The master and disciple, who hadn’t seen each other for many years, talked by candlelight for a while. Xie Zheng offered to personally escort Grand Tutor Tao back to his quarters, but the Grand Tutor said, “That’s enough, we don’t need to be so formal. You should go rest too. This old man can find his way back.”
Xie Zheng then asked Xie Qi to escort Grand Tutor Tao back. After a pause, he added, “If she learns that I asked you to take her as your adopted daughter, I fear she won’t accept the kindness. Tomorrow when we break camp, I’ll arrange for her to share a carriage with you down the mountain. When she has free time, she likes to read books and greatly respects learned people. Please guide her a bit, and coax her into accepting you as her adopted father.”
Hearing him plan so meticulously, Grand Tutor Tao lifted his aged eyelids slightly and asked, “Is it worth going to such lengths?”
Xie Zheng had already escorted Grand Tutor Tao to the tent entrance. Against the candlelight, his handsome profile was hidden in shadow as he replied with certainty, “She’s worth it.”
Grand Tutor Tao chuckled, “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”
He then asked, “What’s that girl’s full name? Do you know her birth date and time? Since I’m taking her as my daughter, this old man should give her a courtesy name.”
Xie Zheng answered, “Her surname is Fan, given the name Changyu. She’s sixteen this year, likely born in the first month of the second year of the Qingli era.”
He didn’t know Fan Changyu’s exact birth date. He had asked before when they were in Qingping County, but Fan Changyu hadn’t told him.
Grand Tutor Tao’s expression suddenly became extremely interesting. No wonder Gongsun Yin had said earlier that he had met Fan Changyu but was unwilling to reveal more information. So this was what he had been waiting for!
Seeing Grand Tutor Tao’s peculiar expression, Xie Zheng frowned and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Grand Tutor Tao looked at him and said with mixed emotions, “The girl I met on the road was also surnamed Fan, named Changyu.”
Xie Zheng remembered Fan Changyu mentioning before that she had met a knowledgeable old eccentric while working on the dam, who would curse his students every day. His eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
The entire tent suddenly fell into silence, with master and disciple momentarily at a loss for words.
After a while, Xie Zheng asked, “Were you captured by the troops working on the dam upstream of Jizhou while on the road?”
The memory of being forced to dig earth and stones on the mountain was not a pleasant one. Grand Tutor Tao found it embarrassing. His mustache quivered as he turned the tables, “That girl told me she had separated from her live-in husband?”
He glanced at Xie Zheng, “When you were in dire straits, did you become her live-in husband?”
Xie Zheng was silent for a moment, then slowly made an affirmative sound.
Grand Tutor Tao looked at Xie Zheng with surprise. How could he not know how proud his student was?
Earlier, when he heard Xie Wu mention that Fan Changyu had killed Shi Hu, he instinctively thought of Fan Changyu. But Fan Changyu’s ex-husband was a live-in son-in-law. Given Xie Zheng’s personality, how could he possibly have become a live-in son-in-law?
Moreover, Shi Hu was a formidable general. All the generals of the vanguard and left guard had been defeated by him. Although Fan Changyu knew martial arts, she was just a novice. How could she have achieved such an extraordinary feat?
Besides, the girl Xie Zheng spoke of was intelligent and perceptive, while Fan Changyu in his impression was a stubborn and simple-minded girl.
That’s why Grand Tutor Tao hadn’t connected the two, thinking it was just a coincidence that they shared the same name. Who would have thought that sometimes, the world could be so coincidental?
Looking at his prized student, whose brow now rarely showed signs of dejection, he stroked his goatee and coughed lightly, “If that’s the case, then let’s drop the matter of finding her another young man.”
Xie Zheng glanced at Grand Tutor Tao, who read a hint of “Did you think I would still look for someone?” in that look.
Xie Zheng said, “I still need to trouble you with taking her as your adopted daughter.”
Grand Tutor Tao shook his head and sighed, “You may not believe this, but when I met that girl on the road, I felt she was a promising talent. Although she’s a bit lacking in intelligence, she has a kind nature and strong will. With some polishing, she could become quite capable. I had intended to take her as my disciple, but she refused me repeatedly.”
