Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 2: A Walk in Spring

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—pears 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—unbloomed. 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—prides 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—I 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—Fu 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—like 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—generation 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—very dense and soft. You could not see any dirt on them that most wild animals had. 

The monkeys moved quickly to surround Lin Rufei—behind 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—”

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—”

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—”

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—they 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—they 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—you actually took the time to go see them—”

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—young master—if 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.

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[1] Jiu in Chinese is part of the word Leek/Chives

[2] 龙生九子 – Chinese idiom, describing that siblings all have different traits, qualities, hobbies and characteristics whether good or bad

[3] 沾衣不湿杏花雨 – 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] “春悄悄，夜迢迢。碧云天共楚宫遥，梦魂惯得无拘检，又踏杨花过谢桥……” Here is the poem.