Chapter 1

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The Sea of Clouds Imprison the Heart

Chapter 1

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The river water was completely red, the light from the flames were shooting up into the sky, dying the place where the sea connected with the sky, the color of blood.

“Elder young master, quick, leave!” the crew member was staking his life to guard a handsome and elegant man as they headed for the head of the ship.

They were a bunch of money minded and ruthless river bandits; in comparison, with just a few weaponless people on board the ship, how were they supposed to be their match?

“No, I’ll not leave!” the handsome and elegant man stood for some time before he rejected the words in a cold voice, “As long as the Fang families ship is around, I’ll stay, if the goods are lost, so is my life! I definitely won’t abandon the ship and leave!”

The surrounding deck area had already sunk into a sea of hell fire, the thick smoke and the pieces of ember-lit cloth were carried and swept up towards the sky by the air current.

The man briefly looked around, unable to hide the anger and desolation in his eyes, but there was nothing he could have done, nor any means of stopping it. Turning his head, he squinted and his line of sight fell on the surface of the river not too far away.

There lay a ship with a black flag and black sails.

Ye Qingyun lowered the telescope and with fury on his face, crashed his fist onto the wheel of the ship.

A person came up to report, “First-in-command, it’s that group of people from Du Qi, disobeying the rules and raiding normal merchant ships on our territory. That ship…”

Ye Qingyun waved his hand, “Enough, don’t say anything else, leave this place first, lest anyone was to misunderstand and think that we were the ones who did this deed.”

“Yes!”

The sails were raised, the stern was turned, and the flag was splayed open by the wind. In the distance, the merchant ship was gradually sinking in the midst of the sea of blazing flames, the light from the flames seemingly to scorch the skies; it was as though the river itself was boiling.

Ye Qingyun stepped onto the deck and so happened to look back, when he saw there was a person standing at the head of the ship. The person was shrouded in thick smoke and fierce flames, yet his figure was unwavering and firm, like the mountains.

“Which family’s flag does that ship fly?”

“First-in-command, there was only a single character, ‘Fang’. As for which family, it’s uncertain.”

When Ye Qingyun turned his head back again, more than half of the ship was submerged and the figure that had been standing proudly at the stern could no longer be seen.

“Fang…”

The night sky was like ink, it was slightly chilly, like the water, in the room where candlelight wavered gently, a person was studying a book by candle light.

Gentle knocks fell on the door, they were gentle, yet firm. The person seated at the table studying, stopped and stood up to open the door. The person outside the room had thick, charming eyebrows, handsome eyes and the corners of his lips were turned faintly upwards.

“Qingyun, it’s late, why aren’t you asleep yet?” queried Fang Xiao Zai as he opened the door, letting the man in.

“What about you?” Ye Qingyun entered, closing the door gently, and asked him in return, “aren’t you still awake too?” Seeing the accounting books that were flipped open on the table, a hint of concern appeared on Ye Qingyun’s face, “you have yet to fully recover, why’re you looking at these things? The physician said that you need to rest more, and to not worry yourself too much.”

Hearing him say it, Fang Xiao Zai closed the accounting books one by one, “I just thought of looking through, not knowing how much of an impression I’d still have, but after looking at it for half a day, I still can’t remember anything.”

After waking up a few months ago and finding himself in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by a group of strangers, a pretty looking, elegantly dressed middle-aged lady sat by the bed, her beautiful eyes were blurred by the tears, calling him “Yinfeng” over and over again.

He tried thinking, but his head started hurting, as though his skull would crack open and his mind was blank. He couldn’t recall a single thing.

The physician said that he’d hit his head and it had probably caused him to lose his memories.

After that, he heard bits and pieces of some things from others as he recovered.

This place was named Su Ye Manor. He is Luo Yinfeng and is the second-in-command here. The owner of Su Ye Manor, Madam Su Ye, was the middle-aged lady he saw the moment he woke up and he was Madam Su Ye’s son.

Su Ye Manor could be counted as a strength in Jianghu. They had always done businesses that didn’t have starting costs. The first-in-command, Ye Qingyun, is Madam Su Ye’s nephew. In which case, the two of them would be cousins.

“Yinfeng, no one’s forcing you, so there’s no rush, take it easy.” Ye Qingyun said as he shook open the parcel that he’d brought with him. There was a cloak inside. It was pure white, without a speck of any other color. He helped to put the cloak on and said, “The weather’s slowly turning cold. I got you a cloak made of fox fur, see if you like it?”

