Whether Ren Yijue had jinxed himself was hard to say. Just as he decided to leave, the sky gave a tremendous rumble and a torrential downpour came crashing down.
This was hardly rain pattering on banana leaves. It had very nearly come down on Ren Yijue himself.
He hastily pulled back his foot and stood in the doorway, gazing out at the rain. Raindrops rattled like rolling pearls; wet leaves and blossoms sounded like plucked strings; the lake answered in ringing accompaniment, together performing a piece of music made by Heaven and Earth.
Ren Yijue would have appreciated it immensely if he were in his own room, free to take up a zither and join in, or beat a basin and sing along. Then he could really have enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, he could not.
Consequently, his appreciation of this heavenly music diminished considerably, giving way to irritation and displeasure.
Qian Xuelang heard the downpour and called from upstairs twice, but the rain drowned out his voice. He had no choice but to come downstairs, where, sure enough, he found Ren Yijue fretting at the doorway. Approaching him, he asked, “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Ren Yijue shuddered. “Has the Jade Beauty not seen this rain, as if someone had punched a hole in the sky? Or heard it roaring like a waterfall through the mountains?”
“You’re exaggerating.” Qian Xuelang frowned. “You’re a cultivator. You’re not afraid of getting wet.”
Ren Yijue sounded rather aggrieved. “I may not be afraid, but it would still be uncomfortable. The Jade Beauty truly doesn’t treat Ren as a human being. Sudden rain often clears quickly. Perhaps it will stop in a moment. What harm would there be in letting Ren stay a little longer?”
“Am I the one driving you away?” Qian Xuelang countered.
He left the rest unsaid, but his meaning was perfectly clear: hadn’t Ren been the one in such a hurry to leave?
Ren Yijue was rendered speechless.
The Jade Beauty understood people’s minds all too well. Coming down from the mountain into the mortal world had not clouded his eyes or ears in the slightest. He remained as incisive and as direct as ever.
There was nothing in particular to say while waiting for the rain to stop, and Ren Yijue grew restless. His eyes wandered until they fell on a zither case hanging on the wall. Suddenly interested, he asked, “Shall I play something for the Jade Beauty?”
“As you please.” Although that was what Qian Xuelang said, he still found a chair and sat down.
Ren Yijue took down the case, settled the zither inside it across his knees, and began to play to the accompaniment of the rain. The strings rang out sharply. At first they evoked clashing weapons, then changed into the sounds of mountains and streams. Yet there was none of the mountains’ rugged grandeur or the water’s surging might, only a loneliness that seemed to stretch on without end.
Qian Xuelang did not know what Ren Yijue kept hidden in his heart. The young man was resourceful and thoughtful, with such formidable schemes and self-command, and such a knack for understanding others. What could he possibly have to worry about?
“Are you worried about the Heavenly Demon?”
With a sharp zheng, a string snapped and sliced Ren Yijue’s fingertip. Crimson blood fell in drops. Rubbing the cut as it gradually healed, he asked thoughtfully, “Why would the Jade Beauty think that?”
Qian Xuelang said evenly, “There was resentment and loneliness in your music. The unrest in your heart came through the strings.”
“So the Jade Beauty is Ren’s kindred spirit in music.” Ren Yijue spoke teasingly, but his expression was composed, without a trace of cheer.
Qian Xuelang stood and approached, resting a hand on the zither. “Such a glib tongue, always dodging the question. If you don’t want others to know, you’d better stop playing for now. As you are, you still can’t conceal your heart.”
Ren Yijue’s lips trembled faintly as he looked at Qian Xuelang in disbelief.
Outside, the rain had yet to cease. Its incessant din was enough to sour anyone’s mood. Only after a long while did Ren Yijue ask, “Then… besides resentment and loneliness, what else did the Jade Beauty hear?”
Qian Xuelang gave an unexpected answer. “Killing intent.”
“I see…” Ren Yijue lowered his head and smiled, then fixed his eyes on Qian Xuelang. “So that’s why the Jade Beauty guessed I was worried about the Heavenly Demon?”
“Am I wrong?” Qian Xuelang asked.
“Of course you are.”
Ren Yijue gently brushed Qian Xuelang’s hand away and placed both hands back on the zither with its broken string. The cut on his finger had healed, though a faint, tingling heat still lingered there.
