Blossom Valley

"Young man you don't normally come during the day, it seems like there is something unusual about today," the boatman said as he paddled the boat slowly, the boat was decorated in a very fancy way, a large umbrella stood in the middle of the both and on the tip of the boat Is the statue of the head of a dragon.

" It seems like I cannot disconnect myself from this mundane world, today is the death anniversary of someone whom I promised to wash my hand in a golden basin but I guess I cannot walk away from the court," he said as he continued playing the flute, he was dressed in a black robe with wide lapels, as the wind blew his long black hair which was packed into a ponytail and held in place with a single pin scattered in the direction of the wind, he was wearing a large black cloak with white fur on the collar.

The two stripes of hair that laid in front of his face flew in the direction of the wind, he stood in the middle of the both with his eyes closed as he played the flute, the breeze blew silently without making much noise, he moved away from the umbrella that stood in the middle of the boat and watched as the snow fell, the sound and the gentleness of the tune he was playing attracted many birds on the cherry blossom tree that surrounded the lake, he felt the cold touch of the snow as they passed through his face before landing on the ground.

He stopped playing the flute and held it in his left hand as he folded his left hand behind his back and stretched out his hands to catch the snow as it fell.

A thousand mountains, no birds fly

Ten thousand path, no footprints

Lone skiff, rush cloaked old man

Fishing alone, colds river snow

He quoted as he poured down the snow that had gathered on his palms, "from the sound of your tune and your poem I can tell that you are really lonely today, this is not like your usual self" the old man who was paddling the boat said as he slowly brought the boat close to the shore.

"There are times when a person will feel lonely unless you are surrounded by the people you love and cherish," He said calmly taking his seat on the boat.

"I can see that you miss someone, is it someone you love?" the old man asked

"I don't think I have the luxury to fall in love with someone but I do care for her and I miss her, we are like the sun and the moon that can never appear at the same time, I can only leave a shadow of me to protect her but I can not save her from her suffering"

"Let this old man tell you something based on his experience in this world, as long as you love her you will surely be with her in the end, your sincerity is what matters," The old man said, he brought the boat ashore and tied it to a short pole by the lake, "whenever you need me again please don't hesitate to send for me," the boatman said and walked away from the lake.

Li Ruansong sighed as he positioned his flute and started playing the tune again, he enjoyed the peace and quietness the lake gave him each time he played the flute on the boat, he enjoyed the songs the bird sang along with the tune of his flute, it has been long since he had followed this routine but today was an exemption.

He always played the flute at night on the boat when the moon is out, he always enjoyed the scenery of the full moon as he plays his flute, the white jade flute was given to him by his mother, it is a priceless treasure that could not be bought with money in his heart, for the past twelve years he had always kept it with him with Xinghua fan that was also a gift from his mother.

The white jade flute is a treasure that everyone in the Tang empire wanted and desired but they couldn't get it, they all wondered where he had gotten it from but no one could directly ask, even when the princes wanted to buy if from him he would never sell it no matter what was being exchanges for it.

He felt the breeze brushing through his face as he stood up while playing the flute, suddenly his ears twitched.

"Seems like someone is here to ease my loneliness," he said in his mind.

A dark figure flew in his direction with his long sword pointed at his direction, as the tip of the sword came closer to his back his hair fluttered and the flowers from the cherry blossom tree fell.

"It seems like this person's Kungfu is really good, he can even make my cherry blossom fall with just his vital energy, interesting" Li Ruansong said in his mind.

As the tip of the sword reached his neck, he dodged the attack, the dark figure smirked seeing how quick he dodged his attack even though he was very close to stabbing him.

Li Ruansong continued playing the flute as the enemy made another attack.

He swung the sword towards him this time with a faster speed, Ruansong bent backwards with only one foot on the boat and the other in the air, the opponent continued to swing his sword as Li Ruansong made a three-sixty degrees turn with his back only two metres away from the ground.

"interesting" Li Ruansong said and smiled

He backflipped and steadied himself on the boat, the speed of the swordman increased as he weaved his sword continuously without holding back for a second, this time Ruansong stopped playing the flute, he dodged the attack and brought out the fan from his chest.

