Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

The moonlight was gentle, and the stream murmured softly.

Xie Zheng tilted his head slightly, watching Fan Changyu in silence for a long while.

Changyu met his gaze, pausing briefly before seeming to realize the intimacy of the gesture. She awkwardly withdrew her hand and placed it on her knees.

The atmosphere between them grew subtly tense. Just as she was about to excuse herself, Xie Zheng suddenly said, "If you're still feeling unsettled, I can spar with you for a bit."

Leaving now, after instinctively comforting him by touching his head earlier, would feel undeniably strange.

Recalling his ghostly speed moments ago, Changyu found herself intrigued by the idea of a match and nodded.

She had only brought her boning knife, while Xie Zheng, having donned his outer robe, stepped forward empty-handed.

Feeling somewhat slighted, Changyu pressed her lips together and said, "At least take a dagger."

Xie Zheng placed one hand behind his back and simply said, "Come."

His posture—clearly giving her an advantage—made her lips tighten further. Without another word, her gaze sharpened like a stalking predator, and she lunged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

She aimed to control Xie Zheng’s free hand while slashing at his throat with the boning knife. But as she closed in, he proved as slippery as a fish. Every time she tried to seize his wrist, he evaded effortlessly, unhurried and composed. Sidestepping her blade, he swept a palm strike toward her face. Changyu dodged, only for his hand to hook her elbow and pull downward. Her balance faltered, nearly sending her tumbling backward.

Xie Zheng adjusted his grip to steady her, but a sudden chill pressed against his neck.

He chuckled. "What’s this? Repaying kindness with treachery?"

Changyu held the boning knife to his throat and replied, "All’s fair in war."

His smile deepened as he met her eyes. "You make a fair point."

Meeting his amused gaze, she withdrew the knife and muttered, "I’m outmatched."

Noticing her dejection, Xie Zheng said, "Close combat favors speed. You’re used to heavier weapons—with a lighter blade, your sweeping strikes are constrained. If I, after over a decade of training, couldn’t outpace you in sheer speed, that would defy all reason."

Changyu recalled the move that had nearly toppled her. "What was that technique—hooking my elbow and pulling down?"

Instead of answering, Xie Zheng repeated the motion. This time, Changyu tensed, her stance unwavering.

"Understand now?" he asked.

She replayed the moment she had almost fallen—his palm strike had forced her to shift her weight, leaving her unstable.

Frowning, she said, "The key wasn’t the pull itself?"

Xie Zheng nodded approvingly. "Sometimes brute force isn’t necessary. Follow the momentum, borrow strength to counter strength—a small force can topple a greater one."

Gripping her boning knife tighter, Changyu demanded, "Again!"

Their earlier exchange had only warmed her up. Preferring relentless offense, she abandoned defensive maneuvering and pressed forward, each slash fiercer than the last. Despite the knife’s modest three-inch blade, her strikes blurred into afterimages.Xie Zheng was somewhat surprised to find her playing to her strengths and using offense as defense. A flicker of astonishment passed through his eyes—so she had been holding back earlier, merely testing his martial arts style.

This realization brought a hint of amusement to his gaze, but he didn’t go easy on her in their sparring.

Only through such genuine combat practice could Fan Changyu learn the fastest and improve her skills.

After suffering a setback, Changyu no longer focused on grabbing Xie Zheng’s hand. Instead, she wielded her knife for offense while her other fist also attacked relentlessly, aiming to force Xie Zheng into passive defense with no chance to counter.

Yet this exchange lasted only slightly longer than the previous one. After a few rounds, Xie Zheng ghostly maneuvered behind her, leveraging her knife stance to push her shoulder and back with borrowed force. Changyu was sent flying, half-tumbling into the grass.

In a way, Fan Changyu was also a martial arts fanatic.

She lifted her head, eyes burning with determination, and shouted, “Again!”

Xie Zheng stood not far away, his robes fluttering in the night breeze, his jade-like features giving him an almost ethereal aura.

Changyu, like a young bull, charged at him again with her knife.

Within moments, Xie Zheng redirected her knife-wielding arm, sending her stumbling back into the grass.

The grazing Umber Horse nearby seemed to resent her crushing the fresh grass, nudging her with its head.

Clutching her boning knife, Changyu spat out the grass she’d accidentally eaten and roared at Xie Zheng, “Again!”

……

After being thrown countless times, Changyu’s clothes were stained beyond recognition with grass juice and mud, her face smeared, and a few blades of grass stuck in her hair.

Lying on her back, she gasped for breath, staring at the sky, her body too exhausted to move a finger—yet she felt exhilarated.

Her mind was blissfully empty, free of all distractions, ready to fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes.

Xie Zheng fetched a water flask from his horse and handed it to her. “Drink.”

Drenched in sweat and parched, Changyu sat up groggily—likely from being thrown too many times—and gulped down the water without hesitation.

After returning the flask, she watched as Xie Zheng took a few swigs himself.

It took her a moment to realize—it was his flask. She had drunk from it, and now he was drinking from it too. What did that mean?

Before embarrassment could set in, she recalled how he had kissed her on horseback earlier. Instinctively, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand—only to smear more grass and mud on them.

Xie Zheng capped the flask and noticed her odd behavior. “What’s wrong?”

Changyu awkwardly replied, “Got some dirt on my face. I’ll go wash up.”

She stood and headed toward the river.

Xie Zheng’s voice carried after her, “You’re covered in mud. Want to wash your clothes too?”

