WJ Chapter 111

Peach Blossoms (3)

Ah Ku choked on a mouthful of wind, hardly able to believe his own ears.

He had been so thoroughly exasperated by Yun Changliu’s shocking words that he could only laugh, and naturally did not take them seriously. “Young Sect Leader! Why are you talking nonsense again! And — stop calling me by that name!”

“……Then,” Yun Changliu furrowed his brow in displeasure, then relented a step, and said with renewed gravity, “Ah Ku, let us be betrothed.”

“……”

Ah Ku clutched his head and heaved a long sigh, like a man whose every blow had landed on cotton — utterly futile. With the pained earnestness of someone teaching a small child, he said:

“This isn’t something that’s fixed just by changing the name! A betrothal…… a betrothal means being husband and wife for an entire lifetime, Young Sect Leader. It’s not simply that whoever you enjoy spending time with, you must marry.”

Two young men standing here bandying words like “betrothal” and “husband and wife” had already drawn the curious glances of two townspeople nearby, who were whispering amongst themselves.

Ah Ku frowned, grabbed Yun Changliu by the arm, and strode quickly into a deserted narrow alley, shaking off those strange stares. Yun Changliu was still asking in puzzlement, “Then why can the two of us not be husband and wife?”

“We……” Ah Ku’s footsteps faltered. Stumped by Young Sect Leader’s question, he hemmed and hawed for a moment before lowering his voice. “Husband and wife…… it’s something that can only be formed between a man and a woman. Though there are plenty of men who keep male favourites and boy companions, they still have to properly marry a wife, to have children and carry on the family line.”

“But I only like you, and I have no wish to marry a female wife.”

Hearing this, Ah Ku felt both irritated and amused. He stopped and turned around, speaking to Yun Changliu in patient, gentle tones. “You’ve simply never encountered a woman before…… once you do, perhaps you’ll find yourself drawn to women.”

But to his surprise, Yun Changliu thought carefully for a moment, then replied with an expression of perfect innocence. “But I already like you, and have already decided to betroth myself to you — why would I still need to go and meet women? Would that not make me faithless?”

……As they say — those who speak little tend to say all the more when they do finally speak.

That one breezy remark struck Ah Ku like a thunderbolt, leaving him wide-eyed and speechless — this young man, usually so quick and sharp with words, was rendered utterly dumb.

He genuinely felt that Yun Changliu’s mind was structured differently from any ordinary person’s. Try to imagine any normal person — any normal young man — who would look another young man in the eye and declare that he feared being faithless to him!?

The two of them stood at the far end of that unfamiliar alley, staring at each other, neither speaking for a long while.

Yun Changliu calmly opened his mouth again. “I shall marry you — just as my father did in his time, I will lay down red silk and set out a flower-decked sedan chair for you. From then on, you will be the Zhuyin Sect Leader’s consort, held in the same honour as myself. Do you not wish for that? —— And if you do not, I am equally willing to be the one who marries into your household.”

Ah Ku could no longer even manage a laugh.

His expression shifted with something nameless, his heart struggling as though caught between fire and water.

……Truly insufferable. He had only just pressed down that wicked impulse in his chest, and yet this little Young Sect Leader had to go and stir his heart like this — with such a look of pure, untainted innocence, leaving him with nowhere to advance and nowhere to retreat!

All at once, Ah Ku stepped forward with a grave expression, seized Yun Changliu by the front of his robes, and gave a light push, pinning Young Sect Leader back against the grey-brick wall. Yun Changliu looked up at Ah Ku. The struggle on the latter’s face deepened — he seemed to be on the verge of breaking through some taboo, shattering some boundary.

Yet in the end, Ah Ku let out a soft sigh and released Yun Changliu. In truth, he had not used any real force at all — it was plainly Young Sect Leader himself who had not moved to resist.

Yun Changliu asked, “What is it?”

Ah Ku shook his head, turned on his heel, and began walking back toward the mouth of the alley they had entered from.

As he walked, he said lightly and offhandedly, “I’m going to travel far away soon. If we chance to meet again someday, the Young Sect Leader can consider then whether you’d like to give me a dowry or betrothal gifts.”

With that, Ah Ku lowered his head and allowed himself a small private smile, then waved back at Yun Changliu. “Off I go, Young Sect Leader — we ought to head back into the city.”

