Snow melts and ice thaws, the chilly February river gradually converges into a roaring great river, fish leap from the water, and birds fly across the sky. After the colorful and vibrant spring, summer arrives, sometimes violent, sometimes dull. Occasionally, torrential rains lash the ground, the rain pounding banana leaves, causing floods in areas that were ravaged in previous years. Other times, it's a vibrant morning, a sweltering afternoon, or a night where coolness is hard to find, fans swatting at mosquito nets, mosquito coils releasing thin, gauze-like wisps of smoke.

Jinghan, Year 13, Summer.

When the wind and snow blow in, it no longer feels cold. She stands there, wanting to see her father and mother through the wind and snow, wanting to see her elder sister and younger brother within it. She walks towards them, and the outlines of their figures gradually become clear.

As the night deepens, some things seem to surge up from the deepest parts of her heart. She doesn't know what those emotions are. When she opens her eyes, the mosquito net is gently swaying in the pleasant midnight breeze, the blanket kicked off. The man is not beside her.

Yuan Jin'er lies in bed for a while. The bright moonlight shines in from the window, illuminating her. She is only wearing a pink bodice, revealing her smooth back and arms. Her slender legs and feet seem to be covered in a layer of crystal moonlight, gleaming like ivory. A red string circles her right ankle.

Her emotions are still swirling from the dream, so even though her eyes are open, she remains lying on her side, motionless. After a moment, her fingers gently grip the blanket beside her, remembering the previous night with him, those shameless things and her attached entanglement. No matter what it was like then, everything settles down, only leaving her feeling warm.

She has a home now.

Therefore, even when she sees that long-unseen wind and snow again, she no longer feels cold, but instead wants to see how they are.

After all, the girl in the wind and snow must have grown up, too.

She gets out of bed, puts on silk trousers and clothes, then gets off the bed and puts on embroidered shoes, and walks out of the door. In the courtyard, Ning Yi is sitting in a reclining chair, thinking about something. She watches him for a while before walking over. Under the moonlight, the woman dressed in thin silk clothes is like a light fairy, walking closer, taking the man's hand, sitting on the side of the reclining chair, looking at his face.

"Sorry, I got a message just now, I didn't wake you up."

The man was thinking with his eyes closed, he opens his eyes and smiles at her. Jin'er shakes her head, thinking of when she first learned Ning Yi's name a few years ago. In the blink of an eye, four or five years have passed. Thinking about it, it was four or five years from when she was sold to living in the brothel, four or five years as a courtesan, and then another four or five years. Now, it is already Jinghan Year 13. Thinking like this, after a while, she takes off her embroidered shoes, climbs onto the reclining chair, and lies with him. Although the chair is spacious, it is still a bit narrow to accommodate two people. Ning Yi hugs her, letting her lie on his chest, their bodies pressed together.

"Did something happen?" Jin'er asks softly.

"Nothing." Ning Yi shakes his head, his voice also soft. "Just an intelligence report came from the north. Since Wanyan Aguda died last year, the north has been much safer because of the influence of the amnesty edict."

Ning Yi's words are like he's talking to Jin'er, but in reality, he's just sorting out the clues in his mind. A pleasant cool breeze blows in the night.

"Actually, it's not a bad thing. Since the security has improved, a large number of merchants have gone there. Now, the prosperity north of Bianliang has increased by at least 30% compared to before. In half a year, everyone is saying that Councilor Tan's amnesty edict is a savior... well, a part of the north, after all, also has the shadow of our Zhu Estate."

"Is Liheng still worried about the war?" Jin'er asks.

"A little bit." Ning Yi smiles. His left arm hugs Jin'er, while his right hand reaches into her clothes, feeling the delicate skin and soft breasts of the woman. However, for the two of them who have been married for so long, this level of physical intimacy is like kittens rubbing necks, not a strange thing.

"I don't understand these things, but I always feel that war is a very distant thing. The world is so peaceful now, the world is so good, I always feel... how could there be a war? But, Husband still knows there will be a war, right?"

Amidst Jin'er's whisper, Ning Yi smiles and shakes his head: "Not really, sometimes I also feel that maybe war is a very distant thing, maybe I'm wrong, especially when there are many trivial things, I think even more so."

"If there's no war, will Liheng take us to the south?"

"Yes, back to Jiangning, or find a small place, and live to old age together."

"If I get old, will Husband not want me anymore?"

"Huh?"

"Because I only look good now. In a few years, when I'm old and withered, will Liheng not kick me into a dark room?"

"..."

Soft words echo softly in the night. After a while, the man gets up from the reclining chair, carries his wife back to the bedroom, just as he crosses the threshold, the night's tranquility is broken by a violent sound.

"Who—"

"Night raid!"

"Which friends..."

