Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 69: The Ye Mo’s Son

He Xieyi took the screaming kitten cub over there and after entering the mountain road with a heavy face, no more sound could be heard. Lin Rufei waited in the carriage at first, but then he got a little impatient. In the end, he decided to get out of the carriage and wait under the shade of a tree by the roadside.

The weather was hot and his ear was full of noisy cicadas. A layer of fine sweat surface on Lin Rufei’s skin and his hands could not stop fanning the wind. In his heart, just as he was thinking about how there was no movement on He Xieyi’s side, he heard a deafening angry roar not far away from here—this roar obviously did not belong to humans and it was more like the sound made by some large beast.

As soon as Lin Rufei heard this sound, he knew something bad had happened. As expected, in the next moment, he saw a black and a white sword light rising up to the sky. The white one should belong to He Xieyi[1] and as for the black one……Lin Rufei was currently concentrating on looking up, but suddenly, beside him, a familiar grumble resounded. He was slightly stunned, looked down, and froze in place. The demon cub, that was supposed to be with He Xieyi, was now happily squatting at his feet, and its body, which was only the size of a hand, was now a circle bigger, almost reaching Lin Rufei’s knees. When it saw Lin Rufei looking over, it was very excited and headed over. The blood-red eyes were full of a desire that couldn’t be denied and just from looking at it, it could be determined that it was excitedly saying: ‘Touch me, touch me, touch me, touch me!’

Lin Rufei: “……” He wanted to touch it, but its parent was fighting just over there so it was probably not a good idea to do so. 

In the end, Lin Rufei looked over at the two fervent fighters and then looked at the still eager little kitten. Secretly, he proceeded to reach out and touched its head, then scratched its chin. When he noticed its eyes squinting happily, he showed a smile: “Good boy.” 

The little kitten hummed comfortably and almost rolled around on the ground.

As Lin Rufei was stroking the little one, there was suddenly a gust of wind overhead. He reacted quickly and took out the wooden shield from his ring to block it in front of himself, “Woosh!” A sharp sound and Lin Rufei’s arm felt a huge force. It was accompanied by a man’s angry roar—”You’re treating my son like a cat!!”

Lin Rufei smiled sheepishly: “Misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding.”

When Gu Xuandu saw this scene from the side, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Stop it now! Don’t hurt the innocent!” He Xieyi also rushed over and his head was covered in sweat.

“Hurt the innocent?” Although the man had withdrawn his sword, his eyes were sharper than the sword. Once it was locked on Lin Rufei, it did not dare move away. His hand reached out and pointed the sword blade at Lin Rufei, “Is he the father my son recognized?”

He Xieyi smiled bitterly, “This……is indeed a misunderstanding. It’s just that Lin gongzi coincidentally happened to be present at that time.”

The man sneered: “There is no such thing as a coincidence in this world.”

He Xieyi was speechless.

This man wore black clothes and had black hair. At first glance, he was no different from an ordinary human. Only because of his blood-red eyes, would others be able to tell of his unusual identity. He looked at Lin Rufei and growled coldly: “You human stole my son, and caused my son to identify the wrong father. I didn’t go on a killing spree is already giving your He family face.” As he said this, his tone grew heavier, “He! He must die!” And as soon as his words fell, the aura on his body soared. The anger surrounding his body almost turned into a substantial flame, burning everything up in its path.

He Xieyi looked as if he had a headache. Just as he was about to persuade the other, the adult Ye Mo had once again raised the black longsword in his hand. Lin Rufei was about to meet him with a wooden shield, but Gu Xuandu pressed his hand and said, “Use your sword.”

Lin Rufei froze for a moment but listened to Gu Xuandu’s advice anyway. He placed down the wooden shield and pulled out the long-unseen Gu Yu, that had been hanging at his waist. 

Gu Yu had never seen blood ever since it had started following Lin Rufei. Now that it finally had the opportunity to show itself, it was naturally extremely excited. Just as the sword was unsheathed, it emitted a buzzing sound. Lin Rufei was about to raise his sword to meet him, but the Ye Mo, who was about to slash down, suddenly stopped moving in mid-air and looked at him with a doubtful look.

“Where did you get this sword?!” Ye Mo asked.

Lin Rufei responded, “A gift from a friend.”

“A gift?” Ye Mo said, “What friend? When did you receive it? What is your name?” He asked one question after another and his tone sounded very impatient.

Lin Rufei was stunned but introduced himself anyway. He said that he was the fourth son of the Lin family on the Kunlun Mountains, Lin Rufei. And as for the friend, he only had a one-sided encounter with him on the Xiliang Mountains……

“A one-sided encounter, what does he look like? What kind of clothes was he wearing?!” Ye Mo asked again.

