“Among all women in the world, only Little Dan.” The man in brocade answered smoothly.

Jing Hengbo snorted, feeling both men were too cunning.

The boy found water. Before Gong Yin started working, he looked at the two men. The boy very consciously turned around, but the man in brocade smiled and said: “With her looks and figure, what’s there to see? Only you treasure her…” He lazily walked away.

Jing Hengbo was furious enough to grind her teeth, angrily saying: “I don’t believe it – how beautiful could his girlfriend be? Marilyn Monroe?”

The man in brocade heard this and touched his chin.

Hehe, she’s not Marilyn Monroe, but she did say you have the charm of Marilyn Monroe.

So Marilyn Monroe was this ugly…

Gong Yin treated Jing Hengbo’s wound, then pressed her sleep acupoint to let her rest, saving her from going crazy over beauty and ugliness issues and chattering endlessly. He himself sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

The boy squatted across from him, looking at him with great interest. The man in brocade paid him no mind, having long since wandered off somewhere.

Gong Yin had always regarded others’ gazes as nothing – except for Jing Hengbo, everything else in the world was shit. Under the boy’s various speculative looks, he completed one circulation and felt the surging true qi in his body gradually showing signs of stabilizing, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

This made him even more grateful to Jing Hengbo. He had collapsed at the edge of his limit, struggling between life and death every day. If not for Jing Hengbo’s careful nursing, and even more so her willingness to harm herself to suck out part of his chaotic true qi, what state he’d be in now was hard to say.

He and she had previously been mortal enemies facing life and death, yet both knew they could entrust their lives to each other at any time.

He lovingly touched Jing Hengbo’s hand – after blood loss it was ice-cold to the bone. He looked up and around, preparing to find a relatively warm place for Jing Hengbo.

Across from him, the boy who had been watching him, seeing he continued to ignore him, could only helplessly say: “Could you help me?”

Gong Yin turned to glance at the boy. He didn’t plan to meddle in others’ affairs, but when he finally saw the boy’s features clearly, he couldn’t help being slightly startled.

“If you want to help him escape, go ahead. Just don’t expect to eat well from now on, and don’t expect her to guarantee nutrition.” The man in brocade suddenly appeared on the slope, carrying a large pile of wild game, throwing it at the boy’s feet. “Cook this for us. Do well and I’ll let you go. Do poorly and I’ll roast and eat you. Go on, be good. Of course, you can also disobey.”

The boy saw him like a mouse seeing a cat, immediately grabbed the wild game and hurried away. Only then could Gong Yin ask: “How did that matter go?”

“When I handle things, would there be problems?” The man in brocade raised an eyebrow. “However, that wasn’t the person you wanted.”

This was within Gong Yin’s expectations – he showed no surprise.

The man in brocade pulled out a brocade pouch from his chest and gave it to him. Opening it revealed a dried blood vessel and a needle.

When Gong Yin opened the pouch, the man in brocade stared intently at his facial expression, but Gong Yin’s eyes showed no change. He glanced at the two items and said: “What are these?”

The man in brocade looked at him sideways and smiled: “You don’t even know – how would I know?”

“True.” Gong Yin said: “I don’t know, so naturally you’d understand even less.”

The man in brocade wasn’t provoked, smiling as he took the items back and put them away: “I’ve figured out something about these two things, but there’s no free work in this world. If you want to know what I figured out, bring something to trade.”

Gong Yin acted as if he hadn’t heard, picking up Jing Hengbo and walking away.

He also didn’t play by normal rules, which stirred the man in brocade’s unwillingness. Originally planning to make a deal with Gong Yin and leave, he now followed along, first pointing out the surrounding terrain, then saying where would be best to set up camp. Gong Yin ignored him completely, not speaking to him. The man in brocade felt bored, set up a shelter himself and sat there, waiting to watch Gong Yin wander aimlessly around the mountain. But by the time he finished his shelter, Gong Yin came carrying Jing Hengbo and immediately said the man in brocade’s shelter had the wrong material for the second support beam on the left – all the others were camphor wood, but this one was paulownia wood. With this said, the man in brocade immediately found the shelter more and more displeasing, finally running out in discomfort, and Gong Yin smoothly placed Jing Hengbo on the board bed he’d just built and smoothed. Taking over his nest.

