Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 70: Heaven and Earth

The kitten needed to be fed so Lin Rufei had to stop the carriage halfway and have Fu Hua go to a nearby town to buy some beef and lamb meat. The maids didn’t know what Lin Rufei wanted the meat for at first until they brought it to him and watched him put the kitten in his arms on top of the meat.

The fresh meat weighing several dozen pounds, after entering the mouth of the kitten, disappeared quickly. Although it had not yet grown all its teeth, for eating meat, this kind of thing was already at its fingertips. It took it less than an incense to cleanly finish the meat, leaving only a few pieces of snow-white bones. Lin Rufei had seen it before, so he was still calm, but Yu Rui was dumbfounded. She said that this little cat really knew how to eat. When Chi Yu heard the word “cat,” he frowned and let out a cold humph. Lin Rufei hurriedly patted Yu Rui’s arm and gave her a look: “Not a cat.” 

Yu Rui looked at Lin Rufei dumbfoundedly: “Huh?”

Lin Rufei said, “This is not a cat.”

Yu Rui asked, “Then what is it?”

Lin Rufei said, “It’s his son.”

Yu Rui looked horrified: “……”

After feeding his son, Chi Yu left with an unhappy face. No, it should be said that from the beginning to the end, Lin Rufei never saw a happy look on his face. After he left, Yu Rui said, “Gongzi, how in the world did you offend him? He never showed a smile from the beginning to the end.”

Lin Rufei smiled bitterly and waved his hand, saying that it was a long story……but still, he repeatedly instructed Fu Hua and Yu Rui, that in front of Chi Yu to not ever mention the word “cat,” lest he gets angry. 

Yu Rui said yes in a daze and Fu Hua seemed to have understood something, several times she wanted to speak but then decided against it. 

Lin Rufei probably knew what she wanted to say and told her not to worry, he had a sense of propriety.

Several invitations had already been sent out and Lin Rufei planned their next route. He decided to go to the nearest She family first. The She family was very close to the Shen family, so when the time came, he could head to both. Lin Rufei was not familiar with the She family, but he knew the Shen family very well. Who let his sister, Lin Weirui, fall in love with the Shen family’s son Shen Wucui? However, Shen Wucui seemed to be scared by Lin Weirui’s jumpy nature and had not dared to propose marriage. This time, when Lin Rufei headed over, if he could meet Shen Wucui, then it would be the perfect time for him to explore his intentions.

Last night, there had been a rainstorm so the weather was slightly cooler but still very hot.

When the weather was hot, Lin Rufei only had little appetite. Except for ice, he simply did not want to eat other things. But Fu Hua said that if he ate too much ice, he would also lose appetite so she refused to let Lin Rufei eat it all the time. Thus, Lin Rufei’s dinner was only a simple bowl of porridge and he ate some small side dishes along with it.

He didn’t know if it was because the wind was strong and he had caught a cold, but Lin Rufei had a cough again. This time, this cough was a bit more aggressive and it was accompanied by a low fever. Lin Rufei, who already had no appetite, didn’t want to eat anything even more.

Because she was worried about Lin Rufei’s health, Fu Hua didn’t dare to continue their journey. Instead, she checked into the nearest inn and headed to the nearby pharmacy to prescribe some medicine for Lin Rufei. It was said that a long illness made the patient a good doctor[1]. Fu Hua had given Lin Rufei medicine for a long time so for an ordinary cold, she knew very well what to do. 

It was hot outside so it was also not very cool in the room. Lin Rufei sat by the window in a single outfit and from time to time, he would let out a cough or two. 

When Gu Xuandu saw that he was not feeling well, he went out and came back with two or three pieces of hawthorn cake[2] in his hand and handed them to Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei took them and ate them slowly and leisurely. He was about to chat with Gu Xuandu when an upside-down head suddenly appeared from the window in front of him and almost scared Lin Rufei out of his chair: “Cough cough cough——”

“What are you eating?” The head that popped up suddenly asked.

