Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 64 Chapter 64: Xuyu Tree

When Lin Rufei head back to the inn, Fu Hua was discussing with Yu Rui about what to eat for breakfast the next morning morning. When they saw Lin Rufei come in through the door, they didn’t even have the time to greet him before they noticed the person following him, and both of them froze in place.

“Isn’t it a surprise?” Lin Rufei joked, “I just went out to eat a pancake, and ended up picking up a person.”

“I am He Wanxiang of the He family, may I know the names of these two ladies?” He Wanxiang smiled and asked as he bowed to Fu Hua and Yu Rui.

Fu Hua said, “My name is Fu Hua, and her name is Yu Rui, we are young master’s maids.” As soon as she heard the name He Wanxiang, she had already guessed that he must have some sort of relationship with the He family, “This gongzi, what are you to the He family?”

“I am the third son of the He family.” He Wanxiang said, “He Xieyi is my elder brother.”

The He family was very well-known and the most famous one was He Xieyi, who was already at the eighth level of cultivation. It was said that during the year of his birth, the He family’s iron-gold walnut tree bore three iron-gold walnuts, each of which was picked by his own hands. After consuming the walnuts, He Xieyi had a great increase in power. He went from the sixth level straight through to the eighth level.

When it came to the He family, one person and one thing must always be mentioned; He Xieyi was that person and the iron-gold walnut tree was that one thing.

Rumor had it that the iron-gold walnut tree was planted by the Heavenly Ruler himself hundreds of years ago and it bore fruit once every few decades. Each time it bore only two or three fruits and each of them was precious. These iron-gold walnuts were very beneficial during cultivation, but only the person fancied by the walnut tree could pick it. Counting the hundred years of the He family, the iron-gold walnut tree had only bore three fruits. And it was because of these three fruits that He Xieyi was able to achieve unparalleled talent.

Lin Rufei then told Fu Hua and Yu Rui that He Wanxiang was headed in the same direction as them and that their next trip would be the four of them together. Fu Hua smiled and nodded in agreement, but Yu Rui looked a little embarrassed. She was probably still thinking about the misunderstanding a few days ago. He Wanxiang also did not force Yu Rui to talk and actually did not say much at all. Plus, with that sturdy and tall body, it made him seem unapproachable as he sat there quietly. However, after the previous incident, Lin Rufei felt that this He Wanxiang was an interesting person.

On the third day, He Wanxiang went to the post to return his horse and Lin Rufei got onto the carriage. The carriage was very spacious, even with three people sitting inside, it didn’t look crowded at all. However, Yu Rui was very nervous. She shrank into the corner and didn’t dare to move nor dare to speak. She was like a small mouse who had met a big cat and from time to time, she would quietly look at He Wanxiang. That look of hers was really cute and funny.

Lin Rufei knew that Yu Rui was a sheep in wolf’s clothing, so he did not make things difficult for his little maid. Instead, he and He Wanxiang casually chatted about the He family’s affairs.

But when He Wanxiang mentioned the He family, he seemed a little hesitant and his words also carried some hesitancy.

Lin Rufei thought it was a bit strange, so he asked directly: “He gongzi…towards the He family……Do you have something you can’t say?”

He Wanxiang replied, “Lin gongzi is really smart, in fact……our He family’s style is a bit strange.”

Strange? Xuan Qing seemed to have mentioned this before but Lin Rufei did not take it to heart. When he had met He Wanxiang, he thought he was very considerate, thus even more so, he couldn’t think of what would be strange about the He family.

But who knew that when He Wanxiang mentioned this, there was some embarrassment laced within: “Because our He family moved here from the southwest far frontier, so the family’s style is very tough and it highly reveres power.”

Lin Rufei questioned, “This isn’t considered……strange, right?”

He Wanxiang touched his nose and mumbled, “Well, actually this matter isn’t easy to say. Lin gongzi will know when he gets there.”

When he said that, Lin Rufei was even more curious. What would the He family be like to make He Wanxiang show such a look.

The carriage traveled for two days and finally, they arrived at the He family’s territory, Qiong City, without any problems.

However, the younger generations of the He family were not in the city. Instead, they were on a mountain outside the city called Stone Edge, which towered into the clouds.

Logically speaking, this part of Yunan was a plain area, at most, there were some hills. The mountain peak that stood against the surrounding low terrains seemed really out of place.

“This mountain is so strange.” Yu Rui, who had held back her words in the carriage for a few days, now finally dared to speak. She lifted the carriage curtain and blinked, “It’s just a lonely peak……”

“It’s normal to think it’s strange.” He Wanxiang took over, “Because this mountain was moved here.”

“Moved here?!” Yu Rui’s eyes widened, “Who moved it here?”

“The Heavenly Ruler.” He Wanxiang smiled and then began to explain to Yu Rui their He family’s history, “The He family ancestor was a good friend of the Heavenly Ruler. On the day of the wedding, the Heavenly Ruler went to the southwest and moved a mountain over as a gift to our ancestor. The most powerful thing about this mountain was that there was a ten-thousand-year-old iron-gold walnut tree……My family’s ancestor was very fond of this great gift, then ordered all the He family’s direct descendants to move to the mountain. Since then, the He family took pride in being able to live on Stone Edge.”

“Gifted a mountain?” Yu Rui was entranced from listening, “The Heavenly Ruler is too amazing.”

He Wanxiang also showed a look of fascination: “Yes, if I can have a tenth of the Heavenly Ruler’s style, then this life of mine would be worth it.”

As the group was chatting, the carriage finally arrived at the foot of Stone Edge Mountain. Originally, Lin Rufei had wanted to go to Qiong City first to freshen up and then pay a formal visit tomorrow. However, He Wanxiang waved his hand, saying that the He family had never been concerned about such trivialities and that he could just directly enter like this. As he was talking, he told Fu Hua to go through the gate directly, saying that with him, no one would dare to make trouble for Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei responded, “Then I’ll trouble He gongzi.”

He Wanxiang nodded: “Lin gongzi, just sit in the carriage, I will take care of anything later.”

Lin Rufei said okay.

The carriage followed the winding mountain road. Circling upward, it soon reached the gate. The guard at the gate reached out and halted the carriage, asking who was there. He Wanxiang lifted the curtain and said, “It’s me.”

“So it is San Gongzi who has returned!” As soon as the guard saw He Wanxiang, he saluted and asked, “Why are you back in a carriage?”

He Wanxiang casually hummed in agreement and didn’t elaborate any further.

The guard made a gesture and someone pulled open the wooden door to let them in.

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Through the curtain of the carriage, Lin Rufei also took in the appearance of the He family. To his surprise, the He family did not have the appearance of a large family. At first glance, it was like a primitive tribal village. There was no decent building and the houses were either made of wood or bamboo, not even a stone house could be seen. And what made Lin Rufei feel the most strange, were the He family members that were walking around. They were all tall with broad eyebrows and deep eyes. Almost everyone had a sword on the side of their waist with a killing aura. Even the women were the same. If he didn’t know about this place and entered by mistake, most likely he would’ve thought that he accidentally entered a mountain bandit’s nest.

Lin Rufei wasn’t considered short, but with his pale face and weak temperament, if he walked amongst this group, it would give off a weak willow supporting the wind[1] feel. Not to mention Yu Rui, who wasn’t even up to Lin Rufei’s chest, was really like a cute little doll.

Seeing the scene outside, the three of them, master and servants, all tacitly fell into silence.

He Wanxiang seemed to have expected all this and let out a dry cough: “Lin gongzi, you don’t need to be too nervous. Our He family is actually just born aggressive looking.”

Lin Rufei was just about to speak when the carriage suddenly stopped and a gruff voice came from outside: “He Wanxiang, where the hell did you trick such a good-looking girl to be your coachman. Do you even have shame?!”

He Wanxiang stuck his head out and cursed back nonchalantly: “F*cking piece of sh*t! Even if I invite a heavenly fairy back, it would have nothing to do with a fool like you! Shut up, there are valuable guests in the carriage. If you disturb them, watch out for elder brother because he will beat you up.”

Lin Rufei, through the gap, saw the man’s appearance. The man’s eyebrows and He Wanxiang’s had some similarities but he was actually taller than He Wanxiang. The muscles on his arm bulged like a hard stone as he said: “Valuable guests, what valuable guests? I have not seen a valuable guest in a long time. Quickly, let me take a look.” As he said this, he wanted to lift the curtain of the carriage, but was slapped by He Wanxiang on the back of the hand.

With a loud “snap,” He Wanxiang’s palm seemed to have collided with a hard stone. The man let out a scream and withdrew his hand with a cry: “You actually hit me!”

He Wanxiang replied, “You think I was joking?”

The man said, “I’m not convinced! You get down, I want to fight with you!”

He Wanxiang said, “I don’t have time for you, come to me at night if you want to fight.” As he said this, he gave Fu Hua a look, indicating that she didn’t need to pay attention to this man.

Fu Hua nodded in agreement and the carriage drove off once again.

The man watched as the carriage drove away leaving behind dust. He stood in place and narrowed his eyes, then tsked and muttered: “Valuable guest. Those that can be called valuable guests in the He family can be counted on one hand. Could it be the people from Kunlun that came by? Heh……How is, He Wanxiang, this kid so lucky. He was actually able to meet them.”

Under He Wanxiang’s guidance, Fu Hua drove the carriage towards a wooden house. This house looked like it had just been repaired and appeared to be wider than the house next door. He Wanxiang said, “Lin gongzi, this house is my place. If you don’t mind, you can stay here for a few days, I’ll just go and make do with my brother’s.”

Lin Rufei: “How is this appropriate?” It was a bit unbecoming of a guest to drive the host out of his own home.

But He Wanxiang waved his hand indifferently and laughed: “Lin gongzi, you don’t know that in the He family, the least important thing is the house.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Why do you say that?”

However, He Wanxiang kept him in suspense, “You will know after you live in it for some days.” After saying these words, he also hesitated for a moment, “Lin gongzi……The He family is a bit chaotic, if you want to walk around, you can ask me to join you to avoid any accidents.”

Lin Rufei laughed: “Is it that dramatic?” Who would actually say that their family was a mess upon first arrival?

He Wanxiang said seriously, “It’s even more dramatic than you think.”

After that, He Wanxiang left after giving a few instructions to the servants in the house. He told Lin Rufei to rest first while he went to inform the family head of Lin Rufei’s arrival.

Lin Rufei nodded and said okay.

He Wanxiang’s residence was very consistent with his own style: simple and rough. There were only a few practical pieces of furniture in the house and no decorations at all. It was even more simple than the inn. What Lin Rufei couldn’t understand was that the servants serving He Wanxiang were all taller than him. Although they were not as sturdy as He Wanxiang, they could also be described as powerful and strong men.

Yu Rui had been overwhelmed by these strong men. She shrank in the chair and mumbled, ‘where in the world did the He family find so many people, each one of them was so big.’

Fu Hua touched Yu Rui’s head, “Yes, who asked you to be born so small? One person here is almost worth three of you.”

“I’m not small.” Yu Rui immediately raised her head and puffed out her chest. She even revealed the sword at her waist, “I am powerful.”

“Yes, yes, yes. My family’s Yu Rui is very powerful.” Lin Rufei said with a laugh.

Yu Rui grumbled, “You’re laughing at me again, gongzi.”

Lin Rufei stretched his hands out innocently.

Fu Hua also could not help but laugh.

