Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 60: Black Shadow Separation

Xuan Qing left the Nanyin Temple and had been traveling outside for many years.

More than ten years ago, he happened to pass by Dajing and inadvertently met Bai Tianrui and Bai Jinglun, who were still teenagers. At that time, Bai Jinglun was not as stable as he was now. His temperament was actually quite similar to Bai Tianrui, and it could even be said that he was more proud and capricious than Bai Tianrui. After all, the first son was born as the first prince. He grew up as the apple of their eyes and was cherished deeply. Whatever he wanted, how could he ever be wronged? And at that time, Bai Tianrui, who had yet to become Prince, had his heart set on the sword. At first, he seemed to be a few points more simpler than Bai Jinglun.

The people of Dajing were liberal and there were temples of the Heavenly Ruler everywhere. This was actually a good thing for Xuan Qing. After all, from Nanyin to Dajing, he had walked a thousand miles and the money on his body had long been exhausted. At that time, since he had no money, he could only rely on begging to make the day. Furthermore, their Nanyin Temple actually had a rule that outsiders didn’t know, it was that they could take only items and could not collect silver money. 

Because of this rule, when Xuan Qing arrived at Dajing, he couldn’t even take out a coin from his pouch and could only rely on the kind-hearted people to barely fill his stomach.  

In such a situation, Xuan Qing ended up inadvertently meeting Bai Jinglun.

That day, he happened to be at the mouth of the well drinking water when two young men in brocade riding high horses rode past his side. The teenagers’ horses stopped next to him and they sized him up with interest while whispering to each other. The two thought that if they were far away, the monk would not know what they were talking about. But the monk was not an ordinary monk. Even though they were far away, he could hear the two people’s conversation clearly. 

Bai Jinglun opened his mouth first, “Brother, say do you think this monk is a real monk or a fake monk?”

Bai Tianrui glanced at Xuan Qing: “My guess is that he is real. A fake monk is not as poor as him.”

Bai Jinglun proposed, “Then let’s make a bet.”

Bai Tianrui asked, “Bet on what?”

Bai Jinglun came up to Bai Tianrui’s ear and whispered for a while, then the two of them hit it off and agreed to the bet.

Bai Jinglun rolled off his horse. He smiled, walked over to the monk, and asked, “Where is the Master from?”

Xuan Qing folded his hands and said in a warm voice, “A small temple in the west.”

Bai Jinglun added, “Where does Master intend to go next?”

Xuan Qing replied, “The monk intends to go to make a living.”

(t/n: he means to go begging here)

Bai Jinglun smiled and handed out an ingot of gold to Xuan Qing, “Master has worked hard in this hot weather, this is a small token of my appreciation, I hope Master will not mind.”

But how could Xuan Qing accept? He shook his head and refused Bai Jinglun’s kindness, saying that he does not accept silver money.

Bai Jinglun narrowed his eyes and observed Xuan Qing carefully for a while before withdrawing his hand: “Then what does Master accept to make a living?”

“Only zhai meals.” Xuan Qing replied.

As soon as he spoke these words, there was a cheeky laugh from Bai Tianrui who was behind him. It was quite obvious that he was laughing at Bai Jinglun for losing the bet. Bai Jinglun raised his chin and glared at Xuan Qing. He then lightly snorted, turned his head, and left, probably thinking that this monk was too boring. There was silver and he didn’t want it. Instead, he had actually wanted some laborious zhai meal. 

Xuan Qing watched as Bai Tianrui and Bai Jinglun left and then naively believed that his fate with these two teenagers would stop here. But who knew that after a few days, they would actually meet again, only this time, Xuan Qing was seriously injured and was wretchedly hiding in a temple to recuperate.

Bai Jinglun, who happened to come in to pay his respects to the Heavenly Ruler, noticed the scent of blood on him and soon found Xuan Qing hiding in a corner. Seeing the gentle and dignified young monk, from a few days ago, sitting in a corner wretchedly and covered with blood, Bai Jinglun stopped and squatted halfway down, waking up the semi-conscious Xuan Qing.

