Chapter 108 Cloud Soul and Rain Spirit (Part 7) Constantly in thought, constantly still, cultivating my own cultivation…
Wei Changzai returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the long couch, and tried to calm his mind and focus his spirit, but Ji Changying's words kept echoing in his ears.
And so, a sense of unease inexplicably rose in my heart.
He suppressed this strange phenomenon, and as his spiritual energy circulated, his mind became inexplicably hazy, and he suddenly recalled past events.
He first heard the name Lin Feiran when he was six years old.
At that time, the master unfolded a yellow talisman paper about a foot wide, on which two names were written in cinnabar.
The left is "Qiu Tong", and the right is "Lin Feiran".
The two characters "秋瞳" are written with the precision of a hanging needle and a dewdrop, with strong and elegant strokes. Compared to this, Lin Feiran's writing is much more hasty. The character "林" is connected, but the four dots below are even replaced by a single horizontal stroke, indicating a hurried and rushed writing style.
The master glanced sideways, the golden fire pattern on his forehead flickered, and his fingertips landed on his left side.
"See this name? You must remember it forever."
At that time, he was carrying a wooden sword on his back, his head just above the table. Looking up, his pupils were extremely dark, and he looked somewhat empty when he looked at people.
He asked, "Why?"
"Because you are destined to fall in love with her."
Zhang Chunhe casually tossed the pen aside, completely unaware of how ridiculous it was to discuss love and romance with a six-year-old child.
Wei Changzai didn't understand: "What does it mean to fall in love with her?"
He was just asking a routine question, somewhat absent-minded, his gaze unintentionally falling on the fallen pen.
The withered old brush rolled across the table, splattering specks of vermilion, and a red mark was drawn on the three characters on the right.
Lin Feiran.
He watched quietly.
"To fall in love means to become her Daoist partner, to be together through life and death. If she wants to go down the mountain, you will go down the mountain with her. If she wants to return to the demon realm, you will return to the demon realm with her." Zhang Chunhe's voice was a little soft. "And a Daoist partner is a couple in the mortal world, just like your father and mother."
Wei Changzai's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a faint ripple appeared in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
What does "returning to the demon realm" mean?
Zhang Chunhe's expression remained unchanged: "You know what that means, she's a demon."
Demon race.
Wei Changzai shifted his gaze from those three words and looked again at the tall and venerable one.
"I don't like the demon race, and I won't go to the demon realm."
Zhang Chunhe looked at him with deep eyes, then sighed and patted his head.
"You will. Love is something you can't control. You are destined to fall in love with her. Whether she is a demon or not, it doesn't matter. You won't care."
He sat down to the side: "Qiu Tong is innocent and cheerful, speaks in a pleasing way, and has a very outgoing personality. She is actually a good match for you."
"Just remember her."
Zhang Chunhe looked out the window at the snow-capped mountains and the small pine forest. Considering that his son was still young and had always been indifferent, even if he understood what was being said, he couldn't truly comprehend it, so he said no more.
Wei Changzai waited for a while, and seeing that he did not speak, he spoke again.
"And what about this person?"
He glanced at the three somewhat confused words on his right: "Who is she? Don't I need to remember?"
“No need.” Zhang Chunhe only glanced at it. “She will be engaged to you in the future, but it’s not important. She’s just a passerby to you. I just suddenly thought of her and wrote it down casually.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Changzai wisely kept quiet, standing aside like a porcelain puppet, waiting for Zhang Chunhe to speak before replying.
He and his senior brother did the same.
Zhang Chunhe only needs puppets; he doesn't care what others think.
But it must be said that these two names were indeed etched into Wei Changzai's mind.
One is neat and orderly, the other is scattered.
He never deliberately thought about it, after all, he was only six years old and couldn't possibly understand love and romance, but Zhang Chunhe always liked to bring up Qiu Tong's matter.
As time went on, he seemed to accept it, and gradually, the other name became blurred.
It was so blurry that he only remembered the splashed vermilion and the crimson mark that had been drawn.
Until he was nine years old.
At that time, he was practicing his sword in the pine forest, preparing for the upcoming induction of spirit into his body.
Taihui and Qingyu hurriedly arrived, mentioning that they wanted to take a little girl back to the mountains to cultivate. They also said that since the two of them were of similar age, they should let him go with them so that the little girl would not be too afraid and would have someone to accompany her on the way.
Without hesitation, he looked away, his dark eyes reflecting the white snow, cold and frosty.
"I'm not going."
He refused bluntly and then began to wield his sword again.
Qingyu looked helpless and had no choice but to take out a talisman and invoke Zhang Chunhe's name: "Fine, it is the chief's order to let you go together, not that you really want to accompany him."
