The first rays of sunlight after dawn fell upon the high tower. Beside the balustrade, several young swallows emerging from their nests shook their feathers, chirping about their journey south.
Before long, the sky would be fully bright.
The old man sitting cross-legged on the soft couch startled awake from his nap, his nostrils twitching.
"Did you buy them?"
"I did." Qu Xingzi took the steaming oil-crisp wontons out of the food box and placed them gently on the small table before the couch. "The first pot from Xu’s Shop in the east city. As you ordered, a double portion with thick broth."
The old man nodded with satisfaction, picked up a spoon, and began to eat in small mouthfuls.
After an unknown amount of time, seeing that the brown-faced man still hadn't left, the old man finally spoke.
"Is there something else?"
Qu Xingzi paused for a moment before reporting truthfully.
"Miss Xiao took a horse from the Black Feather Camp and left the city through the west gate half an hour ago."
The old man nodded, his mouth never ceasing its work.
"Anything else?"
"Master Yikong has arrived in Wancheng with Qu Mo. They passed the Ming Lake boundary stone last night."
The old man nodded again.
"Anything else? Don't make me keep prodding you. Say it all in one breath."
Qu Xingzi remained silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly.
"That is all."
With a *clink*, the spoon was tossed back into the bowl. The wontons that had filled it just moments ago were now gone.
"Since there is nothing else, go out and clear your head. Don't always linger around a half-dead old man like me. If you don't find a good match for marriage this year, you might as well find the abbot of Dacheng Temple and shave your head. It would save you from leading Qu Mo astray and burdening the Qu family with a reputation for dying alone."
Qu Xingzi gave a silent, bitter smile. He knew better than to argue with the old man, yet he remained standing there.
"Xingzi still has one thing he does not understand. I ask Grandfather to enlighten me."
"Speak."
Dawn atop the high tower was quiet; save for the sound of the wind and those few noisy swallows, there was nothing else. Yet Qu Xingzi still stepped forward cautiously and lowered his voice.
"Since Grandfather did not wish to interfere in this matter, why did you give the Xu Moth to Miss Xiao?"
"Of course I didn't want to get involved! But don't I still have to?!" The old man's eyes widened and his beard bristled, his voice so loud it startled the nest of swallows away. "That old fox of the Su family raised a little fox cub who speaks better than a singer. In the end, didn't he still uproot this old ginseng like me and drag me here?"
Qu Xingzi sighed and poured a fresh pot of tea for the old man.
"That may be so, but if Grandfather had truly set his mind on not interfering, His Majesty would not have made things difficult for us. Do you not often teach us the principle that the mandate of heaven is hard to defy?"
The old man stared at the tea leaves swirling in the boiling water, his voice suddenly turning somber.
"When a house is about to collapse, one can still choose another cottage, seeking a place for solitary salvation. But when the heavens are about to collapse, where can you or I hide?"
Qu Xingzi finally fell silent. The surroundings grew quiet as the old man slowly closed his eyes.
The words the woman had spoken before leaving the stone chamber last night seemed to still echo in the air.
She said she did not believe in so-called fated tribulations; how could one know it was impossible without trying?
Perhaps because she had been drinking, her words sounded exceptionally bold. It was hard to tell if it was the folly of the ignorant and fearless or the courage of a steadfast heart.
As an elder who had lived many more years than her, he should not have taken her to task.
But he still wanted to consider it.
Today was the first time he had met her, yet a premonition that hadn't appeared in a long time permeated his heart.
She might be a variable.
A variable is sometimes a turning point, and sometimes a trouble.
That "thing" that had lived as long as he had surely understood this principle as well, which was why it had previously tried to kill her using the body of that palace attendant.
She had escaped by luck and had been swept into this vortex concerning the fate of the world until now. From that moment, he realized that perhaps she was not just a simple variable.
She was the destiny itself.
"I have said all I can. If you still insist on seeking him, I have nothing more to say."
