That night, Rong Chen Zi’s party had not returned.

Chunyu Lin finished directing the soldiers in laying down the wood ash, and on returning to the Liu Mansion naturally went looking for He Bang. Zhuang Shaoqin intercepted him. “Senior Brother and the Sea Emperor have encountered a few snakes and are in pursuit. They should be back before long.” He had a message-relay talisman to communicate with Rong Chen Zi and was not particularly worried.

Chunyu Lin’s brow clouded, however. “My Majesty cannot endure excessive fatigue, and her meals must be prepared with care. If she is to stay the night, I must go to Changgang Mountain to find her!”

He turned to leave. Zhuang Shaoqin could only try to dissuade him. “You would barely be halfway there before they might already be heading back. If you have time to spare, come with me to look for the Three-Eyed Snakes.”

Chunyu Lin was still hesitant. Zhuang Shaoqin could only draw out the message-relay talisman. From the other end, He Bang’s voice came through full of vigor: “Haha, haha, number six — eighteen liang!!”

Her voice was bright and clear as a silver bell. Chunyu Lin’s brow remained tightly knit. “Would you like me to come and find you?” His voice went very soft. But He Bang sounded like she was having the time of her life: “No need — these snakes are so foolish! Hahahaha!”

She tossed the talisman aside and was gone. Chunyu Lin wanted to say more, but in the end went silent.

That night, at the hour of midnight, in the Liu Mansion.

The winter night was bitterly cold. Half a mottled moon clung to the horizon. Insects and birds had gone quiet. The lakeside of the Spring Splendor Garden was utterly still. Occasionally one could hear droplets of water — falling from the decorative rocks onto the surface of the lake. After a long while, a sound suddenly came from the center of the lake — a low groan, like pain suppressed for too long. Not long after, a figure crawled dripping from the lake, panting, and lay on its back beneath a banyan tree.

Liu Qinfang had been hiding behind a stone tablet bearing the character for fortune at the edge of the pavilion for quite some time. She cautiously peered out. In the thin light and shadow, the Sea Clan’s great Sacrificial Priest — usually so composed in bearing — was soaked through to the skin, utterly disheveled.

He cultivated the martial path, the forceful and vigorous way. In daily life, while He Bang was close to him, they had never been physically intimate. He Bang cultivated water-element arts and was a pure-Yin constitution. At Chunyu Lin’s current level of cultivation, being intimate with her would do him far more harm than good.

Chunyu Lin understood this — but he was still a man, and he still had his own needs.

The lakeshore in winter had already begun to glaze over with thin ice. Beads of ice still clung to his body. Cold seeped from every pore into bone and marrow, freezing through heart and lungs. What was she doing now? She had been playing all afternoon — she must be tired by now. Her skin was so tender. He didn’t know where Rong Chen Zi had found her shelter for the night — the mountain rocks were rough. Had anything pressed into her uncomfortably? What had she eaten for dinner? Had Rong Chen Zi fed her enough?

She’d always had a fondness for Rong Chen Zi’s… flesh, after all. Could it be she had reconciled with him again?

He suddenly rolled over, lying face-down beside the lake, the icy water submerging half his body.

Liu Qinfang was so tense her palms were sweating. She had never seen Chunyu Lin in the night like this — away from that clam spirit, he seemed wrapped in a loneliness that would not dissolve. She walked slowly toward him. Her small embroidered shoes stepped on frozen ground, making tiny, delicate sounds.

Chunyu Lin sprang upright. The moment he saw Liu Qinfang, color flooded his face like smoke-dyed clouds. “You —” his voice was hoarse. “Why are you here?”

Liu Qinfang’s upper teeth bit down on her lower. She could feel her own face burning, yet she forced herself not to retreat. “What happened tonight… I won’t say a word to anyone.” Her embroidered shoes crunched through the frost-stiff grass, and she slowly reached out a hand, brushing the still-dripping hem of Chunyu Lin’s robes. Chunyu Lin looked at her through the hazy moonlight — a face as young and fresh as an unripe apple, and in her eyes, a deep-settled shyness.

Liu Qinfang reached up and touched his face. His skin was ice-cold too, like the smooth surface of ice. She rose on her toes and brushed her lips against his chin — light as a dragonfly touching water.

Chunyu Lin slowly drew her back. His voice had calmed again. “The night is deep and the frost is heavy. Go inside.”

Liu Qinfang suddenly threw her arms around him. Chunyu Lin went rigid from his spine outward — she was truly so warm. The clean fragrance of a young girl drifted about his nose and would not leave. He suddenly thought of He Bang.

She always used to crawl into his bed at night. They were close in daily life too, with many embraces. Her body was this warm. He moved as if in a dream, his arms encircling Liu Qinfang’s slender waist. Liu Qinfang looked up. In her eyes shimmered a faint wash of moonlight. Her voice seemed to cast a spell, carrying a bewitching pull. “If you truly want to… I’m willing. Even if only for tonight — I want nothing else, and I won’t tell a soul. Just please, don’t stay in the water any longer.”

