Chapter 50 A painting within a painting is no match for an autumn rain, which can wash away all sorrow. ...
"I miss you so much……"
Her voice was low and hoarse, without any obvious sobbing, until she felt a warm, damp sensation on her shoulder, which brought her back to her senses.
He has always been cold-sensitive and can sense even the slightest temperature difference. At this moment, the rising heat was incredibly hot, just like her, making anyone who touched her feel warm.
But Ru Xian was very uncomfortable with this kind of contact. He had never been so close to anyone since he was a child, and moreover... because of past events, he even loathed such intimacy.
The fact that he didn't take action at that moment was already a great act of kindness on his part.
"Lin Feiran?" His voice was slightly cold. Seeing that she didn't answer, he simply raised his finger and hooked it behind her collar, trying to pull her away a little.
The peacock clan's secret technique is this: to control people's hearts, one must make eye contact.
But Lin Feiran didn't move, and even hugged him tighter.
As she grew up, Lin Feiran became more introverted and silent. She rarely said anything sentimental, as it made her uncomfortable. She could only be a little more unrestrained when she was with her parents.
Because these are her parents, in front of them, she is still the carefree Lin Feiran she used to be.
She wrapped her arms around the neck of the person in front of her and looked closely. Everything in front of her was not very clear, as if looking at flowers through the fog or the moon in the water. Even her mother's profile became blurred.
Is it true that once we grow up, our childhood memories will gradually become blurred, good or bad, as if none of them can withstand the erosion of time?
She slowly straightened up, leaned closer to look at the ethereal expression on the man's face, wiped his chin, and then pressed her palm against his legs, her movements carrying a hint of unconscious force: "...I dreamt of you not long ago, and now that we've met again, are you leaving already?"
Even in a daze, even with tender feelings of affection for her child, she had become Lin Feiran, and didn't want the person in front of her to leave. When her stubbornness kicked in, she would take action to stop him.
Ru Xian paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over her palm, then he suddenly raised an eyebrow: "What if I want to leave?"
Lin Feiran pursed her lips and lowered her head, remaining silent. Sparse moonlight shadows scattered across her face, making her appear somewhat lonely. Her palm slowly moved down his leg, pressing against his knee. Her five fingers were slightly closed. She paused for only a moment before continuing downwards, touching his calf.
It was a touch devoid of any intimacy, even somewhat cautious; she simply dared not let go easily, fearing that the person before her would vanish from her dream in the next moment.
She leaned forward and sat cross-legged on the ground, hugging his calves with both hands, and resting her head on his knees.
She spoke as if in a daze, yet with absolute certainty: "You won't leave. No one else cares about Lin Feiran, but you won't."
In the past, when the wind and snow were heavy on the mountain and the nights were cold and desolate, Lin Feiran would light a lamp in his house all night, open the doors and windows wide, wrap himself in his fur coat, prepare a lot of food, and sit alone by the window to look into the distance.
She thought that among all the disciples, she was the only one who believed in the story of the Ghost Festival returning the soul, so tonight only her lamp was lit in the dormitory. If her parents could not find her in the General's Mansion, they would be able to see the single lamp lit on Mount Sanqing from afar.
They would realize that Slowly was there all along.
Ru Xian also calmed down. He looked at Lin Feiran's profile, his eyes flickered slightly, and the damp heat on his shoulder turned into a cold sweat. Only then did he realize that she had only shed a few tears when she hugged him, unable to hold back, and had already withdrawn them.
When parents pass away, one doesn't grieve every day. Instead, one buries this sense of bewilderment and sorrow deep in one's heart, like a blunt nail driven into it. It's not noticeable on ordinary days, but when one sees an ordinary bowl of rice or a flower, a certain past memory will suddenly come to mind, and the nail will pierce out of the heart, causing instant pain.
He straightened up and asked in a low voice, "Do you miss me that much?"
Lin Feiran nodded.
"You've been in a bad mood these past few days, and your appetite has decreased a lot. Is that why?"
She nodded again.
Ru Xian sighed softly, and Ru Yu's hand rose slightly to block the moonlight, casting a small shadow on her head. After a long while, he still did not lower his hand.
