Wei Zhao smiled smugly. “We’ve always worked well together, but this time…” He sat up straight, staring at Jiang Ci, his tone gradually turning cold. “If I were to ask you to help me deal with Pei Yan, would you be willing?”
Jiang Ci’s heart trembled slightly, and somewhere, a painful groan seemed to echo. She felt her hands turning cold, struggling to control her body’s trembling. Her clear, water-like eyes looked at Wei Zhao, her voice unwavering: “I’m willing.”
“Why?” Wei Zhao seemed quite interested.
Jiang Ci closed her eyes, and suddenly two teardrops rolled down. Wei Zhao gazed at her, suddenly feeling that her beautiful face was like a rain-drenched lotus in full bloom, that melancholy beauty seeming to exist in a distant memory. He stared at her intently, his tone low: “As far as I know, during this time, he hasn’t allowed anyone to serve him, only spending time with you day and night. He even risked his life to save you. For someone like him, this kind of sentiment is unprecedented. Why are you still willing to help me deal with him?”
Jiang Ci turned her head away, tears in her eyes. After a while, she said softly, “No, he only bullies me. He’s never truly seen me as a person. I… I hate him…”
Wei Zhao’s phoenix eyes slightly raised. He looked at Jiang Ci for a moment, then took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out a pill, and held it up to her.
Jiang Ci looked at Wei Zhao, seeing his pitch-black eyes as cold as a sword. His hand was as white as mutton-fat jade, while the pill was as black as ink, creating a stark contrast. She remained silent for a moment, then slowly leaned forward and gently took the pill from Wei Zhao’s hand into her mouth.
Wei Zhao’s fingers lingered in the air. Jiang Ci smiled and said, “Thank you, Sect Leader Xiao.”
Wei Zhao’s eyes grew more inquisitive. He casually leaned back on the brocade quilt and said nonchalantly, “You’re not so foolish after all. Tell me, why are you sure this is the antidote?”
“I’m not sure at all,” Jiang Ci said, feeling her long hair disheveled and gently combing it with her hand as she turned her head.
“Then why did you still take it?”
Jiang Ci smiled and calmly said, “Two reasons. First, given your character, if you didn’t intend to give the antidote, you wouldn’t give it at all. It’s death either way, so I might as well take a chance. Second, you still need me for something, so you wouldn’t let me die just yet. If I had swallowed poison, you would have stopped me, so I’m taking a gamble.”
Wei Zhao glanced sideways at Jiang Ci, his pupils flashing with an amber-like glow. He slowly picked up the bamboo flute by the couch, his slender fingers holding it and spinning it in circles. After a moment, he whistled, and with a neigh of horses, the carriage slowly started moving forward.
Jiang Ci lifted the heavy carriage curtain, and a cold wind hit her face. She quickly lowered it a bit and peeked outside through the gap, asking, “Where are we going?”
“Moon Fall Mountain.”
Jiang Ci let the curtain down, somewhat surprised: “Back to your lair?”
“Lair?” Wei Zhao chuckled. “To be honest, I haven’t been back there for over a decade.”
Jiang Ci turned her head: “Aren’t you the Star Moon Sect Leader? Why haven’t you returned to Moon Fall Mountain for over ten years?”
Wei Zhao snorted coldly and said no more, closing his eyes. The carriage bumped along, his long eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings, casting a faint gray shadow on his eyelids. Jiang Ci suddenly remembered that night at the Xiang family’s birthday banquet, when he sat with that person, smiling on the surface, but with empty eyes. In the grand hall full of jade tablets, in his eyes, they were all probably objects of extreme hatred. And that person, smiling brightly, was also wearing a mask. In his heart, all those in dragon robes were probably just pawns. What could their ambitions for power and their deep-seated hatred bring them?
Jiang Ci lowered her head, thinking quietly. She didn’t know how much time had passed when the carriage hit a stone on the road, jolting her awake. She looked up and saw that Wei Zhao seemed to have fallen asleep on the couch. She gazed at his beautiful sleeping face and gently pulled the brocade quilt over his shoulders.
