Since meeting Ren Yijue, Jing Pu had never once visited Jingyuan. He followed Ren Yijue down into the spring, and even with his mind weighed down by worries, he could not help marveling at what he saw.
They had only just landed when an utterly indifferent voice came from inside the house. “Stop where you are.”
Though Jing Pu had not heard that voice in decades, he heard it over and over in his nightmares, and remembered it even more clearly than his parents’ voices. His eyes reddened, hatred flaring anew in his chest. He reached for the soft whip at his waist, and killing intent surged from him.
Seeing trouble brewing, Ren Yijue hurriedly said, “Lord Pu, don’t forget why we came.”
Jing Pu gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure. He drew a deep breath and made himself nod, accepting Ren Yijue’s arrangement.
“Jade Beauty,” Ren Yijue called. “It’s me. I’ve returned.”
The voice within remained cool. “I know you’ve returned. I also know you brought a friend brimming with killing intent. The resentment around him is so thick it displeases me. I have no wish to share a room with him.”
Ren Yijue could only smile bitterly. The Jade Beauty’s imperious manner was usually rather endearing, but at a moment like this it only poured oil on the fire. Helplessly, he said, “Jade Beauty, Lord Pu has an old grievance involving you. I’d like to ask what happened. Would you come out and meet him?”
There was no answer from the room for a long while.
Jing Pu glanced at Ren Yijue.
Ren Yijue himself had no confidence he could persuade the Jade Beauty to oblige him. He and Qian Xuelang had seldom disagreed, but this was too serious a matter to let the Jade Beauty insist on having his way. He was still wondering what to do when he heard a creak.
Qian Xuelang pushed open the door and emerged.
Before Ren Yijue could smile in relief, Jing Pu stepped forward and stared coldly at Qian Xuelang. He came dangerously close, hatred churning in his eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a blow struck his chest. He stumbled backward several steps and would have fallen if Ren Yijue had not caught him.
Both men saw Qian Xuelang flick his sleeve and clasp his hands behind his back, his gaze icy. “Rude.”
This is bad, Ren Yijue thought. The Jade Beauty never likes people coming too close. When those Jiufang boys displeased him, he always kept them at a distance. Lord Pu has stepped straight on his sore point. Fortunately the Jade Beauty didn’t strike hard. I understand Lord Pu’s hatred, of course, but the Jade Beauty has been met with such hostility out of nowhere; naturally he’s unhappy too.
Ren Yijue had just experienced Jing Pu’s heart-rending agony through the dream. How could he not understand what his friend felt? But if they kept confronting one another like this, nothing good would come of it.
Jing Pu groaned and clutched his chest, still staring fixedly at Qian Xuelang.
As the atmosphere grew ever more explosive, Ren Yijue immediately squeezed between them and spoke gently. “Please don’t take offense, Jade Beauty. Lord Pu was overcome with emotion and meant no disrespect. Lord Pu, are you all right?”
Jing Pu shut his eyes and took a deep breath, desperately reminding himself not to act rashly. At last he replied, “I’m fine.”
Qian Xuelang said nothing. He simply turned and walked back into the house, plainly granting them permission to follow.
They entered behind Qian Xuelang. Barely had they stepped into the hall when Jing Pu’s cold voice rang out. “Does Your Excellency remember the Golden Buddha Maiden and Silver-Ring Sheng?”
Qian Xuelang sat down before replying indifferently, “Who are they?”
Jing Pu clenched his fists. He had not wanted to speak so plainly, but at this he could restrain himself no longer. “Sixty years ago, the snake-yao couple who died at your hands on Chaoyao Mountain. Have you forgotten them entirely?!”
Only then did Qian Xuelang seem to remember something. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Oh. So Golden Buddha Maiden and Silver-Ring Sheng were their names?”
“You… you didn’t even know their names?” Jing Pu could scarcely believe what he was hearing. He stared at Qian Xuelang. “You had never met them. Why did you kill them?”
Even Ren Yijue was startled.
“When I passed Chaoyao Mountain that year, the sun was blazing. An elderly man offered me water and warned me not to climb the mountain,” Qian Xuelang said evenly. “I was indebted to him for the warning, so I settled the cause and effect for him. Why would I need to know the names of the two snake yao?”
