People say that recovering what was lost and finding out it was a false alarm are the most beautiful phrases in the human world. However, when Changling saw the Young Marquis speaking of “taking advantage of the situation” in front of so many people, she couldn’t help but grab a drumstick and fling it forward.
She had thought he would dodge with his usual playful grin, but unexpectedly, Ye Qi leaped directly in front of her, not afraid of being hit. Changling, fearing she might actually hurt him, barely managed to stop herself in time. “Are you looking for death?”
Ye Qi, completely disregarding all the outsiders around them at this moment, uncharacteristically embraced her fully and whispered softly in her ear, “I won’t die. I haven’t spent enough time with you yet—how could I bear to die?”
A quarter of an hour later, when Changling saw her long-absent Seventh Uncle and those several He family steward elders who had gone together to Beiming Peak, she was already extremely surprised. Once the door closed, the several elders over sixty years old all knelt down and kowtowed heavily with great ceremony.
“What are you all…”
Seeing them like this, a certain indescribable intuition already surged in her heart. Then she heard Seventh Uncle say in a trembling voice, “On the Ten Characters Cliff, there truly was the Lieku Grass that Miss Changting mentioned. Two stalks of Lieku Grass were covered with Tongxin Gu insect eggs…”
Changling’s entire body shook. Another elder, unable to contain his excitement, said, “After we retrieved the Lieku Grass, we split up. I sent one stalk to the Tianshan glacier, while Seventh Master went directly to the Mingyong glacier. At first, we didn’t know where to find the legendary spirit snake. We waited for over half a month without any movement…”
“Please stand up,” Changling interrupted impatiently. “Save the details for later. Just tell me—did you find it or not?”
Upon hearing this, several people stood up. Seventh Uncle choked up slightly. “We found it… There wasn’t one at the Tianshan glacier, but at Mingyong Mountain, we did manage to lure out a spirit snake…”
The oil lamp in the room flickered violently. Changling felt as if her mind had become sluggish. This good news came so suddenly that it didn’t feel real at all. She stood somewhat dazed in place and asked, “Where is the ice snake?”
“That ice snake was like a giant python. It took us several days to capture it alive. Then we loaded it into an iron-cast cold ice box and transported it day and night to Elder Ji’s medicine shop in Jingzhou. Now, Elder Ji is secretly preparing the elixir. It should be completed within half a month.” Seventh Uncle wiped his tears with his sleeve. “It’s just that this matter is of great importance and cannot be leaked in the slightest, so this old servant didn’t dare send word in advance. Only upon arriving in Jinling today did I dare to inform you. During this time, we’ve caused the Young Master and Miss to worry.”
Ye Qi bowed deeply. “For all the uncles to work so hard on my behalf—I should be the one thanking you for this profound kindness.”
Seventh Uncle quickly said, “That won’t do, that won’t do. Our lives were all given by the Young Master. As long as we can exchange them for the Young Master’s survival, whatever we do is only right and proper.”
“That’s right, Marquis. This was our duty to begin with. Moreover, we were able to find the spirit snake this time largely thanks to Miss Changting informing us of the Lieku Grass’s location…” Another elder looked at Changling with immense gratitude. “Miss, you saved our Marquis’s life. From now on, our lives belong not only to the Marquis but also to you.”
Changling seemed not to have recovered yet. She subconsciously turned her head and saw thin moisture in Ye Qi’s eyes. He still smiled as he looked at her. Only at this moment did she realize that all of this was real.
After Seventh Uncle and the others withdrew, Ye Qi joyfully spread his arms and smiled. “Want to celebrate by hugging and spinning around a few times?”
Changling didn’t cooperatively throw herself into his embrace as imagined.
She lowered her head, her long eyebrows and lashes concealing the emotions in her eyes. She pressed her lips together, but her chin trembled slightly.
Ye Qi froze and couldn’t help but reach out his hand. “Changling…”
Changling suddenly gripped his shoulders and made him turn around so he couldn’t see her.
For so long, she had been seeking “possibility” within “impossibility”—the tears that couldn’t fall had fallen, but the restored power couldn’t be transferred to him; she obtained the Wanhua Compendium, but could only practice to the second level; after going through enormous hardships to gather the folding fans, they remained elusive and difficult to find… It seemed that every time she was only one step away from “hope,” but always just that one step short.
