Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 5

Kazemune's first warmth and comfort as a ghost came from this frail person, yet she could only watch as he fell ill beside her, and as others ignored him. Kazemune resented the helplessness of being a ghost.

"Don't worry, someone will come to treat you soon. You'll get better, you'll get better. You have to believe me, even if you don't believe me, you have to believe you can live... Why does it take so long to get a doctor? What are the people in the General's Mansion doing? If I were the General, I would have dragged them all out and beheaded. Don't be afraid, you mustn't be afraid! I'm here with you, it's just a pity you can't see or hear me..."

"able."

A soul-like being, just like itself, stood up on the small body.

Zi Jin's main body was still breathing rapidly and had not stopped breathing.

"You...you're not dead yet, how...your soul has left your body?" Feng Yin couldn't accept this bizarre scene.

“I have a Soul Gathering Jade on me, and I knew that from the day you appeared.”

"Then...then aren't you scared?" Fengyin thought to herself that if she saw a ghost following her every day, she would have been scared to death long ago. How could she pretend not to see it and live her life as if she didn't see it?

"What's there to be afraid of? A ghost treats me better than anyone else, so why should I be afraid of you?"

"Then why is your soul separated from your body? You'd better go back quickly! Otherwise your body will die soon."

"I'm not going back. Going back would mean having to come out again, which is too much trouble."

"Huh?! So you'll die?"

"Um."

"What nonsense are you talking about, you little brat? Go back quickly, the doctor will be here soon," Feng Yin said sternly.

Zi Jin stared at Feng Yin with wide, aggrieved eyes and said, "Will you come out and play with me?"

"How can that be?" Feng Yin's voice softened considerably as she looked at Zi Jin's innocent and aggrieved expression. This was the first time she had seen little Zi Jin show a human expression.

"I'll be fine as long as I'm out for no more than three hours. I have the Soul Gathering Jade and the Steel Wood Hairpin on me, this little illness won't bother me."

"But……"

"Sister, look, even though my soul has left my body, my physical body is still perfectly fine, isn't it?"

"Too……"

"Then let's go quickly." Zi Jin grabbed Feng Yin and floated away without looking back.

Fengyin led Zijin out of the General's Mansion and drifted through the bustling city, watching the twelve-year-old child exclaim in surprise at ordinary clay figurines, kites, and candied hawthorns. The gleam in her eyes and the joy on her face were something Fengyin had never seen before, and the deathly aura around her had completely vanished.

Feng Yin thought to herself: Actually, Zi Jin isn't that bad-looking. Her eyes, which are as bright and shimmering as glass, do resemble Zi Yingfeng's somewhat.

After leaving the bustling city, Fengyin took Zijin to a waterfall they had discovered by chance. Looking at the green mountains and flowing water, Fengyin felt refreshed and relaxed.

They sat together on the water's surface, watching the fish and shrimp below.

"Sister, that's so nice." Zi Jin smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she tilted her head to look at Feng Yin.

In Fengyin's eyes now, Zijin is cute and pretty, and she has long forgotten her previous dissatisfaction with her appearance: "You can see your sister now, and your sister will be with you every day from now on."

"Sister, Jin'er has been waiting for you for a long time, do you know that?" Xiao Zijin murmured.

Feng Yin couldn't hear what Zi Jin was saying, but asked curiously, "What is the Soul Gathering Jade for?"

"The Soul-Gathering Jade allows people to see hidden souls."

"Then you saw me all along, so why did you never speak to me? Or are you truly mute?"

"No... I just didn't have anything in particular to say."

"Huh!?" What kind of experiences would a little child have to go through to not utter a single word for years?

Zi Jin stood up, turned around to look at the scenery around her, and said, "That's enough, let's go back." After saying that, she stretched out her semi-transparent little hand and took Feng Yin's hand.

They drifted across the river toward the General's Mansion.

Before entering the general's mansion, Zi Jin turned around to look at the bustling street and Feng Yin beside her, then lowered her head and went in without hesitation, as if going to her death.

Before Feng Yin and Zi Jin even entered the room, they heard Zi Yinfeng's fierce voice, which had remained expressionless throughout: "Quickly summon the imperial physician! If anything happens to her, you will all be executed!"

Feng Yin's jaw nearly dropped when she heard this, then she was overjoyed: "Jin'er, your father still loves you, doesn't he?"

Zi Jin watched this scene coldly, her emotions showing little fluctuation.

"General! The Third Miss really only started having a fever this morning. You must believe this old servant!"

"What kind of 'Third Miss' is this from the General's Mansion! Drag these two scoundrels who can't even tell the difference between a young lady and a young master out and beat them to death with sticks!" Zi Yingfeng shouted sternly.

Feng Yin glanced at Zi Yingfeng, then at Xiao Zijin, and belatedly realized that Xiao Zijin usually dressed as a man, though as a ghost she could see through people's true nature. Zijin was clearly a girl, so why was she being called a young master? And why was she trying to silence the servants who had cared for Zijin for so many years?

Zi Jin raised her head, her deep black eyes shining brightly, and she stared at Feng Yin for a long time.

Kazane was dazzled by those eyes, which were like obsidian glowing in the dead of night.

Zi Jin pulled Feng Yin to the bedside and looked at her own body, saying, "Sister, will you take care of Zi Jin from now on?"

"good."

"Sister, would you like to help Zi Jin take care of Father from now on?"

"good"

"I'll have to trouble you, sister."

"Huh?! Okay..."