Chapter 271 – The Bamboo Forest Phantasmagoria
A clan dispute that had exploded after being pent up for a long time finally reached a conclusion that no one could have expected. Yun Che didn’t actually know how Su Hengshan was going to treat the Su Hengyue and his son, as well as the elders and disciples that always supported him. He didn’t really care about it. When Blackwood Stronghold left, he took Su Ling’er and left.
During this matter, Yun Che had roughly gained an understanding of Su Hengshan’s nature. Evidently, this was an upright, honest, modest person, and he put a great deal of affection in his heart, but this wasn’t such a good clan leader… because he wasn’t fierce and determined enough with the way he did things. Otherwise, a person, such as an elder, wouldn’t go rampant like that. Although it reached this step and Su Hengyue had already betrayed the clan, Yun Che could imagine the way he’ll treat this matter still wouldn’t be very decisive. Afterall, Su Hengyue was his elder brother. Also, it wasn’t just him, there were many elder characters who supported him.
From the matters today, Yun Che was able to see the potential crisis that Grandwake Clan was in.
“Big brother Yun Che, you and Papa said that I’m already a… fiancee, what’s a fiancee?” Su Ling’er grasped Yun Che’s hands with a confused gaze and asked. She had a faint idea of what the word fiancee meant, but she wanted to hear the answer from Yun Che’s mouth.
Yun Che smiled and said: “It means that when Su Ling’er grows up, you will marry me and become my wife… like your beautiful big sister.”
Xia Qingyue slanted her eyes at him with a peculiar expression.
“Wi… fe… What does that mean?” Su Ling’er mouth was slightly agape, this form of address made her even more puzzled.
“This means that only I can call you Ling’er. After Ling’er becomes my wife, we’ll be together forever to accompany each other, take care of each other, and make each other happy and do all the things that make us happy together.” Yun Che lightly said. These words were really simple to say, but Su Ling’er at that time, until she disappeared and withered, wasn’t able to hear it from his mouth.
Su Ling’er’s footsteps immediately became a lot slower, as if Yun Che’s words made her stupid.
Yun Che lowered his head and carefully asked: “Ling’er, then when you grow up, do you want to become my wife?”
Su Ling’er raised her snowy tender cheeks, then nodded with all her might. She laughed sweetily: “Mnn! I like being with big brother Yun Che!”
Yun Che held Su Ling’er’s little hand even tighter. His heart was filled with warmth… mixed together with the pain.
Finally, Xia Qingyue could no longer remain silent. She slanted her gaze towards the tender little Su Ling’er, instantly guessed her age, and furrowed her brows and asked him: “Are you serious?”
Yun Che knew what Xia Qingyue was thinking. Anyone who saw him actually be so serious and determined for a ten year old girl to become his wife would only have one word in their heart: “beast”. He stuck up the corner of her mouth and helplessly said: “I’m actually serious… But, I have my own reason. Besides…” Yun Che’s expression was slightly painful: “This is only a dream, isn’t it? Since it’s only a dream, then let it… become as as beautiful as a fantasy.”
“…” Xia Qingyue had absolutely no idea what he meant, but looking at the sincerity and melancholy in his eyes, she turned her cheeks around and didn’t ask again.
“Qingyue my wife, today you…” Yun Che very carefully asked: “Why are you that… Umm… obedient.”
Xia Qingyue lowered her eyes and lightly said: “The strength that I have now should have originally belonged to you. If you wanted to use it, I wouldn’t have refused.”
Yun Che stared blankly, pinched his nose a bit, and didn’t continue with this topic: “From the Earth Profound Realm all the to the Emperor Profound Realm, this progress is too frightening. However, if the progress is too great, then there might be realm instability issues. Qingyue, it’d be good if I’ll accompany you back to the Dragon Perching Pavilion to harmonize your aura for a bit to avoid any backlash that might be left behind.”
Xia Qingyue nodded: “It’s enough if I return myself. You can play with Ling’er.”
Yun Che did not keep insisting. After warning her to be on guard, he brought Su Ling’er and left. After all, he promised Ling’er that after Xia Qingyue woke up, he’ll keep on playing with her.
After Yun Che walked far away, Xia Qingyue turned around to look at Yun Che’s figure from behind. Her mood was blank as she absent-mindedly soliloquized: “Is it because… we’re husband and wife… ?…”
………………………………
“Ling’er, where do you want to go and play?”
“Hehe… when I’m together with big brother Yun Che, my mood will turn especially good. It’ll be fine to go anywhere and play… Oh… let me think! That’s right, let’s go to the bamboo forest in the back, and play, okay?”
“Bamboo… Forest?” These two words touched upon some of Yun Che’s nerves.
“Mnn! At the foot of the mountain, there’s a big big bamboo forest. I like the wind in there the most. Only, Papa said that many dangerous profound beasts might appear there, and he never lets me go there by myself. Papa is always so busy too, so he rarely brings me there to play.”
“Bamboo forest… bamboo forest… okay, then let’s go to the bamboo forest and play.”
South of the Grandwake Clan, was a huge area covered with a bamboo forest that extended all the way to the foot of the mountain in the distance; dense emerald green color flooded that entire area. Along with the rustling of bamboo leaves, dense bamboo branches and the waves of unceasingly refreshing wind that brushed by, made people incredibly relaxed and carefree.
“Wow! So relaxing!” Standing in the middle of the bamboo forest, Su Ling’er closed her eyes and extended both her arms, and raised her little nose to sniff the refreshing air from the bamboo forest with all her might.
