The bamboo forest at night was shrouded in a veil of bluish-green. The small courtyard stood silent amidst the swaying shadows, devoid of any human sound.
The careless swordsman was nowhere to be found, and the ever-vigilant shadow guard was also missing. Only the red lantern at the courtyard gate spun slowly in the cold wind.
As midnight drew to a close, a swaying figure finally emerged from the depths of the bamboo grove. The woman pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard, not even bothering to close it behind her. She dragged her feet into the house; a candle flickered briefly inside before being extinguished. Finally, the sound of two shoes dropping to the floor one after the other echoed through the air, and everything returned to silence.
The red lantern swayed, and in the next instant, a figure appeared beneath it.
The youth stood before the courtyard gate. The blade he had gripped for so long finally lowered slowly. He could neither take a step closer nor bring himself to leave.
"I thought you could keep hiding forever. To think you’d lose your composure on only the second day."
Li Qiao did not turn around. His gaze remained fixed on the small, dark window.
"How did Qin Sanyou die? Why did she follow the Qiu family to Juchao? And her injuries... do they still hurt?"
She truly hadn't been mistaken. Even though he had changed his appearance, she recognized the blade at his side.
Since both sides were tired of acting, Jiang Xin’er crossed her arms and sneered. "Who are you to her? Why should I tell you?"
The youth finally turned around. His pale face was half-hidden in shadow and half-illuminated by the ghostly moonlight, looking indescribably desolate.
Jiang Xin’er felt a flicker of pity. Recalling the night she had spent boating on the Black Lake with Qin Jiuye, she was about to say something when the youth spoke first.
"In the middle of the night, you actually have the leisure to watch my misery. It seems Xu Qiuchi has truly cast you out."
A brief, suffocating silence fell over the night. The red lantern at the gate moved again without a breeze. In the flicker of red light, the two people who had been standing there a moment ago vanished. Deep within the pitch-black bamboo sea, two shadows, swift as spirit snakes, entangled and struck at each other with savage intensity.
It could hardly be called a fight; it was more like an exorcism of pent-up emotions.
Both sides were fueled by resentment. Their moves were distorted, yet they struck with twelve-tenths of their strength. Bamboo leaves flew, sharp as blades, and were swept up by murderous intent before they could hit the ground, turning into forest debris.
Li Qiao’s movement techniques were superior, but Jiang Xin’er was seeing red. The grievances of the past few days poured out through her long blade, unstoppable. Taking advantage of her weapon's reach, she closed in instantly. Three stalks of bamboo as thick as bowls were severed in succession, yet the blade’s momentum did not fade as it lunged straight for the youth’s left shoulder.
Having exchanged blows with him a few times before, Jiang Xin’er knew his strength. She did not hold back, wanting only to determine a victor. To her surprise, the agile youth suddenly stopped, standing still without even trying to dodge. The blade bit deep into his left shoulder, and blood instantly soaked his clothes, staining half his shoulder red.
Jiang Xin’er froze. The murderous light in her eyes finally faded. She flicked her wrist and retracted the blade, but she felt no joy in her success. She could only speak with bitter resentment.
"If you don't want to live, just say so! I'll give you a quick end!"
The youth clutched his left shoulder and slowly sat amidst the wreckage. He didn't utter a single groan, only staring toward the silent courtyard nearby. The red lantern cast a faint, weak glow. His gaze was like a struggling insect in late autumn, desperately soaking up that last bit of light until the very end of its life.
"Tell me... if I died, would she feel heartache?"
She had long known that Li Qingdao was an unconventional character, but she hadn't expected her disciple to be even more extreme.
Jiang Xin’er cursed under her breath and sat on the other side, clutching her blade.
"If you knew it would come to this, why did you leave without a word back then? Do you think she’ll soften her heart just because you’re acting pitiful now?"
Li Qiao finally withdrew his gaze. His eyes were still beautiful, but they had lost their former brilliance. He looked as if all color had drained from him. After a long silence, he spoke with a deathly stillness.