Lin Rufei was so frightened that he covered his mouth and coughed violently. Only after he had finally recovered did he helplessly say, “Next time, can you not appear so suddenly?”

Chi Yu had no self-awareness and he stared at the hawthorn cake in Lin Rufei’s hand: “Is it good?”

Lin Rufei cried and laughed as he reached out and handed him a piece.

Chi Yu took it and swallowed it whole in one bite. Afterward, he looked at Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei wondered, “How about it, do you like it?”

Chi Yu said, “I ate it too fast, I didn’t taste it.”

Lin Rufei: “……” Are you Zhu Bajie[3]?

But he did not dare say it aloud. After sighing, he handed out the last piece and urged Chi Yu to eat slowly, saying that there was only this piece left. Chi Yu ate very slowly this time and from time to time, he would smack his lips. He looked very serious as he savored the taste and after he finished eating, Lin Rufei thought he was going to leave, but who knew that he would ask: “Where are you going next?”

Lin Rufei simply replied, “Follow the official road all the way to the south.”

Chi Yu asked, “You’re going to the sea?”

Lin Rufei nodded, “Yes, that is my intention.”

Chi Yu said, “Then remember to stay away from the Ruo River.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Why?”

However, Chi Yu simply looked at him silenty without responding and directly walked away.

Lin Rufei originally thought that this big cat……No, that was not right, that this Ye Mo was very difficult to serve. However, after a few days together, he found that his character was actually okay. He wasn’t too surly and he spent most of his time eating. Lin Rufei’s fingers slowly drew circles on the table, “Why should I stay away from the Ruo River?” 

Gu Xuandu raised his head and looked out the window: “Probably because it’s going to rain.”

Lin Rufei repeated, “Rain?”

Gu Xuandu nodded, “Mnn.”

The Ruo River was a big river that ran through almost half of the Yaoguang continent, flowing from the steep mountains to the low hilly plains and eventually merging into the vast ocean. In accordance with Lin Rufei’s journey, after about two or three more days, he would be able to see this big river. He just didn’t know why Chi Yu had told him to stay away from this big river.

Gu Xuandu said it was going to rain, but the sky did not look cloudy nor did it look like a rainstorm would happen.

With this in mind, Lin Rufei’s finger, that had been drawing circles on the table, was suddenly pressed down by Gu Xuandu, who said in a warm voice: “What is Xiao Jiu worried about, why don’t you tell senior?”

Lin Rufei shook his head and smiled, “Nothing.” He stood up, stretched his back, and muttered that he was sleepy.

When Gu Xuandu took in his appearance, his expression was a bit obscure. However, in the end, he didn’t say anything and only pursed his lips slightly.

Lin Rufei thought Gu Xuandu’s comment about rain was just a casual remark, but who knew that in the middle of the night, he was awakened from his dream by the rumble of thunder.

He opened his eyes and immediately noticed the pouring rain outside, which was frighteningly heavy. Bean-sized raindrops fell from the sky. It was like a curtain, covering the whole world and it made people unable to distinguish between day and night. A gap was left in the window of the inn to allow the wind out, but now, the sound of the wind through the gap changed the feel it gave, howling like a creepy cry. Lin Rufei was still wrapped in the quilt as he vaguely asked what time it was.

Gu Xuandu reached out and gently touched his forehead to make sure he didn’t have a fever again before answering softly, “Go back to sleep, it’s still early before dawn.”

Lin Rufei said in a dazed voice that it was raining quite heavily.

Gu Xuandu agreed, “It is very heavy.”

Lin Rufei mumbled, “Will it stop at dawn?”

After he finished saying this, he fell back asleep again. Gu Xuandu seemed to have answered something but he didn’t really remember.

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The next morning, Lin Rufei was woken up by Fu Hua’s knocking. Fu Hua said, ‘gongzi, it’s almost noon. It’s better to get up and eat something before going back to sleep.’

Lin Rufei sat up blankly and said, “It’s noon?” He turned his head to look out the window, “Hasn’t the rain stopped yet?”

