Spring Winds

Chapter 20: Smile

I looked up to the source of the voice and was surprised at its owner.

"Are you, um, lost," the owner of the voice squeaked. The person in front of me was an adorable girl. She appeared rather young, perhaps a little bit younger than me. She had an air of innocence around her due to her round face and rather short stature.

"Oh, my gods!" Someone has come to help, and they happen to be a girl! How long has it been since I saw another of the fairer sex other than Senior Sister! "I-"

"Uh," I must have been too loud as the girl shrank back, hands clutching her chest. "P-please excuse me!" Suddenly, like a terrified bunny, the girl started to sprint off!

Ah! My only way of directions is running away!

"Ah wait, young missy," using as much power as possible, I began the chase after her. "Ah, please don't leave!"

Looking back over her shoulder, her eyes widen in fear and surprise before picking up her pace.

Aiyah! I'm not trying to hurt you. I just need directions!

"Wait, wait, wait! Sorry to scare you, but I need your help! Hah, desperately!"

Hah, this girl is pretty fast despite her looks.

"Hah?" The girl suddenly stopped in the middle of the road! Girly, what are you doing!

"Watch out!" Trying to stop abruptly, I accidentally knocked into the poor girl. Ah, no good! If she gets hurt, how will she help me now?

I'll be lost in these darn woods forever! ;;

Twisting my body, I pulled her close to me and landed on the ground facing up.

Hissing at the fall, I squinted my eyes open as I felt a weight on my chest squirm out of my arms.

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"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry," the girl quickly got off of me and started to bow profusely. "Please forgive me!" Her forehead was looking a little red from thumping her head on the ground a few times.

Gingerly sitting up, I rub my sore back with squinted eyes. Geez, I landed on rocks too, ah I hope I didn't cause any tears on my clothes.

"It's fine. I probably shouldn't have scared you in the first place," rolling my shoulders back, I winced slightly from the stinging sensation from my back. Yeah, that's going to sting for a while.

"I, um," the girl fidgeted with her hair as she meekly looked between her hands and me. "I'm sorry!"

"Uh, don't worry about," scratching my head. I observed this little girl for a bit. She had long silky strands of hair that piled atop her head into two buns and pigtails on each side of her head with a bit of fringe that rested on her forehead. However, her most striking feature was her silver-colored eyes. I hadn't seen any eye color like hers before.

"Um, you must be disgusted by how I look, right," she mumbled as her slender fingers combed through her pigtails.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there," how did we get to here! "I wasn't staring because of your looks. Well, I guess I was but for a completely different reason!"

"Ah? I-I don't think I understand," the girl blinked.

"You're a girl!"

"A-ah, yes, I am," she nodded with a confused look. "And what of it?"

"Are you kidding? I haven't another girl around my age in so long! Well, aside from my senior sister, of course!"

"O-oh."

"Anyways, since I crashed into you, I might as well introduce myself," I smiled as kindly as I could. I didn't want to risk the girl running away again. "My name is Zhu Na Ran, but I guess here I'm better known as Jing Ran."

The girl suddenly froze as her eyes widened. Suddenly she started to hit her head against the ground again. "Apologies, Martial Aunt for this disciple's insolence!"

"Wah, what is up with valley people busting their foreheads open!"

Stopping her from thumping her head against the ground, she stopped as she sat up straight with a stream of blood trickling down her face. Cringing slightly at the torn skin, I couldn't but feel bad that she did this for me.

"Ah, you've got blood on your face," fumbling robes for a handkerchief, I used the soft cloth to wipe away the blood and stop the bleeding. "Ah, you should probably wash off the rest when you go home."

A pink fog dusted her cheeks as she replaced my hand with hers in holding up the hanky to her forehead. "Thank you," she squeaked.

"Uh, no problem," hmm, she must have run so hard her face turned red. "Anyways, do you mind if you can help me?"

"Eh? Sure, what is that Martial Aunt needs?"

"Uh, haha, directions."

"Oh," she nodded. "Where is it that Martial Aunt needs to go?"

"Back home, I need directions back to Yu Lan Peak, um, if you know the direction to it."

"Oh," the girl lifted a pale, slender finger down the road. "If you continue straight and take a left at the lion statue, that's the path that leads directly to Yu Lan Peak."

Ah?

Rubbing my face, I couldn't help but sulk about my horrid sense of direction. Standing up, I started to walk according to the girl's instructions. "Thank you"

"Oh, this disciple is called Bai Yin."

Hmm, silver.

What a fitting name.

However, Bai Yin didn't look too happy with this name as she looked down and mumbled as tears began to well up in her eyes "... Bai Yin, the cause of failure"

Oh, okay, I think I'm starting to get an idea of this girl's misery.

Kids are cruel creatures. With a name that sounds like 'cause of failure', no doubt, this poor girl has been the subject of bullying from some.

"Whelp," crouching in front of Bai Yin, I tried to think of some words of encouragement. "Chin up, Bai Yin. Let me tell you something: a girl looks better when she smiles.

If you're worried about your appearance, smile.

If someone bullies you, smile.

If you just need to cheer yourself up, smile."

You'll find that it's surprisingly hard to cry or be sad if you smile three times in a row.

Bai Yin didn't say anything as she sniffled a bit, but no tears came down her pretty face.

"Why don't you try it for yourself?"

Bai Yin's mouth twitched before lifting into a smile. She struggles a bit for the first two times, but the third, her smile stayed.

"There, see. So pretty! I'm sure you'll turn heads with that smile on your face. Man or woman."

"Thank you," she smiled shyly.

"No problem, Bai Yin. Remember, crying doesn't rid one of sorrow; it only feeds into other's happiness. By learning to swallow one's tears, only one will be able to experience joy for themselves."

"Eh, I'll remember."

"Good," looking up at the darkening sky, I saw misty blue haze dust over the heavens as the sun began to set. "Wah, night sure does come fast!" Standing up, I brushed the dust off my clothes. "Well, it's been fun, Bai Yin, but I better head back before my senior sister gets mad."

"Ah, wait," she hastily stood up from the ground. "Your handkerchief."

"Oh, you can give it back to me when we meet again. Until then, take care of it for me," waving goodbye, I head off in direction Bai Yin pointed.

Hopefully, I can return by dark. I can't imagine how Senior Sister will react when I get back.

I pray that it isn't more scripture copies.

---

"Junior Sister, where have you been? You should've been back a few hours ago," Senior Sister sighed as she waited for me at the gate back home. "Goodness, look at you. Did you get into a fight?"

Looking down at my crumpled robes and scuffed appearance, I couldn't help but let out a sheepish smile. "Uh, sorry, Senior Sister, I got lost."

A tired sigh came out of Senior Sister's lips as she rubbed the crease between her brows. "Forget it. You're here now. Let's go eat dinner."

"Okay!" Tailing Senior Sister, I cross through the entrance array.

Ah, it good to be back.