The two people inside the room were visibly startled by the interruption, and Li Dai began to cough, gasping for breath. Filled with regret and embarrassment, I instinctively covered my mouth and blinked at Wei Qingming, which coaxed another small smile from her.
Only then did A-Li remember they had guests. Her face flushed a deeper red as she patted Li Dai’s back to help him catch his breath. Addressing us outside, she said, "Please wait a moment, I... I’ll just..." She turned back to him urgently. "Brother Li! There are two guests from the capital who wish to see you today."
"The capital? *Cough, cough*..." Li Dai said with difficulty. "Are they from the Yin family as well?" Previously, Zhu Yixin and Qiao Songlin had visited him, claiming to be from the Yin family to deliver a letter from Yin Shuhong.
"Not this time. They say they are old friends of yours."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
"I... have no old friends." After a long pause, Li Dai steadied his breathing and spoke with a weary, calm voice. "A-Li, please ask them to leave. Tell them I am a broken, senile man, and I fear I would only cause offense. I will not see guests."
"Is that so? I only wish to disturb Brother Li’s peace today to ask a single question."
Wei Qingming spoke suddenly. Though she hadn't been granted permission, she began walking slowly toward the study.
Upon hearing her voice, Li Dai seemed to stop breathing. By the time he could respond, she was already at the door.
"What... question..." he stammered. His tone rose and fell involuntarily, sounding like an incredulous query and a whispered self-reflection all at once.
"Your *Chronicles of the Mortal Quest* has reached eight volumes. According to the usual practice of Qian Sui You, it should conclude at the ninth," Wei Qingming said slowly. "Currently, Yuan Wumi is missing, so the final volume should focus on Yuan Jueling facing the tides of the era alone. As for the reunion of the two at the end, it will take place on a mysterious island called 'Feifei'."
"It is a place they found in ancient texts during their childhood, a place they yearned for with all their hearts. It is shrouded in mist year-round and filled with the scent of flowers, yet it is ethereal and trackless, impossible to find."
Her gaze burned as she stared in Li Dai’s direction, her voice heavy with meaning. "Is that not so?"
Though phrased as a question, her words were so certain they left no room for doubt.
A-Li’s sharp intake of breath came from inside the room. "The manuscript for the ninth volume hasn't even been given to the Yin family yet," she said, bewildered. "How could... you, where did you read that!" By the end, her surprise had turned to anger, as if she suspected this strange guest was a spy sent by a rival publisher to steal their work and cause trouble.
Weak and powerless, Li Dai managed to restrain the indignant A-Li. His voice, however, carried a hint of a smile. "When we were young, we had only ever been to Yuezhou. We thought the vast Eastern Sea was the end of the world. We believed that if we lived on the elusive Penglai Immortal Island, we could do as we pleased, carefree and happy. Looking back now, that wish was truly small, yet... it was wonderful."
"A-Yun," he asked softly, his voice tender. "The flowers are no longer flowers, and the mist is no longer mist. Is your wish now still the same as it was then?"
A-Li was completely stunned. She stood by and let Wei Qingming enter the room, forgetting to stop her. My eyes were already brimming with tears; I struggled to keep from sobbing as I followed them inside.
Only upon entering did I understand why A-Li insisted on keeping the window cracked open despite Li Dai’s illness and sensitivity to the wind. The smell of medicine in the room was so thick it would make a healthy person feel stifled. Li Dai could only half-recline on a couch, propped up by pillows, leaning over a small desk as he struggled to write. He was blind, but that wasn't even his most significant disability. Most of his face was wrapped in bandages and coated with medicinal salve. There were even more bandages on his body, layered thickly down to his legs—legs that had long been crippled, leaving him reliant on a wheelchair to move. A pair of eyes, strikingly similar to Wei Qingming’s, were half-covered; the one exposed eye was dull and sightless, a grey orb sunken deep within its socket, trembling with labored, clumsy movements toward the sound of the newcomers.
Even though only half of his face was visible, even I—who had only seen his childhood self in Wei Qingming’s memories—could easily recognize him. Li Dai was undoubtedly Wei Qingshan.
In his agitation, Li Dai knocked the brush on his desk, and it went rolling toward the floor. He reached out futilely to catch it, but his hand missed. Wei Qingming, only a few steps away, moved forward and caught it. She stared at the specially made brush—designed for the blind—for a few heartbeats before taking Li Dai’s hand in one of hers and gently, securely placing the brush back into his palm. His fingers were also wrapped in thick bandages and could barely bend, yet even so, he continued to write day and night.
"Brother," she whispered, her eyes downcast. She uttered the word tentatively at first, then repeated it more firmly. "Brother."
Wei Qingshan’s expression actually relaxed, and his smile brightened. That small portion of his pale face became animated, taking on the elegant and refined air characteristic of the Wei family. One could imagine how handsome he must have once been.
"It really is you," he said. "I’m sorry, A-Yun. I... I never figured out how to face you."
A-Li came to her senses, stammering awkwardly, "You... you two talk. I’ll go get... get some tea."
