After Xia Xiuyan and Qiu Xinran departed by boat, Gao Yang and the others led a portion of their men, racing along the river at breakneck speed toward the next town. En route, they received a message transmitted by Xia Xiuyan, so they arranged in advance for an identical passenger ship, arriving early that night to feign docking at Fish Mouth Gorge. Sure enough, at midnight someone took advantage of the darkness to board the ship, only to fall into a trap set by those already lying in ambush on board—catching the turtle in the jar.
But after that, Xia Xiuyan’s passenger ship was nowhere to be seen arriving at the shore. Zhang Rong sensed something had changed and hurriedly dispatched men to investigate along the river. Only then did they learn that when the passenger ship was approaching Fish Mouth Gorge, a great fire had suddenly broken out on board. In the panic, the helmsman lost his bearings and deviated from the original course.
After some discussion among the group, they left Gao Yang to guard the prisoners on the ship while He Zhong and Zhang Rong led a small squad following the current to search the mountains on the northern side of Fish Mouth Gorge. They were unfamiliar with the terrain here, and with the difficulty of traveling mountain paths at night, it took considerable effort before they finally found this place.
He Zhong emerged from the forest and immediately spotted the man standing on the shore holding a sword. His eyes lit up at once, and he shouted loudly, “My Lord!” before immediately running toward him.
Hearing the sound, the crowd behind also felt their spirits lift and immediately followed. Zhang Rong fell back a step, but confirming that Xia Xiuyan was safe and sound, he also breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart. He was raising his torch and about to walk toward the shore when he suddenly noticed a figure in a nearby tree: “Miss Qiu?” He turned his steps and hurried toward the base of the tree.
Qiu Xinran sat in the tree, still somewhat unable to come to her senses. Suddenly hearing someone call her name, she looked down following the sound. Zhang Rong saw she was soaking wet all over, water droplets still dripping down along her dress. Her complexion was somewhat pale, and she shivered slightly as the night wind blew. His brow furrowed tightly as he extended his hand to her: “Come down first. It’s safe now.”
He Zhong ran to Xia Xiuyan’s side in three strides compressed to two. When he saw clearly who the corpses on the ground were, he couldn’t help but be overjoyed: “Qi Kedan is dead?” He turned his head and saw another corpse, then said admiringly, “I wondered why Su Ya wasn’t on the ship. My Lord, you faced two opponents alone and actually killed him as well?”
Xia Xiuyan said flatly, “Su Ya did not die by my hand.”
He Zhong laughed, obviously thinking he was joking: “Then who could it have been?”
Xia Xiuyan looked toward the forest by the shore, just in time to see Qiu Xinran supporting herself on Zhang Rong’s hand, carefully climbing down from the tree. One foot had just touched the ground when she stumbled, nearly falling. Fortunately, the person helping her was quick-eyed and fast-handed, reaching out to steady her waist. The woman then tumbled into his embrace.
Watching this scene before him, Xia Xiuyan couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. Fortunately, the woman quickly straightened up again, raising her head to thank the young man somewhat embarrassedly. Zhang Rong had his back to the shore, so his expression couldn’t be seen clearly. The two stood under the tree and seemed to exchange some words. The man suddenly removed the outer robe he was wearing and draped it over the woman. This time Qiu Xinran didn’t refuse, so he lowered his head and carefully fastened the collar button for her.
He Zhong was ordering men to take the two corpses by the river back when he looked up to see the man before him pressing his lips tightly together, his gaze coldly fixed on the forest with a trace of displeasure. Baffled, He Zhong followed his gaze and looked back as well, just in time to see Zhang Rong supporting Qiu Xinran as they walked out of the forest, apparently reminding her to watch her step. He said knowingly, “Brother Rong is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Earlier when we couldn’t find you in the mountains, he was beside himself with worry. Now seeing you’re safe and sound, he’s too embarrassed to claim credit.” He joked, “Surely My Lord isn’t jealous of Daoist Qiu over this?”
Xia Xiuyan turned his head to look at him, his gaze beyond words. Finally sighing, he said, “Once you’ve finished cleaning up, hurry back. Don’t linger here.” He turned his head to glance at the river surface again, instructing, “Find the passenger ship we were on earlier. Compensate the ship owner for his losses and the merchants on board for their losses—pay them the full price.”
