Chapter 62

The winter grassland stretched endlessly in a field of white; everything was the same pale color, as if heaven and earth had been washed into a single jade dome. Far off, mountains blurred beneath a veil of mist, undulating like a dragon’s back and rising and falling like a great beast. The barbarians called that place the Azure Dragon Range, a name spoken in the same breath as Yushan.

People always said that Yushan was picturesque and lovely, while the Azure Dragon Range was fierce as a tiger. Holding a cup of hot tea in her hands, Ye Rui somehow thought of that saying, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, another line popped into her head: “North Qiao Feng, South Murong.”

Each had its own merits; each served its own side.

Ye Rui held the tea close to her face, letting the steam rise and warm her a little. Qingzhou Army Marshal Zhang Tingluo learned that the Phoenix Army had taken the Crow Tribe, and immediately sent over a detachment of female soldiers to reinforce them. At Zhang Tingluo’s instruction, Li Yan also folded those hundred women into the Phoenix Army.

They had come not only to help the Phoenix Army build houses; they had also brought a hundred warhorses, the very core of fighting on the grassland.

Rumor had it that more horses would arrive in succession, but Zhang Tingluo needed time to make the arrangements.

After finishing her tea, Ye Rui picked up a hammer and went to help build the houses. She had never imagined that one day she would end up as a construction worker. At first, she truly knew nothing, but the sisters in the camp all seemed thoroughly practiced in it; they taught Ye Rui hands-on, and she soon learned how to lay foundations, how to guard against damp, how to raise and lash together thick wooden posts one by one, supporting the frame of the future house.

Watching everyone work in concert, orderly and efficient, Ye Rui felt that the saying “who says women are inferior to men?” only grew more convincing.

In this camp, she felt women really could do anything. In truth, all women in the world could live as the kind of people they wanted to be.

Some of the sisters had gone into the mine shafts to dig ore, treating it as training their bodies. The intensity of that work was no lower than military drills.

A month later, Zhang Tingluo’s approval document came through. Ye Rui finally became a Captain, and her swordsmanship also rose to advanced level.

A Captain was responsible for a little over a hundred people; just right, then, for the newly transferred female soldiers to be placed under Ye Rui’s command. At first, those women were unconvinced by Ye Rui, who looked so soft and weak, but after being beaten by her in several bouts, they finally submitted and behaved themselves.

If you could solve a problem with your fists, there was no need to use your brain. Ye Rui thought that was fine. Using her brain was really tiring; it was far more straightforward to just have a fight.

After a few days together, Ye Rui quickly established her own relationships within the unit. This was also the twelfth squad of the Phoenix Army. At first, Ye Rui had worried that advancing too quickly might invite resentment from others, but everyone had probably already seen her strength. There was some unwillingness, sure, but no one would secretly trip her up; if they had something to say, they said it face-to-face. If they couldn’t agree, they fought. One fight later, everyone felt better.

Simple and blunt communication. Ye Rui liked that a lot.

Lately, Zhang Tingluo had been planning to come inspect the Phoenix Army, and everyone was rather excited. After all, this was an army’s honor. Ye Rui, however, seemed relatively calm. She had already met the legendary Eldest Princess; what was there to be excited about?

Speaking of which, Hu Tu’s next task was to become a Captain within six months. Succeed, and her spear skills would rise to intermediate level. Fail, and thirty points of Strength would be deducted.

That punishment made Ye Rui jump. If thirty points were deducted, she’d only have twenty Strength left. In this military camp, wouldn’t that count as powerless as a child?

Ordinary training could naturally improve physical fitness, but with the System’s numeric boosts, Ye Rui could be unstoppable on the battlefield. She didn’t even dare imagine how much losing thirty Strength points would affect her. Hu Tu was really ruthless this time.

Hu Tu: [Want me to give you a hotline so you can complain to my boss?]

Ye Rui: [...No need. Even if I complained, what could it do?]

Hu Tu: [Help me curse it out, then.]

Ye Rui: [...]

It seemed that once the matter of working for someone was involved, even a System could go mad; at any moment it wanted to punch its own superior and spew insults.

