Shi Jin picked up the light gray hoodie from the back of the chair, flicking cherry petals off his shoulder. As he pulled it on, the collar brushed his ear tip, and he scratched casually at it, an effortless youthful air radiating from him.
"Let's go," he smiled, turning toward Jiang Na.
Fine sunlight filtered through the wooden windows of the sushi shop, gilding the tips of his hair.
"The old cherry blossom tree is on the western slope of the island. It's about twenty minutes on foot. There's a small stream along the way—cherry petals floating on the water look like little pink boats. It's quite something to see."
Jiang Na nodded, tucking the Luo Fei Sword more securely into the ribbon at her waist, and followed him out the door.
The moment they stepped outside, a wind carrying the scent of cherry blossoms rushed toward them. Shi Jin instinctively shifted sideways, blocking the petals from hitting her.
Jiang Na froze slightly. Remembering their tense confrontation at the cliff a few days earlier, and seeing his natural, unthinking gesture now, the tightness in her chest inexplicably loosened a little.
The two walked along the edge of the market, avoiding the noisy crowds. Shi Jin stayed on the outer side the entire time, occasionally pausing to wait for her.
Passing a stall selling cherry blossom hairpins, he pointed to one decorated with pearls and pink blossoms and smiled.
"This would look good on you. Softer than the red hairband you wore at the festival."
When they reached the stream, he crouched down, picked up a petal floating on the surface, and held it out to her palm.
"Look. The current is slow, so the petals spin in circles. I used to live here, and I'd squat here counting them. By the tenth spin, they'd drift away."
Jiang Na knelt down beside him, watching the petal in her hand tremble softly in the stream's ripples. Her fingertips touched the cold water, and she couldn't help smiling.
"It really does… like it's dancing."
Shi Jin looked at her smile, his eyes softening warmly. As he stood up, he brushed a cherry petal from the top of her hair.
"Only five minutes more. The old tree's branches hang down to the slope—you can't miss it."
Around the bend, the earth slope came into view. At the top stood the ancient cherry tree, its trunk so thick it would take two people to wrap their arms around it. Its branches spread like an umbrella, layers upon layers of pink petals falling in a soft rustle with every gust of wind.
Shi Jin hurried up the slope, crouched beside the trunk, and brushed away a thin layer of soil, revealing an old wooden plaque buried beneath.
The plaque was already rotten, its edges gnawed rough by years. It crumbled at the slightest touch, giving off a faint musty smell, like an old book buried underground for too long.
Only the cherry blossom carving in the center remained clear. Deep within the engraving lingered a wisp of faint golden light, like smoke that never quite faded, keeping the rot from spreading to that spot.
"Look at this," Shi Jin said, carefully pressing his fingertip against the carving, careful not to touch the rest of the decaying wood. He looked up and smiled at Jiang Na.
"I used to live here. I carved a cherry blossom on this plaque every day. I wasn't as strong back then, and it took me a long time to find the inheritor of the Luo Fei Sword. This was how I counted the days.
I carved seventy-three lines before I found a lead. I was afraid the plaque would rot, so I poured a little magic into the carving. I never thought it would still be intact after all this time."
Jiang Na knelt beside him, her fingers hovering above the plaque, afraid to touch the rotting wood.
"This magic is incredible… to protect the carving from rotting for five thousand years. But…"
She turned to him, the corner of her mouth curling into a playful smile.
"When you say 'after all this time'… you can't really have lived for five thousand years, can you? No human can live that long—not even with magic. You must have just played here as a kid and are pretending to be old now."
Shi Jin smiled at her, not denying it. Instead, he picked up a whole, unbroken petal from the ground and tucked it gently behind her ear.
He crouched down again, carefully burying the plaque back into the soil, patting the surface flat, as if afraid to disturb something.
"Whether I'm pretending or not… you'll find out soon enough. Maybe you'll even watch this cherry tree bloom a few thousand more times."
"Let's go," he said, standing up and brushing dirt off his pants.