Thinking he was teasing her, Changyu whipped around to glare—but his expression was serious, as if he hadn’t meant it as a joke. She frowned in confusion.Xie Zheng noticed her misunderstanding and said, "The army will march tomorrow to join forces with the Jizhou troops in Chongzhou to eliminate the rebels. There likely won't be any clean clothes to change into along the way."

As he spoke, he removed his own outer robe and hung it on a nearby branch. "You can borrow my outer robe for now."

With that, he turned and walked into the woods, perhaps intentionally giving her space.

After watching him leave, Fan Changyu turned her gaze to the robe hanging on the branch.

Her hair was caked with mud and grass. After a moment's hesitation, she finally walked over, took the robe, and hid behind a large boulder by the riverbank. She placed the robe on the rock, untied her hair, and peeled off the mud-covered military uniform before immersing herself in the cold water.

Though it was late spring, the river water at night still chilled to the bone. Fortunately, Fan Changyu had a strong constitution and wasn't afraid of the cold. After washing off the mud, she began scrubbing her long hair.

The crackling sound of burning firewood came from the shore. Peeking from behind the boulder, she saw Xie Zheng sitting with his back to her by the fire, clearly having gone into the woods to gather firewood earlier.

Fan Changyu watched him for a while, noting he never once turned around. Once her hair was clean, she shivered as she stood up, wrung out her hair, and wrapped herself in the robe draped over the boulder.

As she tied the sash, she realized the robe was far too big for her—even with the sash fastened, the collar gaped open.

Frowning, she decided to wring out her undergarment thoroughly and put it on first before wrapping the outer robe over it.

Once dressed, she stepped out from behind the boulder and crouched by the river to wash her grass-stained and mud-caked uniform.

Hearing the movement, Xie Zheng turned to look at her and asked, "Aren't you going to dry your hair first?"

Thinking she'd finish washing her clothes before drying them by the fire, she replied, "I'm not cold."

Footsteps approached from behind. When they neared, she glanced up to see Xie Zheng stride past her, bare-chested, and wade into the river.

Fan Changyu frowned. "Are you going to bathe?"

Xie Zheng glanced at her. "I was swimming here before you came."

With that, he dove into the water like a silver fish, swimming several yards downstream in moments.

Was he planning to keep swimming in the river?

Fan Changyu figured washing clothes by the bank while he swam in the middle wouldn't interfere, so she bent her head and continued scrubbing her uniform.

Suddenly, the water rippled in front of her. Looking up, she saw Xie Zheng emerge from the water holding a fish, splashing water all over her. His dark hair and sharp jaw dripped with water as he laughed brightly, like a young boy. "We've got fish to eat!"

The fish in his hand thrashed violently, its tail flapping and splashing fishy water droplets onto Fan Changyu's face.

She turned her face away, shielding herself with her sleeve, both exasperated and amused. "Get that fish away first!"

But the movement caused the loosely tied collar of her robe to slip open again, and she instantly felt a chill.The person in front of her suddenly fell silent, staring at her dumbfounded. The fish slipped from his hand and splashed back into the water, spraying his face, yet he seemed too stunned to react.

Fan Changyu realized something was amiss and looked down. Her outer robe had fallen open, revealing the wet undergarment clinging to her body, outlining soft curves and even hinting at small, bud-like peaks beneath.

Her face instantly burned scarlet. Without thinking, she kicked out and yelled, "You shameless pervert!"

Xie Zheng took the kick square in the face and tumbled into the river, choking on water before he could react. He struggled to surface for a long moment.

Humiliated and furious, Changyu initially thought he was faking it. But when he still hadn't emerged after what felt like ages, she grew alarmed and called out, "Yan Zheng?"

Old habits died hard—she still instinctively used his alias.

The water's surface remained undisturbed. Fearing her kick might have knocked him unconscious, Changyu tossed his outer robe onto the bank and waded in to rescue him, priorities shifting in the face of potential tragedy.

Moments later, she hauled the coughing man ashore and pressed hard on his chest until he turned his head, spat out water, and groggily came to. Exhausted, she collapsed beside him, breathing heavily but wearing an expression of utter blankness.

What kind of cursed day was this?

When Xie Zheng opened his eyes, he saw Changyu sitting beside him in only her trousers and damp undergarment, her long hair cascading wetly. Moonlight turned her unbound tresses and exposed skin into snowy white, her face caught between icy detachment and the numb resignation of someone who'd endured too much.

The sight struck him like a physical blow. He froze, then felt sudden warmth flooding his nose. Realizing what was happening, Xie Zheng hastily covered his face with one hand, ears burning crimson as he averted his gaze in unprecedented disarray. "I... I'm sorry—"

"Shut up!" Changyu snapped, too agitated to tolerate apologies. She snatched up her discarded outer robe and wrapped it tightly around herself, venting her frustration through sheer ferocity: "You saw nothing!"

With that, she stormed off and plopped down some distance away, thoroughly questioning her life choices.

Xie Zheng watched her retreating figure wrapped in his robe, then turned to their unfinished laundry by the river. Splashing cold water on his face to cool the heat, he finished washing her clothes, propped them near the fire to dry on makeshift branches, then caught two fresh fish. After cleaning them, he skewered the fish on sticks and arranged them by the flames.

When the fish were cooked, he brought one to Changyu, choosing his words carefully: "You should eat something."

Still wrapped in his robe and seemingly shell-shocked by the night's events, Changyu merely glared at him with wide almond eyes and repeated her threat: "Not a word about tonight. Ever."