Sons of Nature

4 The Last Rose of Winter (3)

Fu Yun immediately started to make plans. He couldn't tell anyone anything about Yue Ji. Otherwise, it might end in disaster. If he constantly left and stayed out for hours at a time, it would raise concerns. Maybe not immediately but with time, the others would notice and start to ask questions.

Right now, it was still the middle of winter. Until the last snow fell, he would have enough of an excuse to go and see him. After all, it was unlikely anyone would be able to hunt enough for them to stay in the village. Since he didn't have a family to take care of, it would make sense for him to venture out more than others. He could just volunteer, then spend half the time hunting and the other half with Yue Ji. Nobody would notice.

After that ... well, he didn't know yet but he could certainly come up with something. Maybe he'd just pretend he had gone so far into the forest that he met someone from a village on the other side and fell in love or something. It wouldn't be too far from the truth so he could probably keep that story straight.

But yes, that was something to think about later. For now, he should plan tomorrow's visit. He had already made up his mind to ask some questions. As for the rest of their conversation, he'd just go with the flow. He should also bring a small gift though. Hopefully, that would leave a good impression.

Having made up his mind, Fu Yun opened a chest standing below his window. There was a smile on his lips when he pulled out a fur he kept in there, carefully tucked away at the side. He had never used it before, not even when the temperatures dropped much further than this morning because it could be considered a rarity.

He had always thought that he could sell it off if he ever found himself in dire straits or otherwise give it to his future wife. Well, he didn't think he'd ever find that wife. And seeing how Yue Ji had looked at the fur he had worn on top of his clothes today, he should like this one. It was even softer but contrary to the gray one he used, this one was snow white. If worn by Yue Ji, it should feel like it was supposed to lie on his shoulders, blending in with the white hair and snowy skin.

Fu Yun smiled to himself, picked out a nondescript piece of fabric from the chest, and wrapped the fur inside. This way, nothing would show from the outside. Otherwise, he might get questions as to why he was suddenly taking this out if he ran into one of the others tomorrow morning.

Right now, it was still too early for that. He'd have to wait a few days or maybe even weeks before he could start bringing up excuses for staying out longer. Well, of course, this was only the case if Yue Ji still wanted to see him by then. The spirit might not be too comfortable with him being around all the time, after all.

He sighed and dropped the thought, putting the wrapped-up fur to the side. After that, he collapsed on his bed with a groan. A whole day ... it suddenly seemed like an eternity. He hardly knew what he should do with all that time.

Fu Yun continued to lie on the bed for a while but finally got up with another sigh. There wasn't much to do in winter, especially not if he was trying to evade the others so they wouldn't notice his abnormal state of mind. Thinking about it for a while, he finally went over to the bucket that was standing in the corner. He had filled it with snow this morning before going out and by now, the snow had melted into crystal-clear water.

Fu Yun poured some of the water into a smaller bowl and glanced at his reflection which could be faintly seen. He had no idea what type of person a spirit would like whether that was in terms of personality or appearance. Thinking of Yue Ji's looks though, he felt that his chances might go up if he at least seemed like a person that could be described as well put together. Thus, the next half an hour was spent on grooming himself.