Taihui looked at him and couldn't help but say, "I wanted to have a good talk with you, but you insisted on taking the token. Put your sword away and set off immediately!"
Looking at the token, he also felt a little doubtful.
For example, why was he asked to go along? And who exactly was the person who was to bring him back?
But none of them asked the question. There was no need to ask; doing it was enough.
Qingyu summoned her magical artifact, the Lesser Chongshan Sword, which suddenly grew larger. The three of them stepped onto it together, protecting Wei Changzai in the middle.
During the journey, the two were initially whispering to each other, but then, for some unknown reason, their voices grew louder and louder, and the next moment they started arguing.
He mentioned that "bitch" and "the Lin family has many spiritual treasures" in his speech, and finally came to the name "Lin Feiran".
Wei Changzai was already used to the two men's ugly behavior, so she remained silent. However, when she suddenly heard those three words, she subconsciously thought of vermilion.
It turns out that the three words I forgot were Lin Feiran.
They flew incredibly fast on their swords, and after only a few words of argument, the three of them arrived in Luoyang.
As soon as he landed, Taihui suddenly remembered something and said that he had something to discuss with the chief, so he wanted to go back with Qingyu. However, it would be inconvenient to bring Wei Changzai along, so he tied a protective magic item to him and told him to wait in front of the general's mansion.
Wei Changzai did not object, but calmly agreed. After asking the people along the way, he finally arrived at the Lin residence.
At that time, there was a light drizzle, and the Taoist boy, as white as jade, stood quietly in front of the house with a paper umbrella, waiting for Taihui and his companion.
White silk ribbons were hung in front of the Lin residence. According to passersby, the owner of the residence was buried three days ago. He had no relatives and only a young girl left in the family. He was very pitiful.
Wei Chang felt nothing at that time. He had always been a cold-hearted person, and even though he had also lost both his parents, he could not empathize with them.
He stood there in front of the gate, and passersby looked at him strangely, but he didn't care. Suddenly, the gate, which was not yet closed, was blown open halfway by the rain and wind, revealing a figure squatting in the courtyard.
It was a little girl about his age, with her hair in a simple bun. She wasn't using an umbrella; she was just squatting in the corner, her shoulders moving slightly, seemingly doing something.
Wei Changzai didn't understand and watched quietly for a long time until he heard the sound of a sword behind him, knowing that Taihui and the other two were about to arrive. Only then did he push open the door and enter the mansion, walking to the side of the little girl.
It turned out they were teasing the ants.
Thinking this to himself, he turned his gaze away from the base of the wall and looked at the girl who was about his age.
The little girl's hair was a bit messy. When she looked up, large raindrops slid down her forehead. Her expression was very calm. Wei Changzai could not see any filth in her eyes, only great sorrow.
That was the first time he had ever seen such sorrow. Just one glance was enough to make one breathless. Although he had also lost both parents, his eyes might have been quiet, or perhaps even held a hint of relief and joy, but they would never have had such an empty and desolate expression.
Large raindrops pelted the umbrella, like pearls falling onto a plate, their sound echoing in the silent gaze between the two.
It was at this moment that the name Lin Feiran became concrete, transforming from a name drawn with cinnabar into a dusty, gray figure.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and Taihui and Qingyu rushed over, looking anxious. They embraced her in a way that Consort Wei had never seen before.
He spoke with such sincerity and deep affection that his voice even trembled slightly.
Wei Changzai's gaze suddenly became subtle.
His heart was like a dark abyss; he had only ever seen greed and vanity in these two people, never any genuine affection.
Sometimes, who can say that people aren't just imposters?
He held up his umbrella, looked away, and saw that Lin Feiran was deeply moved.
She silently wrapped her arms around their necks, her eyes gleaming with a strange, inexplicable light—something he had never seen before.
Before he even knew that this radiance was called sincerity, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
When Lin Feiran was coaxed back to the mountain by Taihui and Qingyu, they ended up standing together in the middle, with a fist's distance between them.
She turned to look at me and asked, "My name is Lin Feiran. What's your name?"
Normally, Wei Changzai would just pretend that the wind was too loud and he didn't hear clearly, but this person was Lin Feiran.
He had known her name for three years, and if he didn't reply now, he would feel impolite.
He always made sure to uphold these principles of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame.
"My name is Wei Changzai."
Lin Feiran repeated it several times, only to ask, "Changzai? Does it mean always being here? My mother named me Feiran, meaning outstanding and exceptional. Why are you called that?"
Wei Changzai looked at Liu Liuyun beside him and said in a clear voice, "Changzai is always thoughtful and calm, cultivating himself, cultivating virtue, and cultivating his mind."