“No.” Fu Hua replied, “It’s hard to tell when it will stop.”

Lin Rufei was still a bit confused from his sleep. And only after he got up and washed up did he wake up a bit, but he still didn’t have much of an appetite. He sat at the table and ate the food absentmindedly. 

It was raining so hard but Lin Rufei suddenly remembered Chi Yu and his son. In his heart, he was wondering where these big and small two cats were hiding to avoid the rain. In the middle of this thought, the window directly crashed open because of a shadow. Lin Rufei took a closer look and saw a big snow-white cat with a crying kitten in its mouth jumped lightly onto the table in front of him. Lin Rufei immediately recognized the identity of the visitor from the cat’s crimson eyes and disdainful expression. It was none other than Chi Yu.

This was the second time Lin Rufei had seen the original form of this adult Ye Mo and he felt that no matter how he looked at this Ye Mo, it looked like a cat. The biggest difference it had with a cat was that it looked more vicious—he just didn’t know if Chi Yu had made this expression on purpose.

Chi Yu threw the kitten, that was in his mouth, onto the table and then shook the hair on his body hard, throwing Lin Rufei a faceful of water. Lin Rufei originally wanted to say something in complaint, but who knew that the big cat would point his chin at the kitten and Lin Rufei immediately felt guilty: “Come, come, come, I will help the little……little Ye Mo wipe off the water so that it doesn’t catch a cold.” 

As he said this, he went to the side to get a clean handkerchief. Then, he took the little cat cub into his arms and carefully wiped it down.

Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at Lin Rufei for a while. Seeing that Lin Rufei did not overstep the mark, he licked his own fur that was soaked from the heavy rainwater.

The little kitten was still very unhappy when he was being held by Chi Yu, but as soon as he entered Lin Rufei’s arms, he started to purr. Lin Rufei was a bit baffled by this and just as he was about to ask if the kitten was uncomfortable, he heard Gu Xuandu next to him explain with a smile that this was a sign that the Ye Mo liked him.

Only then did Lin Rufei show a look of understanding.

“When is this rain going to stop?” Lin Rufei muttered casually.

“Half a month.” Chi Yu actually replied back.

Lin Rufei exclaimed, “Half a month? That’s too much! Wouldn’t the whole city be flooded in half a month?”

Chi Yu looked at Lin Rufei, as if he was very dissatisfied with him questioning his words, and let out a “hmph.”

Lin Rufei asked, “So……Do you want something to eat?”

Only then did Chi Yu’s expression ease up a bit, “Yes.”

Lin Rufei hurriedly headed out and asked Fu Hua to buy some meat. Fu Hua agreed and soon came back with fresh meat. However, when she came back, she saw two large white cats, one small and one large, squatting in the house. Her eyes immediately lit up and before Lin Rufei could say anything to stop her, she entered the room with one big step, reached out, and picked up Chi Yu. She held him against her chest and rubbed him twice: “Where did the big cat come from? You’re so cute!! Is it because it’s raining so hard outside that you came in to take shelter??”

Lin Rufei’s eyes widened. Just as he was about to ask Fu Hua to put the Ye Mo down so as not to annoy him, he saw a bit of shame appear on the Ye Mo’s face. Following that, he gave a raspy purr: “Meow.”

Lin Rufei: “……”

“Yo, it’s just that the voice is a bit coarse.” Fu Hua muttered.

The Ye Mo also did not forget to glare at Lin Rufei a few times, threatening him not to open his mouth. Lin Rufei cried and laughed and could only sit and watch as Fu Hua petted it all over. Finally, she reluctantly placed it back down and said that the medicine was still simmering outside and asked Lin Rufei to keep an eye on the big cat.

Lin Rufei waved his hand in a hopeless manner, indicating for Fu Hua to go.

Once Fu Hua left, the disdainful look returned to the Ye Mo’s face. Lin Rufei secretly muttered that the difference in treatment was too great. However, Gu Xuandu smiled and explained that the Ye Mo liked young women most, preferably unmarried girls and that although Lin Rufei met the condition of being unmarried, he was a man.

