Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 68: The Ye Mo

There were actually people in this world who dare sell Bu’e Seventh King’s egg? This was a very strange thing to hear indeed.

But compared to the curious look on Lin Rufei’s face, this Daoist Priest Chen was really ashened after listening to He Jitian’s words. Two warring units, sweat hung all over his face and under He Jitian’s unkind gaze, he finally stammered the whole thing out.

It turned out that a few dozen days ago, a young man suddenly came to their Daoist temple and said that he wanted to sell them something. Daoist Priest Chen had not given the man any thought until the man laid out the thing he wanted to sell in front of them.

“He family head, as you know, demon eggs are a good product for cultivation and are always unavailable.” Daoist Priest Chen rubbed his hands. His tone was a bit embarrassed as he whispered, “Just from a glance, this demon looked like a good thing……I……So I bought it.”

“How much did you spend?” He Jitian asked.

Daoist Priest Chen smiled embarrassingly and held out three fingers.

He Jitian said, “Three hundred gold?”

“No……no……” Daoist Priest Chen whispered, “Three copper coins.”

He Jitian immediately rolled his eyes very nonchalantly and said, “You actually dare to buy it?” As Daoist Priest Chen said, these days, demon eggs were always rare things. Demons eggs with this kind of quality, not to mention three hundred gold, even doubling the price and they still might not be able to buy it. As for the price of three copper coins, it was clear that it was telling Daoist Priest Chen that this demon egg was a troublesome thing. Daoist Priest Chen actually had the courage to accept it, it really was like a man who was never content, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. 

Daoist Priest Chen also knew he was in the wrong, so he laughed in vain. He simply thought that the person didn’t know the market price, furthermore, even if it was something troublesome, he thought that when the time came, he could just return it. He thought it was a pretty good idea, but when things really landed upon him, he couldn’t bear it. 

He Jitian sneered, “If so, why didn’t you tell me about it in the first place?”

Daoist Priest Chen mumbled about and did not speak for a long time.

Seeing this scene, He Jitian waved his hand at Daoist Priest Chen in boredom, “Leave the things, you go first.”

Daoist Priest Chen wanted to say something else but stopped himself.

“What else do you have to say?” He Jitian gave him a side glance and an impatient attitude.

“Just……” Daoist Priest Chen said, “He family head, if this is the demon king’s egg, isn’t it bad to return it just like this?”

He Jitian asked, “What do you mean?”

“Those demons are not good things.” Daoist Priest Chen waved his hand with a righteous look, “If we just return his egg, wouldn’t that just strengthen the demons?!”

He Jitian smiled, “What Daoist Priest Chen said is not unreasonable.” 

Just as Daoist Priest Chen was being happy, he heard He Jitian add, “In that case, how about I give Daoist Priest Chen this opportunity to do the right thing for Heaven?”

Daoist Priest Chen instantly shut up and said that he still had something to do so he would take his leave and that he would be troubling the He family head to take care of this matter. After saying that, he left in a hurry, as if he was afraid that He Jitian would catch him and hold him responsible.

He Jitian watched him close the door and leave. He then anrgily spat towards the ground and cursed in his dialect: “F*ck this son of a b*tch, bear than[1]……” After cursing, he realized that Lin Rufei was still there, and said with a smile: “My bad Lin gongzi, I am a rough person and just love to say a few foul words.”

Lin Rufei blinked: “What does ‘bear than’ mean?”

He Jitian did not expect Lin Rufei to ask this question and he froze. He remained like that for some time before he finally responded, “It’s……describing someone as very bearish?” To be honest, cursing at people for so many years, who actually cared about what certain swear words meant.

Lin Rufei revealed a thoughtful look. When Gu Xuandu, who was next to Lin Rufei, saw his family’s Xiao Jiu’s expression, he really wanted to reach out and plug Lin Rufei’s ears. He did not want these words to taint the ears of his family’s little gongzi. 

“So what does He family head intend to do now?” Lin Rufei once again ignored Gu Xuandu and continued to ask.

The He family head sighed and rubbed his head: “What else can I do? Stealing someone’s egg and was found out by them, naturally, I have to return it. Although he is a demon, if we really pissed him off and let him make a fuss here, I’m afraid the number of mortals implicated will be countless, ah.”

