Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

South of Yunxiang, there was a place called Wuyu, which was the hometown of the witch tribe.

Compared with other places, Wuyu was located in a long and narrow canyon, surrounded by mountains and water. The terrain was closed and with Wuyu as the hometown of witchcraft, outsiders were very fearful. Thus for most people, it was a very mysterious place. Qi Yansheng, who Lin Rufei had met in the Meng family before, was his first acquaintance with the witch tribe. However, now it seemed that Qi Yansheng had a pretty decent personality and was not as weird as the witch tribe was rumored to be. 

Gu Xuandu said that the witch tribe being eccentric in nature was actually misinformation. Due to the fact that they were isolated from the world and didn’t know much about the rules of the common world, they rarely left Wuyu except for specific times, thus, giving the people outside such a strange impression of them. Of course, those like Qi Yansheng, who was able to be smooth and slick in establishing social relations, were a minority in the witch tribe as most of them were somewhat introverted.

Lin Rufei whispered: “That person who came to my room the day before was……also a member of the witch tribe, right?”

Gu Xuandu nodded his head.

Lin Rufei asked, “What was his name?”

Gu Xuandu replied, “Wu Ao.”

Lin Rufei said, “That’s a good name. It sounds like when Chi Yu cries, oo ao oo ao[1].”

Gu Xuandu almost laughed out loud.

“I feel like this person has a strange temper.” Lin Rufei pondered, “I thought he was going to come find trouble for me, however, he ended up doing that which really surprised me. But if he had good intentions towards me, why would he hurt Shen Wucui? Even my sister was also injured.”

However, Gu Xuandu simply smiled and kept quiet, shaking his head.  

Lin Rufei asked, “And if we go to Wuyu this time, won’t we just happen to be going to his hometown.” He didn’t really like Wu Ao, “Will we run into him again?”

Gu Xuandu sighed and there was a little more helplessness in his tone, “No matter where we go, we are going to encounter him.”

The two talked for another while until Yu Rui muttered, “Who are you talking to, gongzi?” Only then did Lin Rufei shut up and then perfunctorily said that he was memorizing a book.

Yu Rui chewed on the corn candy and looked at her gongzi suspiciously. In her heart, she was a little worried, thinking that her gongzi’s hysteria of talking to himself probably would not get better……

Lin Rufei looked at Yu Rui and asked, “You eat so much candy every day, are you not afraid of ruining your teeth?” 

Yu Rui grinned and opened her mouth, revealing a row of neat little white teeth, “I’m not afraid. I have brushed my teeth properly.” She didn’t care about such a thing at all.

Although it was Lin Rufei’s offhand comment, his prophecy had actually become true and the next night, Yu Rui’s face was suddenly half swollen. Fu Hua pinched Yu Rui’s mouth and looked left then right, before frowning: “Yu Rui, have you really brushed your teeth properly? These teeth are half-ruined……”

Yu Rui cried, “I really did.”

Fu Hua asked, “Then how can the teeth be ruined?”

“Sigh.” Lin Rufei sighed and said, “Although she brushed her teeth, she was chewing on the corn candy her lover gave her at night when she slept. It would be strange if her teeth didn’t become ruined.”

Yu Rui cried out in pain and tears, saying it was all He Wanxiang, that bad thing’s fault; why did he have to make the corn candy so delicious?

Fu Hua was angry but also thought that this matter was funny. She grabbed Yu Rui’s nose and pinched it: “Even tasty things are sugar. If you eat too much, not only will you ruin your teeth, but you will also grow fat. Let’s see if He Wanxiang will still like you after you become fat.”

Yu Rui then cried even more.

Lin Rufei cried and laughed and asked Fu Hua to stop scaring the child. Coincidentally, Chi Yu dragged his family over and when he saw Yu Rui crying, like raindrops on a pear blossom, he frowned and asked how Lin Rufei could bully his own maid.

Lin Rufei let out a long sigh and replied that he didn’t have the heart to bully. Then he proceeded to tell the story of Yu Rui eating corn candy and ruining her teeth. 

When Chi Yu heard this, he also laughed aloud. This made Yu Rui so angry that she pulled harshly on his hair. However, he didn’t resist and simply squinted his eyes in Fu Hua’s embrace as he spread himself out like a pancake with a face full of comfort. 

Lin Rufei hugged the little Ye Mo and asked why Chi Yu was so much like a scum.

“If Chi Yu is a scum, then what are you?” Gu Xuandu asked slyly.

