Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 74: Shen Wucui

However, before She Yizhi could fully comprehend, he was dragged off by Lin Rufei again. He didn’t know where this Lin gongzi, who had a weak body, got all his strength from but he pulled She Yizhi and walked as fast as if he was flying. Soon, they arrived at the edge of the Ruo River: “Quick, quickly catch him back.”

“Don’t be in a hurry.” She Yizhi took out a stack of talismans from his pocket and slowly said, “First let me set up a formation.”

Lin Rufei had never seen anyone set up a formation before, so he watched with curiosity from the side.

She Yizhi took in a deep breath and then held a talisman with his finger. Suddenly, there was a flash of spiritual energy at his fingertips and the talisman lit up in a flash. With the talisman as the framework and the cinnabar as the flesh and blood, a complete spell formation was soon constructed right in front of Lin Rufei’s eyes. After this spell formation was laid, with She Yizhi’s mouth whispering the mantra, it began to slowly rise into mid-air, forming a swirling cloud as it gradually spread out towards the surroundings. The cloud formation was accompanied by lightning and thunder and a cold raindrop fell from the sky, hitting Lin Rufei right on his cheek.

“It’s about to rain.” She Yizhi also floated in mid-air and called out to Lin Rufei, “Lin gongzi, you’d better go and find a place to take shelter from the rain first, I’ll come back to you after I catch that jiao.”

Lin Rufei asked, “How long will it take?”

She Yizhi thought for a moment and then gave Lin Rufei an affirmative answer, “With the experience from last time, he can’t escape this time. Don’t worry, it will be quick.” He even confidently patted his chest.

Lin Rufei nodded then turned around and walked to an abandoned hut by the river. The hut had a fisherman’s boat inside and was not locked, so it was just right for sheltering from the rain.

She Yizhi seemed to be very excited, so much so that there was even a smile on his face.

Made sense. After learning for so long and finally being able to encounter a demon to practice on, it was normal for She Yizhi to be happy. As Lin Rufei thought so, he didn’t forget to raise his voice to tell She Yizhi not to hurt the jiao’s life, but just to catch him.

She Yizhi responded distantly and he didn’t know if he had heard him clearly.

She Yizhi’s figure disappeared into the clouds with the slowly rising formation and as soon as he entered the clouds, it immediately began to rain in the sky, just as Lin Rufei had seen before.

“Can we catch it?” Lin Rufei was a little worried, “Before catching it, would it flood the She residence first?”

Gu Xuandu smiled, “That is a possibility.”

“But this She Yizhi is really something.” Lin Rufei muttered, “I haven’t seen such a complicated formation before.”

Gu Xuandu stated, “It’s not something profound, if Xiao Jiu wants to learn, I can teach you.”

Lin Rufei gave Gu Xuandu a look, “Is there anything else, something that senior doesn’t know?”  

Gu Xuandu answered, “It’s because my teacher was great at teaching.” 

Lin Rufei came to life: “Senior’s teacher?”

Gu Xuandu smiled, however, he did not elaborate further.

As the two people’s conversation ended here, there was suddenly a loud thunder resounding outside. Lin Rufei looked up and saw a long, narrow figure weaving back and forth in the clouds, eagerly trying to fly away from here, but instead, was trapped by an invisible barrier.

“Since the Yaoguang Grand Formation was laid down, it has had a huge impact on demons.” Gu Xuandu said indifferently, “I did not expect that after only a hundred years of work, the jiao would be so weak that a formation of little power could trap him into such a wretched state.” He spoke with a touch of lament and at first, it sounded like he was speaking out for the jiao, but in fact, he was feeling sorry for the gradual loss of the talismanic formation skills.

Previously, Tian Shui had been injured in She Yizhi’s formation. He didn’t know if the injury was serious but it seemed that he still suffered some effects at this time. In the rumble of thunder, Lin Rufei seemed to have vaguely heard a few low dragon’s roar. However, the dragon’s roar was soon interrupted by the burst of thunder and between Heaven and Earth, only the sound of rain was left.

Lin Rufei simply found a position to sit on the ground, quietly waiting.

The darkness of the sky made it impossible for Lin Rufei to tell how long it had been outside. Around evening, the majestic rain suddenly became much less intense and the thunder and lightning gradually dispersed. When Lin Rufei heard the sound of feet stepping in the puddle, he stood up and noticed She Yizhi standing outside, smiling brightly.

Despite She Yizhi’s body being soaked through, he was still all smiles. He walked towards Lin Rufei with his chest puffed up and he seemed to be carrying something in his hand. When he saw Lin Rufei looking over, he raised his hand happily and shouted, “Lin gongzi, I caught it!!”