If a king-level demon went on a killing spree in human territory, the number of deaths and injuries would be in the tens of thousands, furthermore, in this case, they were the ones still in the wrong. Since the demon did not lose his mind and only blocked the way to and from the Daoist temple, in that case, there was still room for maneuvering.

As Lin Rufei pondered over these matters, his gaze fell back onto the ordinary-looking demon egg. This demon egg was snow-white in color and was shaped like a large chicken egg, to be honest, there was nothing special about it. This was Lin Rufei’s first time seeing a demon’s egg so he was a bit curious and asked He Jitian if he could touch it.

“Touch it, feel free to touch it.” He Jitian waved his hand indifferently, “The demon’s egg is hard, ordinary weapons can not even break its skin, let alone the demon king’s egg. This egg, even if it was that boy He Xieyi, I’m afraid it will take two or three sword slashes to break……”

When Lin Rufei heard these words, his composure relaxed. He stretched out his hand and gently rubbed the demon egg. The shell of the demon egg was not as smooth as it looked and it was actually quite a bit rough. After careful observation, he found that above the epidermis, was a layer of fine scales. From touch, the temperature was extremely low and even in this hot Summer day, it was still very cold.

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.

Lin Rufei was touching the egg with great interest, but there was suddenly a crunching sound next to his ear. He initially thought he heard wrong until his finger touched a slit and his originally smiling face suddenly froze.

“He family head……” Lin Rufei called out softly.

The He family head sat across from Lin Rufei and did not see what was happening on his side. He was still shaking his huge fan and fanning himself, muttering that he would ask He Xieyi to bring the egg to the demon king later and resolve this matter earlier. Hearing Lin Rufei call out to him, he immediately raised his head with a smile, “Lin gongzi, what is it?”

Lin Rufei’s throat moved slightly and he said in a trembling voice: “This demon egg……is indestructible, right?”

The He family head was filled with bewilderment, “Yes.”

“Then what if.” Lin Rufei weighed his words and muttered out carefully, “What if it shatters on its own?”

The two of them stared at each other for a long time without sharing any words. He didn’t know how long time had passed, but the He family head obviously realized something from the dead silence. His eyes widened slightly and he showed a little bit of panic, “Lin, Lin gongzi, don’t joke about this.”

Lin Rufei forced out a laugh: “I……am not joking, ah.”

As soon as those words fell, the previous inaudible crunch suddenly became louder and it was accompanied by a very audible crisp click. The white demon egg in front of him cracked into two halves. The eggshell revealed a pair of blood-red eyes and a soft cry.

The He family head and Lin Rufei were both dumbfounded. They watched as the white demon egg cracked and a slimy little thing crawling out. That small thing’s form was like a newborn kitten, it was covered entirely in a coat of snow-white fur.

Seeing such a thing, He Jitian, who had been frozen in place, finally reacted. He shouted: “Lin gongzi! Don’t look at its eyes!!!” However, his words seemed to be a little too late, Lin Rufei’s eyes had already met with that thing.

The pair of red eyes, because they had just opened, still carried a hint of bewilderment. However, soon, this bewilderment turned into delight and eagerness and the little thing clumsily crawled out of its eggshell. It twisted and turned towards Lin Rufei as it opened its mouth and let out a slimy cry.

He Jitian let out a remorseful growl and spoke a series of expletives that Lin Rufei could not understand. He laughed miserably: “This damned Daoist Priest Chen. He actually dared to set me up here——damn it——”

Lin Rufei was baffled.

Seeing Lin Rufei still with a face of uncertainty, Gu Xuandu, who was on the side, smiled and said slowly: “Xiao Jiu has never seen a demon, right?”

Lin Rufei twisted his head to look at him.

“Powerful demons like these, they all have a characteristic.” Gu Xuandu continued in a warm voice, “That is, when it comes out of the egg, it will recognize the first person it meets its eyes with as its mother.”

Lin Rufei: “……”

Just as Gu Xuandu finished explaining, the little kitten wobbling on the table, bit the corner of Lin Rufei’s outerwear with its mouth and raised those big watery eyes.

“It’s over, it’s over——” He Jitian grabbed his hair and said, “It’s over!!!” When he saw Lin Rufei standing still, he hurriedly explained the demon’s habits to Lin Rufei again and Lin Rufei fell into a long silence.

