Rain pattered melodiously outside the window.

The night wind, laden with moisture, blew through the cracks into the room, adding to the chill.

Yaoying, having changed into fresh robes, sat before the lamp slowly drying her long hair.

When Su Dangu embraced her, his entire body was rigid and cold, his palms icy, so cold that it caused her to tremble slightly. Even now, she could still feel the lingering warmth where his hand had pressed against her neck.

Was it truly just his old injury acting up that caused his momentary lapse?

If it was truly a lapse… why did he embrace her? Why not someone else?

Yaoying sat lost in thought for a while, then tied up her long hair with a silk ribbon. She wrote a brief letter and called for her guard: “Take this letter to General Ashina and tell him I wish to see General Su. Please make sure he helps deliver it.”

Rather than sitting here alone with her thoughts, it would be better to ask Su Dangu directly.

Just as her guard left with the letter, he ran into Bamir, who was coming to deliver a message.

“Princess, General Ashina requests your presence.”

Seeing his anxious expression, Yaoying put on her cloak and followed him out. “What has happened?”

Bamir said: “General Su has fallen ill. General Ashina asks the Princess to come take a look.”

Yaoying froze. Had Su Dangu’s old illness truly flared up?

The last time he had nearly lost control while practicing his martial arts, he had indeed embraced her, holding her for half the night… That time too, his body had been ice-cold, clutching her like a pillow.

The two hurried through the courtyard under umbrellas, water splashing around their feet, as they rushed to a compound near the court of punishment, climbing the steps.

Bisuo, carrying a lantern, came down to meet them, his gaze falling on Yaoying: “Apologies for troubling the Princess so late at night.”

Yaoying removed her hood and asked: “How is General Su?”

Bisuo smiled slightly and bowed to her: “I was thoughtless and caused the Princess unnecessary worry. The Regent only had a momentary discomfort earlier, but he’s fine now. I was too hasty. Please accept my apologies.”

Yaoying stood stunned, raising her head to look toward the doorway.

A tall, imposing figure stood there, his bearing proud and vigorous. In the flickering lamplight, his scarred face was half in light, half in shadow, his jade-green eyes deep and calm.

Rain fell steadily on the steps.

Yaoying looked at Su Dangu, remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward. “Is the General feeling better?”

He lowered his gaze to look at her and nodded: “I’m fine. I’ve caused the Princess concern. Please return now.”

He then turned to Bamir.

“Escort the Princess back.”

His tone was cold.

Bamir respectfully complied.

Bisuo stood to the side, not daring to speak.

A gust of wind blew through, suddenly intensifying the rain, droplets hammering against the roof tiles with sharp reports.

Yaoying stood before the steps, saying nothing for a long while. The questions she had wanted to ask no longer seemed necessary.

Rain splashed up, wetting the hem of her dress. She pulled her cloak tighter and smiled faintly: “I’m glad the General is well. It’s late, and the General has just returned from the campaign. Please rest early. I’ll take my leave.”

Yaoying turned and left.

Bamir, looking bewildered, hurried after her.

Once their figures had disappeared into the depths of the long corridor, Tanmolouqie staggered backward, steadying himself against a pillar.

Bisuo moved forward to support him.

He waved him away, turned, and entered the room, stumbling to the couch where he collapsed.

Bisuo sighed, “My Lord, why do you torture yourself so…”

Tanmolouqie had taken medicine and just regained consciousness. Upon learning he had summoned Li Yaoying, he had struggled to his feet and coldly dismissed her, without a single word of explanation. No matter how good-tempered the Princess was, such treatment would upset her.

Tanmolouqie had been holding himself together by sheer will, but now his strength was spent and his consciousness growing fuzzy again, his brows tightly knitted, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

“Don’t drag her into this…”

He murmured suddenly in his delirium.

As a cultivator, he shouldn’t disturb her in the mortal realm. For him, this was all just training, but for her it was different.

No matter what identity he appeared before her with, he shouldn’t cross that line.

He couldn’t make the same mistake again.

Bisuo shook his head and sighed, keeping watch by the bed, his heart filled with complex emotions.

…

The next morning at dawn, Tanmolouqie awoke to a floating green light outside his window.

The rain had stopped and daylight filled the sky.

He rose and, like any other day, summoned the healer, took his medicine, removed his headscarf, peeled off the scars, took off his clothes, changed into his kasaya, found his prayer beads and slipped them around his wrist, then sat cross-legged before the Buddha statue to meditate.

Yesterday’s embrace in the rain had been just a moment of lost control.

The clouds had cleared, the rain had stopped, the red sun emerged, its brilliant rays illuminating everything, and all was dispersed like smoke.

He chanted several sutras before Bisuo and Bamir came to report on matters.

