Chapter 76 Fluttering Like the Wind and Returning Snow

Chapter 76: Fluttering Like Snow on the Wind

The stunning woman noticed A Chan staring intently at her and tilted her head slightly, whispering to the maid in front of her, "Forget it, let's find another quiet room to rest."

"That's unacceptable! This is the room you always use, young mistress. How can we let someone else take it?" The maid dug in her heels, pointing at A Chan and demanding she leave immediately, even threatening to complain to the temple's officiant.

A flicker of resignation crossed the woman's face. She couldn't help but glance at A Chan again, who was still staring at her.

"I said, forget it." The woman's tone grew sharper. The maid seemed surprised and turned to look at her, her expression almost accusing her of being unreasonable.

At that moment, A Chan stood up and walked toward the woman, stopping just a few steps away. She smiled brightly and said, "My name is Ji Chan. May I ask for yours?"

A Chan's voice was light and airy, her demeanor utterly harmless, so much so that even the maid's guarded expression softened slightly.

Before the woman could answer, however, the maid spoke for her, "Our lady’s name is none of your concern. You’d better scram."

"If you won’t tell me her name, then I won’t leave." A Chan rolled her eyes at the maid with a huff and turned to walk back.

"Hey, you—who do you think you are?" The maid grew furious and reached out to stop A Chan, but suddenly, a tremendous force dragged her back from the door before she could react.

When the grip loosened, the maid spun around angrily, only to see Chen Hui’s cold expression and the mark on her forehead.

Her face paled, and she quickly retreated.

"Hui Niang." A Chan waved at Chen Hui.

The beautiful woman still standing by the door also turned to look at Chen Hui, seeming slightly surprised when she noticed the mark on her forehead.

Chen Hui ignored the other two and said to A Chan, "Weren’t you hungry? There’s food in the dining hall at the back."

"On my way!" A Chan hurried to the door but paused when she passed the woman. "You still haven’t told me your name."

"My name is Shen Huixue."

"Drifting Wind and Returning Snow… What a lovely name. Is there an elder in your family named *Liu Feng*?"

The question seemed odd. Chen Hui couldn’t help but glance at A Chan.

Even if she was curious, shouldn’t A Chan have asked if the woman had a brother named *Liu Feng*? Why mention an elder?

Shen Huixue, who had been standing sideways to them, trembled slightly at the question, her hands hidden in her sleeves shaking faintly. There was an unreadable intensity in her gaze as she looked at A Chan. "My… my father’s name was *Liu Feng*."

"I see. You must take after him."

"...Yes." Shen Huixue nodded.

"Oh, right. I’m going to the dining hall to eat. Would you like to join me, Hui Xue?"

"Our miss would never—"

Before the maid could finish her refusal, Shen Huixue had already agreed. "I’d love to."

"Miss, how could you possibly stomach the food in that dining hall?" The maid huffed and stomped her foot in displeasure.

Shen Huixue turned to her, her slit pupils devoid of emotion. "Enough."

A flicker of resentment crossed the maid’s face, but she obediently shut her mouth.

Chen Hui noticed that A Chan seemed particularly interested in this clearly non-human Miss Shen but didn’t press further. She simply led them to the dining hall.

Today, apart from them, there were no other devotees at Gushan Temple, leaving the dining hall rather empty. Eight tables were arranged inside, and A Chan casually chose one facing the door, sitting down while Shen Huixue took the seat opposite her.

The maid, however, didn’t join them, opting instead for an empty table nearby.

"Miss Shen, is there anything you’d like to eat? I’ll fetch it for you," Chen Hui asked.

Shen Huixue glanced at A Chan. "The same as Miss Ji will do."

Chen Hui went to get the vegetarian meals and soon returned with two trays, each holding a bowl of white rice, a plate of mock meat, a dish of stir-fried pumpkin strips, and a serving of fried tofu.

"Thanks, Hui Niang." A Chan eagerly took the tray and picked up her chopsticks, immediately grabbing a piece of mock meat.

After chewing a bit, she found it surprisingly tasty.

Shen Huixue thanked Chen Hui before picking up her chopsticks. As her sleeves slid back, her hands were revealed—along with the same mark on her hand as Chen Hui’s.

Like A Chan, her first bite was also the mock meat.

Chen Hui sat beside A Chan, observing Shen Huixue’s actions before glancing back at A Chan. There was an eerie mirroring in their mannerisms.

After a few bites, A Chan turned to Chen Hui and pleaded, "Hui Niang, can we stop by Grandpa Hu’s place on the way home and buy a smoked duck? I’m dying for some."

