Chapter 18 What do you think, Junior Brother?
After spitting out that mouthful of blood.
The scenery before my eyes suddenly dimmed.
Darkness spread, gradually engulfing vision like greedy ants.
Only the exquisite bloodstains, scattered like plum blossom petals, emitted a faint, dark red glow in the unfathomable darkness.
The wind whistled past my ears, still cold and chilly, but no longer as sharp as a steel knife as before.
Instead, it brought a sense of clarity as it brushed against my eyes.
I couldn't help but close my eyes, and when I opened them again, the blinding whiteness that had previously stung my eyes had disappeared.
Instead, the scenery in the courtyard is replaced by pavilions, terraces, and waterside pavilions.
The scene here is reminiscent of winter, with a thin layer of snow covering the grass, shimmering water, and pebbles piled up on the shore. Clumps of evergreen leaves reach out towards the water, swaying gently in the wind.
It wasn't particularly lively, but it didn't feel deserted or desolate either.
I stood in the courtyard, feeling somewhat lost and bewildered.
I still remember that just a moment ago, I was dragging my broken body, struggling to climb the steep, snow-covered stone steps. I barely managed to turn back to hold the lost item in my arms, but then, overwhelmed by a sudden surge of emotions, I uncontrollably vomited blood on the spot.
He was about to collapse on the long steps due to exhaustion.
Although I didn't see what happened next, those steep steps, that biting cold weather, and the complete absence of anyone around me, dragging my weak and badly injured body, meant that if I closed my eyes now, I would probably never wake up again.
How could I have ended up in such a place in the blink of an eye?
Not only that, but all the pain that clung to his limbs and bones also disappeared.
Where is this...?
Why did I, or rather, the me in my dream, return to such a place?
In particular, everything in front of me seemed to have a strange sense of familiarity. Even though I had never seen it before, it felt like I was revisiting a familiar place, as if I had been through another world.
The wind rustled, carrying the soft sound of leaves shaking, and there seemed to be a rustling sound of metal cutting through the air mixed in with the wind.
I was still wondering where the sound was coming from.
In my dream, I had already taken the first step and walked over.
Passing through the courtyard wall, we turned into a more open space, where several plum trees were planted along the wall.
Even before you get close, you can smell the cool fragrance in the air.
At this moment, beneath the tallest and most vibrant flowering tree, a figure was practicing swordsmanship.
That rustling sound came from there.
The boy was tall and slender, with a straight and agile posture. He wielded a dark longsword with abandon in his palm, as if it were coming alive.
I didn't make a sound to disturb them, but just quietly watched from the doorway.
Watching the young man's graceful movements, just like a fluttering black butterfly surrounded by slowly blooming red plum blossoms, it was so beautiful that it was almost impossible to look away.
After watching for an unknown amount of time, the young man swung his sword into the void for the last time, and a red plum blossom fell gently, landing precisely on the tip of the raised sword.
The boy stared at the red plum blossom for a moment, blinked his dark eyes, and suddenly turned to me with a familiar smile.
"Junior brother, you've arrived."
Junior brother... are you calling me?
Before I could think any further, I had already slowly walked over in my dream.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the boy they had assumed was not actually a boy, but rather a tall and elegant woman.
The woman had fair skin, which was further accentuated by her all-black attire. Furthermore, her eyes and the long hair tied back were as black as ink.
If it weren't for her naturally red lips, one might easily suspect that this woman was no ordinary person, but rather a spirit transformed from a traditional Chinese ink painting.
Why not compare it to a fairy in a painting?
Because the fairies in the strange tales passed down by word of mouth would neither wear such a somber color nor possess such a stern temperament.
This person is mine—
"Senior sister."
A soft call came out naturally.
My gaze met the woman's increasingly gentle smile, and my previously calm emotions suddenly became somewhat chaotic.
"What are you thinking about? You're turning your eyes away from me without saying a word. Are you so afraid to look at me that you think your senior sister is too ugly to meet your junior brother's standards?"
The woman's voice came, low and slightly reproachful, as if feigning anger.