“My Lord, everything in the city has been peaceful these days…”

Bisuo said his expression complex.

“We have Princess Wenzhao to thank for that.”

Tanmolouqie raised his eyes.

Bisuo nodded to Bamir, who slowly explained: “When Haidou Aling launched his surprise attack, all the court officials fled to the King’s Temple. The Prime Minister personally took charge, managing state affairs and rebuking the officials until they dispersed and dutifully returned to their posts. During this time, when temple monks sought an audience, I followed my Lord’s instructions and found reasons to turn them away, ordered increased vigilance at the city gates, kept the gates sealed, and maintained order everywhere.”

The city had ample food supplies, and under the Prime Minister’s prohibitions, merchants dared not raise prices. Everything remained normal, except for the sealed city gates.

“We didn’t expect Northern Rong spies to already be in the city. When General Gelu and the others couldn’t quickly capture Haidou Aling and the battle reached a stalemate, the people became frightened. Those spies spread rumors, causing great unrest, and took advantage to incite riots, urging people to storm the city gates…”

“The Prime Minister led officials to the gates to pacify the people, but they had believed the rumors claiming the Prime Minister had already sent his family out of the city. They wanted to leave too, and wouldn’t listen to his persuasion. Someone might have been stirring trouble – a gate guard suddenly struck a civilian, and chaos erupted… The Prime Minister went to investigate, and several women burst from the crowd to assassinate him! He was caught off guard and suffered a wound, though fortunately it was shallow, barely breaking the skin.”

Tanmolouqie’s brows furrowed slightly at this.

The Prime Minister was too honest after all. He followed every instruction faithfully, but his loyalty, while admirable, left him unable to adapt to changing circumstances, leading to his failure to quell even minor unrest.

Bamir continued: “That’s when Princess Wenzhao suddenly appeared on the city wall. Her guards saved the Prime Minister…”

That day, Li Yaoying had appeared unexpectedly, rescued the Prime Minister, and stood on the wall persuading the people, telling them the Buddha’s son had already positioned troops and Haidou Aling could never breach the Holy City. The people were half-convinced.

Bamir, recalling the scene, couldn’t help but build suspense: “My Lord, can you guess what the Princess did?”

Tanmolouqie gave him a cool glance.

Bamir shuddered, remembering he was giving a report, not bragging to colleagues. He quickly sobered and said: “The Princess had been monitoring the city’s situation and rushed over when she heard the news. Standing on the city wall, she pointed out the most troublesome people in the crowd and, without hesitation, ordered her guards to bind them!”

Li Yaoying had appeared dressed as a man with her face veiled. When her guards moved to seize people, the city residents were in an uproar, but she paid no attention to their pointing and whispers. She exposed the spies’ identities on the spot – it turned out she had been secretly investigating since returning to the Holy City, just waiting for the spies to reveal themselves so she could catch them all at once.

By then, Bamir had heard about the disturbance at the city gate and sent temple troops to handle it. The people trusted the temple troops, and seeing the spies expose themselves under questioning from the guards, they dispersed.

After that, no matter what rumors spread, the people dismissed them as Northern Rong spies causing trouble, and quietly stayed in their homes.

The Prime Minister had a false alarm but became more vigilant, issuing several prohibitions in succession. The city not only had a night curfew but was also under martial law during the day, until two days ago when they learned the army was returning victorious and lifted the restrictions.

Bamir finished speaking and retreated to the doorway.

Tanmolouqie lowered his eyes in silence, fingers turning his prayer beads.

Bisuo added: “My Lord… Princess Wenzhao had her guards traveling between the Holy City and the river valley during this time, delivering messages to Gelu and the others. She was constantly on guard against Haidou Aling.”

Tanmolouqie’s fingers stopped moving.

“Why was this not reported?”

He asked softly.

Bisuo said quietly: “The Princess appeared as my advisor Bayan, and Gelu and the others didn’t know she was Princess Wenzhao. The Prime Minister thought she was just a scribe from my household.”

On the road from Sand City to the Holy City, Li Yaoying had never revealed her identity. Only Bamir, Banruo, and the others knew she had returned.

Bamir had assumed Tanmolouqie knew about this and hadn’t thought to report it in his letters.

A ray of morning light shone into the meditation room, cutting across the desk and falling on Tanmolouqie’s kasaya, creating a soft golden shimmer.

He remained silent for a long while, then asked Bamir: “When did Princess Wenzhao return?”

Bamir thought for a moment and said: “About a month ago… before Haidou Aling launched his surprise attack, the Princess had already returned.”

Tanmolouqie stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the courtyard.

This meant Yaoying had rushed straight back to the Holy City immediately after leaving with the rear guard.

At that time, no one knew how many troops Haidou Aling would bring.