Ren Yijue had grown accustomed to the Jade Beauty’s brevity and hurried to ask, “Who was this elderly man, if he could offer the Jade Beauty such a warning? Perhaps there’s some misunderstanding.”
Jing Pu’s expression was tight as he stared at Qian Xuelang.
“A misunderstanding?” Qian Xuelang frowned faintly. Looking from one face to the other, he thought for a moment before addressing Jing Pu. “Did you come here because of that pair of snake yao?”
“Yes!” Jing Pu said.
“You have considerable natural talent, but you’re nowhere near my equal. You may feel you’ve grown up, but do you imagine I’ve made no progress in these decades?” Qian Xuelang said calmly. “You are untainted by wrongdoing, and I have no wish to kill you. Trying to avenge them would merely be seeking death. You would do better to abandon the idea.”
“Jade Beauty!” Ren Yijue suddenly shouted, anger rising on his face.
Qian Xuelang looked at him. “What is it?”
“You killed Lord Pu’s parents. Does he not even deserve an explanation?” Ren Yijue usually spoke to him in a soft voice, teasing and cajoling him; never before had he sounded so stern. “The Jade Beauty may live beyond worldly affairs, but Lord Pu and I belong to the mortal world. Here there are rules and ways of conducting oneself. If the Jade Beauty has no reason to offer, I can only conclude that you’re in the wrong.”
In fact, when Qian Xuelang had said Jing Pu was “untainted by wrongdoing,” Ren Yijue had already sighed inwardly. He knew the Golden Buddha Maiden and Silver-Ring Sheng must have had blood on their hands, and that this blood feud could hardly be explained away.
The Jade Beauty must have guessed why they had come. He was simply too proud to submit to questioning. But if he refused to explain, he would appear gravely at fault and only deepen Jing Pu’s hatred.
And if the Jade Beauty was in the wrong, how could Ren Yijue mediate? Was he supposed to stand by and watch the two kill each other?
Jing Pu was gritting his teeth so hard he could almost taste blood. Yet the sight of Ren Yijue’s indignation warmed his heart. He had never wanted to place Ren Yijue in such a dilemma. Seeing his friend stand up for him so fiercely actually helped cool his anger.
“If Your Excellency will tell me what happened from the beginning, I’ll judge for myself whether I should abandon the thought of revenge.”
Qian Xuelang considered for a moment before saying slowly, “Very well. If you want to know whether some hidden instigator was involved, there’s no need to ask. That old man was an ordinary mortal. He was only in his thirties at the time. Sixty years have passed since then, and given his health, he was unlikely to reach a hundred.”
Jing Pu gave a cold laugh. “Your Excellency remembers this old man very well.”
Qian Xuelang ignored the sarcasm.
“Hm?” Ren Yijue did not understand. “He was only in his thirties? Even for an ordinary mortal, that’s the prime of life. Why would the Jade Beauty call him an old man?”
Qian Xuelang answered evenly, “He had a beloved daughter. His wife died in childbirth, and father and daughter depended on one another. Their family was poor, but he cherished her like the apple of his eye. When she turned sixteen and was old enough to marry, before he had even finished preparing her dowry, she suddenly died a terrible death, and no one would even take her body away for burial. The sight of his daughter’s corpse broke his heart. His hair turned white overnight, and he looked as old as a man of seventy.”
“So this old man suffered a tragedy of his own.” Ren Yijue was beginning to guess what had happened. He glanced at Jing Pu, who lowered his head slightly, deep in thought.
Ren Yijue steeled himself and asked, “Why would no one bury her?”
Qian Xuelang continued, “Her body was filled with poisonous blood. It was rotting and decaying, and ordinary people grew sick merely from smelling the corpse. How could he, a mortal man, bury it?”
Ren Yijue drew in a sharp breath, his face full of compassion.
“After his daughter’s death, he was powerless to take revenge, so he moved to the foot of Chaoyao Mountain to warn travelers away,” Qian Xuelang continued, indifferent to their reactions. “In truth, what he did was useless. The snake yao could move as swiftly as the wind. Travelers in the mountains were merely more convenient prey; the lack of travelers would hardly leave them helpless.”
