Chapter 74 Past "Even heroes have found it hard to resist the charms of a beautiful woman." (Part Two...)
The spring chill lingered, and the wind, sharp as a knife, stung Lin Feiran's cheeks.
"Manman, why aren't you saying anything? Is it because your father's imitation isn't good enough?" Lin Lang tried very hard. He had seen too many elegant ladies at banquets, and he actually resembled them by about 80%.
Her mother had been itching to see it, but halfway through, her expression suddenly changed, and she clapped her hands and said, "It's just like her! I'm thinking of making a few dresses for Manman, one a year. At seventeen or eighteen, she should be about your size, perfect for you to try on!"
Lin Lang paused for a moment, then raised his hand and exclaimed, "Excellent! With us being this tall, she won't be any shorter in the future. When she wears leather armor and rides with me on horseback, how many respectable young men in Luoyang will she captivate?"
Watching the two chatting animatedly, she sighed silently, her gaze gradually shifting from silence to calm and collected, less excited and more nostalgic.
Almost the instant she saw her parents appear, she realized that this was nothing but a dream.
Lin Feiran has been lighting lamps for them in the cold night for many years. She has long accepted the fact that her parents have passed away, but she still feels a little pain when she occasionally recalls them. No matter how real the illusion is, it is still fake after all, and she will not indulge in it.
She raised her hand to catch the peach petals that were blown by the wind, and her gaze gradually darkened.
The face is gone, I know not where; but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.
So this is the meaning of "a face as beautiful as a peach blossom"; the sage was truly ingenious.
She looked around and was quite certain that she did not have this memory; it was yet another part of her past that she had never recalled.
How much of the past does she have to forget?
Lin Feiran reached out and tugged at her mother's sleeve, asking the question that had been on her mind: "Mother, are you really going to make me a dress?"
Mother squatted down, her eyes brimming with smiles: "Manman, have you forgotten? Every year on your birthday, I give you a new set of clothes. I've been doing this for you until you're twelve, but the older I get, the less sure I am. What if they're too long or too short?"
Lin Feiran's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked pointedly, "Why do it in advance? You can do one every year, why do you have to keep doing it until you're seventeen or eighteen?"
The mother paused slightly, turning to look at Lin Lang. His expression remained unchanged as he squatted down and pinched her cheek. "Do you really want to wear only one dress every year? Make more now so you can change them up later, isn't that better?"
Lin Feiran felt a lump in her throat, her lips moved for a moment, wanting to ask something more, but she couldn't speak.
The illusion is the past, and she cannot ask questions that do not exist in her memories. This means that she also asked this question back then, and Lin Lang answered her in the same way.
Why make the clothes in advance?
Only knowing early on that he would not live any longer would he hastily tailor that perhaps ill-fitting dress for her.
Lin Lang's answer meant that he already knew.
Did her mother really die from a serious illness? She couldn't recall much of the past.
Lin Feiran suddenly felt a headache coming on. The more she thought about it, the fainter her memories became. As her headache became unbearable, the illusion gradually shattered, like a bronze mirror covered with spiderwebs, and everything became fragmented.
She raised her hand to cover her head, pursed her lips and endured it. With a crack, the illusion finally shattered, and she fell into the peach blossoms on the ground, panting heavily, as if she had finally drowned.
Lin Feiran sat there for a few moments to rest before standing up and looking around.
This is indeed a paradise. An endless stream meanders around the side, and the banks are lined with peach trees. Behind it is a small thatched hut with a leaky roof, which illuminates the tables and chairs inside.
She took two steps forward, only to find the other three people immersed in the stream, with petals piling up as if to bury them.
The three of them had relaxed brows and slightly upturned lips, as if they were all immersed in a beautiful dream. She couldn't help but sigh, wondering why others could have such immersive and beautiful dreams, while she woke up immediately.
She also wanted to stay in the illusion a little longer.
Without further hesitation, she stepped into the stream, first carrying Qiu Tong, who was closest to her, to the bank, before walking towards the center of the Peach Stream.
Those were the two people who should least have been indulging in illusion.
One of them had reached the Divine Travel Realm, with a firm Dao heart, and had long since transcended the stage of illusion. Although his spiritual veins were now sealed, his cultivated state of mind had not deteriorated, and he could still see through the fog.