He had told her his conclusion, but in truth, he was only curious about her reaction and did not intend to actually do anything.
She had indeed been stumped by his words.
But only for a moment.
"I have heard your words, Elder. But I promised him I would not leave him." The woman's eyes shone in the dim stone chamber, the points of lamplight reflected deep in her pupils dancing with an unquenchable life. "Destiny may be determined by heaven, but until one has fought with all their might to the very last moment, how can one know if this is the entirety of so-called fate?"
"Just to meet once, to say a single goodbye, you may have to pay a price beyond your imagination. Even so, will you go?"
"He told me that staying together was inherently difficult. I won't think about things further away; I only think of what is before me. Right now, I must keep my promise."
The woman rose slowly, looked at the wine jar and the jade slips on the low table, and picked up the empty jar.
"If the Elder has nothing else, Nanhui shall take her leave."
After a long while, he reached out to trigger the mechanism, and the door to the stone chamber opened.
However, just as she was about to step out of the chamber, he spoke up in frustration.
"Wait a moment."
He hurried into the inner room and emerged a short while later carrying a small grass-woven cage. He thrust it into the woman's hands without allowing for refusal and gave her a series of low-voiced instructions.
The woman was somewhat surprised, but in the end, she did not ask further.
Before leaving, she pulled a worn, dog-eared booklet from her robe and handed it to him.
"I am grateful for the Elder's help, but I came in haste and had no time to prepare a return gift. I have only this to offer."
The old man was not at all polite. He reached out and took the booklet. As he flipped to the first page, his fingers froze. Then, an old ribbon fluttered down, which he caught with a quick hand.
But as he realized what he was holding, he instantly regretted taking it.
Naturally, he recognized that ribbon. It was precisely because of this that he regretted it.
The woman's eyes looked at the ribbon, then at his expression, and she gave a look of sudden realization and a smile.
"As I thought, this item has a greater affinity with the Elder. It is truly of no use in my hands. I will leave this booklet and ribbon with you; let them be a witness to our conversation just now. Perhaps it won't be long before everything comes to light."
She finished speaking and, without looking back, turned and walked out of the stone chamber.
Another gust of cool wind blew past. The old man opened his eyes and stood up abruptly, walking toward the stone chamber. Behind him, Qu Xingzi followed closely.
On the low table in the stone chamber, the mushroom soup pot was gone, replaced by a chaotic mess of bamboo slips, ancient texts, and a thick stack of rough-edged paper. Those papers were covered in crookedly written runes and symbols, full of ink blots and traces of corrections.
Amidst the cluttered tabletop, several thin hemp threads and half a piece of blackened bone plate were faintly visible. On the small bamboo slip before the bone plate—the one that had always been empty—four lines of small characters had strikingly appeared:
*The general is called at the Red Dust Pass,*
*The rusted sword is buried among the tombs.*
*The god rests in the Triple Heavens,*
*Dreaming upon the Bone-Shedding Platform.*
An expression of disbelief appeared on Qu Xingzi's face.
"Grandfather... have you already deciphered it?"
His eyelids, which hadn't closed for three days, twitched incessantly. The old man pressed his brow and let out a trembling sigh.
"The theory of fate is, by its nature, unsolvable."
"It has clearly been deciphered, so how can it be unsolvable?" Qu Xingzi's expression became even more confused. He leaned closer to the four lines of text, scrutinizing them. "Sanmu Pass was called 'Red Dust' in ancient times, contrasting with the term 'Bijiang.' 'Calling the general' should refer to Tiancheng sending troops down to reclaim Bijiang. The 'rusted sword among the tombs' refers to the Jiejia Sword in Miss Xiao's hand that has just left the mountains. 'Shedding bones' means ascending to immortality; the place where cultivators transcend is precisely Buxu Valley in Wancheng. And this 'God resting in the Triple Heavens'..."
Qu Xingzi could not continue.
The old man reached out his fingers and gently picked up the thin hemp threads, placing them one by one onto the bone fragment.