“A human heart can hold so very many things: the past, the present, the future. Why must I fixate on the Heavenly Demon? Is he worthy of that?”
Everything in the world carried different weight in different people’s hearts. The Heavenly Demon might be a calamity to all living beings, but if Ren Yijue refused to regard him as important, no one could make him.
Qian Xuelang fell silent.
Ren Yijue suddenly asked, “Since the Jade Beauty understands the language of the zither, can you… play it yourself?”
“I can.”
Ren Yijue smiled faintly. “Somehow that’s rather hard to picture.”
“How rude.”
Ren Yijue had never been particularly frightened by Qian Xuelang’s rebukes, and after knowing him these past days, he paid them even less mind. He said slowly, “I’ve shared this secret with the Jade Beauty. If we should obtain a fine zither in the future, will the Jade Beauty return the favor with a piece, so I can hear the music in your heart too?”
Qian Xuelang said, “You really ought to become a merchant. Still, I agree.”
Only after receiving that promise did Ren Yijue show a genuine smile. He began unhurriedly, “From childhood, I’ve carried a fierce temper in my heart. I was impatient and stubborn. Whenever something went against my wishes, a nameless anger would flare up, and I’d feel an urge to go on a killing spree. Even now, at my age, I’ve hardly improved. The killing intent the Jade Beauty heard comes from my very nature.”
Anyone who had spent time with Ren Yijue would have found such a confession impossible to believe.
But Qian Xuelang could tell he was not lying.
“So that’s how it is,” Qian Xuelang said.
Ren Yijue laughed softly, plucking the remaining strings at an easy pace. “I knew it. Even if no one else believed me, the Jade Beauty certainly would…”
It was precisely this detachment from ordinary judgments that made the Jade Beauty so infuriating.
“My master once told me that my nature is overflowing with feeling, and that the seven emotions affect me far more strongly than they do ordinary people. If I use that properly, why shouldn’t it be a talent?” Ren Yijue added teasingly, “In that respect I’m the exact opposite of the Jade Beauty. If Ren had tried cultivating the Emotionless Dao, I’d probably have coughed up blood and died long ago.”
“I have little interest in the various ways you might get yourself killed,” Qian Xuelang said.
Ren Yijue could not help clapping his hands and laughing heartily.
“Anyway, my temperament can be called either a blessing or a curse. Thinking and worrying so much has its advantages, but it also leaves me wanting those I love to live and those I hate to die,” Ren Yijue continued after his laughter subsided. “My emotions boil over. Without restraint, I’m afraid they’d burn Ren to ashes first. So my respected master ordered me to quiet my mind and cultivate my character through the zither. Unfortunately… judging from today, it doesn’t seem to have worked especially well.”
“You’ve done very well already,” Qian Xuelang said calmly.
“The zither gives voice to the heart.” Ren Yijue shook his head with a sigh. “Ren has only learned to hide things well and suppress this part of my nature. I haven’t truly attained inner peace. Otherwise, how could the Jade Beauty have heard it?”
“Then that’s your own cultivation to work on.” Qian Xuelang remained cool.
Ren Yijue smiled faintly. “Exactly. It is Ren’s own cultivation.”
Qian Xuelang asked another question. “Then why aren’t you happy? Why are you so troubled? Is it because of the rain?”
“Ren’s temper isn’t quite that bad.” Ren Yijue smiled. “I was only thinking about the Jade Beauty’s affairs, and it left me feeling stifled and unsettled. As for the rain, I can’t say it’s entirely innocent. It came at a bad time, when Ren was already vexed.”
“My affairs?” Qian Xuelang frowned. “Why would my affairs trouble you?”
Ren Yijue merely began putting the zither away at a leisurely pace. “Because Ren needs to rely on the Jade Beauty. The best arrangement would be to make the Jade Beauty develop feelings for Ren. Then no matter what happened, you would never abandon me. Naturally, I have to devote more thought and consideration to you.”
His words were shameless in the extreme, yet they also held a measure of startling sincerity.
“You said the same thing on the mountain, and I already gave you my answer,” Qian Xuelang said. “Are you still dwelling on that greedy wish?”