As for the other one, Lin Feiran really couldn't imagine what kind of illusion he would fall into. Since it was a peach blossom with a beautiful face, the trigger for entering the illusion must be peach blossoms. Sanqing Mountain is full of wind and snow and has few peach blossoms, so what could make him lose his way?
Lin Feiran hesitated between the two for a moment, then walked to Ru Xian's side first, brushed away the pink petals that had flowed down his cheek, supported the back of his neck with one hand and wrapped the other around his knees, and lifted him out of the water.
Ru Xian looks light and agile, but he is not. It's just that his muscles are long and well-proportioned with smooth lines, which makes it easy for people to overlook and mistakenly think that he is as light as a piece of driftwood.
Lin Feiran let out a soft breath, carried the person to the shore, and then gently brushed away the strands of hair that were sticking to his face before walking back into the water.
As Wei Changzai immersed himself in the water, his ebony-like long hair flowed down with the current, and his expression was unusually serene and peaceful, as if he were dreaming about something.
Lin Feiran stood to the side, looking troubled. She squatted down and fiddled with him for a while, unsure how to bring him back. She was indeed a little tired after carrying the two of them.
She dragged him by the back of his collar, using the water's force to walk halfway. When they were almost at the shore, she could no longer drag him, so she resignedly bent down and carried him ashore.
The three of them lay down side by side. Lin Feiran didn't complain of being tired. Instead, he immediately went to Qiu Tong's side and patted her shoulder: "Fellow Daoist Qiu Tong, Qiu Tong? Qiu Tong?"
Illusions and nightmares are different yet similar. When there is no other way, calling back the soul is the simplest and most effective method.
Qiu Tong rolled over, her voice softening, "Wei Changzai, why did you save the little rabbit? So kind..."
Lin Feiran paused, a sense of absurdity flashing through his mind: Wei Changzai, saving a rabbit?
In Daohe Palace, Ji Changying would definitely save the rabbit, and Pei Yu might save the rabbit if he was in a good mood, but Wei Changzai would never do so, regardless of his mood.
When he encountered her, he would only say that life and death are predestined, recite a rebirth mantra, then look away and ask her if she wanted to eat roasted rabbit.
In Wei Changzai's eyes, all things are the same, with few exceptions. The death of a rabbit is no different from the passing of a blade of grass or a flower, a view that is exactly the same as Zhang Chunhe's.
Some people really do have two faces; they act one way in front of her and another way in front of their soulmate.
"Qiu Tong, wake up..."
Just as Lin Feiran spoke, Wei Changzai on the other side heard her voice and slightly raised his eyebrows.
The sky is filled with the glow of the sunset, and this is a lotus pond forest with excellent scenery at the foot of the mountain. Lotus buds are already peeking out of the pond, and dragonflies are flying low. However, the peach blossoms by the forest have not yet finished fading, and many green leaves are sprouting from the branches. Peach and lotus flowers intertwine, and spring and summer are in the process of passing through each other.
The moment he stood in front of Lin Feiran and saw the sparkle in her eyes, he realized that it was all an illusion.
The vines of longing in his heart constantly reminded him that they had broken their bond, that Lin Feiran had descended the mountain, and that they were no longer as harmonious as before. Yet, his heart gradually sank deeper, unwilling to awaken.
Her thoughts gradually dispersed and melted away, as if a layer of mist had enveloped her heart. She had once told him that this feeling was called longing.
In moments of remembrance, everything is so hazy and quiet.
Lin Feiran asked him, "Wei Changzai, do you have someone you like?"
Even now, Wei Changzai still couldn't answer. Love was too fragile. Right now, he just wanted to look at Lin Feiran, who was only looking at him.
He remained silent, but the memory of him spoke on his own, continuing the story: "What does it mean to like someone?"
Her ears turned slightly red, but her expression remained calm: "It's just that I want to see him every morning when I wake up, I feel comfortable when I'm with him, I don't want to see him get hurt... and so on."
Wei Chang pondered for a moment: "This is the person you like? What's the difference between them and an elder? I had the same feeling when I met my master. Do I like him?"