A few days later, Zhang Tingluo arrived. He came with only several dozen soldiers and no great fanfare. Zhang Tingluo was already forty-five, his face weathered by wind and frost, yet he still couldn’t conceal the fiery brilliance in his eyes. His features were upright, his frame tall and broad; there was a scar slanting from his left eye to his right cheek, and Ye Rui couldn’t even imagine how dangerous it must have been when he got it.

He wore silver armor and dismounted from a black horse, but there was nothing cold or severe about him. Instead, he laughed heartily, quickly mingling with everyone. By his account, he had come only to visit the Phoenix Army, not on military business, so there was no need to be so serious.

When Mu Xue spoke with Ye Rui before, she had mentioned Zhang Tingluo. He was a daring man, but the Qingzhou Army truly lacked manpower, which left him unable to make any bold decisions and forced him into a defensive hold.

Mu Xue had said that she hoped Ye Rui would be the one to break this deadlock, and capturing the Crow Tribe was a bold beginning.

She had also said that Zhang Tingluo was a man of strict fairness; when it came to military matters, he was the sort who meant what he said and never wavered. But in private, he was full of jianghu spirit, as straightforward as any martial hero.

Seeing him now, that really seemed to be the case. He had no airs at all.

Zhang Tingluo walked around the camp, then helped build houses for a while and ate lunch with everyone before summoning Li Yan and all the squad captains. Ye Rui, the newly appointed Captain, happened to catch the tail end of the meeting.

When they entered the tent, Zhang Tingluo placed both hands on the table, sat upright, and the silver armor on him glimmered brightly. His sharp gaze swept over everyone present.

Li Yan stood at the front, with the twelve other squad captains lined up in order. Ye Rui stood at the very end, yet Zhang Tingluo’s gaze still lingered on her the longest.

“Everyone has worked hard. Taking the Crow Tribe is a major achievement for the Qingzhou Army; it lays the foundation for future victories.”

Zhang Tingluo praised them a few more times. Everyone beamed with delight, but Ye Rui alone noticed the worry between his brows. Clearly, what he truly wanted to say was not this.

Sure enough, after the praise, Zhang Tingluo finally got to the point.

“You all probably know that the Qingzhou Army’s numbers have been shrinking day by day. Veterans retire, and new recruits are hard to find. I plan to make a trip to Jiangnan to see whether I can find some help.”

As soon as he said that, Ye Rui felt that reinforcing the army had become urgent indeed. The Abyss Emperor had always left Qingzhou City to fend for itself; even if he didn’t interfere at all, Qingzhou City would still wither away on its own, and everyone’s bitter struggle would become meaningless.

These days, nobody wanted to join the Qingzhou Army, because doing so was seen as a dead end for one’s military career. Ye Rui also didn’t understand what kind of help Zhang Tingluo hoped to find in Jiangnan, or from whom. The Chaoyang Sect in Jiangnan was the Abyss Emperor’s people; if the Emperor found out, who knew how much disaster would be brought to Qingzhou City.

“I want to bring two people with me to Jiangnan. Who among you is willing to go?”

Zhang Tingluo’s gaze swept over everyone, but they all looked at one another, clearly with no intention of leaving at a time when the camp was this busy.

In the end, Li Yan spoke first. “Marshal, I recommend Ye Rui and Lu Yihua.”

Ye Rui: “?”

She even felt like she was being set up! She didn’t want to go to Jiangnan at all. What if Xie Tinglan found her there?

“Oh? Tell me why.”

Lu Yihua was not in the tent. She was now the squad’s sergeant under Ye Rui, and the two of them worked together with the greatest understanding and coordination; the entire twelfth squad called them the Twelfth Squad’s Double Stars.

“Ye Rui and Lu Yihua came from the Capital City and passed through Jiangnan on the way, so they’re somewhat familiar with it. Besides, they’re both quick-witted, so I’m sure they can help the Marshal.”

Li Yan’s reasons were broad enough to be vague, yet still made some sense. Ye Rui was almost fooled into thinking she was actually the best candidate. But she really didn’t want to go to Jiangnan. What if she was discovered?

When Zhang Tingluo heard that, his gaze fell on Ye Rui. “What does Captain Ye think?”