“How did you get hurt so badly?” Bai Jinglun’s tone was somewhat picky, “Who has the nerve to injure a monk in Dajing.”

Xuan Qing reluctantly replied, “It’s this monk’s own business.”

Bai Jinglun cocked his head and looked at him, “Why don’t you go to a doctor and ask him to check it for you?”

Xuan Qing replied, “No money.”

Bai Jinglun: “……”

This answer was really a bit awkward and Bai Jinglun even froze in place. He didn’t expect to get this answer from the monk’s mouth. He had wanted to ask more questions, but the monk fainted again because his injuries were too severe. Bai Jinglun pondered over it and felt that he could not leave the monk here. In case he died, wouldn’t it be too inauspicious? After all, this temple was his favorite one and the statue of the Heavenly Ruler inside was also the most beautiful one. After figuring this situation out, Bai Jinglun reached out and picked up the monk. He turned around, got on the horse, and galloped away. And just like that, he entered the palace. 

And so the unconscious Xuan Qing entered the palace of Dajing for the first time. If he knew that he would have an ill-fated relationship in his future with the Dajing’s Imperial Family, he probably would have crawled out of that temple. However, no matter what he thought about now, it was already too late. 

Xuan Qing, who was brought into the palace, drank a lot of medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor, and he peacefully recuperated for a period of time. When his body finally recovered, he had intended to leave. However, before leaving, he went to ask Bai Jinglun, asked him what wish he had and if it was possible, for this monk to know.  

Bai Jinglun laughed without any seriousness and said, ‘what, could it be that this monk could grant my wish?’ 

The monk did not get angry and said in a gentle voice, “There is no harm in saying it, Patron.”

Bai Jinglun casually took out three ingots of gold from his pouch and handed them to Xuan Qing, saying seriously, “I just want to give money to the monk once, I wonder if the monk can make an exception for me?” As a teenager, he was just obsessed with a bet he lost with his brother and was completely unaware of what his action meant.

Xuan Qing’s appearance, which had always been indifferent, however, changed after Bai Jinglun said these words. His eyes slowly widened and he said, “Can Your Highness change his wish?”

“Not changing.” Bai Jinglun hummed and laughed, “Didn’t you just say that any wish can be granted? I just have one wish, monk, just do it. Quickly collect the money and leave!”

Xuan Qing was speechless. He stared at the gold in Bai Jinglun’s hand like he was staring at a hot potato.

At first, Bai Jinglun thought the monk was being reserved, but later he found that the suffering in his expression was not fake so his interest in him grew even more. He had lived for twenty years and had heard a lot of hypocritical courtesy, but for the first time in his life, he found someone who actually saw silver money as a tiger and wolf[1], this, of course, made him more curious. 

If you aren’t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don’t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don’t bite.

How could anyone in the world not like money? Bai Jinglun could not understand this logic.

The two were in a stalemate for quite a long time and finally, Xuan Qing was the one who lost. The teenage Bai Jinglun was as stubborn as a stone. How could Xuan Qing, who always had a good temper, be his opponent? Furthermore, he still owed him a favor for saving his life. After figuring all this out, Xuan Qing had to reach out and take the gold.

When the three shiny gold ingots dropped into Xuan Qing’s hand, there was a sizzling sound. And then Xuan Qing’s originally white palm actually had three extra burned black scorched marks.

Seeing this, Bai Jinglun was shocked. He pulled Xuan Qing’s hand over to take a closer look, only to find that what he had just seen was as if it was his own imagination.

“Amitabha Buddha.” The monk withdrew his hand and bowed to Bai Jinglun, “Then this monk will take his leave.”

“Go, go.” Bai Jinglun waved his hand, feeling that this monk was very evil.

