The following morning, Rong Chen Zi, the great He Bang, and the rest of their group sat down with Senior Official Liu’s household for breakfast.
He Bang was a picky eater, and unaccustomed to dining with others. Chunyu Lin served her first, sorting out her portions onto a small plate. He Bang sat at the table toying with a crystal ornament on the antique shelf beside her while she waited for her food. Liu Qinfang sat at the women’s table, glancing up from time to time to steal looks at Chunyu Lin.
Chunyu Lin was dressed, as always, in red. His black hair was smooth as silk, falling softly to his waist. His complexion was clear and fair as jade, his lovely eyes slightly upturned at the corners, his gaze bright and limpid — soul-captivating.
He was the true vision of a demon. Even adrift amid the mortal world’s rushing crowds, one could tell at a glance he did not belong to this turbulent human realm.
He set the food before He Bang. He Bang melted bonelessly into his arms, her posture full of careless ease, her manner of eating without the slightest regard for propriety. Yet Chunyu Lin’s gaze could have dripped with water. “The deep-fried cakes are already very sweet — don’t add more sugar.” His indulgence seeped out of his very bones, his voice entirely stripped of its usual cool distance. He Bang pushed the dish toward him, eyes wide and round. “But I want sugar!”
Chunyu Lin could only set down his own chopsticks and help her sprinkle more white sugar on the fried cakes.
He Bang finished the fried cakes and stretched her chopsticks toward the vanilla sweet potato pastry. Chunyu Lin quickly pressed them back down with his own. “You can’t eat only sweets — have a sip of porridge first. The pickled vegetables today are very good. Here, try a bite.”
He Bang puckered her lips and took a reluctant, aggrieved bite of porridge with the pickled vegetable, then lightning-fast snagged a piece of vanilla sweet potato pastry. Chunyu Lin let out a quiet sigh and dipped a sesame roll for her as well.
Zhuang Shaoqin, Xingzhi Zhenren, and the rest were all members of religious orders — such open displays of intimacy between a man and woman were rarely seen in their world, and none of them could quite bring themselves to keep looking. Ye Tian was sitting beside Rong Chen Zi and, catching sight of the scene, shot a very quick glance at him. Rong Chen Zi was immaculate in white robes, his expression composed and his gaze clear and open.
Ye Tian didn’t know whether he was truly completely indifferent to it all. But there was still a twist of bitterness in her chest. Though she had always felt, for some inexplicable reason, a bone-deep dislike of this He Bang — Rong Chen Zi, from childhood to now, truly hadn’t had many things he could be said to care for.
She rose to ladle more porridge for Rong Chen Zi, forcing a smile. “Senior Brother, what are the plans for today?”
Rong Chen Zi considered briefly. “Today we’ll follow the wood ash to search for the Three-Eyed Snake throughout Lingxia Town. Shaoqin, look carefully at those snake eggs we brought back — hopefully they’ll hatch before long. Find their weakness.” His words trailed off. He noticed that Zhuang Shaoqin, head bowed in apparent deep thought, had not reacted in the slightest.
Rong Chen Zi was inwardly puzzled, and followed the direction of his gaze. A rush of blood surged straight to his head — Zhuang Shaoqin’s gaze was glued to He Bang’s feet.
She had made herself a pair of shoes from water — transparent, with a tiny goldfish no bigger than a fingernail swimming along either side of the foot. Those small feet, visible through the watery glass, were round and perfectly formed. And she had not a scrap of proper posture about her — her little feet were propped out at a great distance, crossed one over the other squarely in front of Zhuang Shaoqin.
Zhuang Shaoqin’s eyes were in danger of popping out. He had always looked at women only in the conventional way and had never imagined that a pair of feet could be beautiful to this degree. Those small feet were a marvel of nature. Rong Chen Zi’s heartbeat lurched — he knew what it felt like to hold them in one’s hand, that texture like cool, smooth jade.
