CH 90.1

Flying Fairy in the Desert (1)

The sword flickered like a dragon dancing in the air.

The youth on camera appeared casual, with a light smile playing at the corners of his mouth, his long and slender stance darting and moving around the space. His movements were small, but every move was graceful and swift. Whenever the sword in his hand moved, it created invisible ripples in the air.

The views on the live stream suddenly plummeted, with thousands of people tuning in to watch. The comments were sparse at the moment, all looking at Ruan Qingmu on the screen in utter amazement.

It was a wooden sword that should have been light and weightless. But when held by this ancient-costumed youth, the occasional sharp stabbing and slashing did not lack any hint of gravity and fierceness…

Qin Yuan tensed and his eyes stared unblinkingly at the person on the screen.

It was just a cosplay costume change. But unknowingly, the more he watched, the more restless he became as if something in his heart was blocked up his throat, almost making it impossible to breathe smoothly.

It was clear that this was Ruan Qingmu, the same person he had known all along. Yet, he looked like a completely different person.

The camera was fixed and without professional close-ups and cut scenes. When Ruan Qingmu’s sword became increasingly rapid, the camera occasionally lost sight of him, leaving a vague residual shadow in the picture.

Qin Yuan looked at the shadow, which seemed like it would disappear from the camera at any moment, and suddenly felt an inexplicable stabbing pain in his heart.

He couldn’t bear standing up, and Ruan Qingmu suddenly leaped up at that moment and stabbed the camera from the side of the screen at a challenging and tricky angle.

The people watching were unprepared and only saw his handsome face come close instantly. The sword was like a shooting star, carrying a murderous aura.

At this moment, almost everyone watching from their screens at home was stunned and cried out in shock, thinking that the target of the sword was themselves in front of the screen. Many of them were even frightened into ducking underneath their chairs.

When the sword was just a few centimeters away from the camera, Ruan Qingmu suddenly stopped his pose with the blade pointed straight at the camera as deep as an abyss* and as quiet as a virgin*.

*T/N: An idiom to describe a person of high moral character and grand bearing.

*T/N: An idiom to describe someone as quiet and dignified as an unmarried girl.

Facing countless people’s gazes in the broadcast room, he gently nudged the tip of his sword and suddenly smiled mischievously and unrestrainedly like the first bloom of a spring flower.

“I trust you have been well since we last met, Qin-shaoxia. The time is already late. It would be better for us to make an appointment next time.”

Qin Yuan’s heart suddenly pounded wildly.

While he certainly knew that Ruan Qingmu was pretending to be cosplaying, the tone made his heart tremble and a strange familiarity overcame him.

He had gone mad. Ruan Qingmu had always been a jokester and had repeatedly uttered these lines from a cheesy martial arts drama, so it was fine to listen to them casually. Why did he let his imagination run wild just now?

He rubbed his face harshly. When he looked at the live stream again in a daze, Ruan Qingmu had already disappeared from the screen and the comments began to explode like crazy.

“Ahhh, the little brother is too amazing. Has he learned to perform a sword dance? He definitely must’ve.”

“His skill is so good and could directly act in an ancient costume idol drama. He’s much more beautiful than the idols nowadays…”

“I can’t. I’m going to watch the playback. Wait for me to edit it with an ancient-style BGM!”

“Hehe. What is the meaning of that last line? Who is Qin-shaoxia?”

“It must be a random line. Hahaha. The little brother is so capable! Hearing that made my mood waver.”

… Ruan Qingmu disappeared from the camera and was replaced by Fang Li, showcasing a modified Hanfu made of Xiangyun yarn*.

*T/N: Xiangyun yarn: a silk fabric dyed with vegetable dye.

The replies and discussions below remained lively. The Weibo feed initially drew most people to see Fang Li’s female clothes and most discussions and messages were directed at him. But now, the messages focusing on Ruan Qingmu were noticeably greater.

Qin Yuan absentmindedly watched Fang Li on the screen and was slightly distracted by the following few times the two made another appearance in their couple’s outfits.

An unknown amount of time had passed. He was half in a daze when someone on the message board suddenly said, “I made a small cut of the recorded video and matched it with a BGM. Everyone, please comment or ‘like’ it. The Weibo microblog uses this same ID~~~.”

Qin Yuan quietly looked at that message, reached out, and clicked on Weibo. Sure enough, he found it and it was this ID.

It looked like a minor edit, very efficient. But since it was only done in a couple of minutes, it was a rough cut.

It was actually not an elaborate edit, just two or three minutes of sword dancing as footage, with some vintage toned fine-tuning of the graphics and just the music…

It was a song that Qin Yuan had never heard before, <<Flying Fairy in the Desert–Singer: Han Xiao>>. After checking it out, it turned out to be an old song and seemed to have won a music video award some years ago.

Looking at the lyrics that slowly appeared on the side, Qin Yuan listened silently. For a while, his heart was unexpectedly shaken, unable to contain himself.

“If the sea dries and a single tear remains,

that would be the one thousand reincarnations I’ve waited for you.

Looking back, I can’t stop the ties that bind me.

All your pride can only fly in the painting…

Who is the one who plays the xiao* under the sunset of the desert?

The years have stripped away the red makeup and helplessly bruised.

Who is the one playing the pipa* in the desolate old castle?

Just waiting for me to arrive and depart for a meeting in this life.

*T/N: Xiao: ancient Chinese pipe instrument, characterized by its single pipe, vertical blowing, open pipe, and edge sounds.

*T/N: Pipa: Chinese lute, with four strings and a large pear-shaped body and a fretted fingerboard.

Fireworks in the sky; who are you charming?

But even the flowers are drunk with drunken eyes.

Quicksand flying all over the sky; who is pining for you?

We are merely fated to meet and depart like flowing water…

The editor girl cleverly split Ruan Qingmu’s original line into two. Along with the lyrics to the song, Ruan Qingmu’s clear voice sounded next to it with a smile, “Looking back, I can’t stop the ties that bind me. I trust you have been well since we last met, Qin-shaoxia.”

The remaining half of the sentence was cut to this point. When the later line, “Just waiting for me to arrive and depart for a meeting in this life,” the youth in brocade clothing suddenly stopped after he had stabbed forward, and his thin lips smiled. “The time is already late. It would be better for us to make an appointment next time.”

The song ended, the screen faded to monochrome, and the figure of the youth in brocade slowly faded away. Suddenly, the screen was filled with peach blossoms, blooming without warning amid a blanket of white, so bright and brilliant that it was actually a bit piercing like the color of blood.

Qin Yuan only took a glance at it before closing his eyes abruptly…