Xie Zheng remembered how not long ago, Fan Changyu had sympathetically told him that the eccentric old man was lonely and probably wanted to take her as a disciple so she could care for him in his old age. She was in a hurry to find Changnin and couldn’t spare the energy to look after an old man with a strange temper, so she politely refused. The old man had been angry about it for a long time.
Now hearing Grand Tutor Tao explain the circumstances, Xie Zheng felt quite conflicted.
Seeing his silence, Grand Tutor Tao added, “Back then, she was unwilling to become my disciple. Now, asking her to accept me as her adopted father, this old man can’t guarantee that girl will agree.”
Xie Zheng said, “We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate.”
Grand Tutor Tao sighed, “You two are like a pair of stubborn mules coming together!”
Xie Zheng remained silent.
After Grand Tutor Tao left, he stood alone, hands behind his back, lost in thought as he gazed into the pitch-black night outside the tent.
The rain had stopped. In the distance, the regularly arranged military tents appeared as small dark bumps under the bonfires.
Xie Wu hesitantly approached and said, “My Lord, it’s a quarter past one. You should rest too.”
Xie Zheng’s mind was in turmoil, without a trace of sleepiness. He instructed, “Go and put some pressure on the Left Guard. Keep the matter of her killing Shi Hu under wraps for now.”
Xie Wu knew this was to protect Fan Changyu. If Fan Changyu didn’t plan to stay in the military in the future, spreading this news would only bring her trouble.
He immediately cupped his fist and said, “I understand, sir.”
After Xie Wu left, Xie Zheng ordered someone to bring his warhorse. Without allowing anyone to follow, he rode alone aimlessly around the camp. Without realizing it, he arrived in front of Fan Changyu’s tent. He sat on horseback, quietly watching for a while. A moment later, he tugged on the reins, and his glossy black warhorse turned and walked into the deeper darkness of the night.
Inside the tent, Fan Changyu lay fully clothed on the bed, also wide awake.
When the sound of hooves came from outside, she instinctively held her breath. The hoofbeats were very light as if trying not to disturb anyone, deliberately slowing their pace.
After stopping for quite a while, the faint sound of hooves resumed, clearly moving away.
Who else would come to look at her tent in the middle of the night?
Realizing this, Fan Changyu felt quite uneasy. The events of the past few months flashed through her mind, making her feel even worse.
She tossed and turned, trying to ease the restlessness in her heart, but almost woke Changnin. She rubbed her brow and sat up, thinking she might as well go out for a walk too.
She got up quietly, tucked a boning knife into her belt, and when she left the tent, she found an unfamiliar soldier guarding nearby. He looked like he was on patrol in the area, but there had been no one guarding this part of the camp at night before.
Fan Changyu’s eyes met his directly. He stared at her blankly at first, his gaze half panicked and half admiring. After a moment, as if remembering his duty, he quickly averted his gaze, looking guilty.
Fan Changyu guessed this was probably Xie Zheng’s doing, which made her even more conflicted.
She was very familiar with the camp and walked silently toward the outskirts of the encampment.
That guard was indeed assigned to protect the Fan sisters. Previously, Xie Wu and Xie Qi had been responsible for this task, but Fan Changyu had become familiar with them. If they were sent to guard her, she would recognize them immediately. Fearing she would be annoyed, Xie Zheng had assigned guards she hadn’t met before.
In the latter half of the night, the moon emerged from the dispersing clouds.
The mountains in the night seemed to be coated with a layer of silver light, making the surroundings visible without torches.
Fan Changyu walked on the soft, rain-soaked soil, following the sound of flowing water towards the river.
The wilderness was vast, with the sounds of insects and frogs rising and falling. The air after the rain was indescribably fresh. Taking a deep breath, she felt the heaviness in her heart dissipate a bit.
If the grass hadn’t been so wet after the rain, she would have liked to lie down with her arms spread, sinking into the soft green grass, and let the tranquil night soothe the restlessness and jumbled thoughts in her heart.
A rustling sound came from the nearby bushes, startling Fan Changyu. Looking closely, she saw a jet-black warhorse tethered to some shrubs, with the faint sound of water coming from the riverbank ahead.
Fan Changyu recognized the warhorse and was shocked. She turned to leave, but the person by the river had already noticed her.
“Who’s there?”