"The Seven Killing Spears of Jingnan and... Green Forest friends... to eliminate the inner demons..."

"You're tired of living—"

"Set fire..."

The sounds of fighting spread from the outside. Ning Yi stands there listening to these words, Jin'er in his arms grabs his clothes. When he enters the room, lifts the mosquito net and puts her on the bed, Jin'er is still holding onto his clothes, refusing to let go.

"A bunch of small characters, they can't make any waves, it's very safe here. I'll go take a look, you go to sleep first, wait for me to come back."

"You also said they are small characters, then don't go..."

Jin'er lies there looking at him, her eyes like those of an injured infant.

"After catching them, we have to consider how to deal with them. These guys are endless, we can't let them have a good time."

Ning Yi leans down and hugs Jin'er on the bed. Jin'er also wraps her arms tightly around his neck, and after hugging him for a long time, she finally releases him.

"Be careful, come back early... every time you go, I worry... the whole family worries..."

"I know..." Ning Yi kisses her forehead, then gets up and takes a breath. Jin'er watches the man muttering "kill them" and goes out. She smiles.

After Ning Yi leaves, the chaotic sounds of fighting still come. Then someone sets a fire, someone puts it out. Jin'er lies in bed for a while, unable to sleep, sits up and wants to get out of bed, only to find that her shoes were left in the courtyard. She steps barefoot on the ground, walks to the door, looks at the chaos outside, listens to the sounds, and then sits down on the threshold.

After a while, the woman hugs her arms, curls up her legs, and falls asleep, half-dreaming, by the door.

In the dim pre-dawn light, the outside returns to silence. Ning Yi returns from outside, picks up the woman sleeping by the door, and the two return to bed, continuing to sleep in each other's arms for a while.

***********

In the morning, Jin'er comes out of the courtyard and goes to the restaurant on the street to have them prepare breakfast. This is a Zhu Estate branch in a town south of Bianliang. Although the commotion last night was not small, even causing a small fire, at this time, people are still coming and going on the street, making it quite lively.

Many merchants and scholars stay at Zhu Estate's restaurant, eating some special snacks known as local specialties of the capital. After Jin'er and her accompanying guards sit down at a table on the inside of the restaurant, which is shielded by a screen, she notices someone outside stealing glances in this direction.

Since she didn't ask for a private room, Jin'er's appearance and figure are extremely outstanding, so it's not surprising that people would glance at her a few times. She is now dressed as a married woman, and she is accompanied by attendants and guards, so no one would dare to cause trouble. However, this time when Jin'er looks outside, she is taken aback.

At a table at the end of her view, are some outsiders who also stayed at Zhu Estate last night. Several men with their wives, concubines and families, who seem to be quite wealthy. But the appearance of one of the women makes Jin'er's eyelids twitch.

It is that well-dressed woman, occasionally turning her head, looking towards Jin'er through the gap at the edge of the screen. Jin'er glances over, opens her mouth, and then calmly turns her gaze back. She presses her hands on her clasped knees, and after a moment, glances over again.

Beside that woman is a country squire, similarly well-dressed but already old - which can be seen from his clothes - talking loudly with several companions. Jin'er also takes a few glances, trying to match that figure with some image in her memory.

That old squire and the young woman are probably husband and concubine. Noticing the strangeness of the woman beside him, he also glances over here. Jin'er doesn't want to meet his gaze, and sits quietly with her hands clasped together, not looking in that direction. After glancing this way a few times, that old squire seems to stretch his neck to see more clearly. Qi Xinyong, the man near the screen, frowns and looks out. Seeing that iron-tower-like man, the old squire quickly turns his head back, and pats the concubine beside him, telling her not to look over there, lest something happen.

Before long, breakfast is served, and the table outside has already settled the bill and left. Ning Yi comes up from below. Seeing Ning Yi's figure, Jin'er clenches her fists with excitement: "Husband, Husband, I'm so amazing, I'm so amazing, I'm about to have supernatural powers!"

"Uh? What's going on?" Ning Yi smiles, stunned. "Did you conjure these things on the table?"

"No, no." Jin'er lowers her voice, looking excited. "Husband, did I tell you that I had a dream last night, I dreamed of my sister."

"Uh... I don't think you said that."

"I just dreamed of my sister, Dad, Mom, and my younger brother, and my sister, and then, the people who just went down, did you notice them?" Jin'er takes Ning Yi's hand and runs out, looking down from the second-floor platform, but she can no longer see those people. She pulls Ning Yi back to the screen, and peeks out of the window to look at the street below. It is then that she sees those figures in the crowd, followed by several large carts.

Jin'er hides behind Ning Yi, pointing down furtively and happily: "Look, look, the one wearing a green floral dress, seems to be my sister, and that squire, the fat one, is her husband, my brother-in-law... I haven't seen them for a long time, but it should be them."