Repeated false hopes had already tempered her heart, which rose and fell dramatically, into calm waters. She could always grasp a thread of hope in utter desperation and continue forward—that was her instinct. Only at this moment did she realize that she wasn’t fearless, nor did she simply hold a heart of “doing one’s best and accepting fate.” She would also be afraid—afraid that heaven wouldn’t favor them, afraid that exhausting everything would still be futile.
No, it couldn’t even be called fear. Rather, she had never truly thought about the future—never imagined that he could live into the future.
Ye Qi stood quietly, letting her hands grip his arms, her head resting against the back of his neck, breathing slowly.
After an unknown amount of time, Changling slowly released her hands. He turned around and saw her lift her head. Her cheeks were clean and flawless. If not for the slight redness still lingering on the tip of her nose, one would never imagine she had just experienced any emotional turmoil. Changling cleared her throat lightly and said, “Don’t think that finding the snake gallbladder means everything’s foolproof. Have enough people been assigned to the Jingzhou medicine shop?”
Ye Qi smoothed the soft, stray hair at her forehead. “When Seventh Uncle handles matters, he’s always thorough.”
“That’s hard to say.” Changling still wasn’t reassured. “I think you should set out directly tomorrow, ride at full speed to Divine Physician Ji’s place and wait there. Before the Purple Gold Resurrection Pill enters your stomach, who knows what other problems might arise?”
“With people monitoring us everywhere in Jinling now, if we suddenly mobilize and rush to Jingzhou, wouldn’t that leak the news in advance?” Ye Qi said. “In about ten more days, it will be the Martial Arts Assembly. Liangzhou is only two or three days’ journey from Jingzhou by horse. After we reach Liangzhou, Divine Physician Ji’s people will naturally send reliable people to deliver the medicine. This way, we won’t attract attention or delay important matters.”
Changling knew his thinking was more thorough than hers, so she said no more. Seeing Ye Qi staring at her with a quiet smile, she held it in, then couldn’t help but raise the corners of her mouth. “What are you smiling at?”
Ye Qi: “What are you smiling at?”
Changling walked to the window. “All along, I’ve hated Fu Yangui’s methods to the extreme, hated that he placed the Tongxin Gu insects in the Lieku Grass. But now this poison has instead become the antidote that will save your life…”
“Then I’d rather not have this Purple Gold Pill. I’d rather… you hadn’t been poisoned by that Tongxin Gu back then.” Ye Qi wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “However, after I take the Purple Gold Pill and after you’ve had your great revenge—I must personally ‘thank’ Prime Minister Fu. Thank him for using a few gu insects to save my life… Thank him for pushing you to my side.”
“Ha, you think eating the Purple Gold Pill means you’ll have no worries? It’s just extending your life…” Changling raised an eyebrow and pushed him away with her backhand. “We still need to find Senior Wu Run’s secret manual. I don’t want to remarry after twenty years…”
She said the last three words extremely softly. Ye Qi seemed to hear them but suspected he’d heard wrong. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“I don’t care.” Ye Qi turned her around. “Say it again. You don’t want to what after twenty years?”
How could Changling follow his lead? She dodged aside with a muffled laugh. “Once we find Wu Run’s secret manual, I’ll tell you.”
Ye Qi wore an expression of “fine, I have absolutely no way to deal with you” and shook his head. “After causing such a commotion tonight, I’m afraid the fact that we possess Wu Run’s folding fan will soon spread throughout the jianghu… By the way, that black-clothed person you chased—who was he? Did you exchange moves with him?”
“We exchanged a few moves. This person’s internal power is unfathomably deep. He kept his face covered the entire time, so I couldn’t identify who he was.” Changling thought back carefully. “He was able to extinguish the candle flames on half the street in an instant, which shows his martial arts can control fire…”
Ye Qi said in surprise, “Fire? How could a person’s internal power control fire?”
“You yourself can control water—why can’t others control fire?” Changling said seriously. “But the strangest thing isn’t just extinguishing the lights. It’s those few moves I exchanged with him… It seemed like he could anticipate every single move ahead of time…”
Ye Qi’s expression turned alert. “Could it be someone you knew in the past?”