A single stirred thought, and his mind began to drift. Rong Chen Zi hurriedly recited a passage of the Heart-Clearing Incantation and forced his gaze away from those beautiful feet. He gave a dry cough and resolved not to dwell on it further. Ye Tian had naturally also noticed what Zhuang Shaoqin was looking at. She walked over to him and, without a word, stamped hard on his foot!
Zhuang Shaoqin snapped back to himself. Acutely aware that he had lost his composure in front of everyone, and that this was seriously beneath the dignity of the National Advisor, he also gave a dry cough. “The snake eggs — yes, looking into the snake eggs is the most urgent matter.” He rose with exaggerated gravity, turned, and walked briskly into a nearby room.
Everyone was silent for a considerable time. Senior Official Liu finally said, to no one in particular, “The National Advisor hasn’t touched his breakfast yet — and the snake eggs… are truly not in the kitchen.”
The great He Bang took a full hour for breakfast. Rong Chen Zi couldn’t wait, and had to lead his disciples and Xingzhi Zhenren out ahead to look for the snakes. When Chunyu Lin brought the dishes back to the kitchen, the cooks were already preparing lunch. He Bang’s utensils were always washed by Chunyu Lin personally and stored in a separate section of the cabinet — he preferred not to have anyone else handle them. But He Bang found herself bored. She had eaten her fill. Then she was a little drowsy.
She yawned. “Chunyu Lin, I’m going to nap. Wake me if anything happens.”
Chunyu Lin acknowledged this and bent back over the dishes. “It’s cold — keep the quilt pulled up properly.”
He Bang pressed her face against his back. His clothing was smooth as silk against her cheek, and she rubbed her face back and forth. “But my room is so cold.”
Chunyu Lin gave a helpless sigh. “Do you want to sleep in my room, then?”
He Bang immediately agreed, turned, and bounced away.
Chunyu Lin finished the dishes and came out to find Liu Qinfang standing beneath the corridor in front of a birdcage. She was dressed today in a cherry-white padded jacket, a silk flower pinned in her hair — simple but artful. Chunyu Lin’s steps slowed briefly. He gave only a small nod and walked on with a purposeful stride.
Behind him, Liu Qinfang stood still beneath the covered walkway. All the birdseed in her hand had scattered to the ground. The thrush in the cage was chirping and fluttering in frantic complaint.
Chunyu Lin had walked more than two zhang before he finally stopped, against his will. His voice was very quiet, but his position was unambiguous. “About the other night… I’m sorry.” He genuinely did not want to hurt this girl. But more than that, he did not want to let her go on harboring empty hope. “I’ve followed her since I was still a fish. In truth, with my level of cultivation, I am nowhere near worthy of being her martial guardian. So rather than saying I am her martial guardian, it would be more accurate to say I am her retainer. No — her bondservant.”
“I know!” Liu Qinfang’s voice came out urgent. “I know what you’re trying to say. I…”
Chunyu Lin cut her off. “You don’t. If I hadn’t met her, after three hundred years as a fish, I wouldn’t even have been able to take human form. She matters to me enormously — more than anything.” He lowered his eyes. His gaze was heavy and sorrowful. “Perhaps I am still nothing in her eyes. But every effort I have ever made has been only for the day I can stand in a place beside her — for nothing else.”
There was nothing more to say. Liu Qinfang closed her eyes. A tear slid from the corner and traced its way down her cheek. “I have always known.” She turned and walked away. A girl of fourteen or fifteen — her expression held the understanding of someone far older, the kind that makes a heart ache. “I have always known how much you love her. It’s just that even knowing everything, I still cannot stop myself from falling for you.”
Tears blurred her makeup. She covered her face with both hands. “To you, three hundred years is a short time. But for me, three hundred years is enough to exhaust several lifetimes over. I truly envy you — having so much time to spend together, to love someone, to strive for someone you love.”
She fled at a run, face buried in her hands. Chunyu Lin stood with his arms at his sides. He did not go after her. Three hundred years, for him, was truly a brief span — too brief to have even finished writing a beginning.
