CH 65

Looking at the shimmering iron-gold walnuts on the Xuyu tree, Lin Rufei could not help but exclaim, “So beautiful!”

He Wanxiang revealed a proud look: “Naturally so.” He then went on to explain, “Ordinary people would not be able to pick these iron-gold walnuts. Only disciples who have practiced the He family kung fu can and not everyone has the opportunity to……only if they are selected by the Xuyu tree, can they pick down the iron-gold walnut.”

Lin Rufei was curious: “That year, your brother picked down three?”

“Yes.” He Wanxiang said, “There were only three walnuts on the tree, my elder brother was the first to pick them and ended up picking all of them in one go. Because of this matter, he also received a lot of complaints from my father.” As he said this, his eyes contained a strong smile, “He said to give the other disciples a chance; to let them know—how useless they were.”

Lin Rufei also followed and laughed along. The He family’s style was open and reckless and they don’t look like a family that hid their clumsiness either. This He Wanxiang was very interesting so most likely He Xieyi wouldn’t be as bad. 

While Lin Rufei and He Wanxiang were talking, Gu Xuandu suddenly took shape and walked slowly towards the courtyard. Lin Rufei’s heart was slightly shocked at the sight of this but he could not say anything, only watching as he gradually approached the Xuyu tree. The Xuyu tree seemed to sense his presence as its leaves and branches began to shake slowly almost like in excitement. Gu Xuandu’s footsteps stopped in front of the Xuyu tree. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the rough trunk, coupling with a low sigh: “Long time no see.”

The Xuyu tree moved in response, as if it was blown by the wind and the branches and leaves began to shake violently.

“What’s going on?!” He Wanxiang was startled by the Xuyu tree’s appearance. There was no wind at this time, but the tree looked as if a gale was passing through and it wouldn’t stop shaking uncontrollably.

Fortunately, the strangeness of the Xuyu tree did not last long. Gu Xuandu was probably afraid of it overreacting so after touching it, he turned away and left. Before leaving, he also stooped down to pick up a fallen leaf from the Xuyu tree, and then slowly and leisurely, he headed back to Lin Rufei’s side. Because there were too many people present, Lin Rufei was not able to talk to Gu Xuandu. He just glanced at him and then shifted his gaze away. 

Seeing the Xuyu tree return to its original state, He Wanxiang was relieved. He touched his nose and said worriedly, ‘Is the Xuyu tree uncomfortable? Why did it shake so hard?’ Lin Rufei didn’t dare to answer. He simply stood to the side and pretended not to know anything. Fortunately, He Wanxiang did not dwell too much on this matter.

They continued to stroll around the ancestral hall and in a flash, it was time to eat dinner.

He Wanxiang led Lin Rufei to a large-looking wooden house nearby. Before even entering, Lin Rufei could already smell the strong fragrance of wine coming from the house.

“Lin gongzi, my father and brothers are roughnecks. If there is anything you are not used to, you can say so.” He Wanxiang said it somewhat euphemistically, “Don’t ever aggrieve yourself.”

Lin Rufei nodded and said yes.

“Also……” He Wanxiang coughed dryly, “They like to drink and their capacity isn’t too good.”

It suddenly dawned upon Lin Rufei, “My health has not been too good since I was young, I can only drink small amounts.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He Wanxiang waved his hand, “Lin gongzi is an honored guest, we won’t force you if you can’t drink. Just follow your own nature, no need to accommodate us.”

As he spoke, he pulled the wooden door open, revealing the scene inside the house.

Lin Rufei only took a glance and was shocked by the situation in the house. He saw a few tall and fierce men sitting around a large round table and on the table was a huge roast lamb. In front of each man, there was a round bowl the size of a face, and the bowl was filled with wine. Hearing the sound of the door opening, the big men turned around and turned their gazes towards Lin Rufei. These gazes carried curiosity and scrutiny, which gave Lin Rufei the feeling that he was being watched by wolves.

“Lin gongzi!” One of the big men with gray hair stood up and waved enthusiastically at Lin Rufei, “Come this way, come this way!”

He Wanxiang introduced, “This is my father.”

He Wanxiang’s father was named He Jitian[1]. Just like his name, he was a very domineering person and was the current He family head. He Xieyi was also his son.

Lin Rufei walked up to He Jitian, bowed, and said, “I’ve heard a lot about the He family head.”

“Don’t! Don’t be so polite! I am close to your father, you can just call me uncle.” He Jitian said, “You have come a long way and you are an honored guest of our He family, quickly, have a seat!” And pointed to the seat next to him.