Ren Yijue shook his head. “Some things cannot be forced. Ren understood that long ago.”
Qian Xuelang thought for a long time, unable to fathom what was on Ren’s mind, before asking, “You understand, so… does that mean you simply can’t let it go?”
There were many principles in the world that people understood perfectly well but could not put into practice. That was common enough.
“That’s not it either,” Ren Yijue said. “How could I dwell on something so trivial? If it were enough to anger me, I’d have been angry back on the mountain.”
Qian Xuelang could think of no answer. “I can’t guess.”
“So even the Jade Beauty has things he cannot guess.” Ren Yijue could not resist needling him.
Qian Xuelang said evenly, “Must you really indulge in this verbal sparring?”
Seeing frost settle over Qian Xuelang’s face, Ren Yijue knew he was growing impatient. He stopped while he was ahead and smiled. “Developing feelings cannot be forced, but one’s own worries and concerns are one’s to govern. I… merely feel sorrow for the Jade Beauty.”
“Sorrow about what?”
“The classroom,” Ren Yijue replied. “The Jade Beauty refused to explain, pretending it was merely a passing whim, then used my own words to silence me. Was it because you didn’t want anyone to notice what you were thinking, and didn’t want to confide in anyone?”
Qian Xuelang’s expression stiffened.
“What was the Jade Beauty like at eight years old?” Ren Yijue asked. “How much care did Immortal Lord He put into teaching you? Watching those children in their classroom, you naturally remembered yourself and Immortal Lord He, and the memory pleased you. Was that why you stopped?”
“Enough,” Qian Xuelang suddenly said.
Ren Yijue paid him no heed. “You cared nothing for Yin Wuchen, yet yesterday you questioned City Lord Cui at length because the demonic qi in Yin came from Immortal Lord He’s enemy. It stirred hatred in your heart.”
Qian Xuelang closed his eyes.
“I was terribly worried before, but suddenly I’m not so worried anymore.” Ren Yijue gazed steadily at Qian Xuelang. “Because the Jade Beauty wants to find the Heavenly Demon even more than I do, and wants to kill him even more than I do. So no matter what, you won’t leave me, the person the Heavenly Demon is hunting.”
Only after a long silence did Qian Xuelang answer. “Yes. You’re right. Though this is torment for me, it’s the best news you could have hoped for. You no longer have to rack your brains wishing I’d develop feelings for you. Is that what you wanted to tell me?”
“Alas.” Ren Yijue sighed. “Jade Beauty, Jade Beauty. Your heart truly is made of iron and stone.”
Since I no longer need to ask anything of you, naturally I am not saying these things simply to please you.
Have you really never considered that you’ll take up such surging love and hatred with both hands, only to be required to set it all down lightly in the end?
And when you have to let it go, what will you do?
You must make a heart of iron and stone grow flesh and blood, and then grind that living flesh back into iron and stone again. Do you know what kind of torture that is? Yet you truly leapt into it, setting out to witness the world’s warmth and cruelty and feel the chill and comfort of human affection.
The downpour ended as abruptly as it had begun. During their exchange it stopped without warning, so quickly that apart from the wet ground and the dripping eaves, there was hardly any trace of rain.
Ren Yijue rose and crossed the threshold, leaving behind just one light remark, which lingered in the mist that had not yet dispersed.
“I pity you.”
Pity me?
Qian Xuelang returned to the second floor. Unexpectedly, he did not resume his own affairs this time. Instead, he quietly sat where Ren Yijue had been gazing at the scenery and looked out the window.
Can people so full of feeling truly have that much emotion? Isn’t caring for themselves enough? Do they still have the strength to concern themselves with other people’s joy and sorrow?
And Master? Master too died out of compassion for all living beings.
And that person Cui Shensi mentioned: if teaching drove him to distraction, why had he only complained? And why had Cui Shensi been so happy when telling the story?
Qian Xuelang was born quick-witted and understood things as soon as they were pointed out. He had no need to ask anyone these questions. All he needed was to sit and think for a while before finding the answers himself.
“Because they didn’t truly dislike it, just as I didn’t dislike those children,” Qian Xuelang said slowly. “Cui Shensi was afraid those children might offend me, not merely because he worried I would be unhappy, but because he feared I would kill them.”
