Chang Feng Mountain Villa was located in the western suburbs of Nan’an Prefecture, backed by Bao Lin Mountain with its beautiful scenery and clear Stone Xiu Spring.
At dusk that day, the group finally arrived at Chang Feng Mountain Villa. After dinner, Pei Yan ordered the housekeeper Cen Wu to send away all the servants from the main courtyard. He then led Jiang Ci through the back garden of the main courtyard, following a bluestone path up the northern slope of Bao Lin Mountain.
The night was deep, with the crescent moon hidden behind dark clouds, leaving the mountain path pitch black. Pei Yan walked with ease, but Jiang Ci found it difficult to see. The surrounding air was chilly, making her feel afraid. She hurried to catch up, grabbing onto Pei Yan’s sleeve.
Pei Yan glanced at her sideways, brushing off her hand before striding forward. Jiang Ci cursed under her breath, watching him walk further and further away, her heart beginning to pound.
Just as she was growing truly frightened, Pei Yan turned back. He grabbed her left hand and forcefully dragged her up the mountain. Jiang Ci felt pain in her wrist but bit her lip and followed Pei Yan closely, not daring to slow down.
The two reached the middle of the northern slope. Pei Yan pulled Jiang Ci around a mountain ridge, and she suddenly felt warmth on her face. The wind seemed to have grown warmer. After walking a bit further, it gradually brightened. To their left was a rock face with over ten small holes carved into it, each containing an ever-burning lamp. To their right was a deep, quiet valley.
Pei Yan released Jiang Ci and led her along a stone path. After turning two more bends, Jiang Ci couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
Before them, a clear spring gushed out from the rock face. The water was a misty white, with steam rising from it – a hot spring. The water flowed into a stone pool at the base of the rock face. White mist rose from the pool, complementing the few ever-burning lamps on the surrounding rock walls, creating an ethereal, dreamlike scene.
Jiang Ci walked forward in admiration, dipping her hand into the stone pool. Her eyes widened: “It feels so good.”
Pei Yan smiled, “This is where I used to practice martial arts. It’s also a secret place in Chang Feng Mountain Villa. You’re the first outsider to come here.”
Jiang Ci gently splashed the spring water, smiling, “Why did you come here to practice?”
“The water of this Bao Qing Spring is beneficial for the human body and bones. Since I was two years old, I’ve been washing and tempering my muscles and bones with this spring water. At three, I started practicing breathing techniques; at five, I began sword practice; by seven, my inner energy had some small achievements. It was all practiced here. For several years, I lived alone in a thatched cottage by this pool, never going down the mountain.” As Pei Yan spoke, he began to remove his outer robe.
The spring water under her hand was warm to the bone. Jiang Ci suddenly remembered what Pei Yan had said by the lotus pond on the night of the Prime Minister’s Manor birthday banquet when he was drunk. She was speechless for a moment. After a while, she said softly, “So to achieve such good martial arts skills like yours, one has to suffer so much. If it were me, I would have given up long ago.”
Pei Yan paused briefly in his actions, then sneered, “If I were as lazy and gluttonous as you, I probably would have been dead long ago.” He continued to remove his clothes one by one.
Jiang Ci kept her head down, looking at the water surface: “I think if you were a person without martial arts skills, you might live longer. Now that you’re the Prime Minister, you can’t sleep peacefully or eat comfortably, and you’re always worried about assassination attempts. What’s the point of living like that?!”
“What does a little girl like you know? If you were born in my Chang Feng Mountain Villa, you’d have to practice martial arts the same way.”
Jiang Ci laughed, “I’m naturally lazy. Even if I were born in Chang Feng Mountain Villa, I wouldn’t practice martial arts.”
Pei Yan laughed loudly: “If that were the case, you wouldn’t have a choice.” With that, he leaped into the pool.
There was a splash, and water sprayed everywhere. Jiang Ci cried out in surprise and quickly moved away. After wiping the water droplets from her face, she saw Pei Yan standing in the pool, his upper body bare. She felt an inexplicable panic and turned to run.
Pei Yan struck the water surface with his right hand, sending white water droplets mixed with a gust of wind to hit the back of Jiang Ci’s knees. Jiang Ci cried out “Ouch!” and knelt by the pool. She didn’t dare turn her head to look at Pei Yan and could only lower her head angrily, saying, “You’re supposed to be the dignified Prime Minister, how can you be so shameless!”