Before leaving, the monk took out a bag from his arms. He reached out and handed it to Bai Jinglun, saying, “This monk is from Nanyin. If Your Highness has any trouble, please burn a bead, and this monk will come over as soon as possible.”

At that time, Bai Jinglun still did not know what the Nanyin Temple meant. He originally wanted to refuse the beads but after seeing the monk’s stubborn expression, the words of refusal ended up not coming out. He brought the bag over and tossed it casually onto the fruit plate in front of him, “Got it.” 

Xuan Qing sighed, turned around, and finally left.

Three ingots of gold and thirty sandalwood beads. The rules in the Nanyin Temple were set long ago and that was also why Xuan Qing never accepted money from people even after being outside for a long time. And he also had never met someone who saved him and had to give him money.

This was probably the “fate” that his Master had mentioned. Although from Xuan Qing’s perspective, this “fate” was more of an “ill-fated.” 

As Xuan Qing talked about his history, he looked dejected and let out a few more sighs. But as Lin Rufei was listening to him complain about it being trouble, he could also see from his eyes a faint hint of a smile. And he was even sure that he didn’t hate Bai Jinglun. 

Indeed, who would hate an interesting teenager like that? He just didn’t know how long it would take to burn all thirty sandalwood beads. 

Gold was indeed a good thing, but it was a pity that the monk’s life was too thin and shallow and he simply couldn’t hold onto it, ah. Xuan Qing shook his head and sighed once again.

“Master’s words are too much.” Lin Rufei laughed, “Now the beads have been burned three times?”

“Mnn.” Xuan Qing answered, “Unknowingly, they are not teenagers anymore.”

One had become an emperor governing over ten thousand people and the other had become a sword cultivator with a cultivation at the eighth level. Neither were ordinary mortals.

Lin Rufei asked, “Do monks drink?”

Xuan Qing responded, “Lin gongzi wants to buy me a drink?”

Lin Rufei laughed spontaneously, “It’s not like I want to give you money while you’re drunk, why are you so nervous?”

Xuan Qing blinked and laughed along, “Then there’s no harm in drinking a little.”

Lin Rufei then took out a pot of unopened wine from his dimensional ring and called the palace staff to bring two cups. Unfortunately, this wine, compared to the one that Gu Xuandu gave him, was as different as night and day. After drinking that wine, any other wine he tried was as bland as water. 

When Xuan Qing noticed Lin Rufei’s unfulfilled look, he asked him with a smile why he looked like this.

“It’s just that drinking this wine reminded me of a really good wine I’ve had before.” Lin Rufei answered, “After drinking that wine, I always felt that the other liquors were too bland in comparison.”

Xuan Qing was curious, “Oh, there is such good wine in the world?”

Lin Rufei then described it in detail but after Xuan Qing heard this description, he was silent for a moment and then whispered, “This monk seems to have also drunk it before.”

“Master has also drunk it?” Lin Rufei questioned curiously.

“Mnn.” Xuan Qing replied, “I have an old friend who is not a good cook but makes really delicious small pastries. And the most praiseworthy part of his craft is the art of making wine.” He took a sip and said gently, “Once you’ve had his wine, nothing else will ever catch your eye.”

“You guys must be very close.” Lin Rufei murmured.

“It was good.” Xuan Qing responded.

“Then where is he now?” Lin Rufei asked casually.

“Dead.” Xuan Qing responded in a slow voice.

Lin Rufei froze, then the atmosphere got awkward: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to……”

Xuan Qing waved his hand, indicating that it was okay, and stated plainly, “To ordinary people, life and death may be a taboo matter, but to a monk, life and death are as ordinary as eating and sleeping. It’s not something unspeakable.” 

Lin Rufei asked curiously, “Will Master be sad?”

Xuan Qing smiled and said, “Monks are not puppets, of course they will be sad.”

Lin Rufei then asked, “Then how is it the same as eating and sleeping?”