Qian Xuelang looked down at his hands. “Just like Father and Mother. They complained that I wouldn’t speak and teased me about having another little brother or sister who would be sweet and obedient. Yet when I was leaving, they were utterly heartbroken, grieving as though they couldn’t bear to live.”
In truth, memories from before the age of eight had long since blurred, but a few recollections of life with his birth parents remained.
“When people talk about letting go, they don’t necessarily mean they truly wish to let go.”
An overwhelming wave of grief suddenly rose within Qian Xuelang, though he had no idea why the pain was so unbearable. Every limb and bone felt as though it were burning or being struck with hammers. Before he knew what to say, blood had already spilled from his lips.
He knew he ought to quiet his mind and calm his feelings rather than disturb his emotions. That was always how he had met difficulties while cultivating on the mountain.
But now it was as if the clouds and mist in his mind were parting. The more he spoke, the clearer his thoughts became, and Qian Xuelang no longer tried to restrain them.
“Could it be… could it be that I was born with such extraordinary abilities? Wasn’t I once just like those little children in the classroom, small and ignorant of how vast the world was?”
The more Qian Xuelang spoke, the more his heart felt pierced through, and blood continued to spill from his mouth. “Wasn’t it because Father, Mother, and Master loved me…?”
When the words loved me left his mouth, Qian Xuelang felt a tremendous rumble in his mind, as though from somewhere beyond his understanding. For a moment he could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing. Tears slipped down his cheeks without his noticing.
“Wasn’t it because Father and Mother loved me that they raised me until I was eight? Yet I forced them to sever the bond between parent and child,” Qian Xuelang murmured. “Wasn’t it because Master loved me that he taught me for so many years? He lingered in the mortal world for my sake and had compassion for me. Only when I no longer needed his care did he turn to showing compassion for all living beings… and he…”
Agony coursed through Qian Xuelang’s body. Every inch of him seemed to suffer a different torment. He could barely form words, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
“Yet I… I never truly saw them, never loved them. I didn’t love… Now they’re dead, and they don’t love me anymore.”
Qian Xuelang could no longer hold himself up. He slipped from the chair and collapsed on the cold floor. Through the wide-open window, he saw the hazy sky deepening into dense darkness.
Night had arrived.
Cold seeped through his body and soul, and Qian Xuelang sank into a deep sleep.
An unknown time later, Qian Xuelang slowly awakened. Sensing faint damp warmth against his face, he opened his eyes lazily and found a warm cloth wiping it clean.
“The Jade Beauty is awake.”
He knew whose voice it was without needing to listen. Too weary to respond, Qian Xuelang closed his eyes again and allowed the warm, damp cloth to pass carefully over his cheeks and neck.
“Shouldn’t the Jade Beauty tell me how you managed to turn yourself into such a little tabby cat? Blood and water everywhere. If it hadn’t poured again last night, Ren might have thought you’d cried yourself into this state.”
Only then did Qian Xuelang react. “It rained again last night?”
He shifted his body and found himself completely dry. Only then did he realize he was resting in Ren Yijue’s embrace, held within both his arms so that, for the moment, he could not move.
“It did.” Ren Yijue tossed the cotton cloth into the basin. “The Jade Beauty left the window open. Quite a lot of water splashed in, and the floor is still wet.”
Qian Xuelang asked, “And my clothes?”
“I dried the Jade Beauty’s hair and changed your clothes.” Ren Yijue spoke leisurely. “Had you woken a little earlier, you could have washed your own face. Unfortunately, Ren has already finished that too.”
Qian Xuelang briefly closed his eyes. “I’ve troubled you.”
Ren Yijue said with exaggerated seriousness. “It was rather troublesome. I even thought the Jade Beauty had been attacked, and nearly rushed out to make trouble for City Lord Cui.”
“You couldn’t defeat him anyway,” Qian Xuelang said evenly. “If someone could hurt me in Dongxun City without making a sound, what good would finding Cui Xuanchan do? Would you ask him to help you flee for your life?”
Ren Yijue looked sheepish. “That’s true. Still… the Jade Beauty’s condition looks familiar. Is it because I mentioned your master yesterday?”