Lin Rufei called out “uncle” and slowly sat down. After sitting down, he found that dense jars of wine clustered and filled the space underneath the table. From the numbers alone, it was a very impressive amount. 

He Jitian also sat down and introduced Lin Rufei to the people at the table. Finally, Lin Rufei met He Xieyi who he had heard so much about. Like He Wanxiang, He Xieyi[2] also had a sturdy body, only his looks were very different from his name. He was very rugged and his face also carried several hideous old wounds. At first, he even looked like a tough mountain bandit.

Probably because He Wanxiang informed the people in advance, several people at the table were trying hard to squeeze out a kind smile. However, no matter how much he looked, this smile on their faces didn’t seem like they belonged. It had a sense of skin laughing and flesh not smiling[3] feel to it. Lin Rufei was creeped out by their smiles and hurriedly said, “You guys can just act like how you usually act!” 

“Look at you guys!” He Jitian slapped the table and said angrily, “I told you guys to smile and be kind, but look at yourselves, you guys don’t even know how to smile? Is your face cramped or what? Smiling like this, people who don’t know would think you’re going to kill and set fire!”

The big men on the table all showed painful expressions.

Lin Rufei suddenly cried and laughed. He hurriedly explained that there was really no need to be so polite.

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Only after repeatedly confirming that Lin Rufei indeed did not care very much, did He Jitian breathe a sigh of relief and waved his hand, “Nephew Lin, our family are all rough people. If there is poor hospitality, you must say it straight out.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Lin Rufei could only nod and say yes.

The He family was indeed straightforward and after a few simple courtesies, the meal was served. The huge roasted lamb in front of him was really striking. The lamb seemed to have been just roasted and it was covered with all kinds of spices. The aroma of the fat belonging to the meat alone came out in a continuous stream. He Jitian lifted the knife and efficiently divided the whole roasted lamb into several parts. Then, he put the best chunk of lamb chop onto the iron plate in front of Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei stared at the lamb chop, which was bigger than his upper body, and said in a daze: “Uncle He! This is too much, I can’t finish it.”

“Can’t finish it?” He Jitian froze, “Don’t be polite with us, there’s still another one being roasted outside.”

“I really can’t finish it.” According to Lin Rufei’s usual diet, he would be full after eating two or three lamb chops.

(t/n: probably because the normal lamb chops are quite small)

He Jitian was still a bit unconvinced: “You really can’t finish it?”

Lin Rufei’s expression was helpless: “……Really.”

Finally, He Jitian was convinced. He raised his hand and cut a small piece off, but still left most of it on Lin Rufei’s plate. Lin Rufei wanted to say something but finally decided not to say anything. Looking at He Jitian’s expression, if he said he could not eat again, it was like he wasn’t giving face to the He family. 

The lamb looked like it weighed more than a hundred pounds. Adding Lin Rufei, there were seven people total around the table. After He Jitian efficiently divided the lamb, the crowd then feasted on the food. When Lin Rufei tasted a piece, he thought that the taste was indeed very good. Although the lamb was large, the taste was very tender. The outside was crispy and it was covered in a layer of rich dipping sauce. The meat inside was soft and juicy, especially the fatty and lean parts, they were particularly extra fragrant. Lin Rufei also followed their example and got his hands on it, however, he found that he had a hard time biting it off. Finally, He Wanxiang handed him a small knife, indicating that he should use it to cut the meat.

After the meat was eaten, they began to drink the wine. He Jitian probably notified the people at the table in advance, so no one forced Lin Rufei to drink, and everyone acted very easy-going. He Jitian asked Lin Rufei about the matters on Kunlun and Lin Rufei simply replied that the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

The more wine they drink, the better the atmosphere became at the table. Originally, He Jitian was worried that Lin Rufei, the son of a big family, would not be used to such a way of eating in their family. However, seeing that Lin Rufei did not have any attitude, he gradually relaxed. Lin Rufei chewed the lamb and also picked up the face-size wine bowl to take a sip. Almost immediately, his pale face emerged with a bright red and he could not help but cough lowly a few times. This was the strongest wine Lin Rufei had ever drunk, but although it was strong, the taste was also very good. The flavor was mellow and there was a long-lasting aftertaste. It was good wine. 

Lin Rufei had never had such a lively meal. After the He family became happy after drinking, they were no longer restrained like in the beginning. Some people cut the meat, some people chatted, and some people even happily told dirty jokes. However, just after the jokes were finished the person received a smack on the head from He Jitian and they also earned a harsh glare. The person was a little confused from the smack until he saw his own father’s unkind eyes. Only then did he immediately wake up and said embarrassingly: “Lin gongzi, do not mind, ah, I, I’m used to telling dirty jokes…..” 

