“You’re back,” Nan Muxue said, her voice hitching for a fraction of a second. She looked so frail, so haggard, her expression maintaining its usual mask of icy calm. However, her right pinky—the one Chu Ruo’s hand now covered—betrayed her. It trembled uncontrollably. Then, her voice turned frigid. “You actually came back.”
“Xue’er...” Chu Ruo pulled her beloved into a fierce embrace, desperate to offer her every ounce of warmth she possessed. “I’m back. I’ve come back to your side.”
“Ruo’er,” Nan Muxue whispered, unable to stop herself from calling the name. The response was an even tighter, suffocating hug. Yet, in that very moment, she steeled herself. With a sudden, ruthless surge of strength, she tore herself away from the warm embrace she had been yearning for just a second ago. She struck out with a palm, pouring every bit of her strength into the blow, her voice a trembling, low growl. “Who told you to come back?! Where is Bai Zhier?!”
She had told Bai Zhier to take this fool away. How could she—how *could* she let her Ruo’er return to this den of danger?
Chu Ruo had barely steadied herself from the blow when she lunged forward again. Nan Muxue raised her right hand, clearly intending to deliver a harsh slap, but Chu Ruo didn’t flinch. Instead, she grinned, revealing her beautiful white teeth, and spoke with heartbreaking tenderness. “Go ahead. Hit me. Even if you beat me, I won’t leave you.”
Before Nan Muxue could react, Chu Ruo pounced, wrapping her arms around her again. “You little oath-breaking scorpion. Didn’t you say I wasn’t allowed to leave you? How can you go back on your word and try to drive me away?”
The hand that had been raised high began to falter, though it remained suspended in the air. “Master, I promised you. Ruo’er will never leave her Master.”
The heart that had been so tightly restrained finally broke free of its shackles. Nan Muxue’s hand eventually fell, resting upon Chu Ruo. Every night, she had missed this familiar sensation with an intensity that bordered on madness; she had craved this person’s company until she felt she might lose her mind. In the end, she chose to indulge herself, returning the embrace of the one she had longed for day and night. A ghost of a smile actually touched her lips. “You fool. Why did you come back?”
“I couldn’t bear to be without you,” Chu Ruo murmured, burying her face deep into the crook of Nan Muxue’s neck. “Don’t drive me away, okay?”
“You...”
“Nan Muxue, you stupid scorpion. Aren’t you supposed to be brilliant? Why did you do something so foolish this time?”
“You... you know everything?”
“Yes. I...”
Nan Muxue tried to push her away again. “Don’t touch me.”
“Stop being stubborn—”
“Go away!” Her tone turned cold once more. “Don’t come near me! If you know everything, why did you come back? Why are you so stupid? Get out! Leave and never come back!”
But Chu Ruo knew that this "get out" wasn't born of malice. “Xue’er, calm down.” She held her tight, ignoring everything else, letting the other woman struggle frantically in her arms. “You can beat me to death today if you want. Unless you chop off my arms, don't even dream of me letting go!”
Nan Muxue’s resistance eventually crumbled into exhaustion. Finally, she went limp in Chu Ruo’s arms. “Why did you come back? Why? Don’t you know that I... I’ve already...”
“I know. I know everything, Xue’er.” Chu Ruo grit her teeth, fighting back tears. She thought of the woman she loved—a woman so proud, so regal. How could her dignity and pride ever allow her to endure such a thing? “No matter what has happened, I will never leave you.”
“Let go of me.” Nan Muxue bit down on Chu Ruo’s shoulder with savage desperation, refusing to let go until blood bloomed through Chu Ruo’s dark robes. As the scent of iron filled the air, Nan Muxue finally broke, wailing aloud in her lover’s arms. “Why did you come back? For an unclean person like me... just go! Go!”
“Do you think I care about such things? Xue’er, do you really think I’m that fickle? We’ve walked this path together, faced life and death. Do you think we could be torn apart by this? Xue’er, don’t worry about me. I know you can’t accept what happened, but I want to tell you: no matter what, my love for you will never change. Not now, not ever.”
Nan Muxue’s vulnerability only ever showed when she was in Chu Ruo’s arms. As she grew hysterical, Chu Ruo simply stayed with her. “The Nan Muxue in your heart is supposed to be omnipotent, someone who stands before you to protect you. She is proud! She isn't a useless, weak failure like this—someone who didn't even know she was carrying another's bastard!”
“My Xue’er was never meant to be indestructible.” Chu Ruo coaxed her beloved, her smile bitter yet enduring. “She was never a person without weaknesses. She gets hurt, she gets sick, she loses her temper. My heart aches for her—it has from the very beginning. It aches so much. I want to hold her and tell her that from now on, she can lean on me. Xue’er, I am in your future.”
“I’m not worth it... I’m not...”
“You’ve already done so much for a useless foodie like me; don't talk about what's worth it.” Chu Ruo squeezed her hands. “Xue’er, don’t be afraid. I’m here for everything.”
***
By the fourth watch, Baihua Palace was terrifyingly silent. Chu Ruo lay on the couch, holding the woman who refused to loosen her grip even by a fraction. “We have to get up early tomorrow. Try to sleep.”
There was no verbal answer. Instead, Nan Muxue shifted, fumbling for Chu Ruo’s hand. Once she found it, she gripped it silently, remaining mute.
“Xue’er,” Chu Ruo started, surprised by how raspy her own voice had become. “Stop thinking about it, okay? Be good, get some rest...”
“Ruo’er.”
Nan Muxue suddenly broke her silence. Chu Ruo hurried to respond. “Yes? What is it? Are you thirsty, or...?”
“Do you know how the Nan bloodline is continued?”
