TDFM Chapter 102
Amber
Yun Qing had always believed that the simplest and most effective way to understand a person was through swordsmanship.
His mouth might lie, his expressions might deceive, but his swordsmanship could never be fake.
Shi Qingshang’s qin was slightly different from Shi Muyu’s panpipes – his qin could change size according to his will. At that moment, he shrunk the qin to only half a foot long, fastened it to his waist, then drew his sword.
Then, he closed his eyes. “Come.”
Yun Qing asked curiously, “Why close your eyes?”
“I’m used to it.”
At that time, the sun was rising in the east. The silver blade gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight. Yun Qing asked, “What is your sword’s name?”
“Hao Meng.” (TL: good/sweet dream)
Yun Qing smiled, “Then let my Hundred Years of Sorrow experience your Hao Meng.” She advanced with her sword raised.
She came with fierce momentum. Shi Qingshang’s expression turned serious – how could he spare any thoughts for other matters? Unfortunately, Ding Lisheng, that big mouth, kept chattering in his ear:
“Brother, can you handle this? Ah, you look like you can’t quite manage it. No wait, this pretty sister is too formidable. My heavens, based on swordsmanship alone, even my father might not be able to defeat her! You have good taste!”
Shi Qingshang’s swordsmanship was bold and unrestrained, with a passionate and spirited quality, like the rising sun at dawn. Yun Qing had never encountered such an opponent before, so she couldn’t help but exchange several more moves.
It wasn’t until she sensed that Shi Qingshang showed slight signs of retreat that she withdrew her hand. For some unknown reason, her mischievous thoughts arose again, and she flicked her sword tip toward his ear.
Shi Qingshang only felt a cool breeze pass by his ear, then his earlobe felt empty.
He suddenly opened his eyes to see Yun Qing had sheathed her sword and was smiling as she held up his earring, shaking it at him.
His heart pounded wildly – half from nervousness, half because… he had been teased by someone he liked!
He silently watched her, holding back again and again, until he finally couldn’t resist saying, “Do you often tease people like this?” Somehow, when he said these words, there was a hint of sourness in his heart.
Yun Qing was stunned by his question. “Ah?”
This counted as teasing?
Shi Qingshang silently walked over, took the earring from her hand, and reattached it to his earlobe.
From the black obsidian came Ding Lisheng’s noisy voice again. “This sister is incredible, scared me to death. Shi Qingshang, what’s with that expression? Did she beat you to your heart’s content?”
Shi Qingshang’s eyebrow twitched. He lowered his head, spread his fingers to cover the lower half of his face, pretending to touch his face, then quietly cursed, “Get lost.”
Seeing that Shi Qingshang seemed somewhat unhappy, Yun Qing awkwardly touched her nose and said, “About that day’s incident, I haven’t apologized to you yet.”
She was referring to the misunderstanding when she thought he was bullying Fu Xue.
Shi Qingshang shook his head, “Such a small matter doesn’t require attention. You were only concerned about your junior sister.”
“Here, this is my apology.” Yun Qing extended her hand toward him.
She had damaged the silk cloth Shi Qing Shang used to cover his eyes, so logically she should compensate him with another piece. But Yun Qing didn’t have such things on hand, and there was no silk shop in Shenle Valley, making it genuinely difficult to find.
After thinking it over, Yun Qing selected a beautiful gem from her collection as an apology gift.
Because setting up formations occasionally required gems, she had always been mindful of collecting them. Others knew about her gem collecting and would casually give her good ones they encountered. So along this journey, she had accumulated quite a few beautiful gems.
Before her was a piece of amber, about an inch long, carved into the shape of a cicada from pure, pale yellow amber. It was quite interesting – this seemed to be a gift from Baiyu.
After picking and choosing, Yun Qing felt this piece showed the most sincerity.
Yes, she needed a bit of sincerity.
Shi Qingshang took the amber cicada from her palm, examined it carefully, and smiled, “Thank you, I like it very much.”
…..
Afterward, Yun Qing stood on the slope, looking at the waves of flowers below, and asked Shi Qingshang, “Did you plant these?”
“Yes. When I was fifteen, I traveled outside the valley for the first time. In the outside world, I met an old woman. Because I helped her with a small favor, she gave me a bag of hosta flower seeds as thanks. That woman also said…”
He paused here, and Yun Qing curiously pressed, “Said what?”
That woman had said that hosta flowers were very beautiful, and if someday he met someone he cherished, he should bring that person to see the hosta flowers he had planted with his own hands – the other person would surely understand his feelings.
Fifteen-year-old Shi Qingshang had paid no attention to this. He neither had someone he cherished nor knew what “beautiful” meant.
It was just that he had heard hosta flowers were very fragrant, so he planted them.
He liked the fragrance of flowers.
“She said hosta flowers were very beautiful,” Shi Qingshang replied.
Looking at this sea of flowers he had planted with his own hands, he smiled and said, “My second journey outside lasted a very long time. This time I saw many more flowers, each with their own fragrance. Yet people used the same word to describe them all.”
