When the man with the wooden box saw Cui Xun and Li Ying emerge, he was visibly startled.

But his gaze did not fall on Cui Xun, who had saved him, but instead fixed steadily on Li Ying at Cui Xun’s side.

Li Ying was frightened by his stare. Could this man see her?

She didn’t know if this was a blessing or a curse. Unconsciously, she hid behind Cui Xun, her hands nervously clutching his sleeve. Cui Xun casually positioned himself in front of her. The man finally came to his senses and bowed to Cui Xun: “So it was Assistant Minister Cui who saved me.”

Cui Xun frowned: “You know me?”

In this remote Hengzhou, there was actually someone who recognized him? It seemed this man’s identity wasn’t so simple.

The man nodded: “I saw Assistant Minister Cui at the Ghost Market in Chang’an.”

“The Ghost Market in Chang’an?” Cui Xun studied the man’s face, gradually overlaying these bright eyes with a pair of yellowed, murky ones in his memory: “Are you the Ghost Market vendor who sold me the old bow?”

The man nodded: “Indeed. At that time, I used a disguise technique to avoid trouble.”

At the Ghost Market, this vendor had also timely warned Li Ying about a cat ghost attacking her, helping her avoid disaster. Li Ying had wondered then if he could see her, which would explain how he could warn her so promptly, but soon her attention was completely drawn to the cat ghost, and she forgot about the strange vendor.

Recalling this, Li Ying realized this man probably wasn’t a bad person. She peeked out from behind Cui Xun, curiously looking at the man. The man smiled slightly and nodded in greeting to her, but before speaking to her, he first apologized to Cui Xun: “That day, I was selling Assistant Minister Cui’s iron-framed bow for my livelihood. Had I known Assistant Minister Cui never surrendered to the Turks, I would have offered this bow without accepting a single coin.”

This was the first unfamiliar Zhou person who had expressed goodwill toward Cui Xun. Cui Xun was somewhat surprised, and Li Ying was also taken aback. She had imagined countless times: if the Great Zhou people knew Cui Xun hadn’t surrendered to the Turks, but had instead suffered greatly at their hands, wouldn’t they stop despising him? Yet fantasy remained fantasy. In reality, Cui Xun was still a general despised by all for surrendering, and no one knew when his unjust reputation would be cleared.

So when the man spoke these words, Li Ying couldn’t help feeling a surge of emotion, her eyes growing warm. She even thought: if not just this one person knew, but everyone in the world knew, how wonderful that would be.

She secretly glanced up at Cui Xun and found his expression unchanged, his dark eyes showing not the slightest ripple. She sighed inwardly. He was always like this—compared to the obsession in his heart, his honor or disgrace wasn’t important at all. After all, he never knew how to be kind to himself.

But she was different. What he had done, she acknowledged; what he hadn’t done, she wouldn’t allow others to wrongly accuse him of.

So she stepped out from behind Cui Xun and asked the man in a clear voice: “May I ask, how did you know the Seventeenth Young Master never surrendered to the Turks?”

The man was stunned—”Seventeenth Young Master”? Such an intimate address!

But he quickly recovered and replied: “After that night at the Ghost Market, I sought out the Turkic merchant who had sold me the iron-framed bow. I learned that this bow had changed hands several times. It was first with the Fuli Guard of Khagan Nidu, then went to his lover, later circulated in the Turkic market, and after several trades, finally reached the merchant. Following these traces, I found the Fuli Guard’s lover. From her, I discovered that after Assistant Minister Cui was captured at Luoyan Ridge and escorted to the Turkic royal court, he was imprisoned for a full two years. During this time, he endured endless torture but never surrendered to the Turks.”

Recalling what the Fuli Guard’s lover had told him, the man’s expression showed traces of admiration. Such cruel torture was beyond what ordinary people could endure, yet Cui Xun had endured it and never submitted or betrayed his country. He continued: “I also discovered that the so-called surrender was merely a rumor spread by the Turkic Princess Ashina Wuduo.”

He apologized: “I previously believed these rumors and misunderstood Assistant Minister Cui as a traitor. This was my mistake. After this incident, I realized that rumors cannot be entirely trusted. The man whom the world calls a spineless, surrendering official is a man of iron integrity. The world has deeply wronged Assistant Minister Cui.”