Led by Zhang Rong toward the carriage outside the forest, Qiu Xinran couldn’t help but look back at the riverbank before leaving. The man in white robes was surrounded by a group in the center, turning his head to look at the distant river surface, seemingly saying something to his subordinates. Seeing her stop, Zhang Rong also looked over: “Does Miss still have something to say to His Lordship?”
Qiu Xinran hesitated for a moment. After a while, she still shook her head: “Never mind, it’s nothing urgent.”
By the time the group returned to the inn, dawn was nearly breaking.
Xia Xiuyan hadn’t closed his eyes all night. After returning to the inn, he summoned Gao Yang and the others. Qi Kedan’s death was a matter of great importance that needed to be immediately reported to the court. So everyone drafted the recent events into a document and that very night dispatched someone to rush back to Chang’an with the news.
As for Qiu Xinran, she drank a bowl of ginger tea upon returning, took a hot bath, and then collapsed into sleep. However, she slept very restlessly that night, having many nightmares. Sometimes she dreamed of being hunted, sometimes of falling into the river. Finally, she dreamed she was dressed in phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, apparently about to marry someone. After the bridal veil was lifted, Xia Xiuyan stood before the bed in groom’s attire, smiling at her. He leaned down, pointing at her chest, saying teasingly, “Daoist’s heart is beating so fast.” A blush flew across her face. Just as she was about to speak to cover it up, she saw him ask coldly, “But where did you get this heart? After coming down the mountain, have you found your Dao heart?”
Qiu Xinran was immediately frightened into a shudder. When she opened her eyes again, the sun’s rays slanted westward outside the window. She stared at the bed canopy above her head, couldn’t help but reach up to touch her chest where a heart was pounding “thump-thump.” It was a long while before her heartbeat gradually steadied.
The inn Gao Yang had reserved in town was a courtyard of moderate size with more than ten rooms inside and out. Gao Yue, Zhang Hui, and the others arrived on the afternoon of the third day.
That afternoon, Qiu Xinran was sitting in her room when she suddenly heard a commotion outside. Pushing open the window to look, there were carriages stopped in the courtyard unloading trunks. Gao Yue happened to pass by her door and, seeing her, stopped and raised an eyebrow: “I heard you killed Su Ya?”
Qiu Xinran had only learned not long ago that the scarred man she had shot and killed that day was named Su Ya, a great general under Qi Kedan. Seeing she didn’t deny it, Gao Yue sighed admiringly, “I underestimated you.” Then she sighed with some regret, “What a pity I had an injury on my shoulder, otherwise I definitely would have come along with you all. Perhaps today it would be me who killed Su Ya.”
Hearing her say this, Qiu Xinran couldn’t help but let her gaze fall on her left shoulder: “Is Miss’s injury healed?”
Gao Yue waved her hand carelessly: “It was just a flesh wound to begin with. Sister Hui made such a fuss, watching me all day long and not letting me pick up a single thing—it nearly suffocated me.”
“Sister Hui?”
Gao Yue’s face flushed red as she said impatiently, “What else would I call her if not Sister Hui?”
Qiu Xinran looked at her with a half-smile. Gao Yue felt uncomfortable under her gaze, waved her hand, picked up her bundle, and returned to her room.
However, this reminded her of something. Qiu Xinran went into her room and rummaged through a trunk to pull out a man’s outer robe—it was the one Zhang Rong had taken off and given her that day by the river. It had now been washed clean, but these past few days she had kept forgetting to return it to him. She stared at the garment for a while, sighed, and decided to return the clothing first.
When Zhang Hui knocked on Xia Xiuyan’s door carrying a small wooden box, he was sitting in the room examining a topographical map of the surrounding area. Pushing open the door and seeing it was Zhang Hui, he couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised.
The woman performed a bow to him, then raised her head and smiled slightly at him: “As soon as I returned, I heard about the matter with Qi Kedan and wanted to come see My Lord.” Seeing that Xia Xiuyan had no external injuries, she added, “But seeing My Lord is unharmed, I’m also relieved.”
