Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 77: Healing

For some reason, Lin Rufei actually heard a bit of heartache in Gu Xuandu’s words. He wanted to say something but did not know what to say and finally, decided not to say anything at all. He simply reached out his hand and held Gu Xuandu’s hand, just as he had done before. When Gu Xuandu noticed Lin Rufei’s action, he was slightly stunned at first, but in the next moment, the corners of his mouth curved up, “How can you take advantage of me, Xiao Jiu?”

Lin Rufei blinked and said seriously, “Maybe because senior took advantage of me first.” After saying this, the two looked at each other and laughed, the heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly relaxed a lot.

Over there, Lin Weirui went fast and came back fast. However, she came back with the Shen family head. The gaze that the Shen family head had when he looked at Lin Rufei was a bit complicated and he said arduously: “Many thanks……Lin gongzi.” He was probably thanking Lin Rufei for telling such a method to Lin Weirui. After all, if Lin Rufei had not said so, Lin Weirui would also not have had to take the risk.

Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that the Shen family head did not need to be polite.

Lin Weirui, on the other hand, couldn’t wait any longer and once again asked Lin Rufei about the process in detail, asking for every single little detail. This method of exchanging the life force between two people required a complex formation. It required a dozen pieces of high-grade spirit stones as a base and then use live animals to start the formation after the complex pattern was drawn with cinnabar.

Lin Weirui was a bit curious as to where Lin Rufei learned this method from and Lin Rufei’s excuse was that he had met a powerful formation expert before coming here. Fortunately, Lin Weirui’s mind was not on it. She nodded after listening and did not ask in detail.

The place where the formation was to be set up was a relatively open mud field chosen by Lin Rufei. He carefully set up the spirit stones and then Gu Xuandu held his hand from behind before lying on the ground to draw up the formation in detail. The weather was hot and Lin Rufei was sweating profusely after drawing most of it. His chest was heaving so much and he couldn’t stop panting.

Lin Weirui looked really heartbroken, however, she couldn’t draw for Lin Rufei. She could only hold up an umbrella to help him shade from the sun. While fanning him, she would keep saying that Xiao Jiu had worked hard. 

Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head, saying that it was okay. He wasn’t that fragile nor was he made of paper mache.

Lin Weirui continued with a sad face, ‘Even if my Xiao Jiu is a piece of paper, then it is still a gold foil one.’  

Lin Rufei was amused by her. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief and continued to bend over to work hard. This was Lin Rufei’s first time setting up a formation, but with Gu Xuandu’s help, the drawn formation looked decent. After a morning of tormenting, the formation finally took shape, however, Lin Rufei was soaked through and his expression didn’t look too good.

But the good thing was that the formation was finally finished. The next thing they needed was to bring a live chicken into the formation. And then after killing the live chicken, they could start the formation spell.

Of course, all this must be said by Lin Weirui. However, before that, they needed to place the protagonist into the center of the formation.

Lin Rufei finished drawing the formation and his whole body was stripped of strength. When he stood up, he almost fell back down again. Luckily, he was held by Lin Weirui, who took noticed of his situation, so he didn’t fall to the ground.

“Why does your expression look so bad?” Lin Weirui was a little worried, “Xiao Jiu?”

Lin Rufei replied, “It’s nothing serious, it just seems to take some energy to set up the formation.” He coughed a few times and his thin shoulders shook uncontrollably.

“Does Xiao Jiu need to go back and rest first?” Lin Weirui added, “The weather seems to be very hot……have the maids prepare ice for you to relieve the heat.”

“No need.” Lin Rufei said, “I’ll just sit on the side. Let’s talk about the rest after the formation is finished.” 

When Lin Weirui saw Lin Rufei’s firmness, she could only helplessly agree. Then she carefully helped him to the shade of a nearby tree and helped him sit down before turning around to continue with her next task.

Shen Wucui was soon carried over and his expression was ugly as hell, but his consciousness was still clear. When he saw the formation, he frowned and breathlessly asked: “This is the antidote to the poison? Why does it look……strange……”

Lin Weirui let out a sigh and then said, ‘Anyway, it is able to detoxify the poison, so why do you care whether it is strange or not?’ As she said this, she waved her hand, allowing the subordinates to bring Shen Wucui to the center of the formation. Then she lifted up the long-prepared live chicken and walked to Shen Wucui’s side.