The smile on her face showed no trace of girlish shyness, but rather seemed like a casual joke.
I felt embarrassed and stammered, "How could that be... Senior Sister is joking. Senior Sister's beauty is unparalleled, pure and otherworldly. This is not only true for our sect, but also for other sects that are close to us. They have many admirers."
"Oh?" The woman seemed somewhat surprised upon hearing this, her bright black eyes widening slightly as she suddenly moved closer to me.
I was startled, but I didn't immediately move away.
Instead, she let the cool fragrance gently brush against her face, and her hands, which were tucked into her sleeves, clenched slightly.
"I see--"
The woman pondered for a moment, then suddenly her dark eyes curved upwards, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips: "I never knew that my junior brother cared about me so much. I didn't even know that I had any admirers elsewhere, but my junior brother seems to know it all too well."
"I... I just happened to be passing by and overheard some disciples talking about this. Never mind."
I lowered my eyes and answered as calmly as possible, seemingly afraid that the woman would see through my ulterior motives.
But where he couldn't see, the tips of his ears were already faintly burning.
"I happened to be passing by and overheard it."
The woman shook her head slightly, repeating my words slowly and deliberately, like an eager student repeating the teachings of a master.
She even deliberately drew out her tone, the rising ending sound like a small hook, gently brushing past my ear.
"But he didn't forget me easily. It's clear that my junior brother still cares about me, his senior sister, quite a bit, doesn't he?"
After saying that, the woman looked at me steadily, and although it was a question, there was no doubt in her eyes.
She looked at me, but I didn't dare to look up at her; I just pursed my lips tightly.
After a moment, he answered in a proper tone, "My senior sister and I are from the same school and grew up together, so naturally we have a deep friendship. Besides—"
I paused, then lowered my eyes slightly: "Moreover, if my senior sister hadn't found me in my swaddling clothes and asked Master to take me back to raise me, I probably wouldn't exist today. So in my heart, my senior sister is not only my senior sister, but also my closest relative and benefactor."
The woman laughed softly: "Closest relatives and benefactors, that sounds quite intimidating. But I've heard that a life-saving favor is repaid with one's body..."
As he spoke, he raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at me with a smile: "Junior brother, what do you think?"
I……
I have nothing to say.
The slight heat at the tips of her ears had already rushed up to her cheeks.
I felt a little flustered, a little lost, and a mix of indescribable tension and anticipation... I was afraid that the other person would see the turmoil in my heart, but then I suddenly remembered that I am not one to easily show my emotions on my face, so even though my cheeks were burning hot, it was not really noticeable to the naked eye.
Sure enough, the woman looked at me closely for a while, then gradually suppressed her smile and instead showed a somewhat helpless expression.
"She was so cute when she was little. Sigh, such a delicate and sweet little dumpling, how did she grow into such a rigid and taciturn person? Back then, when she was chasing after me for snacks, she called me 'Senior Sister Yingxue' so affectionately, saying she liked me and that she wanted to become my Daoist partner when we grew up..."
"Senior Sister!"
Upon hearing this, I finally couldn't help but interrupt her. I looked up and met the woman's ambiguous smile, and paused again.
"Junior brother, so you're finally looking at me properly?"
The woman spoke softly, her words seemingly laced with genuine emotion amidst her joke: "I thought you were going to pretend to be a quail in front of me for the rest of your life."
At this point, she paused suddenly, a serious look appearing in her eyes, and then solemnly called out, "Yu Qingzhou."
I was suddenly taken aback.
The moment I heard that name, I felt as if my heart had been gently struck.
At the same time, a strange feeling arose in my heart.
It's as if... as if all of this happened a long time ago.
This is not who I am now; I am now in—
Is there something wrong?
The woman seemed puzzled by the expression on my face, and perhaps a little worried. She looked into my eyes with concern and asked, "You just suddenly heard your own name called, why are you sweating so much?"
As the woman spoke, she reached out and cupped my face. I thought she just wanted to check the temperature of my face, so I lowered my head slightly in response.