Lin Rufei glanced at Gu Xuandu out of the corner of his eye and answered, “He was born with a very good-looking face and wears a red outfit.” He then paused and was somewhat puzzled, “Why are you asking this?”

The Ye Mo was silent for a moment. He looked at the sword in Lin Rufei’s hand and said, “Forget it.” With that, he picked up the curious little kitten next to him and turned to leave.

Lin Rufei sensed something and shouted after him, “Wait!”

Ye Mo turned back.

“Do you know the owner of this sword?!” Lin Rufei felt something unusual from the Ye Mo’s words.

Ye Mo said, “You don’t?”

Lin Rufei shook his head.

“That’s strange.” Ye Mo responded coldly, “Using the Heavenly Ruler’s sword, yet you don’t know the Heavenly Ruler?”

“What?!”

“What!”

He Xieyi and Lin Rufei both uttered in surprise almost at the same time. Both of them had astonishment written on their faces as they uttered the same words, “This is the Heavenly Ruler’s sword?!”

The Ye Mo narrowed his eyes. His gaze was particularly sizing up Lin Rufei and He Xieyi, “So you don’t even know whose sword you’re using?”

“How could this be the Heavenly Ruler’s sword?!” He Xieyi said, “The Heavenly Ruler has been missing for a hundred years……”

“This is the Heavenly Ruler’s sword.” Ye Mo said, “I had seen him once a few hundred years ago.” At that time, he was still an immature young demon. He had witnessed the man’s poise as he raided the King’s city in red and beheaded The King of All Demons. And the huge sword case on his back was also deeply engraved into his mind. He could never forget it.

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The Heavenly Ruler was a low-key and mysterious person. In Jianghu, the rumors about him were innumerable. The Ye Mo did not believe in those rumors and only believed in his own eyes. He saw with his own eyes that the Heavenly Ruler was carrying a huge sword case with at least twenty-four swords in it. And this one, in Lin Rufei’s hand, was one of them.

“Could it be that the person you saw, Lin gongzi, was the Heavenly Ruler?!” He Xieyi was incomparably excited.

Lin Rufei glanced at Gu Xuandu, who was standing next to him in silence, out of the corner of his eyes, and muttered, “This……I don’t know……”

Ye Mo said, “Since you are a friend of the Heavenly Ruler, I will give you some face.” He raised his chin and proudly and indifferently announced, “But if there is a second time, I will ensure that there is no one alive in the city behind you.”

Unfortunately, the little kitten in his arms really didn’t give its father any face. It cried incessantly and reached out its paws towards Lin Rufei, trying to break free from the Ye Mo’s arms. The Ye Mo was annoyed by the crying so he raised his hand and grabbed the kitten by its scruff. The kitten’s eyes widened as it froze in place. 

Ye Mo impatiently bit the kitten’s ear: “Stupid kid, stop it.”

The little kitten cub that was bitten by its own father grunted twice. In the end, it was still giving Lin Rufei a reluctant look. It seemed that the Ye Mo did not realize that he was still in human form, and reflexively tried to take the kitten cub with his mouth. Only when he put it to his lips did he realize that his appearance at this time was not suitable for such a thing, so he gave an unhappy “hmph” and simply transformed into his original form.

The adult Ye Mo also had snow-white fur and from its appearance, it was somewhat like a huge leopard. However, the fur was long so its description was also more delicate. Its body was very large, much taller than He Xieyi. Opening its mouth, it picked up the still struggling kitten and then a layer of black clouds rose from beneath its feet and its form gradually dissipated. 

Lin Rufei and He Xeiyi were still standing in the same place. Both of them were shocked by the news that the Ye Mo had just revealed and it took them a while to get over it.

“Let’s go back?” Lin Rufei suggested.

“Mnn, let’s go.” He Xieyi nodded his head in agreement.

On the way back, the carriage had been very quiet and due to the presence of He Xieyi, Lin Rufei could not say anything to Gu Xuandu. After reaching the room with great difficulty, Lin Rufei hurriedly closed the window and door. He then sat in front of Gu Xuandu with a serious expression.

“Senior.” This “senior” sounded extra heavy, but it made Gu Xuandu laugh. He propped his chin and inclined his head to look at Lin Rufei, “What’s wrong?”

“Are you the Heavenly Ruler?” Although the thought had crossed his mind before, Lin Rufei still felt that it was too ridiculous. How could the Heavenly Ruler, a character that only existed in the history books, follow him around, teach him sword-play, and even give him his sword?

