Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 84: Sick

Before leaving this place, Lin Rufei went to greet Wu Min first. Wu Yin was naturally very happy that he was leaving, but he didn’t dare to show it too obviously. He just sat next to Wu Min and smiled lightly. No matter how he looked, the smile looked more and more sincere, like he could not wait to send Lin Rufei out of the witch tribe himself. When Wu Min heard that Lin Rufei was going to leave soon, he showed some doubt and asked him if he had encountered something. Lin Rufei denied it all. He simply said that his family had some accidents and his brothers told him to go back to Kunlun early. Other than that, there really was nothing else.

“Kunlun? It’s been a long time since I heard that name……” Wu Min fell into the past memories as he let out a low sigh. 

“The Great Witch has been to Kunlun before?” Lin Rufei asked.

“No, I haven’t.” Wu Min denied, “But an old friend I knew was buried there.”

Lin Rufei pursed his lips and suddenly opened his mouth, “Great Witch……you once said before that I have a few resemblances to the Heavenly Ruler?” He showed a little apprehension, “This resemblance, is it a facial resemblance?” 

“Facial resemblance? No, there is not a single point of resemblance between you and the Heavenly Ruler’s face.” Wu Min said, “Only the aura is somewhat similar, but so much time has passed, I also have some difficulty remembering so I may have made a mistake.” He looked at Lin Rufei and asked doubtfully, “What’s wrong?”

Lin Rufei smiled and shook his head: “Nothing, just a little curious.”

Wu Min asked with some disbelief, “Really nothing?”

Lin Rufei replied, “Nothing.”

Yesterday, when Gu Xuandu confessed his love to him, he had thought about it in his mind; whether it was because he looked like the Heavenly Ruler that Gu Xuandu looked at him differently, so he couldn’t help but ask Wu Min to confirm this. Now that he got the answer from Wu Min, he felt that his thoughts were too narrow-minded. A hundred years have passed, there weren’t that many people in the world left who looked like the Heavenly Ruler that could be coincidentally stumbled upon by Gu Xuandu. 

Since Lin Rufei had something on his mind, he inevitably looked depressed in front of Wu Min. However, no matter how much Wu Min asked, he wasn’t going to talk about it, in the end, Wu Min had to give up.

“If you meet Wu Ao, you must be very careful.” This was Wu Min’s last advice to Lin Rufei, “He is obstinate on the wrong path and very disgusted with the Heavenly Ruler. If he knew that you were looking for the Heavenly Ruler’s old thing, I’m afraid it would be detrimental to you……”

Lin Rufei smiled bitterly, “I’ve already met him.”

“Met?” Wu Min was surprised.

“Yes.” Lin Rufei gave Wu Min a careful account of what he had encountered at the Shen family. After listening, Wu Min frowned and said, ‘he had actually resurrected Mo Changshan, how could this forbidden technique be used casually? This Wu Ao really had no propriety……’

Lin Rufei knew that Wu Min knew a lot about what had happened back then, so he took the opportunity to ask: “Great Witch, I heard that the two disciples of the Heavenly Ruler had a bad relationship, do you know why this is?”

Wu Min sighed, “Yes, I do know, it’s……”

Lin Rufei asked, “It’s what?”

Wu Min said helplessly, “It’s because they always like to compete for favor.”

Lin Rufei froze.

Wu Min mulled over it before telling Lin Rufei what had happened back then. However, he didn’t mention anything specific about the Heavenly Ruler, only that both Wu Ao and Gu Xuandu had the same master, so most likely he was the first Heavenly Ruler. Wu Ao and Gu Xuandu were both fatherless and motherless orphans and were adopted by the first Heavenly Ruler when they were young. The Heavenly Ruler was good-natured and naturally treated children quite well so these two disciples were almost always spoiled as they grew up. Wu Ao was introverted and did not compete for favor as much as Gu Xuandu. Plus, with Gu Xuandu’s shameless nature, over time, Gu Xuandu and the Heavenly Ruler’s relationship become better and better. Although the Heavenly Ruler also treated Wu Ao well, some things were always unevenly distributed[1]……