Fang Xiao Zai reached his hand up to stroke the soft fox fur on the cloak and thanked him in a quiet voice. Ye Qingyun, however, laughed loudly, “We’re brothers, is there a need to stand on ceremony? The physician told you to not tire yourself, so you’d better rest early.” Patting his shoulders, as though he was comforting.

Fang Xiao Zai nodded with a smile. He was about to stand up, but Ye Qingyun expressed that there was no need to see him out, before leaving by himself.

Watching as the door closed, Fang Xiao Zai took off the cloak, held it in his hand and thought, this must be … from robbing another ship, right?

What they meant by ‘businesses without starting cost’ was no more than stealing and robbing. Su Ye Manor watched over a section of the river, had their own crew, as well as experienced sailors specifically for raiding the ships that passed by, but chose only black-hearted merchant ships or officials’ ships.

Even so, in his eyes, stealing was stealing, even if they were robbing the rich to help the poor; it was still a violation of the court’s rule. However, the funny thing was that his identity was the second-in-command here. How was it, that by losing his memories, he’d suddenly have such righteous thoughts?

Could his head have possibly been so badly damaged?

Fang Xiao Zai couldn’t help laughing inside, shaking his head, he stood up and went to blow the candle out, when suddenly, all he saw in front of him was darkness.

He quickly grabbed onto the table and could only feel that the items and things in front of him were swaying and he was seeing double, it was very blurry. At the same time there was a buzzing in his ears. He closed his eyes and placed his hand on his forehead. It was only after quite some time that the spell of dizziness passed.

This had happened frequently, ever since he’d woken up. His head would spin, and his vision become blurred. However, thinking it was probably due to being unconscious for so long, he didn’t give it much thought.

After laying down, he faced a room of silence, but couldn’t sleep, no matter how he tossed and turned. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep, but for some reason, Fang Xiao Zai became increasingly afraid of falling asleep. After he fell asleep, he would dream and these dreams… made him fearful.

In his dreams were familiar scenes and people. Yet, it wasn’t Su Ye Manor and naturally, it wasn’t anyone from this place either. In his dream, there was a blurry figure, calling him “Da Ge[1]”, over and over.

He’d asked Ye Qingyun before, whether he had other brothers but the reply he received was negative.

So, what did this dream… really mean?

Even if he wanted, ever more so, to take a clearer look, he was always unable to get closer and every time he was so close to achieving it, the scene and people who seemed to be shrouded in fog disappeared. As if they were stolen away by the fog that had dispersed and he’d wake up not long after.

He described the dreams to Ye Qingyun, and the other party only told him not to mind it too much, that it was probably just a normal dream. However, Fang Xiao Zai thought that it wasn’t a normal dream. The scenes and people in the dream were just so familiar, but he just couldn’t remember.

Ye Qingyun left the room, took a few steps down the corridor and stopped to look back at the door that was shut tightly behind him.

That person was picked up from the riverside by his aunt when she had a relapse, and wasn’t of sane mind. Truthfully, he wasn’t the real Luo Yinfeng.

Ever since the owner of Su Ye Manor, Luo Yinfeng’s father, was harmed, Madam Su Ye had become a little abnormal mentally, and it became worse when Luo Yinfeng left home. She’d frequently go missing while wandering around alone, and gave everyone in the manor quite the headache.

A few months ago, Madam Su Ye suffered a relapse of her illness once again and while the servants weren’t paying attention, she ran away and went missing, yet again. Ye Qingyun exploded with anger when he found out about it and sent out all available people to search. Night came and there was finally news.

However, two people were brought back to the manor. Su Ye and the person whom she had found, seriously injured by the river. Su Ye took this person as her son who’d left home. Coincidentally, after the person woke up, it was discovered that he’d lost his memories due to his head injuries.

Ye Qingyun considered the advantages and disadvantages, and in order to calm Su Ye’s illness down, he let this person stay in the manor as “Luo Yinfeng”.

At the start, Ye Qingyun always carried caution in his heart. After all, Su Ye manor wasn’t a place where anyone could just simply enter. He was afraid that this person was sent by an enemy. However, after being together for a few months, Ye Qingyun’s caution had faded significantly. The person was warm, gentle and elegant as well as very well-tempered. His speech and actions had a gentle elegance to them, proving that he’d had proper teachings and was taught good manners.

However, Ye Qingyun had thought before too, that he couldn’t possibly use the identity of “Luo Yinfeng” to continue living the rest of his life. After all he wasn’t the real “Luo Yinfeng” and the “Luo Yinfeng” in Ye Qingyun’s heart… can’t be replaced by anyone.

The next morning during breakfast, there was osmanthus cake on the table. Fang Xiao Zai, who had been plagued the whole night with the same dream, sat by the table, staring at the plate of cake as his thoughts started to wander.