Gu Xuandu responded, “Yes……and no.”

Lin Rufei frowned: “What do you mean?”

Gu Xuandu said, “The literal meaning.” His attitude looked indifferent and his calm appearance formed a stark contrast with the torn Lin Rufei, “Is it that important whether I am or not?”

Lin Rufei answered, “Naturally it’s important.”

Gu Xuandu asked, “Why is it so important?”

Lin Rufei opened his mouth to answer, but when the words came to his lips, he froze because he realized that he really couldn’t answer the question. To him, the Heavenly Ruler was just an unattainable legend, and whether the legend was true or not, it actually had no effect on him.

“You see, you can’t answer it, right?” Gu Xuandu cut in, “So what if I’m the Heavenly Ruler? There is nothing that will change because of that.”

Lin Rufei frowned, “No……it’s not like that.”

“It is like this.” Gu Xuandu said, “The name ‘Heavenly Ruler’ was taken for the people of the world. But the world is vast, is there still a person who remembers the original name of the Heavenly Ruler? Does Xiao Jiu know what the Heavenly Ruler’s name is?”

Lin Rufei was silent. He indeed did not know, in fact, everyone had simply called him the Heavenly Ruler, but as for the name of the Heavenly Ruler before, no one actually knew.

Lin Rufei muttered, “I’m sorry.”

Gu Xuandu waved his hand and laughed again.

“Senior……how did you become like this?” Lin Rufei hesitantly asked, “Were you injured by someone?”

“No.” Gu Xuandu responded, “Bad luck. When stepping through the void, I did not withstand the thunder tribulation. So the thunder tribulation scattered my souls.” 

The words were said lightly but Lin Rufei frowned as he listened. 

Lin Rufei questioned, “Only because of the thunder tribulation?”

“Mnn.” Gu Xuandu replied.

Lin Rufei didn’t believe it at all. He clearly remembered the box buried in the roots when the He family’s Xuyu tree fell down a few days ago. That box did not contain ordinary objects but a pile of white bones. If Gu Xuandu died because of the thunder tribulation, not to mention his soul, just the flesh alone could not be preserved. So how would he be able to leave so many scarred bones? But now it seemed that Gu Xuandu simply didn’t want to dwell on this matter, so he casually found an excuse just to skimp through it. Lin Rufei slightly pursed his lips and no longer spoke.

Gu Xuandu also did not expect that the Ye Mo would recognize Gu Yu. If he had known, he would have let his Xiao Jiu continue using that wooden shield. That year, the Heavenly Ruler’s sword case had twenty-four swords, from Li Chun[2] to Da Han.

(t/n: I am assuming that the last sentence was referring to the name of the swords because “Da Han” was mentioned….however, if it isn’t then the sentence simply translated to “From the beginning of spring to the end of winter”)

And that small sword case contained a Chun Qiu.

(t/n: again, assuming it’s referring to the sword name, otherwise it translates to “took from Spring until Autumn to fill up.”)

Gu Xuandu fell into a long memory train. He remembered a lot of things and a lot of people. He didn’t know if it was the aftermath of the dry bones, but the many people and things that he had forgotten, all came back to his mind.

The atmosphere in the room was extraordinarily silent. Lin Rufei sipped his cold tea and fondled the hilt of Gu Yu in his hand. Beside him, Gu Xuandu sat sideways with a silent and cold look, just like the Buddha statue seen in Dajing’s shrine.

He didn’t know how long they had sat in the room, but there was suddenly a knock on the door from outside. When Lin Rufei said come in, he saw He Wanxiang enter.

He Wanxiang smiled, “What are you doing, Lin gongzi?”

Lin Rufei replied, “Nothing, I have nothing to do so I am just sitting and staring.”

He Wanxiang said, “Then why don’t you come with me for a walk? My brother said that there is something he wants to show to Lin gongzi.”

Lin Rufei asked, “What is it?”

He Wanxiang responded, “Lin gongzi will know when you get there.”

Lin Rufei then got up and followed out after He Wanxiang. The two of them walked all the way towards the ancestral hall.

When he went in, Lin Rufei saw that He Jitian and He Xieyi were also there. The two of them were standing by the desk and discussing something around it. When they saw Lin Rufei coming, they waved at him happily, indicating to him to hurry over.

“What is this?” Lin Rufei walked behind the two men and saw a thick book with a few pages already turned in front of them.