The man in brocade built a second nest and made himself a set of eating and drinking utensils. Just as he finished, Gong Yin came and looked at everything. After he left, the man in brocade suddenly discovered dense small dots had appeared all over these utensils, looking horrifying and impossible to wipe clean, so he had to throw them away.

As soon as he threw them away, Gong Yin picked them back up, washed them clean, and used them perfectly for Jing Hengbo to drink water and eat.

Dense dots – they didn’t mind.

Unwilling to always have his things taken, the man in brocade casually caught a tiger, skinned it, poisoned the hide, and waited for Gong Yin to come cause trouble. But the man didn’t come.

The man in brocade felt very bored and wandered around the canyon, discovering that though large, the terrain wasn’t complex and getting out wouldn’t be difficult. It was just that these past few days were cold, much of the ground was iced over, but the ice wasn’t thick enough. Swamps and ordinary ground looked no different, making it easy to fall in. It was best to prepare well before leaving.

When he wandered back, the boy had finished roasting all the wild game. His skills were indeed good – the pelts were neatly stacked to one side, the game skewered on branches was roasted golden and glistening with sizzling oil. He actually carried salt with him, carefully rubbing a layer of salt on a wild rabbit before roasting it. The emerging aroma made even the man in brocade’s eyes shine.

His shining eyes were useless – the finished rabbit was taken directly to Gong Yin, along with all those skinned pelts. The boy ingratiatingly said to Gong Yin: “These pelts, with some stitching, could make a cloak for auntie.” He actually pulled out a bone needle: “I’ve sharpened a needle for you.”

Gong Yin had always been mild-tempered, accustomed to being high and mighty, treating the little prince’s flattery with indifference. He merely thanked him faintly and accepted it. But Jing Hengbo suddenly woke up, lying on the board bed, lazily beckoning to him: “Wow, little handsome guy, you’re so thoughtful. Thank you.”

As soon as she spoke, the child struck while the iron was hot, immediately rushing over with bright eyes, grabbing a wild rabbit: “Auntie, I roasted this rabbit with lemongrass – it’s especially fragrant. Try it.”

Hearing “lemongrass,” Jing Hengbo suddenly remembered when she first met Gong Yin, they had also fallen off a cliff and spent some awkward yet romantically budding days in the jungle. They had also used lemongrass to roast game then. At that time she constantly bickered with Gong Yin, at that time she carried the incredibly proud great god on her back, at that time the great god forced her to learn how to use a knife – this skill had even saved her life later.

Suddenly she felt emotional – only two years had passed, yet countless ups and downs had occurred. Looking back now, it seemed like a previous life.

She was lost in thought. The boy obediently didn’t disturb her, still holding the game with bright eyes, crouching in front of Jing Hengbo. When Jing Hengbo came back to herself and saw his puppy-like appearance, she smiled apologetically, pinched his face, and laughed: “Hey, whose little handsome pot is this, with such a sweet mouth? But calling me auntie makes me sound old. What should you call me instead?”

“Sister!” The little guy’s voice was especially crisp. After thinking, he added somewhat shyly: “Actually sister, your skin is so tender, much more tender than my mother’s. Calling you sister is already unfair to you – how about calling you little sister?”

Jing Hengbo laughed heartily, thinking this kid would probably be another heartbreaker when he grew up – how many young girls would fall into his hands.

Gong Yin frowned at her fingers – couldn’t she stop touching people whenever she met them?

Then looked at the boy’s back – his mouth was too sweet, he should be thrown out later.

The man in brocade over there stood with arms crossed, watching from afar, lips curving upward.

Really sweet and lovely, completely different from the foul-mouthed brat in his bundle.

The boy was eager to feed Jing Hengbo again. Such an glorious and important task – how could Gong Yin let others handle it? With a light comment that “she’s injured and shouldn’t eat too oily food,” he dismissed the little guy. The little guy wasn’t angry either, cheerfully saying: “Then I’ll go find some fruit.” He ran off happily.

Jing Hengbo watched his figure disappear, then said: “Hey, don’t you think he looks a bit familiar?”

Gong Yin smiled faintly – not because of this comment, but because he felt Jing Hengbo finally had some depth, harboring doubts in her heart while showing nothing on the surface.

“This child is a bit strange.” Jing Hengbo shouted toward the man in brocade: “Hey, obsessive-compulsive, what’s this child’s identity? Tell me and I won’t take a bite out of every piece of game.”

The man in brocade cooperatively replied: “The Emerald Queen’s only son.”