The corner of Ye Rui’s mouth twitched. Seeing Zhang Tingluo looking at her with such expectation, did she even have room to refuse? Forget it. Maybe hanging around Zhang Tingluo would help her become a Captain; at worst, she’d just wear a mask. That should keep her from being recognized, right?

“Yes, sir!”

Ye Rui clasped her fists and accepted. Somehow, it felt like Zhang Tingluo had already intended to choose her, and with Li Yan’s recommendation on top of that, she felt like she had been sold by the two of them.

News that Ye Rui was about to leave for Jiangnan quickly reached Mu Xue. Mu Xue wasn’t surprised that Zhang Tingluo would go to Jiangnan.

Jiangnan had beautiful mountains and waters; it was full of small sects and the wandering heroes and outlaws of the martial world, with at least several hundred of them staying there. Zhang Tingluo’s target was naturally these people.

He knew they had never been loyal to the court, but the enemy of your enemy was a friend. He could also use their connections to recruit even more people; he just couldn’t make too big a move. If the one in the Capital City found out, she would likely be furious.

This operation could be called a risky move, but it was very much Zhang Tingluo’s style.

Besides, with Zhang Tingluo’s temperament, he should be able to become fast friends with those jianghu heroes quickly. It was just a matter of how long it would take to finish the job; he couldn’t stay away from camp for too long.

The schedule was tight. Before Ye Rui left, Mu Xue had someone send over a letter and a mask. The mask was exactly what Ye Rui needed; it was a huge help.

The letter contained only a few words: be careful in everything. There was nothing else in particular.

The three of them mounted their horses and rode off into the distance, their fine clothes fluttering as they left Qingzhou City.

They hurried almost nonstop. Along the way, Zhang Tingluo took excellent care of the two of them; he handled all their food, drink, and lodging, practically the template of a model superior. Zhang Tingluo was also a very humorous man. Along the road, he told them amusing stories from before he joined the army.

It turned out that before becoming a soldier, he had been a wandering jianghu man, even a bandit. He robbed the rich to aid the poor. He had thought he could live a life of such carefree vengeance and justice forever, but when he and his brothers passed through Qingzhou City and saw with their own eyes how the soldiers fought the barbarians, he felt admiration and developed greater ambitions.

He took his brothers and enlisted. Sixteen years passed; all the brothers who had joined him had already died in battle, while he had climbed step by step to his current position as Marshal and held Qingzhou City for sixteen years.

The jianghu seemed very far away from him now. Yet when he entered Jiangnan again, it was like old memories returning in a dream, and on the journey he couldn’t help telling Ye Rui and the others a little more.

For example, how he met those heroes of the martial world; how he fought the immortal women of the Wangshu Sect and still didn’t lose ground; how he toyed with the shameless little disciples of the Chaoyang Sect until they were completely spun around. He had once eaten meat and drunk wine in Jiangnan, listened to the wind and welcomed the rain; those had been the most unrestrained days of his youth.

The red glow of the campfire fell across Zhang Tingluo’s face. The flames swayed in the evening breeze, making him look even more spirited and unrestrained.

Everyone has a hot-blooded youth. What about Xie Tinglan? At twelve, she had already become a secretary-lady scribe, stepping into a place as precarious as walking on thin ice at the freest, most carefree age of her life.

Her life seemed like an endless night.

Still, hearing Zhang Tingluo talk about those useless Chaoyang Sect disciples, Ye Rui couldn’t help complaining inwardly: the Chaoyang Sect really had every trait of a villain faction. It was exactly that annoying; not a single disciple seemed decent.

The warhorses in the military camp were truly remarkable. What should have taken half a month was brutally cut down to six days, and the horses showed no discomfort at all.

When they returned to Jiangnan, the weather had already warmed. The snow was gone, but the streets, the alleys, and the bridges over flowing water were still veiled in mist. Willows drooped and swayed like a young woman’s slender hands, beautiful as a fairyland.

Zhang Tingluo had also altered his appearance slightly, attaching a big beard and thick eyebrows to himself, forcibly turning himself into a rough Jianghu man. Lu Yihua did not disguise herself; she was probably the least troubled of the three, since no one recognized her anyway.

