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(Chapter Three) First Kiss
The weather was extremely good, with the setting sun casting a layer of crimson across the entire sky. Half of the sky was filled with red and gold clouds, creating a breathtaking sight. I lay on the grass, using my arm as a pillow, gazing into the distance. I spoke first, "There are fish scale clouds, there will be wind and rain tomorrow!" Zhu Xiangxiang sat beside me and responded quickly, "Who knows what will happen tomorrow?" Her words sounded a bit melancholic. Despite her shocking identity, I knew that she still belonged to the sensitive and sentimental type. I turned my head to look at her. In fact, besides admiring the evening sky, I had been watching her all along. Sometimes, my gaze was even quite bold. Although she didn't look back at me, she must have felt my gaze because whenever my gaze became bolder, her long eyelashes would tremble, causing my heart to skip a beat.
When I came to this grassland, I lay down and she sat beside me. This was the unchanging posture for couples on grasslands throughout history. If you don't believe it, you can observe carefully on any grassland. She invited me here, but she didn't say anything, she just patiently pulled out the grass beside her and peeled off their cores. The cores were the size of toothpicks and soft and white. She peeled about ten of them and placed them in her palm, handing them to me. I took more than half of them and chewed on them. These cores brought a light and sweet taste.
She put the remaining small portion into her mouth and chewed slowly. Then, her gaze stopped on her own palm. I remembered when she covered my mouth with her hand on that mulberry tree, and I stuck out my tongue and licked her palm. I felt something strange in my heart. Did she feel the same astonishment? Why did her cheeks turn red? Was it because of the reflection of the evening glow or for some other reason? That feeling of astonishment gradually grew within me, forming a desire to get closer to her, not just by holding her hand, but also by kissing her lips!
This desire even turned into the power to act. I suddenly sat up and leaned towards her. At the same time, she raised her head and looked at me. We were very close to each other at that moment. In that instant, I couldn't find encouragement in her eyes to further approach her. It made my heart race and I froze. She lowered her eyelids and asked calmly, "Are you learning martial arts?" When I talked about my experiences later, I often used the phrase "I have received strict training in Chinese martial arts since I was young." In short, it meant "I have been learning martial arts since I was young." This couldn't deceive Zhu Xiangxiang because she must have also learned martial arts since she was young. So I was a little surprised when she, with her special identity, said to me, "Don't ask me anything related to that. It's a secret, and prying into other people's secrets is not a good behavior!" Now, she was asking me, was it considered prying into her secret? I answered her question, looking directly at her. She took a breath and said seriously, "Take me to meet your master!"
To be honest, I really liked Zhu Xiangxiang and would do anything to fulfill her requests. But when she asked me to take her to meet my master, I was at a loss for what to do. The reason was simple, my martial arts master was an extremely eccentric person! I took a breath and said, "I... I will briefly tell you about the process of becoming a disciple." Zhu Xiangxiang didn't object and patiently waited for me to speak. The process of becoming a disciple was actually quite simple. It was a snowy day and the elders in my family told me that if I wanted to learn martial arts, I could become a disciple that day. Children naturally agreed happily. It was a large family living in a huge mansion with many courtyards, some of which I had never been to even though I grew up in the house. Two elders took me to a very secluded courtyard, opened the door, and I saw a tall and thin middle-aged man. It was snowing heavily, but he was only wearing a gray cloth robe. He stood still, but there was no snow on his body or head. As soon as I entered, he turned around and looked at me with eyes like lightning. In a moment of surprise, he grabbed my arm and lifted it up. The pain was excruciating, and even thinking about it made me shudder. So, while trembling, I said to Zhu Xiangxiang, "Why did you see him? If he grabs you, your arm will break!" Zhu Xiangxiang was clearly shocked too, but she still insisted, "Take me to see him, I... have a special reason." I sighed and stood up abruptly, saying, "Let's go!" Zhu Xiangxiang didn't say anything and followed behind me. To avoid disturbing others in the house, we climbed over the back wall. By then, the evening glow had turned into a deep purple, and darkness had fallen. When we pushed open the door of the courtyard, we saw my master standing straight in front of a clump of bamboo. This was the activity he spent the most time on in a day, at least more than ten hours. I had asked the elders in my family about why my master's behavior was so strange, but their answers were only reprimands. Only one cousin, who was not much older than me, told me, "It's called 'a heart full of burdens.'" At that time, I was young and naturally didn't understand the profound meaning behind those words. Evening was not the time for me to practice martial arts, so when I pushed open the door and entered, my master turned around suddenly. What happened next was completely unexpected. Zhu Xiangxiang saw my master at the same time as me, and both of us let out a sharp cry and pointed at each other. Then, Zhu Xiangxiang turned around and ran towards the door, displaying incredible agility. In such a sudden change, anyone would not know what to do. But I reacted quickly since I was young. Without thinking, I turned and rushed out, chasing after Zhu Xiangxiang. Zhu Xiangxiang had already climbed over the wall before me, and I followed closely behind. She ran ahead, running for several miles until even I was gasping for breath and my chest hurt. Finally, she stopped under a tree and leaned against it, catching her breath. I caught up to her, and both of us could only catch our breath and do nothing else. When our breathing gradually returned to normal, we suddenly realized that we were facing each other at such a close distance, with our noses less than twenty centimeters apart. I believed that she and I both held our breaths at that moment. In this moment, I slowly moved closer to her. She seemed a bit lost, her eyes shining with a bewildered light, motionless. A natural kiss could be completed quickly, but at that moment, she raised her hand and pressed it against my chest. My heart was pounding intensely, and it must have transmitted to her through her hand, causing her to tremble as well. Her lips moved, and in a very soft but clear voice, she said two sentences. I could understand what she said, but I still couldn't believe it. I wanted to laugh, but my mouth opened wide, and no sound came out. Zhu Xiangxiang exclaimed, "It's true!" and ran away again. I didn't chase after her, I just stood there like a statue.