"Burning bone and weaving silk—these are ancient secret arts. To have even one is rare, let alone both omens appearing together. Since the founding of Tiancheng, aside from the executioner of the Andao Academy, I fear no one has ever witnessed even a glimpse of them. As time passed, people passed them off as myths, believing they were things that did not exist in this world. A prophecy is a prophecy; it is only when it comes to pass that it allows for enlightenment. Before then, even if a saint were reborn, they would only feel it was a mess without a clue, impossible to calculate."
Qu Xingzi pursed his lips tightly and spoke the words he hadn't been able to say earlier.
"Is it truly impossible to calculate, or was it calculated but you dare not speak it plainly?"
The old man picked up the bone fragment, along with the fine hemp upon it, and threw them into the nearby brazier.
"Long ago, the gods flourished. People gained power by making offerings to various deities; this was called a 'blessing.' In exchange, the gods would leave a mark in their bloodlines so they could seize their physical bodies; this was called 'divine descent.'"
The flames in the brazier quickly consumed the hemp threads and began to gnaw at the charred bone plate. The bone creaked and groaned in the heat, cracking into ash, as if an ancient soul were moaning and whispering in the blaze.
"For reasons unknown, the bloodlines of some people were naturally gifted with the ability to accept gods and obtain power. These people, who were closer to the so-called gods than ordinary folk, formed several great families and kept each other in check for centuries. The former rulers of Niexuan were one such branch."
The drifting sparks were reflected in Qu Xingzi's eyes, shining brightly.
"Those in high positions, even without the empowerment of ghosts and gods, hold the power of life and death. They should act with caution and prudence."
"The principle is sound, but unfortunately, there are good and bad among men, just as there are benevolent and malevolent gods. If an evil god merely descends into the wilderness, it only endangers a hundred miles. But if it is reborn beneath the Triple Heavens, it can control the world and bring calamity to all living beings."
The last fragment of the bone plate vanished into the firelight. The old man stood up with his hands behind his back, looking toward the horizon outside the stone chamber.
Since ancient times, there have only been the Nine Heavens; there has never been a mention of Triple Heavens. Yet the number deciphered was three, not nine.
Beside the Jingbo Tower, the triple palace walls stood silent in the morning light, unmoving and unshaken by the passing of seasons or the changing of dynasties.
Qu Xingzi looked at the old man's back, a trace of hidden worry appearing in his usually clear eyes.
"Miss Xiao... is only one person after all. Can she truly overturn all of this?"
The old man picked up the half-cooled tea and drank it in one gulp.
"Since ancient times, heroes have chased profit, but only the solitary and ordinary save the world. Moreover, she possesses a measure of red-blooded courage greater than both you and I. Does she not?"
***
On the long, straight road of the plains, there was only one person and one horse heading southwest.
The bleak autumn wind rose to meet them, scattering dust and smoke along the way.
Jixiang had grown quite fat; when he ran, his swaying belly could be seen from the saddle.
The fodder at the Black Feather Camp was certainly top-notch, and this willful horse was usually prone to throwing tantrums. The soldiers who tended to him must have suffered plenty and had no choice but to provide him with the best food and drink. Furthermore, without his master to command and spur him on, the beast had lived in luxury in the stables every day until three layers of fat had settled on his belly. A fine warhorse had somehow taken on the look of livestock meant for meat.
Xiao Nanhui gave a low shout, and Jixiang huffed and puffed as he quickened his pace, finally regaining a bit of his former battlefield spirit.
In the distance, the massive solar disc rose from the horizon. The boundary between day and night was slowly moving across the land, pressing toward the silent Western Realm ahead.
Que City had been left far behind her; she did not look back even once.
Before leaving, she had wondered if she should visit the Wangchen Tower or return to the Xiao Manor. But upon reflection, she realized that even if she went, there were few people who would be waiting for her.