Lin Feiran was speechless for a moment, then said, "That's still liking... but it's different. Yours is liking your master, but I'm talking about the relationship between a man and a woman, it's just being happy when you see him..."
Actually, she couldn't explain it either.
After a moment of silence, Wei Changzai suddenly said, "Although I don't quite understand, among the people I know, I feel happy when I see you. Is that what liking someone means?"
Lin Feiran was slightly taken aback, surprised by the directness of his words. He took a step forward and asked, "Did you call me here today to tell me that I like you?"
After saying that, he seemed to realize that there was an ambiguity in his words, and added, "I mean, you want to tell me, 'Wei Changzai likes Lin Feiran'?"
"Hmm?" Lin Feiran couldn't keep up with his rapidly changing thoughts for a moment, but she understood his unspoken meaning. She said somewhat shyly, "That's not what I meant. No, it's not just that."
"Ah." Wei Changzai seemed to remember something, a ripple appearing in his dark eyes. His eyelashes drooped slightly and trembled. He gripped his sword tightly, as if he had suddenly understood. "You called me here today because you wanted to say you like me and want to be with me, right?"
Lin Feiran was caught off guard, and her fair face was instantly flushed red, but she remained calm and did not lose her composure.
She had anticipated that Wei Changzai might find it boring, might not understand, or might refuse outright, but she never imagined that he would know.
"...How did you know what I was going to say?"
“I knew it all along.”
Lin Feiran suddenly widened her eyes. Was it usually that obvious?
"How early!"
Wei Changzai lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while before speaking: "...It's been a long time. You want to be 'with' me?"
Lin Feiran looked at him quietly, a hint of nervousness in her eyes: "Do you know what 'being together' means?"
Wei Changzai nodded: "I know that there are many disciples in the sect who stay together. They always come and go together, cultivate together, eat together, read together... they do everything together."
Lin Feiran pursed her lips and said again, "Only people who like each other will be together. Are we like that?"
"……yes."
"Then would you like to be with me?"
He heard his own voice: "...Okay."
As his consciousness cleared, he could no longer even pretend to be immersed in the illusion. The illusion gradually shattered, and his expression returned to normal. He was no longer the struggling and confused boy he once was.
He knew he would be with Lin Feiran, and even that they would be engaged.
The illusion shattered, and Wei Changzai, soaked to the bone, sat up. Strands of wet black hair clung to his face, creating a striking contrast of black and white. He gazed silently at the figure, his lips parting slightly, yet he remained silent.
Lin Feiran turned to look at him, her expression slightly relaxed: "Fellow Daoist Wei, you're awake?"
He sat still, responded with a sound, and then just kept looking at her. She seemed unable to wake Qiu Tong. After frowning slightly, she got up and walked towards the contracted demon.
As if afraid of causing the slightest bump, she carefully lifted his head and whispered his name.
...
"Fairy Maiden!"
Looking into the girl's bright eyes, Ru Xian did not answer. He stared at her intently, a strange and indescribable look flashing in his eyes.
When he heard her call out like that back then, he wasn't particularly moved; in fact, he felt a bit sarcastic. He had always been prejudiced against humans, and even human children were seen as cunning and wicked by him.
Of course, this doesn't mean he prefers those who are docile and obedient.
He dislikes and dislikes everyone.
But at this moment, perhaps knowing what would happen next, or perhaps he had already become familiar with Lin Feiran, in any case, his state of mind was completely different.
He wondered, how could someone so tiny grow to be as tall as Lin Feiran?
She looks at herself now, her eyes sparkling. Why did she lose that sparkle when she grew up?
And the pink peach blossoms on her hair buns were too delicate in color and didn't match her complexion. He didn't like them at first, but now they seemed quite cute. Perhaps not only black, but also peach pink, goose yellow and willow green would suit her well.
Ru Xian cast aside the illusion and began to ponder, completely forgetting the fact that she was seriously injured, unable to move, and could only lie there waiting to die.
The cave was not small, but it was not well lit. Apart from the moonlight and snow light reflected from the cave entrance, the only other light source was the starlight floating around.
So, Xiaolin Feiran took another step forward, intending to say something, but when she saw the floating light points sweep across his face, clearly revealing the appearance of an immortal, her breath caught in her throat.
This was probably the most beautiful person she had ever seen in her life.