In the end, Wu Ao did not hate the Heavenly Ruler and instead pushed all his hate onto Gu Xuandu. Furthermore, an accident also happened later on. If it were not for the fact that Wu Ao was not as powerful as Gu Xuandu, he probably would have killed Gu Xuandu by now. Of course, Gu Xuandu was also not someone one should mess with. Before the accident, he gave Wu Ao serious injuries——these things though, Wu Min was also very vague about. In the end, Lin Rufei used his own efforts to piece the information together. 

As for what exactly happened, Lin Rufei guessed that it had something to do with the first Heavenly Ruler, but further down the line, Wu Min stopped talking about it.

“I will be careful, thanks for reminding me, Great Witch.” Lin Rufei bowed to Wu Min and turned to walk away.

Wu Min looked at him with a gloomy look until his back was pressed against Wu Yin’s chest. Wu Yin narrowed his eyes at Lin Rufei, like he was looking at a dead person, “Don’t like you talking to him.”

Wu Min gave him an oblique look, “Luckily, I don’t have a second direct disciple.”

“If you did, he would be dead now.” Wu Yin replied, “I’m much more ruthless than that Wu Ao.”

Wu Min sighed and stopped talking altogether.

On Lin Rufei’s side, he had already prepared the luggage and was planning to leave the witch tribe. When Wu Xing heard that they were leaving, he was still a bit unhappy as he had thought he could still play with Lin Rufei for a few more days. But seeing that Lin Rufei was determined to go, he did not insist. Instead, he got into Lin Rufei’s carriage and kindly sent Lin Rufei to the entrance of the canyon. At this moment, the canyon’s mountain mist had not yet dispersed, Wu Xing stood at the entrance of the canyon and reluctantly bid goodbye to Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei stroked his head and took out a packet of Yu Rui’s corn candy before stuffing it into his hand, “Next time when you see a pretty girl, don’t scare her like this.”

“Okay.” Wu Xing nodded, “Where are you going, Lin gongzi?”

“I’m going home.” Lin Rufei said with a smile.

Wu Xing asked confusedly, “Is it that Lin gongzi is homesick?”

Lin Rufei paused and nodded, “Yes, I’m homesick.”

Wu Xing murmured, “Then you have to go back earlier. I’ll be especially homesick when I go out to play for a few days, for the food at home, and my A-ma[2].” He waved his hand at Lin Rufei, “Go, go. Go back early.”

“Okay, I’ll go back early.” Lin Rufei smiled.

He had been away from Kunlun for half a year, but he still had a few more sword competition invitations in his hand that he hadn’t been able to deliver yet. If he were to head back this time, his brothers and sister would definitely be a bit worried thus, it was better to send them a message in advance. Lin Rufei sent a letter back in advance. In the letter, he naturally did not mention the matter of Wu Ao and only said that he was homesick for the past few days, wanting to come back to see.

When Lin Bianyu and Lin Minzhi received the letter, how could they bear for their younger brother to suffer such distress? The next day, they returned the message and asked Lin Rufei to come back immediately. They said that they had already prepared all his favorite food and that they all missed him. 

When Lin Rufei received the letter, his eyes were a little moist. He reached out and rubbed and finally rubbed away the dampness in his eyes.

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Gu Xuandu knew that Lin Rufei was leaving, but he did not know that they were going back to Kunlun. The carriage had been on the road for three days before he noticed that something was wrong and asked Lin Rufei if he was going in the wrong direction. Lin Rufei shook his head and said he hadn’t gone the wrong way, his invitations had been delivered and it was time to go home——this was naturally a lie to Gu Xuandu, but Gu Xuandu didn’t know the list of invitations in Lin Rufei’s hand therefore, he was only a little suspicious, “Then why is Xiao Jiu heading back?”  