"There's a small mound behind the tree. I used to sit there watching sunsets. It should still be there."
Jiang Na touched the petal in her hair, then glanced at the buried plaque. Though doubts lingered in her heart, they were softened by the blossoms all around. She stood and followed him.
Wind carried petals behind them, gently burying the plaque and the unspoken years back into the earth.
The two walked toward the back of the tree, stepping on a carpet of pink petals, their footsteps light and soft.
Jiang Na quickened her pace to catch up, gently tugging at the hem of his shirt, her tone confused yet teasing.
"Hey… you said you used to live here. Back then, did you also dress in gray and squat under cherry trees, pretending to be deep?"
Shi Jin laughed aloud, flicking her forehead lightly.
"I was much younger-looking back then. I even wore pale pink clothes—the same color as these blossoms."
Jiang Na's eyes widened. She covered her forehead and laughed.
"You're lying! You in pink? That'd be weird—like a boy who stole a girl's clothes."
Shi Jin pretended to frown, acting annoyed.
"What's so weird about it? The old ladies down the mountain all said I looked good in pink. One even knitted me a pink scarf.
But later…" He trailed off.
His gaze swept over the flat grass behind the tree, a faint hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes before he smiled again at Jiang Na.
"There used to be a small mound here. I sat on it eating cherry blossom cakes all the time. I never thought five thousand years would wear it flat. Only this old cherry tree remains."
Jiang Na looked at the grass, imagining a boy in pink, five thousand years ago, squatting on a mound eating cakes. She couldn't help huffing.
"Hmph, you speak like it's true. I think you just want to trick me into buying you cherry blossom cakes! Living five thousand years—why not say you saw dinosaurs?"
Shi Jin bent down, picked up a thick branch, and drew a circle in the middle of the grass, marking where the mound had once been. He raised an eyebrow.
"Never saw dinosaurs. But the grass inside this circle? It might still smell like the cake crumbs I dropped back then.
We'll buy cakes when we go down the mountain. I'll eat right here. If I taste something familiar… then you win—I was just tricking you for cake."
Jiang Na knelt down, poking the circle crooked with her finger, deliberately teasing him.
"As if I'd let you trick me! Buy your own! But… if you really taste cake crumbs from five thousand years ago… I'll split half with you. How's that?"
Shi Jin laughed at her playful expression, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"Deal. Don't go back on your half-cake promise later."
Wind swept cherry petals into the circle at their feet, as if stamping this little, post-five-thousand-years bet with a pink seal.
Laughter mixed with the soft rustle of falling petals, drifting gently around the old tree, tucking this moment of peace into the spring of Floating Sakura Island.
The two walked down the mountain side by side. Jiang Na still teased him about the "five-thousand-year-old cake crumb scent," waving her hands as she made up stories of him in pink, squatting on a mound eating cake, his face covered in petals blown by the wind.
Shi Jin listened with a smile, occasionally tapping her forehead and complaining, "Stop making things up. I was much better-behaved than you back then."
By the stream, the wind suddenly grew stronger, and cherry petals fell thicker from the treetops.
Shi Jin's brow furrowed slightly. He glanced at the distant forest shadows, said nothing, and gently tugged Jiang Na's wrist.
"Hurry. The cherry blossom cakes will sell out if we're late."
Jiang Na let him pull her along, still sticking her tongue out at him, muttering, "What's the rush? Nobody's fighting you for them."
At the cherry blossom cake stall, the white-haired old woman quickly packed the soft pastries. As she handed them over, she suddenly stared at Shi Jin and smiled.
"Young man, you have such handsome eyes. You look just like the boy my grandfather always used to talk about.
He said a traveler came to the island many years ago. I never met him, but Grandfather mentioned him all the time."
Shi Jin's fingers holding the oil-paper bag stilled for a moment. A faint, fleeting look of daze crossed his eyes before he forced a smile.
"What a coincidence, then."