Xuan Qing replied seriously, “If Lin gongzi eats something disgusting, will he be sad?”

Speaking of unpalatable things, Lin Rufei immediately remembered the Chinese medicine boiled by Fu Hua and Yu Rui. His face instantly wrinkled into a ball and he couldn’t stop nodding his head in agreement: “Sad, indeed sad.”

Xuan Qing laughed out loud.

The two talked all night until the morning light shone through.

Xuan Qing called the palace staff to prepare the carriage and together with Lin Rufei, they left the palace. The two returned to the inn and casually ate something before each went off to their rooms to rest. Lin Rufei had stayed up all night, drank a lot of wine, but did not lose any sleep. He had slept until noon and then woke up in an unbalanced manner. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he told Fu Hua to send over some hangover soup. When he slowly walked downstairs, he saw Xuan Qing already sitting in the lobby eating lunch.

Lin Rufei sat down opposite him and asked with a headache, “Why is Master up so early?”

Xuan Qing smiled and said, “It’s probably because this monk’s wine consumption is better than the gongzi’s.”

Lin Rufei sighed.

Xuan Qing had a good appetite and happily ate the zhai meal in front of him. However, Lin Rufei had no appetite and only felt a splitting headache. When Xuan Qing saw this, he had no sympathy for him at all and instead kept on laughing, laughing to the point that Lin Rufei started to resent him. 

“By the way, I suddenly remembered, why do you have to put this off for a day?” Lin Rufei asked. He always had a feeling that Xuan Qing should have been able to solve the matter of the Third Princess yesterday.

Xuan Qing sighed: “Lin gongzi, you should know that most fathers actually love their daughters.”

Lin Rufei frowned.

Xuan Qing said, “But if you are an emperor, as a father, it isn’t as heavy.” 

Lin Rufei didn’t understand: “What does that mean?”

“Actually, the Third Princess is not that concubine’s actual daughter.” Xuan Qing whispered.

Lin Rufei froze, not expecting to hear a private imperial matter that he shouldn’t have known out of Xuan Qing’s mouth: “Could it be that……”

“Yes.” Xuan Qing responded, “Back then, the concubine had a difficult delivery and the child was actually lost as soon as it was born. But this matter, not many people knew about it, even the……concubine herself did not know.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Then the Third Princess is whose child?” A sudden thought popped into his head and he said incredulously, “The rabbit spirit’s?”

Xuan Qing said, “Smart.”

Lin Rufei was speechless for a moment, thinking that these imperial matters were really troublesome.

“You know, when rabbits give birth, they give birth in litters.” Xuan Qing stated, “That rabbit spirit gave birth to eleven little dolls……it didn’t seem too unacceptable to have one adopted by the father’s side. After all, eleven children without a father was really a headache.” It seemed like he had seen the scene himself as he revealed a miserable look.  

Lin Rufei also listened with astonishment. Although he had not raised a child before, the thought of a dozen little cubs crying together was absolutely horrifying. 

“It’s not easy for all of them.” Xuan Qing shook his head and continued.

Lin Rufei did not know what to say for a while so in the end, he picked up his chopsticks and ate some vegetarian food together with Xuan Qing. After the meal, he went back to the inn to catch up on his sleep and by the time he was called up by Fu Hua again, it was already dusk outside the window.

Fu Hua said that the carriage from the palace had been waiting outside for quite some time but Xuan Qing had asked them not to wake Lin Rufei in a hurry. Lin Rufei washed up, changed into his formal clothes, went out, and got into the carriage. And he saw Xuan Qing, who was sitting inside with his eyes closed as he recited scriptures.

“Let’s go.” When Xuan Qing noticed Lin Rufei coming on, he nodded to the guard sitting next to him.

The guard called out to the carriage driver and the carriage slowly moved towards the palace.

If you aren’t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don’t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don’t bite.