“This is the family tree of our He family.” He Jitian said, “Lin gongzi, I’ve already listened to Xieyi talk about what happened today.” He had to say, being stared at by a tall and imposing strong man with eager and pitiful eyes was definitely not a pleasant thing. Lin Rufei secretly touched the goosebumps on his arm and calmly stated, “He family head, if you have something to say, just say it.”

He family head said: “It’s like this. Didn’t that Ye Mo say that Lin gongzi had met the Heavenly Ruler before?”

Lin Rufei said, “I don’t know if that was the Heavenly Ruler.”

He family head rubbed his hands and said, “Isn’t this why we……called Lin gongzi over to confirm.”

Lin Rufei raised his eyebrows, “How are we going to confirm?”

He family head smiled: “Lin gongzi might not know, but the He family owes a great favor towards the Heavenly Ruler, so back then the He family head specially used a spell to save the Heavenly Ruler’s appearance.”

Lin Rufei’s eyes lit up: “Really?”

He family head replied, “Naturally. However, this spell, using it once means we lose another opportunity to use it, so it is rarely used on a regular basis.” As he said this, he turned the family tree over a few pages to reveal a circular formation. Then he took out a top-quality spirit stone from his pocket and carefully placed it in the center of the formation.

After the formation was lit up by the spiritual power coming from the stone, a lifelike picture scroll was displayed in front of the three people’s eyes. The man in the scroll was dressed in red with a long and two short swords at his waist and was smiling with his head turned. The man was extremely beautiful, with long, narrow eyes. He had sharp eyebrows slanting on his temples and his thin lips were slightly pursed, the colors were like the Spring flowers. He pulled on the reins and the horse underneath stopped galloping. He seemed to have seen something and with a smile on his face, he raised his hand and pulled out the sword at his waist. He placed a gentle kiss on it and said in a warm voice: “Long time no see.”

Lin Rufei’s body and mind were shaken.

That man’s face he had seen countless times. It was the senior, who had followed him for quite a long time, Gu Xuandu. Gu Xuandu was indeed the Heavenly Ruler.

“Wait, wait, didn’t that demon say that the Heavenly Ruler was carrying a sword case?” He Xieyi remembered a detail, “Why did he only have three swords in the scroll?”

He Jitian shook his head, “I don’t know about that.” He was also a little puzzled, “But I remember that in some history books, it also wrote that the Heavenly Ruler had a sword case, and in the sword case there were twenty-four solar terms[3].”

He Xieyi was a little confused: “I heard that the Heavenly Ruler loved his sword blades the most. In this world, is it possible that there is still someone who can hurt his swords?”

He Jitian shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either.

They were simply talking when the two then dropped their eyes onto Gu Yu that was hanging on the side of Lin Rufei’s waist. Lin Rufei understood tacitly. He took out Gu Yu and said, “When senior gave me this sword, he told me that the blade was named Gu Yu.”

“Good sword, good sword!” Before even touching the sword, He Jitian already began to praise loudly and he stared at the sword in Lin Rufei’s hand full of envy, “It seems that Lin gongzi is indeed destined to be with the Heavenly Ruler!” No wonder that tree full of iron-gold walnuts all fell because of Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei said, “He family head, since there is a portrait of the Heavenly Ruler in the family tree, is there anything about the Heavenly Ruler recorded in it?”

He Jitian said, “There is indeed a record, but not much.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Can you tell me about it?”

He Jitian replied, “Of course you can.” He obviously already knew the family tree by heart, and after flipping through a few pages, he flipped to the place Lin Rufei had wanted to read and said, “Lin gongzi can read it for himself” 

Lin Rufei nodded.

The family tree seemed to be a bit old, but it was very well preserved. However, He Jitian was right. The records that the He family had about the Heavenly Ruler were not too many. Most of them were some minor trivialities. Lin Rufei looked through it roughly but felt that the Heavenly Ruler in the family tree was very different from Gu Xuandu. In the He family records, the Heavenly Ruler was a great swordsman, but actually had a mild temperament and rarely got angry. And then looking at the temperamental Gu Xuandu, no matter how he looked, it all felt a bit incongruous.

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Lin Rufei looked at it several times before closing the family tree. Then, he turned his head to look at Gu Xuandu but found that he was also looking in silence at the lifelike painting floating above his head. The look was full of nostalgia and Lin Rufei didn’t know if he was mistaken, but he always felt that he could see traces of wet water in Gu Xuandu’s eyes.   

Lin Rufei turned his head back and thanked He Jitian.

“So Lin gongzi, was the person you saw the Heavenly Ruler?” He Jitian asked, blinking eyes in excitement.

 Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head.

He Jitian asked, “No?”