……

On the road back to Mount Shenlie, Ah Ku bought a pair of small wine cups from a roadside stall.

They were pale celadon with paper-thin walls — cradled in the palm and held up to the sunlight, they glowed a soft and lustrous translucence, utterly delightful.

Yun Changliu watched from a distance as Ah Ku finished haggling with the shopkeeper, had the pair of cups packed into a box, and came walking back to his side with a look of deep contentment. Young Sect Leader Changliu said, “You don’t even drink wine — what do you want wine cups for. And a pair, no less. You’re wasting money.”

“They’re pretty,” Ah Ku declared with perfectly justified confidence, raising an eyebrow. “Besides, Young Sect Leader — were you not the one who said you’d marry me and drink the wedding toast with me? You don’t even have cups — how are we supposed to perform the wedding ritual?”

Yun Changliu paid no heed to his convoluted logic, and only asked quietly, “So you…… you truly agreed.”

Ah Ku smiled and said nothing.

The two of them climbed Mount Shenlie, following their old habit of going first to Ah Ku’s wooden house. The mountain was steep and high, and travelling on foot took far too long — whenever they were not on horseback, both of them used lightness skill to ascend, stopping at the edge of the peach grove to talk for a while before walking in together. This time was no different.

The peach blossoms at the foot of the mountain had already opened; here on the mountain’s middle slope, the grove still held mostly buds, with only a scattering of early blossoms hanging from the branches.

Ah Ku looked up at this peach grove that belonged to him, and a thousand tangled thoughts grew like threads inside him, winding so tightly around his heart it could scarcely breathe.

He told himself: the most glorious bloom has not yet come. Counting the time, by the time he had given his blood and recovered his senses, he would be able to witness the peach blossoms in their full and radiant splendour.

Yun Changliu was calling to him from behind, asking what he would need for this journey — food, clothing, daily necessities — and saying he wanted to send him off with a good sword. Ah Ku turned back and refused it all repeatedly. When he turned back around, a flash of blossom drifted into his vision.

It was the wind, arriving just then — it had blown loose a peach blossom and carried it right to Ah Ku. The young man blinked, his pale pink lips parting slightly, and he caught the blossom between his lips as it arrived, letting its light, sweet fragrance dissolve softly on his tongue.

A playful impulse stirred in him all at once. With the blossom still held in his mouth, he turned back and smiled at Yun Changliu, who was following close behind, his brows curved with warmth.

Yun Changliu suddenly went still, standing there breathless, staring at him in a daze.

The Young Sect Leader murmured, “Ah Ku……”

Ah Ku half-closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and blew out a breath — the blossom rode the wind and flew over Young Sect Leader Changliu’s head in a wide arc.

Yun Changliu’s lashes trembled; he leapt into the air without a second thought.

His figure, graceful as a white crane, spun in midair — and caught that slip of peach pink between two slender fingers.

The Young Sect Leader touched a branch for leverage and landed in a flash directly before Ah Ku, who had not yet had time to react.

The two of them were almost pressed together. Yun Changliu’s left hand rested on Ah Ku’s shoulder; his clear, cool gaze traced every line of the face before him with deliberate care. His right hand, holding the peach blossom, gently extended forward — and Ah Ku’s lips touched the blossom’s delicate, sweet petals once more.

“Young Sec——”

Ah Ku was so startled he could not move. With Yun Changliu’s hand holding his shoulder, the moment he parted his lips the tip of his tongue brushed against the velvety stamens, sending a ticklish sensation straight to the depths of his heart that left him trembling — and made him all the more afraid to make another sound.

Yun Changliu’s left hand slid slowly downward, then pressed firmly. He gathered Ah Ku by the back and folded him into his arms, then lowered his face.

It was a silent touch — like the soundless unfurling of a bud.

Through a single peach blossom, Yun Changliu kissed the lips of the young man in blue with grave and careful tenderness.

……In truth, he had wanted to kiss him for quite some time. The desire had taken root from the moment he had watched the wedding ceremony, and he had suppressed it only for fear that Ah Ku would not welcome it — but just now, Ah Ku had done nothing more than turn and smile at him, and he had lost all restraint.