He blocked each attack from the swordman faster than the swordsman attacked, the swordsman concentrated all his force on one spot, he was about to thrust his sword into Ruansong chest when he reacted by blocking the sword with his fan, Ruansong slipped back as the swordsman concentrated more strength on his attack, the boat began to spin around as Ruansong continued to slip, he gathered his strength and pushed the swordsman back, he leapt into the air and used his right leg to push the boat back to the shore and used his left leg to balance himself on the surface of the water.

The swordman also jumped out of the boat and used his leg to propel himself as he ran towards Ruansong on the water,

Clink!!

Clink!!

Clink!!

The both of them continued attacking each other, each blocking the attack with his weapon, the swordsman flew into the air and brought his sword down on Ruansong, he quickly unfolded his fan and blocked the sword with the fan which is already spread wide, Ruansong folded the fan and held the man's hand, he brought him from the air and threw him ashore as he ran on the water towards the shore.

The swordsman quickly regained his balance as he almost landed on the ground, Ruansong reached the shore and he returned the fan into his chest and brought out the flute from his sleeve.

"seems like your skills and speed have improved Li Changlin," Ruansong said smiling, he adjusted his cloak and folded both hands at his back, "even though I have improved I still can't be compared with you brother, you skills have also improved, it has only been two year and your skills have already reached this stage," Li Changlin said, he inserted his sword back into the sheath on his waist, Ruansong watched as he removed the sword from his waist and held it in his hand.

"Why did you say so after all In the fight there wasn't much difference in the level of our Kungfu" Ruansong said as hanged the flute on his waist, "brother I am not stupid, I know that you held back when we were fighting, if you didn't the fight wouldn't have lasted for up to one minute," Changlin said, they left the lake and started walking.

"I thought you wouldn't notice, based on the fight just now, if you were fighting with some else you would have won the fight," Ruansong said, "I wonder if the time will come when I will be able to win you in a fight," Changlin said and sighed.

They entered the garden which was decorated with flowers of all kinds, in the garden there is also a pool of water which steamed and produced ripples each time the winder made of wood spun. They took their seat in the middle of the garden one a stone seat and table, Ruansong brought out his fan and laid it on the table.

"let me pour you tea, you must be feeling fatigued from the long journey," Ruansong said, he held the pot of tea made of jade in his right hand as he poured the tea into two jade cups and used his left his to restrain the cloak, he dropped the boat and passed one cup of tea to Changlin.

Li Changlin raised the cup of tea to his nose and inhaled the steam coming from the cup of tea, "so fragrant, what is the name of this tea" Changlin said, he lowered the cup to his lips and sipped it gently

"I found a flower I didn't plant growing in my garden, it was so fragrant so I decided to brew it, when I first tasted it, it had a very smooth taste and the fragrance was so nice, since the tea leaves are white and small, I decided to name it snow tea," Ruansong said, he lifted his cup to his lips and sipped the tea gently. "it indeed has a smooth taste, every time I visit your valley there is always something new to see, taste or do," Changlin said and sipped the tea again. Ruansong smiled and sipped his tea again after Changlin complimented his valley.

After finishing the tea, Changlin held the cup in his hand and examined it, "The blossom valley is indeed extraordinary, all the flowers that cannot be seen elsewhere can be found in your valley, all the flowers in your valley are rare except the cherry blossom, even your teaware so exquisite, if royal father visits your valley one day he might decide to turn it into the palace" Changlin said and dropped the cup on the table. "you are joking, although so many people desire the things I own how can royal father covet my lowly valley" Ruansong replied as he refilled their cups, "you are really looking down on your valley, this tea must have been here for at least five hours and yet it is still hot and has a fresh taste, this must be because of that pool which the royal place doesn't possess" Changlin said.

"enough with the praise just enjoy the tea and the scenery since that is what the blossom valley has to offer," Ruansong said.

Changlin stood up from his seat and walked around the valley, he knelt in front of the blue lotus taking it root at the tip of the pond and touched the petals gently.