His words were sincere, but Cui Xun keenly sensed something amiss. He furrowed his brow and asked: “After seeing me at the Ghost Market, you went to find the merchant to investigate the truth? But I don’t recall doing anything unusual at the Ghost Market. What made you want to investigate?”

He gripped the crossbow in his hand vigilantly, his expression cooling as he looked at the man. The man smiled and said: “It wasn’t seeing Assistant Minister Cui that made me want to investigate the truth, but rather…” His gaze turned to Li Ying: “Seeing Princess Yong’an made me want to investigate the truth.”

“Me?” Li Ying was utterly confused: “I don’t think I know you.”

Hearing Li Ying say she didn’t know him, a flash of surprise crossed the man’s eyes, but he still respectfully clasped his hands and bowed: “Ji Qingyang of the Imperial Guard, greets Princess Yong’an.”

Dusk was approaching, the crimson sunset reflecting on the quiet water’s surface, creating rippling waves that seemed gilded with gold, beautiful. By the clear stream, a bonfire had been lit. Cui Xun skewered two fish with tree branches and roasted them over the fire. Once cooked, he placed them on clean banana leaves. The roasted carp had golden, crispy skin that emitted a tantalizing aroma. Cui Xun bowed his head, carefully removing the fish bones one by one.

As he deboned the fish, Li Ying curiously looked at the man who was bandaging his wound. Full of questions, she asked: “Your name is Ji Qingyang?”

Ji Qingyang nodded. Li Ying continued: “In Taoyuan Town, I met an evil Daoist called the Mountain Hermit of Lingxu. His disciple was also named Ji Qingyang. What’s your relationship with him?”

When he heard about the Mountain Hermit, Ji Qingyang was startled. Then he said, “The Mountain Hermit is indeed my master. What did he do?”

“He did many things.” Li Ying indignantly told him about the Mountain Hermit killing people to extend his life. Ji Qingyang was dumbfounded and after a long while sighed: “Master’s obsession with immortality had reached a state of delusion. For committing such evil deeds, he indeed deserved his death.”

Li Ying had feared Ji Qingyang might seek revenge for the Mountain Hermit. Hearing this, she finally relaxed and said, “It’s good that you don’t want to seek revenge against us.”

Ji Qingyang shook his head: “Although I lost my parents at a young age and it was Master who raised me, our paths differed, and we could not work together. I had already severed our master-disciple relationship. Had I known he was harming innocent people like this, I wouldn’t have spared him either.”

Li Ying hadn’t expected that Ji Qingyang, raised by the Mountain Hermit, would possess such uprightness. She couldn’t help saying: “It’s fortunate you weren’t led astray by your master.”

Hearing this, Ji Qingyang sighed and said shamefully, “Actually, at first, I truly couldn’t distinguish between good and evil. Master became acquainted with Imperial Guard Commander Jin Ni and sent me to work under him. For the sake of my career, I did many evil deeds for Jin Ni. But later…”

He paused, seemingly recalling past events. His gaze gradually softened: “Later, I wanted to become a good person. So, I traveled around performing heroic deeds, punishing evil and promoting good, using my skills to protect the common people’s peace.”

Li Ying curiously asked: “What catalyst caused such a significant change in you?”

Ji Qingyang didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked steadily at Li Ying, smiling slightly: “Does the Princess remember the Lantern Festival of the eighteenth year of Taichang? A few young men, rushing to see the lanterns, accidentally collided with Princess Langyia’s carriage. Princess Langyia was furious and ordered her servants to beat these young men to death in the street. The Princess’s sedan chair passed by, and she lifted the curtain to say a few words to these young men. Only then did Princess Langyia let them go.”

Ji Qingyang still remembered that night when he was beaten until his face was bruised and swollen. After joining the Imperial Guard, he had always been arrogant. But at that moment, he realized that the so-called Imperial Guard was merely a royal dog. These Imperial Guard officers, feared by everyone, were not even as good as house servants in the eyes of the overbearing Great Zhou princesses. Princess Langyia could beat or kill them as she pleased, and even if she did kill them, Imperial Guard Commander Jin Ni wouldn’t dare say anything.

A foot stepped on his head, almost pressing him into the mud. Just when he thought he would die that night, an exquisite sedan chair adorned with bright pearls slowly stopped.