When the little thing saw that Lin Rufei was ignoring him, its face fell, and it cried out desperately. It looked like a cat and its voice was even similar to a cat. Its groaning and screaming gradually softened most of his heart.

However, when He Jitian heard this sound, he was like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on. He almost jumped up from the ground and shouted, “Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, quickly pick it up!”

Lin Rufei responded, “Huh?”

“You quickly tell it to stop crying!” He Jitian said, “It’s connected to the Great Demon’s bloodline, if it continues to scream, I’m afraid it will bring the Great Demon here!!!”

When Lin Rufei heard this, he had to stretch out his hand and picked up the kitten. Despite the egg looking very big, this little thing was only a small size and was extremely light in his hands. If not for the special red eyes, most likely people would really recognize it as an ordinary kitten. Because it was very small, Lin Rufei could not help but treat it as something fragile. He was very afraid of hurting it, but the little kitten was very natural. It quickly found a comfortable position on Lin Rufei’s hand and soon fell asleep while sticking to him. Before going to sleep, it also didn’t forget to smack his lips, humming twice in satisfaction.

This scene originally should have made people soft-hearted, but He Jitian acted like he had seen a monster. He was so scared out of his mind that his whole head was covered in sweat. Even a strong wipe could not wipe that sweat clean. When he saw that the little kitten fell asleep, he finally breathed out a sigh of relief. He gritted his teeth and started cursing at the Daoist Priest Chen once again. 

“So what now?” Lin Rufei stared at the little thing in his hand.

“Now?” He Jitian looked at the kitten in Lin Rufei’s hand with a frown. It was like he was looking at a hot potato, “……I……may have to trouble Lin gongzi. Tomorrow, please take a trip together with Xieyi. Hopefully, the Great Demon is reasonable and not too angry.” Although that was what he had said, there was obviously no confidence in his heart. After thinking about it, he added, “If it is angry then we don’t have a choice. We can only let Xieyi beat him back.”  

Lin Rufei was crying and laughing, he thought in his heart: how did they suddenly go back to the first method?  

He Jitian then advised Lin Rufei with a few more words, mostly about how he should be careful with this little thing: one was not to hurt it and the other was not to be hurt by it. Lin Rufei listened carefully to He Jitian’s words but the little thing in his hand became impatient. It grunted a few times and showed his bottom towards He Jitian, as if it was disgusted by the noise. When He Jitian noticed this scene, he also did not dare to say anything more. He frowned and called someone to send Lin Rufei back and said that he and He Xieyi should discuss about tomorrow’s matter.

Lin Rufei could only carry the little demon back to his room.

Just as he sat down after entering the room, the little demon began to whimper. Lin Rufei was a bit at a loss for words but Gu Xuandu, who was beside him, said with interest: “It’s hungry.”

Lin Rufei asked: “Senior knows a lot about demons?”

“I’ve been to Bu’e before.” Gu Xuandu replied, “So I know a few things about it.”

Lin Rufei continued, “Then it is so small, what can it eat? Should I ask Fu Hua to find some goat’s milk?”

Gu Xuandu responded, “No, demons are not that delicate. Just ask your maid to bring half a fan[2] of beef.”

Lin Rufei wondered, “Half a fan, so much? Can it finish eating?”

Gu Xuandu laughed and said, “There is only not enough to eat and no such thing as too much food.”

Since Gu Xuandu was so sure, Lin Rufei called Fu Hua and asked her to bring half a fan of beef, with special instructions to bring fresh ones. Although Fu Hua did not know what Lin Rufei wanted beef for, she still obediently went out, and in a short while, she came back with half a fan of beef ribs.

He didn’t know if it was because it smelled the blood from the ribs, but the little kitten grunted even more. Lin Rufei originally wanted to cut the meat and feed it to the kitten, but Gu Xuandu told him to just put the kitten directly on top of the beef. Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment but did as Gu Xuandu said. However, looking at the little thing’s teeth, he didn’t know how it would eat. 

As Lin Rufei was thinking so, he then saw the little thing open its mouth contentedly and began to lick at the beef hard. Its pink tongue was covered with a layer of fine small spines and this layer of small spines shaved the beef directly from the bones, gliding it down its mouth contentedly. Lin Rufei stared and said, “If it decided to lick someone…..”  

