to go through (nine sets of nine) 81 challenges. (Just means hard challenge to put it briefly). [2] Travelling without any burdens. [3] Idiom: delay entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves.