To Raise a Soul 30.1

Wu Xuan’s recovery speed was astonishingly fast. If it hadn’t been for the residual scar left from the injury on his head, his outer appearance would have been the same as before. Although, his complexion and focus appeared to be a little better than they were before his accident.

“It’s probably because of the good food in the hospital?” 

In what counted as a good mood, Wu Xuan tossed out the mocking remark. Compared to his previously formal and measuring looks, his look at that moment was full of mirth and friendliness. It had the vibe of a close relationship. “Thanks for your help with the car accident. Last time, at the roast duck restaurant, I said I would invite you out for a meal but it ended up getting delayed. Oh yeah, have you changed your phone number?”

“It’s been changed.”

Yin Yan put down the fruit basket and tonics. Then he pulled out a stool for Yu Zhen to sit on before sitting himself down beside him.  He politely asked, “How are your injuries?”

Wu Xuan’s gaze swept between the two men once before he replied, “It’s not bad. The stitches for the wound on my head have already been removed and left a scar. My bones still need to heal though. It will probably be another short while before I can move about outside.”

“It’s almost the new year. Heal up at home. It’s never a bad thing to spend time with your family,” Yin Yan consoled him politely. Throughout the exchange, his attitude wasn’t overly friendly.

Wu Xuan looked slightly rueful at his words. His attitude warmed further as he commented, “You were right. I was confused. I loved to foolishly play around, but it’s about time to be more sensible. Spending time with my family… You’re smarter than me, Yin Yan.”

Yin Yan remained silent.

Once the floodgates to those regretful musings were opened, they couldn’t be closed. Without waiting for a reply, Wu Xuan continued, “When you love, you are sincere, honest, and do not hold back. When you break up, you are direct and efficient. You don’t do a sloppy job. Although Han Ya treated you in such a way, you haven’t said anything about her faults. The only time you made an explanation was to prevent your husband and family from being disturbed by rumors.”

Yin Yan continued to be silent as if he had ears but no mouth.

“Thank you.” Wu Xuan’s expression turned solemn. He reached out a hand and said, “I was wrong in the past. I had a superior and hostile attitude towards you. I hope you’ll forgive my past ignorance.”  

“You’re too polite,” Yin Yan replied and took hold of Wu Xuan’s hand. He then added, “In the future, drive properly.”

Stunned for a moment, Wu Xuan released his hand and burst out laughing. Clutching his stomach, he hissed from the pain and said, “You’re interesting! How interesting! Drive properly! Since resting is boring, when I’ve returned home, I’ll read through the traffic laws!”

Yu Zhen’s opinion of Wu Xuan changed a little. If a person is willing to change after being told their mistakes, there’s still hope for them.

Yin Yan began to think about leaving as they had accomplished their goal and established good karma. There’s also no need to waste any more time. This Wu Xuan speaks too much nonsense. 

“And Yu Zhen, I should also thank you.” Wu Xuan looked at Yu Zhen and reached out a hand in his direction. Smiling, he said, “Yin Yan’s taste is much better than mine. You’re very good, I – ”

“We still have other things to do. Goodbye.”

Yin Yan interrupted Wu Xuan and stood up, intercepting the hand Yu Zhen stretched out. He nodded at Wu Xuan, then turned around and walked away with Yu Zhen.

“Huh? Hey!! Don’t go! You guys just got here not long ago – “

Bang. Yin Yan slammed the door as he left.

Wu Xuan: “…”

He looked at his outstretched hand and blinked in confusion. Then, with tears and smiles, he chuckled, “What is this?… Is he worried I’ll fight with him over a partner again? I just wanted to give my blessings…”

As he let out a sigh, the ward door was pushed open. Han Ya rushed in with a panicked expression. “Xuan, I saw Yin Yan leave in a rage. Are you alright? He didn’t make things difficult for you? It’s all my fault, I – ” 

Ding-Ding-Ding.

Wu Xuan had turned around to press the bell by the bedside. When his bodyguards arrived, he commanded, “I want to rest. Please remove any unnecessary people.”

Han Ya’s face was full of disbelief as she was ‘invited’ to leave with them. Wu Xuan lay on the bed and thought of Han Ya’s fake concern at that moment. He sneered, “Wow, Wu Xuan, you really were blind. What kind of lousy idol drama is this? It’s really dragging on…”

Yu Zhen was confused by Yin Yan suddenly dragging him out of the ward. Before they left, he received an intense glare from Han Ya. 

“What’s the matter with you?” Yu Zhen asked after getting into the car. At the same time, the feeling of something about to break through a layer of soil emerged again. He also had an uneasy, somewhat melancholic and sour-like feeling in his heart.

Yin Yan suddenly took out a pill and ate it. Holding Yu Zhen’s hand, he stated, “I’m hungry.”

As the hand on his knee was held, the uneasy feeling disappeared and the gloomy mood quickly faded. 

Looking at their hands, Yu Zhen silently returned the hold.

So it turns out Yin Yan is not only a precious source of warmth, but he also has the effect of calming my heart… How useful. 

After the silent moment, he thought about what Yin Yan said. With a glance at the time, which showed it was just past two in the afternoon, Yu Zhen’s gaze landed on Yin Yan’s stomach and he asked, “You’re hungry?”

Didn’t we just have lunch not too long ago? You’re already hungry? 

Yin Yan did not reply. He started up the car and headed for the apartment. 

After they returned, they had afternoon tea together. Following that, Yin Yan sat down on the sofa and proceeded to type away at his laptop while Yu Zhen entered the dimensional pot to continue pondering about the issue of the meritorious plants.