Gu Xuandu laughed: “The strong are always respected on the Bu’e Continent. Even such a toddler will die quickly if it doesn’t have a strong survival ability.”

However, in a blink of an eye, the kitten had actually finished half a fan of beef. After showing a look of insatiable satisfaction on his face, he began to grunt at Lin Rufei again, wanting to come to Lin Rufei’s side.

Lin Rufei used water to simply clean up the bloodstains on its body. He felt that the little kitten’s fur was indeed not the same as ordinary animals. It seemed soft, but in fact, it carried a toughness. It was very smooth and soft and when the blood stained its coat, just a single wipe would get rid of it. Lin Rufei didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that after the kitten had eaten its filled, it seemed to have gotten a little bigger and his appearance was clearer.

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.

Lin Rufei listened to its humming sound and took it into his arms. Then, he asked Gu Xuandu what kind of demon’s cub this was.

Gu Xuandu propped up his chin and rubbed his finger on the kitten cub’s head, “Looking at its appearance, it should be the cub of a Ye Mo.” The little kitten cub that was rubbed on the head by Gu Xuandu was very unhappy and it let out two cries. It suddenly raised its head and bit Gu Xuandu’s finger. Lin Rufei was shocked at this, but he noticed Gu Xuandu simply pulling his finger out without a care and flicking the kitten on its head, eliciting two aggrieved little grunts: “But this kind of demon is most protective of its cubs and will definitely be unhappy to know that its son has recognized someone else as its parent.”

Lin Rufei replied awkwardly, “If I had known, I would not have gone to join in on the fun.”

Gu Xuandu laughed: “Even if you weren’t there, there would still be someone else. If this little thing decides to recognize He Jitian as its father……”

Lin Rufei remembered the rough appearance of He Jitian and then looked at the small thing less than the size of a palm, he sighed: “But this is too much of a coincidence.”

Gu Xuandu pondered, “It is very coincidental.”

After eating and drinking, the kitten opened its mouth and yawned. Soon, it fell back asleep. Lin Rufei wanted to put it on the bed, but who knew that it would keep crying as long as it was far away from him. Because of He Jitian’s instructions to Lin Rufei, he had to sit by the bed and accompany the little kitten. 

Gu Xuandu was so disgusted with the kitten. Despite Lin Rufei’s obstruction, he reached out and picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck and threw it to the corner of the bed.

When Lin Rufei saw his actions, he hurriedly told Gu Xuandu to not bully the child. Gu Xuandu tsked and said: “Child? This demon egg may be older than you.” He also said that demons like the Ye Mos always dawdle very much and it took more than a hundred years to conceive a child. When it gave birth, even though it was still an egg, it would still take at least twenty years to hatch.

Lin Rufei mumbled, “No wonder the number of demons is so scarce.”

“Heaven has its own rules. Although the demon race is brutal in strength, in reality, it was very difficult to reproduce. The Ye Mo could become the Seventh King of Bu’e naturally because it has its unique features.” Gu Xuandu carelessly chattered about the behind-the-scenes of another continent, “Only the higher level demons have difficulty conceiving and raising children. Look, like this little guy, it won’t come out if it doesn’t have five or six hundred years of effort.” 

The little one, who was just thrown towards the bedside by Gu Xuandu, was now trying to wail at Gu Xuandu. But unfortunately, its voice was very childish and sounded non-threatening. Most likely it noticed the futility of its own efforts and the little one looked at Lin Rufei with tears in his eyes, as if it was asking him for help. 

Lin Rufei’s heart was a little soft from its gaze so he picked up the little guy and scratched its chin, stopping it from crying. With a headache, he stated: “Such a precious little thing, if its parents saw that it recognized me……..wouldn’t it be a troublesome problem?” 

Gu Xuandu replied: “It’s more than troublesome. Although the Ye Mo’s nature in the demon world is quite mild, if it encounters this kind of thing, I’m afraid it also would not be able to calm down.”

Lin Rufei was distressed: “Then what should we do?”

Gu Xuandu laughed: “But with that He Xieyi, you don’t have to worry about being swallowed in one bite. When the time comes, stand a little farther away. If you don’t join in on the fun, then you should be fine.” 

Only then was Lin Rufei relieved.

