Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 6: First Sight

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—seeing 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—”

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—it 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—wait 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.

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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”   

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[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.