After more than ten days of travel and hardships in the carriage, Lin Rufei was a bit tired, so he troubled He Wanxiang’s servant to boil some hot water for him since he wanted to take a bath to relieve his fatigue.

In this hot weather, the water temperature didn’t need to be too high and the tub filled with water was soon brought into the room. Lin Rufei was taking off his clothes with his head down, but just after he took off his outerwear, he heard a loud noise coming from the outside. It was as if something had collapsed and the ground was trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Rufei was startled and cautiously took a few steps towards the window. He lifted the curtain and looked up, however, he only saw a dusty sky outside the house. It was accompanied by fierce fighting and cursing sounds as two figures were going back and forth between Heaven and Earth. Sometimes they were close together and other times they were far apart. But each impact was accompanied by a loud noise.

“Mothf*cker, I’ll beat your brother-in-law to death, f*ck your grandmother[2]——” A series of accented swear words shook Heaven and Earth. As the swords clashed and sparked, the two also did not forget to attack each other with their words. Lin Rufei was dumbfounded from listening. Although he did not understand much, he also knew that these certainly were not good words. And what impressed him the most was that the two of them cursed a series of swears without repeating a single one of them.

“That’s impressive.” Lin Rufei said in admiration.

“Sigh, I haven’t seen them for hundreds of years, how come they still look like this?” At some point, Gu Xuandu had appeared at Lin Rufei’s side. With a sad expression, he glanced at Lin Rufei. However, he immediately noticed that his family’s little gongzi had a look of yearning and immediately became wary, “Xiao Jiu, don’t listen. It will dirty your ears.”

“Is that so?” Lin Rufei was oblivious and found this type of fighting to be quite interesting. Although it was rude, there was a unique feeling that only belonged to Jianghu, “I don’t seem to know how to swear…..”

Gu Xuandu immediately said, “What’s so good about learning swear words?!”

Lin Rufei responded, “Then what if someone swears at me?”

Gu Xuandu clenched his teeth, “Draw your sword and chop his head off.”

Lin Rufei thought over his words then nodded to himself, “You’re right.”

And only then did Gu Xuandu breathe a sigh of relief, but a hint of melancholy could still be seen in his expression. In his heart, he was thinking about how he watched a certain someone learn dirty words from the He family hundreds of years ago and spoke them with great relish. Although he only learned one sentence, it was enough to give him a headache. This history must not be repeated, Gu Xuandu secretly thought in his heart.

Outside, they were still fighting and it seemed that they would not be stopping for a while. Lin Rufei wanted to continue watching, but was urged by Gu Xuandu to take a bath, saying, ‘if you do not wash now the water will be cold, then it will be even easier to catch a cold.’

Lin Rufei could only put down the curtain and reluctantly head over to take a bath. During which, Gu Xuandu deliberately chatted with Lin Rufei to delay the time. When Lin Rufei finally finished washing up, the fight outside had stopped.

Lin Rufei lifted the curtain again and finally understood why the He family was full of wooden houses. He saw that just now, in front of the neatly placed several wooden houses, at this time had turned into a ruin from the aftermath of the fight. And the surrounding people didn’t even seem to find such a scene strange anymore. They still went about their businesses, not even sparing it an extra look. The two people, who were fighting just now, were now panting and sitting on the ground. They were no longer making physicals moves and just by opening their mouths, they would mercilessly abuse each other. Furthermore, from time to time, they would pick up rocks on the ground to throw at the other. Looking at their appearance, they didn’t seem old and still had the appearance of teenagers. However, their action of fighting and quarreling seemed to have been very experienced and he didn’t know how many fights they had before.

In a short while, a tall woman appeared. With both hands, she grabbed a teenager’s ears and carried the two back. The two of their mouths did not forget to keep cursing. Just now, the teenagers that have fought were like chickens in the hands of the woman and they also didn’t dare to fight back.