“So fast?” Lin Rufei was a little surprised.

“Yes, I didn’t expect to be so fast either.” She Yizhi was also a bit puzzled, “But he doesn’t seem to be planning to escape……”

Lin Rufei asked, “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

“No.” She Yizhi shook his head.

As he said this, She Yizhi walked towards Lin Rufei and only then did Lin Rufei see clearly what he was carrying in his hand. It seemed to be a bag made of cloth. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but after careful observation, he found that the outside of the bag was embroidered with a layer of complex talismanic symbols. At this time, under the catalyst of She Yizhi’s spiritual power, it was glowing light white.

“He’s inside?” Lin Rufei asked.

“Mnn, want to take a look?” She Yizhi replied.

“Let’s take a look.” Lin Rufei took the bag from She Yizhi’s hand and opened it to see the trapped Tian Shui inside.

Unlike the ferocious Tian Shui that he had seen in the river, the current Tian Shui had shrunk in size and was banging around in the bag, looking pitiful and cute. However, seeing him in this state, Lin Rufei finally understood why She Jingxian mistook it as a beltfish spirit and cooked it. He had to say, this appearance of Tian Shui, and the beltfish spirit he saw yesterday, were really quite similar…….  

Lin Rufei said, “Let’s go.”

“Where to?” She Yizhi asked dumbly.

“Go back, ah.” Lin Rufei answered.

“Go back?” She Yizhi was puzzled, “Why go back? Don’t you need to find a place to kill the jiao first to avenge my big brother?”

Lin Rufei replied in a warm voice: “If you take revenge, it wouldn’t be enjoyable. This jiao hurt your big brother, let him do it, wouldn’t that be better?”

She Yizhi was dazed by Lin Rufei’s remarks. Scratching his head, he couldn’t think of what was wrong and agreed, “There seems to be some truth, so let’s hurry back.”

Lin Rufei showed a kind smile and patted the little fool’s shoulder.

The two then headed back to the She residence.

Once the formation stopped, the rain under the sky had also stopped. However, there were still some shallow puddles on the street. Lin Rufei stepped on the stone slab, carrying the jiao in his hand, and entered She Jingxian’s room with light steps.

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She Jingxian was sitting on a chair meditating. No one knew what he was thinking about, but when he heard the two’s footsteps he casually asked without even turning his head back, “Who is it?”

“Big Brother, big Brother.” She Yizhi felt that he had done something big and happily called out to his big brother, “I helped you get revenge!”

She Jingxian was surprised and turned around, “Revenge?”

She Yizhi asnwered: “Yes! Weren’t you injured by the jiao? Just now I went to set up a formation——”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw She Jingxian almost jumped down from his chair, rushing to him and yelling angrily, “Did you go find him again? Didn’t I say you weren’t allowed to go? What have you done? What have you done?”

She Yizhi was stunned and turned to look at Lin Rufei in a hurry. His eyes were horrified as it expressed to Lin Rufei…….‘this wasn’t the same as how you said it would be, ah.’

Lin Rufei very calmly revealed a smile: “Yes, She little gongzi, why won’t you listen to your big brother?”

She Yizhi: “……”

Lin Rufei sighed, “What a naughty child.”

She Yizhi: “……” He finally figured out what was wrong at this point. Why on earth would he believe such nonsense that Lin gongzi wouldn’t lie to people——he was obviously just being lied to——

However, at this point, it was too late to say anything. Hearing that She Yizhi had once again made a move against the jiao, She Jingxian was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He practially jumped eight feet high until Lin Rufei handed the bag in his hand over to him, “Brother She, calm down first. Your brother did not hurt the jiao, he just trapped him in the bag.”

When She Jingxian heard this, he instantly calmed down. He carefully reached out to take the bag and saw the beltfish spirit’s uncontrollable struggle inside……no, this was the jiao. 

“You didn’t hurt him, did you?” She Jingxian worriedly asked.

“No.” She Yizhi was very aggrieved, “Big brother, why are you like this, ah? In the end, is your brother, me, more important or is this demon more important? “

She Jingxian didn’t even raise his head: “Of course you are important.”

She Yizhi asked, “Then why did you yell at me?”

She Jingxian stated: “I am your big brother, what’s wrong with yelling at you? If you dare not listen to me, I will even beat you up.”

She Yizhi: “……” You two are both big liars.