Chu Ruo didn't need to be told to know the answer would be heavy. She forced a smile. “You’ve been crying for so long, your throat must be sore. Let me get you some—”
“The Nan family... we are just breeding stock.” Her voice was eerily calm, her face expressionless, her eyes devoid of light. She spoke as if narrating a mundane event that had nothing to do with her, her tone utterly numb. “Mother said the Nan family only ever wants daughters. When the Young Palace Master of each generation comes of age, she is made to be with a man...”
“Xue’er, stop. Don’t say it,” Chu Ruo interrupted frantically, gently patting her head. “Be good. Don’t say any more.”
“If it doesn't work once, they switch to another, until she is with child. And that man is killed immediately afterward. The Nan family has a special medicine designed for Young Palace Masters who refuse to obey. Just a little... just a drop is enough to make one lose their mind. My father... my mother’s father... and now me. I don’t even know what that person looked like. It turns out that from the very beginning, my destiny was merely to be a chess piece. As Mother put it, I am just a vessel. A vessel to hold the Nan bloodline.”
Chu Ruo’s tears finally failed her. she cupped the cheeks of the woman she loved most. “Xue’er, it’s my fault. It’s all my fault. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened. I swear on my life... I will get revenge for you.”
She suddenly felt her falling tears being brushed away by two cold lips. It was her Xue’er. How could her lips be this cold? “Silly girl.” Her Xue’er was actually comforting her now, even managing a small smile. “My Ruo’er, why are you blaming yourself?”
Only Chu Ruo knew how calm and indifferent Nan Muxue must have appeared these past few days—before Nan Menghua, before the Shen and Liu families, even before Duan Ning and the others. Only before Chu Ruo would she drop every defense and reveal her most fragile self. “Xue’er,” Chu Ruo kissed her forehead. “I love you. I love everything that is you. This child... if you want to keep it, I will treat it as my own. If you don’t want it, as long as it doesn’t hurt your body, we won’t keep it. I only want my Xue’er.”
“Have you thought this through? Even though I am like this now, you will still never leave me?”
“I will!”
Nan Muxue kissed her lips. “Fine. Then, for our sake, I will be strong.” *Chu Ruo, I love you.*
At the first crow of the rooster, Chu Ruo tried to creep out of bed. “Where are you going?”
In just one night, the woman had returned to her usual self. The wretchedness and fragility of the previous night had vanished without a trace. Even though she was merely lying there languidly without opening her eyes, the aura she projected was unmistakable. “To make you something delicious. It’s been so long; haven’t you missed my cooking?”
Nan Muxue simply pulled her back, her eyes still closed. “When you returned last night, did anyone see you?”
“I don’t think so. We took a detour. For now, on the surface, no one knows we’re back. I just don’t know if your mother has any informants...”
“She is certain you will return. You won’t be able to hide for long.”
“If I’d known that, I wouldn't have bothered with the detour.”
Nan Muxue sat up, and Chu Ruo hurried to find an outer robe to drape over her shoulders. In the span of a few hours, the light had returned to her eyes. She was once again the woman who held the world in her palm. “Let it be for now. For the next few days, stay in my room. Do not go out.”
“And if your mother comes looking?”
“I have my arrangements.” Nan Muxue reached out, lightly pinching Chu Ruo’s cheek. “I am, after all, currently under house arrest.”
“You’re under... wait, does that mean I can stay with you every day?” Chu Ruo hugged her happily. “That’s great!”
“What’s so great about it?” Nan Muxue laughed. “It’s confinement. You’re essentially in prison with me. Why are you so happy?”
“As long as I’m with you, I’m happy. But can I really hide here? I’m a pretty big target.”
Nan Muxue leaned back into her arms. “This can’t be hidden forever anyway. I just want to spend a few days alone with you. We’ll hide for as long as we can.” She curled the corners of her mouth. “You’d better cherish this, you brat. Because after this...”
“After what? Don’t do anything reckless, I’m telling you—”
“After this, for the sake of our future, we can no longer sit and wait for death. We must take the initiative.”
“Could you not sound so ominous next time? Oh, right, I wanted to ask—your mother’s martial arts are so high, is there anyone in the martial world who can defeat her?”
“Likely no more than three people.”
“??? She’s that strong even without finishing the final stage of the Love Flower’s Intoxication? Why hasn't she taken the chance to wipe out the other sects?”
“She lacks a righteous cause. Besides, I said 'defeat.' There are many who can fight her to a draw. However...”
“However what?”
“Her greatest strength isn't her martial arts. My mother is an expert at psychological manipulation; she enjoys the process of destroying a person. Furthermore, she will do anything to win. If it comes to a real fight, she will use every unscrupulous means imaginable to seize victory.”
“It sounds like we don't have a chance at all. So what’s your plan? How are we going to take her down?”
“Help me up.”
*Hey, this little scorpion... she stops right at the climax. Is she afraid of spoilers?* But Chu Ruo soon lost the ability to focus on that, because her little scorpion had—rarely—taken the initiative to hook her arms around Chu Ruo’s shoulders, tilting her head with a hint of a spoiled pout. “Dress me.”
*Creak—*
“What’s this? Not afraid of that old demoness Nan Menghua seeing you?”
*Swish! Swish!* Nan Muxue, who had been facing Chu Ruo, immediately struck out toward the voice. “Xue’er, stop! Careful of the ba— Zhier, don't hit back! Xue’er is physically weak right now...”
“Weak? She’s like a shrew—no, a harridan! Where is she weak?!”
Nan Muxue’s strikes targeted every painful joint, determined to teach the newcomer a lesson. “I told you to take her away and never come back! Why did you return?!”
*Heavens... they’re fighting again.* Wotou had been brought in by Bai Zhier, and Mantou followed suit, wagging its tail. Chu Ruo stood there holding the two dogs, utterly speechless.
***