Lin Rufei was speechless from Gu Xuandu’s explanation. He had still been wondering yesterday why the Ye Mo was indifferent to Yu Rui’s offense, but today he finally understood.

Ye Mo licked its fur clean and ate the meat brought by Fu Hua, but it had no intention of leaving.

Lin Rufei asked carefully if he was going to leave and was met with a blank stare from the Ye Mo. He said that it was raining so hard outside, where was he going to go? It had only been a few days and Lin Rufei was already getting impatient. As he finished speaking, he placed his paws on the bulging pink stomach of his cub. Then he said that if Lin Rufei wanted him to leave, he could do so. As long as the little cub called him “father,” he would go back to Bu’e immediately. 

The little cub grunted incessantly, but unfortunately, it had no teeth and no claws. Against its father’s control, it had no power to fight back and could only look at Lin Rufei with longing eyes.

In the end, Lin Rufei was a fake father. In front of its real father, he didn’t have much courage. He could only tactfully take out a corn candy from his pocket and asked if Chi Yu wanted one or two. 

Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at the candy with a somewhat disdainful look.

Lin Rufei originally thought this deal was a failure, but who knew that in the next moment, he would actually throw the little cub into Lin Rufei’s arm and then take the corn candy in Lin Rufei’s hand.

Lin Rufei: “……” So this disdainful expression was actually made for whom to see? 

Gu Xuandu was enjoying the show from the side. He was also amused by Lin Rufei’s helpless look and said that in actuality, the demons on the Bu’e continent were also divided into good and bad. Demons like the Ye Mo were a relatively simple kind. What they did every day was to find food and fight, and when they grew powerful from their battles, they would give birth to a child themselves.

Lin Rufei stroked the kitten’s head. Then he looked at the Ye Mo, who was eating corn candy with a frown on his face, and thought that Gu Xuandu’s description was probably true.

Ye Mo said that the rain would last for half a month, but Lin Rufei didn’t take it seriously. However, from morning until night, the rain never let up and shallow layers of puddles had soon accumulated everywhere on the streets.

Lin Rufei had stayed in the inn all day and was really bored out of his mind. In the end, he found an umbrella and planned to go for a walk outside.

But when Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw that Lin Rufei was still coughing, they were worried that Lin Rufei’s condition would worsen. However, seeing his determined attitude, they had no choice but to stop persuading him.

As Lin Rufei went for a walk on the street, his shoes and socks were immediately half wet, so he simply took them off and walked barefoot on the green stone streets. Because of the rainstorm, there were not many people on the street and only a few lonely stores were open. Without the hawkers’ hawking, the only sound left in the ears was the sound of the rain. Walking through the rain, there was a kind of lonely feeling of being the only one left in the world. Fortunately, Lin Rufei still had Gu Xuandu standing beside him. Since they were alone, Lin Rufei took the opportunity to ask some curious questions about the old days.

The Heavenly Ruler, Gu Xuandu, had no arrogance from the moment he came to Lin Rufei’s side, so Lin Rufei asked and he answered. He said something about the war that year, about the friends he knew, and about the demons he had killed. The rain passed through Gu Xuandu’s body making him look like a reflection, as he described in detail the landscape from a hundred years ago.

Lin Rufei listened with fascination.

“Does senior want to go back?” Lin Rufei asked.

“Go back? Go back to where?” Gu Xuandu questioned.

“Naturally, to that year.” Lin Rufei responded.

Gu Xuandu looked at him tenderly: “It’s fine now, I don’t want to go back.”

Lin Rufei looked up at the sky. The rain really didn’t have the idea to stop at all and he sighed: “The rain is so heavy, how is it good?” He had just finished saying this when he noticed a man in a woven raincoat walking across the street towards him. The man was wearing a hat that completely covered his face and the alley was a bit narrow. Lin Rufei turned sideways, intending to let him go first but just as the man brushed past Lin Rufei, he smelled a faint scent of blood. He looked down and saw that the rainwater, at the man’s feet, was dyed scarlet.