The carriage gradually slowed down. Even sitting inside, Jiang Ci knew that outside the wind was strong and the snow was heavy. Traveling like this, they might not cover even a few dozen li in a day, and there was a risk of the horses freezing to death. Hearing the coachman’s shouts outside, she couldn’t help but glance at the sleeping Wei Zhao: Why was he in such a hurry to return to Moon Fall Mountain? What was his purpose? Why did he kidnap her to come along? Was it really to use her against that person?
She laughed coldly in her heart. Wei Zhao, Wei Zhao, if you think this way, you’re making a big mistake. I no longer have any value to be used, and how could that person care about me anymore?!
The carriage finally stopped, and Wei Zhao suddenly opened his eyes. The coachman said softly outside, “Young Master, we’ve arrived.”
Wei Zhao took out a human skin mask from his bosom and put it on his face. Then he took out two wide-brimmed hats with green gauze from under the couch and tossed one to Jiang Ci. Jiang Ci caught it, covered her face, and followed him off the carriage.
Snow was falling heavily, and Jiang Ci felt cold. She habitually hugged her shoulders, but her hand froze. The fox fur coat that once brought her warmth had been left in that thatched cottage, no longer on her shoulders. Her eyes gradually moistened, and the manor before her seemed as hazy as the netherworld. She moved her feet mechanically, following Wei Zhao into the snow-covered, white-walled manor.
Inside the manor, all was silent. The two entered through the main gate, walked along the side corridor, passed through the moon gate, crossed the side courtyard, went through several more doors, and arrived at the western courtyard. They hadn’t seen a single person along the way.
Wei Zhao pushed open the door and entered, surveying the room. Under the green gauze, his eyes, like cold stars, gradually deepened. Jiang Ci lowered her head slightly and saw that the tips of his fingers were trembling very subtly. Feeling a bit scared, she hid her figure in the shadow by the door.
Wei Zhao stood silently for a long time, then slowly walked to sit behind the long table in the western pavilion. His fingers lightly traced over the table. More than ten years ago, that gentle woman had held his hand, teaching him to write the three characters “Xiao Wu Xia” stroke by stroke at this table; that man, as handsome as a god, had gripped his hand, teaching him the “Star Moon Sword Technique” move by move in this courtyard. Time passes like sand in an hourglass, past events are like clouds of smoke, and all the people and things will never return. What forever accompanies him like a shadow is the hatred and responsibility that cannot be shaken off his shoulders, the patience and ruthlessness that have seeped into his bones.
He sat behind the table for a long time, the green gauze on his face moving with the slight breeze. The room gradually darkened, and Jiang Ci silently shrank further behind the door.
Very light footsteps sounded, and the coachman from earlier entered holding a candle, saying softly, “Young Master, the Second Young Master has arrived.”
Wei Zhao withdrew his right hand, stood up, walked to the door, looked at Jiang Ci who was standing with her head bowed by the door, and said coldly, “Lock her up in Mo Yun Pavilion, and keep a close eye on her.”
As the night deepened, Wei Zhao entered “Liu Fang Pavilion” and looked at the person inside, saying flatly, “You look like your wounds have healed completely.”
Su Yan hurriedly bowed slightly: “Thanks to the Sect Leader’s concern, this subordinate’s injuries have healed.”
Wei Zhao sat down in a chair: “Wu Ying’s hand was a bit heavy, but if you hadn’t used your injury to fake falling off the cliff to escape, you wouldn’t have fooled Pei Yan.”
“It’s just a pity about Hall Master Wu.”
“Wu Ying’s life wasn’t very interesting anyway. Leaving like this is probably cleaner for him.”
Su Yan dared not respond. Wei Zhao said, “Where’s Su Jun? Didn’t I tell you both to wait for me here?”
“There was a change in Youzhou, and my elder brother rushed over there.”
“What happened?”