As he reached the end of the question, both his tone and his expression grew serious.
“Yes, and no.”
The answer was so cryptic that even clever Ren Yijue could make nothing of it. Reading Qian Xuelang’s expression and seeing he did not wish to explain, Ren chose not to press him. Instead, he joked, “The Jade Beauty is certain it isn’t some illness?”
Qian Xuelang said, “Ren Yijue.”
Ren Yijue obediently fell silent.
Once Qian Xuelang sat upright, dizziness washed over him. He held his forehead and rested for a while before his mind cleared a little. He knew he had let his emotions run far too high yesterday, just as had happened on the mountain.
Since beginning his cultivation, he had never hesitated in the least. Yet now, when he considered what lay ahead, he felt an unfamiliar flicker of fear and had no idea what he ought to do.
While Qian Xuelang was pondering this, he noticed Ren Yijue sitting beside him and watching him with concern. Recalling how they had traveled together over the past days, and the kindness Ren had shown him, his heart suddenly softened. “Did you come to see me about something today?”
“I originally wanted to take the Jade Beauty out for a little amusement, so you wouldn’t brood indoors.” Ren Yijue studied him tenderly. “But you don’t seem to be feeling well. Better rest properly today.”
“My state of mind has merely made a breakthrough. There’s nothing wrong.”
Ren Yijue’s face stiffened. “The Jade Beauty had a breakthrough in your state of mind overnight?”
“That’s right.”
Ren Yijue’s expression turned peculiar. Only after a long while did he slowly exhale. Showing a rare, childish petulance, he muttered, “I don’t feel like talking to the Jade Beauty anymore.”
“A grown man like you, pretending to be little and acting spoiled. Do you think that’s adorable?” Despite his words, a faint smile appeared on Qian Xuelang’s face. “Where did you want to take me? Let’s go.”
Qian Xuelang finished speaking but received no answer. Looking over in puzzlement, he saw Ren Yijue sitting motionless, staring straight at his face as though his soul had wandered elsewhere.
“What is it?”
Only then did Ren Yijue come to his senses, looking flustered and discomposed. “N-no, nothing. Oh! We’re going out, yes. All right… I’ll get up first and wait for the Jade Beauty outside… I… well… there’s no need to hurry.”
He rattled all this off in confusion and promptly went out. Footsteps sounded on the stairs, then fell silent soon afterward.
Qian Xuelang found it very strange but paid it little mind. He had almost nothing to tidy. Ren Yijue had personally changed his clothes, arranging them more neatly than Qian Xuelang usually managed himself.
Come to think of it, this was already the second time. There was little to be embarrassed about, but troubling Ren Yijue to care for him each time was not right.
As a child, Qian Xuelang had often been served by others, but ever since he followed his master into cultivation, he had attended to everything himself. Ren Yijue was no servant of his, either. With no immediate chance to repay him, he could only keep these two kindnesses in mind and wait for a future opportunity.
Downstairs, Ren Yijue had returned to normal. Having replaced the zither’s broken string, he was tuning it.
“Am I disturbing the Jade Beauty?” Ren Yijue asked without looking up, pausing his hands. “For the record, I’m not trying to hurry you.”
“No,” Qian Xuelang said.
Ren Yijue smiled gently. Although he never raised his head, Qian Xuelang could somehow imagine exactly what his smile would look like.
“Then you mustn’t hurry me either. I broke this zither yesterday, so today I have to make it up to the poor instrument.”
Qian Xuelang made no reply.
Only after tuning it did Ren Yijue put the zither back in its case and return it to its old place. He said softly, “Let’s go.”
Qian Xuelang put on his veiled hat and followed behind him.
They had come to the City Lord’s Manor together, but after only a day, Ren Yijue already knew the grounds better than Qian Xuelang.
Perhaps it had been more than a day after all.
Qian Xuelang recalled the day Yin Wuchen had transformed, when Ren Yijue left to report the matter. He had likely covered much of the manor on that trip, naturally learning its paths.
The rain had passed and the sky had cleared, leaving the scenery freshly washed. They walked all the way out of the City Lord’s Manor. The busy streets were as prosperous as ever, showing no sign of having been frightened by the sudden outbreak of demonic qi.