"Sure."

Shen Huixue seemed intrigued by the mention of smoked duck and asked, "Is it delicious?"

"It’s amazing! Just as good as Hui Niang’s roasted chicken."

Chen Hui chuckled, then noticed the obvious longing on Shen Huixue’s face—she clearly wanted to try it too.

"Where can one buy this smoked duck Miss Ji mentioned?"

"It’s in Changping Ward, near my home. Grandpa Hu is really popular—you have to wait in line every time he sets up his stall."

The maid listening nearby couldn’t hide her disdain. *Half-breeds will always be half-breeds. No matter how much they pass as human, they can’t shake off the vulgar habits of their kind.*

Despite her complaints, A Chan polished off her meal.

By the time they were done eating, the two had warmed up to each other. Shen Huixue stopped calling her "Miss Ji" and even learned where A Chan lived. They even made plans to swing by Changping Ward together in a few days to buy smoked duck.

A Chan didn’t ask where Shen Huixue lived, which secretly relieved her.

As they left the dining hall, Shen Huixue’s maid urged impatiently, "Miss, the sun’s setting. We should head back."

Shen Huixue hesitated slightly before asking A Chan, "A Chan, when are you returning to the city?"

A Chan wasn’t sure, so she looked at Chen Hui.

Chen Hui replied, "We’ll leave after lighting the longevity lamp. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour."

"Then I’ll wait for you. We can return to the city together after you’re done."

"Sure!" A Chan agreed cheerfully, then went with Chen Hui to find the temple officiant.

Though the scheduled time hadn’t yet arrived, the longevity lamp was already prepared. The officiant led A Chan to light it before leaving her alone in the hall.

A Chan stayed only briefly before emerging. After exchanging pleasantries with the officiant, she returned to the quiet room to find Shen Huixue.

In the quiet room at this moment, the maid brought by Shen Huixue was still complaining: "The fact that you could come out today was already the Heir Apparent's kindness. How can you delay returning to the city any further? Those two have unclear backgrounds—who knows if they have ulterior motives, using you to get close to the Heir Apparent?"

Shen Huixue listened quietly for a long while before replying indifferently, "If you don’t wish to serve me, I can ask Zhang Jinghuai to send someone else."

The maid’s face flushed red, and she muttered under her breath, "How can you talk like that, miss? I only have your best interests at heart. Besides, how many maids have you gone through already? I'm the only one left willing to serve you."

Shen Huixue ignored her.

Before long, footsteps sounded outside.

Shen Huixue stood and opened the door, seeing A Chan and Chen Hui returning together.

"The memorial lamp has been lit, Hui Xue. Let’s go down the mountain."

"Alright." Shen Huixue smiled at A Chan and followed her out.

Once they descended the mountain, Shen Huixue didn’t return to her luxurious carriage but instead boarded A Chan’s rickety carriage. The maid behind her shot a dirty look at A Chan before hurriedly instructing the coachman to follow the carriage ahead.

After traversing a rough mountain path, the carriage reached the main road, where the ride became much smoother. The two inside now could enjoy the scenery outside.

Shen Huixue seemed rarely went out and was curious about everything. A Chan spotted the road to her family’s estate and pointed to a fork in the road, saying, "I have another estate over there. We should go there together sometime."

"Sure." Shen Huixue looked at A Chan beside her, feeling strangely close to her.

A Chan was different from others—she didn’t treat her like some freak, nor did she regard her with fear or disgust.

Shen Huixue wanted to ask why but hesitated, worried it'd be too personal. Just then, the sound of horse hooves approached in the distance.

A Chan curiously leaned out to look. Three riders were coming toward them on the main road.

The one leading rode a silver-white horse that shone like silver in the sunlight. A Chan couldn’t look away.

As the riders passed their carriage, the man suddenly pulled up his horse and turned to look. A Chan recognized him—it was the Heir Apparent to the Duke of Liguo, whom she had met once before.

Zhang Jinghuai also recognized A Chan, looked surprised. "Miss Ji."

"Greetings, Heir Apparent." A Chan gave a half-hearted greeting without changing her posture. "Where to?"

"I'm here to pick someone up."

"Oh, then don't let us keep you."

Zhang Jinghuai didn't move on his horse, his gaze shifting to Shen Huixue beside her.

Shen Huixue avoided his eyes and whispered to A Chan, "He’s here for me. I should go."

"Alright."

Shen Huixue got down from the carriage, and Zhang Jinghuai extended his hand to her. After a brief hesitation, she placed her hand in his and let him pull her onto the horse.

