Bright moon.
Xiao"s mansion.
Small courtyard.
Xiao Qingyu in the moon light.
Childe Wushuang in the small courtyard.
Now Xiao Qingyu was alone, hiding in the corner of the yard.
He was playing vertical flute, intermittently, continuously. The main tune dispersed with the wind, and the irregular notes formed a divine rhyme.
The tune, like whimpering, sounded melancholy but touching.
It carried dense loneliness and sorrow, mixed with traces of desperate resistance and bleeding struggles. If one heard the flute tune for a long while, he would somehow felt sullen and frightened for no reason.
In the sadness, there was also a ghost of terror.
Like a sharp blade penetrating through seven-feet-thick ice.
The tune seemed to be narrating, complaining, crying and questioning, sometimes perilous and sometimes thrilling in the long-winded lingering flow of enchanting notes which ran deep like peaceful water, telling all stories of wax and wane, and weal and woe.
At the climax, it ended all of a sudden.
"Childe, it"s late at night. You should go to rest." A burly man walked to Xiao Qingyu. He was seven-feet in height, strong and tall, with a dull face which looked honest and simple. Yet, his temples protruded high and his breath long and light. When walking, his feet touched no dust nor created a noise, meaning he was a master of martial art! Xiao Qingyu remained silent for a moment, his right hand winded with gold thread slowly combed his long hair from the temple, graceful and lonely.
"Childe…" The big man wanted to say something but stopped. "Uncle Lao, the moon tonight is beautiful. I want to stay out longer." To this servant like his brother or father, Xiao Qingyu requested in an extremely polite manner. Uncle Lao saw the loneliness between his eyes when he was glancing up at the moon.
"Childe, are you thinking of that Young Duke Fang?" Uncle Lao said affably, "Duke Fang is a renown talent of this country. Since you don"t have many friends around you, I"ll also feel glad for you if you and Duke Fang become intimate friends—"
"This kind of idea shouldn"t have existed!" Xiao Qingyu looked cold and said in a low voice, "Otherwise, we wouldn"t know how we die."
Xiao Qingyu frowned, which enlivened his usually cold face, making it so stunningly captivating like it would light up the whole world.
Uncle Lao understood his childe. This young man boasted intellect governing the heaven and earth and a tough character inclusive enough to match his intellect. Yet, he suffered leg diseases since childhood and couldn"t walk. How could one not sigh?
Xiao Qingyu clasped his hands and sat there, lonely as usual, looking up to the moon.
Under the moon, he was still cold and desolated.
Like an unworldly fairy.
Not to be moved by anything.
He stared at the full moon and subtly sighed.
"The night is too long to be sleepy. I thought I was the only one that couldn"t fall asleep. It seems Brother Xiao shared the same trouble with me. Can I know why Brother Xiao is sighing at the moon?" An unrestrained man with a red scarf showed up under the full moon, sitting slant on the roof.
White clothes; black gauze; the long red scarf rustled in the wind! The gigantic round coquettish moon shone brightly behind him, as if he came out from the full moon!
"Childe!" Uncle Lao, alerted, stepped forward but was prevented by Xiao Qingyu who stayed calm and collected, "It"s chilly and windy up there. Don"t you feel cold, duke?"
"Hehe." Fang Junqian smiled in an inimitably wickedly charming way. His beauty was mixed up with evilness but you wouldn"t found it gaudy. Instead, it gave him an air of heroic pride. Stamping his feet, he lightly floated down from the top of Moon Pavilion, turning around while landing, and stood right before Xiao Qingyu. The alluring smile on his face against the dancing dark hair and floating red scarlet was enough to fascinate all living beings.
Even Xiao Qingyu had to admit that he was a charming man.
Fang Junqian smiled and cupped his hands, "Sorry to bother you."
"It"s late already. You are in such a good mood." Xiao Qingyu led him into his study, "Uncle Lao, please boil water to treat our guest—Duke Fang. The new Longjing tea before the rain has just arrived. You"re a lucky guy, duke."
Fang Junqian discovered that all the doors in this courtyard didn"t have thresholds—probably to make it easier for him to get in and out. The thresholds would be an obstacle for the wheelchair.
Incense was burnt, cups washed, jade pot rinsed and tea soaked by sweet dew…
Each and every movement of the youth in white was exceedingly elegant and unworldly.
After the spring water boiled for the second time, the youth raised the tea pot—a line of spring water broke through the green tea and in the white porcelain teacup, a cloud of light green rotated around.
The tea pot raised and fell three times to a regular rhythm. The tea fragrance smelt refres.h.i.+ng.
After the tea leaves sank into the bottom of the cup, the youth gestured with a smile, "Let the phoenix bow three times (a sort of tea ceremony) express my greetings to my guest."
Young Duke Fang said hurriedly, "I"m eager to take a sip upon smelling the fragrance. Qingyu, be quick to the "tea Guanyin holding a jade bottle" part!" (notes: according to the Buddhist story, Guanyin holds a white jade bottle which contains sweet dew that can drive away diseases and sufferings. The host making the tea and handing it to the guest is called "Guanyin holding jade bottle", a symbol of wish of safety forever.)
Xiao Qingyu"s eyes glistened, "You also know tea?"
"Yes." Fang Junqian took over the white porcelain teacup from Xiao Qingyu, taking a deep breath of the tea fragrance, which conquered him completely who had tasted numerous kinds of tea since he was very young.
Xiao Qingyu said seriously, "Tea has four virtues, "sense, respect, freshness and harmony". Having tea helps a person calm down and maintain a peaceful mind. There"s an old saying: Tea is something represents best of the taste and spirits of our country. It washes away dirt or wet in one"s body and gives a smooth operation of qi, which couldn"t be known to an ordinary man. I totally agree with it." Then, he took a sip, closed his eyes to feel the taste.
Fang Junqian calmed down his mind and also took a sip.
A stream of refres.h.i.+ng and thick fragrance with lingering aftertaste instantly ran through every cell of Fang Junqian who was at once cheered up by it.
His mind seemed to travel all around the universe and united with the nature to forget who he was in the dreamy experience.
Fang Junqian opened his eyes and looked sorry, "Bad."
"Um?" Xiao Qingyu looked up at him.
Fang Junqian put on a bitter face, "Once having this tea, I feel everything else in the world is too bad to taste. What should I do if I couldn"t have this tea anymore in the future?" On a flash of wit, he immediately requested cheekily, "What about I come here everyday? Let"s enjoy tea and cultivate our minds together. Isn"t it a huge pleasure of life?"
Xiao Qingyu burst into laughter from annoyance—he had never met such a thick-skinned guy! Yet, he couldn"t offend the duke, so he s.h.i.+fted to another topic, "Duke, why do you visit my humble courtyard tonight?"
Fang Junqian became depressed and put down the teacup in his hand, "The Tianbin people launched a war against our country, yet of all the men of our huge country, there is no one daring to fight back as the general. I couldn"t fall asleep. And hearing your performance, I came here along the voice."