The dimensional pot was still quite empty. After the previous batches of flowers were sold, only the rose bushes near the pond remained. Other areas of the dimensional pot were cleaned up and had returned to their original, bare appearance.

As soon as Yu Zhen entered, he noticed a tender, green stalk growing in a corner. He turned his head to focus on the spot for a few seconds. His eyes brightened with realization and he dashed over to the corner.

I thought this orchid had no hope! With the help of the Sacred Soil and Boundless Water, it has actually survived! It’s become a seedling! It grew! It’s about 10cm tall!

“One, two, three… there are five plants! You guys are awesome!”

Overjoyed, Yu Zhen touched each of their little leaves. He called out Xu Wu and requested for more of the Boundless Water, then generously gave them two drops of the liquid. After some thought, he also fed them some merits. He happily said, “Since you’ve survived, you have to grow well! Grow strong!”

Unsurprisingly, the orchids made no response but it was Xu Wu that reacted to Yu Zhen’s words. 

It reached out a paw and nudged at Yu Zhen’s pants then turned to look at the pond. After a couple of steps towards the pond, it looked back at Yu Zhen and meowed.

“What are you going to show me this time?”

Yu Zhen cooperatively got up and followed Xu Wu.

Because he wasn’t the original owner of Xu Wu, Yu Zhen wasn’t able to truly understand Xu Wu the way Yin Yan could. However, after interacting with it for a period of time, he understood what each of Xu Wu’s calls and actions meant.

Xu Wu flicked its tail, meowed, and dashed off towards the pond.

The lotus flowers in the pond were blooming splendidly. The number of lotus leaves was maintained at a reasonable amount – after covering the pond, they stopped growing.

After checking that the lotus plants were growing well, Yu Zhen lowered his head to look at Xu Wu. Xu Wu had extended a claw and gestured at a ceramic pot beside the pond, looking as if it had something to tell Yu Zhen.

“What’s up with it?”

Puzzled, Yu Zhen squatted down and touched the seedlings in the pot.

The sprout had grown from the seeds given by Yin Yan. It grew quite slowly and the Sacred Soil and Boundless Water had a limited effect on it. The roses had already fully grown, but this seedling remained a tiny sprout, and had remained at that stage for a long time.

“Meow.” Xu Wu swished its tail and crouched in front of the pot. Then it closed its eyes and reached out a paw towards the pot.

Understanding, Yu Zhen asked, “You want me to feed it merits?”

Xu Wu opened its eyes and nodded with another mew.

Yu Zhen was puzzled. Last time, Xu Wu had me feed the bodhi lotus some merits because it was rarely generous enough to produce lotus seeds and the opportunity should not be missed. But this… Isn’t it just a sprout? It probably can’t bear fruit and won’t flower.

“Meow, meow, meow,” Xu Wu urged.

“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll feed it. Don’t worry.” Yu Zhen cheerfully patted its little head. He reached out a hand and touched the sprout’s leaves.

Golden light spilled down. The originally still sprout began to tremble. It stretched its stalk and, without an ounce of hurry, slowly grew out a new leaf. Then it stopped moving once again. 

“Meow.” Xu Wu raised a paw, indicating Yu Zhen should stop.

Picturing this:

“That’s it?” Yu Zhen asked Xu Wu as he retracted his hand.

Xu Wu continued to meow.

Yu Zhen’s large eyes met Xu Wu’s small ones. After a few seconds, he guessed, “Do you mean that it will only continue growing if I feed it merits? If not, it’ll always stay this small?”

“Meow.” Xu Wu flicked its tail and nodded.

Yu Zhen: “…”

He looked at the stingy little sprout which had only grown one leaf. Carefully observing its stalk and leaves, he formed a terrible speculation.

From the shape of the plant, it was not a flower but a tree. I fed it quite a large amount of merits – more than what I gave the lotus seeds. If this is a tree, and it relies on merits to grow, I’ll be growing it until the end of time.

“You…” He touched the sprout’s new leaf. Helpless, but still feeling indulgent, he sighed and said, “Nevermind, grow well. I’ll come here every day to feed you.”

After taking care of the plants in the dimensional pot, Yu Zhen thought for a moment before deciding to return to the rose bushes. He collected some petals in preparation for making the essential oils and a perfume.

He had been thinking about a gift for Qiu Feiqian. As the lotus petals couldn’t be used, he decided to use roses instead. As those roses grew in the dimensional pot, and some lotus fragrance had seeped in, their scent was a little unique. It was very light and refined and would have a relaxing effect if inhaled for a while. Very suitable to be used for essential oils and perfumes. 

He had already shopped online and bought a set of equipment for making the essential oils in advance. As he wanted to make some high-quality essential oils for Qiu Feiqian, he had bought a set of equipment that was quite good and left it in Xu Wu’s care.     

As he busied himself with his task, he found himself forgetting about time. Yin Yan didn’t disturb Yu Zhen. Instead, he made a call to say they would be staying at the apartment that night and proceeded to make their meal. He brought food to the side of the dimensional pot, then had Xu Wu deliver it. Finally, he returned to work on his laptop.

With the use of some diluted Boundless Water, it became much easier to make the essential oils. Even so, he remained busy until late at night. Although he repeatedly collected rose petals, the result was only a small bottle of the finished product.

“We’ll go with these.” He pet Xu Wu who had accompanied him the whole time. “Thanks for your hard work, go rest.”

Xu Wu swished its tail and jumped on him.

That night, Yu Zhen fell asleep while covered in a floral fragrance. Likely due to the effect of that fragrance, Yu Zhen had a dream which involved flowers.