Perhaps the only person she could wake in the middle of the night was Yao Yi. But that would be meaningless; she wasn't worried about him at all. She knew Yao Yi was someone who could live well on his own, no matter the time or place.
In the end, she went nowhere. She only flipped over the back wall when passing the Little Fortune Abode, filled two wine skins from two jars of wine, and left behind two silver ingots.
She knew she did not lack attachment to this city. Otherwise, why would she be unwilling to leave herself even enough time for the sun to rise and to eat a bowl of hot noodles? She knew that once she saw the sunlight illuminating the city and people becoming busy with life again, once she sat at Old Guo's stall in the east of the city to eat a bowl of bone broth noodles, her heart would waver once more.
Whether such days could ever belong to her again would be left for Heaven to judge.
The sun rose, the moon set, and the sun rose again. Her cloak was dampened by dew, frosted over, turned back into cold dew, and finally dried by the sunlight.
It had been late summer or early autumn when she left Zhongli, but by the time she stepped into the territory of Wancheng, it was already late autumn.
Fishing boats shuttled back and forth on Ming Lake. The water was cold and the fish were fat; the fishing families were all hurrying to catch the last batch of river delicacies before the lake froze for the winter.
Xiao Nanhui put down her chopsticks, feeling a bit of regret that she hadn't ordered an extra fish when she called for the fish soup earlier.
Leaving behind some loose silver, she led the well-fed Jixiang toward the lakeside pier.
Ming Lake was as large as the inland seas on the northwestern plateau. There were many ferry crossings and piers along the lake; some were large docks for merchant ships, but more were small piers built by nearby fishing villages that could not accommodate large vessels.
Occasionally, a lone traveler could pay a few copper coins to hitch a ride on a small fishing boat to cross the lake, though they would have to wait if the wind and waves were too high.
Today, the weather on the lake was considered fair, but the clouds to the west were hanging very low. The distant horizon was tinged with black; experienced fishermen had already brought in their boats early.
Perhaps a great rain was coming.
Xiao Nanhui led Jixiang and stopped at the pier to look around. A small boat that was drying its nets approached, and the fisherman on board shouted across several other boats.
"Where is the lady headed?"
She answered truthfully.
"Buxu Valley. May I ask the fare?"
To her surprise, as soon as the man heard this, he pushed off with his pole and instantly rowed far away.
And so it went. She asked three or four boats in succession. When the boatmen heard where she wanted to go, they either shook their heads or simply ignored her.
Xiao Nanhui was somewhat surprised. Just as she was wondering if she should simply hijack a boat to get on her way, a voice came from a small sampan not far away.
"You won't find a boat asking like that."
The fisherman speaking looked to be no more than thirty years old. The dilapidated sampan beneath his feet, however, seemed older than the two of them combined; she feared it would fall apart after only a few more years of rowing.
Seeing that she didn't speak, the man leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"Several official ships passed through there a few days ago. No one wants to look for trouble. Plus, the weather is changing. Unless someone is just waiting for those few coins to buy a handful of rice for the pot, who would be willing to take this risk?"
It seemed Buxu Valley was indeed the right place.
Xiao Nanhui thought for a moment, untied a pouch from her waist, counted, and pulled out five round, plump silver ingots.
"This money should be enough for more than just a handful of rice, shouldn't it?"
The fisherman only took one glance, and the look in his eyes changed immediately.
"The water near Buxu Valley is shallow with many reefs, and there are no shortage of hidden shoals and dangerous currents. The larger the ship, the easier it is to meet with disaster."
He paused intentionally at this point, then meaningfully patted his sampan.
Xiao Nanhui looked at Jixiang's stout rear, then at the wobbling little boat. Ten thousand terrible premonitions flashed through her mind, but in the end, she steeled herself and boarded the boat.
"Please be quick. I am in a hurry."
"Right away! You sit tight now!"
With a swing of the scull, the small sampan nimbly left the pier and headed toward the vast, boundless surface of the lake.