“You see,” Jing Hengbo said to Gong Yin, “the queen’s only son – how noble. Looking at his hands, he hasn’t done much rough work, yet he knows jungle survival and can roast wild game. Is this reasonable?” As she spoke, she took a bite out of every piece of game.

The man in brocade across from them decided to stay farther from Jing Hengbo. Not getting to eat the game was minor – he could go ten days to half a month without eating. But watching her gnaw things was too painful. Not only was her posture ugly, but she gnawed things full of holes, with meat fibers hanging… ugh…

He shouldered his shelter and moved three zhang farther away. His shelter was portable, could be carried and run with anytime, comparable to a snail shell.

Seeing this detestable fellow finally move farther away, Jing Hengbo felt much more comfortable. Leaning against the soft pelts, she thought that boy’s face was really familiar, but she was certain she’d never seen him. Where did this sense of familiarity come from?

After thinking without result, she gave up. Looking down at her board bed and the simple but very reasonable shelter, she asked in surprise: “Aren’t we going forward? Why make so many things?”

“It’s no trouble anyway.” Gong Yin certainly wouldn’t tell her these were all stolen from the man in brocade. He said lightly: “No rush, we’ll go next year.”

“Ah?” Jing Hengbo was stunned, then remembered today was the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month – tomorrow was New Year.

Two years now – would this New Year’s Eve be spent with Gong Yin? She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad, suddenly wanting to drive the man in brocade and the boy even farther away.

“We need to prepare some New Year goods.” Gong Yin continued seriously.

Jing Hengbo’s lips curved up. She loved this side of Gong Yin – seriously being cute, aloof yet shameless. She loved the Great God Gong amid human fireworks. Compared to the state preceptor sitting high on his throne in snow-white robes, this Gong Yin covered in dust, like a husband in a small family calculating New Year goods, made her feel secure.

Sigh, was it highly feasible to just abduct him like this and wander the world together, ignoring all throne and power struggles?

“There should also be New Year gifts.” She made demands.

“What do you want?”

She thought it over, feeling her heart’s true desire wouldn’t be useful to voice and would spoil the mood. Seeing that pile of various-sized pelts, her eyes rolled: “Back where I’m from, giving women fur was popular.”

“Fur?”

“Mink and fox fur coats, or otter rabbit if nothing else.” She smiled at him.

Expecting to see difficulty on his face, she was surprised when he answered without hesitation: “Alright.”

“And it has to be handmade by yourself.” She wickedly added requirements.

He paused, then still answered: “Alright.”

So readily agreeable – Jing Hengbo was surprised, thinking he wouldn’t get that child to help, would he? But it didn’t matter – having the intention was good enough.

She also remembered the underwear she’d promised him, which she hadn’t started yet. Once her wounds healed, she’d learn to make them. Make world-class dragon underwear – yes, embroider a dragon on the crotch.

Her smile gradually became lewd. Seeing her lewd expression, Gong Yin knew she definitely wasn’t thinking of anything good.

When would her conscience emerge and finish making his robe?

Both were calculating underwear and robes when footsteps came from behind. The boy was carrying some wild fruit, eagerly bringing it over.

Winter fruit in this canyon was limited, mainly pears. Jing Hengbo immediately spotted a large, yellow pear and clamored for it. But Gong Yin tossed her a small, pitted one instead. Jing Hengbo pitifully gnawed it while constantly glancing at Gong Yin’s large, smooth one, planning when to snatch it.

The boy had somehow sat beside her, intimately whispering: “Sister, don’t overthink it. What you’re eating is called honey-heart pear – it’s the sweetest kind. It can also be used to brew wine. The wine comes out clear, sweet, and mellow with strong aftereffects. Those big yellow water pears are just for show – they don’t taste good at all.”

Jing Hengbo said “oh,” suddenly remembering how he’d given her the sweet fruit during their jungle survival, her heart seeming to taste the pear’s sweetness – this person never said much, but from beginning to end, he was the purest.

Turning to look at the boy beside her, his face looked more and more familiar, but the innocent, pure expression on that face was completely unfamiliar.

“You’re the Emerald Queen’s only son?” she asked. “You’ve disappeared – your mother must be worried sick. I’ll have that fellow send you back later. Don’t worry, though that fellow is crazy, he doesn’t really like killing people. If you humor him, you’ll be fine.”

The boy beamed with joy: “Thank you so much, sister!” His face was radiant.

