JOY OF LIFE

[VOLUME 1]Chapter 35: Four Springs in Qing Li

This was the first time that the blind Five-Bamboo had smiled. Or rather, this was the first time that the sixteen-year-old(16 years old confirmed? -Freya) Fan Xian had ever seen Uncle Five-Bamboo smile. It was only for a split second when he mentioned his mother.

The face of blind Five-Bamboo, which was veiled by the black cloth, did not look old. Instead, it was a cold and piercing look and seldom exudes any emotion. It was rare and unthinkable to see him sad or melancholic.

It was probably rarer for him to smile.

Which was why, when he remembered the past when he and the Mistress first arrived at the Capital in the Qin nation and had the corners of his lips turned up, it felt unfamiliar and rather awkward. Despite that, the unsmiling man would occasionally exude warmth as if a flawless Snow Lotus were to suddenly bloom on a cliff that has endured ten centuries of snow.

It was flawless and beautiful.

It took a while before Fan Xian broke from his stupor; by then, Five-Bamboo had already returned to his usual self and coolly replied, "Not many people knew that the Mistress was named Ye Qing Mei. The people around her only addressed her as the Mistress. However, the name 'Ye Qing Mei', even today...... must still be quite well-known in the Capital."

"Is it now?" Fan Xian's eyes widened. He felt that there were certain contradictions behind what Five-Bamboo had said; since there were few who knew his mother was named Ye Qing Mei, why was the name that famous? The reason he wondered about it was because he did not know about the words inscribed on the stone tablet at the entrance of the EBI. (Not too sure what this is about, I think it was written in the earlier chapters )

"Tell me about my father instead." Fan Xian's eyes were looking far away, as though he was thinking about something else.

"I only agreed to talk about the Mistress's circumstances."

"Oh my, you're quite the sly one, friend." (He's being overly friendly with his Uncle here ~)

"Just before you were born, I contracted a severe illness and forgot a lot of things."

Fan Xian chuckled, "Uncle, you are even more devious than me...... oh wells, it's fine then. Let us talk about something else...... my...... mother. How does she look like?"

Five-Bamboo thought for a while, before answering, "Beautiful."

Although the way he said it did not carry too many emotions, Fan Xian felt that Five-Bamboo was sincere about it. He smiled softly while rubbing his hands and sighed, "So she was a beautiful girl."

Even though the story Five-Bamboo told was lackl.u.s.ter, but by reading between the lines, Fan Xian could feel that, during those years in the Capital, the story of the girl must have been rather interesting and eventful. He was suddenly filled with a sense of longing to go to the Capital.

Five-Bamboo gave a hand signal to motion for Fan Xian to stand up and follow him.

Fan Xian curiously stood up and walked to the back of the room and saw Five-Bamboo gently tapped on the stone wall. A m.u.f.fled churning noise came from behind the wall and it opened in the middle to reveal a secret lair.

Fan Xian followed Five-Bamboo, surprised. There was nothing in the secret room save for a film of dust and a box that was casually placed in the corner.

Because the hideout was empty except for the chest, it was particularly eye-catching. It was a black leather box around the length of a grown man's forearm. It was not particularly wide, which might have caused it to look narrower than it actually is.