In the distant sound of bells, Yan Sanhe opened her eyes.

In her still-blurred vision appeared a thin, sorrowful face. The eyes on that face were red and swollen, and inside them…

“Plop—”

Something cool fell on the tip of her nose.

It was a tear.

Why was he crying like this?

How old was he already?

She reached out her hand, wanting to wipe away his tears, but her hand was firmly grasped.

He held it very tightly, as if clutching a treasure that had been lost and recovered, refusing to let anyone snatch it from his hands again.

Yan Sanhe felt her heart being filled by something—it became grounded, and it had found a place to belong.

Her hand was warm—Xie Zhifei noticed the temperature in his palm, and his tears fell even more fiercely. He didn’t wipe them away, just looked at her through his tear-blurred vision, gazing at her again and again.

What should he say?

What should he say first?

Xie Zhifei’s lips moved.

Huaiyou, you’ve finally come back to life?

Girl, did you suffer?

Yan Sanhe, welcome back to the world of the living?

None of them felt right.

They all seemed too careless.

“Yan the Divine Woman, thank goodness this young master has thick skin, otherwise the one lying in the coffin right now would be me!”

“Look, I’ve got several more wrinkles. If I can’t get married in the future, you’ll have to take full responsibility for the rest of my life!”

Zhu Qing: “Miss Yan, you’ve finally awakened.”

Ding Yi: “We were all scared to death by you.”

Huang Qi: “I was so scared… I haven’t been able to take a shit for several days!”

A knuckle rap came down hard on his head.

“You fool, why do you always bring up shit?”

“Master, shitting and eating are both life’s most important matters. Am I wrong?”

His master: “…”

Another master nearby exploded in rage: “All of you get out!”

The main hall fell silent for a moment.

After that moment.

Young Master Pei pointed at Xie Zhifei. “Got a wife and forgot your brothers—you, you, you… are worse than an animal!”

Li Buyan crossed her arms and snorted coldly: “Crying one moment, angry the next—clearly emotionally unstable. Yan Sanhe, your lifelong matters need to be carefully reconsidered.”

Young Master Pei: “Hero, let’s get out of here.”

Li Buyan nodded: “Young Master Pei, you lead the way.”

The two walked out of the courtyard without looking back. Zhu Qing and the others exchanged glances and followed them out.

Did they need someone to lead the way just to leave?

Obviously there was something going on!

Sure enough, Young Master Pei walked outside and waved everyone over.

Five heads gathered together.

Pei Xiao’s face showed no anger, only urgency: “I didn’t hear wrong just now, did I? The bells rang.”

Li Buyan: “You didn’t hear wrong. They rang many times all at once.”

Zhu Qing: “But each ring was different, very strange.”

Ding Yi: “Could it be one bell ringing once, then another bell ringing once?”

Huang Qi looked at the sky: “At this hour, who would be ringing them?”

Pei Xiao pondered for a moment: “Huang Qi, go make a round of several temples and see what’s really going on.”

“Yes!”

Pei Xiao: “Zhu Qing, go ask around at the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

“Yes!”

Pei Xiao: “Ding Yi, go to the Zhu family and find Elder Brother Zhu, hear what he has to say.”

“Yes!”

The five heads instantly became two.

The two looked at each other, then each shifted their gaze elsewhere.

Young Master Pei: Strange, why has the troublemaker been so in sync with me lately?

Li Buyan: Strange, why does Young Master Pei seem more and more pleasant to the eye recently?

…

In the main hall.

Xie Zhifei lifted Yan Sanhe out of the coffin in one motion. Just as he was about to speak, Yan Sanhe shook her head at him, turned around, and knelt before Master Chanyue.

“Master, thank you for saving my life, I…”

“He can no longer hear you.”

Yan Sanhe jerked her head up, only to see the old monk sitting cross-legged, his face serene, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, looking very satisfied.