Lin Rufei could not help but laugh and said, “No harm, no harm, by nature we desire food and sex[4].“

A big piece of meat, a big mouthful of wine, this scene in front of him made Lin Rufei really experience what Jianghu was like. He had to say, he really loved this lively atmosphere of the He family.

One after another, the jugs of wine were brought up. Slightly drunkenness began to spread on the table and the people became more and more open. Lin Rufei had also drank a little too much and since he wasn’t good at drinking, his consciousness gradually began to blur. He felt someone wrapped their arm around his shoulder and loudly asking how Lin Bianyu was. With a twist of his head, he saw that it was He Xieyi.

“Yes, my brother is very good.” Lin Rufei replied, “He was first in the sword competition again this year.”

“That’s because I didn’t go!” He Xieyi grumbled, “Next time when I go, the first place will be mine!” As he said this, he then slapped his chest with a loud thud.

He didn’t know if it was because he had too much to drink, but Lin Rufei had no more scruples when he talked. He shook his head with a glare: “No, you’re definitely not number one. My second brother is the most powerful.”

“You——” He Xieyi wanted to say a swear word, but in the end, he swallowed it back down, “Don’t worry. I lost to your second brother a few years ago because my kung fu was not yet complete. Now, I’m not the same as I was a few years ago! “

“My second brother is also not the same second brother from a few years ago!” How could Lin Rufei stand someone bad-mouthing his second brother, “You can’t win!”

“I can win!”

“You can’t!”

“I definitely can——”

“You definitely can’t——”

The two were quarreling like children and the more they quarreled, the more energetic they got. They argued back and forth and drank at the same time. He Wanxiang wanted to persuade them, but he was slapped away by He Xieyi, saying that adults were talking about something so children should not get involved. The alcohol also got into Lin Rufei’s head. He nodded vaguely and said, ‘yes, yes, yes, this is an adult matter. Today we must distinguish between right and wrong.’

Watching this scene, He Wanxiang cried and laughed. At first, he was worried that Lin Rufei would not be used to such an atmosphere, but he had adapted better than anyone else, and after a few rounds of drinking, he had already hooked up with He Xieyi and called him “brother.” But looking as the two men became more and more fierce from their talk, he was inexplicably a little worried. After all, his elder brother’s, He Xieyi’s, wine capacity wasn’t really good. 

Lin Rufei also became confused after drinking. His wine bowl was filled one after another and finally, his consciousness completely blurred. He only vaguely remembered that he seemed to be arguing fiercely with He Xieyi. As to whether there was a result from their argument, he did not know……

The next day, Lin Rufei woke up with a splitting headache. He opened his eyes with difficulty, covered his head, and let out a weak moan: “Ah……headache, headache, ah……” After muttering this aloud, he felt his head being gently picked up and placed onto someone’s lap. It was gently being kneaded and when he looked up, he saw Gu Xuandu’s helpless expression. 

“If you knew that you would have a headache, why did you still drink so much?” Gu Xuandu lectured.

“I didn’t want to either.” Lin Rufei squinted his eyes comfortably like a lazy cat, “The atmosphere was too good and unknowingly, I had drunk a bunch.” He squinted for a while more and always felt that something was not quite right, “Ssss……how come my body also hurts so much?”

Gu Xuandu helplessly asked, “You don’t remember?”

Lin Rufei replied blankly: “Remember what?”

Gu Xuandu: “……”

Lin Rufei immediately felt that the situation was a little bit wrong, “What’s wrong, I drank too much and don’t remember anything.”

Gu Xuandu reached out and picked up Lin Rufei. Before Lin Rufei could protest, he was taken to the window by Gu Xuandu, “Look for yourself.”

Lin Rufei was confused and looked out the window. He was instantly stunned by the situation outside. He saw that almost all the wooden houses outside were reduced to wreckage, almost as if they had been crushed by a giant beast. But fortunately, the houses were all wooden structures, even if it was destroyed, it could also be quickly rebuilt. However, exactly what happened for it to become like this? 

Lin Rufei looked up at Gu Xuandu.

Gu Xuandu asked, “What are you looking at me for?”

Lin Rufei had a premonition of what was going on but still held on to a sliver of hope. He blinked his eyes and whispered, “It has nothing to do with me, right?”

“What do you think?” Gu Xuandu placed Lin Rufei back on the bed again and said sorrowfully, “Who do you think it has to do with then?”

Lin Rufei cowered, “This……this was really my doing?”

Gu Xuandu answered, “Not you.”

Lin Rufei was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Gu Xuandu added: “It was you and He Xieyi who did it together.”