The little one was nestled contently in Lin Rufei’s arms and it was sucking on Lin Rufei’s thumb with great relish. Originally Lin Rufei was worried that its tongue was too sharp and would cut him, but the little one, although only a few hours old, was already able to control its body perfectly and could easily retract the spikes on its tongue when licking Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei scratched its head and felt that it was more and more like a cute little cat.

That night, Lin Rufei had slept well and the next day, He Xieyi came early with a frowning face that was similar to that of yesterday’s He Jitian. Lin Rufei had just gotten up and didn’t even have the chance to change his clothes yet. He was currently drinking the rice porridge brought by Fu Hua and when he noticed this look on his face, he could not help but be happy: “Why this look?”

He Xieyi let out a sigh and said, ‘I didn’t expect to involve Lin gongzi in this matter, so I will have to trouble Lin gongzi to accompany me on this trip.’

Lin Rufei responded, “It’s not a problem, but I’m afraid this Ye Mo will be angry when he sees that his child has recognized me……”

“If its angry then its angry, what else can we do?” He Xieyi had a headache from this entire situation, “In any case, we have to return the pup. Otherwise, is it expected for us to raise it for him?”

This was also true, Lin Rufei nodded, “Then I will go with you after I change my clothes.”

“I’ll be troubling, Lin gongzi.” He Xieyi sighed once again.

The weather was equally hot today so Lin Rufei changed into a thin outfit and followed He Xieyi out. The little kitten was tucked into his arms and seemed to be hungry again as it began to grunt incessantly. Because it was morning, Lin Rufei had only fed it some meat. However, since he thought that he would be sent back later anyways, he had decided not to feed it too much, so at this time it was picking at Lin Rufei’s fingers and sucking unsatisfactorily. At first glance, it looked very cute—if they didn’t know what its parents looked like.

The weather was really too hot. He Xieyi was afraid that Lin Rufei would get a heatstroke so he went to ask for a carriage. Then, he wore a hat himself and sat outside to drive the carriage.

On the way, he and Lin Rufei chatted about what happened afterward. He said later that Lin Rufei would not need to go over and should just wait in the carriage on the side. He was afraid that when the time came, he and the Great Demon would have a fight. Originally, he wanted to say that it would be bad if he injured Lin Rufei, but when the words came to his mouth, he remembered that he seemed to be neck-and-neck when fighting with Lin Rufei, so he rigidly changed his words: “It would be bad to implicate Lin gongzi.”

Lin Rufei was happy to hear that.

The carriage went down the mountain and went straight to the mountain road where the Great Demon was located. At the entrance of the mountain road, He Xieyi took the kitten from Lin Rufei’s grasps and just as he was about to leave, the kitten let out a mournful cry. It was wailing without a stop as tears flowed continuously down its eyes. It really did look pitiful.

Lin Rufei’s heart was softened by its crying. Originally, he wanted to ask whether he should accompany He Xieyi, but Gu Xuandu pressed his hand and shook his head, “Don’t go, if the Great Demon sees its young son so close to you, it will certainly be unhappy.”

Lin Rufei pondered over those words carefully and realized he had to give up.

The little kitten, that was wrapped in He Xieyi’s hand, was struggling desperately but could not break free no matter what. Lin Rufei looked at He Xieyi’s back and for no reason, a feeling of melancholy bloomed in his heart. He propped up his chin and said, “I found out that I quite like children.”

Gu Xuandu repeated, “Like children?”

Lin Rufei nodded, “Yes.”

Gu Xuandu looked Lin Rufei up and down and then fell into silence.

Lin Rufei noticed that after a while Gu Xuandu had not answered him again so he asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Gu Xuandu gave him a serious look: “Nothing.”

Lin Rufei: “……Really nothing?”

Gu Xuandu said, “Well, Xiao Jiu’s body is still too weak.”

Lin Rufei: “?”

Gu Xuandu muttered: “Another tonic should be almost enough.”

Lin Rufei was confused, he didn’t understand what Gu Xuandu was talking about. What did he need a tonic for? What’s wrong with him that he needed to make up for it?

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

[1] This is probably part of a curse word that means “motherf*cker” but because HJT never finished the phrase, it was cut off. And the cut off part means “Bear than.” Apparently describing someone as “bear” is quite derogatory so it is used in curse words. 

[2] According to Google, this is about ~85 kg (~190 lbs)