“He…”

“His merit is complete, he has passed away in seated meditation.”

Xuyun bent down and bowed deeply three times to the old monk. “Benefactor, do not blame yourself. This was my master’s destination, arranged ten years ago.”

Yan Sanhe thought she would cry, but not a single tear fell.

Yes, when someone found their way home, there was only joy, no sorrow.

Someone knelt down beside her.

After Xie Zhifei kowtowed three times, he asked: “Master Xuyun, the coffin is ready-made, we…”

“No need, just help me carry him on my back.”

Xie Zhifei: “Where will you take him?”

Xuyun: “Back to Mount Wutai, to the Eastern Terrace summit.”

Xie Zhifei: “I’ll go prepare a carriage right away…”

“I will walk the whole way.”

Xuyun placed his hands together. “He loved traveling through mountains and waters most. On the road home, I’ll let him see the mountains and waters one more time. Help me lift him!”

Xie Zhifei and Yan Sanhe looked at each other. The two, one on the left and one on the right, lifted Master Chanyue onto Xuyun’s back together.

Xuyun straightened up and glanced lightly at Yan Sanhe.

“Come sit at the Eastern Terrace when you have time. When my master wasn’t cultivating, he liked to banter with people. I’m too dull, and he was quite disdainful of that.”

Yan Sanhe smiled: “I’m also quite good at chess—I learned from my grandfather.”

The corners of Xuyun’s mouth curved up slightly: “Then perhaps you shouldn’t come. When he loses at chess, he pouts for three days.”

With that, he turned and strode into the night.

Yan Sanhe watched his lonely figure, her heart catching. She chased after him and shouted: “Study the chess manuals well and beat me for him. If you win, I’ll have Third Master drink with you.”

The figure paused slightly.

A sentence lighter than light drifted over on the night wind—”I only drink strong liquor.”

Li Buyan gave Young Master Pei a look: “Shall we see him off for a while?”

“Good idea, I was just thinking of kowtowing to the Master a few more times!”

And while they were at it, they could probe Xuyun—those bells rang so mysteriously, could it be related to Yan Sanhe?

Pei Xiao: “Let’s go!”

Li Buyan walked to the courtyard gate, stopped, and turned her head: “Yan Sanhe, what was that dream境about?”

Yan Sanhe: “Which dream?”

Li Buyan: “The one where someone covered your mouth and you went into a tunnel.”

“That was a scene my spirit saw after floating out of the courtyard. The old general, for my sake…”

Yan Sanhe: “…had prepared a secret passage, and Zhang Tianxing used that passage to take me away from the Zheng residence.”

So that was it.

“Later we should kowtow at the old general’s grave a few more times. Young Master Pei, don’t you think so?”

“If you say so, then so it is.”

“So obedient?”

“How would I dare object!”

The sound of footsteps faded away. Suddenly the surroundings became quiet, leaving only two people facing each other, eyes meeting eyes, but they didn’t know what to say.

Xie Zhifei strode forward and tightly embraced Yan Sanhe.

It was different from Mother’s embrace.

His embrace was broad and warm, holding her tightly with the relief of recovering what was lost.

A person’s heart is like a square courtyard—those inside cannot get out, those outside cannot get in.

The person she met on the Bridge of Helplessness pushed down one wall;

Mother’s faint medicinal herb scent pushed down another wall;

Li Buyan and Young Master Pei’s joking around pushed down the third wall.

The man before her, the white hair at his temples, caused the last wall to collapse suddenly, revealing Yan Sanhe’s passionate, burning heart inside.

Eighteen years.

How fortunate that you’re still by my side.

Yan Sanhe reached out both hands and hugged him tightly back, pressing her face even closer against his heart.

If she could lift her head at this moment, she would surely see the tears rolling down the man’s face once again.

Xie Zhifei’s Adam’s apple moved up and down several times. His lips trembled, and after a long while, he only sighed:

“My Huaiyou!”