Lin Rufei: “……”

Gu Xuandu suddenly added strength to the hand that was pressing against Lin Rufei’s temple and Lin Rufei hissed in pain: “Lighter……Senior, lighter……”

Gu Xuandu tsked and seemed to be very dissatisfied. Lin Rufei originally thought he was angry about the fight between himself and He Xieyi, but who knew that Gu Xuandu would quietly say: “You did not use the sword when you fought yesterday.”

Lin Rufei: “……”

“The one you used was the black wooden shield.” Gu Xuandu’s tone was almost like he was gnashing his teeth, “Xiao Jiu, don’t you want to say something? I’ve been teaching you swordplay for so long——”

Lin Rufei suddenly felt weak and smiled, “Isn’t it because I have had too much to drink?”

Gu Xuandu: “After the wine, the truth comes out.” 

Lin Rufei: “……”

Gu Xuandu: “Do you have something against Gu Yu?” Following Gu Xuandu’s words, the sword that Lin Rufei hung by the bed also began buzzing and Lin Rufei could even hear a little bit of grievance from it.

Lin Rufei’s eyes flashed. He weakly covered his head and said pitifully, “Senior, my head hurts so much.”

Gu Xuandu: “……”

“It hurts really bad.” Lin Rufei looked anxiously at Gu Xuandu.

Gu Xuandu finally let out a long sigh, “Forget it, forget it” And he didn’t continue bothering Lin Rufei about said matter and simply continued to slowly knead Lin Rufei’s temple again.

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Lin Rufei finally breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart. He thought that this method used since childhood was still pretty good. Back when he was on Kunlun, when he did not want to drink medicine, he would use this expression to deal with his maids or older siblings. Unless the disease was particularly serious, this method was almost tried and true.

Gu Xuandu continued kneading Lin Rufei’s temple for a while. Lin Rufei was so comfortable that he almost fell asleep, however, he heard Fu Hua’s voice outside: “Young master, are you awake?” 

“Mnn……” Lin Rufei answered.

“Young master, I’ve made you a hangover soup.” Fu Hua came in with the soup and medicine.

“Why do you look so pale?” Fu Hua was a little worried, “Is it a headache?”

“It hurts a lot.” Lin Rufei said, “How did I come back last night?”

Fu Hua hesitated, “It was……He Wanxiang who sent you back.” She coughed dryly, “Doesn’t young master remember what happened last night?”

Lin Rufei shook his head.

Fu Hua then briefly retold Lin Rufei exactly what had happened last night; Lin Rufei and He Xieyi were both drunk and nearing the end, the two of them had argued over who was the best: He Xieyi or Lin Bianyu. Who knew that as they argued, they would actually start fighting. The fight was so intense that the whole He family was torn down. The two of them were tired of fighting and had sat on the ground to rest when suddenly, He Xieyi started to attack Lin Rufei with profanity. However, Lin Rufei was unable to fight back. Finally, he got angry and grabbed He Xieyi and beat him up again.

Lin Rufei froze. He was completely unable to imagine the scene described by Fu Hua.

“But in the end, young master won! That He Xieyi was knocked unconscious by you with a wooden shield.” Seeing that Lin Rufei was stunned with some panic, Fu Hua hurriedly reassured, “But you still came back walking!”

Lin Rufei fell into a long silence.

“Then……young master would like to have some hangover soup first?” Fu Hua asked timidly.

“I’ll have some.” Lin Rufei said quietly, “It’s better to sober up early.”

Fu Hua couldn’t help but laugh. Usually, Lin Rufei rarely drank alcohol let alone getting drunk. Even if he was drunk, at most it was slightly drunk and wouldn’t make such a big scene like last night. But for some reason, when Fu Hua saw Lin Rufei, who was drinking and making trouble, she felt a sense of relief, like her own child had finally grown up and was able to make trouble. 

Lin Rufei was naturally unaware of his own maid’s strange mood at this time. He was still figuring out how to apologize to the He family when there was suddenly a knock on the door.

“Young master, young master, are you awake?” Yu Rui poked her head in, “Wanxiang is here to see you.”

Lin Rufei laughed, “Yesterday it was He gongzi, but today it’s Wanxiang?”

Yu Rui’s cheeks instantly burst into red and she said in annoyance, “Young master, don’t tease me!”

Lin Rufei sighed, “Sigh, the little girl has grown up and doesn’t allow young master to tease her anymore.” 

Yu Rui let out a “humph” and turned around to call He Wanxiang in.

When He Wanxiang entered the room, he noticed Lin Rufei lying on the bed and called out to Lin gongzi with a smile.