People are multifaceted. Sometimes he felt that Lin Feiran was like a silly goose, not understanding people's intentions. Sometimes he felt that she was like a calf, not only strong, but also brave and fearless like a newborn tiger. But most of the time, he felt that she was like a banner piercing the gale.
Let the wind blow alone, I will remain fierce; let the wind rage, I will remain steadfast; let the wind soar high, I will rise with the wind.
He has always admired people like that.
He and she were different in many ways, yet they were also very similar, just like the scattered fallen leaves in the courtyard, none of them the same, yet they had some overlap.
Therefore, he knew in his heart that what Lin Feiran needed right now was not his comfort, or even the comfort of anyone else.
Ru Xian got up, looked out the window, her eyes reflecting the accumulating clouds, and suddenly said, "The first rain of autumn is about to fall."
He leaped out of the window with Lin Feiran, landing among the sycamore trees. The disturbed branches trembled slightly, and the sparse moonlight cast shadows on his brows, but could not conceal his refined and aloof appearance.
A cool fragrance lingers, a deep shadow falls on the clear moon. He gazes at the moonlight, a gust of wind blows, and the autumn rain begins to fall softly.
"The night rain is cold, and the soul cannot be summoned back. It would be better to borrow an autumn rain to let all the sorrow fall."
Through the branches and leaves of the sycamore trees, Lin Feiran saw the drizzling rain enveloping the entire city of Lan. The scene was extremely beautiful, a dense and melancholic sight, with each drop of rain falling, each drop of rain moistening, and each drop of rain expressing sorrow.
As summer fades into autumn, the once lush greenery will gradually wither away.
The two sat among the trees for a long time, their legs dangling from the branches and leaves, one black and one white, swaying gently, their golden rings gleaming.
Lin Feiran turned his head to look, but before he could utter the word "mother," he saw the person in front of him leaning over a branch, and a ray of golden-red light flashed in his eyes.
"Having shed tears in this autumn rain and released all your pent-up emotions, there's no need to dwell on it any longer, Lin Feiran, you should rest now."
Upon hearing this, Lin Feiran felt extremely tired, but her heart was filled with joy. In a daze, she leaned down, lay horizontally on the branch, and closed her eyes to fall into a deep sleep.
Ru Xian stared for a long time before raising her hand to brush away the strands of hair from her lips, but that was all; nothing more.
He gazed at Lanzhou, at the autumn rain, silent, for his night, which belonged only to him, had just begun.
*
The next morning, Lin Feiran got up, rubbing her forehead. Looking out at the clear blue sky, she felt refreshed.
She still remembered that Ru Xian came to find her last night, and the two of them exchanged the Tai Chi Yin Yang fish. After that... it seemed that Ru Xian left. She buried her head in the table and drew talismans, but she was too tired halfway through and fell asleep. In her dream, she saw her mother and watched a rain with her.
In her dream, the fine rain fell like silk threads, as if washing her heart until it was clear and blue.
She's been having a lot of dreams lately, and she often sees her family in them, which is a good thing, but it also probably means she's very tired.
Lin Feiran decided to rest for a few days and practice her fine brushwork. The ink pellet she had rubbed off from her master's scripture was not large, and if she made a mistake while drawing on a face, there would be no more ink to make corrections.
She had studied painting in her childhood, and the Daohe Palace also offered similar technique classes for drawing talismans, so she had some foundation. She was quite good at painting flowers, plants, clouds, and landscapes, but she had always struggled with portraits.
The teachers who taught her back then said that the people she painted mostly had the same spirit, which was a bit stiff and far less lively and spirited than the flowers and plants she painted.
At that time, he also pointed out a few things about Wei Changzai, saying that although his paintings of people were skillful and lifelike, and that the people in his paintings always had their eyebrows and eyes unconsciously drawn closer together. At first glance, it was fine, but if you looked closely, you could see a sinister look. No matter how kind a person was, they could not escape this when he painted them.
It seems that in his eyes, all people are like this: no matter how kind their faces are, inside they are just skin and bones, a dark and gloomy mess.