A Chan watched as Zhang Jinghuai rode off with Shen Huixue in his arms, holding her close. It took her a moment to look away.

With Shen Huixue gone, A Chan got bored and climbed out of the carriage to sit beside Chen Hui and chat.

"You seem to like Miss Shen quite a bit?" Chen Hui asked curiously.

Though A Chan was amiable and got along with everyone, she usually kept her distance with new acquaintances. Shen Huixue was an exception.

"Her name is very beautiful."

"Her name?"

A Chan gazed into the distance and said softly, "I once had an uncle who asked me to name his daughter. I told him that if he ever had a girl, she should be called Hui Xue."

A Chan couldn’t help but recall a time long ago, when she was still in Qingyu Mountain.

She had just finished fighting with other fox cubs and was hiding in the mountains when her sixth uncle found her and tossed her a fruit.

The fruit was super sour, and A Chan was pissed. But after eating it, her wounds began to heal, so she decided not to hold a grudge against him.

Her sixth uncle talked with her, saying he had chosen a human name for himself—Liu Feng—and that it came from a famous human poem.

There was a particularly beautiful line in it: *"Drifting like snow returning on the flowing wind."*

He also said that one day, he would have a daughter as lovely as A Chan and invited her to name his future child.

A Chan told him, "Then call her Hui Xue. It’s not easy to learn such a pretty phrase—should use it."

He teased her, saying she didn’t get human naming rules—daughters didn’t share names with their fathers in the same poetic line; that's for siblings.

A Chan rolled her eyes at him, saying, "What’s wrong with that? If it sounds nice, that’s all that matters. You’re a fox spirit—why be so picky?"

Later, her sixth uncle had a falling out with their grandmother and left Qingyu Mountain. The last she heard of him was overhearing her grandmother and the elders—they said he had died in Xiling of Great Xia.

Her grandmother cut him off and never retrieved his body.

When A Chan saw Shen Huixue, she recognized her right away. So her sixth uncle really had had a beautiful daughter, who looked just like him, and named Hui Xue.

She had thought he wouldn’t use that name after all.

Chen Hui turned to look at A Chan. Of course, she knew the Marquis of Jinyang had no brother, and Ji Chan had no such uncle—but what did that matter?

Early the next morning, A Chan and Chen Hui went to the Marquis of Jinyang’s residence. The marquis was away at court, and Xue Shi didn’t come out to see her, instead sending the household steward and two managers to handle moving the grave.

That Xue Shi didn’t take the opportunity to make trouble for her left A Chan somewhat surprised.

The steward led A Chan and the geomancer she had hired to the Ji family gravesite, then to Lin Shi’s burial mound.

Lin Shi had been buried less than a year ago, so there was no gravestone—just a bare dirt mound.

After a brief discussion with the geomancer, the steward had the servants start digging. Soon, the earth was cleared away, revealing Lin Shi’s coffin, which was in good condition.

Four strong servants climbed down into the grave and lifted the coffin onto a red cloth spread on the ground.

While the geomancer inspected the coffin, one of the managers brought forward a bronze basin covered with red cloth and handed it to the steward.

The steward approached A Chan with a sheepish smile. "Miss, would you kindly pour the ashes from this basin into the grave?"

"Is there a particular reason for this?" A Chan turned to ask the geomancer she had hired, Master Yang.

Master Yang nodded slightly. "Some families believe that ashes, having absorbed the essence of human life, can ward off the grave’s yin energy. After scattering the ashes, the grave is reburied, and more ashes are sprinkled each year. After a decade or so, the site can be reused."

"Fine." A Chan didn't want to argue over such a small matter and took the basin.

The steward lifted the red cloth, and A Chan casually poured the ashes inside.

Only when she handed the basin back did she notice a small cut on her palm, from which a drop of blood had welled up.

A Chan frowned and looked at the basin in the house steward's hands. The house steward quickly handed the copper basin to someone else and stepped forward, his face tense with concern. "What happened to your hand? Was it cut?"

A Chan pressed a handkerchief to the wound on her hand, brushing it off: "It's nothing."

Apart from A Chan injuring her hand, the rest of the reburial proceeded smoothly.

The house steward of the Marquis of Jinyang's household helped transport Lin Shi's coffin to the new burial site and waited until the feng shui master conducted the reburial rites before leaving once the coffin was properly buried.

On the way back to the city, the steward carefully took out the copper basin, meticulously wiped away the layer of bloodstains with a white cloth, and then handed the cloth to the house steward.

The house steward took the white cloth, staring at the red stains, and sighed inwardly. He wondered what his mistress was up to with all this effort.