Qing Xia was slightly startled, but this demoness always acted erratically and never played by the rules, so she didn’t take it to heart. As soon as she sat down, Lin Mubai leaned over to her ear and chattered noisily: “His Majesty disappeared too, and you weren’t around either. I thought you two had abandoned me and secretly run off.”
Qing Xia glared at him fiercely but didn’t respond. Looking up slightly, she saw Miss Tan sitting in the main seat, wearing a light purple silk gown embroidered with blue-green colorful butterflies, which made her appear even more otherworldly and elegantly refined. However, her face was rather pale and her eyes slightly red, clearly indicating this day had not been easy for her.
Seeing Qing Xia’s gaze, Miss Tan smiled faintly, her eyes flickering with hesitation, but she didn’t speak to her.
Qing Xia knew she felt guilty and conflicted toward her at this moment—knowing it was she who had helped her out of trouble, yet still harboring some resentment for harming her beloved, and knowing that Chu Li was on the island, she naturally had doubts about what Qing Xia had said. So she didn’t approach to strike up a conversation either, but simply picked up a cup of rice wine and tilted her head back to gulp it down.
The wine was strong, rolling down her throat like a hot, sharp blade. Qing Xia’s emotions surged, and the image of Zhu Xiaodie’s bloodied little bird from earlier in the day kept appearing before her eyes. She felt as if her heart was being pierced by needles, the pain unbearable, her breathing labored. But in the next moment, the image of Chu Li standing alone among the waist-high grass emerged again, like two giant wheels pulling and tugging at her constantly swaying heart from left and right.
The delicacies and fine dishes on the table lost their luster and appeal. Qing Xia just drank cup after cup of rice wine, and in a short while, her head began to feel dizzy. Round after round of elderly gentlemen came forward to offer toasts. Lin Mubai, helpless, frequently stood up to shield Qing Xia from them. Before long, he too was intoxicated and dizzy, slumping over the table.
Yang Feng naturally knew that Qing Xia was drowning her sorrows in wine. Sighing, he stood up and intercepted every cup that came her way. Lie Yun Ji sat coldly to one side, her small face gradually losing its smile, her lips curling mockingly as she watched Yang Feng, though her heart was full of bitterness. Her large eyes glanced at Qing Xia sitting nearby, and suddenly she let out a cold laugh, her eyes flashing with sharp intensity.
Just then, someone suddenly called out loudly: “Miss Mu Shiyan, the Wise Woman of Penglai, has arrived!”
The strings and woodwinds stopped abruptly, and the beautifully dressed dancers all retreated to one side in unison. Everyone rose together. Qing Xia and Yang Feng exchanged glances and also stood up. Just as they pulled up Lin Mubai, who was hopelessly drunk beside them, a woman in a black robe with bare feet and snow-white skin slowly walked into the great hall.
This woman’s appearance was not particularly outstanding. Her skin was extraordinarily pale, her eye sockets deep-set, her face gaunt, which made her large eyes appear even blacker and brighter. Her willow-leaf eyebrows were finely arched, and her snow-white neck was held high. Though these individual features were not particularly striking, when combined together, they gave this woman an otherworldly temperament. This wasn’t the kind of gentle elegance that Miss Tan’s appearance could convey, but rather an inner intellectual quality radiating outward. Zhu Yuanqing, who was sitting behind Qing Xia, quickly stepped forward to introduce her, saying: “This is the wise woman of our Penglai generation, residing in the Tianji Pavilion in the inner valley. Miss Zhuang hasn’t met her yet.”
Qing Xia was startled upon hearing this. She had long heard Zhu Yuanqing speak of Penglai’s wise women throughout history, but she never expected this generation’s would be such a young woman.
Penglai had been passed down for thousands of years, always revering mechanical and technical studies. Therefore, every ten years, they would hold a scholarly debate assembly, gathering the wise elders of the valley to collectively answer questions that had troubled them over the past decade. The victor would become that generation’s wise woman, becoming the symbol of Penglai’s intellectual pinnacle and receiving great reverence. Qing Xia had heard that the last scholarly debate assembly had been six years ago, and this woman appeared to be only in her early twenties. Six years ago, she would have been merely a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. To stand out among Penglai’s many learned elders at that age was truly extraordinary talent.
She quickly bowed and said: “I’ve long heard of Miss Mu’s great reputation. I never expected to see your true countenance before departing. What great fortune this is.”
Mu Shiyan smiled faintly: “I haven’t left the inner valley for two years. Last night, hearing Uncle Qing speak of Miss Zhuang’s remarkable insights, I simply couldn’t resist coming out to seek guidance. Miss, you still have several days before leaving the valley. Could you spare some time tomorrow to visit Tianji Pavilion and give me the opportunity to listen to your profound discourse?”
How could such a request be refused? Qing Xia nodded in agreement. The woman smiled happily, and though she was young, Qing Xia noticed fine lines at the corners of her eyes. She knew this was from excessive mental strain, and thinking of how all the incredible inventions in Penglai Valley came from the mind of such a delicate woman, she couldn’t help but feel admiration.