"Didn't Young Master Qiu take you in back then because he pitied you as well?"
When it came to manipulating the human heart, she was never his match. A corner of her heart that had been aching for days was pierced, and Jiang Xin’er trembled with rage.
"Young Master... Young Master didn't..."
Didn't what? Didn't keep her in the Qiu Manor all these years out of pity? She was too straightforward; she couldn't even voice an answer she wasn't sure of herself.
The long blade she had just sheathed flew out again, hacking down three or four more bamboo stalks in an instant.
She used her weapon to vent her madness, while the youth sat there, calmly speaking words of insanity.
"What does it matter if it's pity? Even if it's just pity, it's fine. In the beginning, she only let me stay because she pitied me. If she could pity me for a lifetime, that wouldn't be so bad."
The person before her was becoming increasingly unreasonable. Jiang Xin’er felt she couldn't communicate with him normally at all. She wanted to walk away and end this absurd conversation, but after a few steps, his voice rose behind her again.
"Do you want to guess why Xu Qiuchi is being so cold to you?"
Jiang Xin’er’s footsteps halted. She tried to distance herself from the madman, but her legs refused to move.
She truly did want to know the answer.
"He is drawing a line between you. As for why... perhaps it's because the Qiu family is in a precarious position, and he has no heart to wander around with you all day. Or perhaps he has finally seen the true face of the First Villa under Heaven and cannot accept someone from that place by his side day and night. Or perhaps... he’s simply tired of you."
The fire from their earlier fight flared up again. Jiang Xin’er turned back, the tip of her blade pointing at the youth’s throat.
"Liar! If the Young Master were tired of me, why would he bring me south this time..."
"Who knows? This place isn't far from the Villa. Perhaps he intends to use this opportunity to send you back."
As soon as he spoke, Jiang Xin’er’s expression changed instantly. Her blade wavered, leaving a thin bloody trail on his neck.
After an unknown amount of time, she finally lowered her blade, her voice laced with undeniable irony.
"Everyone in this courtyard is blind. If I hadn't seen your true face, I might have actually believed you were a kind-hearted person."
"...I'm just trying to be a good person."
A good person worthy of her.
This was something the Lord of Broken Jade could achieve without effort, but for him, it was a wish that might never be fulfilled in this lifetime.
He could only imitate those "kind-hearted" behaviors, hoping that when someone placed his name beside hers, he wouldn't be the loathsome stain upon it.
Jiang Xin’er understood. What Li Qiao could not do, she could not do either.
"You cannot change your true nature. She was blind before to have fallen for a low-born, ruthless person like you. In contrast, the Protector General is loyal and upright. He comes from a family of generals and holds no prejudices regarding social status. Once everything is settled, he can walk through life hand-in-hand with Miss Qin. They are both earnest people with shared interests—one heals the world, the other punishes evil. They are a match made in heaven. Even picky people like Aunt Huaiyu and Steward Liu are delighted by them. Think for yourself: when that day comes, will there still be a place for you between them?"
She seemed to be speaking of him, yet also of herself. By the end, her voice was so low it was barely audible.
Both had spoken their harshest words, yet neither had triumphed over the other. They had only made their respective situations seem more pathetic. In the end, they were like two defeated curs, each slinking back into their own corner with drooping heads.
After a long time, Li Qiao finally whispered, "It doesn't matter. Even if that day comes, as long as she still needs me, I will do anything."
As long as he could be by her side, it didn't matter which corner he stood in.
He could be her medicine boy, her servant, or the person she only occasionally remembered when she had a need. As long as she called his name, he would have a reason to appear by her side.
As long as she needed him.
Jiang Xin’er turned her head. She stared intently at Li Qiao’s face, almost unable to believe that this was the same proud, untamable youth she had first met.
"You... do you have no self-respect at all?!"