The person leaned against the stone platform, with snow-white hair loose, a thin red under his eyes, and emerald eyes like autumn waves. His thin lips were red without any lipstick, and a scarlet mark flew diagonally across his eyes. The corners of his eyes were hooked like crescent moons and then faintly lowered.
If there truly are immortals in this world, then this is what they must look like.
Hearing her call, the immortal did not respond, but simply looked at her indifferently, showing no joy whatsoever.
There shouldn't be any joy, since the immortal is injured.
He casually draped a long robe embroidered with golden sparrow feathers over his shoulders. The robe was not neatly dressed, and as the hem fluttered, one could see grayish-white bandages starting from his ankles, hooking and wrapping upwards, outlining his long, smooth muscle lines, wrapping around his firm and powerful waist and abdomen, and finally gathering around his long neck. A faint blood color seeped out, adding a touch of allure to the cold white.
Xiao Linfei looked at him and suddenly said, "This immortal, you are injured."
Ru Xian then snapped out of his reverie. He had wanted to say something, but he couldn't help but smile, his voice cold: "Have you seen enough? Get out of here now."
Yes, he has never had patience for a stranger.
If it weren't for this connection with Lin Feiran, he wouldn't have shown any tolerance towards her when she came to the demon realm as Mingyue.
Ru Xian just watched like that. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak. This was a memory illusion, so he could only say the words and do the things from his memories.
Thinking of this, he simply calmed down and let himself look back on his past memories.
Xiao Lin Feiran thought he had offended the immortal, so he took two steps back, bowed, and said, "I did not intrude on purpose. I was being chased and lost my footing and fell. I rolled here involuntarily. I had no intention of disturbing you!"
The immortal still looked at her with that ambiguous smile, his eyes devoid of warmth, no different from those he would look at wood or stone. He neither forgave her nor showed any anger. She clasped her hands together again, bowed three times, and said devoutly.
“The villains are chasing me from behind. I beg the immortal to provide me with a place to hide. After I am rescued, I will surely offer incense to you or have a golden statue made for you.”
Ru Xian found it amusing; he now found those words endearing, though he hadn't been so interested back then.
"Worship me?"
He had always had a bad temper, and was not kind even to human children. But now that she was worshipping him, he couldn't help but sneer a few times, finding it quite absurd.
Xiao Lin Fei Ran looked up at him, paused for a moment, and then moved to his side. As soon as she got close, she smelled a subtle fragrance, like the faint and cool scent of plum blossoms, but upon closer inspection, it was very sweet and rich, which made her throat move slightly.
Xiao Linfei nodded, then said somewhat vaguely, "I see it. Is this your immortal technique?"
Ru Xian glanced at her sideways and said in a cold voice, "Those are all my scattered flesh and blood."
Floating beside your hand is my eye; drifting at your feet is my heart; brushing against your cheek is perhaps my lips and tongue.
Xiao Linfei was stunned. His raised hand froze in place, and he dared not move.
She knew in her heart that he was not lying. When she got closer, she saw specks of light emerge from the bandages, leave the undulating flesh, and slowly dissipate into the air.
But the further she retreated, the closer the floating lights drew, and for a moment the two began to chase each other.
Ru Xian didn't care. He withdrew his hand, wiped his fingertips, and said self-deprecatingly, "What's the use of worshipping me? I'm just a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river, barely able to save myself."
Lin Feiran carefully avoided the glare and turned around. Just as she was about to say a few words of comfort, she suddenly smelled that cold fragrance again and couldn't help but swallow hard, like a wolf that had been drooling for a long time and was starving.
She was startled, then immediately raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, her eyes showing confusion.
Ru Xian chuckled softly, "It does smell very good. You won't forget it once you've smelled it. I've changed my mind. Go get me some snow water to wash myself so I can leave with some dignity. In return, you can have a taste of my flesh."
This immortal seems to be in poor health.
Xiao Linfei then took a half step back, turned around and walked to the edge of the cave. He cut off a corner of his clothes with his dagger, scooped up a handful of snow and ran over: "Wipe some off first, but I won't eat your flesh. Just let me stay in the cave and have a place to stay."
Ru Xian's gaze towards her suddenly became subtle: "For the sake of this handful of snow, you can stay through the night."
