Half a day later, Shang Yanfeng patted Ming Zhu’s shoulder and offered some comfort. "It’s alright. We’re all family here."
Ming Zhu crouched in the corner, clutching his head and groaning, "I... I don't want to live anymore..."
Earlier, Ming Zhu had been incessantly pulling at Zhou Fuxue, demanding a kiss. Before Perfected Master Guining could fly into a rage, Shang Yanfeng had forcibly dragged Ming Zhu behind the screen of the private room and used his spiritual power to dispel the alcohol from his system.
Now that Ming Zhu was sober, he finally remembered the humiliating spectacle he had made of himself in front of everyone.
Perfected Master Guining and Ming Fuhua were currently outside speaking with Shen Dian. Ming Zhu remained curled in the corner, refusing to come out even if it killed him.
Shang Yanfeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You can't stay here forever. Don't worry, they’ve already forgotten. They won't remember a thing."
Ming Zhu still refused to budge, so Shang Yanfeng had no choice but to walk out alone.
Zhou Fuxue had been standing guard by the screen. Seeing Shang Yanfeng emerge, his instinct was to rush inside, but Shang Yanfeng caught him by the sleeve and dragged him before Perfected Master Guining.
Guining’s face was a mask of impatience. "The lot of you, return to Rizhao Mountain as soon as possible. Do not stay here and get in the way."
Shang Yanfeng frowned. "Master, you clearly know Na Lian’s intentions are far from benevolent. You were part of the siege on Guifang City back then; he certainly won't let this matter rest."
Guining said coldly, "What use are you here? To seek death?"
"I—" Shang Yanfeng started.
"Enough, shut your mouth," Guining snapped, utterly exasperated. "In a moment, take the others and go back. Do not wade into these muddy waters."
The other disciples immediately cried out, "Master!"
"Say no more. In a few days, Shuoyu City might be turned upside down by Na Lian and Bu Hui. I have no time to look after you. If you don't want to die, leave at once. Do not make me repeat myself."
Shang Yanfeng pursed his lips. After a long silence, he asked, "Does Master intend to go to his death this time?"
Guining looked at him coldly. "I said, be quiet."
Lu Qingkong, who had also sobered up by now, asked cautiously, "Then... can Eldest Shixiong return to Rizhao with us?"
As soon as he spoke, a deathly silence fell over the room. Even the habitually silent Ming Fuhua frowned.
Guining asked icily, "What do you think?"
Lu Qingkong immediately lost his nerve and fell silent.
After delivering his cold instructions, Perfected Master Guining did not linger. His gaze flickered toward the silhouette behind the translucent screen, but in the end, he said nothing and turned to leave.
Lu Qingkong whispered, "Why is Master still like this?"
Ming Fuhua stood up and said indifferently, "Do you all truly believe that person is Ming Zhu?"
Everyone froze. Zhou Fuxue snapped, "Shut up!"
Ming Fuhua met Zhou Fuxue’s gaze, which was like that of a cornered beast.
Zhou Fuxue said coldly, "If he weren't Ming Zhu, do you think you would still be standing here unharmed?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ming Fuhua demanded.
"I—"
In his fury, Zhou Fuxue was on the verge of speaking recklessly when a voice drifted from behind the screen.
"Thirteen, say no more."
Zhou Fuxue turned around and called out sharply, "Shixiong!"
The shadow behind the screen moved, and Ming Zhu stepped out slowly. A smile graced his face, and he even gave Ming Fuhua a polite, graceful nod. He said softly, "Since you believe I am not Ming Zhu, then I shall not be. Fuxue, there is no need for further words."
After sobering up, he had forgotten to change his white hair back to black. It cascaded over him like falling blossoms or flowing water, making his frame appear even more gaunt.
Ming Fuhua stared blankly at his white hair, her lips trembling, yet she said nothing.
After addressing her, Ming Zhu didn't spare her another glance. He blinked at Shang Yanfeng and asked, "Are you all going back?"
Shang Yanfeng frowned. "Naturally, we aren't. Na Lian has gathered so many people at Yuelou; he surely intends to wipe them all out at once. Master’s trip there will likely be fraught with peril."
Ming Zhu asked, "You want to go to Yuelou?"
"That is the plan," Shang Yanfeng admitted without concealment, nodding. "I'm just afraid we won't be able to get in when the time comes."
Just as Ming Zhu was about to speak, Lu Qingkong suddenly chimed in, "We can ask Bu Hui for help!"
