Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 75: Seriously Injured

Shen Wucui’s situation was indeed not good. Lin Rufei had stayed with the Shen family for three days before he was finally able to meet him. During that time, Lin Rufei and the Shen family head also met. From the family head’s tired face, it could be seen that things were not going too well. The family head did not say anything more to Lin Rufei and simply described the situation that had happened that day. It turned out that Shen Wucui had been idly wandering on the beach and suddenly, encountered a strange swordsman. When the swordsman noticed Shen Wucui, he did not say single word before he made a move right as he went up to him. Logically speaking, Shen Wucui, who was a cultivator at the seventh level, should not have been taken down by just a few moves, but Shen Wucui was easily defeated by the rogue swordsman. He actually failed to keep a round under that person! And by the time the others found Shen Wucui, he had already been stabbed with a sword right through his lifeline. They nearly failed to save him. 

Although the Shen family head calmly told this story, Lin Rufei could still experience a thrilling taste from it. 

“Lin gongzi has come at a bad time.” The Shen family head said with a bitter smile and let out a sigh, “Otherwise, I would have asked Wucui to receive you personally.”

Lin Rufei replied, “No matter. It was my sister who heard that something had happened to Shen gongzi and she was a bit worried, so she asked me to rush over here on a fast horse.”

The Shen family head revealed a smile, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Weirui, is she doing well?” 

“Very well. Just before I left, my elder brother took her into the ancestral hall and beat her up.” Lin Rufei, however, did not hesitate to betray his own sister.

The Shen family head laughed at his words and then told Lin Rufei to stay for a few days. When Shen Wucui recovered from his injuries, he would invite him to meet again. However, it was still best not to wander around, after all, the murderer had not yet been found. Lin Rufei nodded his head in agreement.

The two of them then proceeded to chat for a while longer before the Shen family head was called over for other matters. It was obvious that he was indeed very busy, but in view of the relationship between the Shen and Lin families, he still took the time to meet Lin Rufei alone.

Although Lin Rufei was worried about Shen Wucui, there weren’t many things he could do so he simply rested for two days. During these two days, he spent most of the time at the beach. As a person who had never seen the sea, he had to say, this place was really too fascinating.

The beach skerries, small fish, shells, and even the plain seaweed, in Lin Rufei’s eyes, were all endowed with magical power. He liked to step on the soft sand with his bare feet and watch as a small crab rested in a conch. And when his finger gently pressed on the tiny critter, it would shrink back into its shell in fear. On the coast, he could also often see beautiful little fishes. Most of them were colorful and very different from the inland fishes. Gu Xuandu lazily sat on the skerry, that was on the side, and introduced these fishes to Lin Rufei seriously. Only, these introductions were very unromantic. It was mostly about which fish tasted good and which fish could not be eaten. 

Lin Rufei also did not know what to say. He looked at Gu Xuandu in puzzlement, ‘Senior has eaten all these fish before?’ 

“Almost.” Gu Xuandu responded, “I was born by the seaside. The seaside has mostly fish. I had eaten so many that I wanted to vomit.” 

Lin Rufei asked, “Senior was born in Yaoguang? “

“No.” Gu Xuandu said, “I was born in Xuandu.”

(t/n: just realize that the Xuandu Continent has the same characters as GXD)

Lin Rufei revealed a surprised look. The Xuandu Continent was right next to Yaoguang, but the two continents were separated by a wide ocean so very few people could travel between the two places. Because not only were the waves rough, there were countless ferocious demonic beasts at the bottom of the sea. To go back and forth between the two places was simply a matter of death. Gu Xuandu was the most famous Heavenly Ruler on the Yaoguang continent, but he was not born in Yaoguang and was instead born in Xuandu, Lin Rufei was naturally a bit surprised by this. Without waiting for him to ask, Gu Xuandu continued, “At that time I was still young. I was adopted by an old friend and came to Yaoguang from Xuandu and never went back after that.”

Lin Rufei questioned, “Did that old friend bring the young senior from Xuandu to Yaoguang?” As he asked this, he was thinking about how powerful that person must have been. Not only did he pass through this vast sea by himself, but he even brought a small doll with no strength at all along with him.

Gu Xuandu responded, “He is indeed powerful.” Then continued indifferently, “At least much more powerful than me.”

A person who was more powerful than the Heavenly Ruler? Did a person like that really exist? In Lin Rufei’s impression, the Heavenly Ruler was already insurmountably powerful, “Then where is he now?”