The water of Ming Lake was cold, and a layer of mist constantly shrouded the surface. The sampan headed north; all the boats they passed were returning to shore, with few heading in the same direction.
She said nothing, only guarding the small grass-woven cage as she sat at the bow, watching the water being constantly broken and then healing without a trace.
It wasn't that she truly didn't want to speak, but rather that a stone seemed to be constantly weighing on her heart. Her leg began to ache faintly again, but compared to the suffocating feeling in her chest, that pain was truly nothing.
The fisherman at the stern could not see her expression, and being naturally talkative, he kept muttering intermittently.
"Usually there's no rain at this time of year. I don't know what's happened this year; it's been raining non-stop since the start of autumn. Look at that stone pavilion over there, half-submerged. And look at that cloud over there; I reckon if the rain doesn't fall today, it'll fall tomorrow. Once it starts, it'll last at least ten days or half a month..."
He was speaking the local dialect of Wancheng. She only understood half of it, knowing he was complaining about the weather, so she let it go in one ear and out the other.
An hour later, there were no other boats to be seen on the entire lake. The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the sampan cutting through the water could be heard.
Ahead was still a vast expanse of mist. The speed of the sampan slowed down. Xiao Nanhui noticed, and staring at the grass cage before her, she pointed to the front-left without turning her head.
"That way."
The boatman was clearly surprised. He froze for a moment before rowing the boat in the direction she pointed.
"So the lady isn't an outsider? Few people come to Buxu Valley. Are you coming back to visit relatives, or to pay respects at ancestral graves, or..."
Xiao Nanhui sighed and touched the Jiejia Sword at her waist.
"My man ran off with someone. I heard he ran here. I've brought my sword to find him, intending to cut off his legs."
The boatman, who had been chattering the whole way, instantly fell silent. For a time, the only sound in the mist was the woman's monotonous directions.
After another half hour, the sound of the water around them became chaotic. A light breeze swept across the lake, blowing away some of the mist and revealing a surface riddled with turbulent currents.
The fisherman suddenly refused to go any further, standing at the stern and looking at the sky.
"It's getting late. I have to go back. Otherwise, once it gets dark, the boat will likely capsize."
Xiao Nanhui stood up and looked into the depths of the mist, where the faint sound of lake water slapping against reefs could already be heard.
"We should be close to the shore. It's just a few steps; please be flexible. Besides, you've already taken the silver. How can you go back on your word?"
The fisherman clearly had no intention of being flexible, his figure rooted to the spot.
Others could take the road back, but she could not.
Xiao Nanhui's gaze slowly lowered. Sensing her intent, the fisherman gripped the scull tighter and took two steps back.
"It's not many steps left. How about... you swim over?"
"Swim over?!"
Truly, what one fears most is what happens.
"I am not a good swimmer..."
Before her voice could even land—whether the boatman truly didn't hear her or heard her and pretended not to—the sampan beneath her feet tilted the next instant, and she, along with Jixiang, fell into the water with a *splash*.
The bone-chilling and rapid lake water instantly submerged her. Her feet could not find the bottom, and she could only struggle desperately, her other hand held high to protect the cage. She soon choked on several mouthfuls of murky lake water.
The water was mixed with silt and sand, stinging her nasal passages with a burning pain. In the chaos, she grabbed onto something nearby and refused to let go until the object slowly rose, lifting her out of the water.
Cold air was sucked into her lungs. She gasped for breath while coughing violently. Wiping the water from her face, she finally saw the familiar saddle beneath her.
Jixiang snorted, with only half his head and a pair of nostrils showing above the water.
The currents around them were rapid; she had almost been swept away just now, but Jixiang's stout body stood firm in the water, and he could even move his hooves forward.
Fine, she took back her previous complaints. There were, after all, some benefits to this horse being fattened up.
Looking back, the small sampan had long since vanished.
Grasping Jixiang's thick mane, Xiao Nanhui moved slowly forward through wave after wave.