Seeing that expression, Jing Hengbo’s heart trembled, and she couldn’t help muttering.

This child – who exactly did he resemble?

…

“Crash!” The emerald mirror shattered, and all the ministers on the ground fell to their knees with a whoosh, their foreheads hitting the floor heavily.

The queen’s shrill voice pierced people’s ears painfully. Every pockmark on her face turned red and trembled, as if about to spew angry flames.

“Idiots! Waste! Everyone is waste!” The Emerald Queen stood on her throne, furiously hurling everything within reach: “So many people, plus the great army, chasing one person, and you give me this result! You bunch of pigs! Why don’t you die! Why don’t you die!”

The ministers pressed their faces to the ground, not daring to make a sound, silently enduring the force of things hitting their backs, accurately judging what was being thrown – writing brush… brush washer… memorials… inkstone… trouble, they were getting heavier, meaning the king was truly furious.

This was normal too – these past two years the king would become hysterical over any small matter, let alone something like the prince falling off a cliff. When the carrier pigeon message arrived, the king immediately went mad.

The terrified ministers were wondering if several people would have to die today to appease the king’s anger when they heard the king’s roar from above: “Get out! All of you get out!”

The ministers fled like refugees. The hall quickly quieted, leaving chaos everywhere with no one daring to clean up. The queen had also driven out all the palace servants, leaving only the old nanny who had served her since childhood.

The exhausted Emerald Queen collapsed like mud on her throne, staring vacantly at the ceiling’s caisson. The nanny gently massaged her shoulders while she remained motionless.

After a long while, a hollow voice came from the throne: “Nanny… help me… notify him…”

The nanny’s hands immediately stopped. Every wrinkle was filled with shock: “Your Majesty!”

She didn’t speak. After a long while, thin tears flowed down.

“Your Majesty…” The nanny immediately choked up: “Don’t do this… don’t do this… His Highness only fell off a cliff, our great army went to search… maybe he’s fine… didn’t the high monk calculate before that His Highness would have both fortune and longevity, destined to meet a benefactor…”

“The high monk also calculated that though his parents were both alive, he wouldn’t receive their care, that the father-son bond was weak, and that he’d face life-and-death danger at eleven – if he passed through it, his path would be smooth; if not, he’d die young.” The queen had recovered her calm, her voice ethereal and cold: “Hasn’t it all come true?”

The nanny was speechless, wiping tears with her sleeve: “Poor Highness…”

“All these years, he’s wanted to see his father,” the queen said ethereally. “He somehow heard that his father loves fine food and wine. At such a young age, he learned to brew wine and cook. He always thought I was abandoned by his father, foolishly thinking that when his father returned someday, he’d use fine wine and good food to help me win back his father’s heart, so our family of three could be together happily…”

“Stop talking… Your Majesty… stop talking…” The nanny gripped her hand tightly: “This old slave will notify… will notify…”

“When the child was born, I didn’t dare let him know.” The queen’s voice suddenly turned shrill: “Now that the child is dead, he should know… enemy!”

…

Jing Hengbo was beginning to feel that creatures like the man in brocade, though mostly annoying, sometimes did contribute.

For instance, his contribution this time was that boy.

It was hard to tell that at such a young age, this child was so familiar with various ingredients. Even in this desolate winter forest, he could produce many edible things. Not to mention the various wild game, he could also find edible moss and earth vegetables, dress them with oil rendered from wild animals, sprinkle with salt crystals, and somehow create unique flavors.

Meeting such a person at this time, and a child at that, Jing Hengbo felt her luck might finally be turning.

“With your status, how do you know so many things? Did the queen train you?” she finally couldn’t help asking directly.

“Me…” The boy’s face suddenly turned sorrowful. He lowered his head for a long while before saying: “I have someone very important who likes fine food and wine. I thought if I learned these things, maybe someday he’d be willing to come back.”

“Ah.” Jing Hengbo was immediately moved, lovingly stroking his head with a compassionate expression: “With such dedication, heaven will surely fulfill your wish.”

The boy looked up at her, his eyes bright and sparkling.

The woman’s smile was gentle and loving, the child’s smile innocent and pure. The two faced each other sincerely – truly a beautiful scene.

Too bad no one was appreciating it.

Gong Yin’s gaze fell coldly on Jing Hengbo’s constantly touching hands.

The man in brocade stood far away with arms crossed, squinting as he watched the boy’s food preparation gestures. The corner of his lips suddenly curved into a faint smile that seemed both mocking and interested.

