After bowing, the villagers of Niu Village transformed into streams of white light. The light was pure and flawless, without a trace of resentment. Like shooting stars, they swirled around Li Ying, as if draping her in a sacred veil. One of these lights leaped into Li Ying’s palm, reluctantly tapping her fingertip. Li Ying knew this must be Lier.

She said, “Lier, go and be reborn. In your next life, become a top scholar.”

The white light tapped her fingertip again, looking as if it were nodding, then leaped back into the air and disappeared.

The remaining lights gradually vanished as well. The night slowly returned to stillness. Li Ying raised her eyes, looking toward Cui Xun, who stood quietly before her.

The wound on Cui Xun’s neck had been dressed with medicine, and the bleeding had stopped, though speaking still caused him pain. Leading his Kangju horse, he asked in a hoarse voice, “Shall we mount up?”

Li Ying pressed her lips together and lowered her head. “I’ll still ride the paper horse.”

Both had matters weighing on their minds, and neither dared to speak. They could only ride their horses in silence, heading into Niu Village.

The thick fog in Niu Village had completely dissipated. The path to Mount Wanhe was now clear. Mount Wanhe was incredibly steep, with only the trail from Niu Village being barely passable. Beyond Mount Wanhe lay Gongzhou City.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain near Gongzhou City, they had been climbing for a day and a night. Despite having horses, they were exhausted. Cui Xun’s cold syndrome had penetrated to his bones. Under the night’s chilling winds, his limbs and body ached with a cold pain. He had no strength left in his body, barely able to lead his horse.

He reached into his sleeve, where he kept a bottle of red pills.

But as soon as his fingers tightened around the white porcelain bottle, Li Ying looked over. Cui Xun’s fingers involuntarily released it. Li Ying pressed her lips together. She didn’t say anything about it, only suggesting, “Seventeenth Young Master, let’s rest for a while.”

In the wild forest, a sedan chair draped with heavy gauze curtains stood on the fallen leaves. Inside the sedan burned an incense burner with a phoenix pattern burned. Charcoal burned within, creating a warm, comfortable atmosphere. Cui Xun lay there in a daze. Li Ying bent down to feel his forehead—it was burning hot. She frowned, brewed a bowl of medicine for cold damage, and fed it to him spoonful by spoonful. Cui Xun cooperated unconsciously. After finishing the bowl, his mind was still confused. He tried to speak, but the movement pulled at his neck wound, causing him to frown slightly in pain. Seeing this, Li Ying said, “Don’t speak.”

She continued, “I know what you want to say. I don’t want to hear it.”

Hearing this, Cui Xun slowly closed his eyes and said no more. Li Ying also fell silent, continuously wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. After several repetitions, she checked his temperature again and found that his fever had subsided somewhat. Only then did she feel slightly relieved. Cui Xun lay with his eyes closed, seemingly falling into a deep sleep. Li Ying covered him with a white fox fur, then lay down herself, turning on her side to gaze at him.

In her daze, she recalled their first meeting at the abandoned lotus pond in the palace. She had been at the bottom of the pond, he at the edge.

Even now, she didn’t understand why someone who disliked lotus flowers so much would willingly drink alone by the lotus pond. Perhaps it was because the pond had been abandoned, and all the lotus flowers withered without a single one remaining. Those decayed stems had little to do with the vibrant lotus blooms. Or perhaps on New Year’s Eve, with the palace bustling everywhere, only this lotus pond offered some semblance of tranquility. Or maybe he was indulging in self-loathing—unwilling to see blooming lotus flowers, but willing to look at withered ones. Whatever the reason, Li Ying didn’t know; she could only guess.

But whatever the reason, it no longer mattered. What mattered was that she had met him.

She still clearly remembered how he looked when she first saw him. His eyes were so striking that they outshone the brilliant crimson clouds above, leaving viewers in awe. Yet those striking features were paired with an extremely pale complexion and an exceptionally cold demeanor. Wrapped in white fox fur, drinking by the pond, he seemed utterly unreal, as if the slightest touch would make him vanish.

Li Ying’s fingers slowly traced Cui Xun’s face. Without the virility-enhancing medicine, his complexion had grown pale again. She felt the same sensation she had experienced that day at the lotus pond, not knowing when he might suddenly disappear.

She stared blankly, her fingers moving to the wound on his neck. The wound was rather deep. If the Mountain Hermit had cut just an inch deeper, he would have truly disappeared.

A wave of fear surged through her heart, followed by intertwining guilt and unease. Li Ying looked at Cui Xun, wide awake. Cui Xun, with his eyes still closed, suddenly murmured, “Pearl of Bright Moon…”

Li Ying lowered her gaze and said, “Don’t speak.”

She gently touched his neck wound, inexplicably annoyed, “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Cui Xun didn’t answer her question. Instead, he said in a hoarse voice, “Pearl of Bright Moon, you know I won’t make it to Lingnan.”

Li Ying bit her lip and asked, “Is going to Lingnan that important to you?”

Cui Xun was quiet for a moment, then said, “Yes, very important.”

“Why can’t you let someone else go? There are so many officials in the court, and you have so many agents under your command. Why must you go with your ill body?”

“I don’t trust anyone else,” Cui Xun said. Each word pulled at his neck wound, making him wince in pain, but he still earnestly explained to Li Ying. His voice, already hoarse, became even more strained: “Besides me, who would care about the unjust deaths of those fifty thousand people?”

