Baili Weisheng shot the Gu nanny one last vicious glare, seizing the chance to flee far away. But he didn’t leave immediately — instead, he crouched at a distance, staring fixedly at Nanny Qin, his blood-red eyes filled with malice, yet also with fear and wariness, like some wild beast that had been violated and wounded, staring down the hunter who’d struck it.
The Gu nanny had no thought left to spare for chasing after him. She had never imagined the Gu-child would fake unconsciousness, and even less that, while his mind was being ravaged by the Gu sound, he would still manage to fight back.
After all, the Gu-child’s whole body was steeped in poison — being bitten by him was far worse than being bitten by a venomous snake. The Gu nanny was far too preoccupied with detoxifying herself and saving her own life to spare a thought for Baili Weisheng.
Baili Weisheng stared at her for a moment longer, confirming there was no more danger, then turned and vanished into the forest.
Meanwhile, Ziqing, who was currently on her way toward the small Mobei town, suddenly stopped short.
“What’s wrong?” Jun Beiyue asked, puzzled.
“Just now, I thought I heard some kind of sound, very faint…” Ziqing murmured to herself. Anyone attuned to music was always especially sensitive to sound.
“Did you?” Jun Beiyue asked, doubtful. Beside him, Yelu Qianqian shook her head, indicating she hadn’t heard anything either.
“Maybe I misheard.” Ziqing said, still uncertain, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“You’re too exhausted. You really need proper rest!” Jun Beiyue said, drawing Ziqing in close against his chest.
Yelu Qianqian, who seemed almost instinctively afraid of Jun Beiyue, nodded along eagerly. “Right, right! Ziqing, I’ll have a carriage prepared once we’re back. When we reach Akbachu, I’ll find you the best imperial physician to nurse you back to health!”
Ziqing smiled and nodded, not bothering to explain much further — Yelu Qianqian really was such a simple, straightforward girl!
She hardly had time to rest properly. In truth, Jun Beiyue alone could have easily escorted Yelu Qianqian back to Akbachu — she should have stayed behind, preparing for battle instead.
She had already given the order for the Nili Corps to bring what limited gunpowder they had to Mobei — she really should have stayed to oversee the deployment of everything herself.
Only, she hadn’t explained any of this, and Jun Beiyue hadn’t asked either. The two of them shared an unspoken understanding, choosing not to say it aloud, escorting Yelu Qianqian together — when in truth, all either of them really wanted was just a little more time together.
There was still so much left unsaid between them, and yet, even if every last word had been spoken, neither could bear to part — they simply wanted to lean quietly on each other, side by side.
Sometimes, it’s only after being apart that you truly understand how precious it is to be together.
The village of the small Mobei town was already visible in the distance. Ziqing paid no more mind to that strange sound, and, along with Jun Beiyue and Qianqian, unconsciously quickened her pace.
She had no idea that a great deal of trouble was waiting for her at the Yu family’s home in Mobei, nor did she know that, deep in the snow-covered forest behind her, the true torment was only just beginning for the man who had always wanted to bring her home…
Baili Weisheng fled through the forest like a madman, like a wounded beast, like a terrified child.
His once clear, limpid eyes were now blood-red as a demon’s, brimming with ferocity, fear, unease, tension, confusion…
He ran without any destination, weaving through the forest, paying no attention at all to the tree trunks blocking his path — he simply crashed straight through one, knocking it clean over!
He tore through the forest like a whirlwind, and by the time the sun had set and darkness had fully descended, he finally grew still.
He hid himself in a small cave, curled up into a tight ball, arms wrapped around his knees, eyes wide open, staring into the darkness ahead — no one knew what he was looking at, or what he was waiting for.
Coming closer, one could hear him murmuring to himself, “Bring her home… bring her home… bring her home?”
Why bring her home?
Amid the Gu nanny’s Gu sound, just as the urge to kill Han Ziqing had surfaced in his mind, another voice had begun murmuring softly in his ear!
At first he hadn’t been able to make it out clearly. But now, in this stillness, he finally heard it clearly — a voice that was intensely, achingly familiar.
“Miss, the ancients said men and women shouldn’t touch without proper cause — please don’t come any closer!”
“I’m a scholar come to Li Shao Mountain to seek a teacher. I sit the imperial exams year after year and fail every single time, so I’ve come here hoping Prince Baxian will take me on as his student.”
…
His brow furrowed tight, his head splitting with pain, he struggled desperately to make out the words, yet couldn’t tell who exactly was speaking.
“Miss, you have injured my body, the very flesh my parents gave me, and thereby made me unfilial — you must agree to come home with me and meet my parents!”
“Even if you’re Prince Yao’s consort, you have injured my body time and again, wronged my parents time and again — you must come back with me to meet them!”
…
“Meet my parents… meet my parents…” Baili Weisheng murmured to himself, his mind still not fully clear. “Meet my parents… why meet my parents… whose parents…”
Suddenly, another voice surfaced from deep within his mind, and this time, he recognized it at once!
It was the Gu nanny’s voice — from before he’d even been discovered as someone immune to all poisons. The Gu nanny had doted on him so dearly back then, had loved the culture of the Central Plains, and had taught him countless sayings from the ancients.
The Gu nanny had told him, “Gu-child, you must remember this — when you grow up, don’t be reckless like the rest of us Xiongnu. If you ever fall in love with a girl, you must cherish her, dote on her, protect her. You must treat her as something sacred, something no one is ever allowed to harm.”
That memory from childhood gradually resurfaced in his mind, carried along by that voice.
He’d still been very small, standing in a dimly lit temple, looking so tiny before the towering idol. He’d blinked his clear, bright eyes up at the Gu nanny, and she had gently stroked his head, telling him with the utmost seriousness, “Gu-child, if you ever fall in love with a girl and want to marry her, you must bring her home — bring her home to meet your father and mother. You have no father or mother of your own, so I am your mother. You must bring her back to show me!”
“Bring her home… bring her home…”
Baili Weisheng began murmuring again, and then, suddenly, without quite knowing why, he whispered, “Little Qingqing, I will definitely bring you home.”
At last, he remembered. He remembered whose voice this was.
This voice — it was his own. It belonged to Baili Weisheng!
He remembered. He remembered who he was!
“Little Qingqing, one day, I will bring you home.” he said, and suddenly he laughed. The fear, the ferocity, the confusion in his eyes gradually dissolved along with his smile, and his mind cleared at last.
Someone whose mind had once been cultivated could never understand love, could never grasp the feelings between a man and a woman.
The smile at the corners of Baili Weisheng’s lips grew warmer and warmer, more and more brilliant. He drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out, the confusion, agony, torment, and memories of a moment ago already forgotten.
He grinned, then reached back and yanked the dagger clean out of his chest, hissing sharply at the pain, cursing under his breath, “You old hag! I swear I will send Han Ziqing to the isolated island! You’ll never cultivate another Gu as long as you live!”
He didn’t know why he hadn’t killed that woman — he figured that since his conscience had won out, he might as well just be a good person about it. Jun Beiyue might have played him dirty before, but little Qingqing was, after all, someone like him.
He tossed the dagger aside, forced himself upright, and without a moment’s hesitation, headed straight in the direction of Akbachu…
…