The woman in the crowd is still looking up at the building. Jin'er hugs Ning Yi's arm, hiding a little. Ning Yi takes a few glances. "Are you sure that's not your dad?"

"No, no, it's my brother-in-law." Jin'er hugs Ning Yi's arm tightly, smiling happily by his side, causing Ning Yi's arm to press tightly against her chest. Then she discovers something else: "And that friend, look, the skinny, sickly guy behind the carts, is my brother-in-law's son. It really is them, Husband, I told you, when I went home that time, that old man looked at me with lecherous eyes, and then that sickly guy also looked at me with lecherous eyes..."

Although she is talking about what seems like bad memories, Jin'er's mood is obviously very cheerful. Ning Yi curls his lips: "You saw your sister, your sister seems to have seen you too. Do you want to go down and recognize her, say hello? As for what brother-in-law and his son, do you want me to scare them?"

"No." Jin'er smiles and sticks her head out, then shrinks back. "My sister can't quite recognize me, and I can't quite recognize her either. If I really run down and recognize her, what should I say? I used to think I felt very disappointed about my sister and them. Now I don't feel disappointed anymore, maybe I even miss her a little, but... there's no need to meet and say how things are now."

Ning Yi looks out the window and strokes her head.

"But, Husband, I'm really amazing, right? I dreamed about her last night, and I saw her today. Also, that time when I went, what my sister kept telling me was how she was trying to gain favor by my brother-in-law's side, how she was living poorly, how she was being bullied. Looking at her today, the rich lord even brings her along on this kind of long trip. My sister, she... should be doing well, right? Thinking like this, I actually feel a little happy... hey, strange fate..."

She rubs against Ning Yi happily like a kitten.

Before long, the sister and brother-in-law's family go ahead and disappear into the crowd.

The world is big, but life is small. There are trivial partings, and there are trivial encounters, trivial fates... amidst many trivial things, sometimes even Ning Yi wonders, perhaps war really is something happening very far, very far away. It is now June of the thirteenth year of Jinghan. North of Bianliang City, Zhu Estate's tentacles stretch very far. In a town west of Taiyuan, as the sun sets in the west, large trees cast shade on the streets, and people gather here, listening with high spirits to the storyteller who came with Zhu Estate's cart, telling martial arts stories. On the side of the storyteller's stall, a cart is also set up as a stall, providing various cheap snacks, or practical daily necessities for sale, making this side of the town very lively for a time.

A group of people who look quite like Jianghu people watch all this coldly by the side of the street.

Zhu Estate's reputation has already been made around here. Each storytelling session, and the interspersed acrobatics and magic performances, have a lot of substance, making the liveliness of the town last until late at night. Today is the same. When the sun goes down and the moon rises, almost in the middle of the sky, Zhu Estate's people prepare to pack up, and the townspeople who came over finally disperse and go home to rest.

When the people on the street have finally dispersed, several Green Forest people who have been guarding all night by the side of the road finally come over. Leading them is a tall man with a long staff carried across his back. He is agile, handsome, and his eyes have the vicissitudes and composure of someone who has experienced the world. It seems like he has a strong murderous aura.

"Let's talk about something." The man walks over, frowns and opens his mouth. "Today is fine, from now on, you Zhu Estate people are not allowed to come here. Otherwise, I will beat you to death."

His tone is as ordinary as if he is talking about a very small matter. The Zhu Estate people packing up stop and look at each other. Not far away, a Zhu Estate guard in charge of security has also come over. He looks at the man, his expression also quite complicated.

"Chieftain Shi, long time no see." The Zhu Estate guard clasps his hands. "What you're saying is impossible."

"You recognize me." The man surnamed Shi stares at him. His arm barely moves, and in the blink of an eye, the staff behind his back has already appeared in his hand. This action causes a sudden whooshing sound in the air, and a murderous aura permeates the air. For some reason, he is clearly very concerned about the exposure of his identity.

"Nine-Tattooed Dragon Shi Jin, Chieftain Shi." The guard clasps his hands. "I was also a Liangshan person, so naturally I recognize Chieftain Shi."

Because of these words, the atmosphere drops to icy cold in an instant. Shi Jin tilts his head, and a terrifying arc appears at the corner of his mouth.

"Traitorous scum!"

Not many people see the exchange at that instant. However, after a sudden roar, the Zhu Estate guard who was still clasping his hands and walking forward is already scattering blood across the sky, flying backwards. The pressure of the staff shadow is like a howling gust of wind, sweeping across the entire area, and then it slams into the ground with a bang. In the firelight of the summer night, dust scatters, and cracks appear on the ground.

After more than two years, the face in the firelight bursts out with enormous anger, pressing towards the Zhu Estate people...