Chiyan's injuries were severe, and she had been recuperating here.
Eating such bland meals every day had made her face thin by several circles.
One day, she pulled on Xu Qing, who was about to leave, and complained.
"Brother A Xuan, I'm so hungry. If I get any thinner, this will disappear."
She shamelessly used his hand to touch herself.
Xu Qing's expression faltered, and he immediately withdrew his hand.
"What do you want to eat?"
Chiyan smiled and swayed him, "Papaya soup."
As soon as she spoke, that delicate voice from years ago immediately wrapped around his mind, just like her current voice.
After all these years, she was still the same.
Xu Qing pushed her hand away and left.
His retreating back had a distinct air of hasty escape.
Seeing him like that, Chiyan chuckled. He must have remembered how she would pester him for papaya soup every month when they were in the desert.
Back then, he wouldn't be so shy; he would fight back, leaving her unable to get out of bed.
Now, Chiyan looked at his departing back and smacked her lips.
Such a tsundere.
Although he didn't get her any papaya soup, he had someone go down the mountain to buy her a lot of food. After staying in the temple for so long, even eating a pastry could make her happy for a long time.
The peach blossom cake was sweet and soft, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
She sat in the courtyard, basking in the sun, eating with great contentment.
When Xu Qing returned, he saw her swinging her long legs, her eyes curved into smiles.
Chiyan sensed his gaze, turned her head, and waved the pastry in her hand.
"Brother A Xuan, you still remember I like peach blossom cake."
Xu Qing didn't speak, but walked towards her.
"Come in and change your dressing."
Actually, the wound had almost healed.
But she was afraid he would revert to his indifferent self, so she deliberately tore at the wound and secretly poured out the medicine, which was why it hadn't healed.
"Carry me, I'm in pain and can't walk."
She reached out and acted spoiled.
Xu Qing glanced at her, bent down, scooped her up, and walked into the house.
Chiyan nestled in his arms, secretly looking at him, and couldn't help but kiss his chin.
Xu Qing showed no reaction. After placing her back on the couch, he said,
"Take off your clothes."
The injury was to her shoulder; in fact, only half her clothes needed to be removed. But Chiyan deliberately tempted him and removed all her clothes, revealing a vibrant肚兜 (a type of traditional Chinese undergarment).
The knife marks were clearly visible on her fair skin.
Xu Qing's eyes darkened, and he slowly changed her dressing.
Chiyan deliberately teased him, kicking around restlessly.
But with just one glance from him, she grudgingly sat properly, letting him do as he pleased.
After the dressing was changed, Xu Qing was about to leave.
Chiyan immediately grabbed him, "You're not allowed to leave."
"I'll come when you change your dressing."
His face was so pale it was as if veiled in mist. She dared not act out further and let go of his hand sheepishly.
But she was unwilling. Still unclothed, she threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.
"Put a stamp on it."
Xu Qing didn't lie to her; he would come whenever it was time to change her dressing. Every day, she pestered him, urging him to travel the mountains and rivers, to stay away from the mortal world, and to live a normal life. She was incredibly earnest.
He always ignored her, his expression remaining placid.
She didn't mind; she just kept pestering him.
Chiyan's injuries healed progressively, and her meals gradually improved. Tonics and soups were sent to her.
There was pig trotter soup, pear and lean meat soup, stomach and ganoderma chicken soup, and all sorts of dishes she liked. Slowly, she began to fill out.
But she rarely saw Xu Qing, and her mood grew increasingly irritable.
By the time her injuries were completely healed, even the scars were gone.
As the wind carried geese, and the cicadas' cries grew louder, the leaves in the courtyard rustled and fell.
She finally couldn't hold back and blocked him in the corridor.
"Xie Xuanchen, why are you avoiding me?"
Xu Qing looked at her puffed-up face and said, "I've been busy lately."
Hearing his tone was somewhat gentle, Chiyan bit her lip and tugged at his sleeve.
"Brother A Xuan."
He glanced at her, "Hmm?"
She shamelessly threw herself onto him, rubbing his arm and acting spoiled.
