Chapter 28

The Law-Abiding Cherry

I carefully looked up at him, “Master?”

I saw him looking down at me condescendingly, and said disdainfully, “Do you think I need you to accompany me when I take a wife?”

The atmosphere was wrong. I immediately changed my tune, “No, no, of course not. Master is wise and powerful, no matter what you do, we as juniors can only cheer on the sidelines, how dare we presume to ‘accompany’ you.”

“Since that’s the case, go back and punish yourself.”

Being punished by Master was a common occurrence for me, and now I had learned not to ask why. I just said, “Okay.” Pausing for a moment, I still couldn’t help but say, “But Master, I really want a stepmother...”

After saying that, I looked at him, he looked at me, and I said with grievance, “I know, disciple deserves to die, I’ll copy twice as much.”

Copy, and copy again. And he wouldn’t let me ask my brother to copy for me. Is copying books more important, or is attending classes more important? Since Master didn’t worry about me copying books and bringing shame to him, I might as well skip class. This time, the book I was copying was even more boring, it was the “Eastern Sea Miscellany.”

At noon the next day, on Bai Di Mountain, I flipped through the records of aquatic products, spirit stones, and immortal trees, yawned, and slowly drew some scribbles on the paper. Not far away, my uncle was teaching them to split rocks with immortal arts on the mountaintop, and they were all practicing very energetically.

Since it didn’t involve me, and I couldn’t finish copying anyway, I might as well be lazy. I propped my chin up and thought about Master’s icy face last night, although it was frightening, it was quite handsome. Why wouldn’t such a good Master want to marry a wife?

Although everyone feared and respected him, I knew that if he really nodded, there would probably be girls lining up to marry him from the Azure Dragon Heaven all the way to the Vermilion Bird Heaven. Thinking of this, I was suddenly inspired, picked up Yin Ze’s writing brush, and quickly wrote a poem on the paper.

As soon as I wrote the first two lines, the image of Master in my memory became clearer. His every frown and smile, every word and action, even the way he held his chopsticks high, flashed through my mind. Gradually, I began to understand. Master didn’t want to marry a wife because he was so lofty and noble that no immortal, no matter how divine, could match him.

So, I continued writing the last line, added a drop of ink, and finished it perfectly.

At that moment, someone called out from ahead, “Sister Luo Wei, what are you doing?”

It was my senior sisters who were resting. I stroked my chin and proudly handed her the paper. On the paper was written:

Strange beast, water smoke like a painting, the bustling capital for thousands of years.

Gazing far at the solitary peak and the brocade building, my Master is like a celestial family.

If you ask where the gods have gone, they are untraceable and do not enter the mortal eye.

In my nightly dreams, I see a fluttering robe of blue, and my heart ripples like smoke.

After reading the poem, my senior sister burst out laughing, “Junior sister, you’re so quirky. This poem is so fitting, Master is indeed so lofty and unattainable.”

I raised my eyebrows, “Master is a beauty.”

My senior sister said, “Oh my god, this poem is so funny. I haven’t seen Master in person yet, but I can’t wait to see his true appearance.”

In the past, if I asked Master a question, and he thought I was asking too many questions, and punished me for it, I would have held a grudge. But thinking back to the conversation the night before, I didn’t feel angry at all, instead, I found Master’s coldness a little cute.

The more I thought about it, the more my heart felt like it was filled with sugar. I smiled and said, “Do you know, yesterday I told Master that I wanted to find a stepmother for him, and Master actually disagreed and scolded me. It was so boring.”

My senior sister said, “Ah, Junior Sister, you’re really a newborn calf, how dare you make such a request to the Divine Lord.”

I said, “So I was punished again, that’s why I’m copying this.”

My senior sister asked, “Why won’t he marry a wife?”

“I don’t know, Master is mysterious and unpredictable, and as his disciple, I dare not speculate.” I pouted, but the corners of my mouth were slightly twitching.

I was such a strange person.

Although I was the one who asked Master to marry a wife, after being rejected, I was inexplicably happy for a day.