The sedan chair was draped with light gauze bearing auspicious patterns. Inside, an incense burner burned sandalwood, its fragrance wafting over. The foot pressing on his head involuntarily moved away. With effort, he raised his head to see a delicate, slender white hand lifting the light gauze curtain. A beautiful, elegant, and serene young girl’s face appeared before him. Her voice was as clear and pleasant as a spring: “Sister Langyia, they didn’t do it on purpose. Why must you bully them with your power?”

The young girl’s eyes held a trace of anger and indignation. She didn’t know these young men, nor did she know they were Imperial Guard officers. She simply couldn’t stand seeing Princess Langyia beating people in the street, so she spoke up for them. Princess Langyia didn’t dare offend her. She grudgingly smiled and quickly left with her servants. The young girl nodded and smiled at the dumbfounded young men, saying, “Hurry and go see the lantern festival. If you’re late, it will be over.”

The gauze curtain fell again, concealing her painting-like face. Six sedan carriers lifted the chair, heading toward Daming Palace. Dozens of palace maids followed closely. It took Ji Qingyang a while to come to his senses. He asked a companion beside him: “Who was that?”

“Princess Yong’an.”

Ji Qingyang had remembered this incident his entire life, but Li Ying had no recollection of it. She tried hard to recall, but still couldn’t remember. She apologized: “I’m sorry, I truly don’t remember.”

Ji Qingyang seemed somewhat bewildered and disappointed, but he quickly adjusted his mood and forced a smile: “For the Princess, it might have been a small gesture, but for me, it was life-saving grace, impossible to forget in a lifetime.”

He looked steadily at Li Ying, his gaze now containing some admiration. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when Cui Xun tossed him a roasted fish, then handed the other deboned roasted fish to Li Ying. Li Ying happily accepted it. Cui Xun glanced at Ji Qingyang and said coldly: “Watch out for bones.”

Ji Qingyang was taken aback. The roasted fish emitted a delicious aroma. Li Ying eagerly tore off a piece of fish meat and put it in her mouth. Sure enough, it was crispy outside and tender inside, juicy and delicious. Seeing Cui Xun skewering another fish to roast, but having no time to eat, she tore off a piece of fish belly and naturally brought it to Cui Xun’s mouth: “Try some?”

This scene was extremely intimate—he was removing bones for her, her feeding him fish. Even the most obtuse person could see their relationship. Ji Qingyang pressed his lips together, his eyes regaining their bright look. He swallowed what he had been about to say and instead said: “The Princess saved my life, so when I saw the Princess at the Ghost Market, I was surprised to see her with Assistant Minister Cui, because Assistant Minister Cui’s reputation isn’t very good…”

Hearing this, Li Ying looked at Ji Qingyang with slight surprise. Ji Qingyang smiled and continued: “However, although I didn’t trust Assistant Minister Cui, I did trust the Princess. If Assistant Minister Cui had truly surrendered to the Turks, the Princess wouldn’t have been willing to associate with him. That’s why I went to find the merchant to investigate.”

And it was precisely after discovering the truth that he felt at ease leaving Li Ying with Cui Xun.

Although he still had many questions—why her soul remained in the mortal world, why she had appeared at the Ghost Market, why she was with Cui Xun—he was also concerned for her safety. She was the pure and sacred goddess in his heart. Seeing her again after thirty years, he was overjoyed. He wanted to stay by her side and protect her. But after calming down, he realized she already had Cui Xun’s protection. In life, time is limited. While devotion is praiseworthy, protecting all people in the world is more meaningful than protecting just one person.

So he took up his sword, mounted his horse, and left Chang’an, continuing his life as a wandering knight, championing justice, eliminating evil, helping the weak against the strong. The noble Great Zhou princess would forever be treasured in his heart.

Ji Qingyang explained why he had investigated whether Cui Xun had surrendered, which made Li Ying sigh inwardly. So Ji Qingyang had investigated the truth because of her, not because of Cui Xun himself.

It seemed the rumors spread by Ashina Wuduo and Pei Guanyue had given Cui Xun such a tarnished reputation that it was difficult to reverse. High officials, scholars, and common people alike—not one was willing to set aside prejudice to explore the mystery behind his infamy. If they were willing to investigate a little like Ji Qingyang had, they would know that the so-called surrendering general was the most unyielding man in the world.

Li Ying felt a mix of emotions, but Cui Xun didn’t seem to care about this. Instead, he asked Ji Qingyang: “Before your master, the Mountain Hermit, died, he said that thirty years ago, you were sent by Jin Ni with orders to kill the Princess. I want to know, did you kill the Princess that night?”