Pei Yan moved to Jiang Ci’s side, climbed onto the edge of the pool, and said languidly, “This is my home. How is it shameless for me to undress in my own home? Come down and soak with me.”
Jiang Ci angrily said, “I’d rather die than go down there.” She tightly closed her eyes.
Pei Yan glanced at her, smiled, then turned his back to her and leaned against the pool edge. He let out a long breath and submerged his entire body in the pool.
Hearing the movement behind her, Jiang Ci knew Pei Yan had sunk into the water. She tried to stand up, but the spot where she had been hit by the water droplets was sore and weak, and she couldn’t get up. She managed to move a few feet away with the strength of her left arm but suddenly realized that there had been no movement from Pei Yan in the water for a while, so she stopped.
After waiting a bit longer and still not hearing Pei Yan’s surface, Jiang Ci began to feel anxious. She knew that someone with such profound inner strength as Pei Yan could hold their breath underwater for a long time, but to hold it for the time it takes to burn an incense stick seemed a bit unbelievable. She grew increasingly afraid and finally couldn’t help but turn around and crawl back to where Pei Yan had entered the water.
The surface of the pool was shrouded in mist, a white haze that obscured the view underwater. Jiang Ci called out softly, “My Lord!” There was no response. She raised her voice, “My Lord!” The echo resounded through the mountains. Her heart began to race, and after hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth and jumped into the water.
In her panic, she forgot that the acupoint behind her knees had been struck. Once in the water, she couldn’t kick her legs. She flailed her arms a few times but sank straight to the bottom. In her daze, she swallowed several mouthfuls of water. Just as she thought her life was over, she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist, slowly lifting her body. Her nose and mouth broke the surface, and she coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of water.
Pei Yan patted Jiang Ci’s back, laughing loudly, “You jumped in yourself, you can’t blame me for this.”
Jiang Ci lay on the edge of the pool, continuing to spit out the spring water in her throat. She felt uncomfortable from choking and deeply humiliated. She wept silently.
Pei Yan’s laughter gradually subsided, and he continued to pat her back gently. Jiang Ci felt a stream of inner energy flowing into her body through the acupoints on her back. Her chest began to feel more comfortable, and the acupoint behind her knees was also released.
She suddenly turned around, brushing away Pei Yan’s hand, and stared at him coldly, saying, “My Lord, in your eyes, I may just be a country girl you can bully and humiliate at will. But in my eyes, even though you’re the dignified Prime Minister, you’re not much better than this country girl. You are pitiful, tragic, and shameful!”
The smile on Pei Yan’s face froze. After a moment, he stepped back two paces, leaned against the pool edge, and said languidly, “Tell me then, how am I pitiful? How am I tragic? And why am I shameful? If you can explain it reasonably, I won’t bully you anymore.”
Jiang Ci simply took off her outer jacket, which had become heavy with water, wrung out her hair, and looked calmly at Pei Yan: “You said before that you lived for more than twenty years for an illusory goal, only to find out in the end that this goal was false. Isn’t that pitiful? You appear glorious in public, but you pay a heavy price in private, full of lies and schemes. Isn’t that tragic? You injured me, then confined me in the Prime Minister’s Manor, and forced me to take poison. Now, out of goodwill, I jumped in to save you, but you mock me. Isn’t that shameful?!”
The corner of Pei Yan’s mouth curled slightly. He lay flat on the water’s surface and said faintly, “I said you’re foolish because you are. You only see the surface of things.”
Jiang Ci raised her head: “Did I say anything wrong?”
Pei Yan closed his eyes, his voice as ethereal as if floating on the water’s surface: “First of all, although I lived for more than twenty years for an illusory goal, at least I had a goal that gave me the motivation to live on. Now, although I’ve discovered this goal was false, I’ve immediately set a new goal. I’m not pitiful.
“Secondly, in your eyes, it seems I live a very hard life, but I don’t feel that way myself. Although practicing martial arts is bitter, it also brings endless joy, especially when you defeat one opponent after another and become unrivaled in the world. That kind of exhilaration is something a lazy bug like you will never be able to experience. Moreover, with my high martial arts skills and high position, I can protect my family, support my subordinates, and even command thousands of troops to repel the armies of the Huan Kingdom, indirectly protecting thousands upon thousands of common people. Back then, if my martial arts were a bit weaker, Cheng County would have been occupied by the Huan Kingdom long ago. Once they came south, they would have advanced straight through, defeating our dynasty. I fear even your little life in Deng Family Village wouldn’t have been peaceful. So, I’m not tragic.”