Lin Feiran clearly remembers that his teacher patted him on the shoulder meaningfully and told him to go to the mountaintop more often when meditating, where the sunlight was intense.
She gathered her thoughts and sat in the pavilion in the courtyard. A gentle breeze blew around her, carrying the chill of autumn. She moved her fingers and picked up a brush to draw a picture of autumn leaves on the paper. Her brushwork was skillful, and the desolation of early autumn leaped off the page.
"You're still getting used to it." She nodded in satisfaction.
She sketched the courtyard, the sycamore trees, and the autumn pond one by one. Although it was just a line drawing, she regained some of her feel for it. She took a deep breath, picked up another piece of paper, and sketched out a rough outline, but she struggled with the structure of the eyebrows and eyes.
What kind of face does she want to paint? What kind of self does she want to paint?
After a moment of silence, she hesitated before putting pen to paper, only able to lay out the most memorable facial features on the paper: Xun Feifei's eyebrows, Biqing's nose, Rushan's lips, and two more prominent tiger teeth.
She paused at the eyes, and a few breaths later, added her master's terrifyingly large eyes.
To be honest, these people are all very good-looking. Although the combination is somewhat inhuman, they are not ugly, but they are too eye-catching.
She moved the paper aside and picked up her pen again. She wanted to draw someone who was the opposite of herself, with raised eyebrows, upturned eyes, and downturned lips, a perfect example of an arrogant yet stiff wicked woman.
"..."
She sighed deeply. Anyone with experience would immediately notice something was wrong with her unnatural expression.
Lin Feiran took out some pastries from the mustard seed bag, ate a few to relieve her boredom, and then continued to bury herself in drawing.
...
"What are you drawing?" Ze Yu leaned closer to look and saw that Ming Yue had already sketched a simple picture of a man and a bear fighting. His eyes widened. "Is this Lin Feiran? Why are you suddenly drawing her? You've never drawn me before!"
Mingyue was speechless for a moment, ignoring the second half of his sentence, and only said: "These are drawings for handing over. We have to make a few, so that if there are any unusual developments next time, we can know as soon as possible."
Last time she went to the Demon Capital, she met Lin Feiran and told him about the mission. After discussing it, they both felt that the portrait was harmless and that the mission personnel who came to investigate should not be stopped, as long as they knew that Zhen Mingyue was still in the Demon Capital.
Lin Feiran is no longer an unknown figure in the demon realm, and it is not difficult for those who want to know her identity.
Zeyu leaned closer to look at it again and again: "Why did you draw her so tall?"
Mingyue patted him comfortingly: "She's half a head taller than you."
Ze Yu immediately stood up: "We merfolk are different from ordinary people. We have extremely long lifespans. I am still growing, and besides, with my tail, I am two heads taller than her!"
"Okay, okay." Mingyue readily agreed, folding up the reply in her hand, then paused, "Wait, are you saying you haven't grown up yet?"
Ze Yu's shoulders tensed, his eyes darting around: "By...by human standards, I've long been an adult..."
The two began to argue, and the letter on the table trembled on its own, spontaneously folding into a paper fox, which flew out of the window, across the sea, and back to the fox clan. The different letters were sorted and eventually sent to Qiu Tong's courtyard.
She has received replies from the envoys over the past few days, mostly from the human princess. She often stays in the envoy's palace to read books, and occasionally goes out for a stroll. Although no one pays attention to her, she is quite free.
Qiu Tong glanced at the reply and then eagerly unfolded her drawing paper. She drew two or three pictures of each person. The outlines were not very detailed, but she still recognized that the person in the drawing was Lin Feiran.
Her expression, as she had requested, was one of rage.
Lin Feiran fought fiercely with the Iron-Eating Beast, Lin Feiran devoured a pile of food, and Lin Feiran strolled around with the human princess in a frenzy.
...
These actions, while not exactly perfunctory, certainly showed a lack of care, and such an expression was clearly absent from Lin Feiran's face.
Qiu Tong burned the reply letter, leaving only the portraits. She carefully examined one of them, wondering, "Could it be that Lin Feiran has a good relationship with this human princess? Has she also helped this human princess?"