“Ge[2], I bought the osmanthus cake from Hui Xian Lou, your favourite…”

There was a voice by his ear for some unknown reason. He, unconsciously, as though controlled by a ghost or a god, picked up a piece and bit into it. The sweet fragrance spread and he didn’t hate it, not one single bit and so, slowly ate it.

“Yinfeng, you didn’t like sweets in the past.” Madam Su Ye who was by his side, looked at the piece of pastry in his hand and said, “You didn’t like reading either, and only knew how to chase after Qingyun, asking him to accompany you to practice using the sword.”

Fang Xiao Zai was stunned. He then looked down at the piece of pastry in his hand that had a bite taken out of it, could losing one’s memories cause a person to even change his preferences?

He didn’t feel at all like he was someone who knew martial arts. Yet, he could silently look through the accounting books for a whole day…

He wanted to hear more from Madam Su Ye, but Madam Su Ye’s mental health wasn’t stable, her speech frequently had no logic or order and sometimes, she would run around the entire manor, calling out “Yinfeng”, “Yinfeng”. Yet when he stood in front of her, she didn’t recognize him. Other times, she’d be abnormally quiet as she sat by the cliff side, staring out over the river for long periods of time, before saying, with a sigh, “Yinfeng, the day your dad left, the weather was as nice as this too…”

Ye Qingyun had told him before, after someone killed the manor owner, Madam Su Ye went crazy from despair and after that, Luo Yinfeng left the manor too. As to the reason why, he couldn’t remember, Ye Qingyun didn’t say, and no one in the manor was willing to tell him.

“Yinfeng.”

Hearing someone call him, Fang Xiao Zai stopped and turned around.

Ye Qingyun was smiling as he walked over, and without any explanation, he pulled him towards the horse stable, “It must be boring in the room, I’ll accompany you on a walk outside.”

Fang Xiao Zai didn’t reject the offer, but he was unsure if he knew how to ride a horse. Moreover, towards this person, Ye Qingyun, he knew that declining was useless. He was under the impression that the three words, Ye Qingyun, was the best example for haughtiness and arrogance. Even though it was just once or twice, but to him, it was very memorable.

“Be careful.”

Ye Qingyun helped him onto the horse and only after Fang Xiao Zai was properly seated did he pass the reins to him. Truth be told, in front of him, it could be said that Ye Qingyun was gentle and meticulous.

Fang Xiao Zai was a little nervous as he gave the horse’s body a light squeeze. The horse stomped his hooves as it started to trot, its speed wasn’t fast. Fang Xiao Zai let out a breath in relief. His past was now a blank slate and he has to learn many things all over again. Not only was it troublesome, it’d be the worst if the situation continued for life…

He didn’t dare to continue thinking. What if he were to die? When he arrived in hell and the guard there asked him, how sad would it be, if he wasn’t even be able to reply with his name?

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nn?” hearing Ye Qingyun’s voice, Fang Xiao Zai came back to earth, hesitating for a moment before answering, “I’m thinking, if I were to be unable to remember forever… what should I do?” he answered honestly.

“What is there to be worried about?” Ye Qingyun reached his large hand over and pressed the crease between his brows, “You just need to know that you’re Luo Yinfeng, as for the others, you don’t need to over think them. Come, let’s see who reaches the cliff side first.” Ye Qingyun said and he swung the horse whip against the horse’s rear. The horse moved its limbs and started to gallop.

Luo Yinfeng…

But why does he always feel like this name’s faraway and unfamiliar?

Let’s stop thinking about it, Fang Xiao Zai shook his head, squeezed the horse’s torso hard and the horse galloped away. The wind blew by his ear, through his hair and he could only hear how the wind howled as he approached the person in front of him… the person’s back was tall and straight, his hair was flying in the strong wind, it really was like his name…

Qingyun, Qingyun…

He was unsure about the reason, but as long as he was by his side, his uncertainty and uneasiness was dispersed.

Seeing that he was about to catch up, ‘pa’! Fang Xiao Zai whipped the horse’s rear with force. Suddenly, his vision turned black and he couldn’t see anything.

Fang Xiao Zai panicked for a moment and in confusion, mistakenly pulled on the reins sharply. The horse that had been galloping at a blistering speed was suddenly pulled to a stop and it raised its two front legs up straight. Fang Xiao Zai didn’t know what had happened and in the midst of the trashing, his hand loosened. In the next moment, he felt he was airborne.

It wasn’t until he hit the uneven ground with a great impact, did he know that he’d been flung off the horses back.

The pain felt as though his body had been broken, his eyes couldn’t see and he could only hear the horse neighing, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps approaching.