The atmosphere around was very tense and the Shen family head did not dare to breathe. Almost all of them stared with bated breath at Lin Weirui’s movements.

Although Lin Weirui was joking with Shen Wucui, her hand holding the knife trembled slightly which revealed her nervousness. Shen Wucui inquired, “Weirui? What are you doing?”

“To detoxify the poison.” Lin Weirui took a deep breath and smiled more brightly, “This is a formation to dispel the poison. After activating it, it will be able to pull out the corpse poison from your body.” After she said this, she raised her hand and cut the neck of the live chicken. The bright red hot blood gushed out but did not fall to the ground. As if by an invisible force, it was slowly pulled into every corner of the formation. When the blood entered the formation, a burst of red light wrapped around Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui, who were in the middle of the formation. Lin Rufei could not see the scene inside and became slightly worried. 

This scene, however, did not last long and soon the red light gradually dissipated, revealing the two people in the center of the formation.

Lin Weirui, who was originally standing in place, was now half kneeling on the ground and her flushed face was now pale. Shen Wucui, on the other hand, had fainted directly. However, his breath seemed to be much smoother than a few days ago when Lin Rufei saw him and his cheeks also had some more color to it. 

“Uh……” Lin Weirui tried to stand up, but stumbled a step and fell to the ground.

Lin Rufei’s heart tightened and he hurriedly stepped forward to hold her, “It’s OK now, quickly take them both back.”

After Lin Rufei’s command, the underlings of the Shen family, who had been around because they were afraid of breaking the formation and did not dare to go forward, swarmed up and placed both Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui onto chairs. Then they carefully carried them back to the room.

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When they arrived at the room, the physician came to check on Shen Wucui’s condition. After lifting the clothes on his waist and abdomen, Lin Rufei saw that the hideous wounds of the previous days were mostly healed, and most importantly, new flesh buds had been issued on them. Furthermore, there was no longer that rotting smell and Shen Wucui’s breathing was now steady and smooth. It seemed to no longer be a serious problem. Rather, Lin Weirui’s condition was a little worse. She was lying helplessly on the bed. After hearing that Shen Wucui was no longer in serious condition, she revealed a smile with difficulty: “Luckily, it was a success. Otherwise, I really hurt myself for nothing……”

Lin Rufei asked urgently, “Where does it hurt?”

Lin Weirui pointed to her abdomen.

Seeing this, the physician hurriedly told the others to leave, not caring to avoid suspicion, and carefully lifted up half of Lin Weirui’s clothes. Although Lin Rufei had been mentally prepared, after seeing the wound that appeared out of nowhere on Lin Weirui’s waist and abdomen, he still had the urge to cry. Lin Weirui and Lin Rufei were the same. Since childhood, they were both spoiled by the Lin family growing up and have never suffered such a heavy injury. The location and shape of the wound and the one on Shen Wucui’s body were almost identical. However, in the end, Lin Weirui was still a girl. Her waist was much slimmer and the wound on her body looked more striking and hideous.

“Is it a big one?” Lin Weirui straightened up her body to take a look at it, however, she accidentally pulled on the injury and couldn’t help but let out a hiss as she was forced to lie back down.

“Auntie[1], you have to stop moving.” Lin Rufei felt his heart ache just from looking, so he quickly pressed her down, “Be careful, otherwise, you’ll aggravate the wound.”

Lin Weirui struggled, “Xiao Jiu, quickly help me check. Is it long? Will it leave a scar? Oh my God, if this is seen, how ugly it must be.” She muttered and was rather worried about this matter.

Lin Rufei was made anxious by her. He knew that their lifeforce was now shared, but did not expect that even the wounds would appear on Lin Weirui’s body. He had a moment of heartache and finally experienced the helplessness his siblings had for him on Lin Weirui. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Lin Rufei said, “When the wound is healed, let Wan Yao find you the best scar removal medicine, by then nothing will remain.”