After they had walked a while, Qian Xuelang remembered something. “By the way, the demonic qi in your body…”
Ren Yijue smiled faintly. “I’d almost forgotten that myself. Don’t worry, Jade Beauty. City Lord Cui has already resolved it for me.”
“Resolved it?” Qian Xuelang was puzzled. “How? You wouldn’t let anyone tend your injuries.”
“The day before yesterday, after losing my lodging, I asked City Lord Cui to find me a new place to stay. He noticed the demonic qi in my body and assumed I’d suffered at Yin Wuchen’s hands,” Ren Yijue explained. “When I refused treatment, he gave me a piece of water jade to nourish and protect my body.”
The world held mountains and countless waters, but streams, lakes, rivers, and seas were not all connected. Some waters stood stagnant until they rotted, stank, and gradually dried up. Others, though cut off from flowing currents, lay in blessed places dense with spiritual qi. Like water in a spiritual pool, they could cleanse themselves and drive away malign influences. Even a single mouthful could strengthen a mortal’s body.
After enough years, such spiritual water condensed into a substance known as water essence. Cultivators collected and carved it into jade, producing water jade.
Water jade was the essence of living water. Because water could nourish and foster life, it naturally gathered the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth, which circulated ceaselessly through it without the need for a forceful formation.
Qian Xuelang nodded. “Cui Xuanchan is generous.”
Seeing not a trace of envy on his face, Ren Yijue could not tell whether Qian had simply seen too many treasures of this kind or had never given the gift a second thought.
Their identities, experiences, abilities, and temperaments were all vastly different. Had circumstances not brought them together, how could they ever have ended up walking side by side?
Ren Yijue thought, I wonder how old the Jade Beauty is now. He’s a generation younger than Cui Xuanchan, so the difference must be at least twenty years, perhaps as much as two hundred. In any case, he’s far older than I am. Even if I laid the Heavenly Demon’s head before him, that might only surprise him a little. And if even he can’t manage it, how could I?
They twisted and turned through the streets. Whenever Ren Yijue saw toys or ornaments, he asked whether Qian Xuelang wanted any. Naturally Qian refused. Ren didn’t mind; he bought quite a few snacks instead, wrapping them in oiled paper and carrying the packets strung together.
After crossing a bustling main street, Ren Yijue led Qian Xuelang into a quiet alley. The crowds dwindled, and the surroundings grew steadily more familiar. Before long they reached a little courtyard that was more familiar still.
Ren Yijue opened the gate, then turned and courteously invited Qian Xuelang inside.
Many of the courtyard’s flowers and plants had been battered by yesterday’s downpour. Buds, weeds, and leaves lay scattered all over the ground. Even the table and chairs where Ren Yijue often sat held pools of rainwater.
Having lived here for several days, Qian Xuelang knew there was little to amuse them. He could not understand why Ren Yijue had returned. Surely he wasn’t reluctant to spend money. “Are you unhappy staying at the City Lord’s Manor?”
“Whatever gave the Jade Beauty that idea?” Caught off guard by such an abrupt question, Ren Yijue laughed. “If I moved back here, someone else would have nowhere to stay.”
That was stranger still. Qian Xuelang was puzzled, but he did not press him.
The courtyard was small, with only two rooms. They had been just two occupants and never needed many rooms. This time Ren Yijue again opened the door to his own bedroom.
Only a few days had passed, so naturally the room had not become particularly dirty. But there was an additional person on the bed.
Ren Yijue busied himself setting the oiled-paper packages on the table and opening the curtains and windows to air the room. Qian Xuelang stepped out from behind him and observed quietly.
The person on the bed was quite familiar, far more familiar even than Cui Shensi.
It was Cui Jingchun.
The young man lay perfectly still, his expression wretched, as though trapped in a nightmare. Tear tracks were clearly visible on his cheeks. Whatever had happened to him had caused immense sorrow, though his vigilance remained intact: his sword lay beside the pillow so he could draw it the instant he awoke.
Qian Xuelang approached two steps and studied him more closely. “Why is he here?”
“Yesterday, when the Jade Beauty drove me out…” Ren Yijue began heating some water, then saw Qian Xuelang give him a chilly look and suppressed a smile. “Very well. After leaving the Jade Beauty’s little tower, I was reading in my room when another sudden downpour began during the night, so I opened the window to admire the rain.”