Lin Rufei replied, “Mnn, no.” From Gu Xuandu’s attitude, he felt that Gu Xuandu did not want others to know about his existence, so in that case, he would do as he wished.

When He Jitian heard this, he let out a long sigh of regret. He said it was a pity that the Heavenly Ruler suddenly disappeared that day. Everyone thought he had broken the void and ascended to immortality, but there were rumors that the Heavenly Ruler had actually failed to ascend to immortality and his Daoist heart was broken. All sorts of talk were rampant and it was difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. It would be best if they could find out the truth about that year.

Lin Rufei said, “The Heavenly Ruler probably has his own reasons if he doesn’t want to appear.”

“Maybe so.” He Jitian muttered, “No matter, no matter. It’s better not to force.”

Having said all that, He Xieyi still shyly approached Lin Rufei and begged him to have a match with him, saying that he wanted to see the style and beauty of the Heavenly Ruler’s sword, Gu Yu. In the end, Lin Rufei could only agree. However, he said that he could not control Gu Yu too well at the moment, so for the competition, they had to find a deserted place otherwise, he feared that he would hurt others.

He Xieyi hurriedly said yes.

After reading the family tree, Lin Rufei found an unoccupied place, grabbed Gu Xuandu, and called out another “senior.” Only this time the words, “Heavenly Ruler” was added after the word “senior.” Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei with a frown and said, “Xiao Jiu, I’ll be happy if you call me senior, but you mustn’t ever call me Heavenly Ruler.”

Lin Rufei inexplicably asked, “W……why?”

Gu Xuandu reached out and wrapped his arms around Lin Rufei’s neck, “Because……I want you to?”

Lin Rufei: “……”

Gu Xuandu said, “Xiao Jiu be good, listen to senior’s words, ah.”

Lin Rufei had nothing to say.

But although Gu Xuandu’s words sounded like a joke, in fact, his tone was very insistent and Lin Rufei had no choice but to give up.

“If all those things that senior lost are recovered, can senior recover his normal body?” Lin Rufei asked another question that he was more concerned about.

“Yes.” Gu Xuandu nodded his head.

Lin Rufei then said excitedly, “Then, wouldn’t it mean that the Heavenly Ruler can come back?”

Gu Xuandu, however, was silent, and just when Lin Rufei thought he would not say anything, he added in a soft voice, “I hope there will be that day.”

Lin Rufei revealed a smile.

The matter of the He family was considered solved. The next afternoon, Lin Rufei and He Xieyi had a sword fight. Although it was said to be a sword fight, it was more like a Gu Yu exhibition. Almost all of the He family members were there and they were all staring at Gu Yu so hard that their eyeballs almost popped out. 

Lin Rufei was a little creeped out by this group of people. He originally wanted to put Gu Yu down on the table but was stopped when He Xieyi reached out. He Xieyi, with a serious face, said the sword was to match the hero. The swords that hung at the waist were the really good swords.

Lin Rufei was speechless by his words and could only sit in place to continue to bear the baptism of the crowd’s gaze. Only when the crowd was finally satisfied with the look, was Lin Rufei released. 

Lin Rufei head back to the room listlessly and when Fu Hua noticed him, she smiled and asked what was wrong. Lin Rufei said, “The He family is really difficult to refuse.”

Fu Hua laughed, “Gongzi, is that all you want to say?”

Lin Rufei continued, “Actually, I also want to say some curse words.”

Fu Hua froze for a moment, then heard her little gongzi spit out the phrase: motherf*cker

Fu Hua: “……”

Gu Xuandu: “……”

This place was not suitable to stay for a long time, this thought emerged in the two people’s minds at the same time. 

Lin Rufei, who had just cursed, was refreshed. He asked Fu Hua where Yu Rui had gone off to and how come he hasn’t seen her even at this time? Fu Hua smiled and said that the He family’s gongzi had asked Yu Rui out, saying that he was going to buy her corn candy. Lin Rufei was immediately invigorated when he heard this, ‘corn candy, what corn candy, where are these two people at, can I also join in on the fun?’ 

Fu Hua said: “They seemed to be at the back of the mountain. Does gongzi want to go and see?” 

Lin Rufei: “Go, go, go, go. Let’s go and try the corn candy.”

Fu Hua laughed at this.

So Lin Rufei and Fu Hua both snuck out the door and headed straight towards the back of the mountain. Gu Xuandu also followed closely behind them. Looking at the tiptoeing Lin Rufei and Fu Hua, who lifted her skirt up with a sneaky face, he really wanted to let out a long sigh. 