Lin Rufei was slightly stunned, but the man had already disappeared from his sight.

When he returned to the inn, Lin Rufei saw the Ye Mo lying on the table by the window, squinting his eyes and taking a nap. Gu Xuandu took a towel for himself and squatted down halfway to help Lin Rufei wipe his bare feet clean. Lin Rufei was still dazed and when he noticed Gu Xuandu’s action, he hurriedly called out, “Senior……”

“Shhh.” Gu Xuandu made a gesture of silence. He pointed to the Ye Mo, who was still taking a nap on the side, and indicated for Lin Rufei not to speak. Lin Rufei had wanted to say something but ended up closing his mouth because of this. Instead, he looked at Gu Xuandu, who was carefully wiping his toes clean, and a faint sweetness of red inexplicably surfaced on his cheeks.

Gu Xuandu dried Lin Rufei’s feet and helped him put on his socks. The atmosphere between the two was a bit strange and Lin Rufei did not notice that the eyes of the originally sound asleep Ye Mo cracked open a bit and was currently casting a thoughtful look towards him.

“You stink.” Lin Rufei, who had just stood up after putting on his shoes and socks again, heard a disgusted voice from Chi Yu, “It smells like fish.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Fishy smell? Do cats not like fish?”

Chi Yu immediately stomped his feet in anger at his words, “Who are you calling a cat?!!”

Lin Rufei: “I’m sorry——”

Chi Yu said, “Hmph!!!” He jumped down from the table and carefully observed Lin Rufei for a while. He sniffed the corner of Lin Rufei’s clothes again and slightly narrowed his eyes, “Did you encounter something outside?”

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Lin Rufei immediately remembered the person he met in the alley and hesitantly talked about it.

“Oh.” Chi Yu said, “So it’s here.” He turned around and jumped back onto the table, lazily stretching his body, “Are you going to hurry on your journey today?”  

Lin Rufei said, “I’m afraid it’s impossible to hurry with this rain.”

Chi Yu said, “That’s good, lest you encounter something out there that will swallow you up in one bite.” He opened his mouth and yawned, revealing a row of sharp white teeth, “Your sword, how in the world did you get it?” After saying that, he added, “Don’t trick me with ‘a gift from a friend.’”

His eyes were sharp and incomparable and they carried a strong suspicion, “You can be a friend of the Heavenly Ruler’s?”

Lin Rufei said innocently, “Why can’t I?”

“Hmph, look at your body!!!” Ye Mo looked at Lin Rufei critically, “Walking three steps and panting twice, getting sick when the wind blows, how could a figure as powerful as the Heavenly Ruler be friends with you?!”

When Lin Rufei heard this, he thought to himself: your Heavenly Ruler was just wiping my feet, but he didn’t dare to say anything aloud. He simply explained in a nice voice and good temper, ‘You don’t know the Heavenly Ruler that well so how do you know that the Heavenly Ruler wouldn’t befriend someone like me? What if the Heavenly Ruler likes sick people like me, then what are you going to do?’  

“To tell you the truth, you human beings don’t know the Heavenly Ruler as well as we demons do.” As the Ye Mo talked about the person who once killed their King of All Demons, there wasn’t the slightest shadow of hatred in his tone. Instead, it was full of admiration and desire. Should be, the demon race had always respected strong. As long as someone was strong enough, who cared if they were human, ghost, monster, or demon.

“Why do you say that?” Lin Rufei said curiously.

“I’ve read your human texts and they all say that the Heavenly Ruler was gentle and didn’t get angry and that although he had a profound cultivation, he had the world in mind.” Ye Mo said, “Actually, it’s not true!” His voice became very loud: “The Heavenly Ruler was obviously a perverse person! He never blinked when he killed demons and he completely had nothing to do with gentleness!”