Lin Feiran nodded knowingly: "Such a profound meaning. Then why not call him Wei Changsi?"
Wei Changzai paused for a moment, glanced at her, but she was completely oblivious, her eyes filled only with pure curiosity.
...
He had thought about it too, but ultimately didn't ask Zhang Chunhe.
So he said, "I don't know either."
Lin Feiran suddenly laughed and asserted, "You don't like this name."
Wei Changzai looked at her, his dark eyes reflecting the sunlight. He neither said he liked her nor disliked her; he simply looked at her like that.
She leaned closer and whispered to him, "If you don't like it, you can give yourself a nickname. My nickname is Slowly, because my mother doesn't want me to do things too quickly and wants me to take it slow."
He still didn't speak.
She was completely unaware of this, and only looked towards Sanqing Mountain not far away, when she suddenly asked a question.
"Does it rain in the cave of a Taoist cultivator?"
Upon hearing this, Taihui chuckled softly, "Fairly, we cultivators do not live in caves. We also live under houses and walk on brick floors. When it rains, it rains; when it snows, it snows. We simply follow nature."
Wei Chang smiled meaninglessly; it was the first time he had ever known that Elder Taihui possessed such insight.
Xiao Linfei sighed and looked up at the snow-capped mountain peak: "That's good!"
Qingyu stroked her head and asked softly, "I saw you squatting in the corner helping the ants move their food, but you didn't have an umbrella. Is it because you like rain?"
Xiao Linfei was silent for a moment. Wei Changzai saw her slightly lowered expression and heard her say something.
"My mother liked it; she always loved to sit alone in the courtyard, holding an umbrella and listening to the rain."
She once said that if she died, she would condense into rain spirit, transforming into a gentle drizzle in the sky, soft and moist in spring, misty in summer, vast and desolate in autumn, and biting in winter. Although the four seasons are different, they are all breathtakingly beautiful.
The father then said that after he died, he would become a cloud spirit and accompany him every day.
She paused here, but her brows and eyes gradually relaxed.
"I don't want to turn into the wind that disappears without a trace. I want to be the stream grass, the wildflower, and the big tree, so that I can wait for the clouds to come and the rain to come."
The words were quickly swept away by the wind and vanished without a trace.
Taihui and Qingyu patted her head briefly before changing the subject, mentioning the interesting stories of cultivating on the mountain, which made her yearn for it.
When the group arrived at the mountain gate, they saw an indigo figure standing beneath it.
He stood tall and elegant, a smile playing on his lips, holding a tung-yellow umbrella in his hand. Hearing the commotion, he slightly raised the edge of the umbrella to look at the group. As a result, snowflakes slid down, clinging to the hem of his robe, revealing a gentle smile beneath.
It is elegant and refined, more beautiful than the spring breeze and the bright moon.
Taihui was not surprised, and simply smiled and said, "Changying, you are truly a responsible senior brother. No matter which disciple joins the sect, you always come to welcome them."
Ji Changying couldn't help but chuckle: "It's not really a welcome feast, just some small things like showing you the way and helping you find your lodgings."
He stepped forward, half-squatting in front of Lin Feiran, tilting his yellow umbrella slightly to shield her from the falling snow, and smiled.
"So you're the newly joined junior sister, named Lin Feiran?"
Lin Feiran looked at him and nodded.
Ji Changying's eyes curved into a smile: "Welcome to the Dao and Palace for cultivation. Just call me Senior Brother. Every disciple in the sect calls me that."
Lin Feiran understood his unspoken meaning: "Greetings, Senior Brother."
Ji Changying was taken aback, then laughed and said, "What a clever child. Come, let your senior brother take you to familiarize yourself with the place, and then I'll take you to the disciples' quarters."
He reached out his hand to Lin Feiran, the umbrella still shielding them both.
Lin Feiran looked at Taihui and the other two, and seeing them nod at him, he reached out and shook their hands, then left with Ji Changying.
Before leaving, she turned back to look at Consort Wei and said in a clear voice, "Farewell, Consort Wei."
...
The memory vanished abruptly, and Wei Changzai suddenly opened his eyes and looked out the window.
Night had passed, and the morning light had somehow filled the sky, with the sun high in the sky. But then, a light autumn rain began to fall, pattering against the windowsill.
In the morning rain, dozens of phoenixes pulled a gilded carriage, flapping their wings and singing.
That was a procession of demons.
On the lead carriage, a dark figure sat cross-legged on the canopy, holding a gold-sprinkled red umbrella, his right hand outstretched, catching a few raindrops in his palm, serene and peaceful.
However, in a short while, the convoy crossed the barrier of Spring City and flew south, but she never looked back.
Author's Note: A sudden update has arrived.
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