The back of the He family’s mountain was not large. Lin Rufei and Fu Hua quickly found Yu Rui and He Wanxiang, who were currently chatting. Yu Rui’s cheeks were bulging as she happily chewed on her corn candy. She also carried a bag in her hand and talked while she ate. He Wanxiang was simply quietly listening on the side.

“Tsk tsk tsk.” Lin Rufei whispered, “This corn candy looks very delicious.”

Fu Hua said sourly, “Yes, it’s such a hot day, and I don’t know where he bought it from, this He gongzi really took the trouble.”

Lin Rufei responded, “Alas, once the girl grows up, it’s hard to make her stay.” After saying that, he also gave a glance at Fu Hua.

Fu Hua’s face turned red and she muttered: “Young master don’t tease me, clearly it’s this girl Yu Rui whose Spring heart is budding……” 

The two of them watched for a while. Seeing that Yu Rui and He Wanxiang had endless words, and endless corn candy, he also did not have the heart to go over there to disturb them. He went back to his room with a sense of disinterest.

Halfway back, Lin Rufei said that he wanted to take a stroll around, so he waved his hand and told Fu Hua head back first. He casually found a remote shade and sat beneath it to cool off.

The next day after tomorrow, he probably would leave the He family. His next destination had not yet been decided, but if he followed the road, then nothing wrong would happen. As Lin Rufei was thinking about this, he felt something tugging at the corner of his outfit. He thought it was his own imagination at first, but when he looked down, he saw a snow-white kitten biting hard at the corner of his outfit.

Lin Rufei’s first reaction was that he was mistaken, however, the next moment a sorrowful voice resounded next to his ear: “Lin gongzi.”

Lin Rufei was startled and reflexively twisted his head. He narrowly missed colliding with the face behind him and he glared: “You……How come you are here? You haven’t gone back yet?”

The person who called out to him was the same Ye Mo that he had seen the day before, but compared to the previous days, his appearance looked much more wretched. And when he called out “Lin gongzi,” it sounded like it was squeezed through gritted teeth. 

Lin Rufei questioned: “You……what is your……name again?” He suddenly remembered that he did not know the name of this Ye Mo.

Ye Mo coldly said: “Chi Yu.”

“Chi Yu gongzi, how come you’re still here?” Lin Rufei blinked his eyes and stepped back under Chi Yu’s unkind glare.

“Why don’t you guess as to why I’m here?” Chi Yu asked grimly.

As if in response to his words, the little kitten, that bit the corner of Lin Rufei’s outfit, crawled on all fours into Lin Rufei’s arms. It grunted and whined, trying to act spoiled. Lin Rufei looked at the kitten and understood most of what was going on. In the end, he was the one who was in the wrong and his smile became a little embarrassed, “This…… “

“Stupid pup refuses to eat.” Chi Yu said, “You feed it first.”

Lin Rufei could only say yes.

Chi Yu coldly grunted. With a flick of his long sleeves, a freshly hunted deer appeared on the ground. Lin Rufei bent down and put the kitten on the body of the deer. The kitten smacked its lips and started devouring it happily.

Lin Rufei felt as if Chi Yu’s unkind gaze was nailed to his head like a needle. He could only raise his head stiffly and smile dryly, “This……weather is pretty good.”

As if to confirm his words, the sky suddenly struck down a loud thunder.

Lin Rufei: “……” Did it have to be so effective, ah?

Chi Yu narrowed his eyes: “Yes, the weather is pretty good.” His humanoid appearance was not actually cold. Instead, his pair of round cat eyes, at first glance, looked very cute. But the rich scent of blood made it so that he was not cute. Especially when his gaze fell on people, there was always a fear that in the next moment, they would be killed. 

Lin Rufei restrained this feeling and said calmly: “So, when do you plan to go back?”

Chi Yu glanced at the little thing that was still happily gnawing on the venison and said coldly, “When it’s not that stupid.”

Lin Rufei said: “Little kitten cub……” He had been calling this little thing in his head “little kitten cub” the entire time. However, when Chi Yu gave him a glare, he realized that it wasn’t appropriate and quickly changed his words, “What is your son’s name again? “

Chi Yu answered, “I haven’t named him yet.”

Lin Rufei said, “You can name it now.”

Chi Yu harrumphed, “Even if I haven’t named him yet, he’s not ‘little kitten cub.’” 

Lin Rufei almost choked when he heard those words.

The little thing was probably really hungry and had eaten until it was round. Then, it slowly walked itself into Lin Rufei’s arms again and puffed out its round little belly. Unlike its hairy back, the little thing’s belly had little hair and was just pink skin, which felt especially good to the touch. However, Lin Rufei did not dare to touch more. After all, its parent was still standing next to them, and their expression wasn’t very good.