In the palace at this time, it was a completely different atmosphere and Xuan Qing asked the guard what had happened today during the day. The guard responded with a sad face; apparently, this morning the emperor was very angry during morning court and had harshly scolded a few ministers. At noon, he punished several concubines who had tried to make a move. And by this point, everyone now knew that the emperor was not in a good mood so they did not dare get into trouble.  

Xuan Qing asked: “There is nothing else?”

The guard replied, “What does Master mean?”

Xuan Qing answered, “His Holiness did not send anyone out to find someone?”

The guard laughed bitterly: “Master, don’t joke, naturally, he did. But if that person was willing to come over, His Holiness would not be so angry.”

Xuan Qing stated, “You have a point.”

The words spoken by the two people were very vague, but Lin Rufei guessed that the one they were talking about was probably the rabbit spirit who had given birth to more than a dozen children.

Soon, they finally arrived at the palace. After getting down from the carriage, before they even enter the study, they heard Bai Jinglun’s angry scolding voice coming from inside. Judging from the context, he should be scolding several of his children, and the voice didn’t stop until the people outside went in to report of their arrival. When Lin Rufei went in, he saw the calm and dignified Emperor of Dajing again.

In front of the emperor, five princes and princesses kneeled. It seemed that besides the third princess, everyone else was called over. Judging from their expressions, apparently, they have been scolded for quite a while and now all of them have a trembling face. The emperor coldly told them to go down. The few of them were finally pardoned and they hurriedly retreated out. And Bai Tianrui, when Bai Jinglun was reprimanding his children, had been sitting on the side drinking tea whilst enjoying the show. He didn’t have the slightest intention to persuade and based on his expression, it seemed that he really wanted Bai Jinglun to scold them a few more times. 

“Master Xuan Qing, Lin gongzi, please sit down.” Bai Jinglun waved his hand to indicate for the two to sit down and then he continued in a deep voice, “They are all disappointing things.”

Xuan Qing said, “Your Holiness, be careful of getting angry and hurting your body.”

“If I die, it will be because of my anger for them.” Bai Jinglun responded indifferently, “It’s all my fault for not ruling my family strictly and letting more gossips in the palace. I have wronged Moumou.” 

Xuan Qing sighed, but he did not say anything.

Bai Jinglun asked, “Is Master Xuan Qing ready?”

“Yes.” Xuan Qing answered, “But I still need Lin gongzi to help me.”

Lin Rufei wondered, “Me? What can I do to help?”

Xuan Qing smiled lightly and said, “Of course you can.”

Lin Rufei was not entirely sure, but after seeing Xuan Qing’s certainty, he did not question again.

Bai Jinglun said, “The princess is next door. Tianrui, you should also go and help Master Xuan Qing a little. I will not go over. When the princess wakes up…… let the palace staff come and notify me.” He sat down and drank a mouthful of hot tea. His eyes showed some tiredness, most likely he also had a sleepless night yesterday. 

Bai Tianrui nodded in response, then got up and took Lin Rufei and others to the room next door. The third princess in the room was still asleep and looked very peaceful, and they couldn’t even see the slightest trace of pain.

At this time, the sky was turning dark. However, the candlelight in the room made it look exactly like how it would be if it were in the daytime. Lin Rufei noticed that there were many candlesticks in the room and that they were all newly placed. Most likely Bai Jinglun deliberately placed them after he heard Xuan Qing’s description and was afraid that the dark shadow would harm the princess. 

Xuan Qing walked up to the princess and gently apologized for his upcoming actions. Then he helped the princess, who was lying on the bed up, and propped her against his shoulder. 

Bai Tianrui watched coldly from the side. Although he still had his usual smile on his face, this smile looked thin and cold. While Xuan Qing was moving, he said softly and slowly: “Master Xuan Qing, do you think it’s a good thing if the third princess wakes up?”

Xuan Qing didn’t understand, “What’s not good about it?”

Bai Tianrui said, “If she doesn’t wake up, my father still has some pity for her. If she wakes up, then it’s time to settle scores at an opportune moment.”