Just then, Lin Mubai suddenly retched and lurched forward. Mu Shiyan, being a delicate woman, couldn’t possibly push away this drunkard. With a thud, Lin Mubai heavily pressed down on her. His foot caught on a small table, and his entire face landed on Mu Shiyan’s chest, yet he remained oblivious, even smacking his lips and falling into a deep sleep with loud snores.
Everyone was shocked, shouting loudly as they dragged Lin Mubai up. Mu Shiyan’s pretty face turned bright red, extremely embarrassed. Master Mu’s expression darkened, for this Penglai wise woman not only represented Penglai’s intellectual dignity but was also his daughter. If not for being wary of Qing Xia’s status, he might have already overturned the table in rage.
Qing Xia hurriedly apologized. Seeing Lin Mubai’s drunken state, Mu Shiyan didn’t pursue the matter, simply waving her hand to suppress everyone’s anger before walking toward Miss Tan at the head table.
Seeing Mu Shiyan’s arrival, Miss Tan quickly stood and offered her a seat. Mu Shiyan smiled and greeted her before sitting beside her.
“Miss Tan, Miss Mu, Master Lin was inappropriate in his drunken state. Please forgive him.”
Miss Tan looked slightly embarrassed as she said: “Master Lin has been traveling and working tirelessly these past days, truly exhausting himself. Please escort him down to rest.”
Qing Xia watched as servants helped Lin Mubai away, sighing softly. Without Lin Mubai to help block the wine, despite Yang Feng’s care, Qing Xia still drank several more cups. By the time the banquet ended, she was dizzy and weak all over.
With Chu Li in the room, naturally servants couldn’t enter casually. Yang Feng helped Qing Xia into the room, placed her on the bed, removed her shoes, pulled the covers over her, then looked somewhat uneasily at Chu Li sitting by the writing desk before reluctantly withdrawing.
This was the first time in Qing Xia’s life that she had allowed herself to get so drunk. Too much anguish was like a vast abyss, burying her tightly within. Two enormous forces nearly tore her entire being in half. Those doubts, anxieties, reluctances, worries, and wanderings were like a fierce tornado, sweeping the three of them into its vortex, making her unable to discern which path she should truly take.
She shouldn’t be like this. Once, she had been decisive in killing, laughing as she took lives, never furrowing her brow even slightly. The former her had been enchantingly seductive, highly skilled in manipulation. Her intelligence, martial arts, mind, appearance, and body—none of these she wouldn’t sacrifice freely for country and mission. But now she hesitated and wavered, her thoughts restless, wandering between two men, drifting uncertainly. This shouldn’t be her—how had she become like this?
Despite drinking so much wine, Qing Xia’s face grew increasingly pale. The intoxicated woman frowned tightly, curling her body into a small ball, showing signs of pain, clutching a corner of the quilt like a small animal and softly whimpering.
Chu Li stood before the bed, watching Qing Xia’s tightly furrowed brows, his sword-like eyebrows also knitting together. She was so pale, so frail, so delicate she seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind. But who could know what kind of strong and persistent soul was hidden beneath this fragile exterior? She had always lived a turbulent and unstable life, constantly walking the edge between life and death, ruthlessly striking down with her blade, yet possessing the most tender and gentle heart. The handsome man’s eyes gradually narrowed. If only you could be a little weaker, if only you weren’t so clever, or if you could just be a bit more heartless—perhaps today the situation these two would face would be completely different.
He slowly sat on the bed, supporting Qing Xia’s body, his fingers tracing her clear brows and eyes, her stubborn lips, her high-bridged nose, as if touching a dream-like fairy, afraid of startling her awake.
Qing Xia, do you know? How many days and nights you’ve slept beside me like this, yet I never dared reach out to touch you. I’m not afraid you’d scold me, not afraid you’d fight with me—I only fear that look of disgust in your eyes, just like that night in the northern camp when you were covered in blood, cursing me as a demon.
Qing Xia, I’m not a demon, I’m not a killer who doesn’t blink an eye. I’m just too afraid of the humiliation of being trampled underfoot, too afraid of hopeless darkness, too afraid of the agony of never seeing daylight. Those days of being cursed and whipped like a dog—I can’t forget them. I can’t forget how they rode on my head, can’t forget how they stepped on my face with their filthy soles, can’t forget that foul-smelling spit, can’t forget my own fawning, disgusting face, can’t forget the desperate, hateful eyes of those dead followers. Qing Xia, I always thought my heart had died then, but now I know—it’s still alive.
The woman in his arms whimpered, and a teardrop rolled down from the corner of her eye. Then came unrestrained, torrential weeping.
Chu Li’s heart tightened, and he slowly tightened his arms, holding Qing Xia close to his chest.
Perhaps only at times like this, only when you’re drunk and unconscious like this, will you allow yourself to show weakness and cry before me.
Qing Xia, I know your pain and your dilemma. Rest assured—I will handle everything. It will all end.
A cold kiss slowly pressed against Qing Xia’s smooth forehead. In the frigid breath was such a domineering vow. The wheel of fate creaked and turned in the sky. Ancient winds blew through the small bedroom, lifting the fluttering hems of their garments. The trajectories on the star chart were so mysterious and unpredictable. Fate would never impose its turns according to human will. Those storms and rains that could roll in at any unknown time waited in the distant horizon, ready to strike at any moment with their fierce waves, sweeping away all order between heaven and earth.