The wilderness was silent.

That cold, almost murmured “yes” quickly dissipated in the air, vanishing without a trace. Like a gentle breeze, like drifting clouds. Leaving no mark behind.

Yet that single “yes” seemed to raise waves like whales and crocodiles churning the sea, wild winds surging between heaven and earth, waves blocking out sun and sky. Tanmoluojia found himself like a small boat amidst it all, sailing alone through the storm, watching as fierce waves crashed over him one after another.

Like thousands upon thousands of horses thundering past, threatening to tear everything in the world to dust.

Tanmoluojia stood firm at the bow, unmoved.

The waves swept in, crashing against his shoulders, threatening to devour him.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light broke through the layers of dark clouds, enveloping him. In an instant, the wind and rain ceased, the sky brightened, and the towering waves transformed into gentle spring waters, flowing softly past.

Yes.

He heard his own voice, that faint “yes” echoing endlessly in his heart.

It echoed so long it seemed deeply engraved there, and despite his calm restraint and rational suppression, that word had somehow slipped out so gently.

“Do you like me?”

Yes, indeed.

Even knowing all was emptiness, he still sank into it.

Beauty turns to bones, powder, and rouge to skulls.

People are entangled in desires, their hearts clouded with impure thoughts, thus they cannot see the Way. You monks must abandon desire. When the stains of desire are gone, the Way becomes visible.

One should contemplate thoughts far from desire, and meditate on impurity.

She should have been just a kindred spirit met on his path of cultivation, a destined encounter granted by Buddha, chance meetings over thousands of miles that should scatter like duckweed on water.

But he had developed desire, formed attachment, wanting to grasp this beam of light, to possess this touch of moonlight for himself.

Seeing her laughing and talking with others, thoughts of greed and anger arose.

Separation from loved ones, meeting with the despised, and not getting what one seeks.

All arise from desire.

So he had to turn away and leave.

He knew the scriptures well, saw through worldly affairs, and had developed the habit since childhood of planning everything to the end before acting. No matter what, he could see the final outcome from the very beginning, and it was the same when he realized his heart had been moved.

Before it began, it was already over.

He knew the result, made his choice, and watched her leave, yet couldn’t stand by while she was in danger. He arranged everything, just wanting to see her once to ensure she was safe, but in the end she still discovered him…

Yet with just a few pressing questions from her, he had unconsciously answered “yes,” without concealing anything.

He wanted her by his side, and wouldn’t deny it, because he had never felt that having feelings for her was something to be ashamed of…

But he didn’t want her to know. This was his cultivation path – he was the Buddhist Prince of the royal court, plagued by illness, not long for this world. Drawing her in would only hurt her.

She had found out anyway, asked him directly, and he had answered.

But as Su Dangu.

It was Su Dangu she cared about, Su Dangu she was close to, Su Dangu she had asked.

Su Dangu was only part of who he was.

Neither version of him could make her any promises.

If she knew the truth… what would she think?

Disgust? Hatred?

He was a monk, yet wanted to trap her, a woman of the mortal world, in his cultivation.

Tanmoluojia lowered his head, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.

There were things in this world even he wasn’t good at.

He didn’t know what to do about her.

She suddenly appeared beside him, and suddenly left, coming and going as she pleased.

He appeared calm and composed, but ripples stirred beneath, like a banner stirring in the wind.

Soft dawn light rose between the ancient, majestic mountains on the horizon. All was silent, everything still except for the crackling of the fire.

After the night’s heavy rain, the cold morning breeze swept past, and the body in his hands trembled slightly.

Tanmoluojia came back to his senses, pulled over a felt blanket that had dried by the fire, and wrapped Yao Ying completely in it. His fingers touched her neck. He took up a cloth to wipe the wound on her forehead, and pulled back the blanket to check her body, his brows slightly furrowed.

Her cheeks and neck were covered in small scrapes, with spots of blood seeping from broken skin.

His fingers lightly brushed over the wounds, and she trembled in his arms, frowning with a soft whimper.

Tanmoluojia withdrew his hand, gazing at her for a long moment.

Her features were elegant and beautiful, her nose straight and delicate, her face charming and bright. Even with light makeup, her glancing eyes shone so brilliantly one could hardly look directly at her, like a lotus slowly blooming in the Seven Treasures Pool, gleaming with gold, silver, and crystal.

He closed his eyes for a moment, saying nothing.

“Look at me.”

Yao Ying had heard that “yes.” She struggled out of the felt blanket, coughed once, and commanded him in an ordering tone, gripping his collar tightly until her knuckles turned white. She opened her eyes wide to look at him, the dawn seeming to fall into those eyes as sharp light flickered within them.