That night, I don't remember how long I stood under the tree. I only remember that when I pushed open the door of the courtyard again, my hair and clothes were wet from the dew, a natural phenomenon that only occurred at midnight. My master was still standing in front of the clump of bamboo, but unlike before, he didn't ask me to practice. He just waved his hand slowly. I could tell that he didn't want to be disturbed, so I left. I didn't know how long it took, but my master slowly turned around. I glanced at him and was surprised. His eyes, which had always been sharp, had completely lost their luster. I remembered the strange situation that occurred after he and Zhu Xiangxiang saw each other. I had doubts and was afraid that I would not only be scolded but also punished. If that happened, it would be really bad. I still didn't know how high my master's martial arts skills were (I still don't know until now), but I had witnessed him standing in front of the bamboo, suddenly reaching out and grabbing a thick bamboo, without any visible movement, yet the bamboo broke in his hand! Witnessing that scene shocked me. It was the first time I saw him, and he grabbed my arms, causing excruciating pain. It was considered fortunate that he only did that, as he could easily crush my arm bones. Moreover, a strict teacher like my master left little impression on young people (the same goes for teachers). Most of the time, it was just awe. My relationship with my master was the same. Privately, I gave him the nickname "Iron-faced Man." I had never seen him smile, and what was even more strange was that no one in the entire extended family knew his background. Of course, some of the main elders probably knew but refused to say. Also, there were many children around my age in the large family, but he only chose me after a year of selection. I didn't know under what circumstances he made the selection, and I still don't know now.
For such a person with extraordinary skills and great mystery, there was naturally a kind of inexplicable fear. Moreover, the strange encounter between him and Zhu Xiangxiang made it even more peculiar. I anxiously waited for him to speak, but his gaze was empty, as if he couldn't see me at all. After a while, he waved his hand slowly and said, "We won't practice tonight, we'll talk about it tomorrow!" For a moment, I couldn't believe my ears. When I first became his disciple, he had sternly warned that I couldn't stop practicing martial arts for a day. If I stopped for a day, I would become lazy and wouldn't be able to continue practicing for two or three days! So when I heard him say that, I was stunned before saying, "Master, I will practice on my own!" My master didn't respond, he just waved his hand again. I could tell that he didn't want to be disturbed, so I left.
I went to school early the next morning, but Zhu Xiangxiang still didn't come to school. I wandered around the east side of the city until it was dark, waiting under the tree and constantly punching it, feeling the pain in my fists to prove that it wasn't a dream. But even until dawn, Zhu Xiangxiang didn't appear. It was only after ten days that I seemed to have lost hope when Zhu Xiangxiang finally showed up at school. If it weren't for the presence of many classmates, I would have hugged her like a hungry tiger. She explained to the teacher that she had important matters to attend to with her family and had gone north ten days ago. According to her, she left by train before dawn after meeting my master. I asked her several times, and the dates matched, which proved that I had been intimate with her under the tree the night after meeting my master, but it was just a dream!
I was extremely disappointed, but after a few days, when we were alone together, I suddenly felt that I could turn the dream into reality. However, when we gradually got closer, she pressed her hand against my chest again and repeated those two sentences, preventing me from taking any action. She let out a sigh and suddenly blushed, her voice so soft that it was almost inaudible, "I... have a husband... we made a vow with our fingertips." I couldn't help but want to laugh when I heard those words, right?