Lin Rufei watched with great interest.

However, Gu Xuandu let out a long sigh and showed a very headache expression. He found that even with too much time, it really wasn’t a good thing. The oldies were all cloaked in a beautiful veil of memories that he actually forgot the vices of the He family……sigh……

When Lin Rufei came out of the bathroom, he saw Fu Hua and Yu Rui sitting by the window with shocked faces. It was apparent that they were also just shocked by that scene. Only when they saw him come out, did they withdraw their eyes.

“What the hell are they cursing at? Why can’t I understand it?” Yu Rui murmured, “It’s like knowing every word, but together, I don’t know what it means……”

Fu Hua calmly said, “Certainly not any good words. Good children shouldn’t learn.”

Yu Rui replied, “But it’s kind of imposing.”

Fu Hua was silent for a moment before she actually nodded in agreement.

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The three people were quite interested in this and actually started to discuss about it. Just as the discussion grew intense, He Wanxiang suddenly appeared at the door. However, his expression was slightly strange: “What are you guys chatting about?”

“Oh, talking about what they had said.” Lin Rufei said with a smile, “These are your local words, right? It’s quite funny.”

He Wanxiang looked helpless and said, ‘Lin gongzi please don’t be offended, they are used to this.’ In the past, when they were over in the western frontier, the swear words there weren’t as rich. Then, when they arrived in this part of the Central Plains, they followed the locals and learned a lot more. Now their swears became even richer. The family head also tried to control it once, but it was not successful.

Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that he did not mind.

“I have spoken to my elder brother and father about Lin gongzi.” He Wanxiang said, “They also blamed me for not informing the family earlier, saying that they had set up a banquet for Lin gongzi at nightfall.”

“Okay.” Lin Rufei nodded, “I’ll be troubling you.”

“Lin gongzi, you’re being polite.” He Wanxiang said.

It was still early in the evening, so when He Wanxiang saw that Lin Rufei had nothing to do, he took the three of them out to look around. However, when the three of them were walking around the He family’s fortress, it was obvious that they didn’t fit in with their surroundings. When they came in by carriage, Lin Rufei didn’t feel it, but when they walked outside, looking at the strong men who were all eight feet tall, Lin Rufei felt like he had entered the land of giants. The most amazing thing was that the women also weren’t short. All of them were athletic and almost as tall as Lin Rufei. He Wanxiang saw Lin Rufei’s astonished look and explained with a smile that the physique of the He family was hereditary and that it was related to the kung fu they practiced, which, if practiced from childhood, would make them much taller than normal people. All direct lineage disciples lived in the He family’s fortress so almost everyone practiced this kung fu method in order to have this scene in front of them.

Yu Rui was very fascinated as she listened. She muttered about how there was such a powerful kung fu method in the world, ah. She was fifteen and hadn’t seen any growth at all…….

When He Wanxiang heard this, the corners of his mouth hooked up. He reached out and gently pressed on Yu Rui’s head, waiting for Yu Rui to look over in bewilderment, before seriously saying: “If you want to practice, there’s no harm in teaching you.”

“Really?” Yu Rui was surprised, “But I’m not a member of the He family, ah……”

“It’s okay.” He Wanxiang said, “This is just a basic kung fu method. However, since you are already fifteen years old, I am afraid that practicing at this time may not be too effective.”

Yu Rui used her hand to compare the top of her head and found that she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach He Wanxiang’s chest. Suddenly, she was discouraged beyond comparison. She dropped her head and said, “Why am I so short, ah?”

Fu Hua laughed: “Who told you to be picky about what you eat, you are even pickier than young master.”

Yu Rui grumbled, “But, but……”

When Lin Rufei noticed her aggrieved look, he couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her cheeks, “Well, next time, let Fu Hua make more bone soup for you. Don’t be afraid of it being greasy and drink more.”