“He gongzi, I’m really sorry, I didn’t expect my wine capacity to be that bad.” Lin Rufei ashamedly said, “I destroyed so many of your houses……” As he said this, he started to cough and his thin shoulders couldn’t stop shaking. It was as if in the next moment, he would suddenly faint over. 

If He Wanxiang had seen Lin Rufei’s appearance before, he probably would have thought he was too weak. However, after last night’s incident, He Wanxiang found that Lin Rufei was not a fuel-saving lamp[5]. He saw with his own eyes the fight between Lin Rufei and He Xieyi. The weapon and moves Lin Rufei used were very odd, most of them which he had never seen before, but with these odd moves, he was able to fight with his elder brother and in the end, knock out He Xieyi with a shield. Although he could see that He Xieyi did not use his full strength, this was already enough to surprise He Wanxiang.

“There is no need to feel guilty, Lin gongzi, our He family has long been used to it.” He Wanxiang waved his hand and laughed, “Otherwise, they wouldn’t all live in wooden houses. As long as you guys don’t hurt the ancestral hall, we wouldn’t mind even if Lin gongzi razed the entire He family to the ground.” In fact, not only would they not mind, they would probably respect this guest even more, after all, the He family honored martial arts. On the contrary, Lin Rufei’s weak image at the beginning was not so popular in the He family.

When Lin Rufei saw that He Wanxiang indeed did not have the intention to blame him, he finally let out a sigh of relief. It was only the first day he had arrived at their house and he had already demolished their houses. If this wasn’t the He family and was somewhere else, he may have already been invited out.

“How is your brother now?” Lin Rufei suddenly remembered Fu Hua’s words. Did he really knock He Xieyi unconscious?

“Mnn……Should be awake at this moment.” He Wanxiang replied, “Does Lin gongzi want to go take a look?”

“Take a look, take a look.” Lin Rufei nodded his head in a hurry.

“Then I’ll take you there.” He Wanxiang said, “He was originally staying next to Lin gongzi, but yesterday he battered his own house and had to make do with a night at my father’s place.”

Lin Rufei washed up simply, changed his clothes, and followed He Wanxiang to He Xieyi’s place. When they entered through the doorway, they saw He Xieyi lying pitifully on the bench in the living room, moaning desolately. Compared to Lin Rufei’s treatment, where he had a massage and a sobriety soup, he was in a very miserable state. No one in the house, whether maids or family, looked at him at all and they almost all treated him as air.

He Wanxiang took noticed that Lin Rufei was a bit surprised so he explained, “My brother likes to drink, so he often has a hangover, the family is used to it.”

When He Xieyi saw them coming, he originally wanted to continue lying down. However, he immediately sat up and waved at Lin Rufei and his voice sounded a bit shy at first: “Lin gongzi, you’re here. Come here, come in and play.”

Lin Rufei: “……” How come these words sound a little off?

“Ouch, why does this head of mine hurt so much.” He Xieyi muttered, “Did I have too much to drink? But I also drank a lot before, ah……ugh……” He thought he had a hangover headache, but in reality though, that stinging red bump on his forehead was very conspicuous.

Lin Rufei was even more guilty when he saw this. Under He Xieyi’s warm invitation, he slowly walking in front of him and asked him about his health.

He Xieyi was not aware that his headache had anything to do with Lin Rufei and vigorously patted Lin Rufei’s shoulder, “Lin gongzi, you really hid your true colors, ah. I thought you did not know how to use a sword, who expected that your sword intent would be so severe!”

Lin Rufei responded shyly, “You flatter me, you flatter me.” 

He Xieyi: “It’s just, why don’t you use your sword?”

Lin Rufei: “……” It was fine if he didn’t say anything, but as soon as he mentioned it, he could feel Gu Xuandu, who was next to him, casting him an unpleasant look.

Lin Rufei said arduously: “Just……probably because I drank too much.”

“Oh.” He Xieyi nodded thoughtfully and said that since he was able to use the shield so well, then his sword must be even more powerful.

Against Gu Xuandu’s thorny-like gaze, Lin Rufei didn’t dare say anything and the smile on his face almost couldn’t hang on.

********

The author has something to say:

Gu Xuandu: Why won’t you use the sword? ! ! !

Lin Rufei: Because I don’t want to be a ……. Sword person[6]? 

Gu Xuandu: ………..

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[1] Jitian means Extreme Sky/Heaven. 

[2] Xieyi means relaxed. 

[3] Not smiling at all. 

[4] He’s saying that sex is as natural as wanting food: “Appetite and lust are only natural.” 

[5] Somebody who is easy deal with. 

[6] Reminder; the word for sword person sounds like the words for “b**ch.”