Lin Rufei smiled: “After the invitations are delivered, aren’t I supposed to head home? Besides, I’ve been out for so long, I’m also a little homesick.” Saying that, he observed Gu Xuandu’s situation. Probably because Wu Ao was still nearby and the thing in his hand was suppressing Gu Xuandu’s soul. As a result, Gu Xuandu’s body still showed a translucent appearance that was about to dissipate and the time he appeared next to Lin Rufei was also getting less and less.

Lin Rufei had just had his feelings connected with him and this was the time where they acted affectionately, but, Gu Xuandu’s presence was increasingly thin. He was barely able to pull out a smile and joked with Gu Xuandu, saying that when he went back this time, he would have to tell his brothers about Gu Xuandu. Furthermore, to also prepare a dowry and then an eight carriage sedan chair[3] to marry Gu Xuandu into the family.

Gu Xuandu listened and laughed, said okay, and that his dowry was also ready.

The two talked for a while before Gu Xuandu showed traces of tiredness. Lin Rufei quickly told him to get some rest and although Gu Xuandu was somewhat reluctant, forced by his physical condition, he had to disappear in front of Lin Rufei.

Now there was only Lin Rufei in the carriage by himself. He lifted the curtain and looked out of the window for a while, with countless thoughts floating in his mind.

Lin Rufei was not a naive person. There must be some reason for Wu Ao having him go back to Kunlun before he was willing to hand over that thing to him. But what this reason was, Lin Rufei also was not able to guess and Wu Ao would also not tell him. 

Lin Rufei’s mind was heavy and with the rush to hurry on the road, he persisted for more than ten days just like that. Furthermore, after entering the coolness of Autumn, Lin Rufei fell sick just like that. 

Fu Hua and Yu Rui did not see Lin Rufei all morning. When they knocked on the door and no one answered, they really didn’t have any other methods. They broke down the door and saw their gongzi’s face burning scarlet, lying on the couch unconscious.

Seeing such a scene. Fu Hua and Yu Rui were very anxious. One of them took care of Lin Rufei, while the other one hurried to the town to get some medicine prescribed for fever.

Lin Rufei was dazed by the fever. He had a wet towel placed on his forehead and barely drank some medicine before he regained some consciousness. He muttered and asked himself what was wrong.

Yu Rui was wiping tears on the side, she said, ‘Gongzi, you’re sick. Let’s not be so anxious to rush, okay? Although I understand that young master wants to go back, if your body suddenly breaks down, wouldn’t second young master be more worried?”

Lin Rufei looked at the roof beams, sighed, and said, “How did I just get sick.”

“Young master’s health is already bad along with this rushing, regardless of the time of day or night……” Yu Rui sobbed.

Lin Rufei smiled, “What are you crying for? If the worst comes to worst, we won’t be in such a hurry afterward. I just wanted to go home early.” 

Yu Rui shook her head and replied sadly: “Young master can hide from others, but can you still hide from us two? You obviously have something on your mind……” For more than ten days, Lin Rufei’s face hardly ever showed a smile, and only occasionally, when talking to himself in the carriage, would it bring him some smile. At first, Yu Rui and Fu Hua were worried that Lin Rufei’s hysteria was getting more serious, but later on, they desperately wished that Lin Rufei would talk to himself more. At least, during the times he talked to himself, Lin Rufei’s tone sounded very relaxed.

“Who doesn’t have anything in their heart?” Lin Rufei said softly, “Don’t worry, I just fell ill because I was in such a hurry…….”

Yu Rui still wanted to say something else but was stopped by Fu Hua. Fu Hua patted her shoulder and shook her head, “Do not say anything, young master is still sick, let young master rest first.”

Fu Hua grabbed Yu Rui and left, very soon, the room was quiet once again. Lin Rufei was a little tired and he slowly closed his eyes halfway. In a trance, it seemed that someone appeared beside his bed and was gently changing the towel. He thought it was Gu Xuandu, but who knew that when he opened his eyes, he actually saw Wu Ao.