“Dead.” Gu Xuandu spat out the word.

Lin Rufei was dumbfounded.

Gu Xuandu looked at Lin Rufei and a faint smile surfaced on his face. However, what came out of his mouth were heartbreaking words, “He was too kind-hearted and always couldn’t stand to see people suffer. You should know, such a person becomes tired as he lives on and when he dies, he becomes extraordinarily miserable.”

Lin Rufei muttered softly, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing.” Gu Xuandu waved his hand. He, however, had no sadness on his face, “But it’s okay now?”

Lin Rufei was stunned: “Okay?”

Gu Xuandu said in a warm voice: “Luckily there are fishes to eat.”

(t/n: so the meaning of the characters “还好” change according to context. In the previous case it meant “fine/okay” But in GXD’s next sentence, it can mean luckily/fortunately/thankfully. This is something that gets lost in translation that’s why the words might not exactly make sense in English, but just know they are the same Chinese characters)

Lin Rufei revealed an unsure look.

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However, their last lunch was the fish that Gu Xuandu had caught from the sea. He already knew what kind of fish tasted good so catching fish was not a difficult task for him. In the end, their trip to the sea was a full harvest. Not only did he catch fish, but he also gathered some beautiful shells and gave them to Lin Rufei with a smile. The shells in the deep sea were naturally no match compared to the ones by the seaside so Lin Rufei took them with surprise. He carefully hid them in his bosom and then placed them on the table in the room for viewing. When Fu Hua noticed these, she smiled and asked her gongzi where he found such beautiful shells.

Lin Rufei replied, “Someone gave it to me.”

“A gift?” Yu Rui brightened up and blinked, “Gongzi, you can’t just casually receive these seashore shells.”

Lin Rufei was confused, “What do you mean?”

Yu Rui responded, “I heard that there was a custom here. They said that in the past, the fishing village conditions weren’t too good. If you had a person you love and couldn’t prepare a betrothal gift, you would go to the deep sea to find the most beautiful shell as a betrothal gift to give to your lover. If the lover accepts, the two of them would be considered finished with the ceremony……”  

Lin Rufei stared: “But I am a man.”

Yu Rui replied with a smile: “Both men and women are the same. Gongzi, did you not see that on those fishing boats during the day, there were many girls picking shells? Seeing that the shells in gongzi’s hand are so unique, I think that person also spent a lot of effort selecting them.”

When Yu Rui stated this as a matter of fact, Gu Xuandu had also been listening. He propped up his chin, but did not say anything. He simply stared at Lin Rufei with interest. Logically speaking, Lin Rufei should be used to it, but his ears still became red under Gu Xuandu’s intense gaze. He gritted his teeth and pretended to be calm and then asked Fu Hua what they were eating tonight.

Fu Hua answered, “Let’s eat fish, didn’t gongzi bring back some fish?” She laughed, “Did the girl who gave you the shells give them to you together? These fishes are strange-looking, I have never seen them before, but since the shells are so nice, the taste of these fishes must not be bad either.”

Lin Rufei could not stand it anymore and pushed the two maids out of the room, rushing them to cook.

As it turned out, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were right. The fish that Gu Xuandu caught were oddly shaped, but they all tasted quite good. Because they were so fresh, just steaming them was enough to be tasty. Lin Rufei praised it after tasting a piece.

As the three of them, master and servants, were eating the fish, Chi Yu, who had escaped halfway yesterday, appeared at the window again with his cub in his mouth.

After dumping the cub onto the table, he circled around the fish in front of him. Lin Rufei wanted to feed Chi Yu something, but Chi Yu refused.

“Don’t want to eat.” Chi Yu narrowed his eyes in disgust, “This Shen family stinks, no appetite.”

Lin Rufei asked, “It stinks?”

“Yes.” Chi Yu answered, “Even before I came in, I smelled the overwhelming stench of corpses.” He tsked and nudged his son, who was currently wailing, “If it weren’t for this little thing, I wouldn’t have come in.”

Lin Rufei sniffed hard with his nose, but he didn’t smell the scent that Chi Yu had described.

Chi Yu muttered disdainfully, “Stop sniffing, you are human.”

Lin Rufei spread his hands: “Then should I feed your son first?”

Chi Yu’s tail flicked, signaling that it was okay.