As this cold voice fell, several pebbles shot toward her like meteors. Fan Changyu quickly rolled on the ground, barely avoiding the stones that could have left holes in her body.
Just as she was about to get up, supporting herself with both hands on the ground, a sudden chill touched her neck. The person who had been by the riverbank a moment ago was now standing in front of her, dripping with water, a steel blade pointed at her throat.
“It’s you.”
Recognizing her face, the fierceness in Xie Zheng’s eyes dissipated. He put away his blade and looked her up and down before extending a hand to help her up, frowning as he asked, “Are you hurt?”
Fan Changyu shook her head and didn’t take his hand, getting up on her own. Inwardly, she marveled at his speed.
She had seen him kill before, but this was the first time she had witnessed his animal-like alertness.
The steel blade had been withdrawn, but she still felt the hair on that patch of skin on her neck standing on end.
That momentary feeling of having her life in someone else’s hands was truly heart-stopping.
Xie Zheng said, “I thought you were an enemy scout.”
She was wearing a common soldier’s uniform, and for convenience, her hair was tied in a small bun. From a distance in the night, at first glance, it was impossible to tell who she was.
Fan Changyu thought to herself that if she had been an enemy scout, even if she hadn’t been hit by those stones, she wouldn’t have escaped his blade in the end.
She awkwardly explained why she was there: “I couldn’t sleep at night, so I came out for a walk to clear my mind. I happened to see your horse and thought you must be by the river, so I was planning to avoid you.”
Xie Zheng was wearing only military trousers, having just come out of the river. His whole body was dripping with water. Not caring whether the grass was wet or not, he sat down directly. His wet long hair had fallen loose from his hair tie, sticking messily to his face and neck, adding a youthful air to his appearance.
Hearing Fan Changyu’s words, he looked up at her with some surprise: “You can’t sleep either?”
His collarbones became more pronounced due to his posture of sitting with his hands on the ground. In the moonlight, his skin took on a cool, frosty white hue. Water droplets fell from his hair tips onto his collarbones, sliding down his toned muscles, leaving a trail of water. Further down was his narrow waist…
Fan Changyu suddenly felt her face grow hot and quickly averted her gaze. Afraid he might misunderstand, she said, “I killed many people during the day. My heart feels heavy.”
The “too” in his words indicated that he couldn’t sleep either, which was why he came here.
As for why he couldn’t sleep, the reason was obvious.
Although she was indeed unsettled and sleepless because of his words, she had already clearly rejected him. Admitting now that she couldn’t sleep because of what he said would seem strange.
However, the events on the battlefield were indeed one of the reasons for her restlessness.
Xie Zheng remembered the scene in Lin’an Town when she had killed someone and was so afraid that she came to sit by his bed at night. His eyes softened.
He had already learned from Xie Wu that on the battlefield, she couldn’t bring herself to deliver fatal blows to common soldiers. She would only wound them in non-vital areas, rendering them unable to fight back.
Having such reverence for life, yet still going to the battlefield to fight for him.
How dare she?
Something seemed to scorch his heart, and a voice in his head screamed to embrace her. His fingers, supporting him on the ground, dug deep into the muddy grass, but he ultimately didn’t dare to take that step.
It felt as if insects were crawling in his blood, and his bones trembled with restraint. Finally suppressing the swelling, clamoring thoughts in his heart, he forced himself to calm down and lowered his eyes, saying, “The first time I came back from the battlefield, I had nightmares all night too.”
“The second time I went to battle and killed enemies, I killed even more people than the first time. That night, I didn’t sleep at all. I went to the training ground and practiced all night. In the end, I collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, closed my eyes, and fell asleep without any nightmares.”
As he spoke of these old memories, a cold sneer crept onto his lips. He didn’t even notice the layer of killing intent that rose around him.
He was like a stray dog on the streets, covered in wounds, instinctively baring its teeth and growling fiercely when sensing someone approach, as if this could prevent the next injury.
A hand rested on his wet hair. Even through the cold, wet hair, he could feel the warmth of her hand.
Xie Zheng’s phoenix eyes lifted, reflecting the silver moon and Fan Changyu’s sun-bright features.
She pressed her lips together and gently stroked his head, saying like she was comforting a child, “It’s all in the past now.”