Five years.
For a single person, that was an entire stage of life. For a nation, it was a meaningful era in its own right.
Over those five years, though the Emperor of Da Zhou never personally set foot there, Da Zhou completely conquered Nanzhao, stationing troops throughout the territory, establishing the Nanzhao Prefecture, and beginning the work of reconstruction.
From that point on, Da Zhou reigned supreme over Longyuan, its territory stretching vast and wide—east to the Eastern Sea, south to the Southern Sea, north to the uninhabited glacial highlands, and west all the way to the Xijing Desert.
It was only then that a saying began to spread among the people of Xijing: that Princess Qianqian, in claiming the throne all those years ago, hadn’t merely held onto her own crown—she had held onto the entire land of Xijing itself!
Consider it: had the crown prince not met his tragic end back then, had he ascended to the throne instead, perhaps Da Zhou’s cavalry would never have stopped at Xijing’s border at all! As for whether Da Zhou might one day march against Xijing, or whether Xijing might someday expand its own borders by force—that was a matter for later generations to decide.
As things stood now, it seemed unlikely.
The small desert-border town between the two nations had been rebuilt, its houses nestled against the mountains and rivers in scattered, picturesque clusters—the brightest jewel at the desert’s edge, drawing no small number of reclusive figures from across the land. Many of the original inhabitants of the northern desert town had returned as well, and it was said that the girl named Yu Xiaomeng had come back too, though few knew exactly where she lived.
The old grudges and tangled affairs of the past were rarely spoken of anymore; people simply cherished the peace of the present.
Over these five years, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue had remained in the northern desert, never once returning to the capital of Da Zhou. Most of the townsfolk had no idea of their true identities, but whenever the two of them appeared together, hand in hand, they never failed to draw plenty of attention.
Time had done nothing to wear down their presence—if anything, it had only deepened it, refining it into something richer. Jun Beiyue in particular still wore his black fighting attire, as coldly imposing as ever, his naturally regal bearing now carrying an extra measure of mature masculine allure. One glance was enough to tell that this man carried a great many stories behind him.
Whenever he appeared, countless young women in the town found themselves utterly smitten, many of them imagining just what this man’s smile might look like.
And yet it was rarely seen—only when he brought his daughter out with him did people ever catch a glimpse of that breathtaking smile of his.
Townsfolk often saw the two of them practicing swordplay together by the stream in the early morning, chasing each other playfully through the forest with their daughter in the afternoons, and stargazing together on their own rooftop at night.
Their daughter, delicate and refined in appearance, carried herself with a noble air—people often said that not even the most beautiful princess in the land could rival her beauty.
And every year for these five years, come Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year’s Eve, people would see a handsome young man arrive alone on horseback. If the noble poise Jun Beiyue carried was restrained, understated, then the aura of nobility that radiated from this young man was entirely the opposite—open, unmistakable.
People speculated endlessly that this man must be Jun Beiyue’s son, though to this day no one had confirmed their identities for certain. The girls of the town, every Mid-Autumn and New Year’s Eve, would climb to their towers to gaze out and wait for this man to arrive on horseback—it had practically become a local custom by now.
In truth, Ziqing and the others had been living in the northern desert town for more than just these five years. The little princess was already past six years old.
These five years had also belonged to Guxi and Baili Xiaosheng.
Over these five years, they had finally gathered every last poisonous substance they needed. Today, at last, everything was ready—Baili Xiaosheng was finally prepared to destroy Shiliang.
In truth, as time had gone on, Guxi no longer felt the same urgency he once had about destroying Shiliang. He’d long since stopped dwelling on it—what was there left to rush for?
He now spent most of his time helping Baili Xiaosheng manage Duku, recruiting talent, and forging connections throughout the martial world. These days, the name Guxi carried far more weight in the world than the name “Situ Haonan” ever had, back in the day.
Baili Xiaosheng, having stumbled onto her treasure, had become, without a shred of guilt, a hands-off manager—splitting her time between hunting for rare poisons, chasing leads on the undying blood, and refining all manner of exquisite, rare poison insects.
Her poison arts had, over time, come to surpass those of Duku’s old masters in the eyes of everyone there.
“What, you’re not coming in with me?”
At the entrance to the secret chamber, Baili Xiaosheng raised a brow at him. Some things were simply born into a person—her boldness, her carelessness—even now that she was in love, she hadn’t changed a bit. But unlike before, having this man by her side had given this girl a genuine sense of grounding, a genuine confidence.
Before, even if the sky had fallen, her master would have slept right through it—she would have been the one afraid, the one who had to hold everything up herself, watching out for her master on top of it all.
Now, even if the sky fell, she could curl up lazily in Guxi’s arms and sleep soundly through it.
That was the difference between following the right person and the wrong one.
“Go on in. I’ll wait here for you,” Guxi said flatly. A man already mature and steady by nature, five years had only made him more so.
“Why? You’re the one who wants Shiliang gone!” Baili Xiaosheng said, puzzled.
“Is it really me, though?” Guxi teased back.
Baili Xiaosheng froze, then flared up in irritation—this man, teasing her about it now! “Hmph, well today I’m going to kill your old flame right in front of you—you can watch whether you like it or not!”
With that, she grabbed Guxi by the sleeve, kicked open the chamber door, and marched straight in.
Guxi shook his head helplessly. Honestly, he’d long since stopped caring about this matter one way or another—hadn’t this girl figured that out yet?
Inside the chamber, dim and eerie, the poison-preserved corpse of Shiliang stood just as it always had, still and silent as a thousand-year-old mummy. Beside it, plunged into a foul-smelling vat, stood a sharp blade—the poison sword Baili Xiaosheng had spent these five long years painstakingly refining.
Pulling Guxi up in front of her, Baili Xiaosheng finally released his sleeve. This girl could be overbearing, brazen, utterly unrestrained—but at the same time, she was also honest, and pure at heart.
She hid nothing, put on no airs, showing plainly just how much she cared, and openly displaying her own ruthlessness without shame.
“Watch closely, open your eyes wide!”
She said it to him earnestly, drawing the blade from the vat as she spoke.
The curve of Guxi’s lips kept widening. In his heart, this girl of his was the most genuine woman in the entire world, possessing the purest heart imaginable.
He submitted to her command without reservation, watching intently, eyes wide open.
Baili Xiaosheng advanced toward Shiliang, sword in hand, even boldly staring straight into those hollow, empty eyes.
“Hey. Next life, and the life after that—I forbid you from ever crossing paths with him again! He’s mine!”
With that overbearing declaration of ownership, she didn’t so much as blink. The blade in her hand plunged savagely into Shiliang’s forehead. Countless black veins burst outward from the point of impact, spreading wildly in every direction—and in an instant, with a resounding boom, the entire poison-preserved corpse shattered into dust.
It was over. The whole chamber filled with drifting ash.
Guxi immediately pulled Baili Xiaosheng into his arms, lifting his wide sleeve to shield her, and swiftly carried her out of the chamber.
At the mouth of the cave, he finally released her, looking at her, covered head to toe in ash, both exasperated and amused. Doting, he brushed the dust from her—here, there—careful and thorough.
Baili Xiaosheng basked happily in his attentive care, watching his focused, lowered eyes, unable to stop herself from giggling.
Letting her laugh all she wanted, Guxi continued fixing her hair and clothes without a word.
“Hey. It’s finally over,” Baili Xiaosheng said with a smile.
“Mm. So, will you marry me?” Guxi said seriously, slowly lifting his head to look at her.