Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 29: Drawing the Bow

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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 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: “怎么比?” )

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—like a stream of light—as 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.  

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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—”

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—”

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.

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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—the 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?”

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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: ………….