Jiang Na immediately leaned close to his ear, poking his arm quietly and teasing.
"See? You slipped up. That old lady's talking about someone else—not you, the fake old-timer. Still saying you looked good in pink?"
The two sat on the blue stone slabs by the stream, eating cakes, their fingertips dusted with sweet, sticky cherry blossom powder.
The sweet scent mixed with the crisp freshness of the stream.
Jiang Na bit into her cake, then tilted her head to look at him, her hand unconsciously touching the tassel of the Luo Fei Sword at her waist.
"You've looked for so many generations of Luo Fei Sword inheritors… what exactly are you trying to do? It can't just be squatting under cherry trees carving wooden plaques."
Shi Jin's chewing slowed. He lifted his gaze to the petals drifting far away on the stream, not answering directly. He only ruffled her hair.
"It's nothing bad. When the time comes, I'll tell you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Luo Fei Sword at Jiang Na's waist trembled slightly. The cherry bead on the tassel glinted with faint light, and even the ribbon at her waist quivered softly, barely visible in the stream's reflection.
Shi Jin's gaze fell on that faint glow, the casual lightness in his eyes fading, replaced by a thin, quiet warmth.
By the time they finished the cake and headed back, dusk had already fallen. Twilight spread over the treetops of Floating Sakura Island, the old cherry tree's shadow stretching long across the ground.
Jiang Na suddenly pointed to a fresh, shallow carving on the trunk.
"Look! Someone's carving on the tree now, just like you did with your plaque back then."
Shi Jin walked over and bent down, his fingertips gently brushing the crooked, childish characters.
He then raised his hand and traced a small cherry blossom mark next to it with his fingertip.
A faint golden light flashed at his touch and vanished into the wood, leaving only a faint mark, as if it had grown there naturally.
"Leaving something for later generations," he said softly. "Just like I did."
Jiang Na stared at the faint golden cherry mark hidden in the wood and couldn't help smiling.
"So you do childish things too."
Shi Jin stood up, brushing wood chips off his hands, and ruffled her hair again, his tone amused and helpless.
"Once in a while. It's not embarrassing."
Night breeze carried a light mist, wrapping up the last of the cherry blossom scent.
The two walked back side by side. Shi Jin still deliberately stayed on the outer side, keeping Jiang Na safe away from the grass.
Jiang Na chattered brightly about the new things she'd seen at the market. Shi Jin listened, a faint smile on his lips.
The evening wind scattered their voices, mixing with the soft fall of petals.
The faint glow of the Luo Fei Sword hid at Jiang Na's waist. The faint golden light from Shi Jin's fingertips melted into the dusk.
The old woman's words, the unspoken past, the secret hidden in his eyes—all were gently wrapped in the night wind of Floating Sakura Island, resting in the warmth of spring, waiting to slowly unfold in the days to come.
Night mist seeped into the Chiba family council hall. Candle flames flickered.
Chiba Jiang Yu tapped his finger lightly against the hilt of the Kiyotaki Sword. Dark blue water magic condensed but did not burst forth. His thumb rubbed over the water patterns on the blade, his heart sinking.
Jiang Na had gone to meet Shi Jin in private—already beyond his expectations. Every detail reported now had to be taken with the utmost caution.
The leader of the Shadow Ravens landed beside the sand table, wings folded. The cherry dew on his wing-tips evaporated before hitting the ground, erased by the hidden power around him. Two more Shadow Ravens stood bowed behind him, their presence completely concealed.
"My lord, we have fully investigated Shi Jin and Miss Chiba's movements today," the leader said, his voice rough like sandpaper, every word precise.
"At dawn, Shi Jin left Cherry Blossom Hotel and went straight to the dock sushi shop.
At the hour of the snake, Miss Chiba arrived and sat with him voluntarily. They talked for fifteen minutes. Shi Jin released no magic. He gave Miss Chiba cherry blossom candy from the festival, and did not mention the Luo Fei Sword or the Double-Sword Ritual once."