“A wet nurse?” Lin Rufei replied tentatively.

Gu Xuandu didn’t comment on it and instead, he just looked up and gave Chi Yu a thoughtful glance.

Although the next place they were going to was Wuyu, Lin Rufei was still afraid of Wu Ao. Gu Xuandu did tell Lin Rufei not to worry so much, saying that Wu Ao probably wouldn’t make a move against Lin Rufei and even if he did make one, it would be against him. 

Lin Rufei wondered why Wu Ao was so disgusted with Gu Xuandu, however, Gu Xuandu simply answered with a smile, “That’s not disgust, it’s jealousy.”

“Jealousy?” Lin Rufei wondered, “Jealous of what?”

Gu Xuandu answered, “Of course he is jealous that I have someone by my side. Look at how miserable he is. Hundreds of years ago there was only that black snake with him, hundreds of years later there is still only that black snake. I can’t even stand to watch any longer.”  

He had said this in a joking tone so Lin Rufei also could not help but let out a smile. However, this smile still had a hint of worry in it. In short, the feeling that Wu Ao gave to Lin Rufei had not been a good one.

If you aren’t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don’t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don’t bite.

This place was near the sea. And after the beginning of Autumn, the weather was not as hot. An Autumn shower brought in the coolness and this year’s rain was extraordinarily abundant. After Lin Rufei left the Shen family, the sun had not come out once, which was quite a comfortable feeling.

From the Shen family to Wuyu, it would take about ten days of traveling and if he traveled slower, it would probably take even longer. The closer they got to Wuyu, the more Lin Rufei could feel the scornful attitude of the people around him towards this place. As soon as they heard of his destination, most of their faces would show some fear or disapproval. 

“Gongzi, do you really want to go to Wuyu?” The inn’s Xiao Er was very enthusiastic. However, after hearing Lin Rufei ask for directions, he frowned, “That place is very evil, it is said that those who go in never come out.”

Lin Rufei asked, “That powerful?”

“Tell me about it.” The Xiao Er poured tea for Lin Rufei and whispered, “If you want to go, just follow the big road to the east and keep going. However, you have to think about it before you go. But gongzi, what are you going there for?”

Lin Rufei hesitated, “To……do something.”

The Xiao Er then shook his head and sighed, saying that it was better not to do whatever he was going to do. Wuyu, this place, was one they never dared to approach. Even if they did not get close to it, they could still see a lot of strange things. In short, as long as it was related to Wuyu, it wasn’t anything good. 

Lin Rufei asked curiously, “Strange things?”

The Xiao Er replied, “Yes.”

Lin Rufei continued, “For example?” He took out reward money from his sleeve and handed it to the Xiao Er.

The Xiao Er smiled as soon as he saw the reward money. He took it and continued with a smile, “This Wuyu is located in the middle of the canyon. The road on the east is the only way to the inside. The people around all avoid Wuyu so very few people would go. Until a certain year…It was also during the Autumn and that road suddenly fogged up……”

He deliberately lowered his voice, making a ghastly look. It scared Yu Rui into grabbing Fu Hua’s hand as she stared at the Xiao Er with round eyes.

The Xiao Er continued: “Someone just so happened to be passing nearby and saw a dozen shadowy figures appearing in the fog. At first, the person thought that someone was just passing by, but who knew that after a closer look, he felt that there was something wrong. He noticed that the movements of those dozens of people were very stiff, it was not stepped by step like ordinary people but jumping. The more that person looked, the more wrong it appeared to be. Just as he was about to leave, who knew that……..” He suddenly increased his voice, “Who knew that a hand suddenly stretched out from behind him and gave his shoulder a hard slap. He then lost consciousness. By the time the others found out, the dozen of figures actually had another person added in!” 

“Ah!” Yu Rui and Fu Hua were scared paled. However, Lin Rufei listened with great interest and also commented, “Pretty good story.”

“Isn’t gongzi afraid?” When the Xiao Er saw that Lin Rufei did not react at all, he was a bit unaccepting. After all, this was the ghost story that he kept at the bottom of his chest[2]. 

“I’m not afraid.” Lin Rufei took a sip of tea and stated indifferently, “It sounds like a fabricated story.”

“Why?” The Xiao Er wondered.

Lin Rufei smiled, “If something really happened to him, then who told you guys the story? Could it be that the dead can still speak?……” After he finished this sentence, he suddenly remembered Mo Changshan. And then after a moment of silence, he mused, “The dead really seemed to be able to speak, ah.”