“I heard just now… you like me… don’t try to deny it…”

Tanmoluojia carried too many responsibilities and concerns – if asked directly, he wouldn’t answer, so she could only force an answer from him this way.

“I heard it.”

She spoke haltingly, looking fierce with slightly reddened eyes, whether from fever or something else was unclear.

Tanmoluojia looked at her quietly.

She lay in his arms, her cheeks flushed red, what seemed like tears glittering in her eyes, her lips as pale as paper.

Their eyes met and held.

A moment passed, or perhaps it was an age, seas turning to mulberry fields, all things turning to ash, and he could only feel the soft warmth in his arms.

“Yes, Princess heard it.”

Tanmoluojia sighed softly, his expression solemn and grave. He tightened his arms slightly, his hand pressing against Yao Ying’s neck as he leaned down, slowly moving closer to her.

In an instant, his scent filled her nose. His arms around her grew tighter and tighter, his warmth penetrating through their clothes in waves.

The back of her neck where he pressed burned hot, electricity coursing through her cold skin, bringing waves of tingling shivers.

His embrace was firm and broad, carrying a sense of finality, all emotion buried in its depths.

Yao Ying remembered the last time he had embraced her – he had been just as restrained, yet his arms had held her just as tightly. Her heart began to race wildly, her whole body trembling as she looked up at him, her throat too tight to make a sound.

He drew closer and closer, his horrific scars becoming clearer, his jade-green eyes calm as the sea, his warm breath falling on her face.

Among the scents of blood and dampness mixed a faint trace of agarwood incense.

Their breaths intertwined closely.

For a moment, Yao Ying thought Tanmoluojia was going to kiss her.

He looked at her, his full lips nearly touching her cold ones, when he suddenly stopped. He gazed at her for a moment, closed his eyes with violently trembling lashes, his lips brushing past her cheek, ear, and temple as he slowly, tightly pulled her into his embrace.

Even as Su Dangu, he couldn’t dishonor her through indulgence.

Yao Ying was held tightly in his arms, her chin resting on his shoulder, unable to move. Then, something gently brushed against the top of her head.

A cold, soft-as-cotton kiss fell on her crown, gone in an instant.

The kiss was so light, barely there, like a dream.

Yao Ying’s mind exploded, all her blood rushing to her head. She couldn’t help but tremble, bitter emotions welling up in her heart, her nose stinging slightly. She sighed, raised her hands, and pushed Tanmoluojia away.

He jerked suddenly, coming to his senses, turbulent emotions flowing in his eyes as he quickly withdrew his hands, about to stand.

“Don’t move.”

Yao Ying cupped his scarred face in both hands, looking at his ugly countenance, her expression softening as she smiled slightly and leaned forward.

Her lips were soft and gentle as they lightly pecked his cheek.

Tanmoluojia froze, stiffening, unable to utter a word.

For a moment, he even forgot to breathe.

His gaze fell directly on Yao Ying’s face.

She smiled with her eyes, her cheeks like peach blossoms, her gaze flowing with charm and allure.

“You kissed me first.”

She declared righteously.

Tanmoluojia remained silent, his hands wanting to pull her tightly into his embrace but not moving.

In his twenty-some years of life, he had endured many life-and-death trials and tribulations, but he had never felt as flustered and helpless as he did at this moment.

Even so, his heartbeat remained slow and steady – he was clearly aware that her affection was meant for Su Dangu.

The monk version of himself and the Regent version were different in her eyes.

Tanmoluojia unconsciously reached for his prayer beads as he stood up.

“I do indeed have feelings of admiration for the Princess…”

The morning breeze whispered past as Tanmoluojia heard his own deep voice rise, his tone cold.

“However, I have long since vowed never to take a wife in this life.”

Yao Ying’s smile faded as her scrutinizing gaze moved across his face. She fell back onto the felt blanket, covering her mouth as she coughed.

Feeling warmth on her shoulders, Tanmoluojia immediately bent down, pulled up the blanket to wrap around her, and tied it with a firm knot, binding her within.

“I’ll have your guards come take care of you.”

He said softly, stood up, and turned to leave.

Yao Ying’s lips twitched as she bit her teeth in anger, sitting up while coughing, trying to undo the knot he had tied.

“Princess…”

Tanmoluojia’s footsteps stopped as he raised his head to look at the sky above.

After the previous night’s heavy rain, the sky had been washed clean, crystal clear blue with dawn’s glow not yet faded. A red sun climbed halfway up, its golden rays filling every corner of the valley. The valley was barren, with yellow sand swirling everywhere, and he stood with his back to her, his figure solitary.

He sighed softly, raised his hands to unwrap his headscarf layer by layer, and then tore off his scarred mask.