“No matter what, this poem is written so beautifully.”

After saying that, my senior sister and the other senior sisters read it again and laughed. Unfortunately, their laughter was too loud and attracted the attention of many disciples. Before I could stop them, the poem spread among them. Then, as expected, the blame came one after another.

The paper with the poem written on it was passed around among my fellow disciples, and finally returned to me by my uncle. I took the paper, and he tapped the title, “My Beautiful Master?”

“I hesitated for a long time before giving up on “My Divine Master”...”

“Luo Wei, you’re getting more and more disrespectful!” My uncle, who had been with Master for many years, was so imposing when he was angry that even the surrounding disciples took a few steps back.

I felt guilty, “I’m sorry, Uncle.”

“If it were just the first three lines, I would say it’s a good poem.” My uncle looked at me sternly, holding the paper, “But you had to add this strange title and this last line. Luo Wei!”

“Yes...” I trembled.

My uncle said sternly, “You’re being disrespectful to your superior, fantasizing about your Master. I must show this to the Divine Lord.”

Hearing this, all the disciples, especially those who had seen Yin Ze, gasped. I knew my uncle was a determined person, so I didn’t try to stop him.

He floated away with the paper, and everyone else also left reluctantly, only my senior sister, who still had a bit of sisterly affection left, came over and patted my shoulder, “Actually, I think Uncle is tasteless, the last line is the highlight.”

I followed like a condemned prisoner to the execution ground, and waited until nightfall. Finally, someone came to inform me that Divine Lord Yin Ze was waiting for me in his residence and asked me to go back early. With a heart full of dread, I returned to Cangying Mansion.

In the Caiyue Pavilion, there was a pot of fragrant tea and a fresh peach on the table. When I went in, Yin Ze was sitting at the round rosewood table, drinking tea and reading a poem - yes, it was the one I wrote. The more calm and composed he seemed, the more nervous I became. I saw him shake the paper, glanced at the poem, and said coldly, “Luo Wei.”

He called my name directly again, it seemed like I was going to die hundreds of times today. I pulled a long face, glared at him, walked over to him, and knelt down directly, “Master, I was wrong. Beat me or scold me, whatever you want.”

But he didn’t even look at me, he just said indifferently, “Do you think you’re still a child?”

I shook my head desperately, like a rattle. Yin Ze said, “Do you think that when you do these things, others will easily forgive you?”

I still shook my head desperately. He said, “Let’s not talk about this poem. I heard from your uncle that you were also spreading among the disciples that I don’t want to marry a wife?”

My hands were cold from fear, and I immediately kowtowed three times on the ground, almost bursting into tears, “Master, I’m sorry! Your disciple is foolish! My uncle is right, it is my disciple who is being disrespectful and arrogant, please punish your disciple severely!”

For a long time, there was only silence above. I could only hear the sound of the tea lid opening and Yin Ze gently stirring the tea. The tea brewed with early spring rainwater was always his favorite. Finally, he slowly said, “I don’t understand why you wrote this poem. How did you come up with the last line.”

I was stunned and confused, “I just wrote it like that...”

“Have you had similar dreams?”

“How could I not dream about it when I see Master every day?”

He was silent for a long time, then suddenly stood up, facing the window, and pushed it open.

At this moment, the night was deep, the moon was cold and lonely, and a red apricot branch reached into the window. He said, “Forget it, go out.”

I was stunned for a while and said, “This... Aren’t you going to punish your disciple?”

Yin Ze said, “You don’t need to copy anything anymore. You won’t do it seriously anyway, and you’ll just make more jokes. I’ll let you off this time, don’t do it again.”

“No wonder I wasn’t imagining things. Master has really become so gentle recently.” Overjoyed, I jumped up, “Thank you, Master!” Then, on impulse, I rushed towards him as I used to, so excited I almost jumped up. However, when he turned his head, I realized that I had grown taller and was now at his shoulder level. I no longer had to look up at him like a child looking at an adult.

