Chapter 51: Girlish Notions. A Sense of Familiarity
Translator: Whatsyourissue Editor: ICheah
“Well, I walked in, just like that!” Ji Ling turned her head away.
“You walked in… just like that. Silently waiting for me to return.” Yun Yang paced around Ji Ling with his arms behind his back as he clicked his tongue saying, “I must say, Lady Ji’s ability to engage in illicit affairs is highly remarkable.”
“What did you say?” Ji Ling’s initial embarrassment turned into anger as she bared her teeth. “Say it again!” she shouted in as threatening a tone as she could muster. Thinking about the time Yun Yang had mentioned female satyr and hearing him accuse her of being engaged in illicit affairs, her temptation to pummel him into the ground became increasingly harder to deny.
With his head held high, Yun Yang said, “What? You can do it but you don’t allow me to say it?”
“You…!” Ji Ling was fuming with embarrassment, on the verge of exploding from being at the disadvantage in their bickering.
There is simply no way this rascal can get the better of me!
She shot forward in a single step. Although Yun Yang had begun to move to avoid her, Ji Ling’s actions were brisk and she had already pinned his arm to his back. With a twist, she had locked Yun Yang to the floor; lifting her knee in a thrust towards Yun Yang’s rear end, he flew out as if he sat on a moving cloud. Before he could moan out in pain as he lay on the floor, a heavy weight fell on his back as Ji Ling sat on him. Yun Yang felt as if he was being pinned under a mountain, his waist was slammed onto the floor again as he wailed in pain.
“Would you still like to say more?” Ji Ling asked fiercely.
“It’s my… my house! Why can’t I say what I wish to?” Yun Yang was puffing heavily, putting in a whole lot of effort to raise his head up.
“Hmm?” Ji Ling stretched her hands out and pinned both Yun Yang’s arms against his back. As she exerted further force, Yun Yang continued to moan in pain, “Ouch, that hurts!”
“Still trying to say something?”
“Not at all!”
“Can I still come?”
“Yes! Yes! Big sister, quickly let me go!”
“Still dare to be mean to me?”
“No no… Ouch!”
“Did you kill Ximen Wandai?”
“Yes, I killed him! I was the one who killed him!” Yun Yang was flailing about, trying to flip their positions but Ji Ling’s cultivation base was more than just a bit higher than Yun Yang’s. She was at least several levels higher. Sitting on Yun Yang with all her weight, it would be difficult for him to move even a little bit.
Ji Ling had the upper hand sitting on Yun Yang. For the first time in a long while, she actually felt triumphant. Thinking of the frustration she had suffered at the hands of this rascal for the past few days, she was elated with pride now, an exaltation from the initial sense of indignation she felt in her chest.
She said triumphantly, “Anger me further, I dare you! Let me tell you, it’s better to be cautious with your attitude when you don’t have enough ability…”
Just as she spoke about it, hurried footsteps arrived at the door.
Before Ji Ling could jump up, the door to the room was pushed open by Lao Mei. His anxious voice followed right away, “Young master… what has happened? Why did I hear a fight here?”
He caught sight of the spectacle in front of him, and the words were strangled in his throat.
Ji Ling turned her head back to look at him as Yun Yang lifted his head from the floor with much difficulty.
Lao Mei stood at the door with disbelief written all over his face, his eyes bulged and his mouth was agape, almost wide enough to fit two duck eggs!
Ji Ling sprung up self-consciously and said in near-panic, “I can explain!”
“Oh, no, no it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter at all…” Lao Mei grinned sheepishly, “I didn’t see anything at all! You two can carry on...”
“I didn’t… I only… I…” The more Ji Ling panicked, the more she stuttered and words failed her.
“It is no matter, no matter at all! Young people…” Lao Mei began his retreat from the room. “Playing games… it’s perfectly normal...”
“Don’t go yet!” Ji Ling was practically hopping with anxiety. “I was just… I just wanted to teach him a lesson… Right, I wanted to teach him a lesson. That’s why I’m riding…”
Even as she spoke the words, her face began to burn with shame.
She wanted to teach him a lesson, so she climbed on top of him? Even Ji Ling herself wouldn’t have been convinced by the inane excuse.
“No worries, no worries…” Lao Mei continued to bob his head in embarrassment, regretting his trip over as he said the first thing that came to mind, “Actually, it’s the same regardless whoever’s on top. Uh, I’ll leave now…”
Realizing he had said something wrong, he fled after closing the door. “You two carry on…”
“No!” Ji Ling rushed over to wrench open the door and said in utter panic, “It’s not what you think… Don’t misunderstand! Listen to me...”
There was barely a glimpse of Lao Mei at the door; he had vanished entirely. Ji Ling’s tiny mouth hung open. Looking at the empty courtyard, she could only feel her face flush like it was on fire.
As the night breeze blew by, Ji Ling finally regained her train of thoughts after standing there dumbfounded. She covered her face with an incredibly flustered squeak as she squatted right on the floor.
This misunderstanding… I can’t wash it away even if I jump into the endless ocean.
My dignity! My reputation!
Ji Ling squatted on the floor, she felt like she could not bear to see anyone anymore.
As she entertained the thought of having lost her face, she actually began sobbing.
“What are you crying for?” Yun Yang quickly got up and questioned in perplexity, “I’m the one who got beaten… Why are you crying?”
Ji Ling wailed, “What do you care?”
“It doesn’t bother me in the slightest…” Yun Yang’s words had unknowingly triggered a huge wave of anger in the distraught woman. “But this is my room and you’re crying in here. If people were to hear it, they would think you were being… you know...”