Ren Yijue sighed softly. “His intentions were good. Why must the Jade Beauty judge him so harshly?”
Jing Pu abruptly spoke. “Did Your Excellency never investigate? You believed this story merely because someone told it to you? What if the old man was lying? What if he wasn’t even a mortal but some evil creature in disguise?”
Qian Xuelang replied coldly, “No sooner had I climbed the mountain than a badly decomposed corpse was thrown before me. The couple were casually discussing throwing it farther away so it wouldn’t frighten their beloved child. The male snake came out of the cave to collect the corpse. When he saw me, he laughed and called for his wife, saying a filthy old Daoist of considerable ability had delivered himself to their doorstep, someone they could make use of for a good long time to disperse the poisonous blood surging in his body. Did the old man invent all that as well?”
Jing Pu’s face instantly went white.
But they were the ones who had demanded an explanation. Qian Xuelang naturally paid no attention to their reactions and continued. “The male snake was extremely venomous but seemed to be injured, and he was no match for me. When his wife rushed out, they attacked from both sides. I found an opening in the female snake’s defenses. Her husband noticed, threw his life away to shield her, and told her to flee. I killed him. When she saw him die, she went berserk. She had never been my match, and in that state she was even less capable of fighting me.”
As he spoke, his expression remained utterly detached. There was no excitement at recalling a hard-fought battle and no joy at having eliminated evil. It made the listeners’ hair stand on end, an involuntary chill creeping over them.
He had now filled in everything Jing Pu had not known. Ren Yijue understood what a terrible blow this would be to his friend, but could find no words. He was about to stop Qian Xuelang from going on when a sharp, indifferent glance swept over him and silenced him.
Qian Xuelang was not really looking at Ren Yijue, but at Jing Pu. “Judging by your appearance, you must have been that little snake.”
Jing Pu said bitterly, “So you remember me?”
“I had forgotten,” Qian Xuelang said. “But hearing of that day brought it back. The female snake was mortally wounded, yet when she saw a little snake, she struggled desperately to rise, bent low before me, and begged.”
Ren Yijue understood. This was the scene from the dream, the Golden Buddha Maiden begging Qian Xuelang for her child.
Qian Xuelang had felt nothing at the time, but his state of mind had advanced greatly in recent days. Looking back, he could finally understand the dying female snake’s last cunning, vicious, desperate attempt. “She bowed and pleaded with me, then fired ten poisoned nails, hoping to wound me gravely while I was distracted so I wouldn’t harm the little snake.”
Jing Pu wept bitterly, agony searing his heart. He seemed to lose every bone in his body and sagged toward the ground. Ren Yijue caught him and helped him sit down.
Only then did they both understand why Qian Xuelang had uttered the words “You think you deserve that?”
Ren Yijue did not know whether to feel relieved or sorrowful. He understood the Golden Buddha Maiden’s love for her child, and he understood the Jade Beauty’s anger. It was precisely because so many understandable things were tangled together in this world that they gave rise to so much that was impossible to understand.
Jing Pu cried silently for a while before managing to ask through his tears, “If… if my mother hadn’t fired those poisoned nails, if she’d begged you sincerely, would Your Excellency have… granted her dying request?”
Seeing Jing Pu lift tear-filled eyes to Qian Xuelang, his face wracked with grief yet faintly hopeful, Ren Yijue understood: this was his friend’s final struggle to let go.
If the Jade Beauty would only say “yes,” the entire debt of blood could be written off. No matter how deeply Jing Pu suffered, he would have to release it.
Yet for reasons he could not explain, Ren Yijue’s heartbeat thundered. Blood seemed to boil through his veins like magma. He stared at Qian Xuelang’s lips, hoping the Jade Beauty might, for once, show a little tenderness, a little kindness. Even if it was a lie, even if it meant… even if it meant pretending, just enough to comfort Jing Pu.
Ren Yijue’s heartbeat grew louder and heavier until his ears rang and he nearly stood up to answer “Of course” on Qian Xuelang’s behalf. Then he saw Qian Xuelang turn toward them with an uncertain look.
He said, “Haven’t I already answered you? You think she deserved that?”
All sound vanished from heaven and earth.