…

A pigeon fluttered its wings and landed on his wine jug.

His hand, about to lift the wine jug, paused. The eyes that had been drunk daily, appearing perpetually confused, suddenly flashed with cold light when they saw the emerald peacock ornament on the pigeon’s leg.

For that instant, he seemed both very surprised and as if he wanted to immediately strangle the pigeon and throw it away.

However, he ultimately slowly reached out and removed the emerald ring from the pigeon’s leg.

This marking – he hadn’t seen it for many years, thought he’d never see it again in this lifetime, yet unexpectedly…

The paper scroll inside the emerald ring was slowly unrolled. When he first saw those few lines of delicate writing, his expression appeared dazed from excessive shock.

He rarely lost focus like this, then looked down again.

The wine jug tucked under his arm crashed to the ground with a clang. He didn’t even pick it up, abruptly turning and striding out of the house.

A subordinate followed, asking: “Where are you going?”

His figure vanished from everyone’s sight in an instant, hurriedly leaving behind just one sentence: “Emergency departure! Military affairs can be handled by Young Marshal Pei!”

The horse charged like an angry dragon, hoofbeats urgent and rapid, disappearing in a flash. Everyone looked at each other – what was this about?

Someone suddenly swept over, asking: “What happened?”

Everyone turned to see Yelu Qi.

Recently, Yelu Qi had been with the Queen’s army. After the Queen’s disappearance, he had the Jade Photo Cavalry continue returning to their original station while helping organize the Queen’s great army back to Dawei. He had also arranged for all his subordinates to search outside, but there had been no news so far.

In Chentie, after deploying everyone and still being unable to find the Queen, everyone had to return to Dawei first, because the war situation there wasn’t resolved either. The Fifteen Gangs were all restless. Ying Bai decisively ordered a return for reinforcement and sealed the news of the Queen’s disappearance.

Tie Xingze naturally had to stay in Chentie to ascend the throne. When Zirui bid him farewell, there was considerable reluctant parting.

After Yelu Qi returned to Dawei, he waited in the Queen’s estate. Hearing sounds now, he hurried over to inquire.

Everyone was also confused, all saying: “Such a steady person as the Grand Commander, suddenly running off without a word – we don’t know what urgent matter it could be?”

Someone said: “Could it be related to the Queen?”

Someone retorted: “Unlikely. If it were related to the Queen, the Grand Commander would definitely inform everyone.”

Yelu Qi’s gaze fell on the pigeon nearby, vaguely noticing some green fragments on the ground. He picked up the green fragments with his finger, recognizing them as emerald – and top-quality emerald at that.

To use top-quality emerald on a pigeon’s message ring, the sender’s identity was obvious.

Though this matter seemed completely unrelated to Jing Hengbo, Yelu Qi suddenly had a bold idea, or rather, intuition.

He felt that since they couldn’t find Jing Hengbo anywhere nearby, they might as well go farther. Since going far had no set destination, they might as well investigate this most puzzling matter at hand.

He believed that everything appearing in this world had meaning in the mysterious workings of fate.

Someone behind asked: “What are you doing?”

It was Yelu Xunru’s voice.

Yelu Qi turned around. Across from him, Yelu Xunru stood spiritedly. Though she couldn’t see, her gaze fell precisely on his hand.

Yelu Qi told Yelu Xunru his idea of going to the Emerald tribe to take a look. Yelu Xunru agreed with his view – since they couldn’t find anything searching everywhere, they should choose the most suspicious matter that had emerged to investigate.

“I’ll go with you.” She made the decision final. Then added: “Drag the old immortal along too.”

Master Ziwei had returned. On the way back, hearing a report saying he was needed to rescue Xunru’s “mother and child,” the old immortal jumped and cursed, asking where this “child” came from – he hadn’t even slept with a sow! He immediately tried to run. No one in the world could stop him. The messenger watched helplessly as he fled, thinking it was hopeless, and was about to return to report to Yelu Xunru, telling her not to lie on the ground waiting anymore and just get up. But when he returned, Master Ziwei was right there in the formation, saying on one hand to let Bai Pu stab that troublesome woman to death, while on the other hand driving Bai Pu away and dragging out Yelu Xunru.

Reportedly, the two had quite a thunderous conversation then.

“I saved you, so please never say you have my child again!”

“What about a daughter? I think you should like daughters.”