Lin Rufei held back the smile on his lips. He said that he had something to say to She Jingxian and asked She Yizhi to leave for a while. She Yizhi was going to retort, but when he saw his big brother’s fierce look, the words that were about to spill out of his mouth were swallowed back down. In the end, he still felt wronged and left the room with tears in his eyes. 

Looking at him like this, even Lin Rufei felt a trace of guilt surfacing in his heart. But he didn’t feel guilty for long and soon, he put it behind him. He took out the scale from his bosom, the one that Tian Shui had given to him, and handed them to She Jingxian. He then repeated what Tian Shui said to She Jingxian.

She Jingxian was shocked to see the scale and said, ‘Isn’t this the reverse scale of the jiao? It grows on Tian Shui’s tail vertebrae, how could it be in Lin Rufei’s hand?’ Then, when he heard that Tian Shui had handed the reverse scale to Lin Rufei, his expression suddenly changed and he asked sorrowfully, “Is he trying to run away?”

Lin Rufei said, “…… Replacing the word ‘run’ with the word ‘leave’ may be more appropriate.”

She Jingxian exclaimed: “He is trying to leave home?!”

Lin Rufei: “……” Forget it, do as you please.

“Is Lin gongzi aware of Tian Shui’s plan and that’s why you had my brother go and capture him back?” After She Jingxian realized what had happened, his nervous expression finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath, “So that’s how it is, I was wrong about my brother.”

Lin Rufei laughed, “Yes, he’s a good boy.” Then inwardly muttered, if he wasn’t a good boy, he wouldn’t have been fooled so easily.

“Thank you, Lin gongzi, for making this possible.” With Tian Shui in his hand, She Jingxian thanked in a warm voice, “If it wasn’t for the help of Lin gongzi, I’m afraid I would have really let Tian Shui go.”

Lin Rufei asked, “What does She gongzi plan to do next?” Although Tian Shui was temporarily kept, it was not a permanent solution.

She Jingxian responded with a smile, “There is always a way.” But he didn’t say what it was. Instead, he raised his voice and called in She Yizhi, who had been waiting outside. She Yizhi thought he was going to be lectured again and shrunk his neck with an aggrieved expression, looking as if he was about to cry.

Who knew that his elder brother, who was always stern, would pat his head with a gentle expression and say, ‘little brother, you finally understand things.’ 

She Yizhi was frightened as he stared in horror: “What’s wrong with you, big brother?” Reaching out again, he grabbed Lin Rufei’s sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, “Lin gongzi, what did you do to my brother? Did he take the wrong medicine?”

She Jingxian suddenly had a cold look on his face once again as he said morosely, “She Yizhi, I think your skin is itching again[1].“

She Yizhi sighed with relief, “This is the big brother I know.

Lin Rufei had nothing to say as he looked at She Yizhi. In his heart, he thought that maybe this is what it meant to learn things the hard way….. 

All in all, She Yizhi was complimented by She Jingxian and after making sure that his big brother was really complimenting him, the innocent little gongzi of the She family resumed his bright smile and left with a skip in his step. Lin Rufei looked at his retreating figure and it was like he had seen himself when he was still on the Kunlun Mountains.  

But now he was no longer the same little gongzi of the Lin family. Under his senior’s teaching, he had successfully mastered the skills of deception and integrated into this complex Jianghu.

While thinking this, Gu Xuandu suddenly reached out and pinched Lin Rufei on the cheek. Lin Rufei was a little confused by this pinch and asked, ‘senior, why did you pinch me?’

Gu Xuandu said: “Looking at your silly smile made me want to pinch.”

Lin Rufei: “……” Oh well. If he pinched then he pinched. Anyway, it wasn’t like he lost a piece of meat. 

In the end, what She Jingxian was going to do with Tian Shui, Lin Rufei did not ask. Originally, he had planned to rest in the She residence for a few more days, but who knew that he would suddenly receive a letter from the Kunlun Mountains.

The letter was sent by Lin Weirui. Lin Rufei originally thought it was a family letter, like the old days, but after reading the contents of the letter, he immediately got nervous.

It turned out that something had happened to the Shen family. Shen Wucui, whom Lin Weirui loved, was seriously injured by an unknown swordsman. The swordsman came and went without a trace and his identity was a mystery, disappearing right after injuring Shen Wucui. Lin Weirui was very anxious when she received this news that she wanted to trouble Lin Rufei to go and see her beloved on the way.

After reading the letter, Lin Rufei sent a message back to Lin Weirui, saying that he was now at the She residence and would leave for the Shen residence immediately to see what was going on there. He also said that Lin Weirui should not be anxious, saying that Shen Wucui should not be seriously hurt.

