Roi céleste

Chapitre 8

The wind is always strong on the mountain, and the fallen tung blossoms are blown all over the sky, appearing like fleeting shadows under the bright sun, breaking and then reuniting, stirring and then subsiding.

...

I've clearly punished that foul-mouthed brat and upheld the honor of my sect, but why am I having trouble sleeping this night, with two steamed buns I secretly saved from dinner still in my pocket? ...Hmph, how could they be for that brat? They must be for me, the clever and wise one, to keep as a midnight snack!

Overwhelmed by inexplicable anxiety, he rolled around in bed... until Li Yiyao kicked him off the bed.

I stood up, clutching my buttocks without daring to make a sound. Now I was wide awake. I looked down at the two steamed buns in my arms and decided to sneak out of the room.

On Autumn Long Mountain where the disciples live, wispy clouds swirl in the sky, but there is no river in the heavens; a gentle breeze blows and the moon ripples across the water.

I yawned and slowly descended the mountain, then, guided by the bright moonlight, made my way to Luowu Mountain, where the sect leader and elders lived.

Following her memory, she arrived at the place where she had encountered the brat during the day. In the shadowy grass, she could vaguely see a small figure kneeling. Before she even got close, she heard the brat's wary voice: "—Who's there?"

I was hesitant about whether to go over, but since I'd already been discovered, I just walked over casually and plopped down next to him. "Well, that's me."

The brat sneered, his voice laced with malice: "You old hag, you've got plenty of free time, getting up in the middle of the night to check if I'm slacking off." His voice, though strained, betrayed a hint of weakness.

"Tch, I'm not that bored," I snorted, and after a while, I muttered, "I'm just more bored." She reached out with two small paws, holding two steamed buns.

The kid paused for a moment.

"If you're thinking I won't accept anything from this old hag, then you're really a brat. As the saying goes, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. You'll have the strength to get back at me when you're full," I said in a very bossy way.

The kid awkwardly took the steamed bun, then suddenly looked at me and asked, "...Who did you just call a kid?"

"...You're hallucinating. I didn't say anything."

The kid snorted, and after a while said, "You're clearly younger than me, why are you acting all old-fashioned?" He had accepted my help.

He took a bite of the steamed bun, then looked at me expressionlessly: "...It's really awful."

"..." I said angrily, feeling my good intentions had been ruined. "If you smell carefully, you can definitely smell armpit odor. I brought it out by tucking it under my armpit."

Having successfully heard the kid gag, I patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "Just kidding. Only steamed buns are easy to carry. Cold dumplings are even worse than steamed buns. Besides, I wrapped them in paper, so they're very clean."

"...They say the most poisonous heart is a woman's, and they're right."

Haha, thank you for the compliment!

"..."

"...I admit I went a bit too far during the day, but think about it, who wouldn't be furious if their sect was insulted the moment they met? But it's all in the past now, so let's just let it go. People in the martial world should let bygones be bygones, right? Come on, give me a smile."

"..."

"...Then I laughed to myself, hahahahahaha."

"……Thanks."

"Huh? What?"

The kid was silent for a moment, then took another bite of his steamed bun, and after a while said in a very low voice, "Uh... thank you."

"What did you say? Your voice was too soft, I couldn't hear you!"

"...You wretched woman!!!"

I laughed so hard I was doubled over and shaking with laughter amidst the brat's roaring...

...

The night wind blew sleeplessly, stirring up a chorus of cicadas. I simply lay back, using my hand as a pillow. The wind swayed the shadows of flowers scattered on the ground, and the bright moon, high above the boundless mountains, looked down upon us, sleepless.

“Actually, this is also a good opportunity to appreciate the night view. We don’t usually have this kind of leisure,” I said. “It calms the mind a lot, and you can find the good in everything.”

The kid raised his head, paused for a moment, and then said, "I'm not like you, I can't lie down. My neck will get sore if I stay like this for too long."

"This will help you distract yourself from the knee pain."

Under the moonlight, a vein throbbed on the kid's forehead. "So I should thank you?"

“Of course,” I chuckled, then suddenly leaned closer. “Why aren’t any bugs biting us? There are usually the most bugs on summer nights. You seem to have a certain scent on you… Oh, you’re wearing a sachet to repel bugs, aren’t you?”

He shoved my head away from his neck, yelling, "You woman, do you even know what it means for men and women not to touch each other?!"

"What?! We were all intimate during the day, and now you're turning your back on me? I'm so heartbroken!" Young, ignorant, and shameless, I clung to the kid like an octopus...

"Are you going to let go or not?" The brat seemed genuinely angry.

I obediently let go, but still leaned on his obviously not-so-strong shoulder. "People bring you two steamed buns by walking from one mountain to another, and they even twisted their ankles because it was dark, and you won't even let me lean on you."

"Really?" The brat turned around and was about to lift my foot. "Let me see." His tone was even a little urgent.

I was somewhat touched, so I honestly said, "I was lying to you."

I felt that little brat Liu Jin was looking at me expressionlessly.

I flashed him a big smile, though I didn't know if he could see it.

Finally, the little brat turned his head away, his nostrils flaring, "You little girl, you're always lying, and you don't even know shame—" Then, as if remembering something, he turned back, his voice tinged with nervousness, "Hey, woman, you wouldn't... be pregnant, would you?"