The distance between us suddenly shortened. Just as a spring breeze blew by, scattered red petals fell on the round table, and on our hair and shoulders. Coincidentally, under this vast expanse of blue sky, the room was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

He glanced at me indifferently, the water-like markings under his eyes like winding flower branches, supporting this world-defyingly handsome face, creating a divine elegance that surpassed the heavens.

Gazed at by him like that, I involuntarily lowered my head, not knowing where to look, and murmured softly, “Thank you... thank you, Master. Master is so kind to me.”

On the way back, I felt as light as a swallow, leaning against a pillar in a daze. What kind of mood was this? What kind of feeling was it? I couldn’t find an answer.

I only hoped every night would be like tonight. My mood was so good.

The Law-Abiding Cherry Orchard sounded like a place full of Zen, but in reality, it had nothing to do with Zen at all. Because the real meaning of these four words was in the last two characters: Cherry Orchard, or “姻缘” (yin yuan), meaning “matchmaking”.

This place had already become a famous attraction in Tian Shi City, a place where people could meet their future husband or wife. And the way to meet was quite strange - by “picking up” a corpse. Every morning and evening in the Law-Abiding Cherry Orchard, there would be a group of young immortals who had nothing better to do, lying on the grass or under the cherry blossoms and pretending to be asleep.

If someone passing by saw a “corpse” they liked, they would “pick them up,” and the first step of their relationship would be taken. This place was also the place Rou Li had always wanted to visit. After making a fuss for several days, she finally got her wish and dragged all of us to the Law-Abiding Cherry Orchard.

That afternoon, the blue sky was like a vast ocean, the cherry trees were like pink clouds, and the endless plains were like spring mountains, full of infatuated people, extending even beyond the spring mountains - yes, girls were a little more reserved, so ninety-five percent of the “corpses” lying there were men.

I really couldn’t understand why these people had mud in their brains. You have such a beautiful cherry blossom plain, a wonderful place to enjoy the spring and drink wine, but you had to turn it into a morgue. Of course, there were also many strong-minded people who could ignore these “corpses” on the ground and gather together in groups, wearing flowers and enjoying the scenery, having gatherings under the trees or in the air.

Those fairies flying in the air were so beautiful, especially the girls wearing pink skirts, their skirts fluttering like clouds, falling like flowers with the wind, flitting through the forest, making it difficult to tell whether they were fairies, clouds, or flowers.

Rou Li was also a strange person. Seeing so many “corpses”, she jumped around like a bird, clapping her hands and saying, “Third Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, have you ever been to the Law-Abiding Cherry Orchard before?”

Fu Chenzi said, “I’ve only passed by.”

Rou Li said, “So this is the first time you’ve accompanied someone here?”

Fu Chenzi thought for a moment and nodded, “I guess so.”

Rou Li was even happier, pointing to a cherry tree and saying, “I’ll be taking a nap under that tree later. Remember to come find me.”

Since I had taught her a lesson last time, she hadn’t done anything too excessive except for nagging me a bit after I wrote “My Beautiful Master”. So, since she had a little interest in my brother, I decided not to interfere.

Seeing that Fu Chenzi’s attitude towards her was not bad, I thought to myself, maybe these two will really “pick up a corpse” and settle down today? I glanced at Rou Li and sighed. I was happy to have a sister-in-law, but could she be someone else? ... Forget it, a gentleman should help others.

I took the other disciples and sneaked to other trees to drink tea and eat snacks, enjoying life. But not long after, I couldn’t sit still and got up to wander around. Unexpectedly, as I passed by a “corpse”, I heard him moaning in pain, clutching his chest. Looking closer, I realized that it was a fellow disciple who we had talked to a few times.

I approached him and bent down to ask, “Junior Brother, are you alright?”

The handsome young man’s face was covered in cold sweat. He looked up at me and said, “Sister Luo Wei, I’ve got a stomachache... I feel like my heart is being stabbed, it hurts so much...”

It was strange, why would a stomachache make his heart ache? But I didn’t think too much about it, I just said, “How could this happen? Can you get up? I’ll take you to see a doctor...”