"Are you not the same?" Li Qiao suddenly looked up, his gaze boring into her. "He treats you like that, yet you haven't left him. If one day Xu Qiuchi marries and starts a family, living a different life, won't you still stay by his side? Could it be that you would actually leave him?"
Jiang Xin’er lowered her head and muttered, "I think you've gone mad."
She didn't deny his words, but the voice in her heart couldn't agree either.
She was not a person of complex or fickle temperament; she couldn't stand this contradictory emotion. After a long while, she picked up her blade and stood up, casting one last look at the youth sitting desolately in the bamboo forest.
"Even I can recognize you, let alone her. If you want to see her, go as yourself. If not, get lost as soon as possible. Don't hover around her pretending to be someone else. It's annoying."
Li Qiao curled his body and faded into the shadows, as if instantly crushed by the heavy layers of bamboo shadows, sinking low into the dust.
"If I go, what if she runs away? What if she's still angry about my sudden departure? What if she doesn't want me anymore... what should I do?"
His voice echoed through the bamboo grove, eventually fading into a long silence.
Jiang Xin’er was no longer there. In the empty bamboo forest, no one could give him an answer.
****** ****** ******
As the long night neared its end, at the edge of the bamboo sea where the river curved, a small boat cut through the waves.
There had once been countless villages and small towns here. In its most prosperous times, even this small river would have been crowded with boats, no different from present-day Jiugao. However, in just over twenty years, everything had been swallowed by the wildly growing greenery. Even the ferry crossing, struggling to emerge from the verdant mass, had not been spared. The wooden planks had rotted and fallen away, leaving only bare stone pillars standing in the water, which would likely be completely submerged before long.
"Second Young Master, we have arrived."
The boatman had worked for Tan Duace for many years and was highly experienced. He lightly maneuvered the boat to avoid the rapids and then tapped the hull. Xu Qiuchi, who had been resting with his eyes closed for a long time, finally opened them.
Before him was still the endless emerald sea of bamboo. If a splash of vermilion were to fall into it, it would be strikingly beautiful.
Unfortunately, the woman had changed into a greyish-white outer garment to keep a low profile.
But he still spotted her at a single glance. She was like a water bird leaving its nest, moving through the verdant green with a posture both vigorous and elegant.
He had just started to lean forward when the boat swayed, creating a slight splashing sound. She sensed something instantly and stopped atop a large green bamboo. The upright tip of the bamboo bent slightly under her weight, and her figure swayed with it. The moment she turned and saw him, light seemed to fall upon her, and even her eyes brightened.
Xu Qiuchi’s rising body slowly sank back down. He waited quietly for the boat to dock and stabilize, then stood up slowly. After jumping off the boat, he waded through the shallow river water into the bamboo forest.
He had barely taken ten steps when she crossed the hundred-pace distance and arrived before him in an instant.
"Why did the Young Master come so early? It’s not even dawn yet. I set out immediately upon receiving the message, but I ran into a few people on the way out and was delayed. Fortunately, I hurried along the road, so the timing is just right..."
She rarely spoke so much or acted so unsettled. But the moment she heard his summons, she was like a hound hearing a whistle, racing toward him with eyes full of anticipation and joy. And he, under that fervent gaze, had to turn his head away, leaving her with only a cold profile.
*Xu Qiuchi, you truly deserve ten thousand deaths.*
His actions were undoubtedly effective. She quickly sensed his attitude, and her advancing footsteps came to a halt. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, then carefully took out a pre-transcribed intelligence report from her person and presented it to him.
"I have brought what the Young Master required."
She held the organized materials before him, reporting her mission with the same dedication as countless times before.
"The internal layout of Chuanliu Courtyard is not overly complex. It can generally be divided into the front hall and the back courtyard. The front hall is responsible for gathering and summarizing intelligence, while the back courtyard is entirely filled with assassins controlled by Lord Yan. These past few days, Lord Yan has claimed illness and refused to see anyone; I am unsure if it is a ruse. The bamboo tower where he resides is heavily guarded. Fearing I might alert them, I did not force an investigation. However, last night a boat returned carrying assassins, including some familiar faces—seemingly from Leisure Hall and the Ghost Water Gang. I speculate that this may be related to the recent spread of the secret formula in the martial world."