Xia Xiuyan nodded to her: “Thank you for your concern.” Though his tone couldn’t be called cold, it absolutely couldn’t be called warm either.
Zhang Hui thought back to their time at Fangchi Garden—that was when she felt closest to him. Sometimes when it was just the two of them in Mianxia Courtyard, he would often sit in the water pavilion for an entire day. Quite a few people in the capital who had heard of the Marquis of Dingbei’s reputation came to the garden wanting to make his acquaintance, but he never received them. Except for one time when a female guest dressed in men’s clothing sat in the poolside pavilion outside the water pavilion, chatting with a companion in the pavilion. The woman’s voice was clear and lively, like an oriole in early spring—just hearing the voice made one feel full of vitality. The man sat by the window with one hand supporting his head when, in the night, a soft laugh suddenly escaped from the corner of his lips.
Zhang Hui had glanced over and was startled in her heart. At that moment, a strange thought suddenly surfaced in her mind: If today it had been this guest who came seeking an audience, Xia Xiuyan surely would not have refused.
“Does Miss Zhang have other business?” The man standing at the door, seeing she seemed lost in thought, couldn’t help but speak up as a reminder.
Zhang Hui returned to her senses and remembered the main matter. She handed him the small wooden box in her hand: “This is white sandalwood incense I brought back from Chang’an. My Lord doesn’t sleep soundly at night, and I recall this incense seems to have some efficacy, so I brought it over again.”
Xia Xiuyan glanced at the small wooden box but didn’t reach out to take it: “Miss Zhang is thoughtful, but this incense actually has no effect on me.”
Zhang Hui was stunned: “But at Fangchi Garden…”
Xia Xiuyan said, “I often stayed at Fangchi Garden. If I didn’t let my body absorb some of the incense scent, I couldn’t gain people’s trust.”
She hadn’t expected this to be the reason and couldn’t help but stammer, “I see. I thought…”
Xia Xiuyan looked at her: “Miss Zhang just returned. Why not go back to your room and rest well first?” As he spoke, he was about to close the door, but Zhang Hui suddenly felt unwilling to give up and couldn’t help but call out to stop him: “Does My Lord already have someone in his heart?”
Qiu Xinran was carrying Zhang Rong’s outer robe and happened to walk to the corridor when she looked up to see a man and woman standing at the end of the walkway. She was stunned for a moment, her steps also stopping as she heard Xia Xiuyan ask, “Why do you ask this?”
Zhang Hui gripped the wooden box in her hand tightly, saying in a low voice, “My Lord has shown me great kindness. When we return to Lingzhou… I’m willing to serve by your side to repay My Lord’s kindness.” As she spoke, her voice gradually grew softer. She lowered her head extremely low with no further sound, as if waiting for his answer.
Qiu Xinran hadn’t expected to stumble upon this scene and hurriedly turned to retreat. But Xia Xiuyan happened to catch a glimpse of a figure in the corridor hurriedly turning around. He called out sharply, “Stop right there!”
When his voice grew stern, it carried extreme authority. Qiu Xinran was actually stopped in her tracks by his command. She heard him say, “Who’s skulking around? Come out this instant!”
After a long while, finally a figure shuffled hesitantly from behind the corridor into the courtyard. When he saw clearly who it was, Xia Xiuyan couldn’t help but be startled. Qiu Xinran hastily raised the outer robe in her hands, explaining awkwardly, “I… I was actually coming to return these clothes to General Zhang.”
She would have been better off not explaining. Once she did, Xia Xiuyan immediately recalled the scene that day by the river when the man had lowered his head to fasten the collar button for her. His gaze darkened. In a few steps, he reached her side and handed the robe in her hands to Zhang Hui: “Since Miss Zhang is just going to see her brother, why not deliver it for her and save her the trip?”
Zhang Hui reflexively took the clothing and looked at the woman in the courtyard glaring at the person before her with an expression of anger she dared not voice. Yet when Xia Xiuyan saw her like this, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, his expression clearly showing some satisfaction. She suddenly understood. She suddenly remembered that day at Fangchi Garden when someone in the poolside pavilion had shouted a companion’s name in exasperation. Only now did she recall that what they had shouted seemed to be precisely the three words “Qiu Xinran.”