Lin Rufei reflexively tried to get up from the bed, however, his body had little strength and he fell back down. Instead, Wu Ao took a step back and raised his hands to show that he meant no harm.

“Why are you here?” Lin Rufei frowned at him.

“I just saw that you were sick and came in to take a look.” Wu Ao’s voice was still hoarse as usual, he stumbled on his words and said, “I won’t, hurt you.”

Lin Rufei did not believe him and continued to stare at Wu Ao warily.

But Wu Ao could not stand Lin Rufei’s gaze and he hissed: “Why do you not believe me? What bad things, have I done?”

(t/n: the comas are there to show that he is stumbling on his words, not because of my grammar )

Lin Rufei replied, “You stabbed my brother-in-law.”

Wu Ao said hatefully, “That’s, because, he appeared at, the wrong time.”

Lin Rufei calmly said, “So you have done bad things.”

Wu Ao stared.

Lin Rufei continued, “Besides, there is also Mo Changshan. Why did you have to dig out his head? Is it bad to let him rest in peace?”

Wu Ao responded, “Resurrection was originally his wish, I just, helped him realize this wish, that’s all.”

Lin Rufei pursed his lips, only to feel that this Wu Ao was full of crooked reasoning and that he(LRF) really couldn’t communicate clearly with him(WA). 

Fortunately, Wu Ao also did not intend to continue to entangle with Lin Rufei on this matter, “You get well, don’t be in such a hurry……to head home.”

Lin Rufei asked, “Then can you give me Gu Xuandu’s heart in advance?”

Who knew that when he heard the words “Gu Xuandu,” Wu Ao, who had finally calmed down, erupted again. His eyes were red and he almost growled in a roaring tone, “Gu Xuandu, why do you always think about Gu Xuandu? He is obviously the one who hurt you the most——why do you always think about him?——”

Lin Rufei was dumbfounded by his yelling, however, he didn’t panic too much. He simply muttered strangely, “If I don’t think of him, do I think of you?”

Wu Ao froze and then his face turned mostly red. He whispered, “If you want to think of me, it’s, it’s not impossible.” 

Lin Rufei: “……” Was there something wrong with this person?

Seeing the surprise on Lin Rufei’s face, Wu Ao then returned to his senses and said in a low voice: “Lin gongzi, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you, I……”

Lin Rufei asked, “You won’t hurt me?”

Wu Ao said, “No.”

Lin Rufei continued, “Then why do you want me to go back to Kunlun for?” 

Wu Ao answered, “Don’t you ever wonder why your body is so weak, but the sword intent in your body is so strong?”

Lin Rufei became curious, “Do you know why?”

“Of course I know!!!” Wu Ao’s expression was fierce, “It’s because someone snatched away something that belonged to you.”

Lin Rufei asked, “What thing?”

“When we get to Kunlun, Lin gongzi will know!” Wu Ao laughed and he was laughing in satisfaction, “I will return what belonged to Lin gongzi, to Lin gongzi. As for that scumbag, Gu Xuandu, I will let Lin gongzi take care of it himself.”

Lin Rufei pursed his lips and did not say anything. Really as he expected, Kunlun had something that Wu Ao must have and that was why he forced Lin Rufei to go back. When Lin Rufei thought of this, his chest flooded with an itchiness, and involuntarily covered his throat to cough heavily a few times.

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When Wu Ao saw this, he immediately turned around and poured water, handing it over to Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei found out that the worry on his face didn’t seem fake and that he really was worried about him. Lin Rufei drank the water, suppressed the itching, and said, “You and I don’t know each other, even if my things were taken away from me, why are you so angry?”

Wu Ao’s lips wriggled, as if he wanted to say something, but finally, he swallowed the words back down his throat, and just answered in a hateful voice: “I, Wu Ao, just can’t stand to see injustice. Lin gongzi is a good man and naturally, deserves something better.”

Lin Rufei was silent.