As soon as Zhang Tingluo entered Jiangnan, he first found a tavern to eat and drink in. It seemed he had been choked by the no-alcohol rules in the military camp for far too long and could no longer restrain himself, wanting to let loose at last.

Watching Zhang Tingluo gulp down wine in front of her, the liquor running from the corner of his mouth and wetting the fake beard, Ye Rui was left speechless.

So even the great Marshal of Qingzhou City could abuse his power for personal gain and drink in violation of the rules.

Zhang Tingluo had been Marshal for three years. He had spent quite a bit of his stipend on coffins and burials for his brothers, but he had still saved some. Right now, he didn’t care at all; he drank and ate meat in big mouthfuls, and Ye Rui and Lu Yihua benefited as well.

The tavern they sat in was in the middle of the busy district. Outside, people came and went in streams; inside, voices buzzed everywhere. Most of the people there carried weapons, wore bamboo hats, or had long swords and curved blades at their waists. Clearly, they were all people of the martial world.

They spoke in dialects from all over. Some of them Ye Rui couldn’t even understand. Occasionally, they would switch to the Great Yan language she could understand; clearly, they had roamed far and wide for a long time, learning all kinds of things and speaking in a mixed-up way.

That made it easier for them to deal with people from every region and every background.

Soon, a warmhearted jianghu man came over to strike up a conversation. He was a tall and lean swordsman, steps light but breathing short and quick. He was probably skilled in qinggong, though his martial arts themselves were a bit weaker. He came over with a bottle of wine, half-drunk and half-sober, and asked about the relationship between Zhang Tingluo and the Ye-Lu pair. Zhang Tingluo laughed loudly and said, “These two are my daughters. Their martial arts are excellent!”

Ye Rui: “……”

Lu Yihua: “……”

Then the swordsman asked why Ye Rui wore a mask. Ye Rui said, “I was injured in a martial contest years ago and was disfigured, so I wear this mask to cover the scars.”

The swordsman comforted her a few words, and then Zhang Tingluo began asking about recent developments in Jiangnan. At first there had only been one person who came over to chat, but once they saw the conversation getting lively, several enthusiastic swordsmen and blade-wielders gathered around, talking about their own impressive travels through the jianghu.

Naturally, some of them wanted to get acquainted with Ye Rui and Lu Yihua, and they deliberately or unintentionally steered the topic toward the two of them. But neither woman pretended to miss the overtures; they simply nodded and stayed silent, casually brushing things off.

They stayed in the tavern for an hour. Zhang Tingluo drank three whole jars of wine and dealt with all sorts of people with left-and-right responses. When those people still wanted to drag him into more drinking, he could only claim he was drunk and had important business to handle, and only then did they let him go.

Fortunately, all that maneuvering had not been a waste of time; the three of them had also gathered some of the information they wanted.

Zhang Tingluo turned back toward the tavern’s loosely connected martial heroes and cupped his fists in farewell. He had still been a little tipsy inside, but not long after leaving the tavern, his expression turned solemn and his eyes clear.

He shook off the drunken haze and said calmly, “Let’s find an inn, discuss where to gather intelligence next, and then decide on our next move.”

Ye Rui had thought he was truly drunk. He had been drinking one cup after another without stopping, but now that she looked at him, aside from a slightly flushed face, where was there any sign of drunkenness at all? Ye Rui couldn’t help but sigh. Sure enough, life was like a play; everyone needed at least a little acting skill to get by.

The Jiangnan mist and rain were dense, like ink spilled over the world. A gentle breeze blew, and even the willows’ posture was so alluring that people couldn’t help but stop and look. The three of them crossed several small bridges and checked into a relatively secluded inn, where they discussed their next plan to split into three directions.

Zhang Tingluo took two guest rooms. After they settled in, the three of them gathered to talk. After some discussion, Zhang Tingluo would go to the most tangled and mixed-up place, Liufeng Market; Ye Rui would go to the most commercially prosperous place, Banhua Market; and Lu Yihua would head to the most direct route near the Chaoyang and Wangshu Sects, the Golden Pavilion.