Only then did Lin Weirui settle down and ask a few questions about Shen Wucui’s condition, and only after learning that he was well, did she close her eyes in peace. The Shen family physician carefully administered medicine to Lin Weirui and bandaged her wound before following Lin Rufei out of the room.

Lin Rufei asked about Lin Weirui’s injuries and was relieved when the physician said that it was only a flesh wound and that she would get better in a few days.

Shen Wucui’s life was finally saved. Shen Wucui’s mother cried tears of joy and thanked Lin Rufei, who said with a bitter smile that it was not necessary to thank him but to thank his sister.

Shen Wucui’s mother wiped her tears and said that when Shen Wucui was well, she would let him go to Kunlun to propose marriage. The two children were almost the same age, so it was not beautiful to delay any longer. However, she did not know that Shen Wucui and Lin Weirui’s lives were now linked and was just simply grateful to Lin Weirui.

In fact, in the entire Shen family, in addition to Lin Rufei and Lin Weirui, only the head of the Shen family knew about this matter. This kind of thing, the fewer people who know of it, the better. Otherwise, it would be detrimental to the two.

After Lin Rufei confirmed that Lin Weirui had no problem, he was also a little tired. However, his entire body was covered in sweat which made him unable to sleep, so he asked Fu Hua to prepare a bathtub and went in for a good wash.

The water was warm and not too hot. As Lin Rufei was soaking in it, he soon drifted off to sleep. He leaned against the bucket and his head couldn’t stop lolling to the side. Soon, his consciousness became muddled.

There seemed to be someone whispering in his ears, but Lin Rufei couldn’t hear it clearly. After seeing that there was no reaction, there was a helpless sigh and he felt himself being picked up from the tub, wrapped in a dry towel, and then gently placed on the soft bed.

A comfortable sigh came out of his mouth, and Lin Rufei, like a cat, involuntarily rubbed against the soft mattress and fell asleep.

This sleep ended up lasting for a whole day and when he got up again, it was already the next day.

When Lin Rufei opened his eyes, his mind was still confused and he asked blankly, “What time is it?”

“It’s noon.” Gu Xuandu’s voice was right next to him.

Lin Rufei exclaimed, “Noon? I’ve slept for a day?”

“Mnn.” Gu Xuandu asked, “Are you hungry?”

“A little hungry.” Lin Rufei rubbed his stomach, feeling a bit uncomfortable, “Is my third sister okay?”

“Pretty good.” Gu Xuandu replied, “She woke up earlier than you. She even came to see you just now and when she saw that there was nothing wrong with you, she went out to find Shen Wucui.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Her injury is fine?”

“Sigh.” Gu Xuandu said, “It seems to be nothing, she’s still alive and kicking……”

He didn’t know exactly what Lin Weirui had done to make Gu Xuandu show such a helpless look but Lin Rufei couldn’t help but show a smile, “Then I’m up too.”

After washing up and having Yu Rui prepare some food, Lin Rufei sat at the table and ate slowly. Just in time, Chi Yu had jumped in through the window. As usual, he dropped the cub in his mouth onto the bed and raised his head, indicating that it was time for Lin Rufei to nurse the baby.

Lin Rufei could only ask the maids for some more fresh meat and while feeding the kitten cub, he watched as Chi Yu jumped into the arms of his own maids and gently enjoyed the petting.

“Is that person still around?” Lin Rufei asked.

“I don’t think he’s around anymore.” Chi Yu replied in a slow voice, “The scent is already very faint.”

Lin Rufei let out a soft sigh.

Chi Yu said, “That corpse is easy to find, but it would be troublesome if you want to find the person who is manipulating it.” He narrowed his eyes, “You humans really have so many tricks up your sleeves.”

Lin Rufei smiled and nodded, “That’s true.”

After feeding the kitten cub, Lin Rufei headed out. Although he was a little uncomfortable, he was still barely able to hold it in. He wanted to see for himself how Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui were doing. Who knew that after two steps out of the room, Lin Rufei looked up and saw Lin Weirui and Shen Wucui on the beach. Shen Wucui was sitting and Lin Weirui was standing next to him, gesticulating and saying something, laughing from time to time.