"When will you be willing to leave with me?"
She badgered him like this every day, confident she could break him down.
"It's so monotonous here. We can go to the martial world, see mountains and rivers, enjoy all the beauty of the world, and live a free and unfettered immortal life."
Xu Qing remained silent, his clear brown pupils looking towards the sky outside.
Chiyan knew the thorn in his heart, and her eyes couldn't help but redden as she spoke directly.
"Back then, we were both fighting for our respective countries. It was a normal power struggle, a war between homelands. If we shed those identities, we weren't enemies."
She looked him in the eye, "What bothers you is that I deceived you, isn't it?"
Xu Qing lowered his gaze to her, remaining silent.
"Brother A Xuan, I was wrong."
She reached out, wrapped her arms around his waist, her eyes turning red.
"For the first half of my life, I lived for Mobei. For the second half, I want to live for myself. Now that we've both left the vortex of power struggles and are just ordinary people, can't we live for ourselves just once?"
The light from the windows, the vermilion paint, the Bodhi tree in the backyard rustling in the wind, the faint ding-dong of the copper bells under the eaves – everything was eerily quiet.
Chiyan couldn't hear anything. She raised her tear-filled eyes to look at him.
"Are you going to waste away like this forever?"
When Mosha arrived with the ten hall Yama dharma masters, he saw the scene of the two of them struggling.
He moved his lips with difficulty but couldn't say anything.
Their King was going to renounce his monastic vows.
After that day, Chiyan didn't see Xu Qing for a long time. The lotuses in the pond she waited by had all withered. She was so bored she felt like she was about to sprout, but she couldn't find him.
She sent out hidden guards to look for him, but he was deliberately concealing his tracks, and she couldn't find him at all.
Chiyan felt as though her heart had become empty. She spent days staring blankly at the Bodhi tree in the courtyard, even contemplating becoming a nun.
Luoshen visited her once. She didn't understand what he was saying and felt dazed.
Later, she fell ill. She felt like she had slept for a very long time. In her dreams, she returned to the days they spent in the desert.
She fell into a nightmare, unwilling to wake up.
She became gaunt by several circles.
After an unknown amount of time, she faintly heard someone calling her. The familiar voice surrounded her, making her entire body tremble.
"Brother A Xuan."
She suddenly cried out and woke up.
The man she longed for stood before her, but his deeply set face had also thinned.
Chiyan's heart ached. She hugged his waist and cried, scolding him and questioning where he had been.
Xu Qing paused, then wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her.
"Come with me."
"Ah--"
Chiyan blinked, sniffled, and looked up at him.
"If you don't go down the mountain, I'll leave you here alone."
His lips, like frost, moved, his voice low, yet it made her feel as if she had come back to life.
She excitedly stood up and hugged him.
Only then did she notice his back was damp, with a faint, sharp scent of blood.
Chiyan, in a daze, reacted and tore open his clothes, revealing the dense scars on his back.
She froze, and the pain in her heart surged.
He must have gone to the Void Cave for punishment. Had he rushed back before his injuries had even healed?
Xu Qing's expression was calm as he pulled his clothes together.
"Go down the mountain and wait for me."
Seeing him leave, Chiyan knew what he was going to do. She didn't stop him, suppressing her complex emotions with all her might. She changed her clothes, grabbed her baggage, and hurried down the mountain.
The sky outside was bright and clear, with calm clouds and gentle breezes.
She led a horse and waited at the foot of the mountain, her heart throbbing uncontrollably.
She had made a wrong move in the past, losing the snow lotus she had picked herself. For that, she had atoned for so many years.
Now, it was all in the past.
She didn't know how long she waited until the sun began to set. Only then did she see him emerge.
Dressed in black robes and brocade, he was just as he was when they first met: serene and aloof, unattainable.
Her eyes felt slightly sore. She directly lunged towards him and hugged him tightly.
"Brother A Xuan."
Xie Xuanchen didn't speak. He lifted her waist, embraced her, leaped onto the horse, and they galloped away into the distance.
(End)