She stood in the courtyard watching the two people who seemed oblivious to others as they bickered with each other. Thinking of the words that had just been interrupted, her face couldn’t help but flush red. It was too awkward to stay any longer. After a curtsy to him, she turned and walked toward Zhang Rong’s courtyard.
Seeing that for the moment only the two of them remained in the courtyard, Qiu Xinran coughed awkwardly twice: “In that case, I’ll also take my leave.”
“Stop.” Xia Xiuyan blocked her path back. “I remember I also still have a piece of clothing at your place. How come I don’t see you washing it clean and returning it to me?”
Hearing this, Qiu Xinran looked at him with a strange expression: “Earlier in the palace, My Lord yourself said you didn’t want those clothes anymore and told me to cut them up and throw them away.”
Xia Xiuyan paused, then said without changing expression, “Just because I said not to return it, you really didn’t return it? Daoist is truly an honest person.”
Qiu Xinran felt this person was being utterly unreasonable. Thinking again of Zhang Hui’s words just now, for some reason her heart also felt somewhat irritable. She said angrily, “If you want it returned, I’ll return it! It’s not like I covet a piece of your clothing!” She glared at him angrily and turned to leave.
Xia Xiuyan actually hadn’t seen her angry much before. When she glared at him, he only felt that her eyes, which usually brimmed with smiles, now showed a few degrees more of sparkling vivacity. The pent-up frustration that had been stuck in his chest unknowingly dissipated like smoke. Finding it amusing, he deliberately drew out his tone, calling, “Where are you going? Is this what I’m talking to you about?”
Looking at the woman before him with her expression of swallowing her anger and refusing to look at him properly, he laughed softly: “Why have you been avoiding me lately?”
Qiu Xinran was startled: “Where have I?” Only after speaking did she realize she had denied it too quickly, exposing a flaw. She deeply felt this person Xia Xiuyan was detestable.
What was even more detestable was that this person’s eyes were still looking down at her with an expression of complete confidence, just waiting for her to confess. Feeling frustrated, as if making some decision, Qiu Xinran suddenly said, “I’m not going to Lingzhou with you anymore.”
The man before her had worn a face like a spring breeze the moment before, but after hearing clearly what she said, the next moment his eyes were immediately covered with frost: “What did you say?”
Qiu Xinran was startled by his tone that was so cold it could shake out ice chips, but immediately mustered her courage and said it again: “I’ve thought it over. The mountains are high and the road is long—I don’t want to go anymore.”
“You don’t want the mansion and the shop in the marketplace either?” Xia Xiuyan asked with a darkened face.
Qiu Xinran wavered for an instant, then said firmly, “I don’t want them!”
“How principled.” They were good words, but they sounded somewhat through gritted teeth. Xia Xiuyan stared at her unblinkingly, his gaze changing several times. After a long while, he asked in a somewhat gentler tone, “Why?”
Because I think I might like you a little. Qiu Xinran thought to herself. The mortal world stretched three thousand zhang deep, and she had plunged headlong into it. Not only had she failed to cultivate a Dao heart, but she had also thrown away her worldly heart in the process.
If she had fallen for some common peddler or laborer, it would have been one thing, but liking Xia Xiuyan was too devastating to bone and sinew.
Qiu Xinran had spent several days holed up in the small courtyard these past days, worrying. She had even cast marriage divination signs for herself. Sometimes they came out as extremely auspicious, other times as extremely inauspicious—it angered her to the point she nearly threw away the divination tube. Finally, lying in her room thinking, she realized she was still more suited to staying on the mountain. Where on the mountain were there so many romantic entanglements? Moreover, she still didn’t know what her Dao heart was for. Could it be she would waste the rest of her life on unrequited love? That would certainly make her the laughingstock of her fellow sect members.
Seeing her expression change a thousand times while her mouth remained sealed like a mute gourd without saying half a sentence, Xia Xiuyan’s heart felt as if she were repeatedly kneading it. Finally unable to bear it, he suddenly turned around sharply, saying coldly, “Since we’ve already come this far, it’s impossible for you to leave now. You’d better go back and prepare properly. We’ll set out tomorrow.”