I tilted my head back and laughed slyly, continuing my shameless lie: "I asked your father, and he said it's possible."

The kid froze completely.

“Sigh,” I sighed, “I know we have no future. You’ll probably end up like any other unfaithful man, leaving a vulnerable woman behind.”

“How could that be? A man has his own responsibilities,” he suddenly grabbed my hand, his voice hesitant, “If you… if you have my child, I will marry you.”

I almost burst out laughing, it was such a shame I couldn't see the expression on his face.

"Marry me? How old are you? You don't even know my name."

"...When I grow up—"

“…My name is Qing Guyi,” I said suddenly, raising my head.

Moonlit Forest Sea, the sounds of insects are as numerous as falling rain.

...

For a moment, no one spoke. I yawned, leaned back on his shoulder, and said lazily, "Your name is Liu Jin, right? That's a really awful name."

"I don't have such a rustic name as Liu Jin. Father has important business here, and it's not convenient for me to use my real name." He tossed me something, and I examined it for a while in the moonlight. It was a translucent serpentine stone with lines connecting it, resembling a jade pendant. I asked, "What kind of lousy stone is this?"

"...This is Xiuyan jade," the brat said, his voice filled with disdain for the mountain savages. "It's a famous type of jade, with a dense and delicate texture and vibrant colors."

"That must be very valuable, right?"

The brat clearly didn't want to talk to me, a country bumpkin.

He touched it and saw that there were words engraved on it. He then looked at it for a long time in the moonlight. "So it's called 'Flowing Gold'... Isn't this name even more tacky? It's full of the arrogance of a nouveau riche."

"Hmph, when you grow up and become educated, you'll find that it's actually just one word," the brat said smugly.

"Are you implying that you are very cultured?"

"I could read when I was three, and now at eight I've read countless poetry collections and ancient books." The kid's nostrils seemed to flare out to his back...

"You're actually two years older than me, you old man."

"..."

"And they don't even know basic facts like whether I can get pregnant, yet they dare to call themselves cultured."

"..."

"Alright, you're giving me this jade pendant because you want to be like those young heroes in martial arts dramas, leaving a token of love and then saying tenderly, 'Wait for me to come back to find you.'"

The boy with the mysterious name scratched his head awkwardly, "But I'm too young to get married. I'm leaving with my dad tomorrow. I'll definitely come back to marry you when I grow up."

I immediately stuffed the valuable jade pendant into my pocket and said with a smile, "Actually, it doesn't matter if I forget."

"..."

She yawned again, then lay down on Liu Jin's lap, pressing her entire upper body down onto him as he knelt upright. "Meme wants to go back, then go down the mountain and then up again... It's so troublesome... I don't want to walk... I'm sleepy..."

"Hey...you can't sleep here...you'll catch a cold..."

As a naive young girl, I managed to fall asleep on the lap of a stranger, in the bushes where our affair had once taken place...

Ten cups of jade wine

Let's set aside the jade cup of wine for now and drink my own jade cup of wine. The wine is so fragrant, guests want to buy it, but who dares to force their way in through the deep gate?

...

When I woke up the next day, it was already broad daylight. I instinctively sat up, and before I could even rub my sore neck, a childish roar came from beside me: "Are you a pig?! You slept until noon! I should have left an hour ago, and my dad has been waiting for you down the mountain."

"...Then why didn't you wake me up?" I mumbled sleepily.

"You—humph." The brat said no more, just rubbed his leg, his brows furrowed. He must be sore and numb from kneeling there all night with me as his pillow.

Only then did I notice that there was a jacket covering him, and judging from the pattern, it was clearly the one the brat wore yesterday. Looking at him, he was only wearing a single layer of clothing, and his eyes were dark and he looked very listless.

She couldn't help but lean forward and cover his forehead. "Oh my god, aren't you going to catch a cold wearing so little?"

The little brat immediately dodged my hand, a strange blush rising on his cheeks. "How could that be? How could a grown man fall ill as easily as you women?"

Although I really wanted to punch him, I still sincerely said, "Thank you...wait, why is this jacket so wet? Did it rain last night?"

The little brat curiously snatched it and examined it closely. After a while, his face contorted with rage, he threw it at me, yelling, "It's your saliva—you old hag!"

...

I wiped my mouth sheepishly and handed the jacket back to him. "Consider this my token of love for you. We'll recognize each other using these two tokens."

The kid's handsome lips twitched, and the veins on his smooth forehead stood out prominently. He remained silent for a while before pulling over the shirt that was soaked with my saliva.

"...Then I'm leaving." The little brat deliberately adopted a mature tone.

"Wait!" I suddenly stood up and ran towards Qiuchang Mountain. "We must wait!"

About half an hour later, I returned panting, holding a folded piece of stationery. The kid was already impatient. "Go to the toilet, why are you taking so long?"

I shoved the flower-patterned note into his arms. The little brat was taken aback and asked, "What's this?"

I smiled and said, "Here's a love letter for your sweetheart." I leaned in and kissed her on her rosy cheek.

The brat's face instantly turned red to the roots of his neck, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye almost turned vermilion. He subconsciously wiped his face with his hand and then put it down. After a while, he coughed twice, turned around and walked down the mountain.

"...They've left." I heard those words from afar, amidst the faint fragrance of flowers.