Lin Rufei then took the kitten into his arms, rubbed its little head, and asked Fu Hua to bring over the extra fish to feed it to the little kitten. Just as the kitten had eaten his fill and revealed a look of contentment, Chi Yu picked it up with its mouth once again and jumped towards the window. He turned his head towards Lin Rufei and advised, “You’d better leave here early, it’s disgusting.” After saying that, he turned around and jumped away. He indeed looked annoyed with the place.

“Do you guys smell anything?” Lin Rufei asked the maids.

Fu Hua and Yu Rui all had blank looks on their faces and shook their heads together.

As they were chatting, they suddenly heard a loud commotion outside. It was followed by several people shouting at the top of their lungs and Lin Rufei vaguely heard someone shouting: “Go get the doctor!——”

Lin Rufei headed to the window and saw the chaos outside. He guessed that something had happened to Shen Wucui but there was currently no way to know.

“What’s wrong with the Shen family?” Lin Rufei remembered that Gu Xuandu had mentioned a phrase yesterday, “smelled a familiar aura” and opened his mouth to ask in a low voice.

Gu Xuandu narrowed his eyes, “Let’s go and see what’s going on with Shen gongzi first.”

Lin Rufei nodded, “Okay.”

Although he had wanted to see Shen Wucui, it was not actually an easy task. Lin Rufei made a request beforehand and it still took another day before he was arranged to meet with Shen Wucui.

Before they met, Lin Rufei was carefully instructed by the physician to try not to let Shen gongzi say too much. Although he had woken up, his body was still not in good condition. But the Shen family head was still a little embarrassed and asked Lin gongzi to understand.

Lin Rufei smiled, “Being able to see Shen gongzi is naturally good. What’s there not to understand?”  

The Shen family head then nodded his head gratefully.

As an important son of the Shen family, the place where Shen Wucui was recovering from his injuries was heavily guarded. Lin Rufei passed through several guards before finally entering the inner room. But as soon as he stepped into the room, Lin Rufei felt that something was wrong. The smell of medicine was not the only thing that permeated the room, there was also a faint smell of rotting blood. Although this smell was mixed with the rich scent of medicine, it was still caught by Lin Rufei’s nose.

At this time, a full dozen days have passed since Shen Wucui was injured, but Shen Wucui’s wounds were actually rotting. It seemed like Shen Wucui’s condition was far from good.

Although he mentally prepared himself beforehand, Lin Rufei’s heart still gently thumped.

After turning a corner, Lin Rufei finally caught sight of Shen Wucui lying on the bed. It was currently the height of Summer, but the cooling inside the house was very well done as large amounts of ice were placed in the four corners. Shen Wucui was lying on the bed, wearing white. His clothes, however, were not completely tied and it revealed his waist and abdomen wrapped in white cloth. It could be faintly seen that the white cloth was stained with dark red bloodstains.

Shen Wucui’s face was ashen and his breath was weak, but when he saw Lin Rufei coming, he still braced himself to smile at him and greeted in a warm voice: “Lin gongzi has come a long way but I could not receive you, I am really sorry.”

“Don’t you move now.” Lin Rufei said hurriedly, “Don’t tear the wound.”

Shen Wucui replied, “It’s not a big deal.”

Lin Rufei thought to himself: Your ‘not a big deal’ is very unconvincing. However, he did not argue with Shen Wucui further and simply sat down beside him. He then noticed that the scent of rotting had become even stronger once he sat down and it was as if the wound had not been treated properly.

Shen Wucui asked, “Is your sister doing good lately?”

Lin Rufei answered, “She is very good, just a little worried about you.” He hesitated for a moment before asking, “Shen gongzi, can you tell me what the swordsman, who had hurt you that day, looked like?”

“What did he look like?” Shen Wucui mumbled, “He was young and looked like he was a teenager, but his sword skill was very fierce. If I must say something something special about him then…….” 

Lin Rufei became curious, “What?”

Shen Wucui replied, “That is, I cannot see through his cultivation.” He, himself, also showed a somewhat doubtful look.

“How is that possible?” Lin Rufei exclaimed incredulously, “Shen gongzi couldn’t even see through that person’s cultivation?”

“Yes, I didn’t even detect that person’s breath.” Shen Wucui sighed, “From the time he appeared to the time he disappeared, I……couldn’t even sense his presence.”

Lin Rufei frowned, “Could it be that that person has a powerful magic treasure?”

Shen Wucui shook his head and soon stopped talking again.

It seemed that he was indeed seriously injured. Even just saying a few words was very laborious for him. Although Lin Rufei still wanted to ask for more details, he also could not bear to disturb Shen Wucui. Coincidentally, the doctor also came in to change Shen Wucui’s medicine so Lin Rufei stepped back and stood to the side.