Amidst the drifting clouds and mist, a silhouette gradually revealed its true form.
Xiao Nanhui looked up, her expression freezing.
This was not the opposite shore of Ming Lake, but was still in the middle of the lake.
She never imagined that the rumored Buxu Valley was not a valley at all, but an island.
An isolated island situated in the heart of Ming Lake, appearing and disappearing with the rising and falling tides.
No wonder the Qu family was so mysterious; even successive emperors had rarely been able to visit.
Finally emerging from the rapid currents and shallow shoals, the person and horse climbed onto the shore. Xiao Nanhui tumbled off Jixiang's back in a disheveled state. Ignoring everything else, the first thing she did was check the grass cage.
Inside the cage, there was only a small, grayish-white insect curled at the bottom, long since drowned.
She slammed her fist into the shingle beach, venting almost all the grievance and confusion she had suppressed in her heart for so long.
Just a little more. Just a little more, and she would have found him.
The pill he had taken earlier in the Shen family's secret passage was something Hao Bai had spent some effort to create. Besides being able to put a person into a long sleep to avoid Puhuna's intrusion, it also contained a bit of Xu Moth wing powder. It was a powder that emitted a unique fragrance; humans could not detect it, but a Xu Moth could sense it from a thousand miles away.
The Qu family elder had given her one, and she had relied on this small moth, no larger than a bee, to find this place.
She had some history with this small insect. Back then, it was this very thing that had saved her life.
The fabric woven from the silk of the Xu silkworm is called "Butterfly Fall," famous for being as tough as spider silk and for its colorfastness. Even if a butterfly that had stolen nectar landed on it, it would leave behind the fragrance of the nectar.
A single Xu pupa was worth a thousand gold pieces; a foot of Butterfly Fall was priceless.
Legend has it that from the day it is born, the Xu silkworm waits for the day it can pupate and break its cocoon. But the Xu silkworm needs a great drought to cocoon, and needs abundant rain to break out. The process often takes several years. In truth, not even one in a hundred successfully becomes a moth. After becoming a moth, it is difficult to find a mate, and they cannot reproduce, only dying in sorrow.
The one she had held earlier had been so lively, flying up and down the whole way.
However, the moth did not know that the other Xu Moth it wanted to see no longer existed, leaving only a bit of wing powder emitting its scent. It had simply kept battering against the cage in the direction of the fragrance until the moment death arrived.
In the end, if even a small insect's life was so difficult, what right did a human have to say they could live their life exactly as they wished?
Meeting him had already been like being trapped in a cocoon for a thousand years, then breaking out for ten thousand more.
Weaving silk to repay a debt; the silk is fine yet strong, and cannot be broken unless one lets go of their obsession.
Let her keep going forward, forward, until she broke through this cage of fate, or until death arrived—only then would it end.
Xiao Nanhui silently wrung out her dripping hem. With one hand, she picked up the dripping grass cage, and with the other, she led Jixiang, walking along the shingle beach toward the interior of the island.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 步虚谷 | Buxu Valley | "Valley of Stepping on Emptiness/Void"; the Qu family's ancestral home. |
| 铭湖 | Ming Lake | The large lake where Buxu Valley is located. |
| 胥蛾 | Xu Moth | A mystical moth used for tracking. |
| 蝶落 | Butterfly Fall | A rare fabric made from Xu silkworm silk. |
| 三重天 | Triple Heavens | A specific term in the prophecy, distinct from the traditional Nine Heavens. |
| 蜕骨台 | Bone-Shedding Platform | A place mentioned in the prophecy, likely related to ascension or death. |
| 红尘关 | Red Dust Pass | Ancient name for Sanmu Pass. |
| 碧疆 | Bijiang | A territory mentioned in the prophecy. |
| 涅泫 | Niexuan | An ancient power or region mentioned by the elder. |
| 胥蚕 | Xu Silkworm | The larval stage of the Xu Moth. |