Although they were far away, Lin Rufei could clearly see the helpless look on Shen Wucui’s face.

“Hahahahaha, I thought you were really going to die.” Lin Weirui had her hands on her hips, looking lively. If Lin Rufei didn’t know that she had a wound on her waist, he probably would have thought that this girl was in good spirits, “If you were gone, I’d have to find another man and I’d have to watch them grow up, so troublesome!”

Shen Wucui asked, “Who are you going to find?”

Lin Weirui answered, “Anyone is fine.” 

Shen Wucui frowned.

Lin Weirui was happy again and went over to him. She actually took advantage of Shen Wucui’s lack of reaction and fiercely landed a bite mark on his cheek before quickly running away: “Hahahahahahaha, but since you’re well, then I don’t have to worry about anything else. Come, come, come, let me make a mark first, so that you won’t be hooked away by another demon spirit.”

Shen Wucui sat in place. He was dumbfounded from being bitten directly, however, after reacting he could only look at Lin Weirui’s back and let out a sigh. If it was before, Lin Rufei would probably only hear the taste of helplessness in this sigh from him. But for some reason, this time, he actually perceived this helplessness to be mixed with some hint of doting.

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Lin Weirui left, leaving Shen Wucui alone. Thus, Lin Rufei slowly walked up next to Shen Wucui’s side.

“Lin gongzi.” Shen Wucui greeted Lin Rufei.

“Mnn.” Lin Rufei laughed, “My sister really……still has that out of tune[2] look.” Although she and Shen Wucui had not yet confirmed their relationship, she still shamelessly bit Shen Wucui on the face. Shen Wucui couldn’t do anything about her and finally, could only let her be.

“It’s good to be lively.” Shen Wucui said in a warm voice, “Lively girls are more well-liked.”

Lin Rufei nodded and then asked about his injuries. Shen Wucui replied that he could now walk and as long as the corpse poison was removed, his self-healing ability was still very strong. However, when the topic came to getting rid of the poison, Shen Wucui hesitated for a moment and suddenly bowed to Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei was startled by Shen Wucui’s action and asked what was wrong.

“Lin gongzi.” Shen Wucui said, “I want to ask, that poison, how exactly did you get rid of it?”

Lin Rufei replied, “It is with the formation……”

However, he was interrupted by Shen Wucui before he could even finish his sentence. The Shen family’s son, who had always been a scrupulous man, looked serious to the extreme and deliberated his words, “I know it was with the formation, but we all know that there is no antidote for corpse poison. If there was a way to solve it, I’m afraid there would not be so many deaths. Lin gongzi’s formation probably has a special feature, but there is no free lunch in this world.” His tone became a little raw, “I……just now on Weirui’s body, I smelled the same scent.”

Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. 

“I just want to know what she paid in order to save me.” Shen Wucui sighed.

Regarding whether or not to tell Shen Wucui about this matter, Lin Rufei and Lin Weirui never reached a consensus. Lin Weirui, however, did not want to tell him. In her words, if Shen Wucui knew, he would be ashamed of himself and him marrying her would just be him repaying the favor. However, Lin Rufei knew that Shen Wucui was also interested in Lin Weirui, so he thought it would not be good to hide such an important matter from Shen Wucui.

Seeing Lin Rufei’s difficulty, Shen Wucui sighed deeply and said, “Weirui has always had big decisions, so if I ask her, she will definitely not say anything.” He paused slightly, “If Lin gongzi finds it very difficult to say, then let’s forget it.” He was still very understanding. Doing things for others was the way of a gentleman. This was probably the only way for him to attract Lin Weirui.

Lin Rufei thought about it, “Shen gongzi, it’s not a problem for me to tell you, but before that, I have a question I want to ask you.”

Shen Wucui said, “Please speak.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Do you like my sister?”

After he said this sentence, he got an instant answer, because once the word “like” was mentioned, Shen Wucui’s fair face became mostly red. His eyes also became uneasy and he said nervously, “Like……like……” He “liked” for half a day, before finally spitting out the word “her.” 