After getting this letter, Lin Rufei had planned to leave immediately, but before leaving, he went to look for She Jingxian once again. When he arrived at She Jingxian’s residence, he noticed that in She Jingxian’s house, there was an additional large transparent fish tank made of crystal. This fish tank was filled with beautiful fishes, seaweeds, and corals, making it look very stunning. Lin Rufei took a look at the fish tank. He seemed to have a hunch about something and showed a hint of hesitation.

She Jingxian probably noticed what Lin Rufei wanted to say and smiled, “Lin gongzi, life is only a hundred years long, if you meet someone you like, you must be quick.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Wouldn’t it be too forced?”

“It is most difficult for two lovers to love each other, so why would there be any of what you said?” She Jingxian questioned back, “He is timid so I will carry his burden for him.”

He looked quite aloof about this and soon returned to the steady demeanor he had when they first met.

Lin Rufei balled his hand and gave a salute to She Jingxian, before turning around and leaving.

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She Jingxian asked She Yizhi to send Lin Rufei to the carriage. She Yizhi stood in front of the carriage and was still a bit reluctant to leave, saying, ‘how come Lin gongzi is in such a hurry to leave. Are you really not going to stay for a few days?’

Lin Rufei said there was something back at home and he had to leave, but if there was a chance to meet again in the future, he would come back.

She Yizhi wanted to say something else but stopped.

When Lin Rufei noticed this, he told him to say what he had wanted to say.

She Yizhi replied, “Actually, it’s not anything important.” As he said this, he went up to the carriage and sat close to Lin Rufei. Then with a swift move, he pulled on the tail of Chi Yu, who was currently lying next to Lin Rufei, taking a nap. Chi Yu’s furry tail once again suffered, only the next moment, the person screaming in agony became She Yizhi. However, he did not care. After being scratched, he stood on the side of the carriage giggling and waving at Lin Rufei. He said that Lin gongzi should come and play again next time. 

Chi Yu was so angry that he hurled insults at She Yizhi and even Lin Rufei was also called “a mean and cunning human being.” Lin Rufei pretended not to hear, waved at She Yizhi with a gentle expression, and said goodbye to the She family.

A dozen days have passed, but the little kitten was still clinging to Lin Rufei as usual. Usually, it would only eat when Lin Rufei fed it. But as long as it left Lin Rufei for a distance greater than a foot, it would grunt and scream. It made Chi Yu so angry that he exclaimed he had never seen such a stupid cub before. 

Lin Rufei did not care. He smiled and stroked the soft pink belly of the kitten: “Maybe it is inherited from the father.”

Chi Yu: “……” You’re quite good with your mouth, eh.

Fu Hua and Yu Rui completely ignored the underlying turmoil between Chi Yu and his own son. They held Chi Yu in their arms and have almost touched him all over. Although Chi Yu said that humans were stupid, his body was still very honest. After being touched by Fu Hua, he could not help but squint his eyes and meow with a coarse voice. This made Lin Rufei, who had been looking, feel a wave of emotions and made him hate that he was not born a beautiful woman.

The distance from the She family to the Shen family was not that far. As long as they followed along the Ruo River, they would arrive in about four or five days.

The Shen family lived at the mouth of the sea. After Lin Rufei traveled for a few days, he saw the vastness of the ocean for the first time. As a person who grew up on the Kunlun Mountains, it was his first time seeing the sea so Lin Rufei was still a bit shocked. He stopped the carriage and stared for a good while before continuing on the road.

At this time, the sky was blue and cloudless. The area where the blue sea and the blue sky met, almost melted into one, turning into a single color. The sea was billowing along with the salty sea breeze, and from time to time, he could hear tweeting terns gliding low in the air. On the azure sea, a few fishing boats could be seen faintly; some were big and some were small, but they all became part of the scenery.

When they arrived at the beach, the temperature had dropped quite a bit instead. Lin Rufei followed the coastline and soon found his destination—the Shen family, who lived in the Mirage City by the sea.

But before he even got close, Lin Rufei then perceived the unusual atmosphere of the Shen family. Chi Yu seemed to have felt it too. Originally, he had been lying tamely in Fu Hua’s arms but suddenly, he stood up with a grave expression. He grabbed the cub by its scruff and directly jumped out of the carriage window, off into the unknown.

Lin Rufei could not even stop him in time and could only see his snow-white back disappearing into the shoreline.

“Who’s there?!” The carriage was stopped by the guards at the city gate and questioned in an unkind tone.