Chuanliu Courtyard was secretly purging those suspected of being tainted by the secret formula. This was perhaps the reason why the Sword Appreciation Assembly had been so perilous, yet no further rumors had surfaced in the martial world after a month. Lord Yan’s stance on the secret formula was now quite clear, which could even be considered good news under the circumstances.
Except...
"Did you encounter any resistance while investigating this information?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xin’er replied confidently, "Rest assured, Young Master. I figured out their routine on the first day. I avoided the courtyard's lookouts during my investigation and did not alert Lord Yan."
Xu Qiuchi fell into a brief silence.
Before they had parted, the reason he had given her this task was, in the end, due to a soft heart. He felt that giving her something to do would make her feel better. However, while Jiang Xin’er’s martial skills were top-tier in the martial world, she lacked experience. She was not qualified to deal with an old fox like Lord Yan. So, when she actually delivered the information to him, he had to carefully judge how much of it was real and how much was false.
His Xin’er would naturally not lie to him. That left only two possibilities: either the information was fake, intentionally staged by Lord Yan for them to see, or Lord Yan had already sensed everything but took no measures, intentionally allowing this information to be revealed to him.
Xu Qiuchi rubbed the intelligence report in his hand, asking no further questions. He only sighed softly.
"It seems that while my elder brother is busy with his affairs, others haven't been idle either."
Jiang Xin’er hesitated for a moment, then stole a quick glance at the expression on his face. She spoke tentatively.
"Actually, if the Young Master wishes to visit Chuanliu Courtyard in person, it is not impossible. I am willing to lead the way..."
"What is there to see in a group of madmen locked in the mountains?" Before she could finish, Xu Qiuchi interrupted her with a lack of interest. "Furthermore, they don't exactly welcome me."
As he spoke the last sentence, the smile at the corner of his mouth grew increasingly ironic.
Jiang Xin’er was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something.
"Actually, the people in that courtyard..."
Again, he cut her off.
"The martial world is unstable these days; something big is about to happen soon. Stay with Little Yezi and do not come looking for me again."
Jiang Xin’er lowered her head. After a long while, she said helplessly, "Why does the Young Master always have me stay with Miss Qin? She has others by her side and doesn't actually need me. I was thinking of returning to the Young Master's side..."
"Perhaps I don't need you by my side at all times either?"
The terrible words fell into her ears without warning. Jiang Xin’er felt her heart stop abruptly, as if it had suddenly lost the ability to beat.
She was dazed for a long time. Li Qiao’s words washed over her fragile emotions like a tide. For a moment, she wanted to turn and flee, as if only then could she avoid facing the even more terrifying answer and the Young Master she no longer recognized.
But another emotion made her stop in her tracks. Although the corner of her heart had begun to ache, she still wanted to face him and ask those questions personally. She wanted to hear him deny those terrible conjectures with his own lips, to tell her it was all in her head and that they would continue to walk together for a long, long time.
Before she could figure out how to speak, the question that had tormented her for so long blurted out.
"Is the Young Master tired of me?" Her voice trembled because it was so soft, like a butterfly's wing repeatedly brushing against an invisible wind. "Someone told me that the Young Master doesn't want me by his side anymore because he's tired of me. But I don't believe it. I want to hear you tell me yourself."
The young woman’s courage was like the unyielding long blade in her hand, carrying her dignity and glory, pointing straight toward her destination.
She was so brave and fervent, making him seem all the more cowardly and base.
In truth, even without him, the First Villa under Heaven would eventually fail to contain her. One day, she would break free of everything with all her might and head toward her own distant horizon, rather than remaining a brightly colored koi in his tiny pond.
Xu Qiuchi kept his back to her, his gaze wandering over the void of green.