When he said this, Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu out of the corner of his eyes. He thought that this description was more apt to Gu Xuandu. Although Gu Xuandu deliberately behaved very gently around him, the occasional hostile aura that came out was really frightening. Most likely he, who had this nature, was also very lazy to disguise it when he was human. 

“There’s probably some misunderstanding in the texts.” Lin Rufei said, “After all, no one has seen the Heavenly Ruler for so many years.”

Ye Mo said, “That’s why I said, you humans don’t know him as well as we demons do. And how can you be friends with such a character? Tell me—where exactly did you get the sword blade from.” He scratched the table anxiously, making an ear-piercing creaking sound; the demon world always had the rumor that the Heavenly Ruler had fallen, however, they were never able to find the remains or tomb of the Heavenly Ruler. Although, he did feel a hint or two of implication from this person, Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei spread his hands: “It’s still the same story. I can’t help it if you don’t believe me.”

Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, revealing an ominous glint.

In the face of his threat, Lin Rufei just propped his chin up and looked at him, without the slightest intention of backing down. The little Ye Mo beside him was also awakened. As soon as he opened his eyes and saw his fake father being threatened, he immediately grunted and bit the big Ye Mo’s foot with his small mouth that hadn’t grown teeth yet. Then, he began to kick hard with his hind legs. Chi Yu roared in anger and rushed to bite his own son’s ear. The little Ye Mo that was bitten, screamed. This made Lin Rufei’s heart ached and felt funny at the same time.

The window resounded once again with continuous thunder. The rain had been falling for the whole day without the slightest intention of lessening. Instead, it rained harder and harder, causing the whole city to panic. If it really was half a month like Ye Mo had said, then most likely the whole city would be flooded. They shouldn’t even think about rushing their journey. 

Lin Rufei looked out the window, “What is this rain all about.”

“There’s something up there.” Ye Mo seemed to hate the fishy smell on Lin Rufei’s body. He sucked in his nose and turned away from him a bit, “Once it kills one,  the rain will probably stop.”

There’s something up there? Lin Rufei looked up at the cloudy sky. Currently, there was not only heavy rain but also lightning and thunder, which at first glance looked very horrible.

Lin Rufei said, “Then when will it kill one?”

Ye Mo said, “Half a month.” He blinked at Lin Rufei, “Otherwise, should you go join in on the fun?”  

Lin Rufei didn’t say anything, but he always felt that this Ye Mo had no good intentions. Although he did not know what was fighting in the sky, he thought that such a big battle, certainly would not be a good thing to provoke.

But although Lin Rufei did not want to get involved, some things were getting worse. The amount of rain was simply too amazing and after another night’s work, almost the entire street was flooded. Yesterday he could still step out but today, the water already reached over his thighs. The tables and chairs on the first floor of the inn were all floating up and the situation looked very bad.

“What should we do, gongzi?” Fu Hua frowned when she saw this heavy rain.

Other travelers in the inn were also worried along with her. Whether it was the guests or residents of the city, most of them were mortals without cultivation. Although they could directly leave this place by sword, the people left behind could only wait for death. In this low-lying area of the Central Plains, there was no place to hide. The people were talking on the second floor with worried looks.

Lin Rufei shook his head, indicating that he did not know, but he still found an unoccupied corner and looked eagerly at Gu Xuandu. He called out “senior.”

Gu Xuandu’s eyes darkened as he heard Lin Rufei’s soft voice, “Speak.”

Lin Rufei said, “This rain really can’t be stopped?”

Gu Xuandu said, “There is a way.”

Lin Rufei immediately grew excited: “What should be done?”  

Gu Xuandu said: “Beat up the cat, who is squatting in your room with nothing to do, up into the sky.” 

Lin Rufei: “……” This seemed to be quite difficult, he had not fought with cats before.

Gu Xuandu squinted at him: “This is a perfect chance to let Gu Yu out and in on some action.” Ever since Gu Yu had been with Lin Rufei, its status wasn’t as good as the wooden shield. He tried several times to correct Lin Rufei’s habits, but failed time and again. This time, he finally seized the opportunity to urge, “Do not use the shield. ah.”