Li Ying fell silent. Indeed, besides him, who would care?

Everyone else was looking forward, only he was fixated on the past.

His appearance seemed alluring and enchanting, captivating souls, but in reality, he was just a foolish person, obsessed with and trapped by a single thought, out of step with the times.

Cui Xun continued, “Pearl of Bright Moon, in both our hearts, there are things more important than romantic love.”

Li Ying placed her hand on his chest. With his frail, sick body, his heartbeat wasn’t as strong as a normal person’s, but it still beat steadily, never giving up. Li Ying said glumly, “Why must it be this way?”

Before Cui Xun could answer, she self-mockingly said, “But I have no right to criticize you.”

Last night, she, too, had chosen something over love.

“Pearl of Bright Moon,” Cui Xun said softly, “when you chose the common people over me, you don’t need to feel guilty toward me, because I don’t blame you at all, not even a little.”

Li Ying was stunned. She wanted to ask if he truly didn’t blame her, or if he was just saying this to comfort her.

Anyone who was abandoned would feel hurt.

Just as she had felt when her father abandoned her.

Cui Xun was about to say something when a sharp pain surged through his chest, where the Soul-Borrowing Lamp had injured him. Even though the Mountain Hermit was dead, this wound wouldn’t heal quickly. He began coughing violently. Li Ying was startled and quickly rubbed his chest to help him breathe: “What exactly happened to you at Yunze Altar last night? When the Mountain Hermit and I arrived, you already seemed injured. Was it the Daoist from Purple Cloud Temple who hurt you?”

Cui Xun finally stopped coughing. He shook his head: “No.”

“Then who injured you?”

“The Soul-Borrowing Lamp.”

“The Soul-Borrowing Lamp?”

“The Mountain Hermit had set three obstacles on the Soul-Borrowing Lamp—the obstacle of calamity, the obstacle of demons, and the obstacle of karma. Only by overcoming these three obstacles could one pull out the lamp wick, but I couldn’t overcome them.”

“Three obstacles?” Li Ying was puzzled. “Then why didn’t I encounter them?”

Cui Xun smiled slightly: “Because you are a person with a crystal heart. A crystal heart is pure and clear inside and out, without the slightest flaw. So the three obstacles did not affect you.”

Li Ying murmured, “Is that so?”

Cui Xun nodded: “It is.”

He paused, then continued: “Pearl of Bright Moon, I’m not saying I don’t blame you for abandoning me just to comfort you. In this life, being cared for by a crystal heart is already my greatest fortune. How could I blame you? No matter what choice you make, I would never blame you.”

Li Ying’s eyes reddened: “But I blame you.”

She turned away: “I blame you for not consulting with me before recklessly taking that medicine. While it may temporarily improve your condition, it will damage your foundation in the long run. Eventually, as the Mountain Hermit said, ten years will become five.”

Cui Xun was silent for a moment. Then he said, “After I return from Lingnan to Chang’an, I won’t take it anymore.”

“You still want to take it?” Li Ying sat up, angry and anxious: “Do you truly not want to live?”

Cui Xun covered his throat and struggled to sit up. He leaned against the sedan chair’s pillar. These few movements seemed to drain all his strength. He breathed slightly, smiling bitterly: “As you can see, in this condition, I simply cannot reach Lingnan.”

His face was as white as paper. After several days of continuous travel, he couldn’t endure it. His current physical state simply couldn’t support the seventeen-hundred-li journey. And as he had said, they both had matters more important than romantic love to attend to.

Li Ying knew she couldn’t stop him. Her heart ached, and she bit her lip without speaking. Seeing her expression, Cui Xun racked his brains, awkwardly thinking of words to comfort her: “Pearl of Bright Moon, after returning to Chang’an, I’ll consult famous physicians and nurture my health. Even if it’s only five years, that’s still a long time. Perhaps during these five years, I’ll find a renowned physician like Sun Simiao who can cure my illness… Pearl of Bright Moon, I will be with you for a long, long time.”

Li Ying lowered her head and remained silent for a long while. Just when Cui Xun thought she still hadn’t forgiven him, she suddenly said softly: “Not for a long, long time.”

Cui Xun was stunned.

Did she no longer wish to be with him?

He had truly hurt her heart.

He felt dejected, but Li Ying looked up at him, her gaze tender: “Seventeenth Young Master, I’ve changed my mind. Rather than a long, long time, I prefer to cherish the present. Whether you can live for ten more years or five, I will cherish the coming days. I will help you clear the injustice, I will accompany you as you seek treatment. For every day to come, I will be with you.”

She paused, then continued: “Seventeenth Young Master, you say being cared for by a crystal heart is your great fortune. And for me, meeting the most resilient person in the world, watching him trudge forward through the pitch-black night with countless wounds, this is also my great fortune.”

She slowly leaned into his embrace: “I truly hope that heaven will show us mercy and grant us more time together.”

Inside the gauze-draped sedan chair, the burning charcoal emitted a faint glow, and the fragrance wafted gently. Li Ying’s words were utterly sincere. Cui Xun felt as if warm currents were flowing through his heart. He wanted to reach out and embrace Li Ying, but his mind kept replaying the images of the karmic obstacle. His heart was torn between conflicting feelings. Perhaps due to the effect of the cold-dispelling medicine, his mind gradually became foggy. In the end, emotion conquered reason. He longingly extended his arms, encircling Li Ying’s body, and preciously drew her into his embrace.