But when the physician lifted the white cloth and revealed the wound between Shen Wucui’s waist and abdomen, Lin Rufei still sucked in a breath of cold air. He noticed that Shen Wucui’s abdomen actually had an open large hole and the surrounding flesh muscles, that were wounded by sharp weapons, had no signs of healing. Not only that, but it also revealed a rotting color. Shen Wucui closed his eyes and whispered: “Still no?”

The physician shook his head with difficulty.

“No matter.” Seeing this scene, Shen Wucui looked calm and said indifferently, “This is probably my Shen Wucui’s life.”

The physician answered, “Gongzi does not need to be too pessimistic. As long as you catch that swordsman and interrogate him to find out exactly what poison he used, you can……”

Shen Wucui smiled, but with it carried a hint of self-deprecation: “If I, a swordsman with a cultivation at the seventh level, could barely survive a round under him, what will the Shen family use to catch him?” He then exhaled a breath and continued, “You……don’t say anything too serious to my father, lest he worries.”

The physician, however, did not dare to reply.

Shen Wucui also no longer spoke and continued to close his eyes to recuperate.

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The process of changing the medicine was very slow and painful and when the medicine was finally finished being changed, the only traces of blood left on Shen Wucui’s face could no longer be seen. Lin Rufei knew that the situation was not good and he became extremely anxious. He didn’t want to bother Shen Wucui anymore and intended to leave with the physician, but Shen Wucui stopped him. 

“Lin gongzi.” Shen Wucui called out in a low voice, “I have a favor to ask.”

Lin Rufei responded, “Please speak, Shen gongzi.”

Shen Wucui stretched out his hand and with great difficulty, pulled out something from the bedside cabinet and placed it in front of Lin Rufei. Lin Rufei took a good look at it and noticed that it was a beautiful pouch. The pouch was embroidered with two ducks making threatening gestures and Lin Rufei hesitantly said: “This duck pouch……”

Shen Wucui was breathless: “These are mandarin ducks[1].”

Lin Rufei: “……” Sorry, he didn’t mean it.

“Your sister embroidered it.” Shen Wucui let out a low laugh as he sensed Lin Rufei’s embarrassment, “She gave it to me, I lied to her and said that I lost it……you……return it to her for me.”

When Lin Rufei heard this, he knew that things were heading downhill. He was about to open his mouth to persuade but stopped himself when he noticed Shen Wucui waving his hand before calmly speaking, “I know what you want to say, no need to persuade me. If I can get well, I will personally give it to your sister. If I can’t get well, please do it for me.”

Lin Rufei said firmly, “You will definitely be able to get well.”

Shen Wucui only smiled at his words and didn’t say anything in response. However, this smile of his had a few traces of sadness. He also no longer spoke and tiredly closed his eyes once more.

Lin Rufei held the pouch in his hand and came out of the inner room with his eyebrows tightly knitted, keeping quiet for a long time. Only when he reached a place where there was no one, did he hurriedly ask Gu Xuandu, “Senior, who exactly hurt Shen gongzi? How did he get hurt so badly—can we find him——”

Gu Xuandu frowned, “But even if we find him, Shen gongzi may not necessarily be saved.”

“Why?” Lin Rufei froze and asked, “Isn’t Shen gongzi poisoned? As long as we find the person who gave the poison……”

“That’s not an ordinary poison.” Gu Xuandu responded, “It’s corpse poison.”

Lin Rufei questioned, “Corpse poison?”

Gu Xuandu muttered, “That’s right, the poison that exists only on the corpse.” He sighed and then said, “I……will try my best to help you look for it, but it depends on Shen gongzi’s luck if I can find it.” He suddenly paused for a moment, stroked his chin, and thought, “Or you can ask Chi Yu. He should be a little more sensitive to this kind of stuff and his efficiency may be faster than mine.”

Lin Rufei pondered about it and nodded, “Okay, senior will help me find it first and I’ll see if I can get Chi Yu to help.”

Chi Yu’s cub needed to be fed twice a day, once at noon and definitely again at night. Gu Xuandu was currently nowhere to be seen, so he must have gone to search for that person while Lin Rufei waited anxiously at home. Luckily, Chi Yu came early. When he noticed Lin Rufei walking in a circle like a headless fly, he fussily asked, “What are you walking in a circle for?”

When Lin Rufei heard his voice, he hurriedly asked, “Chi Yu! Can I trouble you to do me a favor?”