“Originally, we had arranged for the miners to escape and report to the officials about Pei Zifang’s illegal copper mining. But as soon as our people led the miners out of Jiuyou Mountain, they were caught by Pei Zifang’s men. Although they all took poison and committed suicide, leaving no survivors, my elder brother feared that some clues might be left behind, alerting Pei Zifang. So he rushed to Youzhou, intending to deal with Pei Zifang personally.”
Wei Zhao’s right hand lightly tapped on the table. After a while, he said, “You go to Youzhou immediately and tell Su Jun not to rush to deal with Pei Zifang. Hold off for now.”
Su Yan lowered his head and said, “My elder brother hates Pei Zifang to the bone, I’m afraid…”
Wei Zhao’s voice gradually turned stern: “I know. Countless of our clan members died at Pei Zifang’s hands back then, but now we need to consider the bigger picture. Tell Su Jun, if he ruins my plans, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Su Yan hesitated repeatedly before finally saying, “Sect Leader, this subordinate doesn’t quite understand.”
“By next spring, you’ll understand.” Wei Zhao smiled. “I hope I haven’t guessed wrong, and Pei Yan won’t disappoint me.”
Su Yan suddenly raised his head: “Could it be that Pei Yan…”
Wei Zhao stood up and slowly walked to Su Yan’s side. Su Yan felt a cold aura envelop him, and his heart trembled secretly as he lowered his head.
Wei Zhao no longer looked at him and walked to the door with his hands behind his back. From behind the green gauze, he looked out at the courtyard where the accumulated snow gleamed dimly. For a moment, he seemed to see a young girl with a child building a snowman in the courtyard. His gaze wavered slightly, and after a long while, he said, “How are things going with the clan leader?”
“He’s still timid and hasn’t agreed.”
Wei Zhao let out a light “Oh” and said, “If that’s the case, I don’t need to respect him as the clan leader anymore.”
He turned around and said, “Pass down the order, everyone is to return to Star Moon Valley on the eighteenth of this month.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Ci was led by the coachman to a courtyard where she saw a plaque hanging over the main hall that read “Mo Yun Pavilion,” and knew this was a study. She heard the coachman’s footsteps were light and almost inaudible, surely a sign of extraordinary skill, so she obediently entered the room.
She sat in the front hall of Mo Yun Pavilion for a while, feeling quite bored. Seeing that night had fallen deeply, she got up to trim the candle brighter. As she turned her head, she saw a five-stringed zither placed in the western corner of the hall. She walked over and sat down at the zither table, lightly plucking a string. She found the zither’s sound clear and ethereal, not at all inferior to the “Plum Blossom Falling Zither” left by her master, which surprised her a bit.
She hadn’t played the zither for months, and seeing this fine instrument before her, she felt her fingers itch. She stroked the strings, and as the zither’s sound rose, it was the tune of “Lamenting the Passing of Time” that she had once sung at Lan Yue Tower.
After playing the first verse, Jiang Ci sat dazed before the zither for a long time. Eventually, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and started the strings again, singing the second verse in an extremely joyful voice.
As she sang the last line, “Unable to bear the cold dew in the courtyard—”, the carved floor-to-ceiling fan doors of the front hall were suddenly pushed open with a “bang,” and Wei Zhao rushed in with a gust of cold wind. The strong wind lifted the green gauze under his wide-brimmed hat high, revealing the eerily expressionless human skin mask beneath.
Just as Jiang Ci raised her head, Wei Zhao grabbed her hair and threw her into the corner of the wall. Jiang Ci’s head hit the wall, and she saw stars before her eyes. It took her a while to come to her senses. Leaning against the corner of the wall, rubbing her head, she glared at Wei Zhao.
Wei Zhao stood before the zither, looking down at the five-stringed instrument. Jiang Ci couldn’t see his expression, but she saw a mist gradually rising in his eyes. Just as she was puzzled, Wei Zhao walked to her side, stared at her for a moment, and said viciously, “Don’t think that because you’re Pei Yan’s woman, I won’t touch you. Behave yourself. If you dare to mess with things here again, I’ll throw you into the Tong Feng River!”