"Is that answer so important? Sometimes two people part ways for no specific reason. It’s just that the time has come, the fate has ended, and they naturally step onto two different paths."
"It is important. the Young Master's answer will always be important to me." The woman took another step forward, trying to close the final distance between them. "No matter where the Young Master wants to go or what he wants to do, I am willing to go with him. If it's something I cannot do, I can work harder..."
"No matter what I ask you to do, are you willing to do it?"
He finally turned around and leaned close to her face, raising a hand to lightly caress her cheek.
In all the years they had spent together day and night, they were the closest people to each other, yet they had never shared such an intimate touch. Jiang Xin’er was stunned, unable to move or speak.
However, in the next moment, devilish words spilled from those well-shaped lips.
"Then how about returning to the First Villa under Heaven?"
Jiang Xin’er’s face turned pale in an instant.
Xu Qiuchi smiled. His cool fingertips left her face as he retreated to their original distance.
"So, you also have likes and dislikes, willingness and unwillingness. Since that's the case, why force yourself to stay by my side? After all, I remember that in the beginning, you didn't like me and enjoyed going against me in everything."
So why like him now? Why be so obedient to him?
He wasn't worth it.
"Becoming strangers" sounded painful, but it was actually nothing more than returning everything to the starting point. All relationships in this world begin as strangers and eventually end in death or estrangement.
In all the years they had spent together, he knew the woman before him too well.
Li Qiao could give up everything, even his life, for Qin Jiuye, but Jiang Xin’er would not do the same.
Though she had grown up amidst slaughter, the greatest trial she had ever faced was the day she left the Villa, kneeling until sunset. If he had protected anything for her over the years, it was ultimately just a bit of dignity. Unfortunately, he too was caught in the vortex and could do no more for her.
Finally, the woman bowed her head and retreated three steps, speaking in a low voice.
"I understand."
No human heart could escape his calculations. He had achieved his goal, just like countless times before. But why was there not a shred of pride or joy in his heart this time? Why did it feel like a crushing defeat?
What did she understand? No, she didn't understand. She didn't understand his heart at all, nor everything he had failed to say...
The folding fan hanging at his waist swayed. The man by the river turned his head as if his soul had returned to his body, but the bamboo forest was already empty.
The sound of wind and water continued, mocking his cowardice.
Love is a reward for the brave, and he was destined never to receive it in this life.
****** ****** ******
Qin Jiuye sat alone before a temporary ferry landing made of bamboo rafts, huffing and puffing as she untied the tightly fastened rope at the tail of a raft.
The raft was a specific type common to the Juchao area, even more rudimentary than Old Qin’s small sampan. To prevent the raft from drifting too far from the shore, one end was tied with a towline. The knot had tightened into a dead knot over years of pulling. She tried six or seven times before finally giving up. She sat on the bank, rubbing her aching hands while staring into the misty distance.
It wasn't fully light yet, but the courtyard where information was gathered and organized would soon become busy.
Jiang Xin’er hadn't returned all night.
There was no movement anywhere in the courtyard, so it likely wasn't because something had gone wrong with the investigation. Qin Jiuye thought about it and guessed where the other woman might have gone.
She didn't know what was so good about that dandy to make her work so hard for him.
Before setting out for the medicine hut alone last night, Qin Jiuye had stopped Jiang Xin’er to entrust her with some minor tasks. Besides having her keep an eye on Lord Yan and look for that mysterious courtyard again if possible, she had also listed several medicinal herbs unique to the Yuzhou mountain region, asking her to harvest some if she had the chance to go out.
In truth, those things might not be impossible to find at the medicine hut, but she had a premonition and instinctively wanted to give the other woman something to do. She had learned a bit about the working style of the First Villa under Heaven's disciples from Li Qiao, and she only hoped that for the sake of completing the mission, Jiang Xin’er wouldn't do anything foolish because of whatever that idiot Xu Qiuchi said.
Unfortunately, looking at it now, that bit of effort had been in vain.