She was so afraid of Haidou Aling, yet knowing he would launch a surprise attack, she still returned without hesitation.

Why did she come back?

…

Half an hour later, in the small courtyard.

Heavy, far-reaching bell tones rang throughout the King’s Temple, as morning light poured down, glinting off the golden tip of the pagoda.

Hearing the bells, Yaoying looked up from her writing.

The young novice monk in the courtyard said with a bright smile: “Princess, our Buddha’s son has emerged from seclusion!”

Yaoying put down her brush and walked to the doorway, gazing toward the stone caves.

In the bright morning light, the towering caves were coated in a layer of golden radiance, appearing solemn and sacred.

The sound of hurried footsteps approached as Bamir came looking for her: “Princess, the King requests your presence in the meditation room.”

Yaoying tidied herself up and followed Bamir to the meditation room.

Passing through the arched doorway, a tall figure approached them from the depths of the long corridor, the sword at his waist reflecting flashes of precious light. A leopard covered in ancient coin patterns followed at his side, its paws falling silently on the lotus-patterned brick floor.

Bamir stopped and bowed to the man, “Regent.”

The man made a sound of acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping over Yaoying. With his back to the sunlight, his jade-green eyes appeared slightly darker than usual.

Yaoying looked at him but didn’t step forward. “Is the General feeling better today?”

Su Dangu nodded slightly.

The leopard at his side raised its head, yellow eyes narrowing, then suddenly lunged forward, raising its paw to catch at Yaoying’s dress hem.

“Ali.”

The man’s clear command rang out.

The leopard withdrew its paw, arched its body, and leaped onto the railing, its tail drooping as it ran away.

The man nodded to Yaoying and strode off.

Yaoying watched his retreating figure and asked Bamir: “Is General Su leaving the city?”

Bamir said: “The King has emerged from seclusion. The Regent has been ordered to pursue Khan Wahan and the Northern Rong remnants to Yizhou. He departs today.”

Yaoying’s brows furrowed slightly as she continued toward the meditation room while looking back.

At the entrance, Banruo greeted her with a grin, saying softly: “Princess, the King has emerged from seclusion. You’ve done great deeds recently, Princess. The King will surely reward you.”

Yaoying said nothing, her gaze passing over his shoulder to look into the meditation room.

The hall was filled with clear fragrance, spacious and pure. A man sat cross-legged before a desk reviewing memorials, wearing flowing snow-white kasaya with gold patterns, his bearing proper and his presence commanding, his features cold and clear.

She walked forward.

“Master.”

Tanmolouqie made a sound of acknowledgment, gesturing for her to sit.

Yaoying’s gaze swept around, noting a small desk beside the long table – the same desk she had used when staying in the meditation room before.

She went to sit there, raising her eyes to study Tanmolouqie carefully.

His brow ridge was clear, his nose bridge high, his features distinct, his bearing calm, seemingly untouched by worldly concerns. Just looking at his face, he had quite the appearance of a Buddha statue.

Tanmolouqie raised his eyes, meeting Yaoying’s thoughtful gaze, and said: “Haidou Aling has gone to Gaochang. Yuanjue has already headed south; he will warn Gaochang.”

Yaoying came back to herself and said: “Thank you, Master.”

She wasn’t at all surprised that Haidou Aling had fled south. The royal city’s defenses were strong, easy to defend, and difficult to attack. To preserve his strength, he wouldn’t attempt a forceful siege, only using surprise attacks to create chaos. Upon hearing of Khan Wahan’s great defeat, he would withdraw south without hesitation. For him now, taking advantage of the situation to gather scattered troops and build his power was more important than relieving Khan Wahan.

Tanmolouqie lowered his head, opening a memorial.

“I heard from Bamir that the Princess helped the Prime Minister maintain order in the city and captured several Northern Rong spies.”

Yaoying smiled and said: “I only captured a few people. The questioning, investigation, and maintaining order were all handled by the Prime Minister and Bamir.”

She had been worried about Haidou Aling’s poisonous schemes and specifically watched suspicious people in the city, so she had reacted a bit faster than the Prime Minister and Bamir.

Tanmolouqie picked up his brush to write, “Why did the Princess return to the Holy City?”

His tone was steady as if just asking casually.

Yaoying’s expression remained calm as she said lightly: “General Ashina asked me to accompany the army because I understand Haidou Aling. When Haidou Aling planned to attack the Holy City, of course, I couldn’t stay away… Master’s kindness to me is as vast as mountains. I also wanted to do what I could for Master.”

She paused, watching his brush, “I came back for Master.”

The brush tip on the paper didn’t hesitate at all, continuing to write with elegant, fluid motions.

Tanmolouqie gazed at the unfurled silk before him, writing with composure, his face showing not the slightest ripple of emotion.