81.2 – Meeting under the moonlight

Glossary:
One Zheng: =3.33m; =3.65 yards

Xing niang and Wan Lu immediately lighted the lamps and began to put things in order, such as unpacking and making the beds. Since Ran Yan had nothing to do, she went roaming around, assessing the environment.

Ran Yan said she wanted to peacefully carry out her prayers for Buddha, so apart from Xing niang and Wan Lu, there was only Xiao Man whom she picked from the group of nubis sent by Madame Gao. The others have all remained in the village.

After the porters brought every luggage to their respective rooms, they left Ying Mei Nunnery. The recently crowded and noisy courtyard had now grown quiet and empty.

After hastily tidying up, the few people carried their tired bodies to bed, retiring for the night.

Since Ran Yan slept in the carriage, she reclined on the bed without an ounce of somnolence. She lighted the mosquito-repellent incense that was brought by Wan Lu, opened the window, spread a mat by its side and sat cross-legged, doing deep breath exercises. The air in the mountain seeped deeply into her body, refreshing her soul. The moonlight irradiating over Ran Yan was like water, engulfing her in a clear and bright light. If someone saw her at this moment, they would probably mistake her for a fairy.

After sitting there for a while, Ran Yan felt a slight chill and got up to close the window. But unexpectedly, she smelled the scent of roasted meat.

Ran Yan was surprised. This is a Buddhist Nunnery, how can there be the smell of roasted meat?

Ran Yan had only eaten a few pastries for supper, so feeling this smell now made her feel a little hungry. She got up and draped her satin coat over her shoulder before following that smell, looking for the person having a midnight secret meal.

The moonlight shined brightly, creating an incomparably clear scenery all around. Ran Yan’s courtyard was on the south side of Ying Mei Nunnery, and there was only a forest if you walked south from there. Ran Yan stopped at the front of the forest and carefully observed her surroundings. There were some vegetable gardens in front of the forest, and the wild trees at the back of the forest weren’t ordinary ones, they were fruit trees with large and small unripened fruits, covered by the shadows of the leaves. Ran Yan couldn’t tell what kind of fruit they were, but she was sure that this fruit-bearing grove must belong to the Ying Mei Nunnery.

Ran Yan tightly wrapped the coat over her body and walked into the fruit grove.

This fruit grove was huge, much bigger than what Ran Yan expected. After walking for a long time, the smell of meat started to become stronger. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find the person who was having a secret snack. Ran Yan thought, this nun must frequently have this secret meal, otherwise, how can she hide so well?!

Ran Yan looked at the path she came from and felt she couldn’t keep on walking forward. She had just arrived at this place; it wouldn’t be very safe to walk too far in the middle of the night.

As soon as she thought about it, Ran Yan sighed and turned to go.

She hadn’t taken many steps when a cool breeze suddenly blew behind her, and an ice-cold object was silently placed on the side of her neck.

Ran Yan started a little, and before she could move, an icy voice spoke with a strong killing intent: “Didn’t anyone tell you that it is forbidden to enter this forest?”

“No.” Ran Yan quelled the disturbance in her heart and said nonchalantly: “I arrived at this place today. When I sensed the meat scent, I ended up following it till here.”

“Seventeenth Miss Ran.” The cold voice spoke her identity while removing the sword from her neck.

Ran Yan turned around and saw a man wearing an all-black jinzhuang [1]. He had a tall and strong figure, and his perfect physique was outlined by the tight jinzhuang; wide shoulders and narrow waist, a fair skin bathed with the dim and cold radiance from the moonlight, deep eye sockets, a tall and prominent nose bridge, body dimensions of a Westerner and supraciliary ridges that created shadows over his eyes.

This man was quietly standing half zheng away. His black hair was hanging down loosely, and his handsome face reflected the shining glow from the moon. He was like an alluring demon under the moonlight, handsome enough to make people suffocate. [2]

“Come.” Su Fu thrust the sword into the ground before turning to walk away.

Ran Yan paused, thinking that if she turned around to leave, he could kill her in a fit of rage. Ran Yan assessed her choices and ended up choosing to follow him.

Su Fu’s steps seemed to be proceeding at a leisurely pace, but if he wanted, he could shake Ran Yan off with only a couple of steps.

They made two turns inside the forest when a bamboo grove appeared in front of them, looking like a natural protective screen. They walked not even two zheng in a small path of bluestone cobblestones inside this bamboo grove, then, arriving at the end of the path, their view was engulfed by the light coming from the broaden scenery.

A bamboo courtyard with two not very big rooms appeared. There were many low bamboo huts spread around, and a few “coo-coo” a “quack” sounds were heard from time to time.

Ran Yan looked at Su Fu’s back with doubt. Is this cold-blooded killer really hiding here raising chickens and ducks?

She had heard that Su Fu is the oldest son of the Su family, born to a concubine. How did the son of an aristocratic family become such a ruthless killer?

The gurgling sound of flowing water could be heard throughout the bamboo grove. There was a small stream in front of the entrance to the courtyard with crystalline water that was being permeated by the moonlight, and a low bamboo bridge across this stream.

The strong scent of meat filled the air all around, and a bonfire could already be seen in front of them.

Ran Yan was inwardly surprised, this place should be about a hundred meters from where she was before, how was it possible for him to detect her from here?

“Sit.” Su Fu knelt on a mat beside the bonfire and took a roasted mutton leg from it. She didn’t know when nor from where he took the dagger that was now on his hands, and used it to rapidly slice the meat into pieces, placing them on a large plate in front of him.

His hands paused and he raised his head to glance at Ran Yan, as if he thought her idle appearance seemed like she was planning some kind of trick. Another dagger appeared on his left hand, and he tossed it towards Ran Yan, “Slice another one.”

Ran Yan was stunned, feeling inwardly baffled; it looks like she doesn’t really know him? She merely entered the forest by mistake, that’s all. But how have things progressed to this point?

Ran Yan thought about it while following his words and pulling out another roasted mutton leg. She reached out and picked up a basket with a flat base at the side. She dissected this mutton leg with an agile and skillful technique; first, she removed the leg bone and then cut it into thin slices along the veins.

It was a tranquil scene amidst the moonlight, with the bonfire occasionally emitting crackly sounds. It was a meeting by chance that reunited these two people. Each one wholly absorbed into cutting their own mutton legs while a peculiar scent filled the atmosphere.

[1] Jinzhuang is a type of clothing made to facilitate your movements. It is normally seen in wuxia novels, games, etc. Link to google images. ↺

[2] Meaning, he is so handsome that people forget to breathe and then choke lol. ↺