No, she thought back to herself, wondering if she could secretly use the princess to pass on a message if something happened in the future.
As she pondered, there was a knock on the door, three very regular knocks. Qiu Tong stared blankly at the door and saw a figure standing there. As if he hadn't heard her reply, he raised his hand and knocked three more times.
It was Wei Changzai.
Qiu Tong felt a pang of sadness. In the past few days, she had only seen Lin Feiran once, on the day he broke through to the Sword Realm. The rest of the time, he had been in seclusion.
In her past life, she and Wei Changzai had a very deep relationship. After they got together, they traveled around for many years, and their relationship was extraordinary. In this new life, even though she was prepared to start over, she still couldn't help but feel sad about the difference.
It was like pouring cold water over your head, chilling you to the bone.
Qiu Tong's mind went blank for a moment. She hastily folded the portrait aside, forced a smile, and opened the door: "Senior Brother Wei, is there something you need?"
Wei Changzai stood in front of the door, his appearance neat and tidy. His black hair was adorned with a brown plum blossom hairpin, and his indigo Taoist robe accentuated his icy and snowy appearance. He wore long boots and carried a pure white longsword on his back. He raised his slightly long eyes and nodded to her.
"You should know the news that came a few days ago: if you want to enter Spring City to participate in the ceremony, you must travel there on foot. Disciples participating in the ceremony are not allowed to use swords or beasts. The distance from Central Continent to Spring City is not short, so you must set off early tomorrow morning."
Senior Brother Changying will be the team leader for this trip, and I will be his assistant. You are a disciple participating in the study, so please prepare early.
The door was wide open, but Wei Changzai showed no intention of stepping in, nor did he even look away; he never looked around carelessly.
Qiu Tong's eyes flickered slightly: "Why is it Senior Brother Wei who has to come up with this matter personally?"
Wei Changzai raised his hand, holding several paper cranes between his fingers: "Originally, they were to be passed on by messenger birds, but you have set up a magic array in your room, so they can't get in. My senior brother and I have an obligation to notify every disciple participating in the ceremony."
Qiu Tong lowered her eyelashes and gave a short reply. She didn't speak again, and the surroundings became quiet.
Wei Changzai looked at the roster in his hand and was about to head to the next place when a gust of wind suddenly blew through the room, lifting the drawing paper that was casually folded on the table and scattering it at the feet of the two men.
The sight of Lin Feiran and the Iron-Eating Beast arm wrestling was on full display.
Wei Changzai quietly examined each portrait without showing any change in expression, but Qiu Tong's ears suddenly turned red. She immediately bent down to pick up the scattered portraits, her fair face flushed crimson.
"This...this wasn't drawn by me! I didn't steal Lin Feiran's drawing!"
Wei Changzai remained silent on this matter, but looked at Qiu Tong and asked bluntly, "Why do you want her portrait? You clearly don't like her."
Clutching the drawing paper, Qiu Tong blurted out in a panic, "I was just looking, nothing strange, many people in the palace have them... By the way, I'll pack my things today, and we'll definitely meet up on time tomorrow morning. You go and inform the others first!"
With a creak, the door closed, and the gust of wind lifted Wei Changzai's clothes. He lowered his eyes and stood quietly for a moment, as if deep in thought, before flipping through the roster again and walking unhurriedly to the next place.
...
The following day, as dawn broke, the disciples of Daohe Palace who were participating in the ceremony had already gathered in the Daoist temple. This ceremony was only open to disciples of the Zhaohai Realm and the Wenxin Realm, so the number of participants was not small.
These two realms represent the second hurdle on the path of cultivation. It is not difficult for a newly promoted cultivator to reach the state of "Questioning the Mind," but the difficulty lies in breaking through the "Questioning the Mind" barrier and entering the state of "Freedom."
Ji Changying smiled as he counted the number of people. The small mole under his lip lifted slightly, which made the tense nerves of the disciples relax a lot. No matter what the trip would be like, at least their senior brother was there. In their relaxation, they began to whisper among themselves.
"I saw you searching around this morning. Is there something you forgot? If it's important, talk to your senior brother about it now."