“Daughters won’t work either!”

“Fine, I’ll do whatever you say. Whenever you want, that’s when we’ll have one.”

“What do you mean ‘whenever I want’… Nonsense! When have I ever wanted one with you!”

“In the snow hut of Snow Valley at Seven Peaks Mountain… sigh, even if I said it you wouldn’t admit it. Never mind then.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Mm mm mm, alright, good Xunru, don’t make trouble, be a good obedient girl. This master will treat you well like a disciple.”

“Are you good to your disciples? Never say this – I’m afraid Seven Kills and Jing Hengbo will join forces to poison you. But if I don’t say this anymore, how do you plan to treat me well?”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t have many demands… sigh, thinking about my recent pestering of you, I also feel it wasn’t quite right. I’m someone about to die – why force things? I only have one tiny, tiniest request… before I die, you must accompany me. Wherever I say to go, you go there.”

“…You can’t force me. Can’t make me do things I don’t want to do.”

“With your martial arts, who in the world could force you? Saying this, I suddenly feel you’re still deeply in love with me. One finger could kill me, yet you’ve been chased by me like a fleeing pig – this is clearly unspeakable deep affection. How about we get married?”

“No!”

“Then you agree?”

“…Fine. This old man can kill you tomorrow hehe…”

“Please do. Oh right, I agreed not to say it, but I want to write it down. I think whether a person lives long or short doesn’t matter – the key is leaving something behind. I want to write a book recording our earth-shaking love story. I’ve already thought of the title: ‘Red Dust Purple Micro.’ How’s that?”

“…Yelu Xunru wishes you’re reborn as a man without a back door in your next life!”

…

Yelu Qi looked at Master Ziwei floating over reluctantly in the distance and smiled faintly.

“Sister, you don’t actually want to bind him – why do this?”

He knew people were already criticizing Yelu Xunru, saying she was rebellious and shameless, an unmarried woman openly pursuing an old man.

After all, Yelu Xunru’s thoughts and behavior were indeed too transcendent and bold for this era. Even Jing Hengbo sometimes suspected she might be a time traveler.

Yelu Qi didn’t care what Master Ziwei thought, nor what others thought of his sister. For their siblings, survival was the greatest proposition – beyond that, nothing else mattered. But he didn’t want Master Ziwei to hear these things and hurt his sister.

Yelu Xunru squinted against the sunlight and smiled.

“Heard the gossip, right?” She snorted: “A bunch of vulgar people.”

He smiled, knowing sister wouldn’t care.

“I don’t even know how long I’ll live – why bind anyone?” Yelu Xunru rolled up her sleeves, “looking” at the sky: “I just want to unbind him.”

Yelu Qi raised an eyebrow.

“His heart is bound. A fox song has bound his entire life. As long as he sings this song, he can’t be free for a day.” Yelu Xunru said lightly: “But haven’t you noticed he rarely sings this song lately?”

Yelu Qi nodded. Now Master Ziwei had no mood for singing – he was too busy being annoyed by Yelu Xunru.

“I want to disturb him so he has no time to think of that damned fox song. I want to erase his repeated forced memories of past events from his heart. I want this forgetting to become habit. If there’s a habit of remembering, there can be a habit of not remembering. When someday I’m not here and he no longer remembers, then I’ll have succeeded.”

She waved her hand dismissively: “Who wants his love? Who wants him to marry? Who wants him to care? I’m just giving him a gift – that gift is called true freedom.”

She turned and walked away carelessly.

Yelu Qi slowly smiled.

Sister who speaks of not needing love, what you’re giving is the deepest love a person can give in a lifetime.

Forgetting life and death, casting aside reputation, offering everything most precious.

He reached into his chest, touching the brocade pouch inside – something Yelu Xunru had found on Gong Yin. The moment he saw that thing, his heart felt a dull pain.

It was a “painting.”

Palm-sized, he recognized it as the kind of peculiar “painting” only Jing Hengbo could “paint.” Extremely lifelike and clear.

But this “painting” wasn’t very clear. The background lighting was hazy, with white faintly glowing in the darkness. The painting showed a couple.

Jing Hengbo and Gong Yin.

The two seemed to be lying in bed in an extremely intimate pose. Gong Yin’s long hair and collar were disheveled, revealing a section of collarbone and neck. Jing Hengbo was shown in profile, her hair bun slightly askew, face flushed, leaning toward Gong Yin… kissing him.