Chi Yu narrowed his eyes, “You, a human, want me, a demon, to do you a favor? Did I hear you right?”

Lin Rufei muttered, “Yes……”

Chi Yu lazily licked his paws and lazily interrupted Lin Rufei, “Tell me what it is first, and then I will consider whether to help you or not.”

Lin Rufei then proceeded to tell him about the matter regarding Shen Wucui, highlighting that he was heavily poisoned.

“Oh, so you are trying to find the origins of the stench, right?” Chi Yu asked.

Lin Rufei nodded his head.

“Then if I help you, how are you going to repay me?” Chi Yu narrowed his eyes and stared at Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei inquired, “What do you want?”

Chi Yu, “Tsk, what I want, I’m afraid you can’t give.”

Lin Rufei let out a sigh, but after thinking for a moment, he said seriously, “How about this, if you help me find that person, I will promise you a request. As long as I don’t do any evil and don’t hurt others’ lives, I will try to help you achieve it.”

Chi Yu surveyed Lin Rufei for a long time and just when Lin Rufei thought he wouldn’t agree, this Ye Mo stretched his back lazily and responded, “Alright.”

Then he threw the little kitten, that was playing on the side, into Fu Hua’s arms and raised his chin at Lin Rufei, signaling him to follow him.

Lin Rufei stepped out of the house.

He probably realized that he was running too fast and that Lin Rufei would not be able to keep up, so Chi Yu deliberately slowed down his pace and took Lin Rufei all the way out of Mirage City, towards the sea.

At this time, the sun had already set and the original azure seawater turned a deep black, lapping hard against the beach and skerries, stirring up a burst of clattering water. If the sea during the daytime still carried a gentle and accommodating taste, then the sea during the night was like a horrible abyss, as if it was going to swallow everything that came near.

“That smell is coming from this direction.” Chi Yu’s sense of smell was really sensitive and he took Lin Rufei all the way forward almost without the slightest hesitation. Only, his expression was somewhat unpleasant. It seemed that this smell was very disgusting, “If you find that person, what do you want to do?”

Lin Rufei said, “Since it was him who gave the poison, he should have the antidote. If not, then we can only take him back first before discussing anything else.” Treat a dead horse as if it were a living one[2]. Looking at Shen Wucui’s appearance, he probably wouldn’t last for long, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so anxious and even troubled Chi Yu for help.

“Take him back?” Chi Yu asked, “Aren’t you afraid that you can’t beat him?”

Lin Rufei replied, “One always has to try.”

Chi Yu looked critically at Lin Rufei and then muttered with dissatisfaction, “You humans really don’t know how much weight you have[3]. That thing can beat the Shen family’s gongzi into that state, even if you find him, you are simply delivering yourself on a silver platter.”

Lin Rufei was noncommittal and responded indifferently, “Let’s talk about it when we find him.”

Chi Yu sighed, “Troublesome.”

Although he disliked Lin Rufei’s insouciance, his pace did not slow down. Soon, the lights of Mirage City behind them were getting farther and farther away. Lin Rufei followed Chi Yu along the seaside for a long time until the surrounding scenery became more and more unfamiliar.

There were no more lights or people around, only waves and noisy insects. The surrounding was also getting darker and darker and Chi Yu’s footsteps gradually slowed down. His expression became grave and his blood-red eyes in the darkness were like two beautiful night pearls as he suddenly spoke out: “The stench is getting stronger, that thing is nearby.” He twisted his head and looked at Lin Rufei, “I’ll warn you first, this thing is certainly not ordinary. Even though we are so far away, the smell from the Shen family is still so strong. If you are injured by him, you may die even faster than the Shen gongzi……Lin Rufei, you have to think carefully.”

Lin Rufei stated, “I’ve already thought about it, lead the way.”

Chi Yu no longer spoke. He turned and jumped onto a desolate skerry. That skerry was attached with moss and was very slippery. Lin Rufei had to slow down and walk slowly. But fortunately, Chi Yu did not go far before he suddenly stopped and whispered, “It’s just ahead, see?”

Lin Rufei looked carefully and under the moonlight, he caught a glimpse of a person sitting on the skerry. The person’s back was facing him and his dark figure was like a black ink stain.

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[1] Mandarin Ducks: can be used to symbolize an affectionate couple. 

[2] Idiom: to keep trying everything in a desperate situation. 

[3] It means that you do not know how much you can do or how much ability you have.