Spring Winds

"Qiu Residence." The golden sign hung above the red lacquer doors with gate guardians plastered on them. Ye Lian Hua had knocked on the doors and was currently waiting for someone to open them.

"Yes? May I help you?" A frail-looking doorkeeper with dark bags under his opened the door.

"Hello," Showing the doorkeeper her disciple badge, "I am a disciple of the Yun Sect. Has another one of my fellow disciples arrived here?"

"Yes, yes," he opened the door wider. "A young priest came a few hours ago to help dispel the evil haunting this place. Please, come in."

"Thank you," nodded graciously. The doorkeeper had a maidservant guild her to the main hall. Upon arrival, she was greeted by the family seated inside.

The old master introduced himself as Qiu Qing Yue and introduced the rest of his family to her.

"Thank you for your hospitably. My name is Ye Lian Hua, a disciple of the Yun Sect."

"No, no, we should be thanking you and your sister. She is that last hope we have on exciting this demon. If she can't then would have no choice but to try and relocate to shake off this spirit."

"Hmm, can you tell me a bit about what your family has been experiencing if you had provoked any spirits perhaps?" Ye Lian Hua would have guessed that her junior sister might have skipped over this part, asking questions and putting together a possible conclusion of what this being maybe and executing a plan based on that. She knew that Zhu Na Ran preferred to attack first, ask questions later, but that sort of scenario is rather dangerous and could get her in some trouble. Old Master Qiu retold the events that happened to his family as of late. Their eldest son Qiu Wu Han had passed away, and of the strange occurrences that would come as darkness fell.

"Well, for the past five months, my family and I have been strange dreams. Nightmares if you will."

"Really? Describe them to me," she inquired. If this demon involved dreams, then that would narrow down the search by a margin.

"It's almost indescribable, whenever we close our eyes, we are overcome by feelings of hate, sadness, and betrayal. All at once!"

"Hmm, could you describe your dreams more specifically?" Any malicious spirit could cause that.

"No, I'm afraid I cannot recall more than that," he said regretfully.

Ye Lian Hua noticed that almost all family members had dark under eyes except for their youngest daughter, who was introduced as Qiu Wu Chou. The rest of the family and even some of the servants had dark circles under their eyes. Not to mention, the happy occasion of today didn't seem to permeate into the residence as it was cold and bare, an unusual sight to see in summer. And the place appeared almost as if it were frozen in time.

"Second Young Master Qiu, I hope you don't mind telling me what you witnessed." His name was Qiu Wu Hua. He also possessed the same pale appearance and

"I-I don't know. All I can recall was being held down, not being able to move. And it was cold. Extremely cold, but even after being covered in numerous quilts and burners during the summer heat, the chill just couldn't be shaken off. And so I could sleep for long."

"And what about you Madam Qiu? What did you see?"

Madam Qiu seemed to have had a momentary panic attack as if her dreams were too horrific to recall. From what Old Master Qiu had told Ye Lian Hua, Madam Qiu was nearly nine months pregnant. She was surprised that she was able to keep her child under so much stress. Well, it had taken a toll on her health, that for sure, Ye Lian Hua thought. Madam Qiu was said to be quite the beauty even as she grew older, but now with her pale, haggard appearance, she seems to have aged twenty years within five months.

"I-I... I-"Madam Qiu stuttered. "A-all I could see was darkness… darkness except for a child! Yes! A child!" she suddenly sputtered on frantically. "A child was sitting in the dark corner of my room, and she would sit there, unmoving and would continue to stare at me. When I sleep… no not just when I sleep, during to the day too! She would also appear in some dark corner, with dead eyes staring at me! You have to believe me! I-I'm not lying!" Suddenly Madam Qiu fainted in her seat, whether it may be fear or lack of rest, perhaps a combination of both. Old Master Qiu called for a doctor frantically, and the whole family is shaken.

"Young Miss Qiu, did you see anything?"

The young girl looked up at Ye Lian Hua and shook her head, not saying a word during the entire interaction.

"You see, esteemed guest! This ghoul has tormented my family so, for a reason we do not know of!" Old Master Qiu called out panicked.

"Are you sure? Have you told me everything you know?"

"Yes, yes, I swear on my family name! Please, help my family!" Old Master Qiu got down on his knees and bowed. The rest of his family joined in as well as the servants.

"Old Master Qiu get up, I will do my best to end your family's suffering. Just lead to where you took my junior sister." Old Master Qiu quickly agreed and had a servant take Ye Lian Hua to the area of activity.

Thereby the entrance was a senior mama standing by the door. She told her that Zhu Na Ran was already inside in the Madam's quarters.

She didn't know why, but Ye Lian Hua had an intense of dread come over her. She instantly ran across the courtyard and threw open the doors to the Madam's room.

"Junior Sister!" Laying on the floor, by a far corner of the room, was the unconscious form of Zhu Na Ran. Rushing to her, she noticed that Zhu Na Ran was covered in a fog of malicious energy.

"Dispel!" Forming an incantation, the fog around Zhu Na Ran soon retreated. Checking for any injuries, Ye Lian Hua was relieved to find her sister unharmed. She knew that the Yu Lan Bell Master gave them was more than a tracking device. It could also protect one's soul for any harm, and if their soul were to be scattered, by ringing the bell, it would gradually collect the soul pieces into its body.

Indeed it was a valuable treasure and a gift made with care.

"Ehmm," Zhu Na Ran's brows scrunched up as if she were in a bad dream. Propping Zhu Na Ran's head on her lap, Ye Lian Hua gently smoothed out the wrinkles on her junior sister's brow.

She knew that Zhu Na Ran would be safe; all she needed to do was wait.

—-

It all started ten years ago.

Ten years ago, a man had made a partnership with an old friend of his. They had known each other since their school days, and though they both didn't pass the imperial examination, they were still somewhat successful in life.

When they both got married, they swore that if their children were sons, they would be sworn brother. If they were girls, they'd be sisters. And if they were boy and girl, then they would be husband and wife.

The first child to be born would be a son of the childhood friend, Qiu Wu Han. And a few years later, the second child would be, the daughter of the man. Her name would be Xia Jiu Ji.

"Big Brother Han!" a little girl suddenly jumped into the arms of a young boy a few years older than her.

"Little Ji, when did you come here?" he smiled charmingly at the little girl.

"I came with Daddy to play!" she smiled.

Smiling, the boy rubbed the girl's hair, "Come on, mom made some snacks for us."

"Yay!" and the little girl tailed after the boy.

A few years later, Xia Jiu Ji's father would develop a special red dye. Before this, Xi Tong City made red dye using just crushed spider lilies. However, the color would eventually fade, and it won't last long. However, his technique would keep the colors vibrant and bright. Also, it could be used in different shades of red. This recipe would naturally be worth a lot of money. However, Xia Jiu Ji's father's health would begin to decline after that.

In early spring, Xia Jiu Ji married into the family early as her father's last wish. The Qiu family agreed as her dowry would include the unique recipe.

Xia Jiu Ji's father would succ.u.mb to his illness by the end of spring, and her days would only worsen after that.