“Young master, just stop scaring us.” Yu Rui muttered with a crying voice, “That place is so scary, do we really have to go?”

“Go.” Lin Rufei said, “Isn’t it interesting?”

It was obvious that Lin Rufei was the only one who found Wuyu interesting. Whether it was the Xiao Er or his maids, they all had disapproving looks on their faces. When the Xiao Er saw that he could not be persuaded, he no longer kept trying. He simply sighed and told Lin Rufei to greet his family first before entering that place so as to avoid a sudden disappearance, making his family worry. Lin Rufei thanked his kindness and after pondering over it, it really was about the time to send a letter back to Kunlun.

When the Xiao Er told the story, Gu Xuandu also listened with interest. When they got back to the room, Lin Rufei asked Gu Xuandu if this story was true or not.

“It might be true.” Gu Xuandu answered, “The witch tribe is indeed very good at catching corpses[3]. Occasionally, they’ll accept some commissions from the outside so it’s quite normal to be seen. However, the story near the end was a bit wrong, I think someone probably added some oil and vinegar[4] to it.”

Lin Rufei mused, “You’re right. Most of the folk legends have been added with some oil and vinegar.”

Lin Rufei stayed at the inn for one night. He had originally intended to enter Wuyu the next day, but who knew that just as he got up in the morning, he saw that the outside was covered with a layer of fog. The fog was very dense and he was not able to see clearly anything that was just a few feet away.

“Young master, do we still have to go?” After listening to yesterday’s story, Fu Hua and Yu Rui were a little anxious. And today, there was actually fog just like in the story, which made the two even more afraid. In the end, they were both still little girls. If it was Lin Weirui, this naughty child, she probably would depart immediately in excitement the moment she saw the fog.  

Lin Rufei said: “Let’s wait. Generally, the fog should be dispersed at noon. When that time comes, we will set out.”

Fu Hua and Yu Rui sighed with relief.

But the sky did not follow people’s wishes. This dense fog didn’t seem to be an ordinary mountain mist. Even when the sun came out, there was no intention of dissipating.

Lin Rufei could only go ask the inn’s Xiao Er, asking him when the fog would dissipate.

“It’s hard to say.” The Xiao Er replied, “Usually it clears around noon, but if it doesn’t clear at noon, it will last for several days. Once it took more than ten days for it to clear. Gongzi, are you still going to enter even with such a dense fog?” 

Lin Rufei asked, “Will one get lost?”

The Xiao Er replied, “I don’t know if one would get lost, but there’s only one way in. As for what it looks like inside, no one knows.” 

Lin Rufei thought: “Then I’ll wait until tomorrow. If it doesn’t disperse tomorrow, I’ll go in following the main road.” Although there was fog, he at least had a Gu Xuandu by his side. Gu Xuandu should probably know Wuyu very well so there shouldn’t be too big of a surprise. 

The Xiao Er tried to persuade with a few more words, but seeing Lin Rufei’s firm attitude, he left with a sigh.

The weather seemed to be against Lin Rufei. By the next day, the fog still had not lightened at all. It was still thick and scary and no one could say when the fog would dissipate. Lin Rufei decided not to wait any longer and got on the carriage with his maids. 

Fu Hua and Yu Rui were a bit scared so Lin Rufei simply let them both sit inside while he drove the carriage himself. Of course, the maids were reluctant to hear this order at first. Since when has a servant ever sat inside enjoying while the master did the hard work? Lin Rufei also did not persuade. He simply smiled and asked: ‘if you guys are out driving the carriage, are you not afraid of a hand suddenly reaching out from behind and patting you guys on your shoulders?’ This successfully scared the two maids, who turned pale at his words. And without saying anything, they silently shrank into the carriage. Probably because they were still concerned about Lin Rufei, they refused to put down the carriage curtain, saying that they were going to help and guard their young master’s back.

Lin Rufei laughed at Fu Hua and Yu Rui’s reaction and Gu Xuandu commented that Xiao Jiu was really becoming bad.

Lin Rufei then looked at him, “I learned it all from senior.”  

Gu Xuandu: “……”

Lin Rufei cursed, “Motherf*cker, this fog is really big.”

Gu Xuandu: “……” Did you also learn this from me?

When Gu Xuandu heard this expletive, he gritted his teeth in secret hatred for a long time. In his heart, he thought that the He family was really a disaster that he couldn’t avoid. However, looking at Lin Rufei’s happy expression and laughter, he(LRF) probably felt that he(LRF) had finally learned a phrase that could exclaim his mood——”Motherf*cker!” was much more imposing than “Oh my God.” Gu Xuandu held his forehead in distress. He was trying to think of ways to let his family’s little gongzi forget that word sooner. 