Another Shadow Raven immediately added, his tone heavy.
"After leaving the sushi shop, they went to Sakura Mountain together. Shi Jin fed stray cats and stopped to catch cherry petals along the way. Miss Chiba kept three feet away from him at all times. The tracking talisman in her sleeve gave no alarm.
They rested at the cherry-viewing platform halfway up the mountain. Miss Chiba asked why he had triggered the Luo Fei Sword's resonance.
Shi Jin said plainly that he had lived a very long time—so long he could not remember what Floating Sakura Island first looked like. His tone was calm, with a hint of sorrow. He did not say his exact age, nor elaborate on his past. Miss Chiba looked surprised but did not press further."
"At the hour of the goat, they returned to the market," the leader continued, his gaze falling on the market marker on the sand table.
"Shi Jin accompanied Miss Chiba to buy cherry blossom preserves and wind chimes, and even helped the vendor carry wooden shelves—acting casually, like any ordinary tourist.
At the hour of the monkey, Miss Chiba returned home. Shi Jin went alone to sit on the reef by the sea.
At the hour of the rooster, he bought tonkotsu ramen on the way back to the hotel.
He did not approach the Chiba estate or the Luo Fei Sword seal at any point. His magic remained extremely restrained. Only a faint fluctuation occasionally emanated from his neck, matching the frequency of the Luo Fei Sword—but without the slightest hostility.
He seemed to notice us hiding. Glanced toward our position, smiled lightly, neither exposing us nor attacking."
Jiang Yu's brow creased sharply. The water magic at his fingertips quietly spread over the sand table, circling the cherry-viewing platform marker tightly.
Cold thoughts churned in his chest.
Lived a very long time… so long he could not remember Floating Sakura Island's earliest form.
These were not casual test words.
To say such a thing to Jiang Na—he was either fearlessly confident, counting on her innocence not to dig deeper… or he hid a past connected to Floating Sakura Island, even to the Luo Fei Sword itself.
One who could conceal his magic so thoroughly that the Shadow Ravens barely detected it, and still resonate with the Luo Fei Sword… how could such a person be a random traveler?
He asked in a low, stern voice.
"When he said that, was anyone else nearby? At the viewing platform, did he leave any aura, mark, or abnormal contact with plants, stone, or earth?"
"No other visitors were at the platform. It was quiet and secluded," the Shadow Raven leader replied immediately.
"We have sent men back to check. No magic marks were found on the stone bench, surrounding cherry trees, or ground—only faint auras from Shi Jin and Miss Chiba. Shi Jin's aura faded extremely quickly; we could barely detect it even with our sensitivity. No abnormal connection between him and Floating Sakura Island's native things was found."
"Did Miss Chiba show any unusual behavior after returning?" Jiang Yu asked again, his gaze flicking toward the council hall door, a faint worry crossing his heart.
Jiang Na was already doubtful of Shi Jin. After hearing that, she would only lower her guard further.
She was kind by nature, easily moved by words that seemed open and honest. Losing her vigilance was the greatest danger.
"Miss Chiba returned with a confused expression, but no panic or abnormality. She stayed in her room after returning and did not go out again, nor did she release magic to contact anyone outside."
Jiang Yu fell silent. Only the crackle of burning candles filled the hall.
He looked down at the lines connecting Sakura Mountain, the seaside reef, and Cherry Blossom Hotel on the sand table, quickly sorting through the details in his mind.
Never approaching the Luo Fei Sword. Never asking about the Chiba family. Even deliberately avoiding the Double-Sword Ritual.
Seemingly without the slightest covetousness.
But the more deliberately "well-behaved" he acted, the more it looked like a carefully crafted disguise.
He noticed the Shadow Ravens hiding but did not strike. Was it because he disdained fighting… or because he was secretly observing Floating Sakura Island's defenses?
Saying he had lived a long time—was that a careless slip… or a deliberate smoke bomb, luring them to investigate on their own?