Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Forty-three,
Long River

The two returned back to the room through the moonlight. This residence was not big, He Xuan only came here by himself in the past, and thus did not arrange for a guest room, and only had them add a small couch in the main bedroom.

“Really not sleeping with megu?” He Xuan was wearing a milky-white under robe, while the crow-black long hair loosely tied into one and hung on the side of the neck. He sat on the edge of the pearwood bed, his face seemed like paper sunk into oil underneath the candlelight, bearing an obscure and hazy gentleness to it.

“It is the outside, after all……” Xiao Zuo slightly unnaturally moved his eyes away, “I’ll just sleep on the couch.”

He Xuan glanced at him in disbelief, then got up to put down the curtains of the bed, with his tone with not much rise or fall, “As you like.”

Xiao Zuo’s couch was especially spread with a thick fine-haired rug, and was quite comfortable when sleeping on it. He covered up with a thin blanket, and when he heard He Xuan’s breathing gradually turn long, he then very carefully opened up the blankets, and quietly put on his shoes.

At that time he got close to Fu Zhan Chuan, the hand that fellow hid in the sleeves lightly pulled at the corner of his clothes, probably had something to speak with him. Xiao Zuo shuffled to the side of the door while turning his head every step, He Xuan did not move one bit, and looked to be deeply asleep. He placed his hung heart back one half, slowly pushed open the door, and went out.

He Xuan opened his eyes in the dark night, and propped on the pillow and quietly looked at his leaving back figure, with the lit incense on the side winding up, forming a dense smoke.

When Xiao Zuo walked to the entrance of the courtyard, he saw Fu Zhan Chuan cross his arms, leisurely leaning on the wall of the courtyard, lifting his head up gazing at the moon.

“Sir Fu.” Xiao Zuo walked to his back, and as expected, saw Fu Zhan Chuan act like a cat with exploding fur, and immediately jumped high up, turning his head to look at him with a face of shock, “Why…… why don’t you make a sound when you walk!”

Xiao Zuo helplessly glanced at him, then walked over from his side, “I stood for a long time already, you were too focused on looking at the moon.”

“Oh.” Fu Zhan Chuan upsetly pursed his lips, and walked out with him, “Xiao Zuo.”

Xiao Zuo turned back, and saw Fu Zhan Chuan take back his joking expression from before, and looked at him deeply, “The matters I spoke with you about last time, have you given it some thought?”

Xiao Zuo tightened his fist. Through the hazy moon, he stared at Fu Zhan Chuan, or perhaps it should be said, he looked through Fu Zhan Chuan, and saw Nan Liang’s spring flowers and willows, saw the tens of thousands of Nan Liang’s commoners……

“Now that Nan Liang is in deep trouble, and Jin allows the Liu family to cause chaos, as the monarch, I……” Xiao Zuo took in a deep breath, the winds faintly scattered with an unknown fragrance of flowers , the fragrance was strong and lingering, “Have a obligation to honour.”

“Good.” Fu Zhan Chuan’s expression was calm, “Of those that Nan Liang left in Jin, those who died already died, those who betrayed already did so, right now, only our family is left.” He paused, “If you want to make the effort to turn the raging tide, the path will be arduous, the outcome of fate will be unknown, you must be prepared.”

“I understand it all.” Xiao Zuo lightly laughed, he lifted his head, the pale moonlight illuminated his face, making his facial colour seem to be applied with an excellent powder, “Be it time or life.”

Fu Zhan Chuan’s expression moved a bit, he complicatedly stared at Xiao Zuo for a very long time, as though wanting to say something, but in the end, he only sighed, then patted Xiao Zuo’s shoulders, “The Fu family is still considered to have some power in the courts, if there is something you need in the future, just look for me.”

“Those in attendance in the Pine Wind tea party are all benevolent and of high integrity, young and talented people, you must take advantage of the opportunity to form more relationships, there will be some places they will be useful in.”

Xiao Zuo hung his eyes down, and made a sound in response. Fu Zhan Chuan lifted his head to look at the moonlight in the sky, then suddenly spoke without any heads or tails, “If only the human realm were to no longer go to war.”

After that, his two hands slipped into the sleeves, then bent his shaking back and walked far off without turning his head back, the voice in the night’s winds were dragged out very long, “I’m leaving.”

Xiao Zuo watched him get swallowed by the thick colour of the night, and strangely recalled when he was travelling with Father, he coincidentally met with a scholar. That scholar at that time did palm reading for him, and once they said that heaven’s will mustn’t be revealed, they left. He vacantly spread open his palm, the inside the palm was like it caught a small bit of the moonlight like a pinch of water, scattering with a blow of the wind, and flowed off without another trace.

When Xiao Zuo returned, He Xuan seemed to have flipped over. The thin blanket covering over him slid to one side, one corner of his under robe flipped up, revealing his slender waist. Xiao Zuo could not help but take a look, then immediately, like he got burned by fire, moved away his gaze. He tiptoed to the side of the bed, then, like a thief, covered that thin blanket back for He Xuan, and then rustily smoothed out the corner of the blanket for him.

The darkness diluted his vision, to the point that he could peacefully watch He Xuan’s asleep, relaxed brow ridge and relaxed corners of the mouth, and after a good while, he then took back his gaze, and very slowly climbed back to the couch, then pulled the blankets and covered it over his shoulders.

In Xiao Zuo’s hazy dream, he seemed to have heard He Xuan seemingly sigh, carrying a slight helplessness to it.

On the second day, He Xuan returned to the residence early on, the public affairs on his desk had piled as high as a small mountain, this hard-to-get day of relaxation quickly got submerged by the miscellaneous governmental affairs and such, pressing on one to the point they could not breath.