Xiao Lin Feiran's eyebrows curved slightly. He rubbed his frozen hands and grinned, "What else do you want to do? I can help you with anything. I just need to stay here for seven days. After seven days, my mother will definitely come looking for me and rescue you at the same time. She's very powerful."
Ru Xian looked at her and asked, "Who is your mother?"
Xiao Linfeiran said without changing his expression, "She is a famous doctor in Luoyang. She often treats strange illnesses like yours, where you are covered in bandages. If you kill me now, this illness will become more difficult to treat."
Ru Xian's eyes flickered, and after looking her up and down, she slowly and deliberately said a sentence.
Xiao Lin Fei Ran didn't understand, and subconsciously leaned forward, asking clearly, "'Morach'? What is it? I've never heard of it before. Is it the language of immortals?"
He repeated himself, his tone similar to hers, yet not quite the same. His tone was more varied, slightly softer and more lingering, like the wind rustling through the treetops, full of charm.
"What does that mean?" she asked, looking very curious.
"So, you're a little fraud," Ru Xian said mercilessly. "If your mother were a miracle doctor, why would you use such an unorthodox method as 'cold snow to stop the injury'?"
She called him "Fairy" with great devotion, but there was always a hint of wariness and scrutiny in her eyes. From the moment she rolled into the cave and got up, she had been observing him.
She always kept a scale in her heart, using his words, actions, expressions, and attitudes as weights, constantly adding and subtracting to judge whether he was good or evil.
However, she was indeed momentarily captivated by his appearance; after all, no one can remain unmoved upon first seeing him.
Unexpectedly, she did not deny his words, but looked at him with her clear eyes and boldly asked, "Fairy, are you going to kill me?"
"..."
Seeing that he remained silent, she slowly relaxed her eyebrows and eyes, a slight smile appearing on her face. Suddenly, a few slow creaking sounds came from the cave entrance, the groans of the snow being tightly pressed down.
Xiao Linfei immediately turned around to look, and Ru Xian also slowly focused his mind. Both of them were wondering if pursuers had arrived, but after a while, perhaps because the restriction he had placed was still effective, the people outside the cave passed by and gradually left.
Ru Xian turned her eyes back to look at the cave ceiling, then changed her mind: "You should leave."
Kobayashi asked in confusion, "Didn't you just say we could stay overnight?"
“Now I don’t want to anymore.” He thought to himself that he was truly unpredictable. “If I can’t see the road clearly, I can just gather some of my flesh and blood to light the way, and when I’m hungry, I can swallow them and that will keep me full for a few days.”
But the little girl did not leave or speak. Instead, she squatted down slightly beside the stone platform, looked up, and gently touched the gray ribbons with her fingers.
"My Lady, who hurt you?"
Ru Xian scoffed, glancing at her scars: "You should worry about yourself first."
Xiao Lin Fei Ran was not deterred by the sarcasm. She said seriously, "I care about myself. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived until now after being chased. Even though it was wrong of me to use Cold Snow to stop my injuries, at least the scabs have formed and I'm temporarily fine. It just looks scary. But yours isn't healed yet, and you don't care. You don't care about yourself at all."
Ru Xian glanced at her and said, “The formation I set up can only last until tomorrow at most. You can still leave now. If the formation dissipates and the people who want to kill me arrive, you won’t survive. They are not those stupid cultivators who can’t even catch a six-year-old child.”
Xiao Lin Fei Ran stood up, grasped the talisman on his clothes, and said again, "Why don't we live together? The one who captured me wasn't a stupid cultivator. If I can live, then you can live too."
Seeing her serious expression, Ru Xian couldn't help but chuckle softly, "I may be dying, but I'm not stupid. How can a mere mortal like you, only a few feet tall, possibly fight against so many cultivators?"
He didn't believe it: "What method?"
Ru Xian pondered for a moment, then looked at her again: "What did you say?"
She sat down beside the stone platform and said in a clear voice, "Let me stay here tonight, and I'll tell you tomorrow."
Ru Xian almost laughed in anger, but he had to admit that the pool of water was indeed somewhat useful. If he hadn't been desperate, he wouldn't have lingered there.
