To Raise a Soul 5

Creak— Creak—  

When the old doors opened, the friction made an unpleasant noise. Yu Zhen’s heart leaped into his throat. He reached into his pocket and curled a hand around the cracked protective bead.

A cold breeze blew the door open completely.

Yu Zhen’s thoughts which had cleared thanks to the peach blossom congee were once again groggy. The cold made a comeback fiercer than ever before. He couldn’t control his shivering, and his vision turned to black. Before even seeing the person behind the door, Yu Zhen collapsed towards the ground.

Boom! 

The door slammed against the wall, and two sets of hurried footsteps drew near. Yu Zhen’s falling body was caught, and warmth enveloped him.

In the chaos, the bead from Yu Zhen’s pocket fell to the ground. It suddenly became fragile and shattered on impact, turning into shards of ordinary brown stone.

How warm.

As Yu Zhen returned to awareness, he didn’t have the wits to notice the precious bead handed down by his ancestors. Instinctively, he reached out to the warmth in front of him and greedily inhaled the refreshing scent. He eagerly breathed it in as if addicted.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Yin Yan looked down at his haggard face, a trace of emotion in his usually indifferent eyes. He pulled the person further into his embrace. Even in the absence of wind, Yu Zhen’s hair swayed, and a strange energy swirled around him.

Creak— Boom.

After decades of wind and rain, the wooden door couldn’t withstand the push it was given. While the two held each other, the door twisted off its hinges and collapsed.

“Oh god. . .”

Yin Le arrived a step after Weng Xiping. Looking into the courtyard, he saw the two were “deeply emotional and embracing deeply” and pulled on Weng Xiping’s clothes.

“Uncle Weng, pinch me. I–I think I’m dreaming.”

Weng Xiping was yanked back to reality. He glanced at the door. Due to shock, his thoughts were directed at something that couldn’t be considered important.

“Young Master, the Elder Young Master tore down half of someone’s door. When we get back, how will we explain this to the Madam?”

Yin Le looked down at the door and numbly followed Weng Xiping’s train of thought. Abruptly, he recalled now wasn’t the time for that. Grabbing Weng Xiping’s sleeve, he lowered his voice, “That isn’t the point! Look at Brother, he–he’s actually embracing a man!”

“Didn’t Elder Young Master want to get married? It’s normal to embrace.” The shock to Weng Xiping’s brain was so strong, he’d lost the ability to think rationally.

Yin Le, about to collapse, continued, “But the two of them have only seen each other once! Once! This is only their second time meeting, and they’re skipping directly to embracing!”

The two held each other as if they had already loved each other for a very long time!

His older brother had chosen his savior as his marriage partner, but didn’t normal procedure involve getting to know each other first before physical contact? Why did Brother embrace as soon as they arrived?

This development doesn’t make sense!

“The Young Madam didn’t object. It’s good if they hug more, it’s good for developing affection for each other.”

Weng Xiping continued to wear a calm, steady face and spoke unreasonable words, assigning a new form of address for Yu Zhen.

“. . .”

Yin Le finally understood what a pig teammate looked like. He indignantly threw away Weng Xiping’s sleeve and squeezed forward a sep. He wanted to remind the two of propriety, but forgetting that the threshold of old buildings were high, Yin Le didn’t lift his leg high enough and his toes were caught. He became unbalanced and flailed both arms about, grabbing the remaining half of the door.

Creak– boom!

Crash!

“Ah!” 

“Careful Second Young Master!”

The temple’s doors were also old. Yin Yan unwittingly tore down the right half, and Yin Le tore down the remaining half.

Yu Zhen, gradually warming up, was jolted back to reality by the noise. He stared blankly for a moment, then realized he was holding onto someone. Alarmed, Yu Zhen pushed them away, and his line of sight shifted from the person to the door.

Fwwooo. The northern wind blew in through the empty door frame. The cold immediately woke him up from the comfort of warmth.

Yin Le sat on the dilapidated door’s panel, his down jacket covered in dust. When Yu Zhen looked over, he idiotically raised a hand and waved, greeting with a dry mouth, “This is our first time meeting. . . Um, it’s nice to meet you, sister-in-law.”

Yu Zhen, “???”

Did he just hear some rather unbelievable words?

But that wasn’t important.

He walked the two steps to the front door and looked at the damaged doors on the floor. He stared blankly for a few seconds then suddenly turned and took large strides into the temple.

“Um. . .”

Not getting a response, Yin Le lowered his hand. He fiddled with his hair and saw his brother turn once Yu Zhen had left. With a guilty conscience, he stood up and tried to explain, “I–I was a bit careless. . .”

Yin Yan ignored his explanation. He unbuttoned and removed his suit jacket and threw it into Yin Le’s arms. He gestured to a corner by the entrance and said, “Stand over there.”