This shy appearance was a stark contrast to the way Lin Weirui just molested him shamelessly. Lin Rufei thought that it really was whatever kind of pot was matched with whatever kind of cover. Facing a person like Shen Wucui, one should be direct. If both of them are so euphemistic, only a ghost would know when they would share their thoughts. 

“So you do like my sister, right?” Lin Rufei laughed, “Then why didn’t you propose marriage to my sister earlier and delayed until now? My sister has been waiting for you to be enlightened all these years.”

When Shen Wucui heard this, he wilted and bit his lip, “I……actually……always wanted to go, but, my cultivation level is not as high as Weirui’s, so I’m a little embarrassed.”

Lin Rufei froze.

“When I first saw Weirui at the age of ten, I fell in love with her.” Shen Wucui dropped his gaze and his white cheeks flushed with a brilliant red, as if he was drunk, “At that time, my cultivation level was around the same as Weirui’s. Just, mother taught me since childhood that a man was to protect his own wife, so I quietly set a rule for myself……When I have a higher cultivation than Weirui, I will go to Kunlun to propose marriage.”

Lin Rufei: “……” He seemed to have guessed the ending.

“Who knew Weirui was that good?” Shen Wucui laughed bitterly, “I am old-fashioned and uninteresting, I really can’t understand why she likes me. I always worry if she is simply teasing me……I had already prepared a betrothal gift when I was at the sixth level of cultivation, but who knew that your sister……your sister……”

Lin Rufei remembered what happened back then.

That year, Lin Weirui had just reached sixteen. One day, she rushed into his courtyard crying and said that Shen Wucui was a heartless man. He secretly prepared a betrothal gift and no one knew which girl he intended to marry. He didn’t know where she got this news from, but Lin Weirui jumped into Lin Rufei’s arms and cried a few times. Then she dried her tears and rubbed her palms together, saying that Shen Wucui could only belong to her, Lin Weirui, and that if anyone dared to make a move on him, she would definitely beat that person to the point of them being unable to take care of themselves——

At that time, Lin Rufei thought that Lin Weirui was joking and didn’t take her words seriously, but who knew that after a few days, news came from Kunlun that Lin Weirui had gone to the Shen family and snuck into Shen Wucui’s room at night. He didn’t know what she had done but early the next morning, Shen Wucui had put all the betrothal gifts back.

This matter was still a mystery, but looking at Shen Wucui’s humiliated appearance, it seemed that his sister Lin Weirui had indeed done something bad.

Lin Rufei asked a question, but Shen Wucui shook his head repeatedly and refused to say anything. Lin Rufei saw that his eyes were red, as if he was about to cry, and he really wanted to say an admiration to his sister. Lin Weirui had really pitted herself.  

Lin Rufei thought melancholy.

“Because of that matter, I did get angry with your sister for a long time.” Shen Wucui said in a low voice, “Then by mistake[3], somehow it dragged on until now……I was injured this time and my life was hanging by a thread and I also figured out a lot of things. Life in this world must be enjoyed to the fullest, too many concerns……becomes a burden.”

Having said that, Lin Rufei felt that there was no point in continuing to hide this matter from Shen Wucui. He then lowered his eyes and told him about the formation and the life exchange. The more Shen Wucui listened, the paler his face became, and finally, his body started to shake, “How, how could this happen, Weirui, Weirui shared half of my life?” He suddenly became angry, “How could you allow her to do such a ridiculous thing——”

Lin Rufei pacified, “Shen gongzi, please calm down.”

Shen Wucui said angrily, “Lin gongzi, Weirui is your sister, how could you bear it?!!”

Lin Rufei responded calmly, “It is because she is my sister that I respect her opinion. I only ask Shen gongzi one thing, that is, if the same situation were to happen, would Shen gongzi be willing to enter that formation to renew my sister’s life?”

“Of course.” Shen Wucui gave Lin Rufei an answer without even thinking, “How could I just stand by and watch Weirui die.”

Lin Rufei spread his hands: “Then doesn’t that settle it? My sister likes your heart no less than you like hers. Could it be that you want her to watch as you die?”

Shen Wucui was speechless: “Then……you could always have found someone else……”

Lin Rufei sighed: “Do you think that with my sister’s possessive nature, she is willing to see you and another person’s life be linked?”