Zhang Tingluo set a target of three days. Everyone was to gather as much information as possible about the local small martial sects and the bandits and outlaws in the area.

By then, he would still need to spend some time persuading them to enlist, and he hoped everything would go smoothly.

Banhua Market was also a place Ye Rui had heard scholars and elegant drifters mention in the Capital City.

“The flowers overwhelm the market, the song drifts far away; spring water flows through the streets, and the scent of wine is rich.”

The “flowers” referred to the young ladies of Banhua Market. When they went out, they were always a pleasure to behold, and when they spoke, their voices were as lovely as singing; they were one of the market’s great sights. Banhua Market also had many taverns and wine houses. High officials, merchants, scholars, and romantic wanderers all loved lingering there, drinking and enjoying themselves. The wine was intoxicating, and so was the scenery.

Last time, she had passed through in a hurry and left in a hurry. This time, even with a task on her shoulders, Ye Rui still had to properly see for herself what a paradise on earth Banhua Market was.

Lu Yihua had been a jianghu person before, and handling jianghu people was second nature to her. Zhang Tingluo, needless to say, was even more at ease; once a few cups of yellow wine went down, he could already start calling people brothers. Ye Rui, on the other hand, felt rather constrained and had no idea how to begin.

Banhua Market had fewer wandering martial artists and more scions of great families, so Ye Rui found no entry point for a while. She wandered all afternoon and still found nothing, so she could only eat first and think of a plan.

She picked a small restaurant for dinner. There weren’t many people inside, so Ye Rui sat eating in a corner of the main hall when she suddenly caught sight of an extraordinary woman on the second floor. For a split second, Ye Rui was so startled she nearly had a heart attack.

How could Helian Shaohua be here? That was Ye Rui’s first reaction.

But when she looked more carefully, she realized it wasn’t Helian Shaohua, but a woman with about sixty percent the same face. She wore a black crossed-collar long robe, silver peacock patterns embroidered into the fabric; just from the workmanship, one could tell it was expensive.

She leaned against the railing on the second floor, her naturally seductive gaze fixed on the main door, as if waiting for someone.

Ye Rui was very curious about the woman’s identity. Her bearing wasn’t like Helian Shaohua’s, but Helian Shaohua had left such a deep impression on her that a face like that... there was no way it could look this similar.

Helian Shaohua had seemed gentle and cool, with an easy and generous air, like water able to hold everything within it. Of course, that was only the surface, stripping away the dangerous undertone beneath.

But this woman had a fierce, decisive harshness in her brows and eyes; at the same time, there was a trace of allure softening that sharpness. Combined together, it formed a face impossible to forget.

Who was she waiting for?

Ye Rui’s gossip instincts immediately ignited. She even had the urge to dig into the woman’s identity. Then, before she knew it, after another woman walked in, her gossip spirit soared to an unprecedented peak.

Wasn’t that Moon Immortal, the one who glimpsed the moon in the cold light!?

Moon Immortal glanced up at the woman, then went with the one who looked so much like Helian Shaohua into a private room.

Suddenly, Ye Rui’s braised beef no longer smelled good. She finished her meal in a hurry, then asked the shopkeeper for the room next to theirs. This time, she could not exactly be a proper lady anymore.

Who needed to be proper when there was gossip to hear!

Seeing Moon Immortal’s expression just now, Ye Rui was so excited she was practically sweating. The way she looked at that woman clearly held resentment, yet her cheeks carried a faint flush. Ye Rui had, after all, once had a fake romance of her own; she understood that expression at a glance.

Those two definitely had something going on!

Fortunately, her martial arts were now very high. Concealing her aura so Moon Immortal wouldn’t notice her was extremely easy, since her martial arts were already above Moon Immortal’s now.

The private rooms in the restaurant were not particularly luxurious; they were just small rooms with a table for dining, a cabinet holding a few cheap imitation antiques, and a landscape-painting screen. The only good thing was that the soundproofing was decent.

Ye Rui pressed her ear tightly against the wall and circulated internal energy to sharpen her hearing. Very soon, the faint sounds of speech from next door grew clearer and clearer.

“If you had nothing to do, you wouldn’t come looking for me, would you, Helian Duanhua?”