Yin Le immediately walked over. Then he realized Yin Yan had taken off his jacket and was only wearing a shirt and sweater by the door. He quickly shook open the jacket, stepped forward, and said, “Brother, you haven’t completely recovered, you shouldn’t get cold.”’

Yin Yan blocked his hands and shook his head. Kneeling down, he lifted one side of the door from the ground and walked to the door frame. Looking up, he saw a part of the doorframe had broken due to rot. When Yu Zhen returned with a toolbox, Yin Yan stretched out his hand and spoke.

“Hammer.”

Yu Zhen stopped, looked up, and saw the man’s face.

He was pale but handsome. The light shining on him gave Yu Zhen the impression of being gazed upon someone from high above the clouds.

He wasn’t a ghost. Ghosts wouldn’t look like this.

“The old wedge will be removed first, hammer.”

Yin Yan reached forward, eyes staring straight ahead. He looked calm and collected, but if one looked closely, he seemed to have adopted a gentle, loving attitude.

Weng Xiping looked between the two. He reached out to Yin Le, who wanted to give Yin Yan his jacket, and yanked him over to a corner. Then he stealthily took out a mobile phone and opened WeSing to make a video call.

“Still cold?”

When he didn’t get a response, Yin Yan lifted his hand toward Yu Zhen’s face.

Yu Zhen suddenly returned to his senses and avoided his hand. Unsure why he suddenly felt embarrassed, he hid his feelings by crouching and setting down the toolbox. He opened it, and the countless tools inside jangled together as he searched for a hammer.

“Here,” he said with a voice quieter than expected. It was as if he had only exhaled.

Realizing that, he felt even more embarrassed and withdrew the hand holding the hammer. He hesitated on whether he should repeat it. The shadow over him moved aside, and Yin Yan set the door on its side. He squatted and pried off a wedge of damaged wood from the bottom of the frame.

“My name’s Yin Yan. Your name is?”

“Ah?” 

“Your name.”

He had a pair of princely hands, but they were nimble and skilled at carpentry. He moved with a sense of leisurely ease, making people want to watch him longer.

Yu Zhen felt muddle-headed by something again. His thoughts came sluggishly. He was fixated with those hands, and obediently replied, “Yu– Yu Zhen. My name is Yu Zhen.” 

“En.”

Yin Yan’s response was low, and he removed the wooden wedge that was pried up. He held out his hand again.

“Wh–what?”

Yu Zhen felt his reactions were embarrassing but couldn’t control them. 

His thoughts were slow.

“Nail.”

“Ah. . . Oh, oh. Nails, nails.”

Yu Zhen rummaged around in the box again and found two long nails. He carefully adjusted them in his palm before moving them to the hand in front of him.

In a certain hotel, Qiu Feiqian and Yin Hexiang’s heads were bowed together as they stared down at the mobile screen. They first noticed the thin layer of clothing on their oldest son then noticed Yu Zhen.

His clothes were simple, his skin was pale, and he was slightly shorter than their son. His hair was a little messy, but he was a man so it was understandable he didn’t care too much about his appearance.

Qiu Feiqian turned off the microphone and commented seriously, “You can only see his side profile, but his appearance isn’t bad. He dresses simply, but he’s neat, and it’s practical. Unlike that Han Ya, wearing barely anything even in the middle of winter and flashing her legs. She’s not afraid of getting bad legs when she gets older!”

Due to her upbringing, Qiu Feiqian didn’t use words which were even more unpleasant, but her dislike was conveyed.

Yin Hexiang pretended not to hear his wife’s words. He looked at the two on the screen separated by a toolbox. He said happily, “Xiao Yan seems to like this child a lot. He’s speaking more than usual.”

“It’s good he’s willing to talk.” Qiu Feiqian looked back at the screen, and her eyes fell on Yin Yan, who faced away from the camera.

She reached out and touched his back, which was significantly thinner than before. She suddenly ended the call.

Unable to stop her, Yin Hexiang asked, “Why close the video?”

“The two are trying to foster good feelings, and you, the dad, are spying on them. It’s improper! Go, get my bag. Xiao Yan’s lost quite a bit of weight. His clothes won’t fit anymore. Let’s change his wardrobe to something new. Let’s go to the mall!”

“Change everything?” Yin Hexiang couldn’t keep up with his wife’s intent.

“Yes, everything!” Qiu Feiqian stood up. There was a twisted light in her eyes as her thoughts went astray. She said, dissatisfied, “Xiao Yan’s just climbed out of a quagmire, and his clothes are tainted with its stench. It could suffocate people. This is perfect, let’s get rid of all his tainted clothes. In the future, we can visit a flower garden instead!”

“. . .” 

Yin Hexiang opened his mouth and looked at his wife. She was convinced their son had moved on from the past and welcomed a new beginning. He didn’t want to douse her in cold water.

That mud pit might be gone now, but whether the flower field would be moved into their house, wasn’t that still an unsettled issue?