Rong Chen Zi and Xingzhi Zhenren searched along the ash-covered roads for signs of the Three-Eyed Snake. Zhuang Shaoqin was examining the snake eggs. Yuyang Zhenren led people in keeping watch over the Liu Mansion, protecting Senior Official Liu and the others. He Bang was asleep.
Chunyu Lin quietly eased the door open and sat down at the bedside. He had barely sat down when He Bang was already rolling over in her quilt to press against him. She rested her head on Chunyu Lin’s leg, her round eyes staring upward as she did mental arithmetic. “One at the Qingxu Temple — three liang! The one impersonating Ye Tian — six liang. Rescuing Ye Tian — nine liang…”
Chunyu Lin stroked her black hair spread across half the pillow, and suddenly bent down to place a soft kiss on her cheek. He Bang made no move to avoid it whatsoever, still carrying on with her count. “Two at the Changgang Mountain — that’s another six liang…”
Chunyu Lin couldn’t stop himself — he kissed her lips, his right hand slipping under the quilt, inching around from her waist. He Bang caught his hand without warning, and though she was not angry, her tone was matter-of-fact. “You’re at it again. I’ve already told you — your current cultivation art is the Blazing Sun Heart Technique. It’s best practiced in a state of physical purity.”
Chunyu Lin pressed over her, the long pent-up pressure finally giving way to a flash of temper. “But I need this. Just once — only once!”
He Bang trapped him in a water-binding technique and crawled up to sit on his chest, running the Clarity Heart Technique over him to clear the murk of desire. “Of all the demons through the ages, very few have truly amounted to anything. Because life is so long, one must learn to endure. A moment’s indulgence is bad for you.” She mentioned one name for the first time, her tone utterly flat. “The Lord of the Jialing River, Jiang Haoran, also cultivated the Blazing Sun Technique. That art easily generates heart-fire, yet over more than a thousand years he endured it all the same.”
She touched Chunyu Lin’s face, then pressed her lips to his forehead. “Survival is already difficult for mortal beings — it is even harder for demons. If you want to live long, you must learn to endure.”
Chunyu Lin turned his face away and said nothing. He Bang shifted and lay with her head against his arm. After a long pause she said suddenly, “If you truly have needs, the little Liu girl is an option. She’s human — that small amount of Yin energy won’t affect you much.”
Chunyu Lin stiffened from head to toe. He turned to look at her. His gaze held guilt, and something like embarrassment. “You… you know about that?”
He Bang slowly raised her arm. On her delicate right hand was a red welt. Chunyu Lin lowered his gaze to his own sleeping platform — the cloak Liu Qinfang had given him was still lying on the bed where he had tossed it, and its embroidery had pressed into her skin. “The embroidery looks very much like the work on her clothes.”
Her voice was perfectly calm. Chunyu Lin gently reached out to rub the spot. The mark on that snow-pale skin had already faded. “It pressed into you last night?”
He Bang held his waist. “Mm.”
Chunyu Lin stared at her. “But you never said anything.”
He Bang shook her head. “Nothing worth mentioning, really. It doesn’t matter much if you sleep with her. Just — the Blazing Sun Technique shouldn’t leak Yang energy, so don’t let it happen too frequently.”
Chunyu Lin seized her by the shoulders, suddenly furious. “I sleep with another woman, and you don’t mind in the slightest?!”
He Bang met his gaze. After a long silence, she slowly closed her eyes. “I’d like to eat fried rice cakes at noon.”
The grip on her shoulders loosened. His voice came out seething. “I’ll go sleep with Liu Qinfang one more time first, and then I’ll make you fried rice cakes!”
He stepped off the platform, shoved his feet into his shoes, and slammed the door on his way out. He Bang opened her eyes and reached out to toy with the celadon-green cloak. The fabric truly was fine. The embroidery was exquisite too. Her fingertips traced the outline of the orchid, winding along its curves, and she suddenly thought of this long, long stretch of time.