"It's not important, it's Lin Feiran's academic style."
The disciple exclaimed in surprise, "She deserves a portrait?"
The man sighed, "Originally it wasn't worth it, but on the day she came down the mountain, she not only used several sword techniques in succession, but she even used the Wind and Snow Sword steadily and solidly! With such ability, who cares about what happened before? Immediately, someone drew her portrait, hoping to learn her skills."
"Will it work?"
"It's useless for now... However, I prayed for it last night, and when I woke up this morning, they were all gone. The disciples in my dormitory are the same. It's really strange."
"Could it be that she's back again?"
Don't scare me!
As they were muttering to themselves, they noticed a figure standing behind them. They stopped talking and looked back, only to meet Wei Changzai's gaze. The two of them flinched and said with awkward smiles, "Junior Brother Wei."
Wei Changzai glanced at one of them, then nodded and continued counting forward. Seeing him walk away, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
This junior brother is great in every way, except he's a bit elusive.
"He seemed to glance at you a little longer than usual. Was it because you kept looking for things and fiddling around?"
“…Then I won’t look anymore.” The man immediately shrank back and buried his head.
After confirming the number of people, Ji Changying closed the roster, raised her hand, and the group marched down the mountain towards Chuncheng.
*
In early autumn, Mu Chun'e of the Taiji Immortal Sect received a divine summons for the third time. The sage said that if she wanted to enter the Spring City to study the classics, she had to measure the heaven and earth with her feet and walk step by step to the Spring City. She could not ride a sword or a boat.
The news came as a complete surprise. Disciples from sects that were far away packed their belongings that very night and rushed to the destination. Those from sects that were a little further away did not dare to delay and gathered their disciples early in the morning to set off the next day.
Chuncheng is located in Dongyu Prefecture. It is not too far from the Endless Sea in the south, but Lin Feiran still decided to enter the city as soon as possible to find out some information. Xun Feifei and the others still had other matters to attend to and needed to postpone their trip for a while, so Lin Feiran had to travel alone.
On the day of her departure, she sat in front of the mirror and, as her master had instructed, placed the ink pellet into the inkstone, moistened it with flower dew, and slowly ground it to produce a rich ink color, seemingly no different from an ordinary ink stick.
Lin Feiran specially took out a new pen and began to lightly trace the eyebrows and eyes, imitating the most natural portrait he had drawn in the past few days.
However, problems arose on the very first transaction.
The ink appeared thick, yet it left no trace when applied to the eyebrows and eyes. Since she couldn't see the color, she naturally couldn't estimate the thickness. With a single, colorless stroke, a thick, cleaver-like eyebrow appeared, as if her right eyebrow had always been like that.
The ink was indeed divine ink, but unfortunately it was entrusted to the wrong person.
Lin Feiran remained calm and even slowly drew a stroke on her left eyebrow, just like on the right, creating a lifelike inverted V-shape close to her brow.
If she keeps drawing, she might attract everyone's attention as soon as she enters Chuncheng.
Just as I was hesitating, I heard a series of light and heavy footsteps behind me, which sounded like whistling.
Seeing Lin Feiran sitting in front of the mirror doing her makeup, he asked with a hint of curiosity, "What, you suddenly remembered to do your eyebrows and lips before you leave..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Feiran turned around frankly. Ru Xian paused slightly upon seeing this, her peach blossom eyes widening slightly. After a moment, her eyes curved back up, her words filled with undisguised laughter.
"If you like it, you can certainly do it."
Lin Feiran was also somewhat helpless. She skipped over her grandmaster and briefly explained that she needed to change her appearance and enter the city discreetly.
As Xue approached, he pondered: "From your description, this thing looks a lot like a square inkstone. It can be used to cut through rivers with a stroke of the brush and bring dragons to life with a single dot. Such a treasure is rare."
He lifted the inkstone, feigning surprise and interest, but his eyes kept glancing at Lin Feiran's face as he spoke softly.
"How about I draw it for you?"
Lin Feiran looked slightly puzzled, but after glancing at himself in the mirror and seeing the little ink left, he simply handed the pen to him and closed his eyes.
"As long as it doesn't attract attention, that's fine."