Lin Rufei lifted the vehicle and made his intentions clear. The guard’s expression softened when he heard that he was from the Lin family but still said that he had to go and ask for some instructions before he could let Lin Rufei in.

Lin Rufei nodded and did not make things difficult for the guard.

The guards acted quickly and soon got the news and allowed Lin Rufei’s carriage to pass through.

The name Mirage City was taken from the meaning of mirage and the Shen family had been flourishing in this place for a hundred years. The Shen family had outstanding sword skills and their family’s style was strict. Lin Rufei once had the privilege of meeting his third sister Lin Weirui’s interest, Shen Wucui. It was just that the characters of this Shen gongzi and Lin Weirui were completely different. Although he was handsome, everything was about rules. He behaved straightforwardly and rarely did anything out of the ordinary. Lin Weirui was the kind whose nature could turn the whole world upside down. Initially, she said she liked Shen Wucui and everyone only thought she was joking. However, they did not expect Lin Weirui to actually be serious. 

It was a pity that after Shen Wucui was teased by Lin Weirui several times, he became somewhat afraid of this quirky Lin family’s young miss. Every time he saw Lin Weirui, he desperately wanted to hide. 

This time, Shen Wucui was injured, Lin Weirui would probably also be very heartbroken.

The Mirage City was heavily guarded. From time to time, he could see the guards searching through the crowds. They must have been trying to find the person who injured Shen Wucui, but Lin Rufei thought they were being a bit redundant. If they were able to injure Shen Wucui, then they must have very excellent sword skills, how could these guards possibly find any traces of that person?

But since the Shen family had made such a big deal, most likely Shen Wucui’s injury wasn’t all that light. Lin Rufei thought with some concern.

When he arrived at the entrance of the Shen family, there were already underlings of the Shen family who had received the news and were waiting in advance. When they noticed Lin Rufei’s arrival, they were very enthusiastic and helped him take the carriage. They then said that the Shen family had arranged a residence for Lin Rufei and would take him there immediately.

Lin Rufei asked about Shen Wucui in the passing and the servant hesitantly responded, “Lin gongzi, my gongzi is awake, but he is not willing to see the guests……”

Lin Rufei asked, “Is he badly injured?”

The servant replied, “Yes, the injury is very serious. He was in a coma for almost ten days and only woke up yesterday. But after waking up, he seems to be in a bad state. Dozens of physicians came and went already……”

Lin Rufei questioned: “And the swordsman that wounded him?”

“He left after injuring gongzi, but he gave word that he would come back.” The servant continued, “Our gongzi is good-tempered and kind, I don’t know how he ended up provoking such a God of killing.” 

Lin Rufei soon fell into silence.

“If you want to see my gongzi, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a few days.” The servant answered.

Lin Rufei nodded his head, indicating that he understood.

Seeing Lin Rufei’s sad expression, the servant said comfortingly that Lin gongzi shouldn’t worry too much. After all, he had now woken up. That means that his life was not in imminent danger, although he was injured, he could always recuperate……

Lin Rufei, however, just listened and did not answer.

He followed the servant into the residence, which was a beautiful floating house[2] facing the sea. Outside the window, he could see the beautiful sea horizon and the beach. The house was cleaned as the servant told Lin Rufei that he should rest here for a while and that the head of the Shen family was still busy at the moment. When he was finished, he would send someone to invite Lin gongzi over for a chat.

Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that he was not in a hurry, and allowed them to finish the important things first.

Gu Xuandu did not look too well from the moment he stepped foot into Mirage City. Lin Rufei waited until the servants had retired before he found the opportunity to ask.

“I felt a familiar aura.” Gu Xuandu responded, “Like meeting an acquaintance.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Acquaintance? Is it your acquaintance or mine?”

Gu Xuandu replied, “Ours.”

Lin Rufei froze. He had rarely seen such a displeased look on Gu Xuandu’s face and he did not know why that acquaintance would cause such strong antipathy from Gu Xuandu.

********

The author has something to say:

Tomorrow I have to take my mother for a re-examination, so I may be late updating, and will be taking a leave of absence in advance.

Lin Rufei: Today, I learned how to lie to others from senior. Lying to others was very fun. 

Gu Xuandu: Why don’t you learn something else with me? 

Lin Rufei: What? Formations?

Gu Xuandu: …….

Lin Rufei: Wait, Wait, Wait. Senior, why are you untying my belt?

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[1] Someone whose skin is itching is implying that they want to be beaten. 

[2] Something like these 2.