Unexpectedly, she pulled me closer to herself and then pressed her forehead against mine.
Feeling the touch and warmth that clearly belonged to another person, I was so shocked that I froze on the spot.
His already high body temperature rose several degrees even higher.
Something slipped from my loosened hand and fell to the ground with a soft thud. The sound, mixed with the deafening pounding of my heart, seemed utterly insignificant.
"I knew it! Junior brother was just quiet before, but today he seemed even more dazed. Turns out he had a fever, and with the fever, his mind became muddled. He didn't even take his medicine and rest properly, making me think..."
As for what exactly they thought...
The woman didn't continue speaking, but somehow seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
She noticed the thing on the ground and picked it up before I could, but didn't return it to me immediately. Instead, she held it in her hand, examining it, looking at me and then at the thing, as if puzzled.
It was a red hair ribbon.
This time, I finally spoke before the woman could ask her question.
"This is a birthday gift for my senior sister. I don't know what color would look best; she probably prefers black. But Master said red... is more festive and suitable for girls, so..."
“So you can rest assured, junior brother, I really like this gift.” The woman smiled and took over the conversation, looking at me earnestly. “I should say that I like anything that you give me, junior brother. Of course, it would be even better if you gave yourself to me.”
"..."
"Hahaha, just kidding."
The woman patted my shoulder and gently instructed me in a soft voice, "Alright, the things have been delivered. Junior brother, you should go back and get some rest. I don't want my junior brother to really become a fool from the fever."
I had already turned to leave, but upon hearing these words, I involuntarily paused.
I turned around and stared intently at the woman in the courtyard. I saw that she was also standing under the flowering tree looking at me, her gaze calm and distant. When she saw me turn around, she was first a little surprised, then smiled and raised her hand to wave gently at me.
A gentle breeze blew, causing a few plum blossoms to flutter down from the branches.
It landed on the woman's black robe.
The falling object was the same red as the hairband that the woman was wearing at the back of her head.
...But I clearly just handed the hairband to her, so when did the woman tie it in her hair?
Seeing that I remained silent, neither approaching nor leaving, the woman asked me if I had forgotten something with her.
Seeing her concerned face, I subconsciously smiled, but felt inexplicably sad.
I said, "Yes, I really forgot."
She then asked me, "What did my junior brother forget?"
I sniffed and said, "If one day I really become a fool or an idiot as my senior sister said, will she still treat me the same way she does now?"
Upon hearing this, the woman gave him a look that said, "I really can't do anything about you."
"It's all the same. No matter what my junior brother becomes, he'll be the same to me."
The woman's sighing voice rang out, every word, every pause, even the most subtle movements and expressions, were exactly the same as in the past... every time she recalled it.
Countless memories always end here, but actually, after the woman gave her answer, she asked me a similar question.
She said, "If I am no longer myself, no longer Master's disciple, your senior sister, or even if I can no longer be called a person... when that time comes, junior brother, will you still look at me like this and give me birthday gifts every year?"
I couldn't answer for a moment because I simply couldn't understand what the woman meant by "she is no longer herself."
The woman clearly noticed my confusion.
"Look how troubled you are," she said, waving me away before I could ask any further questions.
As she was leaving, I could almost hear her muttering something under her breath, something like, "Whatever, they'll find out eventually anyway."
I didn't understand at the time, I didn't understand the meaning behind her words, and gradually I forgot about it.
—By the time you understand the true meaning, it's too late to turn back.
So in the end, I still couldn't give a satisfactory answer to the other party, not even enough to deceive myself.
I lowered my gaze to my chest, where the black longsword was the same one the woman had held earlier. It was damp, speckled with white snowflakes. I raised my elbow and wiped the sword at its joints.
When I looked up again, the courtyard and the woman smiling and waving at me from inside the courtyard wall had vanished.
Only the red plum blossoms, silently drifting in the darkness, fall one after another like crimson butterflies.
When it landed at my feet, I realized that it wasn't a red butterfly at all; it had always been just a black butterfly stained with blood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