The self-discipline he had always prided himself upon had evaporated entirely. His whole mind held only one thought: he wanted to kiss his Ah Ku — just once — and so…… so he had gone and done it.

The unmelted snow still lay on Mount Shenlie. In the chill of early spring, the peach grove was so quiet that only a few scattered birdsongs could be heard. The shadows of branches cast shifting patterns across both young men’s robes, trembling gently with the light breeze.

The almost-kiss lasted no more than a breath. Yun Changliu released Ah Ku and drew back a little; the peach blossom slipped from between their lips and fell.

Ah Ku pressed his hand blankly over his own lips, fingertips brushing the place that had been kissed through a flower. In that instant, his mind dissolved into a wash of white, and he thought to himself——

This was bad. Surely this little Young Sect Leader didn’t mean it seriously.

Could it be that Young Sect Leader…… truly liked him?

Not simply the kind of liking that wanted to spend time and play together — but the kind that wanted to kiss and hold close, that wanted to wear red and bow together before heaven and earth, that wanted to remain by his side for an entire lifetime, to grow white-haired and old together?

A real liking? Was he in earnest?

Ah Ku hurried to look at Young Sect Leader, as though seeking some confirmation. But what he saw was Yun Changliu looking as though he had committed a terrible crime — he dared not raise his head, and the pale slender fingers resting on Ah Ku’s shoulder were trembling. After standing there frozen for two breaths, the Young Sect Leader suddenly turned and bolted.

……He bolted.

Ah Ku blinked in bewildered confusion, then snapped back to his senses and gave chase after that white-robed figure, calling, “Young Sect Leader!”

Yun Changliu had clearly heard him — the moment Ah Ku’s shout rang out, Young Sect Leader accelerated his lightness skill and fled even faster, burying himself in the peach grove and running headlong away.

The two of them were fairly matched in lightness skill; if anything, Yun Changliu had a slight edge. Ah Ku could not catch up and cried anxiously, “Young Sect Leader…… Young Sect Leader! Where do you think you’re going?! Stop for a moment!”

The Young Sect Leader refused to stop, darting about at random without even choosing a direction. Ah Ku was nearly beside himself with frustration, and called out in exasperation. “If you keep running, if you actually get lost out there, you won’t be able to find your way back to the city!”

Yun Changliu continued to ignore him, that flash of snow-white weaving in and out of the pale pink grove.

One could only be grateful — grateful that it was barely the end of winter and the beginning of spring, with barely any new leaves yet unfurled. Otherwise, given the manner in which the Young Sect Leader was fleeing, had it been summer, he would surely have been impossible to find.

And with Yun Changliu’s practical abilities — should he truly become lost in these mountains, the consequences did not bear imagining.

At the very least, on his own, he would very nearly be incapable of finding the road back to the city……

By the time Ah Ku finally seized hold of him, he was so winded he could barely catch his breath, one hand braced against a peach tree, saying haltingly:

“You…… you kissed me, and then you ran, and then you made me chase you! What kind of person are you!?”

“……And furthermore,” Ah Ku made an effort to steady his breathing, then burst into a sudden bright laugh and shoved at Young Sect Leader Changliu, who was standing there with his head bowed in sullen silence. “……who kisses someone through a flower?”

Yun Changliu bit down on his lip and confessed honestly, “I wanted to kiss you, but I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”

Ah Ku curved his lips into a smile, folded his arms across his chest, leaned back against the trunk of a peach tree, and looked sidelong at the Young Sect Leader. “You know I love peach blossoms — how is it you still don’t know that I love you?”

Before the words had even finished falling, Yun Changliu threw himself forward and wrapped him in a full embrace. Ah Ku lost his footing, stumbled two steps back with a startled cry of “Ah——” and was about to topple backward. Young Sect Leader was swift-eyed and quick-handed, pulled him back in, and tugged him firmly into his arms again, then happily leaned in and kissed him twice more.

Ah Ku laughed as he pushed at him — pushed twice and couldn’t dislodge him — and so he simply hooked both arms around Yun Changliu’s neck and kissed him back, turning the tables entirely.

The two young men made merry for a long, long while in that peach grove. Perhaps because they both held the coming parting close in mind, their laughter rang out more freely and unrestrained than on any ordinary day.

And a few more peach blossoms fell, softly and without a sound.