Spring Winds

Someone likes Senior Sister?

At this thought, my heart panged painfully. It was like someone had taken hold of it and crushed it in their hand into dust.

What is going on? Why does my heart hurt so much?

Could it be that I've been poisoned or cursed?

"I'm sorry," Senior Sister said as she calmly rejected the person before her. "I'm afraid that I cannot return the same sentiment as I already have someone else in my heart."

"W-what? Well," the other person seemed to be at loss for words before seeming to have expected this ending. "I suppose I can't argue with that.

Tell me, Martial Aunt Jing Hua. Is there is anything that could possibly change your mind? Is there at least a small possibility that I can be the one by your side?"

"No," Senior Sister shook her head. "I don't believe that in this lifetime it's possible.

The person in my heart is the only one that will remain there."

"Hah," the other person let out a sigh, frustrated and disappointed. "Then as your suitor, I can only wish you happiness."

"Eh. Thank you."

Senior Sister has someone she likes? And it's the only one that she'll ever like in this lifetime.

This thought only made my chest squeeze even tighter. To the point that it was a little difficult to breathe.

Hah, why do I feel so miserable?

Peering through the bamboo, I tried to see who it was that confessed to her; however, the pillars and the darkness skewed my view.

Nevermind, nevermind…

It must be that I have overeaten earlier and now suffer from internal heat or something.

Plus, it's not my business to know whether or not someone likes Senior Sister.

In fact, I should be happy for her!

After all, Senior Sister is a fantastic person. She's kind, beautiful, an excellent cook, and is pretty good at directions.

With all of these qualities, I'm sure that there is no shortage of good people waiting in line for her hand in marriage.

And then she'll be happy!

She'll get married, have kids, maybe even do some adventures in between, before growing old with her husband.

Yeah, this is a good thing…

I don't know when I started walking away, but I found myself at the edge of the bamboo forest. The pops of firecrackers and bright lanterns made me somewhere aware of the change in scenery.

A soft thud brought my attention to the ground. Leaning on one another, the red and blue flowers laid at my feet.

"Ah, the lanterns…" Their strings must've come undone from the sticks. Crouching down, I reached for the forgotten pair of lanterns.

I suppose I won't be using these tonight, ah.

"Jing Ran?" Suddenly a pair of shoes came into my view as I bent down. "Jing Ran, is that you?"

Eh?

Looking up, a young girl with silver eyes looked down at me with confusion. Squinting my eyes in the dark, I tried to rake my brain for someone who also had silver eyes.

"I-It's me, Jing Ran." The girl squeaked as she tucked her hair behind her ear; her face glowed red like lanterns. "B-Bai Yin."

"Ehhh?!" Σ(゜゜)

Is that girl Bai Yin? I could barely recognize her!

"Wow! You look great, Bai Yin!

Have you grown taller?"

"Ehmm, I think so," she fidgeted as she bowed her head. "A-and thank you for your kind words, Jing Ran."

Compared to the young girl I met last time, Bai Yin has really grown into a pretty young woman. No longer styled into pigtails with buns, Bai Yin's hair was pulled into a simple updo, secured by a few silver hairpins. Her face didn't change too much, other than losing some baby fat in her cheeks.

Other than that, she looked like the same Bai Yin I remembered a few months ago. It seems that the last time I've visited was a long time ago for her to go through this much change.

Ah, time sure does fly.

"What are you doing around here, Bai Yin?"

"Oh, I was just trying to get away from the crowds and get some fresh air. It's been kind of overwhelming as the sect master's daughter to greet every guest."

"Hmm, I see."

"What about you? What brings you here?"

"O-oh, um." Remembering my lanterns, I scrambled to pick them up. "I was just looking for my senior sister to see if she wanted to light these lanterns with me.

But… it seems like she's a little busy right now…" As I tried to pull out my interspatial bag and stuff the lanterns in, the blue one fell out of my grasp.

"A-ah, your lantern. Let me help you."

"Oh, no need, no need." I tried to pick it up before she could; however, Bai Yin beat me to it as she bent down and held the blue lantern in her hands.

Holding out the paper flower, she said with a smile, "Here you go, Jing Ran."

"Ah, thank you." Grabbing the lantern, Bai Yin flinched as I took back the lantern. "Are you okay?"

Did I scratch her by accident? 「(°ヘ°)

"O-oh, I'm f-fine," stuttering, Bai Yin held her hand to her chest. "I-I'm just feeling a bit flush, that's all."

Hmm, maybe she's all eaten too much food with internal heat. !?(･_･;?

"Why don't we walk around for a bit. You seem like you could use some fresh air."

"E-ehm, alright."