The errand-runner was gone, and waiting alone was truly frustrating. She might as well do it herself. But this cursed place was hard to enter and leave. She had snuck out before dawn and searched for a long time, only to find this emergency raft. It looked like it hadn't been moved for at least three to five months. The rising river water had submerged more than half of the temporary wooden planks on the bank, leaving a small section extending into the water, looking half-dead.
The woman’s thin figure paced by the river, thinking of a way. A gust of wind ruffled the water's surface, blurring her reflection.
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something. She slowly stood up and looked behind her.
In the morning mist before the bamboo sea, a figure seemed to stand faintly. The wind blew through his thin clothes, making him look like a ghost drifting through the forest.
Qin Jiuye abruptly withdrew her gaze. She looked down at the raft floating in the water, flipped over, and jumped onto it.
The knot on the raft was still untied. She looked around, picked up a wood-cutting cleaver, and hacked down fiercely. With a single stroke, the rope that had refused to come undone was severed into two pieces, as clean and decisive as a premonition of an ending.
The strange sound of wind passing through the forest rose again, and a figure appeared by the water in an instant.
"The Young Master instructed me to follow you..."
Before he could finish, he began to cough uncontrollably. His lips turned even paler. The thin shirt he had hurriedly put on rose and fell violently with his body, as if he might dissipate in the wind at any moment.
The woman hardened her heart. While he was coughing severely, she braced the long pole and pushed off hard. The small raft swayed away from the shore toward the middle of the river, pulling the distance between them further and further apart.
Her gaze never wavered toward him for even a fraction of an inch, as if she couldn't see him at all. In those clear, black-and-white eyes he knew so well was a coldness he did not recognize.
"Is that so? I’ve already snuck out. Why aren't you reporting to your Young Master instead of following me?"
Qin Jiuye spoke coldly from the raft, forcing herself not to look back.
She truly hated herself. Back then, she couldn't even distinguish between the master of the Taoist temple and an assassin from the First Villa under Heaven, yet now she could always see through his disguise and recognize him at a glance.
But this time, she didn't want to play that "see through but don't speak" game anymore.
It was one thing for him to run away before, but now that she had come to his door, he was still using the same old clichés. Then he couldn't blame her for being unkind. He had abandoned her once; she would leave him once. That was only fair, wasn't it?
The raft drifted downstream, moving faster and faster. The woman’s back was to the shore, her expression hidden. The prow swayed, and her figure rippled amidst the emerald water. In the blink of an eye, she was far away.
The waves didn't stop, and it seemed she wouldn't stop either, about to vanish from his sight forever.
"Don't go..."
The youth stumbled forward half a step, nearly unable to stand.
Wasn't she the one who most hated to see him sick or suffering? Wasn't she the one who stayed by his side all night when his illness flared up? Wasn't she the one who cared most about his body, checking his pulse every few days? Hadn't she even stood alone against Li Kuquan to protect him, blocking the Lord of Broken Jade’s Sky-Piercing Sword?
But why? Why did she seem so heartless now, when he felt he was about to die before her eyes? She was so stingy she wouldn't even give him a second look, leaving him behind without a shred of lingering attachment.
*But Li Qiao, isn't this what you wanted?*
The voice in his heart echoed deeply. The bitterness of his own making spread through him, far more torturous than the lethal poison he drank daily.
His foot stepped onto the last wooden plank on the bank. The rotten wood teetered under his weight and then plunged into the water.
Ripples spread across the surface, merging into the mist along with the receding sound of the water.
"A-jie..."
He finally called out those two words, his voice so raspy it was barely recognizable.
The woman’s back on the boat stiffened for a moment, but she did not stop. She continued to push the long pole.
When he had run away back then, had she called out to him only once?
She had called him so many times, yet he had never stopped. Now that it was finally her turn to leave first, why should he get his way so easily?
Qin Jiuye pushed the boat with all her might. Just as she made the third stroke, she heard a "splash" behind her.
The pole froze on the water. She slowly turned her head. The bank was empty; only circles of ripples were slowly spreading in the river.