Morning light cast a golden radiance through the valley, with dark shadows falling from the towering cliffs on either side. He stood where shadow met sunlight, his head with its slight growth of cyan-tinted hair exposed before her. The wind lifted his robes, and his entire bearing suddenly changed – no longer fierce and stern, but cool and detached, his figure seeming about to float away.

He stood there, shoulders draped in rosy light, his silhouette appearing incomparably tall, majestic, and sacred in the sunlight.

Yao Ying found herself holding her breath.

She had known that as the Buddha’s son, he wouldn’t be frank with her, which was why she had pressed Su Dangu – only then would he lower his guard slightly and reveal his true feelings.

Now, he had removed his headscarf himself.

“I am not Su Dangu.”

He still faced away from her. “I am Tanmoluojia, the Buddhist Prince of the royal court. My feelings for the Princess were just a moment of forgetting myself… Because the martial arts I practice are a secret of the royal temple, I have been concealing this from the Princess. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way and cause the Princess to misunderstand. Please forgive me.”

If he didn’t tell her the truth, with her personality, she wouldn’t easily give up. She had specifically come to ask if Su Dangu liked her, clearly having feelings for Su Dangu. Rejecting her as Su Dangu would leave her sad and disappointed.

Only by letting her discover that Su Dangu was him would she be disappointed enough to forget Su Dangu, and not be heartbroken for too long.

He couldn’t hide it from her anymore.

And he didn’t want to hide it.

All along he had concealed it only because he didn’t want her to suffer any pain or trouble because of it.

Behind him, there was a long silence.

Tanmoluojia closed his eyes.

Indeed, the one she had feelings for was Su Dangu, a secular man.

He clenched his fists and stepped forward to leave.

“Luojia!”

An angry clear shout rang through the valley.

Then came the sound of boots rushing over loose stones.

Tanmoluojia acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing forward. The footsteps grew closer until his arm was suddenly gripped tightly by a pair of cold hands.

He came back to his senses.

Yao Ying was panting from running, her cheeks burning red as she held his arm, her face showing slight anger.

“Luojia, did you think I didn’t know you and the Regent were the same person?”

“Did you think I wanted to ask the Regent?”

“No, that question was for you!”

“I rushed here from Gaochang to see you, Luojia.”

She spoke between coughs, her voice hoarse.

Tanmoluojia was stunned.

Yao Ying laughed in extreme anger: “Master, did you think I would be equally close to and trusting of two different men?”

“I’ve known you were the same person for a long time!”

“Since you didn’t want to tell me, I pretended not to know. In my eyes, whether you’re the Buddhist Master or the Regent, you’re the same person. I’ve never misunderstood anything.”

She had always known Tanmoluojia and Su Dangu were one person – a monk of noble character and firm conviction.

He made her feel at ease; when she was with him, she felt relaxed and unconsciously forgot the distinction between man and woman.

Therefore, she had never thought he would develop romantic feelings, regardless of which identity he appeared as. She had always deeply trusted and respected him, never dwelling on the special way different versions of him treated her.

If it had been Bi Suo or Mo Biduo treating her so well, she would have discovered their feelings long ago. But he was Tanmoluojia, always using that emotionless face to tell her he cared for her only out of sympathy.

She hadn’t dared to think more, afraid that thinking too much would be disrespectful to him.

All the melancholy, conflict, heartache, worry, anger, and concern she had buried deep in her heart these past days surged forth. Yao Ying opened her mouth, remembering how she had found him the previous night, and her vision gradually blurred.

Tears welled up.

“You deceived me, Luojia.”

She didn’t want to cry, but her voice carried traces of tears.

“I became your heart demon. Bi Suo said your mood was depressed and your illness worsened because of me, right?”

She had ended up causing him trouble after all.

Tanmoluojia stared blankly at the crystalline tears sparkling on her eyelashes for a long while, raised his hand, then withdrew it, moving his gaze away.

“It was because my Buddhist practice was insufficient, my heart not still… Princess is not my heart demon.”

He paused for a moment.

“Meeting the Princess was my fortune.”

If he had never met her, that would have been that.

Having met her, she left her mark, making it difficult for him to let go.

Yao Ying’s throat tightened as gentle warmth flowed in from all directions, surrounding her.

He had never seen her as trouble, even when tormented by his feelings.

She smiled slightly, the tears in her lashes breaking apart: “Master, it is the same for me.”

“Meeting Master was my fortune.”

Yao Ying took a deep breath, and laughed lightly, all worry vanishing from her brow.

“So, when I first discovered Master liked me… I was shocked, and surprised… but not at all repulsed. On the contrary, there was an inexplicable joy in my heart.”

Tanmoluojia stared at her in a daze, completely motionless.