Lin Rufei suddenly frowned. He always felt that this senior was deliberately making things difficult for him. Although the Ye Mo looked cute, it was at least one of the seven demon kings on the Bu’e Continent. He was just a poor, weak, and helpless swordsman, how could he possibly beat it? 

But Gu Xuandu would not say any other methods. Lin Rufei could only go back to the room and look at Chi Yu with a sigh.

The demon was naturally not concerned about the lives of other humans. Currently, it was happily smoothing the hair of the kitten. Lin Rufei stood by the window, looking at the heavy rain. Just as he was thinking about whether there was any other way, he heard a sharp cry from Chi Yu behind him: “Ow——”

Lin Rufei turned around and saw that Chi Yu had stood up from the table. He was looking at him with a hostile face and all his hairs were standing up, just like a big cat with fried hair. He sharply called Lin Rufei’s name: “Lin Rufei——”

Lin Rufei: “Hm?”

Chi Yu said, “How dare you pull my tail——!”

Lin Rufei was dumbfounded on the spot. He turned his head and saw Gu Xuandu, who was standing next to Chi Yu with a look of innocence. Facing Lin Rufei’s questioning eyes, Gu Xuandu looked very calm. He simply spread his hands to make an “I don’t know what he is talking about” expression. However, the few hairs in his hand revealed exactly what this unreliable senior just did.

Chi Yu said, “What are you looking at?!!!” He flashed his sharp claws and gestured at Lin Rufei a few times fiercely, “Don’t think that because my son treats you like a father, I won’t dare to strike at you!”

Lin Rufei: “……” He really couldn’t argue with a hundred mouths[4].

Chi Yu roared with irritation. Under Lin Rufei’s gentle voice, he finally calmed down. He tucked away his tail and simply turned his back towards Lin Rufei. He had a look of “I am angry, you must not come to mess with me again.” The breath in Lin Rufei’s throat had not yet fallen when he saw Gu Xuandu reveal a mischievous smile. He stretched out his hand towards Chi Yu’s curled up tail and pulled——

“Shameless!!!!” Chi Yu fiercely hurled up from the table and rushed towards Lin Rufei. His already very red eyes were now so angry that they could bleed. Lin Rufei was frightened by his appearance and reflexively pulled Gu Yu that was on the side of his waist. 

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Gu Yu caught a blow from Chi Yu. Lin Rufei swung his sword with his backhand and raised up a snow-white sword Qi. Chi Yu twisted to dodge. With another claw, it was deadlocked on Lin Rufei’s Gu Yu.

“Quickly—quickly—swing the sword——” Gu Xuandu, who was enjoying the show, did not feel that things were a big deal, “Use the method I taught you, try it quickly!”

At this point, there was no other way. Lin Rufei could only try as if he was using the wooden shield and drew out the sword intent in his body before attaching it to Gu Yu. Gu Yu felt the sword intent and issued an excited buzz and soon, the sword blade exploded with a dazzling white light. When Chi Yu felt the sword intent, he paused for a second. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Lin Rufei, who was holding the hilt of Gu Yu’s sword, raised his hand and swung down again.

Chi Yu’s sharp claws were the best weapons. Even a thousand blades could not destroy it. If it was an ordinary blade that was grabbed by his claws, then it would be broken into pieces. Even if the best sword resisted his blow, it would probably leave a few grooves. Chi Yu was sure that with a little more force, Gu Yu would be destroyed by his claws. However, Lin Rufei did not give him this opportunity. He watched as Lin Rufei slowly swung down the sword blade. This action was nothing special and was as if it was just a lighthearted attempt.

However, Chi Yu felt a surge of sword intent. This sword intent came suddenly as if it was from Lin Rufei’s body. And when the sword intent surged towards his body, he actually felt a sharp pain that tore at his soul. This pain forced his claws to release. He wanted to twist his body to stay in mid-air, but this unstoppable sword Qi was like a giant object. It wrapped around him and flew straight to the sky where it was still raining heavily.