The surroundings fell silent in an instant. She could only hear her own slightly hurried breathing.
The raft began to spin in the middle of the river. The woman, who had been on boats since childhood, actually began to feel dizzy.
She turned the pole and anxiously paddled back a few times, but the surroundings remained silent. Not even a fish blowing bubbles appeared in the flowing river water.
How deep was this water? Were there undercurrents? Once bitten, twice shy—was she destined to spend her life fishing people out of rivers?
Qin Jiuye stood up abruptly. She stared at the river flowing at its own pace, first looking up and laughing bitterly, then looking down and cursing a few times. Finally, as if accepting her fate, she took a deep breath, kicked off her straw sandals, and dove into the river.
Though a lake is deep, its water is still. A river is different and unpredictable; sometimes even a waist-deep stream can drown a person.
After several dives, Qin Jiuye still hadn't found him. She finally surfaced and shouted, "Li Qiao?"
There was no response.
"Li Qiao!"
She called out in the current, like a frantic, squawking duck.
In the next moment, a massive splash sounded behind her. She had just turned her head halfway when she fell into a soaking wet embrace.
He coughed miserably, so miserably that his body wouldn't stop trembling, yet he refused to let go even slightly. He held her so tightly that his burning body temperature seemed to dry the cold river water between them. He was so close that she could hear his water-choked, rattling breath traveling from his chest and lungs directly to her ear.
The river water had washed away the thick medicinal powder of his disguise, revealing the brilliant yet somewhat innocent face of the youth.
Qin Jiuye stared at that face. Uncontrollable longing surged from her heart, yet it also gave rise to a sense of indignation. She was so angry she spoke without thinking.
"Chuanliu Courtyard truly teaches people well! It’s only been a short while, yet you’ve grown so capable! Before, you needed someone to save you from a lake, but now your dog paddle is so refined. Why would you ever need me to fish you out?"
The youth’s misty eyes gazed at her. The river water flowed gently in his eyes, swirling into snowy white eddies, soft and bright.
"The things A-jie taught me, I practice in my heart every day."
She brushed the hair from her wet face, her delicate eyebrows furrowing instinctively. Her voice was utterly cold.
"When did I ever teach you..."
When had she taught him to jump into a river? And when had she taught him the dog paddle?
The second half of her questioning never made it out. The youth’s focused gaze was locked onto her face. Then, his whole body pressed forward, and his lips, chilled by the water, carefully pressed against her cheek.
His movement was firm, like a stone washed by the river for ten thousand years. But his lips were trembling, as if they had merged with the ripples spreading around them.
He was a bit dazed by the situation, unsure if he had truly received this long-awaited grace. After hesitating for a long time and seeing that she didn't push him away, he pulled back just a fraction, then slowly kissed her lips.
She remained quiet, but her hands, submerged in the water, instinctively climbed up his back. With every inch her fingertips moved, she could feel his trembling and tension.
Qin Jiuye opened her eyes and looked into those wet, light brown eyes.
In a trance, she felt she had returned to the day their fates first became inextricably intertwined.
A gust of wind blew, and the bamboo leaves on both banks swayed and interlaced above them, just like the hole-ridden oil umbrella in her hand that day.
Water droplets fell silently, plunging into the river and vanishing, leaving no sign of whether they had dampened anyone's heart.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 川流院 | Chuanliu Courtyard | A mysterious organization/location. |
| 公子琰 | Lord Yan | A leader or high-ranking figure in Chuanliu Courtyard. |
| 悠游堂 | Leisure Hall | A martial arts group or gang. |
| 鬼水帮 | Ghost Water Gang | A martial arts group or gang. |
| 簰筏 | Pai raft | A specific type of bamboo raft common to the Juchao region. |
| 阿姊 | A-jie | "Elder Sister," used here as an intimate address. |
| 稽天剑 | Sky-Piercing Sword | The name of the sword belonging to the Lord of Broken Jade. |
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