Thirty Days of Classes, part 19 (before battle)
My lady seems to be in a... particular mood today...
It's all useless, isn't it...
Xi... Xichun?
When these classes end and you guys all leave... I guess I'll be spending my days worried to death that an assassin could pop up out of nowhere and kill me at any moment.
Consumed by so much paranoia and worry that I'll start twitching at shadows cast from lamplights.
So would it mean anything for me to... you know, prove to them that I deserve to be the Family Hierarch?
I've spent my whole life trying to prove to everyone that I have the will and determination to become the Family Hierarch... and now I have to prove to everyone that I deserve to keep it?
To those bastards whose only thought in their empty heads is how they can expand their rooms?
…….
Mister Wei, have you ever heard of playing hooky before?
Playing... hooky? Is it a euphemism for... eliminating your enemies?
Well, I've rarely done it back when I was in school, but...
... when there's too much going on in your head, you just... skip school and go out to play.
Oho...
Ah, I've only done it once myself, after a friend talked me into it.
I agree... it seems that the time for my lady to clear her head... has come.
Very well. Let us play... just one hooky...!
... What are you guys doing?
C'mon, let's get moving! I gotta prove myself, don't I? I gotta have those bastards' approval, don't I?
<She's in a really bad mood today, huh... >
My lady, have you visited the backyard by the <ruby=Snow Reed>Luxue</ruby> Hermitage(蘆雪庵) as of late?
... No, but I know what happened there. They threw in a few dead bodies from the massacre a decade ago, turned the pond foul, and decided to bury the whole thing.
Indeed they did. The stench was so overwhelming and toxic that corpses of animals and plants could be seen floating on its surface, eventually turning the pond into a festering, black bog. People passing by had to plug their noses or risk passing out.
... So why even bring up something awful like that?
It seems that a tree had taken root there, my lady. Amidst all that rot.
A willow.
The willow tree reached deep into the pond with its roots, clearing it of the foul grease, cleansing the water...
... and one day, we found it clear and glittering, thriving with other aquatic plants growing within.
It's recovered from the rot, becoming a normal, clear pond surrounded by leaves and moss.
Some months ago, they introduced a few carps in there, and...
... when they checked again, they were just as vivacious as they were on their first day there.
Would you like to pay the pond a visit, if it is all right with you?
… Hmm.
Xichun didn't seem to quite buy his explanation, but she followed him anyway.
…!
You weren't kidding. I avoided this place for so long...
... I never thought it could be this clean again.
I can hardly believe that this pond used to be a rotten bog. All that happened was that this tree happened to take root here...
What matters, my lady... is patience and determination.
Of course, this place had slipped my mind then, as I was quite swamped with work, but...
... the world has a stronger capacity to heal itself than one might imagine.
Recovery will follow, as long as there is a steady root to rally around.
After a long break that seemed to freshen even our hearts...
Nice, you're making good progress.
Your form, the light in your eyes... I think you've certainly improved in all aspects.
I daresay you've had some change of heart, too?
…….
Yeah. I do feel a tad more comfortable than I did before.