“Perhaps, but even in the past, there weren’t many people who could withstand so many of my moves.” Changling said, “For the moment, I can’t connect this person with any old acquaintance… Moreover, even if it were an old acquaintance, the premise for him to see through my martial arts would be recognizing me. My appearance and gender are vastly different from the past—how could he have recognized me?”
“Don’t think too complicatedly yet.” Ye Qi raised his hand to interrupt her confused train of thought. “Think carefully—did he have any other distinguishing features?”
“He had a longevity lock.” Changling suddenly looked up. “Right, there was a longevity lock hanging at his waist.”
“A longevity lock… Aren’t those usually hung around the neck? Why would it be at the waist?”
Changling shook her head. Ye Qi asked again, “Among the people you knew in the past, was there anyone who would wear a longevity lock on their person?”
“There were many…” Changling pondered. “In the Jiangdong region, wearing longevity locks for safety was very popular. In the past, when Wei Xingyun and Jing Wuwei went into battle, they would carry them. My eldest brother also…”
At this point, her voice suddenly halted. Her eyes met Ye Qi’s, and she shook her head repeatedly. “It can’t be my eldest brother. He… even if he were still alive… if he recognized me, why wouldn’t he acknowledge me? It’s not him.”
Ye Qi nodded slightly. “Since the clues are unclear, baseless speculation is futile. To verify this person’s identity, perhaps we should ask another person.”
“Who?”
Ye Qi adjusted his sleeves and said slowly, “The other ‘masked hero’ who was lying on the roof beam eavesdropping on our conversation today.”
Night fell heavily. Dark clouds covered the few scattered stars in the sky. The city streets everywhere were pitch black, but many lanterns still burned bright before the gates of noble manors.
Changling dismounted and looked up at the high-hanging characters “Mo Manor.” With some hesitation, she said, “Are you sure that just coming here like this, he’ll give us the time of day?”
Ye Qi smiled slightly and walked straight up the steps, pounding on the door several times until he attracted the gatekeeper, who came holding an oil lamp and cursing, “In the middle of the night—who’s here causing trouble?”
As soon as the door opened a crack, Ye Qi thrust his hand in and flashed a golden token. “Deputy Academician He Yu of Qingcheng Academy has urgent business and requests an audience with Academician Mo. Please announce us.”
The drowsy gatekeeper rubbed his eyes. After seeing who it was, he exclaimed, “He… Is it Marquis He?”
Changling hadn’t expected that Mo Daoyun would actually be willing to show himself and meet them—after all, she still hadn’t gotten over why a dignified Qingcheng Academy Academician would be lying on a roof beam outside eavesdropping on their conversation.
The great hall was spacious. Mo Daoyun simply threw on an outer robe and sat down. Without calling for tea service and dismissing all the servants in the manor, he asked, “I don’t know why the Marquis visits late at night. What urgent matter brings you here?”
Ye Qi folded his arms across his chest, looking around casually while saying, “Why I’ve come—the Academician should know better than anyone.”
Mo Daoyun glanced at Changling, seeing her sitting to the side with an expressionless face, not avoiding his gaze at all. He looked back at Ye Qi. “Please enlighten me, Marquis.”
“You’re making this difficult for me. Must I explicitly mention that you were ‘spying’ on us eating and conversing before you’re satisfied?” Seeing Mo Daoyun about to open his mouth in denial, Ye Qi glanced at his ankle and smiled. “Academician Mo, when I was chasing you tonight, I saw your right foot seemed impaired. It should have been scalded by that bowl of soup little Zhou Qin threw, right? If I were to examine the injury now, surely you wouldn’t claim it’s a coincidence?”
Mo Daoyun’s face maintained that deeply guarded expression of outward severity but inner weakness, giving no response.
“Even if you want to deflect, that’s fine. After all, we came here tonight not to pursue that matter,” Ye Qi said evenly. “I just want to ask—that black-clothed person on the roof today, does the Academician happen to know him?”
Upon hearing this, Mo Daoyun adjusted his sleeves and then stood up. “What the Marquis speaks of—this humble one truly cannot understand. Since the Marquis has no urgent business, please forgive me for not being able to keep you company…”
“Then let’s change the question.” Ye Qi’s expression remained unchanged. “The day Prime Minister Fu was assassinated, I wonder—what exactly did you intend by placing that half folding fan in his chest pocket?”