Jiang Ci listened in a daze, slowly releasing her hair, and said softly, “Then why do you always bully me? I’m not your servant, and I’ve never offended you.”
Pei Yan opened his eyes and glanced at Jiang Ci, then closed them again. His body slowly drifted to the side, disappearing into the white mist. As Jiang Ci was feeling confused, Pei Yan’s voice came from behind the mist: “This Bao Qing Spring water has miraculous healing effects. If you soak your wound in this spring water for an hour, it will heal and no longer hurt.”
Jiang Ci pondered his words carefully for a long time, then muttered softly, “If you have something to say, just say it directly. Why do you have to be so roundabout? I’m not a worm in your belly, how would I know you’re trying to do good for me?”
She moved towards the western side of the pool. When she reached a large rock, she rolled up her right sleeve high and immersed herself sideways into the water.
In the thick mist, Pei Yan submerged his head in the water, then resurfaced after a moment. He rose and fell several times, swimming to the eastern side of the pool, quietly climbing ashore. He lay on a large rock, gazing at the black sky above. After a while, he slowly closed his eyes.
The hot spring water was comfortably penetrating to the bone. Jiang Ci felt her pores gradually opening, her muscles and veins becoming unobstructed. Her wound began to feel tingly and itchy, the pain gradually subsiding. She couldn’t help but inwardly praise the miraculous nature of the Bao Qing Spring water. In her drowsiness, she dozed off leaning against the rock. She seemed to have a dream where her master smiled at her, gently caressing her forehead and tucking her loose hair behind her ear.
The sound of birds chirping woke Jiang Ci with a start. She turned her head to see Pei Yan fully dressed, sitting by the pool. In front of him was a bonfire, its flames leaping high. Her outer jacket, which she had taken off earlier, was hanging on tree branches set up beside the fire.
Seeing Pei Yan looking at her with an ambiguous smile, Jiang Ci quickly sank into the water. Pei Yan laughed loudly, “You don’t have anything worth seeing for this Prime Minister. Come out quickly, or your skin will wrinkle if you soak any longer, making you look like an old woman.”
Not knowing if he was telling the truth or not, Jiang Ci had no choice but to slowly climb ashore. Her inner garments clung tightly to her body, making her feel extremely embarrassed. She scolded, “Turn around!”
Pei Yan smiled, using a tree branch to pick up Jiang Ci’s outer jacket. He tossed it lightly, and it landed perfectly on Jiang Ci. She quickly wrapped it around herself and slowly walked to sit by the fire.
Seeing her face flushed red, her appearance even more beautiful than a begonia flower, Pei Yan was stunned for a moment. He lowered his head to poke at the fire and said, “How is it? Is your wound much better?”
Jiang Ci let out a soft “Mm” and lowered her head without speaking.
Pei Yan shook his head and clicked his tongue, “It seems that no good deed goes unpunished. Since you’re so ungrateful, I might as well go back to being the villain and continue bullying you.”
Jiang Ci looked up quickly and said, “I know you had good intentions. Thank you.”
Pei Yan stoked the fire to make it burn brighter and said, “How do you want to thank me? Tell me.”
Jiang Ci’s cheeks reddened even more as she shrank back, “I was wrong to misjudge you earlier, saying you were pitiful, tragic, and shameful. You… you shouldn’t take it to heart.”
Pei Yan flicked the firebrand, sending several sparks flying toward Jiang Ci. She instinctively leaned back, hearing Pei Yan laugh, “I’m neither pitiful nor tragic, but this shameful act of bullying… that’s quite accurate!”
Jiang Ci avoided the sparks and sat up straight, smiling, “If my Lord loves to bully people, why don’t you go bully that He family girl, or that Yang family young lady? Why do you act all proper and gentlemanly in front of them?”
Pei Yan suddenly sat down beside Jiang Ci, his body leaning towards her as he laughed, “Then I’ll practice my bullying skills on you first, before going to bully them later.”
Jiang Ci rolled away on the ground, but Pei Yan still managed to pin down half of her body. Her heart raced as she stared wide-eyed at Pei Yan’s mischievous grin, now just inches away. She hurriedly said, “My Lord, um, I—”