Knowing resistance was futile, Jiang Ci remained silent. Wei Zhao suddenly pushed her again and turned to leave the room.
His push was extremely forceful. Jiang Ci staggered to the right, knocking over a delicate porcelain vase on the side table. Still unsteady, her right hand pressed down on the shards of broken porcelain on the floor.
Fresh blood seeped from the tip of her right index finger. Jiang Ci crouched on the ground, slowly bringing her finger to her mouth to suck on it. Suddenly, she remembered the scene under the big tree at “Bi Wu Thatched Cottage” that night, when he had held her scalded hand in his palm. Her heart churned like boiling water, but she forcefully suppressed it. Suddenly, she smiled and murmured, “You’re right, I am lazy and useless. If I had worked harder at martial arts, I wouldn’t have scalded my hand, and I wouldn’t be in this situation today!”
After Wei Zhao left, he never appeared again. Jiang Ci waited until midnight but still didn’t see him. She couldn’t leave Mo Yun Pavilion, and her stomach was painfully empty. There wasn’t even a sip of tea, and she was extremely thirsty. She had no choice but to scoop up several handfuls of snow from the windowsill and swallow them to quench her thirst.
There was no bed in Mo Yun Pavilion, only a bamboo couch, and no bedding. Jiang Ci curled up on the bamboo couch and slept for a night. When she woke up the next day, she felt her whole body was ice-cold and her feet were numb.
Thinking of the matter in her heart, Jiang Ci knew she couldn’t fall ill. She took a deep breath, rushed to the courtyard, scooped up a handful of snow, and rubbed it vigorously on her face. Then she stamped her feet and jumped on the spot, wanting to jump until she broke out in a sweat, desperately trying not to fall ill from the cold.
Wei Zhao entered with his hands behind his back and saw Jiang Ci covered in sweat, her cheeks flushed red, jumping on the spot. He was somewhat stunned. After a moment, he said coldly, “Let’s go.”
Jiang Ci put her hands on her hips, panting, and said, “Um, Sect Leader Xiao, could you spare some food? If you want me to help you, you should at least let me stay alive.”
Wei Zhao shot her a sidelong glance before turning away. Jiang Ci hurried to catch up, her words spilling out incessantly. Irritated by her constant chatter, Wei Zhao suddenly reached out and pressed on her mute acupoint. Jiang Ci, seething with anger, had a torrent of curses boiling inside her. It wasn’t until they exited the manor and the coachman handed her two large flatbreads from the previous day that she happily accepted them and climbed into the carriage, munching on the flatbreads.
That day, the snow had stopped, the wind had calmed, and there was a thin layer of sunlight. The carriage moved faster than the previous day, and Jiang Ci, judging by the position of the sun, realized that Wei Zhao was taking her northwest, likely towards the Moonset Mountains.
With her mute acupoint still sealed and Wei Zhao remaining silent, the carriage was filled with an eerie quiet. It wasn’t until noon that Wei Zhao finally released her acupoint.
Jiang Ci, noticing the carriage’s sparse interior and the lack of any heating or warming provisions, and seeing that Wei Zhao was dressed only in a simple moon-white brocade robe, couldn’t help but reminisce about the opulence of the Xiang residence. She finally broke the silence, saying, “Um, Sect Leader Xiao, may I ask you a question?”
Wei Zhao glanced up at her but did not respond.
Jiang Ci moved a bit closer and continued with a smile, “I mean, you hold a significant official position and live quite comfortably in the capital. Even the Crown Prince treats you politely, and I’ve heard that the current Emperor is also very fond of you. Yet, you still go to such lengths to conceal your identity as the leader of the Star-Moon Sect. What exactly are you after—”
Before she could finish, Wei Zhao’s expression turned as cold as ice, his eyes sharp. He abruptly tossed aside the book he had been holding, seized Jiang Ci by the throat, and forced her down onto the seat.