“Yinfeng?! Yinfeng?!”

He felt himself being carried and heard the voice that fell into his ears filled with worry and anxiety, but, he felt that at that moment, the person being held in Ye Qingyun’s arms as he called, wasn’t him at all…

So who was he exactly?

Don’t know… can’t remember!

Following it, he lost consciousness.

“You were too reckless, like this, it’s the equivalent of ripping the mask off and obviously showing your stand!”

“If it’s just ripping the mask off, we, the Fang family don’t rely on him. Do we need to speak in such a manner, lowering ourselves in front of him, putting ourselves down?”

“What do you know? You only know how to play and fool around the whole day, you were asked to learn how to manage the business, but once you move, you head to that sort of place, take a look at Ruochen, then take a look at yourself, other than causing more trouble what else can you do? When do you think you’ll be able to become a capable person?”

“Enough! If you think that I’m not doing it correctly, tell me properly. Why would you bring that Feng guy up for comparison? I’m incapable, but I was also thinking for the Fang Family, if I only know how to cause trouble, then in the future, I won’t care about anything!”

Fang Xiao Zai saw the young and competitive young master, who has yet to learn about how the world works, slam the door as he left, but just as he was about to chase after, the surrounding scenery changed into one of a pier.

“Fang Da Ge, I just came back, but you’re about to leave. When you return, I’ll treat you to this year’s new tea.”

“Please don’t worry about the rice source, the rice merchants from the two areas, Jiang and Zhe, are on good terms with me, I’ll keep some on your behalf… “

Before he could open his mouth, the scenery changed again. However, this time, flames were blazing around him and were leaping up towards the skies.

“Elder young master, quick, leave!”

“No, I’ll not leave! As long as the Fang families ship is around, I’ll stay, if the goods are lost, so is my life! I definitely won’t abandon the ship and leave!”

The thick smoke was smoldering and the river was dyed red. He saw a ship on the river far away, with a black mast and a black flag. Just as he was about to take a better look, he heard the sound of something cracking from above his head. He raised his head and a broken stick with embers on it came falling straight down…

Knowing that he couldn’t avoid it, he shut his eyes and turned his head but the pain that he’d expected didn’t come and there was someone’s voice vaguely by his ear.

“He’s awake! He’s awake!”

“Yinfeng? Yinfeng… Are you alright? Is there anywhere that’s still hurting?”

Fang Xiao Zai opened his eyes, not knowing anything as he looked forward… After a long time, he reached his trembling hand out and felt the air in front of him.

“Yinfeng, what do you want? Tell me, I’ll get it for you.” Ye Qingyun’s voice was filled with worry.

Fang Xiao Zai’s hand shook as he felt for the face of the person who was the closest. His fingers touched the other’s eyes, nose, lips. His movement paused before he retracted his hand and placed it back in front of himself.

“Why… can’t I see anything?”

Crash! A teacup in someone’s hand fell onto the floor.

“What did you say?”

A strong force pulled him up from the bed, and the pair of large hands grabbed him so hard that his arms felt raw with pain.

“Yinfeng, what did you say? Say it again, say it clearly!”

Fang Xiao Zai looked towards the direction where the sound was coming from, “I… can’t see…”

“Say it again…”

“I can’t see… it’s so dark, there isn’t a single bit of light… did you all not light the lamp?”

His body was pushed down harshly and his back rammed into the bed in another overwhelming crash of pain.

Fang Xiao Zai heard the sound of disordered footsteps and then, the dull thud of something crashing on the floor followed by the sound of Ye Qingyun’s angry outburst.

“Didn’t you say that once he woke up, there wouldn’t be a problem? What’s happening now?”

“First-in-command, please, please don’t get angry, I’ll diagnose it again, properly…”

“If you can’t cure him, get ready to jump into the river by yourself!”

There was a hoard of noisiness by his ear, yet it threw him by the side. Fang Xiao Zai lay down there quietly and the images that surfaced in his mind were the scenes in the dream earlier.

Da Ge, Fang Da Ge, elder young master…

Why do those people in his dream call him in that manner?

Fang Xiao Zai lost his sight and so, his daily activities were affected as well. Ye Qingyun felt that it was because he had failed in watching out for him, and that the responsibility was on him. Hence, whenever he had free time, he’d accompany and take care of that person.

Come to think of it, it’s weird. When he was beside that person, Ye Qingyun would always feel unimaginably calm. The weak sunlight of an autumn day, mixed together with the fresh smell coming from his body, it was as though he’d returned to the carefree and peaceful times from many years ago.

