Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 35: Mo Zhaocai

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.

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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——”

“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.

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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——Wait, 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: ……

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[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.