She picked up the empty medicine bowl and turned around in a panic, nearly colliding with me. She apologized profusely in a low voice and, without waiting for me to stop her, ducked her head and hurried out. A single, round tear, like a fresh bean slipping from its pod, rolled onto me as she brushed past.
On the other side of the room, the siblings remained silent. After so many years of life and death separation, the world had turned upside down. Both were full of secrets, making it difficult to know where to begin. I kept dabbing at the tears in the corners of my eyes with my handkerchief, feeling increasingly awkward and flushed. Until now, no one had known Wei Qingming’s true identity, and there were no elders to oversee her marriage. Facing her legitimate older brother now, how was I supposed to explain who I was?
Unexpectedly, it was Wei Qingshan who sensed another person in the room. He asked with a smile, "Did A-Yun bring a friend?"
"Not a friend," Wei Qingming answered calmly. "She is my wife."
Then, she added, "Brother, I am using your identity."
Wei Qingshan’s expression showed surprise, but it wasn't as great as I had feared. The disgust or opposition I had worried about did not appear. Seizing the opportunity, I stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "I am Su Yuzhi. To meet you today, Brother, brings me boundless joy." I looked up and added with a smile, "Before I knew you were her brother, I had already been reading your great works for years! Whenever a new volume was released, I never failed to buy a copy."
After greeting me with refined courtesy, Wei Qingshan smiled and said, "Was my sister-in-law frightened by my appearance just now? I hear rumors outside that Qian Sui You is a descendant of the former imperial family who spends his days in pleasure houses, which is why he can write such romantic characters that enchant the women of the world. Regrettably, the reality is far from that. I’m afraid I’ve disappointed you. My apologies."
"That is only one of the theories," I replied, blinking my slightly swollen eyes. "Others say he is a stout middle-aged man, the son of a ruined merchant, or a petty official with no hope of promotion. The most far-fetched claim is that Qian Sui You is a notorious bandit who robs and kills."
Wei Qingshan laughed until he started coughing. Shaking his head, he reached toward his pillow, fumbling for his medicine. Wei Qingming stepped in to pick up a jade bottle for him. "Do you need this red-bottomed celadon bottle? How many pills?" Once he confirmed, she shook one out, took the water I handed her, and helped him take it.
Up close, I saw that Wei Qingming’s eyes were also wet, making her lashes appear even darker and thicker, as if painted with fresh ink. However, after that brief moment of emotion, she seemed to have become too calm. She was as still as a deep pool—placid on the surface, but with dangerous, surging undercurrents beneath.
Her gaze swept over her brother’s face, and she spoke. Her voice was calm and soft, as if she were telling a story from a book or describing the life of someone they both knew well.
"Brother, after that day, I truly did as you wrote in the stories you made up for me and our sister. I went to a mountain where a master taught me. I learned everything I could and joined a government office with eyes and ears everywhere. Initially, it was to find you and Mother, but unfortunately, even the most powerful office has its limits."
"Over these years, I may have done some good, but I have likely done more evil." She gave a sorrowful smile that quickly hardened into pure coldness. "However, I currently have the means to protect myself and have acquired certain... methods. So..."
"Tell me how you were so gravely injured and what happened back then."
Her final sentence was still quiet, yet it carried an undeniable authority that brooked no refusal or concealment.
Wei Qingshan did not speak for a moment. Wei Qingming was in no hurry; instead, she appeared to leisurely observe the room's furnishings. Though she didn't use her gaze to pressure him, she was unconsciously rubbing and rotating the signet ring on her finger.
In truth, over the past few years, she had discarded almost every personal habit that might link her to her past. The current Commander Wei was a master of disguise and self-concealment. It could only be said that... when it came to the events of that year, her murderous intent was always too intense to control.
After a long while, Wei Qingshan shook his head with a smile and said composedly, "A-Yun, you are so clever. You must know that my refusal to return to the capital was precisely because I did not want you to know."
"Oh?" Wei Qingming turned her gaze back to him, the corner of her mouth curling slightly. "Then why did you use your own handwriting..."
She stopped mid-sentence, her face darkening.
Wei Qingshan was also stunned. "I never use my own handwriting for anything. No wonder... no wonder you found this place."
He shook his head firmly. "Regardless of what you saw, I did not write it."
The realization hit me as well. My heart hammered against my ribs. Before I could even think, I had already summoned Hanguang, leaping forward to shield the two of them. Cold sweat broke out at my hairline, trickling down my neck and sliding down my back.
It wasn't him. He didn't write that letter... Wei Qingming was currently powerless to fight. This was a trap...
From the moment we entered the village until now, neither I nor the illusion techniques of Fourth Brother and Fifth Sister had detected anything amiss. Everything in this study seemed normal...
I was so tense I could hardly breathe, my eyes scanning every inch of the room, yet I still found nothing.
At that moment, someone tapped lightly on the door. I jumped, nearly striking out with my sword, but fortunately, I saw it was A-Li. She pushed the door open alone, carrying a tea tray.
Seeing the three of us huddled together, with me standing with my back to the other two in a strange posture, A-Li looked both awkward and surprised. She nearly turned and ran with the tea. Ultimately, she stopped, her face flushing as she said softly, "I... I brought the tea..."
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