“Admire the rain?” Qian Xuelang repeated.
“Indeed. Suddenly someone darted past through the rain, moving at great speed. You know how it is, Jade Beauty. In the dead of night, who could tell what sort of intruder it might be? With Yin Wuchen’s calamity so recent, naturally I gave chase.”
“If you truly thought it was an intruder, would you have chased him?” Qian Xuelang asked. “You’d have come to find me first.”
Ren Yijue looked baffled. “Surely my abilities aren’t that poor?”
“It’s not that your abilities are poor. You’re cautious by nature,” Qian Xuelang said. “What ordinary thief would dare race around inside the City Lord’s Manor? And in such heavy rain, if even Cui Xuanchan didn’t notice an enemy infiltrating the estate, the person must have belonged there.”
With his little performance so thoroughly exposed, Ren Yijue lost interest. He said glumly, “Exactly. See, that thief is lying on the bed.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
Ren Yijue wrung out a cloth and gently wiped Cui Jingchun’s face, then washed his hands and rolled up his sleeves to open the food packages. “It seems he quarreled with his family, lost his composure, and ran out in the middle of the night. He was wandering the streets in a daze. Since he didn’t want to return, I brought him here.”
Watching him unwrap the packets one by one and set the contents on the table, Qian Xuelang realized the snacks had not been bought for him.
The thought came so suddenly that Qian Xuelang paid it no particular attention, and it soon faded from his mind. He simply watched Ren Yijue in silence.
Sometimes this man could be thoroughly irritating; at other times he was remarkably likable.
Most importantly, Ren Yijue was a good person.
Qian Xuelang understood perfectly well that Ren Yijue’s temperament and methods were not entirely those of the orthodox path. He had made use of He Yuntao, calculated the benefits he might gain from Cui Jingchun, deceived Yin Wuchen, and even allowed Cui Xuanchan to misunderstand the demonic qi within him. None of those were the actions of an impeccably righteous cultivator.
There was an unorthodox streak in his nature. But that was nothing terrible. The world contained so many different roads because people were meant to walk them. Who could insist that the road beneath his feet was the one true path?
Ren Yijue had a remarkably spacious heart. He could love almost any living person he encountered who was not too wicked. He did not dwell on the dead, but went to every possible length to save the living.
He had never hesitated or wavered in following this path.
He even felt compassion for Qian Xuelang.
Qian Xuelang knew perfectly well that he had not treated Ren Yijue especially kindly. If anyone in the world still loved him, he supposed those people could only be Feng Yinming and Ren Yijue.
He and Feng Yinming had known each other for many years and shared a friendship. Ren Yijue, on the other hand, had no such bond with him.
Ren Yijue was simply generous, holding a measure of goodwill toward everyone. The concern and affection he showed Qian Xuelang were exactly the same as those he showed Cui Jingchun on the bed. There was no difference at all.
That alone showed what a very, very good person he was.
A cool breeze after the rain carried a hint of dampness and the fragrance of the entire courtyard as it drifted softly through the window, waking the person on the bed.
Cui Jingchun blinked his dry eyes. He was awake, but his mind remained numb. He lay motionless, too listless even to get up and wash, with no idea what to do.
“Awake?” Ren Yijue came to the bed and asked softly. “Would you like something to eat?”
Cui Jingchun turned his head. Hearing such gentle words made his eyes redden, but he had no appetite and could only refuse politely. “Thank you… I’m not hungry…”
He had eaten and drunk nothing all night, and his emotions had been in turmoil. His voice was so hoarse it sounded like someone sawing wood.
“Then have some water if you’re not hungry,” Ren Yijue said. “It’ll soothe your throat.”
Cui Jingchun had already refused him once and could hardly bring himself to refuse a second time. So he nodded, got out of bed, and went to drink some tea.
Often the most dangerous thing for a person was to lie in one place without moving, as though soul and purpose alike had fled. Misery then deepened the longer they remained there.
Once Ren Yijue had coaxed him to get up and move, persuading him to do something else became far easier.
