Chapter 15 (2/2)
Curses.
Did I ruin my face somehow by using too much antidote?
A mirror…
I needed to see a mirror.
I suddenly stood up, preparing to climb ash.o.r.e. But after half a step, I froze. Han Zichuan was even more shocked than me as he laid sprawled on the ground, staring at me stupidly. “Y-y-y-you…”
I looked down and realized I was naked…
This was very normal. Who would take a bath with their clothes on?
It’s just that living in these secluded woods and mountains had weakened my sense of propriety and rites. I’d gotten used to my days with yifu, and the differences between men and women had blurred quite a bit after ten years…
Sometimes I’d take a bath and see Fang Hua nearby, playing a tune on his qin, so I learned to stop wondering at strange sights. As time pa.s.sed, I could even rub myself down without giving him half a thought, each of us absorbed in our own tasks…
— [Most up to date translations for this series can be found on volaretranslations.]
This was probably retribution for cause and effect.
Between yifu and I, a third person appeared, and now everything had changed…
Now someone was here to tell me the differences between men and women.
When I looked back, Han Zichuan was already out of breath, physically paralyzed on the rocks in a position beautiful to behold. He feebly raised his sleeve to point at me, his finger shaking as he forced out the words. “You… …y-y-you’re actually a girl?!”
And then his eyes roved up and down…he looked completely startled.
Can someone tell me what kind of expression he was making now?
I am a girl…
That’s right.
I came out of the water and he saw everything…
The expression on his face looked startled, and as if he’d been tricked.
Hmph!
I narrowed my eyes and rubbed my chin, my face displeased as I approached him.
“Y-y-you, we can talk about this calmly…it’s not appropriate for girls and boys to mingle[1].” His clothes were actually drenched with sweat, and a terrified blush had crept onto his face, enough to make the base of his ears[2] turn red.
I leaned down and scooted over. His eyes grew even wider.
My hand groped around him and tugged as he tried to get away and fell over the rocks. “Hmph, respected senior…you’re lying on my clothes, so how can I put them on?”
His face was filled with grief and indignation. He wanted to retort, but hastily retreated, curling up with his back facing me.
“…you’re a female, how could you be so audacious?”
I lowered my head to leisurely tie my sash, putting on the rest of my men’s robe as I took large, elegant strides to stand behind him. I leaned to blow a puff of breath at his ears, and spoke in a careless tone, “Yifu’s never raised me as a girl.”
“Brother Shao!” he suddenly turned around, out of breath.
My eyes curved like crescents and I smiled. He grew astonished, before his face softened to give me an absentminded look. “Hmph…a good man doesn’t fight with women.”
The wind blew past, and the willow catkins stirred. The leaves of the bamboo swayed in the wind.
The fresh scent of bamboo mixed with the breeze to be carried up in the air.
-o- [Most up to date translations for this series can be found on volaretranslations.]
[1]girls and boys to mingle (男女授受不清) －nan nv shou shou bu qing, meaning girls and boys who were similar ages shouldn’t casually seek each others’ company. If I remember it right, in traditional society each gender kept to themselves. It was a breech of etiquette, and borderline scandalous, to go make friends with a boy if you were a girl, and vice versa.
[2]base of his ears (耳根) －er gen, I think this is the pen name of the author for I Shall Seal the Heavens too! That aside, I’m putting this note here because in English we usually say, “the ends of his ears turned red” when a guy’s embarra.s.sed, but Chinese likes to focus on the opposite, saying the “base of their ears”, or the part connecting their ears to the rest of their head.