She had no requirements regarding appearance, so she didn't care much about how she looked in the makeup.
The person opposite her remained motionless for a long time, and Lin Feiran did not urge them. She held out her hand steadily, and after a while, she heard a faint rustling sound of clothing. The old pen was taken away.
Lin Feiran sat upright in the chair, her head slightly tilted back, her mind calm. She didn't even need to open her eyes; she could judge his position and movements just by the faint, cool fragrance.
She felt Ruo Xue lean in, her slightly cool fingertips touching her chin, the soft tip of the pen moving from the center of her brow to the end, very delicately.
While waiting, she asked, "Why has the Lord come?"
He stepped back a little, as if to dip his brush in ink: "I will certainly go to Spring City with you."
Lin Feiran uttered a questioning syllable, but before he could open his eyes, he raised his hand to cover them: "I have always been carefree and do not need to clean up the mess. Besides, didn't you think I couldn't leave the Demon Capital? Explanation is useless, so I'll just let you see it with your own eyes."
The pen tip had moved down from above the eyebrows. He didn't draw the eyes, but slowly moved closer to draw the bridge of the nose and the lips.
A cool fragrance wafted over us, and our breaths mingled; no one spoke.
Lin Feiran felt it was somewhat rude to speak at this moment, but as for Ru Xian, no one knew what he was thinking.
When Lin Feiran closed her eyes, he only traced her with his gaze, tracing the peak of her nose and the contours of her lips. He rarely used his pen, only occasionally making a dot, but until the very end, he never touched those eyes.
"Alright." He withdrew his hand, put down the pen, picked up the bronze mirror, and looked down at her. "How is it?"
Lin Feiran opened his eyes and looked at the person in the mirror. He was quite amazed, not because the appearance was so stunning, but because of the skill of the artist.
The two long eyebrows that had been ruined were modified again, lengthened slightly, the bridge of the nose was lowered, and the corners of the lips were turned up, giving her an honest face that was not particularly outstanding, yet extremely likable. Apart from the eyes, there was no resemblance to her original appearance.
She was satisfied and looked at the bronze mirror back and forth for a long time before preparing to leave.
The two realms are separated by the Endless Sea. The gate to the human realm is the Endless Sea in the south, while the gate to the demon realm is in the sky.
Below the boundary gate stands a towering tower that leads to heaven. To enter or leave, one must obtain an imperial edict and register.
Lin Feiran rode in Ruxie's exclusive phoenix carriage on this trip. The interior was soft and comfortable, with a plush carpet that could cover an inch, making it unforgettable once one sat in it. Outside the carriage, a phoenix made of gold paper was pulling it, and it was quite majestic when it flapped its wings.
The imperial carriage took off from the ground at great speed, and in less than two quarters of an hour it flew from Xingzhi Palace to the outside of Dengtian Tower.
At this moment, the stars were twinkling. The tower guards had received the news early and were waiting outside the tower. Even so, they were not at ease. They only opened the gate after receiving the order from Lin Feiran.
Stars suddenly lit up the sky, their rays radiating outwards and connecting in a series of interlocking rings, eventually forming a net-like network of runes.
The phoenix flapped its wings and took flight from the tower, soaring straight through the sea of stars. In the midst of the ups and downs, black and white alternated chaotically, and the surroundings changed from night to day. The phoenix chariot broke through the water, raising countless splashes, and leaped into the air.
No matter how many times Lin Feiran sees it, he is always moved by this fantastical scene.
As the imperial carriage circled above the shore, searching for a landing spot, she leaned out to observe and suddenly saw a white figure standing on the bank. The figure looked up and then waved to them.
Lin Feiran looked puzzled, but still subconsciously reached out to respond.
In an instant, a beam of light shot out from the man's palm, shattering half of the carriage frame. Such swift spiritual power was at least at the Free and Unfettered Realm.
Immediately, countless rays of light swirled upwards, binding the golden paper phoenix like fine silk threads, forcibly pulling the phoenix carriage to the shore.
As he fell, Lin Feiran couldn't help but look at Ru Xian. Could this be the reason he hadn't left the house?!
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