She gently pulled open Chunyu Lin’s outer robe, embroidered in red and gold, her voice full of helpless tenderness. “Whenever you want — no matter the time — it’s all right…”

The red robe slid away. A warm palm passed over his chest. Chunyu Lin’s five fingers clenched, then slowly released. “You’re a well-bred young lady. You shouldn’t be here.” His voice was rough. “Liu…”

Two soft lips suddenly pressed against his. He took quite a while to respond. That delicate hand guided his, leading it to touch her own body. “Just call me Qinfang… Or if you’d like… you can think of me as her.” She removed her own clothing very slowly. The night was too cold, and she trembled despite herself.

Chunyu Lin trembled too. It was as though a venomous snake had burrowed into his heart. His fingertips wandered over that fervent, young body. Liu Qinfang was bare in his arms, and he did not refuse.

Over three hundred years — the first time, since cultivating a human form, that he had known the touch of a young woman’s body. To know that sensation. To breathe in that warmth.

The accumulated fire in his heart seemed, at last, to find an outlet. He pressed Liu Qinfang against the cold stone tablet, and tasted, little by little, the sweetness at the tip of her tongue.

The stone was so cold. But Liu Qinfang was as docile as a small lamb. A sudden sharp pain below, and she wrapped her arms around Chunyu Lin’s neck, and felt the sudden urge to cry.

By the time the great He Bang returned to the Liu Mansion, the sky was nearly light. The weather was bitterly cold, but she was in high spirits — Rong Chen Zi now owed her fifty-one liang of meat…

She bounced along and kicked open Chunyu Lin’s bedroom door, not caring in the least how deeply he slept. She was cold all over as she burrowed onto the sleeping platform: “Chunyu Lin, damn it all, I’m freezing to death out here and you’re still asleep! Hurry up, come wipe down my shell!”

Chunyu Lin felt her hands — truly ice-cold — and had no choice but to get up and look for hot water. The great He Bang sank into his bed, still warm from his body heat, and within moments was snoring soundly.

Chunyu Lin had wanted to talk with her, but seeing her like that, he only wrung out a cloth and wiped her face and hands and feet. “Did you eat tonight?”

He Bang — was she ever one to miss any mention of food? She replied immediately: “No! The Daoist wouldn’t buy me anything to eat. I’m starving, whimper, and he made me keep walking.”

Chunyu Lin tucked her in properly and went to the kitchen to make her something to eat. He had not yet reached the kitchen door when he came face to face with Liu Qinfang coming out.

Chunyu Lin had no desire to be entangled with her further. He kept his tone neutral. “It’s still early. Why are you here?”

Liu Qinfang flushed. “I heard Zhiguan and His Majesty the Sea Emperor return, and thought you might want to make something for her.” She held out the tray in her hands, her voice dropping to barely above a murmur. “I thought you probably hadn’t slept long either, so…”

On the tray were several small dishes, with two plates of warmed pastries — presented with great care and delicacy. Chunyu Lin took it from her, and suddenly the whole affair by the lake in the Spring Splendor Garden flooded back. He said quietly, “All right. Go and rest now.”

He had offered but the smallest amount of acknowledgment, yet Liu Qinfang’s face had bloomed like March flowers. “Mm. You rest too.”

She said it with a red face and immediately turned and ran away.

Chunyu Lin carried the food to the room. The great He Bang was lured up from sleep by the aroma. She barely tasted one bite before her brow furrowed. “This isn’t something you made!!”

Chunyu Lin thought of the cold weather and poured her a small half-cup of fruit wine, his voice gentle. “There was food ready in the kitchen — I just heated it for you. Making it fresh would take time. Eat this to tide you over first.”

He Bang tried a little of each dish, then cradled her wine cup. “The flavor is actually pretty good too.” Delighted, she picked up a pair of chopsticks, pinched up a piece of tripe, and offered it to Chunyu Lin’s lips. Chunyu Lin tasted it. Liu Qinfang had grown up in a prominent household, learning needlework and cooking from childhood — her skill went without saying.

He nodded. “Eat more if you like it.”

He Bang finished eating and climbed back onto the bed to sleep. Chunyu Lin tidied away the dishes. The sky outside was still dark — dawn came late. He got into bed. He Bang immediately burrowed into his arms like a small dog. Her voice was bright and clear. “Chunyu Lin, my keel silk got snake blood on it. I don’t want it anymore!”

Chunyu Lin held her soft waist and, without knowing why, thought of what had transpired by the lake. He answered absently. “I’ll have the merfolk weave you another one.”

He Bang was pleased. She leaned against his chest and sank into a deep sleep. Listening to her light, even breathing, Chunyu Lin lay awake with open eyes until the sky grew light.