Beautiful.
Chrysanthemums were also beautiful, plum blossoms were also beautiful, peonies were also beautiful…
What was beautiful?
Intangible, unscented, inaudible – with his twenty-plus years of life experience, he could not imagine “beautiful.”
The only thing he could be certain of was that beautiful must be something very good, probably similar to a child tasting sweet flower nectar, or lying by a stream in autumn, basking in the sun while petting a fluffy rabbit before falling asleep – in any case, it must be something that made people very happy.
Yet he could not experience it.
At that moment, others’ sympathy for his eyes suddenly became concrete and understandable.
He actually could not perceive the beauty of flowers – that was quite pitiful indeed.
Shi Qingshang had heard of a place called Hundred Herbs Valley, where people had practiced the Way of Shennong for generations, and many people’s difficult ailments had been cured at Hundred Herbs Valley. So he conceived a bold idea.
He went to Hundred Herbs Valley and met the young Master Ding Lisheng. He told Ding Lisheng, “I want to experience what ‘beautiful’ truly is. Please help me.”
He could never forget the shock he felt when he first experienced the world through his eyes. His world gained light and shadow, gained color, gained imagery, gained everything.
He experienced an entirely new world.
He greedily observed every detail of this world. He watched flowers bloom and wither, clouds gather and disperse, how birds flew, how fish swam. Every day he discovered new beauty in this world, every day he felt happiness for his regained sight.
When he saw her, this happiness reached its peak.
She was more beautiful than all the flowers in the world.
…
Shi Qingshang spoke of his experience seeking medical treatment, then his gaze fell on Yun Qing’s face, his vision like a soft brush tip, slowly tracing the lines of her features.
The sun rose in the east, casting half-bright, half-dark shadows on her face. She tilted her head slightly, looking at him with curiosity, her two pupils black and bright.
In many days and nights afterward, Shi Qingshang would often think of this face, at times when he had fallen forever into darkness. And he would often think with slight regret – why hadn’t he looked a few more times then.
Yun Qing always felt that Shi Qingshang’s words seemed to have some unfinished meaning. Moreover, when she had snatched his earring earlier, she had clearly sensed that someone had applied cultivation power to the black obsidian.
It was hard for her not to overthink.
Although she didn’t know what his true purpose was, having a purpose was always a good thing.
She felt that Shi Qingshang wasn’t the type to beat around the bush, so she asked casually, “Qingshang, you sought me out today – do you have something to say?”
As she spoke, she turned around and surveyed their surroundings. Ever since arriving at this sea of flowers, she had felt a gaze watching her from behind, or rather, watching them.
Shi Qingshang said, “Yes, I wanted to tell you, Yun Qing, I—”
Yun Qing suddenly interrupted him. “Someone’s there!”
In the distance, a birch tree’s crown moved slightly, swaying differently from the surrounding trees – definitely not caused by wind. Looking carefully, one could see a black shadow near the treetop, and judging by its size, it wasn’t a bird’s nest.
Yun Qing kicked off and rushed toward that birch tree. Wind whistled past her ears as she saw the black shadow move, then fall from the tree.
Now she could see more clearly – it was indeed a person.
The sudden turn of events made Shi Qingshang’s face change. He hurried to catch up. From his earring came a chaos of sounds, followed by Ding Lisheng’s panicked screaming:
“Ahhhhh! Just because I got excited when you were about to confess, she discovered me! She’s chasing after me – this woman is terrifying! Qingshang, quickly stop her!”
Shi Qingshang covered his mouth and whispered, “Too late now, just bear with it.”
“Bear with it, my ass! If she catches me, I’ll rat you out first!”
“Uncle-in-law.”
“…”
Yun Qing gradually closed in. Seeing the person running in panic, she sent her flying sword. Hundred Years of Sorrow shot toward the person’s shoulder with a whooshing sound. The person dove forward to dodge the flying sword, fell flat on the ground, and simply didn’t get up.
Yun Qing thought: “??” Just stopped running? What a graceless person.
How could she know that Ding Lisheng had just witnessed her swordsmanship and was now somewhat intimidated. Being honestly captured would at most be embarrassing, but if he stubbornly resisted and angered her, getting skewered by her sword would be a senseless disaster.
Yun Qing caught her returning Hundred Years of Sorrow, walked to the person with sword in hand, looked down, and said strangely, “Ding Lisheng? What are you doing here?”
Ding Lisheng slowly got up with an innocent expression. “What a coincidence! You’re here collecting bird eggs too?”
What kind of genius excuse was that… Shi Qingshang watched his expression, which looked like he’d been possessed by an idiot ghost, and raised his palm to cover his forehead.
He really didn’t want to admit knowing this guy.
Yun Qing asked doubtfully, “If you were collecting bird eggs, why did you run?”
Ding Li Sheng smiled, “I thought you were Chief Sister. Didn’t she just give me a beating?”
Yun Qing nodded and said nothing more.
She turned to look at Shi Qingshang and said, “Qingshang, what did you want to tell me earlier?”
“Nothing.”