These last few years, he was the Sea King of Lianghuai in name only. Initially, he’d only wanted to stay with his teacher because he was lusting after the valiance of racing across the water, but when he really did get everything, everything had already changed. Moreover, he was a person who was used to being easygoing. The matters of the Lianghuai were troublesome and would need a decisive person with leadership skills and this person obviously wasn’t him.

After Luo Yinfeng left, he let himself rot, and did all sorts of evil deeds, dominating the position of the Sea King of Lianghuai and openly did things that river bandits did. Everyone called him the River Bandit Sea King but river bandits don’t choose their targets, while he only targeted the ships of greedy officials and evil merchants. Only because of the last words that Luo Yinfeng left behind before he left.

“Big bro, every business has its rules and every path has its righteousness. I wish that you can be this Lianghuai’s Sea King without a guilty conscience.”

He’d thought, with how righteous and upright Luo Yinfeng was, would there be a day when he could no longer tolerate his actions or behavior and return to correct him? Would there be such a day when he would come back to help him run this area of water together?

However, thoughts are thoughts, and Ye Qingyun knows, Luo Yinfeng will never return.

“Qingyun, what are you thinking of?”

Ye Qingyun snapped out of his thoughts and the person on the bed had his head crooked to one side as he ‘looked’ in his direction, the eyes which were clear as water, were at that moment, a little dark.

Losing his memories and then losing his sight, Ye Qingyun felt that even he, a strong, healthy man, wouldn’t be able to win against such a double attack. Yet, that person had accepted his current status quickly and had adapted to it. Just like when he was brought back by Su Ye, when he had just woken up after being unconscious for a very long time, even though he was so afraid that his entire body was trembling, yet he still put up a strong front and put on an expression of calm and acceptance. It made others can’t help but to feel sorry for him.

Ye Qingyun stirred the porridge in the bowl, scooped a scoop and sent it towards his mouth, “how did you know that I was thinking of things?”

That person nodded with a smile, gently and faintly, like a lake of autumn water, with small ripples, “didn’t they say that people who lose their sight have their other sense enhanced? I really am experiencing it now, especially the ears, I can even differentiate the sound of everyone’s footsteps… Wu!”

Ye Qingyun stuffed a spoonful of porridge into his mouth, blocking his words. The somewhat rough action caused rice to be stuck onto the corner of Fang Xiao Zai’s lips, which he wiped off using his finger.

“Yinfeng, rest assured, I’ll definitely get someone who can treat your eyes.” When he finished speaking, Ye Qingyun himself was stunned for a moment, why was he treating him so well? He was obviously just a substitute Su Ye had brought back.

But hearing him say such a thing, Fang Xiao Zai reached over searchingly and held onto Ye Qingyun’s hand. His fingers were very cold, but his palm was very warm. The corner of his lips curved up into a gentle, nice looking smile.

“Thank you, Qingyun… If it wasn’t for you, I really wouldn’t know how to face all of this. I’m very well now. Even though I can’t see, I can still get by, so there’s no need to worry about me.”

Ye Qingyun lowered his head and looked at the pair of hands holding onto him and a wave of gentleness surged in his heart. Ever since he’d woken up, he’d been like this, silently accepting the changes that occurred to him, whether it was amnesia, or the loss of sight, he was never willing to let others worry over him. This point was incidentally similar to Yinfeng.

Ye Qingyun placed the bowl of porridge down before he covered the hands with his own and patted gently, twice, “I’m here, and there aren’t any obstacles that can’t be overcome. Just take care of yourself in peace.”

Fang Xiao Zai nodded and Ye Qingyun helped him to lie down. Ye Qingyun helped him pull the blanket and light the incense before leaving carefully, trying not to make a sound.

Fang Xiao Zai’s pair of lifeless eyes were open and looking up at the peak of the curtain draped over his bed, when he suddenly reached up to touch his own chest and felt that it was pounding loudly.

Translator: Yeong

Proofreader: Grumpykit

QC: Xiao

Xiao’s Comments: I actually read Zui Xing Mai Shen (the story about Fan Xiao Zai’s younger brother, Fang Jing Zai) first and got super interested in what happened to Fang Xiao Zai and was incredibly happy when I learned that there was a story about him. However, there was only two chapters translated and the original translator hasn’t updated since 2017 so we decided to pick it up. Though this is a HE, the journey won’t be easy. The rape tag is here for a reason. So, for those who can’t handle that stuff, please stay away.

[1] Da Ge (大哥) – Is one of the way a younger person would call an older male, not necessarily related by blood.

[2] Ge (哥) – Is one of the other way a younger person would call an older male, not necessarily related by blood.

Prologue Chapter 2

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