“Here……” Lin Rufei slowly lifted the kitten up and gave it back to Chi Yu.

Chi Yu grunted and took it very unhappily, but although he had a bad expression, he still moved very gently and gently placed the little kitten cub into the pocket of his shirt. Unfortunately, the kitten was very ungrateful. It began grunting and crying, trying to break free from his hands to go back towards Lin Rufei.

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Lin Rufei could only pretend that he did not see.

Chi Yu fed the cub, turned around, and left. His back was very ruthless, leaving Lin Rufei sighing alone, ‘Why does this Ye Mo family look so much like a cat? Chi Yu, Chi Yu, mishearing could make it sound like eating fish[4].’ 

When Gu Xuandu heard this, he burst out in laughter and said that Lin Rufei must not say the word “cat” in front of the Ye Mos, they were very sensitive to this word.

“This is the little cub’s father? How come I didn’t see his mother?” On the way back, Lin Rufei started conversing with Gu Xuandu.

Who knew that Gu Xuandu would say that Ye Mos only needed one to have a baby. Whether male or female, only one was needed.

Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He then asked if it was still necessary to distinguish between male and female.

“Good question, I have also asked.” Gu Xuandu replied, “The one that I had asked almost give me two scratches in annoyance.”

Lin Rufei: “……”

“Although the Ye Mo is strong, they are actually very small in number and there are no more than two hundred of them in the entire Bu’e Continent.” Gu Xuandu explained, “So it’s not easy for them to find the same race. Thus, they evolved. As long as the cultivation level is high enough, they can hatch eggs.”

As Lin Rufei listened to Gu Xuandu’s explanation, he always felt that something was wrong. He frowned and said ‘senior, ah, you told me yesterday to take a good tonic. Don’t tell me this is what you meant?’ 

Gu Xuandu laughed, “I was just kidding.”

Lin Rufei said: “That’s really quite funny……” And then with a grave look, he decided not to continue this topic with Gu Xuandu in the future. He was keenly aware of the existence of some kind of danger.

On the third day, Lin Rufei intended to leave the He family.

The young girl, Yu Rui, who had eaten her fill of corn candy, couldn’t let go of the candy or the person who gave it to her. Lin Rufei teased He Wanxiang, saying that when the next sword competition comes, He Wanxiang must remember to come to Kunlun with He Xieyi and to not forget to bring the betrothal gift.

He Wanxiang frankly smiled and nodded yes causing Yu Rui to shyly burrow into Fu Hua’s arms. But He Xieyi, this brother, did not seem to understand, ‘What betrothal gift, ah, who’s getting married?’ 

Lin Rufei looked at his appearance and let out a long sigh. In his heart, he thought: No wonder your cultivation level was so high but still remained still single. Some things are innate, ah.

The carriage drove out of the He family and towards the official road, but only soon after they entered the official road, Lin Rufei heard a thud on the roof of the carriage. It seemed that something heavy had fallen upon it. Fu Hua, who was driving the carriage, was startled and hastily stopped the carriage. She turned her head towards the carriage roof and saw a man in black sitting at the front of the carriage. A pair of blood-red eyes stared at her with very bad intent. This stare made the hairs on Fu Hua’s body all stand up and before she could speak, she saw Lin Rufei lift the carriage curtain with a pair of slender hands. With a helpless expression, he said: “It’s hot outside, come inside to talk.”  

“Humph!” The man directly turned into a shadow and entered the carriage.

Lin Rufei was eating a plum smoothie made by Yu Rui with clear honey inside. The sweet and sour pickled plums dyed the snow-white smoothie into an attractive vermilion color, and just smelling the sweet and sour smell also relieved some of the heat.

Being stared at like this made it hard for Lin Rufei to take the next bite so he asked, “Do you……want to eat some?”

In regards to Lin Rufei’s good intentions, Chi Yu was full of doubts: “You won’t poison it, right?”

Lin Rufei said: “……” Do all these demons speak so straightforwardly?

Seeing Lin Rufei’s helpless expression, Chi Yu humphed again. He took the smoothie and finished it in a few bites. After eating, he raised his chin and said in a cold voice: “Even if you poison me, I’m not afraid!”

Lin Rufei found that it was too hot to fight with him and simply waved his hand listlessly, signaling Yu Rui to make another bowl.

Yu Rui was caught off guard by this unexpected guest and whispered, “Gongzi, who is this?”

Lin Rufei covered his face and thought for a long time before finally stifling out a sentence: “It’s……the father of a little kid I know.”