Ming Zhu: "..."
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
Shang Yanfeng’s brow furrowed. "I’ve told you already, stop associating with that person. Why won't you listen?"
Lu Qingkong muttered under his breath, "Bu Hui is a good person."
Shang Yanfeng countered, "That won't do. Anyone colluding with Na Lian cannot be a good sort. I expect one day you'll be sold off and won't even realize it."
Ming Zhu "accidentally" stepped on Shang Yanfeng’s foot, and then "accidentally" ground his heel down hard.
Shang Yanfeng winced in pain and asked in confusion, "Shixiong? What’s wrong?"
Ming Zhu gave a thin, cold smile, gritting his teeth as he said, "Nothing, nothing at all. I’m just a bit dizzy and can’t stand straight."
He ground his heel down twice more.
Shang Yanfeng hurriedly supported him to a seat and had someone bring a bowl of sobering soup, which he forced Ming Zhu to drink.
Zhou Fuxue kept trying to help from the side, but Shang Yanfeng intentionally or unintentionally squeezed him out, refusing to let him even get close to Ming Zhu.
Ming Zhu blinked at Shang Yanfeng and said, "I want to drink some pork rib soup. Go downstairs and get some for me, alright?"
Ming Zhu knew exactly how lethal his appearance was to Shang Yanfeng. As long as he smiled, Shang Yanfeng would instinctively agree to anything he said; it was more effective than anything else.
Sure enough, the moment Shang Yanfeng saw Ming Zhu’s smiling face, he could only nod. In a daze, he was coaxed by Ming Zhu into going downstairs for the soup.
As soon as he left, Ming Zhu immediately beckoned to Zhou Fuxue. "Quick, come here."
Zhou Fuxue walked over and took Ming Zhu’s hand.
Ming Zhu smiled. "Feeling wronged?"
Zhou Fuxue had intended to shake his head, but for some reason, his heart twitched, and he nodded instead.
Ming Zhu had only been teasing; he hadn't expected the other to actually nod. He gave a peculiar look. "You really are adopting my shameless ways more and more."
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
He dropped to one knee, completely ignoring the sour expressions on Lu Qingkong and Shen Dian’s faces. He reached out to wrap his arms around Ming Zhu’s waist and said in a muffled voice, "Once this matter is settled, come back to Jianglou with me."
Ming Zhu was stunned for a moment before belatedly realizing that Zhou Fuxue was acting spoiled. This behavior was truly rare. Ming Zhu was instantly amused and laughed, "You really plan on leaving Rizhao?"
Zhou Fuxue said, "I simply don't want to leave you."
Given Zhou Fuxue’s cold and detached nature, saying such romantic words must have exhausted a lifetime’s worth of mental effort. Yet, Ming Zhu found it quite endearing and reached out to pinch his cheek.
Shen Dian and Lu Qingkong found the sight unbearable and turned their heads away, silently reciting the Sutra of Purity.
Ming Fuhua, who had been silent all along, was stunned by what she heard. Unable to bear it any longer, she looked back and saw Ming Zhu smiling tenderly as he flicked Zhou Fuxue’s forehead. The intimacy was bizarre no matter how one looked at it; it was certainly not the behavior of ordinary martial brothers.
Ming Fuhua’s frown deepened. She glanced at Lu Qingkong, seemingly wanting to ask something, but she didn't know how to address the person who looked exactly like her brother.
Lu Qingkong provided a timely, albeit bitter, explanation. "If you don't want to call him Ming Zhu, you can call him by his married name: Zhou."
Ming Fuhua: "..."
Ming Fuhua stood frozen for a long time before she understood the meaning of Lu Qingkong’s words. Her habitually frost-like face was filled with shock.
Ming Zhu was looking down, talking to Zhou Fuxue, when his peripheral vision caught his hair hanging to one side. His expression stiffened. He hurriedly gathered his hair into his arms, looking around in a panic before his gaze landed timidly on Zhou Fuxue.
Zhou Fuxue felt a pang of heartache, but he maintained a look of confusion and asked, "What is it?"
Ming Zhu carefully scrutinized Zhou Fuxue’s expression. Finding no trace of repulsion, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He toyed with a strand of hair and said, "I... my hair..."
Zhou Fuxue casually brushed the hair behind Ming Zhu’s back and said softly, "Shixiong looks good no matter what."