But for now, it seemed unlikely. Wielding the whip in his hand, Lin Rufei drove the carriage all the way along the east road. The fog was too thick so he did not dare speed up the carriage, after all, he was not familiar with the road and could not see the obstacles around him.

However, as the carriage gradually went deeper down the road, the surrounding scenery seemed to change. Lin Rufei, through the thick fog, vaguely felt that many tall mountains had appeared around him. This area was originally a plains area so he could not understand where these mountains had come from.

Lin Rufei asked, “Senior, is it still the same as when you visited before?” 

“Pretty much.” Gu Xuandu responded, “Wuyu is very closed and has a long life per capita so I guess it hasn’t changed much in a few hundred years.” He was a little emotional, “Just didn’t expect that Wu Min actually died. I thought he would live longer than me……”

Lin Rufei questioned, “You and Wu Min were very close?” After asking this, he felt a little ridiculous. Yeah, if Gu Xuandu and Wu Min were not on good terms, how would he give him his heart for safekeeping?

If you aren’t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don’t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don’t bite.

Gu Xuandu then talked to Lin Rufei about some past events back in the days. He said that he and Wu Min were about the same age and had similar personalities. At first, they were at odds with each other, and it wasn’t until something happened later on that his temperament changed drastically and his relationship with Wu Min also eased up. Like this, two mutually disagreeable people finally became close friends by mistake.

Lin Rufei asked, “A lot of things must have happened back then, right?”

“A lot.” Gu Xuandu looked lazy, “Back then, there was no such peace like now. Before the Yaoguang’s Grand Formation was laid, there were demons that plagued the Earth everywhere. But because there was an increase in demons, the cultivators also became more powerful. After all, if people don’t cultivate nowadays, they’ll simply be ordinary humans. However, if they didn’t cultivate back then, then they would die.” 

Lin Rufei muttered, “Senior, tell me some more.” No one would not be curious about what had happened back then. Although history books were also recorded, it wasn’t as vividly described compared to someone who had witnessed it. He straightened up and revealed a curious look, “Everyone said that the Heavenly Ruler gave his best to lay down the Yaoguang Grand Formation to protect all the living beings and that his cultivation was greatly damaged, and only after many years of silence did he emerge again. Senior, laying down the Grand Formation was difficult, right?”

Gu Xuandu gave him a deep look, “It was difficult.”

“Were you seriously injured at that time?” Lin Rufei said.

Gu Xuandu replied, “Very serious.” He sighed, “The Heavenly Ruler was the most kind-hearted and also the most unloving. Although he saved the world’s life by laying down the Grand Formation, I don’t know how many people’s hearts he broke around him.”  

Lin Rufei found it a bit strange. When Gu Xuandu talked about the Heavenly Ruler, he seemed to be talking about someone else, but he was obviously the Heavenly Ruler himself. 

“Has senior ever regretted it?” Lin Rufei asked.

“Me? I regret every moment.” Gu Xuandu muttered, “But the Heavenly Ruler never had a moment of regret. The Heavenly Ruler, the Heavenly Ruler. As his name suggests, he was born to be the King of Heaven. The King of Kings. Loved by all the people and dedicated to all the people……”

Gu Xuandu was also smiling when he said this. However, Lin Rufei, for some reason, could see some bleakness in his smile. And after a moment of silence, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Gu Xuandu’s hand before continuing in a low voice, “If senior doesn’t want to smile anymore, then don’t smile.”

Gu Xuandu: “I’m a little bit unaccustomed to Xiao Jiu being the one to take the initiative.” He turned his hand around and interlocked his fingers with Lin Rufei. Reluctantly, he picked up his spirits again and talked about something else. Of course, this time, he simply picked something interesting to lighten up the heavy atmosphere.

Lin Rufei and Gu Xuandu were talking with great interest, but they did not know that the maids in the carriage were frightened to death. Yu Rui shrank in Fu Hua’s arms and the two embraced each other while shivering. Yu Rui whispered with a crying voice: “Sister Fu Hua, who is the young master talking to, ah?”

Fu Hua replied in a trembling voice: “He’s probably……talking to himself.”

“But how can there also be questions and answers?” Yu Rui asked, “Why do I feel that something is wrong with young master? Do you think young master is also bewitched?” 

