Cherish the Aloof Beauty

Lin Quwu transmigrated into the cultivation world, where he was chopping firewood in the snow, frozen to the bone.

Someone passing by asked if he was cold.

He said he wasn't, folded the cloak they offered him neatly, set it back on a rock, picked up his axe, and left.

Later, that person became his master.

His master said, "Come cultivate with me."

Lin Quwu said, "No need."

The next day, his master brought him a sword.

That night, Lin Quwu set the three spirit herbs he'd found, the two pieces of ore he'd collected, and the set of armor he'd bought neatly outside his master's door.

His master asked, "Why are you doing this?"

Lin Quwu said, "To repay you."

His master wanted to pat his head, but lifted a hand and then lowered it. Instead, he carefully gathered up the things and put them back in Lin Quwu's arms.

"There's no hurry."

Lin Quwu didn't argue. He carried the things away.

The next day, when he passed his master's cave dwelling, his steps slowed for half a beat.

After that, more and more people wanted to get close to him.

The senior brother who refined pure spirit pills for him, the junior brother who kept coming back after being turned away, the elder who set down a bowl of soup and left, saying, "I made too much."

They all said, "You don't have to repay me."

Lin Quwu froze again.

He clutched the warm bowl of soup and stood there for a long time.

So long that the soup had gone completely cold, yet he was still standing in the same place.

He didn't know why he didn't have to repay them.

He only knew that in the past, when someone treated him well, his first instinct was to run.

This time, he didn't run.

He just stood there, for a long time.

*

Some said Lin Quwu was cold-hearted by nature, impossible to warm.

Some said he was antisocial and strange, and not worth the effort.

Only his master said:

"He isn't cold-hearted."

"He just never learned."

"He never learned how to accept kindness from others. Never learned how to ask for something. Never learned that in this world, there are people who give him things without expecting repayment."

So his master began to teach him.

Teach him to say he was cold when he felt cold.

Teach him to reach out when he wanted something.

Teach him that when someone held him, he didn't have to think first about how to push them away.

"You can learn slowly," his master said. "Take as long as you need."

"I'll always be here."

Lin Quwu said nothing.

But for the first time, his hands didn't clench the hem of his clothes.

Carefully, tentatively, Lin Quwu reached out his hand.

His master gently enclosed it in his palm.

So, so warm.

*

Most love in this world comes with a price. But someone piled all their worldly possessions beside you, within reach, and asked for nothing in return.

The person who should never have learned was enveloped in so much love that it overflowed.

It overflowed until there was room in his heart to love, too.

Premise: The power of love