It was Moon Immortal’s voice. The moment Ye Rui heard the four words “Helian Duanhua,” her scalp prickled. If this person wasn’t Helian Shaohua’s elder sister, then she was her younger sister. But why had she never heard Xie Tinglan mention her before? Why had the common gossip in the world never mentioned her either?

“Shuangqiu...”

Shuangqiu, Lin Shuangqiu; that was Moon Immortal’s real name. Only, her title as Moon Immortal had become so famous that, little by little, people forgot her birth name.

Helian Duanhua’s single “Shuangqiu” was full of tenderness. Ye Rui couldn’t help getting goosebumps. If those two weren’t involved, she would eat that landscape screen whole!

In the other room, Helian Duanhua embraced Lin Shuangqiu from behind. Her fine clothes, along with the scent and warmth from her body, wrapped around Lin Shuangqiu, carrying an indescribable apology, like snow falling onto smashed flowers. Lin Shuangqiu struggled a couple of times, but she didn’t truly break free. She bit her lip and frowned, hating herself for being useless, unable to ever really harden her heart toward this person.

“This time, why aren’t you pretending to be crazy and foolish anymore?”

Lin Shuangqiu’s cool features were tinged with thin anger. As if remembering something, she abruptly broke free from Helian Duanhua’s embrace. As she turned, she ran straight into that person’s guilty gaze.

“Shuangqiu, I have used you, but my feelings for you are real as well.”

Helian Duanhua’s eyes reddened slightly, and all the sharpness in her brows vanished. Those beautiful, alluring eyes held a sheen of moisture, shimmering within like the gentle moon of autumn. “When I was pretending to be crazy and foolish, only you... only you treated me with sincerity, only you treated me well.”

“I, Helian Duanhua, am not a good person. But my feelings for you are real.”

Helian Duanhua spoke firmly, but Lin Shuangqiu gave a cold laugh. “Do you dare say you came to Jiangnan this time with no ulterior motive?”

Helian Duanhua said nothing. Lin Shuangqiu kept staring at her, and the silent confrontation turned the sincerity she had just spoken into nothing more than a hollow sound in the air.

“Fine. Then tell me; what do you want this time?”

Lin Shuangqiu seemed utterly disappointed. She no longer looked at Helian Duanhua. The hand gripping her long sword trembled, as though she wanted nothing more than to strike down the person before her, to sever the obstruction that always appeared whenever she was on the verge of breaking through her realm; her inner demon.

No one knew that the peerless genius Moon Immortal had made no progress in internal cultivation for months, all because of a woman.

Internal cultivation was most taboo when it came to fixation and forced pursuit. Lin Shuangqiu had both. If she continued cultivating by force, she might well go mad from qi deviation and have her meridians shattered.

Helian Duanhua turned her back and silently walked to the window. Lin Shuangqiu looked at that profile and saw no trace of the silly, foolish smile from her memories. She would no longer stupidly chase after her, no longer be happy all day because she got something fun or delicious, no longer circle around her.

Or perhaps, that Helian Duanhua had never existed at all. It had only been a performance she had played for half her life.

Lin Shuangqiu should have been happy that Helian Duanhua was not truly a fool, but when she learned that Helian Duanhua and her own master had long been in league with each other, she realized she was the fool all along; kept in the dark, stupidly falling in love, day after day hoping for this foolish girl to come to Jiangnan.

A Moon Immortal sought after by everyone in the jianghu had fallen for a fool, and had even thought about how to help her escape from the Helian household’s cage.

In the end, she herself was the one trapped in a cage.

The tasks assigned by her sect were, nine times out of ten, things Helian Duanhua wanted done: killing some villain, some corrupt official, splitting apart the Chaoyang Sect, and so on. Lin Shuangqiu had thought she was upholding justice and punishing evil. In truth, she had only ever been one of Helian Duanhua’s pieces, a pastime for her idle moments.

And now she was the head of the Helian family, the most powerful woman in the household, with a younger sister who was Empress in the imperial family.

As a mere martial artist, she truly wasn’t worthy. Perhaps she had only ever been fit to be a chess piece.