“I... I can’t get up.” The junior brother reached out to me tremblingly, “Sister, save me...”

I quickly took his hand and with great effort helped him up. At this moment, the disciples behind us started clapping and cheering. I turned around and saw them throwing their coats, using spells to shake cherry blossoms all over the ground, and excitedly shouting, “Together! Together! Together!”

What? What does that mean?

I turned back to the junior brother, and the painful expression on his face had disappeared. The arm he had put on my shoulder was now retracted.

He smiled apologetically at me and took out a few cherry blossoms from somewhere, handing them to me, “Sister Luo Wei, I’ve admired you for a long time. Seeing your figure every day is enough to make my heart ache, I can’t sleep or eat. I hope Sister can accept my feelings...”

I admit, I was shocked. I looked at him, then at the flowers, and the only opening line I could think of was, “Didn’t Senior Uncle say that before adulthood or graduation, Cangying Sect disciples are not allowed to fall in love or make private commitments?”

The junior brother panicked, “I just want Sister to know my feelings, I don’t mean anything else. If Sister is willing, I don’t mind waiting...”

With the overwhelming shouts of “Together” behind me, I couldn’t concentrate. But this kid was probably younger than me, and I didn’t want to hurt him. Taking the few cherry blossoms, I was thinking about how to refuse him when a tall figure blocked us, “Junior Brother, if you really can wait, it’s better to keep your feelings in your heart. What you’re doing is hurting Weiwei.”

The junior brother was startled, “Senior Brother Tian Heng...”

That’s right, the most annoying thing about having a brother was this. When his sister was being courted, he had to butt in and even prevent her from enjoying the sweet feeling. Of course, his actions not only angered me but also the other disciples.

A group of them crowded around, pulling me and my junior brother to one side.

“Senior Brother Tian Heng, you can be protective another time, but don’t spoil the fun today.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Today is our junior brother’s confession day, the main characters are the two of you. Come on, everyone, let’s get moving!”

What were these people thinking? It was as if they had all planned this together. I subconsciously glanced at Rou Li in the distance and found that my prediction was completely correct: she had a victorious look on her face, her fists clenched, cheering on her fellow disciples.

These people were very cooperative and excited. They actually divided into two groups, one pushing the junior brother and the other pushing me, determined to push us together. These troublemakers were really asking for it. If I made a big mistake, both the junior brother and I would be in trouble.

As a result, I resisted stubbornly, and the junior brother half-pushed and half-pulled. The disciples on both sides shouted “One, two, three” together, and forcefully pushed me forward first.

With cherry blossoms falling like snow, time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Just as I was about to be thrown out, Fu Chenzi suddenly rushed over and caught me. But the people behind him pushed too hard, and Fu Chenzi couldn’t stand steady either. I fell forward and landed on top of him.

Fortunately, there was a small hill nearby, and we rolled down the grass together, finally stopping on a flat area.

I was dizzy from the bumps and bruises. When I came to my senses, I shook my head and found that the situation had changed. He was now on top of me.

To protect me, he put his two arms behind my head. He took a deep breath and said, “Weiwei, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Although I answered like that, we both stared into each other’s eyes, stunned. It was true that we were very close, but looking at my brother so closely, I was still a little embarrassed, so I forced a smile and said, “It’s a good thing nothing happened, they were really reckless.”

Fu Chenzi didn’t speak, and he didn’t move either. The only movement was his eyes moving from my eyes to my lips.

Since I was a child, I loved to follow my brother and imitate everything he did. When he looked at me like that, I was also a little silly and followed his gaze to his lips. Ah, my brother’s lips were paler than the petals of a cherry blossom, but they were exceptionally full, and they looked very kissable...

Ugh, what was I thinking!

My heart pounded like a drum, and I started to push him hard on the chest, “Thank you, Brother, if you hadn’t come over just now... ugh...” The rest of my words were covered by his soft lips.

At that moment, I had turned into a wooden chicken.