The bamboo forest in front of them wasn’t as dense as the one where Yun Che and Su Ling’er lived before, but after seeing that same emerald green, the same delightful refreshment, and feeling the brush of the oncoming wind, it felt like his spirit was being lightly rinsed. Looking at the bamboo forest, then looking at Su Ling’er, Yun Che became silly for a moment… At the time, that beautiful bamboo forest and that beautiful Ling’er, that beautiful world with two people, why was the only thing he saw hatred…
Su Ling’er was always that melancholic, she always told him to let go of his hatred… Perhaps, at that time, she had already let go of her past and only wanted to stay together with him. The melancholy she had later, wasn’t from her past at all, but had probably came from him instead…
“Big brother Yun Che, it’s really beautiful here right?” Su Ling’er smiled and said: “This is my favoritest place ever. Every time I come here, it feels like I’ve become a fairy, and I’ll forget all the unhappy things. I like everything here… I often think, if I grew up in the future, I’ll certainly place my family within a bamboo forest… Oh! Just thinking about it makes me so happy.”
Yun Che’s heart violently shook.
No wonder… no wonder when master died, she dragged his unconscious and heavily injured self for several days, and stopped within a patch of bamboo forest. At that time, he only believed that Su Ling’er felt it was safe and concealed… As it turns out, she was sincerely fond of bamboo forests and had a dream about bamboo forests since young.
In the bamboo forest, her heart could calm down, she could imagine herself as a fairy… and only within a bamboo forest, could she overcome her loneliness, worries, fears, depression and problems… Day after day, year after year, when forever waiting for his return.
Yun Che clenched both his fists tightly, and his heart sored like a pincushion. Shame filled his soul like a tide. He realized more and more that he wasn’t worth of Ling’er, that he wasn’t able to make it up to her even after ten lifetimes…
“Ling’er, let’s build a home here okay?” Yun Che lightly asked.
“Huh? Build a home… here?” Su Ling’er was full of astonishment.
“Mn!” Yun Che smiled and nodded: “Didn’t Ling’er always dream of living in a bamboo forest? Then let’s build a little bamboo house in the midst of these bamboos. This way, Su Ling’er can live here as long as she wants to.”
“Bamboo… house?” After Su Ling’er was startled for a while, her starry eyes immediately became incredibly bright: “Can we… really? But if the bamboo here gets hurt, isn’t that a bit too unfortunate…”
“Haha!” Yun Che began to laugh. He lightly comforted Ling’er’s cheeks and lovingly said: “There are so many bamboos here, and there are only a few that can be part of a little house. If these bamboos knew that they could be made into a house for an adorable Ling’er, then they would definitely be very happy.”
“Mn!!” Su Ling’er let her inner worries go and yelled with incomparable happiness.
Yun Che pointed his fingers out and directed his profound strength like a knife. With a sweep of his finger, over ten bamboos were neatly severed. Not long after, a huge pile of bamboo stalks that were thick enough stacked up by their sides, and a large enough open space was cleared up in this dense bamboo forest.
With Yun Che’s profound strength, this engineering feat wasn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t relaxing either. However, with Su Ling’er excitedly cheering him on by his side as he wiped his sweat from time to time, even though sweat rolled down his back, he didn’t feel the least bit exhausted.
The sky gradually dimmed and a simple little bamboo house finally took shape. This little bamboo house was much smaller and cruder than the one Su Ling’er and him lived in. It wasn’t even enough to shield them from the wind and rain, but this delicacy certainly had a clean and refreshing feeling. Also, this wasn’t just a small bamboo house, there was a little bed and a little chair inside as well.
After the bamboo house took shape, Yun Che’s ears were filled with Su Ling’er’s excited cheers. She excitedly ran around the little bamboo house. Her free spirited and beautiful voice reached his ears from very far away… She was actually like a carefree fairy.
“Big brother Yun Che, let’s just live in here today, okay? This was my dream before… also, with big brother Yun Che keeping me company, I won’t be afraid at all.”
“Mnn, okay!”
In the middle of the bamboo forest, they played from the afternoon all the way until the moon hung in the night sky. The laughter that came from Ling’er today was more than what Yun Che had heard from her during those times. This afternoon, the cheers and laughs that came from Ling’er became his entire world. Today, he belonged only to Ling’er.
The bright moon hung high up in the sky, and Ling’er, who ran around all afternoon, was finally tired. She and Yun Che slept shoulder to shoulder on the bamboo bed they built together… The bamboo house was very simple and very stiff… moving just a little would cause it to creek all over. However, laying on top on it, breathing in the fresh air, sniffing the odor of the emerald green bamboo, and feeling the breeze that slipped through the cracks from time to time, the two were were incredibly content. Of course, the thing that was even more important was that they were by each other’s sides.
“Big brother Yun Che, I really want to… be together with you forever… Oh… If I say it like that, would it make big brother Yun Che feel weird… Obviously, we’ve only just met today, but I liked big brother Yun Che from the first moment I saw you… Am I a really strange girl?”
The little bed was incredibly narrow. Su Ling’er lightly leaned against Yun Che’s body and asked in a little voice.
“No.” Yun Che began to smile: “Because it’s the same when I saw Ling’er. During an entire lifetime, it’s very difficult for a person to inexplicably like someone during the first time they see each other. If two people felt the same way about each other, then, perhaps they are destined by the heavens to be together, or perhaps… have lingering affection from a previous life.”