Ji Ling sprung up and turned around, her hands choking Yun Yang’s neck as she said through gritted teeth and a red face, “I dare you to continue your sentence!”
“Argh! Let go! Can’t... breathe…” The whites of Yun Yang’s eyes were beginning to show, as he struggled to breathe.
Ji Ling finally released him and Yun Yang coughed while holding onto his neck, saying, “Almost…”
Ji Ling only snorted.
“Anyway, why did you come in here late last night?” Yun Yang spoke in all seriousness now as he could distinctly feel Ji Ling’s genuine suspicion. After fooling about, Yun Yang could also sense that Ji Ling was no longer doubtful that he had killed Ximen Wandai.
Naturally, it was time for serious business.
“It’s all because of you.” Ji Ling huffed as her tone got icier. “I heard that Ximen Wandai had ordered people to assassinate your father, so I’ve been keeping an eye out over there. Who knows that it would suddenly turn chaotic, and the next thing I knew was that Ximen Wandai had died...”
“I was idle and had nothing to do. If the Ximen family decides to take their anger out on someone, they will definitely come after you..” Ji Ling then said, “I was on the way and came to inform you. Who would have known that you would be out?”
A tinge of warmth surfaced in Yun Yang’s eyes.
How could have guessed that this young lady was concerned about him? She had already been hurt by him yet she still took notice of the news. Once she got hold of the information, she still came forth to inform him. It was then that Yun Yang had an epiphany.
This young lady had not intended to trap him, right from the beginning. She just felt like she had nothing to say and used that as an opening to prove that she wasn’t here to inform him, but just to investigate.
This was all but a delicate girl’s notions!
“Thank you,” Yun Yang put away his frivolous side and thanked her with gravity, after having sucked in a light breath.
His sudden change of demeanor had Ji Ling feeling out of character; she managed to reply after being stunned for a moment. “You’re welcome.”
“This is how it is. Ximen Wandai’s death has already angered all those in the Ximen family.”
Ji Ling said hurriedly, “You have to be careful.”
“I’m leaving.” Ji Ling had her head lowered, the domineering aura when she was on top of Yun Yang and manhandling him was completely gone.
Behind her, Yun Yang’s patient voice called out. “Yun Yang is not someone who isn’t sensible. I shall repay Lady Ji’s kindness, if there is a chance in the future.”
Ji Ling glared at him and said, “Who wants your compensation?”
Then she stopped and turned around, saying, “Now that you mention it, I do have something that I’ll need your help with.”
Yun Yang was slightly taken aback by her brashness.
I just said I would repay you and you immediately take me up on my offer?
He could only say helplessly, “Lady Ji, please speak.”
Ji Ling bit her lips before continuing, “I have an older brother who has been lost for many years. Our family has searched high and low around the Tianxuan Continent but could not find any news on him… We heard that he had been sighted in Tiantang City two years ago.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yun Yang asked, “What is your brother’s name?”
Ji Ling answered, “My brother’s name is Ji Lingfeng. He would be about twenty-five years old this year. He is not very tall but very thin. There’s a dimple on his left cheek when he smiles. He is rather... frivolous… but he is still a good man.”
She spoke about her older brother with the amount of detail only a sister could remember and actually took a portrait out.
Opening the portrait, Yun Yang only had to take a single glance before he was enamored by it.
A man in black stood with his arms behind his back amidst the snow. His stature was tall and straight as his gazed determinedly at a spot far away. There was a sword on him, the grip of the sword the head of a dragon; he exuded an otherworldly aura as if he could depart with the wind if he so desired amidst the sky of snow.
The man looked grim but seemed to detest restriction, a trait contained in his very bones. The painter was exceptionally talented to have been able to draw and reflect such charm.
It was exceptional portrait just from the artistic aspect alone.
The more Yun Yang looked at the man in the portrait, the more he felt a sense of familiarity. The face, the look, the accessories, the man’s weapon– they were all foreign to him.
Yet he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and affability! He could not help but stare at it, deep in his thoughts with a worried frown.
Looking at Yun Yang’s expression, Ji Ling became slightly nervous. “Have you met him? Have you seen this person before?”
Yun Yang’s train of thoughts was interrupted as he shook his head in confusion, “I have never seen this person before, but why do I feel… I feel…”
“What do you feel?” Ji Ling questioned without missing a beat.
“I feel… like he is very familiar…” Yun Yang frowned. “But it escapes me at this moment in time. Besides, I have absolutely no impression of this face.”
Ji Ling’s eyes glowed with hope. “Please, think carefully…”
Yun Yang scavenged through his memories; he recalled all the people he had met from when he could first form memories to this very moment. In the end, he shook his head and said helplessly, “No impression… this is strange!”
Theoretically, I have no justification to forget someone who could give me this feeling!
But why can’t I recall who he is?
Ji Ling bit her lips and looked at him quietly. A long while later, she spoke. “If you happen to remember or meet this person, please let me know. This is my older brother! He is my only family in this world.”
Yun Yang immediately agreed to do so.
Ji Ling bid goodbye with a heavy heart but did not forget to roll up the portrait and bring it along with her.
Looking at Ji Ling’s back, Yun Yang was still thinking about the portrait. The person on it was remarkably familiar. His state of mind should have not been ruffled by anything but he could feel an odd sense of unease when he looked at the portrait.
This had almost caused Yun Yang to miss out something that Ji Ling had uttered – she was supposed to be from a noble family but why did she say that her older brother was her only family in this world?