“Shuangqiu, I’ve already discussed what I seek with your master. This time I came not only to look for someone, but also to see you.”

As she said that, Helian Duanhua looked at Lin Shuangqiu and continued, “I deceived you because I had reasons I could not speak of. If you are willing to listen, I will tell you everything. I don’t ask for your understanding, but I will never give up on you.”

She had spent half her life pretending to be crazy and foolish for this day; whatever she had set out to do, she would accomplish it no matter what, even when it came to feelings.

She knew Lin Shuangqiu hated deceit most of all. When she had still been acting the fool, Lin Shuangqiu had once told her everything about her own past.

She had been born into poverty, with a father who died young, living in mutual dependence with her mother. When she was little, her mother lied and said she was going out to find something to eat. Lin Shuangqiu waited a day and a night, and when she could no longer bear the hunger, she went out to beg.

On the road, she saw her mother walking side by side with another man, their posture intimate. Lin Shuangqiu had just opened her mouth to call out, but her mother had already briskly walked away to avoid her. Helian Duanhua still remembered the loneliness and tears in Lin Shuangqiu’s eyes when she told her this.

Even as a child, she seemed able to see through other people’s disgust. She did not chase after them. She only used the two copper coins she had begged to buy steamed buns and fill her stomach, then went back to that sparsely furnished home.

Home. Did she even still have one then?

Later, a neighboring auntie saw how pitiful she was, curled up alone in a corner of that mud-brick house and crying, so she told Lin Shuangqiu that her mother would not be returning; she had already married another man.

Afterward, that auntie took Lin Shuangqiu in and gave her food to eat. It was not until she was ten, when the Wangshu Sect’s leader, Daoist Guan Yue, saw that she had extraordinary bones and talent, that she was taken into the Wangshu Sect, as if reborn.

At fourteen, the peerless genius she was received especially focused training from the sect. At that time, she had a senior sister with whom she was very close; they ate and slept together every day, like real sisters. But once Daoist Guan Yue intended to pass the future position of sect leader to Lin Shuangqiu, that senior sister changed.

On the surface, the senior sister still acted friendly with Lin Shuangqiu, but during one critical moment in Lin Shuangqiu’s cultivation, that very same senior sister, who was supposed to protect her, forcibly interrupted her and nearly sent Lin Shuangqiu into qi deviation, shattering her meridians and killing her.

Though she managed to steady her mind in time, Lin Shuangqiu was still badly injured because of it and spent three months recovering. That senior sister was stripped of her martial arts by Daoist Guan Yue and intended to be expelled from the sect. But unwilling to suffer such humiliation, she took her own life before the mountain gates.

What Lin Shuangqiu hated most was betrayal after being shown warmth. What she hated most was deceit with ulterior motives.

“I once felt guilty over the vile thoughts I’d had.”

Lin Shuangqiu’s tone settled into calmness. Yet this made Helian Duanhua even more afraid; she did not want Lin Shuangqiu drifting farther and farther away from her.

“I would even think that it would be fine if you were truly a fool, because then you would never deceive me.”

After saying that, Lin Shuangqiu suddenly gave a tragic smile, then looked up and sighed. “Perhaps I, Lin Shuangqiu, was never destined to deserve love!”

Thinking back on the past, it seemed as if her body had already been drained of strength. Being deceived and betrayed might simply be her fate!

Helian Duanhua stepped forward and grabbed Lin Shuangqiu’s hand. Lin Shuangqiu did not struggle and did not look at her, wanting to avoid any eye contact with Helian Duanhua at all. Neither of them said anything. Helian Duanhua just looked at Lin Shuangqiu’s hand, her red lips moving, but nothing came out.

“This may be a good thing, right? The person I like is actually not a fool, but the head of a great clan. But Helian Duanhua, I don’t want to see you right now.”

When Lin Shuangqiu broke free from Helian Duanhua, she added, “Coming to see you was my way of bringing this to an end.”

With that, Lin Shuangqiu strode away without looking back, as though she would never again be attached to anything from the past.

Helian Duanhua’s gaze, however, fell on the sword tassel at Lin Shuangqiu’s waist. It was clearly the one she had made and given her with her own hands.

An end? No, they would never end!