While several people were talking, Lin Rufei noticed a special building in the middle of the He family’s fortress. That building, compared to the surrounding wooden houses, did not quite fit in. It was a brick in structure and from its appearance, it seemed to be a shrine. But there were many guards in heavy armor standing near the shrine making the atmosphere very different from the surrounding area.

“That’s the He family’s ancestral hall.” He Wanxiang explained to Lin Rufei, “The He family’s iron-gold walnut tree is planted in the ancestral hall. Since there is nothing to do now, would Lin gongzi like to go and have a look?”

Lin Rufei replied, “Is it possible? Would it be inconvenient?” Through He Wanxiang’s description, he could also hear the status that this iron-gold walnut tree had in the He family. Although he was very curious about what the walnut tree looked like, he always felt that it was not appropriate to go to see such a precious foreign treasure.

“It’s okay.” He Wanxiang slightly raised his chin and said, “At the moment, there hasn’t been anyone born who can take the walnut tree away from the He family. Besides, Lin gongzi is an honored guest of our He family. When your brother was traveling, it was my elder brother who received him, and he has also seen that iron-gold walnut tree.” He spoke in a light tone, but there was powerful confidence hidden in it. Lin Rufei naturally heard it clearly. Indeed, this generation of the He family was particularly excellent since they were able to produce He Xieyi, a cultivator at the eighth level. There really weren’t that many people who dared to mess with their family.

When they arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall, the guards saw that it was He Wanxiang, so they let them in directly.

After entering the ancestral hall, Lin Rufei saw the neatly arranged He family tablets and the neatly tended incense burner. He Wanxiang asked Lin Rufei to wait for a moment while he himself took out three sticks of incense and lit them to pay his respects to the ancestors. He then stood up and explained to Lin Rufei that it was their rule. If they want to see the iron-gold walnut tree, they must first pay homage to the ancestors and thank them for their protection.

After the worship, He Wanxiang led Lin Rufei to the ancestral hall’s backyard where he said the iron-gold walnut tree was growing.

After following He Wanxiang, he passed through several doors and finally arrived at the very wide backyard. It was surrounded by gray brick walls and the whole courtyard was empty except for a plain green tree growing in the center of the courtyard. This green tree wasn’t too tall and its trunk had the thickness of an adult arm. At first glance, it was like an ordinary walnut tree, but if one were to look carefully, one would find a layer of faint gold lines spreading on the trunk. The golden thread extended from the root upwards as it covered every branch and seemed to be glowing.

He Wanxiang said: “This iron-gold walnut tree is also known as the Xuyu[3] tree because each fruit takes decades. For it, it’s only a moment, but for us, it’s a lifetime. This year is a good year, this walnut tree gave birth to six iron-gold walnuts. When the next year’s ancestral ritual is held, our generation of disciples can try to pick it off. My elder brother has said that if we are lucky, our He family was about to produce a second He Xieyi.”

Amongst the hidden leaves, Lin Rufei saw the iron-gold walnut that He Wanxiang had mentioned. The walnuts were not born big, but their colors were beautiful and under the sunlight, they showed a pure golden color, like the golden sun in the sky.

He just didn’t know why, but when he saw this walnut tree, Lin Rufei developed a feeling of familiarity, as if………he had seen this tree from somewhere before.

Then Lin Rufei felt that he was overthinking it. He had been on Kunlun for more than twenty years, how could he have possibly seen the Xuyu tree that was thousands of miles away?

********

The author has something to say:

Lin Rufei: C*cksucking[4].

Gu Xuandu: Hey, children can’t say dirty words.

Lin Rufei: C*cksucking!

Gu Xuandu: Children are not allowed to talk dirty! !

Lin Rufei: C*cksucking~

Gu Xuandu: ………..

He Wanxiang: WTF, why did you stab me? !

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[1] Idiom: weak and ineffective.

[2] This was a line of curse words. I had some trouble translating so it might not be the most accurate, but you guys get the gist.