When Wu Ao saw that Lin Rufei was no longer coughing, he then turned to leave. With a complicated expression, Lin Rufei stared at his back. He always felt that this matter seemed to be getting more and more complicated.

In the evening, Gu Xuandu finally appeared in front of Lin Rufei and his physical appearance had faded a lot. At first glance, it seemed like he was about to disappear and even his voice was indistinct as a feather, making Lin Rufei very worried. 

“How did senior become this way?” Lin Rufei wanted to hold Gu Xuandu’s hand, but his fingers passed through his body and he asked sadly, “Is it because of Wu Ao? I don’t think that Wu Ao is an unreasonable person, why don’t I talk to him and ask him to stay away from you?”

Gu Xuandu sighed, “I don’t mind, but why is Xiao Jiu sick again?” He didn’t know that Lin Rufei was in a hurry to return to Kunlun and only thought it was because of the change in weather and the tiring journey.

Lin Rufei also had no intention to tell him. He wanted to be close to Gu Xuandu, but Gu Xuandu was like a wandering soul at this time, unable to condense into an entity.

Probably because he saw the longing on Lin Rufei’s face, Gu Xuandu sat on the edge of Lin Rufei’s bed and slowly stretched out his fingers to gently stroke the back of Lin Rufei’s hand. His fingertips were even colder than usual, causing some unpleasant thoughts to surface in Lin Rufei’s heart. He tried to hold Gu Xuandu with his opposite hand but found that Gu Xuandu could only touch with his fingers, as if all his strength was gathered in his fingertips.

“Senior.” Lin Rufei was a little panicked, “You’re not going to disappear, are you?”

“How can I bear to disappear?” Gu Xuandu smiled as his fingers slid across Lin Rufei’s cheeks. From his forehead to the bridge of his nose, to his lips, inch by inch, as if he wanted to keep Lin Rufei’s appearance firmly in his mind.

Lin Rufei gently bit Gu Xuandu’s fingertips. His eyelashes drooped halfway and his expression was sad. 

Gu Xuandu, who had never seen Lin Rufei looking like this, spoke up to comfort him and asked, ‘Xiao Jiu, what’s wrong?’ 

Lin Rufei licked Gu Xuandu’s finger, feeling that Gu Xuandu’s finger was cold as a piece of ice and that it could not be warmed no matter what he did: “Senior, I am a little worried.”

“Worried about what? Wu Ao?” Gu Xuandu asked, “Xiao Jiu don’t worry. Although he is indeed very annoying, he will not hurt the innocent. At least……he will not be detrimental to Xiao Jiu.”

Lin Rufei sighed, “Then what about senior?”  

Gu Xuandu: “Hmm?”

Lin Rufei asked, “Will he be detrimental to senior?”

Gu Xuandu lost his smile: “He would like me to die sooner rather than later.”

Lin Rufei, “Why exactly did it come to this?”

Gu Xuandu froze for a moment before answering, “Some things, even if you start over, will not change.”

Lin Rufei kept quiet.

Gu Xuandu’s fingers once again returned to a transparent state and the only part of his body where they could touch each other also disappeared. Lin Rufei was worried about Gu Xuandu, so he told him to go rest, and Gu Xuandu was afraid that Lin Rufei’s condition would worsen, so he urged him a few times before disappearing out of sight.

Looking at the empty bed, Lin Rufei tossed and turned but could not sleep. The high fever made his consciousness become a bit chaotic and although he lost the ability to think, he always felt a strong sense of unease floating inside.

The sickness came like a landslide. Lin Rufei was sick for three days straight and his fever only faded on the afternoon of the third day. His cheeks, which were already pale, were even more bloodless this time, making his maids very distressed. In these days, Wu Ao was wandering around Lin Rufei’s place, resulting in less and less time for Gu Xuandu to appear. Lin Rufei politely mentioned this matter with Wu Ao, but although Wu Ao agreed, he still refused to leave. The result was that Gu Xuandu was suppressed by the power of the heart and could not appear in front of Lin Rufei. 

