Quand l'amour approche, c'est comme la neige

Chapitre 12

Before long, a beautiful and virtuous ancient woman appeared on the brush. Cheng Dieyi put down the brush with satisfaction, admired it for a while, and smiled, "Take it! But you can only see it. If your master in green sees it, I won't allow it."

Xinghun nodded. His eyes darted around, and he said, "Would Xinghun compose a poem for you, sir?"

Cheng Dieyi thought of the line "To die beneath the peony blossoms," and since he had never seen him write a poem before, he became very interested.

Xinghun thought for a moment and then recited: "A beauty rolls up the beaded curtain, sits deep inside with furrowed brows. Only tear stains are seen, but who knows whom she hates in her heart."

Cheng Dieyi was stunned, muttered it several times, and a trace of sorrow flashed in her beautiful eyes.

"Is it alright, sir?" Xinghun looked at her expectantly.

"Alright," the beautiful gentleman finally replied with a long sigh after a long silence.

"Sir, why not inscribe it on the painting?" Xinghun urged. He recalled how Fang Shiyu's father had tricked Fang Shiyu's mother, and thought to himself, there are too many regrets in this life. Only by doing something I didn't do in my previous life can I find some peace of mind.

Cheng Dieyi casually inscribed a note on the painting.

Xinghun quickly clapped again: "Great painting and calligraphy! Thank you so much, sir."

"Little Star, that's enough for today. I'm tired. You can go home now." Cheng Dieyi seemed to have been touched by something and wanted to be alone.

Having achieved his goal, Xinghun took his leave, holding the painting, and ran back to the stone chamber as fast as he could.

The man in blue was wondering why he had finished school so early when Xinghun embellished the story and then solemnly handed the painting to his master in blue: "The beauty said you mustn't see it. But with women, once they say no, they mean yes. Master, don't let the beauty down!"

The man in blue was stunned for a moment before stammering, "Dieyi has always been arrogant and haughty..."

Xinghun smiled even more sweetly: "Master, you'll understand once you see this painting. The beautiful lady must be lonely living alone in the valley. If she had no intention of being nice to me, why would she be so kind to me? This is called 'love the crow so much that you'll love the house.' By the way, you know the beautiful lady's temper, so you mustn't ask her, or she'll definitely get angry. Also, since the beautiful lady gave me this painting, I gave her the jade hairpin, saying... it's a token of your affection, Master."

The man in blue was shocked: "This...how could this be my heartfelt wish?"

Xinghun rolled her eyes at him in the darkness, her tone tinged with fear: "Master didn't mean that? What should I do? I'll go to Mr. Beauty and tell him it wasn't Master's intention. I was thinking that Mr. Beauty is even more anxious for Xinghun to finish school than I am... Sigh, what should I do? What if Mr. Beauty misunderstands and thinks I'm wearing that hairpin all the time... Master, please don't expose me! Mr. Beauty will punish me!"

"Nonsense! You should go out and practice your skills." The man in blue scolded him with a stern face.

Xinghun readily agreed and scurried out of the stone chamber like a rabbit, bursting into laughter. He imagined his master in blue robes eagerly getting rid of him to admire the painting and poem, clearly smug. He wouldn't be able to stay in the valley much longer; practicing martial arts was boring, and imitating that poor boy in purple was even more so. Three months had passed, and he hadn't managed to exchange a single word with the boy alone, which was truly frustrating for Xinghun.

Xinghun had wondered about the boy's identity more than once, and he also longed to spend some time with him. He had a wealth of stories to tell him. The people of the valley would tell him what they wanted him to do, but Xinghun wanted to get closer to the truth through other channels.

The current situation is like having a dish placed in front of him, only to tell him how delicious it is, but not letting him touch it. A picture drawn in the mind can never compare to the pleasure of eating it. He hates this kind of thing that kills his brain cells. He even hates the blue-robed master and the handsome gentleman who know the truth but won't tell him. As a result, he decides to play matchmaker and make fun of the two of them.