Yu Rui asked, “Little kid?”

Lin Rufei nodded: “Mnn, a kid.”

Yu Rui stated blankly: “Then why is he looking for gongzi?”

Chi Yu cut in coldly, “Because your gongzi has tricked my son.”

Yu Rui: “……”

Chi Yu said, “Tricked my son into calling him father.”

Yu Rui: “……”

Lin Rufei was tempted to say, “I’m not, I didn’t,” but who knew that when Chi Yu’s hand reached out, the little thing crawled out of his sleeve. It originally had a wilted appearance, but once it saw Lin Rufei, it immediately came to life again. It hurriedly wobbled towards Lin Rufei’s front and crawled into Lin Rufei’s arm from his sleeve. If it could speak human, it would probably shout, “father you finally came, this strange uncle is so scary.”

Lin Rufei instantly lost the breath to retort. In a friendly manner, he said that he really didn’t mean to.

Chi Yu waved his hand and stopped Lin Rufei’s words. He looked very serious and Lin Rufei thought he was going to say something important. However, who knew that this guy would point to the ice in Yu Rui’s hand and said seriously: “Another bowl.”

Lin Rufei: “……”

While Chi Yu was eating the smoothie, Lin Rufei picked up the little thing and looked at it carefully. The little thing was worthy of the demon tribe. It really grew faster day by day. Now, it had grown another circle larger, but its teeth still had not yet grown out and its voice was still childish. If the weather wasn’t too hot, it would be a good thing to hold in the arms to keep warm.

After eating the smoothie, Chi Yu said that his child should be fed again. Then he raised his eyes to look at Lin Rufei.

Yu Rui was startled by the look in Chi Yu’s eyes. She said, ‘If you want to feed your child, what are you looking at my gongzi for?’

Chi Yu harrumphed, “My child only eats food fed by your gongzi.”

Yu Rui: “How old is your child?”

Chi Yu said, “Four days.”

Yu Rui thought to herself: Isn’t this still in the stage of drinking milk? My family’s gongzi is a man, how can he feed your little doll. However, she did not dare to say anything aloud. Instead, she just thought that this person was a little bit wrong in the head.

Lin Rufei let out a long sigh. In his heart, he thought that at that time, he really should not have touched the egg without permission. Look what it brought, he got a son out of it, and it even brought along its father. 

When Gu Xuandu saw the melancholy look on Lin Rufei’s face, he smiled very happily until Lin Rufei glared at him several times. Then, he shuffled to Lin Rufei’s side and bit him on his ear: “Xiao Jiu, don’t worry, demons grow up very fast. Once it grows up, it will know that this was all a misunderstanding. At most, he would follow you for a month…….”  

Lin Rufei muttered that wasn’t a month long enough?

Gu Xuandu could see clearly what Lin Rufei was thinking about in his heart. He smiled and soothed him: “Why don’t you just think of it as raising two cats?”  

Lin Rufei looked at Chi Yu, who was seriously looking at Yu Rui making smoothies. In his heart, he thought to himself: My cat doesn’t eat smoothies. Sigh…….forget it, forget it. After all, he was in the wrong.

After completely giving up the struggle, the atmosphere in the carriage strangely became harmonious. Yu Rui’s brain was not very bright, so she did not realize the differences that Chi Yu had. Currently, she was happily discussing with him a question about whether putting more plums made the smoothie delicious or if putting more honey would make it more delicious. 

Chi Yu’s baby son was now in Lin Rufei’s arms. It was attached to Lin Rufei and refused to let go. Lin Rufei began to have a headache as he thought about where they were going to go next. However, no matter where, they could not take these two with them……He was afraid that before he entered the place, they would beat them out as if they were demons. But now the most important thing was to feed the kitten in his arms first.

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[1] So what was written was “He Jitian,” but that didn’t make sense. At first I thought this was a typo and that the author meant He Xieyi (since he was the one with LRF) but the whole paragraph and the coming ones all had HJT. Thus, I changed all of them to HXY because HJT doesn’t make sense here since in the last chapter, HJT asked LRF to go with HXY and further down the chapter, HJT says to LRF that he heard what happened today from HXY……. 

[2] Li Chun means Springtime, hmm the Heavenly Ruler sure liked to name his swords under seasons/weathers. 

[3] “a day marking one of the 24 divisions of the solar year in the traditional Chinese calendar; solar terms” So maybe they weren’t sword names? 

[4] Eating fish = Chi Yu 吃鱼 and then Chi Yu’s name is 炽虞. Different tonations.