Lin Rufei’s heart was concerned and his impression of Wu Ao grew a little worse. However, after these few days together, he found that Wu Ao faced him with a strange ingratiating attitude, which made Lin Rufei very uncomfortable. But Wu Ao was completely unaware of his own problems and couldn’t wait to stick to Lin Rufei’s side every single day. Even if Lin Rufei drove him away, he would find him secretly hiding outside the house around the corner and so on, peeping in his direction. 

This happened a few more times. Lin Rufei, who was still sick, did not have much energy to fight with him and could only let him do as he pleased. 

During these three days, Lin Rufei was rarely clear-headed and was mostly in a semi-consciousness. When he was unconscious, many strange images surfaced in his mind and he even saw Gu Xuandu in a red outfit. Gu Xuandu seemed to be roaring and crying at someone since his voice sounded very miserable. Lin Rufei struggled and finally woke up from his dream. His body was covered with cold sweat and he had only recovered slightly before he fell unconscious once again.

Lin Rufei’s condition made Fu Hua and Yu Rui extremely anxious. Seeing that Lin Rufei was not recovering at all, they had even intended to go to Kunlun directly to invite Wan Yao over. 

Fortunately, at this time, Lin Rufei’s fever had finally gone down and his consciousness was gradually clearing up.

Only then did Fu Hua and Yu Rui let out this long breath of relief. They made some light food for Lin Rufei and carefully fed him. 

“If young master still hadn’t recovered, I would have gone to Kunlun with the sword to drag Wan Yao over.” Fu Hua chided worriedly, “Although young master has also been sick before, when was it ever as treacherous as this time?” 

Lin Rufei smiled weakly, “It’s not that serious.”

“Not that serious? You’ve been burning for three days!” Fu Hua exclaimed, “I have seen plenty of people who died because the fever burned their brains. If young master’s fever still hadn’t gone down, I don’t know what I would have done……”

Lin Rufei comforted warmly, “Alright, stop crying. Haven’t I recovered?”

“You did recover, but you shouldn’t exhaust yourself again like before.” Fu Hua murmured, “We will soon return to Kunlun, if second young master saw young master’s current appearance, he wouldn’t know how to worry.” 

At the mention of his second brother, a smile surfaced on Lin Rufei’s face and he nodded: “Okay.”  

The flesh that Lin Rufei had finally gained on his face, were all gone due to his sudden serious illness and his chin had once again become sharp. It was extraordinarily heartbreaking to see.

Most of the time Gu Xuandu appeared in the evening. If Lin Rufei was sleeping, he would watch him in silence and if Lin Rufei was awake, he would chat with him.

“Xiao Jiu has finally recovered from his illness.” Gu Xuandu said in a warm voice, “If you still haven’t gotten better, I would have been worried to death.”

Lin Rufei said, “Senior, I had a dream when I was sick.”

Gu Xuandu asked, “What did you dream about?”

Lin Rufei trailed off, “I dreamt……” He was going to say that he dreamt of Gu Xuandu was crying, but when the words came to the tip of his tongue, he took a hard turn and said, “I dreamt that you were wearing a red outfit and smiling at me. “

Gu Xuandu arched his eyebrows: “Like this?”

“Yes.” Lin Rufei moved over and tried to kiss the corner of Gu Xuandu’s eyes. However, he passed through his body, and for a while, he was a bit disappointed but still, he forced a smile on his face, “Just like that.”

********

The author has something to say:

Gu Xuandu: Oh no, I am going to disappear soon. I can only use all my efforts to get a certain area make contact with Xiao Jiu. 

Lin Rufei: Senior, if you have something to say, then say it, why are you taking off your pants? ?

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[1] Not worry about scarcity, but rather about uneven distribution. (So like THR’s affections were unevenly distributed between the two of them uwu). 

[2] Another way of referring to his mother. 

[3] Eight carriage sedan chair: The sedan chair carried by eight people for the big officials in feudal times. Later, it was used to refer to the way of receiving distinguished guests in a grand manner.