“Once I find Ye Rui’s whereabouts, I will come find you again.”

Helian Duanhua did not know whether Lin Shuangqiu had heard her, but she would definitely do it. She would properly make amends!

At that very moment, in the neighboring room, Ye Rui had not expected that the gossip she was enjoying would turn out to be about herself. She had been having a great time when a cold sweat suddenly broke out across her body.

Finished. Someone from the Helian family was also looking for her!

For a moment, Ye Rui thought about immediately fleeing back to Qingzhou City. But with the matter here still unresolved, how could she leave?

No. She needed to speed up gathering intelligence and try to leave Jiangnan as soon as possible!

**

A not-too-big and not-too-small incident occurred in the Capital City. The Ministry of Revenue’s Vice Minister, Feng Zailei, caused trouble at the Misty Rain Tower and was killed with one strike; the murderer remained unknown.

The night Feng Zailei was killed, Huan Jing immediately returned to the residence to report.

“My lord, I believe my disguise was flawless.”

In the study, candlelight flickered. Xie Tinglan was still reviewing official memorials, while Huan Jing stood with her hands on her hips, her round face full of confusion. She went on, “I injected a thread of true qi into Feng Zailei’s Crown Point, driving him mad. In the end, that court physician killed him.”

Speaking of this, Huan Jing’s eyes widened as if remembering something. “Right, my lord, the one who killed him was that court physician. She looked like a master of hidden weapons; her moves were covert, even more formidable than Ri Xi! And she even glared at me at the end, as if not only had she seen through my identity, she also knew about my ‘good deed’!”

Huan Jing didn’t care whether Xie Tinglan was listening or not. After saying all that, she paced around the room, a little afraid her identity had been exposed, and even took out a mirror to check her face several times.

Thinking back on her makeup just now, it had definitely been flawless. How could that be wrong?

“That woman’s intimate companions are hardly ordinary people.”

Xie Tinglan raised her head and looked at Huan Jing, saying calmly, “The court physician was surely able to see through your identity. Her internal cultivation is probably of the same source as that woman’s, so she can keenly sense other people’s internal energy. And...”

Now Huan Jing panicked. Being seen through was already a grave mistake; and then there was an “and”? Wasn’t this a capital offense?

“And how do you know she isn’t a disguise expert even better than you?”

The moment those words came out, Huan Jing practically bristled. She was the most confident in her own disguise skills. How could someone possibly see through her disguises, let alone be a disguise expert better than her?

“How could that be, my lord~ Are you teasing me?”

Although Huan Jing was afraid of Xie Tinglan, she was very good at reading faces. Xie Tinglan seemed to be in a good mood today, which was why she dared to speak so recklessly.

Xie Tinglan shook her head and said seriously, “In those days, the common people only knew of the battlefield marshal who guarded the city and defended the country; they did not know she also had a versatile deputy general.”

“They were life-and-death friends; the kind of existence who could die for each other without hesitation. Moreover, that person is not easy to provoke. Since she sold us a favor today, tomorrow you should send over a gift to thank her.”

After Ye Rui went missing, Xie Tinglan had always treated Misty Rain Tower with respect and did not dare offend them, because Mu Xue was holding her weakness.

Huan Jing thought Xie Tinglan had changed; she had become more restrained. At least in how she dealt with Misty Rain Tower, she was no longer as arrogant as she was at court.

“Yes, I’ll go again tomorrow.”

After Huan Jing left, Xie Tinglan tidied away all the memorials, put on her fur cloak, and took a lantern with a dim flame. But she did not return to her sleeping quarters; instead, she went to Smokecloud Courtyard.

Once again, she entered Ye Rui’s room, lit a candle, then pulled a book from Ye Rui’s bookshelf. She sat by the bed, leaning against the headboard, and opened it to read.

She had kept up this habit for a month now, as if doing so could offset her longing; as if doing so could make her feel that Ye Rui had only temporarily gone home to handle matters.

She would come back. Xie Tinglan always told herself that.

If you don’t come back...

Then I’ll come find you.

-----------------------

Author’s note: Who doesn’t love a good gossip?

Ye Rui: I came for gossip and ended up with a breakup showdown!