Though the painting was somewhat blurry, the two’s gazes, postures, and the romantic charm in their eyes and brows… even a fool could see this was conjugal behavior.

When he first saw it, his heart clenched. He knew Jing Hengbo was deeply in love with Gong Yin, but he hadn’t expected their relationship to be so intimate already.

All of Jing Hengbo’s strange things had been left in Dige, meaning this painting existed when they were in Dige.

When did spring winds secretly deliver warmth while I still stood on winter lake shores?

Sometimes he wondered – if he hadn’t withdrawn then to prepare the assassination attempt on Gong Yin, but had personally escorted Jing Hengbo back to Dige all the way, would the one being kissed in this painting have been himself?

When Jing Hengbo first came to Dahuang, unfamiliar with people and places, her heart must have been desolate. The first familiar person she met then, any warmth and concern encountered, could have been returned by her as love. She could even fall in love with Gong Yin who had been cold and hostile to her initially – why couldn’t she have loved him?

Thinking this way, his heart felt like being gnawed by countless ants, endless pain. That helpless regret was more tormenting than hatred and disappointment.

The most heartbreaking thing wasn’t completely failing to obtain something, but perhaps having had a chance to obtain it, yet losing it by letting go.

He took a deep breath, putting the “painting” that made him helpless each time he saw it back in the pouch. At the bottom of the pouch were some hard objects – he knew they were a pair of small shoes.

Very small shoes, no bigger than a finger, with peculiar material – jade-like but not jade, rose-red and seductive, like a miniature version of the high heels Jing Hengbo used to wear.

He didn’t know who could wear such small shoes, but he was certain these belonged to Jing Hengbo.

The small shoes were hard, pressing against his chest. He pressed down on them.

Yelu Xunru had walked away but suddenly returned, pulling open his clothes and snatching out the pouch, stuffing it into her own sleeve.

“I regret giving you this thing. Every time you touch it you sigh and moan.” She could keenly sense her brother’s mood and simply took away this irritating item.

“What would Jing Hengbo think if she saw this later…” She wound the pouch around her finger and walked away with a smile.

In a certain canyon at the Emerald tribe’s border, Jing Hengbo suddenly shivered violently.

“Who’s talking behind my back?” Jing Hengbo cursed, looking at the sky. It was already dark. The boy had gone hunting again. Gong Yin had taught him a lightness skill technique, and the man in brocade immediately became displeased, also teaching the child swordwork, saying he’d show him what truly practical martial arts were. Jing Hengbo watched with envy, jealousy, and resentment, thinking this child was really lucky – guidance from two great masters!

But she was also quite happy. This child had good martial arts foundation, with none of the bad habits of noble children, hardworking and obedient. Having suffered such hardship, he deserved some advantages.

Of course, this was her view. Those two didn’t think so – teaching the child martial arts was purely to maximize the child laborer’s work capacity.

Someone was gathering New Year goods, but Gong Yin still wasn’t back. Jing Hengbo waited and waited until she fell asleep. Her shelter was nestled in a small mountain hollow, with stone on three sides and the front covered with tree bark and such, particularly sheltered from wind and warm. Soft grass was laid beneath, thick animal pelts covering her, with wild chicken skewers, rabbit skewers, deer and roe deer skewers at hand… the wounded person’s treatment was quite good.

After sleeping and waking, she felt it was already deep night. The man in brocade’s shelter across was pitch black, the boy was sleeping wrapped in animal pelts beside the shelter, and Gong Yin still wasn’t back.

Jing Hengbo needed to urinate. She came out to relieve herself. The mountain forest was silent at night, every small sound seemed very loud. Afraid her urination sound would be heard, she deliberately went farther away, walking behind some rocks to squat down.

To control the sound, she took her time, and thus looked around. She saw what seemed like firelight moving on the distant cliff, forming a string. She knew people were descending into the valley – probably the group chasing the man in brocade. She didn’t care.

Drawing her gaze back to scan nearby, she suddenly froze.

Across from her, behind a tree with sparse branches and leaves, was a shadow!

She was so startled that her hair stood on end, even forgetting about urinating, staring straight at that direction.

The shadow was a large black mass, indistinct of body and head. It seemed to have arms, but only one side was visible. The arm repeated a mechanical motion – pulling diagonally upward, then down, then pulling, then down… Sometimes pausing to bring something to its mouth, seemingly biting…

What kind of pose was this?