Shen Wucui did not respond.

“I know what you’re thinking, Shen gongzi, it’s probably about some inner thoughts of guilt.” Lin Rufei said, “In fact, you don’t have to be so. My sister wants everything from you, but that does not include guilt. She does not want to tell you because she is afraid that the feelings between you two will be mixed with other things.” As he said this, he pulled out the duck…..oh, no, it was a mandarin duck pouch, that Shen Wucui handed to him before, from his cuffs, “Since Shen gongzi has recovered, you can give this to my sister with your own hands.”

Shen Wucui pursed his lips and reached out to accept it.

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Lin Rufei knew that with his character, it might take some time to accept this matter, but he was in no hurry. After all, it would happen sooner or later.

Lin Rufei smiled and said that Shen gongzi should not make him wait too long for this cup of wedding wine. Then he turned around and left, leaving Shen Wucui standing in the same place, with the pouch held tightly in his hand.

Back inside the house, Lin Rufei saw Lin Weirui sitting by the window, “Weren’t you bullying Shen gongzi outside just now, why are you so listless now?” 

Lin Weirui replied, “I was just thinking.”

Lin Rufei asked: “Thinking about what?”

Lin Weirui said, “I’m thinking about the person who injured Wucui. Where is he and why did he suddenly strike at Wucui.” She cupped her chin, “I heard Wucui say that the two of them didn’t even know each other. They simply shared a glance before he was fiercely stabbed. That person hasn’t been found yet and I don’t know if he will appear again.” When she spoke of appearing, her hand heavily gripped the sword on the side of her waist, and she grinned, revealing rows of eerie white teeth.

Lin Rufei suddenly remembered Mo Changshan’s cold face and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. That person should not treat Mo Changshan like that. Mo Changshan, as a powerful swordsman, should have died with more dignity.

“What were you talking about outside with Shen Wucui?” Before Lin Rufei could think of anything, Lin Weirui changed the subject and asked with a smile.

“You almost bullied Shen gongzi into tears.” Lin Rufei sighed, “What else can I say? Sister, where on earth did you develop the habit of biting people on their faces, how do you want him to go out and meet people?”

“Whatever.” Lin Weirui replied indifferently, “It’s best for people to see that he is already taken.” She patted Lin Rufei’s shoulder and continued, “Brother, you don’t know how sought-after he is and how fierce my competition is.” She then tilted his head and let out a long sigh, making a gesture of vicissitude.

Lin Rufei felt angry and funny: “Should I tell you that Shen Wucui had intended to come to Kunlun to propose marriage when he was fourteen years old and that the betrothal gift was ready, but someone did something and had the betrothal gift taken away?”

When Lin Weirui heard Lin Rufei’s words, her expression froze for a moment: “What? What did you say?”

Lin Rufei repeated: “I said, that year, what exactly did you do when you snuck into someone’s house? You’ve spoiled a beautiful event for yourself.”

Lin Weirui’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets: “The person he wanted to propose to was me?!” 

Lin Rufei: “Otherwise?”

“No wonder he was so angry……” Lin Weirui lost her soul, “I’m such a big fool.”

“So what exactly did you do?” Lin Rufei was most curious about this.

Lin Weirui replied, “Can’t be said, can’t be said.” She waved her hand and continued in a low voice, “If I tell you, with his nature, I’m afraid that he’ll be so ashamed that he’ll jump into the sea and kill himself.”

Lin Rufei: “……” He was now even more curious. What exactly did his sister do that could make the good-tempered Shen gongzi angry like that?

(t/n: Weirui and Wucui are low-key giving me Gu Xiang and Cao Weining vibes @[email protected] anyone else?)

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The author has something to say:

Gu Xuandu: Xiao Jiu took the initiative to hold my hand for the first time. Rounding up, it’s equivalent to we have become married.

Lin Rufei: You’ve rounded a bit too much, ah.

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[1] A maternal family’s honorific for a daughter who has been married. 

[2] Unruly. 

[3] I shortened it, but the full meaning is “Error or mistake due to a strange combination of circumstances.”