Stashing the two lanterns into my interspatial sack, I escorted Bai Yin around the festival. Hopefully, the change in scenery and movement would help her internal heat and this walk will allow us to make up for the lost time.

Plus, this should help ease my uneasiness in my chest. I'm sure that I just need some fresh air.

I hope that this feeling will go away.

"So, how did your mission go? Did you face any hardships?"

"E-eh," Bai Yin nodded as she bit into her tanghulu[1]. "My group was assigned to the southern coast of the Rou Nation. Our goal was the check on the sea pillar for any abnormalities."

"Hmm, I assume that all is well?"

"Yes, thankfully. The pillar itself seemed fine; however, the journey to get there was rather… difficult."

Hmm, so it seems we weren't the only ones. Hah, it's like the heavens don't want us to reach our destinations.

"The waters surrounding the sea pillar seemed to have become more violent as of late.

The local fisherman said that anyone who drew too close would be pushed away by giant waves or drown trying to get close.

Which led to some troubles with local merchants and the village economy."

Now that I think about it, the journey to get to Yong Yuan seemed to be a lot more laborious than I had initially thought. However, that could be due to my general inexperience with these kinds of things.

"What about you, Jing Ran? How was your mission?"

"Hmm, my mission?" I think it went fairly smoothly; I made a few friends here and there. I made sure to tell Bai Yin about Shao Xiu Lan and her prowess in martial arts. Oh, and how I met Scaly and the other minute details of my journey.

"Overall, I think I learned a lot, and it was a great way to gain some knowledge and experience." （*＾＾*)

"Ehmm, such expeditions widened our horizons as juniors."

"Yep!"

As we wandered around the festival for some time, it looks like Bai Yin has recovered from her 'illness' as a sweet smile remained on her face the whole time.

"Well, well, well! Look at you, lass! You seem to be doing well for yourself!" A jolly holler came from the side, followed by some laughter.

"Eh? Master Qing Su?" Looking at the call's source, the old master among some other old men I didn't recognize. And based on their red flushed faces and the bottle of empty wine around them, they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their Lantern Festival.

"I didn't think that I would see you here in such a casual manner, Master Qing Su."

"Haha, well, it's the New Year's season after all," he laughed. "You can't stay uptight year around, or else your gonna burst, aha!"

"Hah, true. Very true."

Master Qing Su took a swing of wine before peering behind me. "Who's that little lady behind you?"

"Oh, this is Bai Yin, the sect master's daughter."

"Greetings, peak masters," Bai Yin gave them a small bow.

"Ohhh," Master Qing Su nodded oddly. "Haha, if you were a man, lass, then the two of you would make a nice couple."

"Eh?" (・へ・)?

"H-haha," Bai Yin's face flushed red. "Y-you jest, Master Qing Su."

Hmm, I wonder if Bai Yin was getting drunk from the pungent smell of liquor that permeated the air. (´･_･`)

"Oi, Old Su," one of the old men nodded his head towards me as he looked at Master Qing Su. "Who's this little lady?

Is she one of your disciples?"

"Haha, no. I wish, though!

She's one of the martial aunties I told you about. Martial Aunt Jing Ran."

"Hah? Wait," the old man seemed to become sober as he began questioning Master Qing Su. "Is she the disciple of Grandmaster Luo?

The Luo Yu Xing?"

Eh? Why is this man so freaked out about master? ( ・◇・)?

I haven't seen anyone so excited about Master before.

"Yep, that's him," Master Qing Su nodded as he took another swig of wine. "The Dragon of Falling Stars, Luo Yu Xing."

The Dragon of Falling Stars? ಠ_ಠ

What kind of name is that?

"Hey, you old geezers are now talking about the Dragon of Falling Stars?" Another old man chimed in. "Heh, I haven't heard of that name since I was a boy. It sure does bring back memories…"

Hah? Another one? Σ(゜゜)

Based on these old men's reactions, Master must've been something great to garner such a reaction, but how is that possible?

The only achievement that I've seen so far is Master cleaning himself up for more than one day!

And voluntarily at that!

"Master Qing Su, if I may be so rude: what are you guys talking about?"

[1] tanghulu - also called bingtanghulu, is a traditional Northern Chinese snack of candied mountain hawthorn, Chinese haw, Chinese hawthorn, Chinese haw berry, or shanzha in Mandarin Chinese. It consists of fruits covered in hard candy on approximately 20-centimeter (7.9 in)-long bamboo skewers. Tanghulu is often mistaken for regular candied fruits; however, they are coated in hardened sugar syrup. This sweet and sour treat has been made since the Song Dynasty and remains popular throughout northern China.