Chapter 11 (1/2)

Chapter 11 Wind Crane: Lost

When Feng Luodi finally returned to her courtyard, her zither lay waiting for her atop the stone table in the middle of the yard. Scarlet was painstakingly rubbing the resin onto the zither, precise and careful with her movements, while Jet moved about the yard, setting aside various items to sun.

This was routine for them; the duo did the same things day in day out, but still managed to be energetic and happy about their work. She, on the other hand, despite her best efforts to look otherwise, always looked troubled and sorrowful. Whenever Qi Jianqiu asked if she was upset, she did not know what to say. There was no way to explain to them how she was unsettling it was to use Luodi’s body, of how she could never fit in with the society, and nothing she did could cover it up.

“Let me take over, Scarlet. Go and rest for a bit.” Feng Luodi picked up the box of resin from the table, and waved Scarlet away.

“Yes, young miss.” Scarlet bowed a little, and scurried over to help Jet with her work.

Feng Luodi sat down before the zither, her fingers mindlessly brus.h.i.+ng the strings. Before she knew it, her fingers had spun the random notes into a song. The song echoed with an ache, a yearning of the world she knew, and the life she left behind. The feelings of loss and nostalgia bled from her fingers, and into the notes that swirled through the air.

Rains fall upon the creepers, in my old house

They say you still sleep alone, late in the night

An old oak now grows, atop the crumbling castle gates

I hear a sigh along the cold stone slates, ‘I’m waiting’

Our Spring was full of joy, they envied us

We lost the battle against the world, too harsh on ourselves

The brightest sparks die the coldest, the warmest hearts suffer the most pain

When Spring comes again, will you still be waiting for me?*

“The young miss seems unusually sad today, has something happened?” For once, Jet caught on to Feng Luodi’s feelings quickly.

“She has been acting this way ever since the last time she fell sick,” Scarlet was more observant. “She always seemed to carry a heavy burden on her mind.”