thefictionvixens Chapter 381: Cherry Velvet Ink Fun (revised)
Chapter 381: Cherry Velvet Ink Fun (revised)
The dusk permeated the bamboo curtains of Kamisato House, dyeing the Tang Dynasty zither on the table amber. Xizhi curled up at the end of the zither and swung the silver-gray tip. The golden bell rang and startled the ink droplets from the tip of Linghua's pen. The word "silence" in the copy of "The Classic of Tea" suddenly blossomed into a black plum. The cat tilted its head and stared at the trembling palace strings. The amber pupils danced with childlike innocence, and suddenly raised its front paws to pounce on the wandering light spot.
"Zheng——"
The plum blossom flesh pad unconsciously pressed the strings, and the overtone startled the birds under the eaves. Xizhi exploded into a ball of hair and leaped into the air, crashing into Linghua's fluttering snow sleeves. The fragrance of white toon flowers filled the silver-gray fur, and the girl's fingertips combed the soft fur behind the cat's ears: "Little rascal, this is my brother's most precious Tang zither." Before she finished speaking, the cat's tail swept across the inkstone, and the word "eternity" was drawn into a ball-shaped ink ball.
Earlier, brisk footsteps were heard outside the corridor of Kamisato House. Ying's figure turned around the hydrangea bushes, and the ragdoll cat arched into a fluffy cloud in her arms, with the golden bells on the tip of its tail jingling with her steps.
"Ayaka!" Paimon poked his head out from behind Ying, holding half a piece of Hiizakura Mochi in his hand, "We sent the little ancestor here! This guy almost overturned the fried tofu stand of Yaedo on the outlying island. The traveler said that she had to deal with the residue of the evil eye factory and couldn't take care of it--"
Xizhi let out a "meow" and broke free from the embrace, flipping into Linghua's arms. The silver-gray tail swept across the girl's shoulders, shaking the camellia flowers in her hairpin. Ying took the opportunity to put the cat bed embroidered with Liyue patterns on the table: "Three days at most, I'll come back to pick her up after the last thing is settled." He rubbed the cat's head and said, "You must listen to Princess Bailu and don't steal the three-color dumplings."
Linghua lowered her eyes and smiled softly, her fingertips sinking into the "cloud pocket" on Xizhi's chest. The snow-colored soft fur was stained with snapdragon debris, and ripples appeared with the snoring: "It is an honor for the Kamisato family to have such a distinguished guest." The fur ball in her arms suddenly raised its head and licked the callus on her pen with its pink tongue, making the girl's ears turn red with itching.
When Thomas turned the corner of the corridor with the lacquer tray in his hand, he ran into Xizhi chasing after him. The gold-painted Japanese confectionery "slapped" down the bluestone path and was smashed into a crimson paste by the cat's claws. "Little ancestor, be careful of the porcelain pieces!" He hurriedly tried to stop it, but saw a silver-gray figure using the force to kick and fly up to the top of the antique shelf. The ukiyo-e painting hooked by the claws suddenly fell down, and the thunderstorm clouds in the painting overlapped with the sky outside the window.
"This is...!" Linghua's hand trembled slightly as she took the scroll. Xizhi had already nestled in the shadow of the Tangqin, lazily flicking the strings. The thirteen icy strings rang without wind, emitting the joyful trill of the shamisen, startling the sparrows on the eaves and making their feathers stand on end.
When the morning light filled the window, Xizhi was sleeping soundly while holding Linghua's right hand that was not holding the pen. Four snow-like claws were loosely holding the girl's white wrist, and the pink flesh pads opened and closed gently with the snoring, as if kneading the invisible red cherry cake in a dream. Linghua quietly pulled out her sleeves, and the cat's ears trembled suddenly, and he buried his face in the white toon fragrance between her sleeves in a daze.
"Would you like to try this?" Thomas held back his laughter and handed over the cat toy. The moment the glass tassels fell, Xizhi's pupils suddenly shrank into vertical lines, and she changed from a "dignified lady" to a "hunting beast" in a second, flipping over the entire box of documents as she pounced in mid-air. Among the flying pages, the silver-gray fluff and the golden bells intertwined into a net, and finally won the victory with the cat's claws pressing the tassels and the tail wrapped around the pen holder.
The afternoon rain had just stopped. Linghua held Xizhi and leaned against the railing to listen to the voices from the eaves. The cat's claws dipped into the accumulated water, leaving a string of plum blossoms on the sandalwood floor, and suddenly turned to reach the falling rain curtain. A drop of water fell right on the tip of her nose, startling her so much that her back arched and her fur stood up, like a dandelion that had been electrocuted. The maids hid behind the screen and laughed, but saw Xizhi suddenly run across the corridor, holding a pinewood plaque in his mouth and "pa pa" dropping it at Linghua's feet - the words "Jingxin" were covered with claw marks, which made her look more lively than before.
When dusk fell again on the roof, Xizhi had occupied Linghua's lap and acted as a heater. The golden bell on the tip of his tail trembled lightly with the humming of "Kamisato Uta". He occasionally raised his eyelids to supervise the girl's review of documents, and stretched out his claws to slap the ink when he saw the pen stagnate. The most thrilling moment was when she tried to steal cold tea. Xizhi used a "meow meow punch" to knock over the Tianmu cup, and the wet account book instead showed a freehand painting of cherry blossoms blowing snow.
"You troublemaker..." Linghua pinched the cat's paw pad, but Xizhi turned over and showed his velvety belly to fight back. There was a piece of snapdragon stuck in the snowy fur, which was used for playing in the morning. It appeared and disappeared with the breath, just like the moon hiding in the clouds and laughing secretly. The girl finally couldn't help burying her face in the "cloud pocket", and her muffled laughter shook Xizhi's beard.
The wind chimes on the eaves rang suddenly, and Ying's figure turned around the hydrangea bushes. Xizhi's ears moved, and he turned around and jumped onto the Tangqin, plucking the strings to produce a series of tremolo sounds like a complaint. Linghua waved her sleeves to brush away the cat hair on her skirt, and her voice was filled with smiles: "If you want to comment on these three days--" She pointed to the tea sets on the antique shelf that were tilted all over the place, the plum blossom ink marks on the ground, and the missing corner of the "Jingxin" plaque, "In the past two hundred years, the Kamisato family has never been so "full of vitality."
Xizhi squatted at Qinwei and flicked his tail, licking his paw innocently. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and rushed to the courtyard. When he came back, he held a complete camellia flower in his mouth and placed it solemnly in Linghua's palm. The golden bell on the tip of his tail tinkled, as if saying, "I'll give it to you as compensation!"