How could there be such a strong sword intent? …… Before flying out Chi Yu only had such a thought left in his head until he broke through the clouds and smashed heavily into someone’s body.

The person was looking down and setting up a formation. Reaching out, he caught Chi Yu, who was about to hit his face and after a careful look, he asked puzzledly, ‘where did this cat come from?’ 

Chi Yu, who had just suffered a loss at Lin Rufei’s place, could not stand to hear the word “cat.” With a howl, his body surged. He instantly turned into a beast that was a dozen meters high and bit down on the man. 

Lin Rufei did not have the same complex mental activities as Chi Yu. He only knew that Gu Yu was bitten by the big cat so he swung hard and the big cat turned into a meteor, disappearing right in front of his eyes. Furthermore, he also smashed a hole through the dark clouds in the distance. 

Lin Rufei looked around towards the window: “Where’s the cat!”

Gu Xuandu gloated: “Thrown out by you.”

Lin Rufei shook a little: “Thrown where?”

Gu Xuandu pointed to the sky.

Lin Rufei: “……”

Once the cat flew away, there was someone who was happy in the room. It was exactly the little cub that was being groomed under the big cat. The bad guy was gone, leaving only him and his dad, which was naturally something to be happy about. The little one ran to Lin Rufei’s, rubbing hard, and whining coyly. How could Lin Rufei stand this? In the end, he picked it up and continued to comb the kitten’s hair with a comb.

After combing for a while, he realized that something was not right. Lin Rufei turned his head and glared at Gu Xuandu: “Senior—how can you just grab other people’s tails?!”

Gu Xuandu said, “But he’s not human.”

(t/n: human and people have the same character) 

Lin Rufei: “……” Why are you so good at talking, senior?

When Gu Xuandu saw Lin Rufei’s shocked expression, he could not help but laugh: “I can’t help it. Didn’t Xiao Jiu want the rain to stop? Don’t worry. Since the big cat is up there, the rain will stop soon.”

Lin Rufei said arduously, “Then how did senior know I would throw him up there?”

“Because Xiao Jiu had never been able to master the strength he exerts on the sword.” Gu Xuandu said, “Ye Mo’s claws are the most powerful weapon and usually their way of fighting is to crush the sword blade first. As soon as Xiao Jiu waved his sword, it must have gone up.”

Lin Rufei: “…… so what exactly is above the rain curtain?”

“Mnn …… probably a cultivator trying to catch something and also a demon trying to run away.” Gu Xuandu stroked his chin as he said, “I have not seen such a person in a long time, one who can disregard the death of the people around.”

Lin Rufei had some disbelief: “This rain was made by a person? I thought it was …… demons.”

“It should be a formation.” Gu Xuandu said, “Wait and see, I guess it will come down soon.”

So Lin Rufei continued to come the little kitten’s hair while looking out the window. As Gu Xuandu said, the originally heavy rain gradually lessened. Although not completely clear, the vaguely visible sky was becoming brighter.

Lin Rufei had good eyes and noticed that there seemed to be something above the overcast clouds, splitting and closing, as if in a fight.

Gu Xuandu also stood in front of the window and watched, “It’s almost back.”

Lin Rufei said in a deep voice: “Senior, I have one thing I want to ask you.”

Gu Xuandu thought he was going to say something important, so he lowered his voice, “Speak!”

Lin Rufei said seriously: “That tail, how did it feel?”

Gu Xuandu: “…… Exell…… ent.”

The two looked at each other, both understanding tacitly and Gu Xuandu said: “How about I find an opportunity for you to have a touch?”  

Lin Rufei nodded and reached an evil deal with Gu Xuandu.

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[1] Idea is that when a person has been sick for a long time and is familiar with pathology and medicine, he can become a good doctor. 

[2] Hawthorn Cake. 

[3] Reference to the famous Pig in “Journey to the West” 

[4] Unable to give a convincing explanation in self-defense.