Only then did Cui Jingchun notice Qian Xuelang, and embarrassment washed over him. For some reason, he naturally felt close to Ren Yijue. Perhaps he had already humiliated himself in every possible way before Ren, or perhaps it was because Ren was endlessly accommodating and never mentioned anything that would shame him.
But Senior Qian… Senior Qian…
Looking at the taciturn Jade Beauty in his veiled hat, Cui Jingchun felt a pang. Of course. My benefactor and Senior Qian are always together. I saw the nature of their relationship outside the city that day. What more is there to understand?
With another person present, Cui Jingchun could no longer behave as though life held nothing for him. He straightened his clothes, recovered the deportment of a Cui Clan disciple, and bowed respectfully with a strained smile. “Greetings, Senior.”
“My presence makes you uncomfortable,” Qian Xuelang said. “I’ll go outside.”
Without waiting for a response, he walked out to admire the flowers in the courtyard. A little later, Ren Yijue emerged from the room carrying an umbrella and pulled the door mostly closed behind him.
“You’re coming out already?” Qian Xuelang asked.
Ren Yijue looked surprised. “What a question. I’ve taken the Young City Lord in, urged him to eat and drink, and made sure the boy won’t do anything rash. He has to overcome this difficulty in his heart himself. Am I supposed to keep him company until we’re both old?”
“Besides, I invited the Jade Beauty out today to take your mind off things. Am I meant to abandon you here to stare at the flowers? That would be a shabby way to treat a guest.”
Qian Xuelang had never comforted anyone. There was no need to speak of his master, He Tianjun, and Qian Xuelang himself had never needed consolation. Feng Yinming always sorted out his troubles before coming to see him and was more likely to worry about other people instead.
Having neither ideas nor experience, Qian Xuelang listened to Ren Yijue’s lengthy explanation and simply accepted it as the proper way of doing things.
The two left the courtyard side by side and gradually returned to the main street. Qian Xuelang said quietly, “I remember now. You told me something like this before.”
“Hmm?” Ren Yijue asked. “What was that?”
“Even when we know someone, even when we spend every day with them, who can claim to know their thoughts?” Qian Xuelang repeated. “He escaped death, and the manor has just suffered a demonic calamity. At such a critical time, Cui Jingchun would never throw a childish tantrum like this unless he’d been hurt to the very core.”
Ren Yijue smiled. “And how does the Jade Beauty know what kind of person the Young City Lord is?”
“I saw him very clearly outside the city that day,” Qian Xuelang replied.
Ren Yijue was not particularly concerned with Qian Xuelang’s opinion of Cui Jingchun. But he suddenly became interested in something else. “Then after traveling together these past days, what does the Jade Beauty think of me?”
Qian Xuelang considered for a moment before answering slowly, “You’re a good person.”
“A… a good person?” Ren Yijue’s face went blank, his voice stammering as his whole body stiffened like a puppet on strings. However hard he thought, he could not understand what the words good person had to do with him.
Scheming, sly, neither fully righteous nor entirely wicked: those were descriptions Ren Yijue would gladly accept. Even shamelessly flirtatious or full of lies were things he could admit to if pressed.
“Er…” Ren Yijue stood dazed amid the bustling street, sweat gathering on his brow. “The Jade Beauty is… quite sure you’re talking about Ren?”
Was the Jade Beauty deliberately teasing him? No… Wait, had the Jade Beauty actually learned to joke with other people?
Then his sense of humor was astounding. Astoundingly terrifying!
“Mm. That expression is just right.” This time Qian Xuelang was being a little deliberate. “Besides being a good person, you’re also a fool.”
Yet Qian Xuelang was not being entirely facetious. There were people in the world who loved others, people like him who did not, and even people who trampled on the sincere feelings of others.
Someone who offered goodwill and kindness as Ren Yijue did resembled the flower fools he had spoken of yesterday. Without a touch of foolish infatuation in one’s very nature, how could such genuine feeling arise?
He showed such compassion for the world, but how many people would ever repay him? Even the idea of repayment meant receiving something first and only then giving in return.
Yet the person who gave first, without knowing whether he would ever receive anything back, was still willing to go on giving.
Wasn’t that precisely what made him a naturally foolish, good-hearted man?
Ren Yijue considered the matter carefully and became quite convinced that this assessment had absolutely nothing to do with him.