Ming Zhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was this a matter of looking good? However, since Zhou Fuxue didn't press him, he was happy to let it be. "Maybe I should change it back to black. This looks a bit like a freak."
And humans were precisely the ones who could least tolerate "freaks."
Just as Zhou Fuxue was about to speak, the door was suddenly pushed open. Shang Yanfeng entered carrying the pork rib soup, staring at Zhou Fuxue with a dark expression, looking as if he were ready to draw his blade at any moment.
Ming Zhu said calmly, "The soup."
Shang Yanfeng immediately retracted his murderous gaze, walked over with the bowl, and said, "The soup."
Zhou Fuxue hurriedly stood up. His survival instinct prompted him to step aside, successfully avoiding a confrontation.
From then on, Shang Yanfeng guarded against Zhou Fuxue as if he were a lecher prone to wandering hands. Throughout the day, he wouldn't let Zhou Fuxue within five paces of Ming Zhu. Even at night, fearing that Zhou Fuxue might shamelessly crawl into bed, he dragged his Eldest Shixiong to stay in the same room as him, watching over him at every moment.
Shang Yanfeng had bought a pile of snacks and placed them on the table. Ming Zhu sat obediently, eating dried fish, his slender fingers covered in oil.
Shang Yanfeng sat beside him, absentmindedly wiping his hands. After holding it in for a long time, he couldn't help but ask, "Shixiong, why does it have to be Fuxue?"
Ming Zhu paused. "I don't know either. Perhaps..."
Perhaps it was because Zhou Fuxue’s timing was too perfect.
After Ming Zhu climbed up from Biri Cliff, the first person he reunited with was Zhou Fuxue.
After decades of painful struggle, the first person to comfort him, ache for him, and give everything to be good to him was also Zhou Fuxue.
When Ming Zhu was at his most desperate, the one who knocked on his door and called back his wandering soul was him as well.
Or perhaps even earlier, when a young Zhou Fuxue had been unable to restrain his feelings and stole a kiss, his thin body shivering in the cold pond, yet still saying, "I will stay far away from Shixiong." That cautious, careful attitude made Ming Zhu feel, for the first time, that he was truly cherished by someone.
Thinking back, Zhou Fuxue had permeated his life like water soaking into the earth—quietly and steadily. There were no dramatic partings or reunions, nor had they weathered many great storms together. Everything seemed to have fallen into place naturally.
The first time Zhou Fuxue revealed his heart as a youth, he only received a single word from Ming Zhu: "Scram."
The second time, Ming Zhu chose to ignore it.
It wasn't until the third time that Ming Zhu naturally accepted it, allowing the other to do as he pleased.
Though afterward he found it inconceivable and often asked himself: *Why Zhou Fuxue?*
*Of all people, why did I only say yes to Zhou Fuxue?*
It was only now that Ming Zhu realized with a start that since reuniting with Zhou Fuxue, his desire to die had been slowly dissipating.
Beneath Biri Cliff, he used to walk slowly by the sea of blood every day with an umbrella, seeking death. Yet the fierce beasts that had once gnawed on his body dared not approach him, intimidated by the spiritual power he possessed.
To achieve death, Ming Zhu had done many insane things. He once sealed his spiritual power and went alone to a beast's nest to sleep for a night. When Na Lian found him, he was impatiently prying open the fangs of a shivering beast, intending to crawl into its hideous maw himself. In the end, Na Lian had to drag him back.
Though he feared pain, as long as it could bring him death, he could have half his body bitten and not change his expression.
And yet, such a person—one who thought of death at every moment—actually found himself one day thinking of joining registers with a man and considering where they would live in the future.
Ming Zhu pressed a hand to his chest, feeling somewhat dazed. An internal beast's heartbeat is usually slow, yet when he thought of the future, he could feel his heart racing like a drum against his ribs.
"Perhaps..." Ming Zhu murmured, "he is the only person who makes me want to live."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 水到渠成 | A Natural Progression | Idiom: "When water flows, a channel is formed." Things falling into place. |
| 掠月楼 | Moon-Plucking Tower | Also referred to as Yuelou. |
| 降娄 | Jianglou | The place Zhou Fuxue wants to take Ming Zhu. |
| 蔽日崖 | Biri Cliff | "Sun-Blocking Cliff," where Ming Zhu was previously trapped. |
| 合籍 | Joining registers | Cultivator marriage/becoming Dao companions. |
| 清静经 | Sutra of Purity | A Taoist scripture often cited to calm the mind. |