Two days later, when the teacher in green came to pick up Xinghun from school, his eyes couldn't help but glance at the beautiful teacher's hair. Xinghun solemnly bid farewell to the beautiful teacher, but his eyes slyly caught what he wanted to see. The teacher in green's gaze passed through the white jade hairpin and looked into the depths of the bamboo forest. The beautiful teacher lowered his head slightly and adjusted the shawl on his arm.

That night, Xinghun discovered that Master Qingyi had quietly left the stone chamber alone.

After waiting a while, he chuckled mischievously and left the stone chamber, slowly making his way towards the handsome gentleman's bamboo house. From afar, he heard the sound of a flute playing outside the house. Xinghun returned to his stone chamber to sleep, satisfied, shaking his head and sighing. "Master Qingyi's flute playing is so awful, yet he dares to show it off! The power of love is truly great!"

Just as he was about to press on, his good mood was ruined. The blue-robed master said that the divine healer in the valley had returned and was interested in his face, wanting to give him some beauty treatments.

Meeting old friends

The man in blue led Xinghun slowly into the valley. Returning to the place where he had fought alongside 99 and the others, Xinghun felt a pang of emotion.

It was the same road. When they came down the mountain, Xinghun could hardly believe his eyes.

There used to be ten buildings here, including the small building where Li Yannian lived, but now, they're all gone.

The valley was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, lush forests, and a winding stream. It was as if those ten blood-stained wooden buildings had never existed, as if Li Yannian had never been there, and the story of a thousand children stabbing each other was just a fabrication.

"Master?" Xinghun clicked his tongue in amazement. In just two years, he has become like this?

The man in blue smiled and said, "I don't know either. After you started learning from me, this place became like this."

Xinghun fell silent. It seemed that the fifteen children who had left the building had all found a use, and the valley no longer needed to select people as before.

A thatched house stood by the stream. Medicinal herbs grew all around. The man in blue stopped in his tracks: "I'll come pick you up later. Don't wander off; this place is different from the mountains."

There was a hint of worry in his voice. Xinghun felt increasingly uneasy about what was happening in the valley.

This was the first time Master Qingyi had reminded him not to wander off. Given Master Qingyi's taciturn nature and insistence on order, he would never do anything against the rules. Xinghun silently followed the path, secretly wondering what he would encounter.

The path beneath his feet was paved with blue bricks, about 1.5 feet long and 3 inches wide. Xinghun consciously avoided stepping onto the grass. Who knew if poisonous weeds grew around his place of return?

As he walked outside the thatched house, he shouted, "Master who brings back the soul!"

A child emerged in response, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, wearing a white robe, and looked extremely familiar.

Xinghun pointed at him, his finger trembling for a long time, then he leaped forward with a light touch of his toe: "99!"

99 gently stepped aside, her brows furrowed: "Why have you become like this?"

Xinghun was overjoyed and wasn't about to let him get away. His lightness skill was clearly better than 99's, and with a few leaps, he caught up with 99: "I missed you so much!"

The words had barely left his lips when his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

99 smugly twisted his face and said with a smile, "So what if you have amazing lightness skills? You dare to be so presumptuous here?!"

"Moon Soul!" The Return of Soul appeared at just the right moment.

99 quickly wiped Xinghun's nose with something, then pulled him up. He respectfully called out, "Master!"

Xinghun's power returned, and before he could even feel regret for being so easily overwhelmed by the medicine, he was stunned by this news. He pointed at 99 and asked, "You call him master? You've been learning medicine from him all this time?"

"Star Soul, come in with me. Moon Soul, go and take a look at the herb garden!"

Xinghun watched as the once arrogant 99 left with his head bowed. Two years had passed, and both had changed. He had become more outgoing, while Yuepo had become more composed and reserved.

"Master of the Soul Returning Path, I heard you're interested in my face?"