Fu Hua barely replied calmly, “Hasn’t young master always been bewitched?” Stroking Yu Rui’s head, she continued soothingly, “Calm down, we should have gotten used to it.”

Yu Rui answered, “But I can’t get used to it.”

Fu Hua smiled bitterly: “To be honest……I can’t get used to it either.”

Then the two of them hugged each other tightly and continued to comfort each other in the heavy fog while listening to their own young master whispering to himself as the situation became more and more bizarre.

The carriage had been traveling for a day and they didn’t know where their position was, however even as the sky darkened, the fog was still thick. 

After looking around, Lin Rufei chose a relatively flat place to light a campfire for the night. Yu Rui and Fu Hua had been scared all day and were already a bit exhausted so Lin Rufei volunteered to let the two rest first and wait until the second half of the night for their night watch.

However, Fu Hua refused no matter what. She said that young master had been tired all day so how could he continue to keep watch at night? She then told Let Lin Rufei to have a good rest and that she would guard the first half of the night and Yu Rui would guard the second half of the night.

Just as Yu Rui wanted to agree, she then saw Lin Rufei grimly smile: “Although there is nothing during the day, it’s not certain what will come out at night, oh.”  

Yu Rui was annoyed: “Young master you’re so bad! Don’t scare us on purpose!!”

Lin Rufei teased, “How do you know that I am your young master?”

Yu Rui glared.

“The fog was so thick during the day, so maybe you two were distracted and young master was replaced.” Lin Rufei mused, “Actually, what is in front of you is just a demon that looks exactly like your young master……”

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!” Witnessing her young master’s taste for the first time, Yu Rui simply wanted to jump to Lin Rufei’s side and use her small fists to hammer against his chest. 

Lin Rufei could not help but laugh, exposing himself. He said. ‘Alright, alright. How about this; I sleep for the first half of the night and you guys sleep for the second half of the night. You two should keep each other company, otherwise, you might have your souls scared away.’  

Fu Hua and Yu Rui’s expressions were not good but they still agreed.

Sometimes being timid was actually a cute thing and Lin Rufei found his maids’ pale appearance particularly cute. After he urged the two of them, he then went to rest first, leaving the two of them sitting around the campfire.

The sky was getting dark. With the addition of this fog, almost nothing was visible. 

Yu Rui was a little scared so she leaned closer to Fu Hua and asked, “Sister Fu Hua, there really won’t be demons here, right?” 

Fu Hua replied: “Do not be afraid of demons. Look, isn’t Chi Yu also a demon and he is so cute.”

Yu Rui mumbled, “You’re right.”

The two then fell silent and there was only the crackling sound of the campfire in front of them. Yu Rui yawned and was a little sleepy, but soon, she felt her shoulder being patted. She thought it was Fu Hua reminding her, so she rubbed her eyes and said, “Sister Fu Hua, don’t pat me on the shoulder, I’m scared.” She would always remember that ghost story.

Fu Hua turned her head in bewilderment and reeponded, “Huh? I did not pat you, ah.”

Yu Rui froze: “Then……” The moment her words fell, she felt her shoulder being patted again and this time, Fu Hua’s two hands were in front of her so it was impossible for her to be the one patting. Yu Rui’s body suddenly froze and her face became pale as paper.

Fu Hua saw Yu Rui’s changes and also instantly understood. She swallowed heavily and asked, “Someone…….someone really patted you?”

Yu Rui nodded stiffly.

“Let, let me take a look.” Fu Hua slowly twisted her head, however, she saw nothing. Behind them, there was only an endless fog and darkness. It was like a huge vortex, sucking in all the light and heat.

“There’s nothing.” Fu Hua responded, “No demons, no people.”

Yu Rui whimpered and cried. She clearly felt someone patting her shoulder. Who knew that just after two cries, her young master’s voice laced with laughter resounded: “Are you that scared, ah?”

“Wuwuwuwuwu, young master, please don’t joke with us anymore!!!” Yu Rui cried and screamed, “You’ll really scare someone to death, okay?!!!”

In the mist, her young master’s figure loomed and his tone was still laced with some laughter: “Really?”

Fu Hua suddenly felt that something was wrong. She grabbed Yu Rui and shook her head heavily at her. Then, with her chin, she pointed it in the direction of the carriage. The carriage was very close to them and the curtains were not closed, so if they simply took a look, they would be able to see Lin Rufei, who was sleeping soundly inside. However, if Lin Rufei was sleeping in the carriage, then at this time, standing behind them and smiling at them……was exactly…..what?…….