Xuan Qing raised his eyes to look at him, “What does the Prince mean by this?”

Bai Tianrui spread his hands and made an innocent gesture: “Isn’t that the truth? To tell the truth, last night at midnight, my brother sent me to Huangyan Mountain, and I also met with that person, but that person refused to come down.”

Xuan Qing pursed his lips slightly: “The princess has to wake up sooner or later.”

Bai Tianrui sighed and stopped talking. He waved his hand, indicating for Xuan Qing to continue and the thinness on his expression soon turned into annoyance.

Xuan Qing then let the princess lean on his shoulder and asked Lin Rufei to move the candelabra to the front of the princess so that the black shadow was presented behind her.

Then, Xuan Qing folded his hands and started chanting scriptures in a low voice. Lin Rufei had also dabbled in scriptures and heard the content of the scripture recited by Xuan Qing. It was the Kṣitigarbha Sutra, a kind of sutra usually used to transcend the spirits of the dead.

As Xuan Qing whispered, the black shadow behind the princess also began to change. It twisted and writhed uncontrollably, like a mass of living flesh and blood.

The princess, who had been sleeping, began to let out tiny moans from her mouth, and her closed eyes began to tremble uncontrollably. The change became more and more intense, as if the water had been heated and gradually started to boil. When it reached a critical point, the princess began to struggle and wriggle desperately. When Bai Tianrui noticed this, he hurriedly rushed forward to help hold her down. A layer of sweat surfaced on Xuan Qing’s forehead and he raised his hand to beckon to Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei walked a few steps towards Xuan Qing and asked, “What do I have to do?”

Xuan Qing whispered, “Please Lin gongzi, put your hand into the black shadow.”

When Lin Rufei heard the words, he did as he was told and gently pressed his hand on the black shadow. But who knew that the black shadow was like a mire and it directly swallowed his hand into it. Xuan Qing, on the other hand, held Lin Rufei’s wrist to stop the black shadow from continuing to swallow and his mouth began to continue to recite the incantation again.

“Ah!!!!” The princess let out a harsh scream. Along with Xuan Qing’s movements, the black shadow was also making a horrible sound, like its flesh and skin were separating. Xuan Qing held Lin Rufei’s wrist tightly. Inch by inch, he pulled his hand out from the black shadow, and at the same time, the black shadow, attached to Lin Rufei’s hand, gradually separated from the princess’s shadow. This separation seemed to be very painful for the princess and she kept on hissing and screaming, as if she was being tortured. Finally, Bai Jinglun, who was waiting next door, also came over. Seeing this appearance of hers, Bai Jinglun could not help but take a few steps towards the side of the bed and carefully gathered her into his embrace. He gently coaxed: “Moumou, don’t be afraid, father is here, father is here……”

The princess desperately clutched onto Bai Jinglun’s lapel and cried her heart out.

Xuan Qing did not have the effort to look at this scene of natural love between parent and child. He was sweating profusely and finally after the two black shadows ripped apart, his lips had lost their color. The black shadow attached to Lin Rufei’s hand was just about to spread along his arm towards his body when suddenly, someone held onto Lin Rufei’s hand. A long-lost figure suddenly appeared before Lin Rufei. His face was as beautiful as when they had first met, with a pair of narrow phoenix eyes that carried a strong smile. The corners of his mouth were slightly hooked up into a smile and the tone of his voice was as gentle as the Spring breeze: “Xiao Jiu, it’s been a while.”

Lin Rufei responded softly in his heart: Senior, it’s been a while.

After a long time apart, Gu Xuandu finally appeared again.

********

The author has something to say:

Gu Xuandu: Long time no see, Xiao Jiu. Did you miss me, ah?

Lin Rufei points to the corner of his mouth.

Gu Xuandu: I still have some things so I’ll leave first.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────

[1] Meaning ferocious, like a tiger and a wolf.