To linger on in misery—what an insulting phrase.
Ru Xian's gaze turned cold as he looked at Lin Feiran's crooked bun and realized he had been blinded by greed, actually willing to join forces with a child.
He slowly propped himself up, his brows furrowed slightly, and raised his hand to her: "Give me your hand."
She looked at him, puzzled: "What are you doing?"
Although she didn't understand, she still subconsciously reached out her hand.
"You think that healing my wounds means they're all healed once they scab over?"
"Oh," she murmured in response, relaxing and leaning her small body against the stone platform, letting him do as he pleased. Suddenly, she seemed to understand something, and her eyes lit up. "You'd like to come with me?"
Ru Xian did not answer, but her silence spoke volumes. Then she smiled, her smile bright and cheerful, revealing a missing tooth.
While tending to her wounds, he occasionally glanced at her features. She was exceptionally beautiful, with a lovely, delicate appearance and a lively spirit. It seemed her parents were no ordinary people. However, the combination of peach blossoms and willow leaves was really mismatched, making her appear somewhat vulgar.
"Who's chasing you, a child?" he asked idly.
“It was a Taoist priest with a fierce look on his face and a sword on his back. He led a group of masked men whom I did not recognize. They took the opportunity to kidnap me and take me to the mountains, intending to kill me with one blow, but I blocked their attack with the magic weapon on my body. After that, I escaped under the cover of night.”
She didn't say much, but looking at the scars on her hands, it goes without saying how much suffering she had endured. Even when she rolled down the snow slope without uttering a sound, her temperament was evident.
Ru Xian glanced at her and asked, "What's your name?"
Xiao Linfei remained unfazed: "Everyone in the village calls me a little hero."
"..."
He must be crazy to believe her. If he dies, he'll just throw her out of the cave. This is the grave he chose; he doesn't want to bury another person here.
After her wounds were treated, she suddenly stretched out her right hand, revealing a palm covered in tiny scratches, and said brightly, "We will definitely get out of here!"
Ru Xian glanced at her sideways, then turned her gaze back to the mountain wall. After a moment of silence, she hastily raised her hand and clasped it with hers, her voice clear and crisp.
For the next seven days, he and the little boy would "rely on each other for survival" in the Cangling Mountains.
Cracking sounds echoed all around, and even the serene moonlight in front of the cave entrance was broken into pieces. Lin Feiran's soft calls came from outside the cracks.
Ru Xian's expression changed, as if she had regained her senses, and her gaze was no longer as cold as before.
He uttered a word, and with a raised eyebrow, explained to her questioning gaze, "Little hero."
Her gaze flickered, her eyes widened, and suddenly, layers of cracks appeared all around her. The drifting points of light gradually drew closer to her, and under her watchful gaze, he fell backward, the illusion shattered.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a clear and serene blue sky, and along with the blue sky, Lin Feiran's head appeared in her line of sight.
She seemed somewhat surprised, let out a long sigh of relief, and whispered in his ear, "My lord, you've actually fallen into the trap of the Peach Blossom Fairy."
Ru Xian looked at her, her eyebrows slightly raised: "It wasn't a trap, it was just that I was reminded of the past when we met, and it brought back some memories."
Lin Feiran asked, "What are you feeling sentimental about?"
Ru Xian smiled, and this time she replied frankly: "You saved me and asked me to make a promise, but since you've forgotten, it doesn't count anymore."
A promise?
Lin Feiran had no memory of it and said in surprise, "Impossible. If I really saved you, I would never use this to blackmail you."
Even now, she has no intention of taking advantage of her kindness.
Ru Xian looked at her and said indifferently, "Even heroes have found it hard to resist the charms of a beautiful woman."
The words were ambiguous, leaving Lin Feiran completely confused: "What do you mean?"
Ru Xian turned to look at her, a hint of blue-green gleaming in her dark eyes: "So, how long are you going to hold me like this?"
Lin Feiran immediately let go and stood up, somewhat embarrassed, saying, "It was just to wake you up... They're already awake and inside the thatched hut. Let's go together."
After saying this, she hurried inside, her figure moving extremely fast.
Ru Xian watched from behind, her gaze shifting slightly, and she parted her thin lips to say, "How dazed you are, Lin Feiran."
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