A pale hand reached out from the carriage, and Ling Xi offered her forearm in response.
The Old Madam, dressed in a dark green beizi that accentuated her luminous, porcelain-like skin, bore only faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. At first glance, she appeared no older than her thirties, standing beside Mei Tingzhu with no visible indication that they were grandmother and granddaughter.
Once inside, the Old Madam surveyed the surroundings with a sigh. "The Mei family has truly fallen to such a state."
Mei Tingzhu poured a cup of water and handed it to her. "It was expected. We were all prepared for this day."
"Why has the Old Madam come?" Mei Tingzhu interrupted Ling Xi, who seemed about to protest. "Let’s speak plainly—we all know the truth of your identity. Now that the Mei family has collapsed, shouldn’t you return to where you truly belong? If we couldn’t stand united in prosperity, how can we now?"
"Fourth Young Miss has always been clever." The Old Madam showed no trace of embarrassment at having her secrets laid bare. Calmly, she replied, "Marrying into the Mei family was both the luckiest and most painful event of my life."
Before her marriage, she had been a member of the Dragon Martial Guard. One by one, the female Shadow Guards around her had been sent to the emperor’s bed as vessels for his pursuit of immortality. She had believed she, too, would be condemned to that abyss of darkness, never again seeing the light—until fate granted her a sliver of hope. The emperor bestowed her upon the Mei family as the principal wife of the eldest branch.
Without hope, despair would not cut so deep. That false glimmer had given her rebirth, only to plunge her into another abyss—a life even more agonizing and torturous.
At the memory, a faint crease formed between the Old Madam’s brows, though her tone remained as composed as before. "Everyone has emotions they cannot voice. There’s no need to question my purpose. I swear upon my deceased daughter’s soul that I will do nothing to harm the Mei family."
This Old Madam of the eldest branch had not always been so aloof. It was only after the death of her only biological daughter that she had changed so drastically. If there was anything she cherished most in this world, it was that daughter. Since she dared to swear by her, there could be no deceit.
"Though the Mei family has fallen, we can still provide for you, Old Madam. Hexi is impoverished—it would be better for you to return to the capital for your retirement," Mei Tingzhu said.
The Old Madam smiled faintly. "That I came today to acknowledge our ties means I still hold some affection in my heart. I am the Old Madam of the eldest branch, even if that branch has perished. Whether I stay or go is not for the juniors of the second branch to decide. Don’t you agree?"
"The Old Madam speaks wisely." Mei Tingzhu returned the smile. "Should you have any needs, you may come to me at any time. For now, I oversee the affairs of the second branch."
The Old Madam adjusted her sleeves. "Then I shall trouble Fourth Young Miss to find me lodgings in Hexi."
Mei Tingzhu nodded. "That’s a simple matter. Magistrate Wu has allocated nineteen nearby residences to the Mei family. Two are vacant—if the Old Madam does not disdain them, you may stay there."
"Very well." The Old Madam agreed without hesitation. After all, no hardship could compare to the days she had spent exposed to the elements, and no luxury could surpass the time she had ruled an entire island within the Mei family.Mei Tingzhu had originally led her clan to Hexi County in search of Mo Sigui to cure a poison, but after arriving, she began to consider staying. In Bianjing, they could only live cautiously, constantly worrying whether The Emperor would remember them again. Hexi County, though not as grand as Bianjing, offered freedom. Now that An Jiu had taken control of the county’s thousand-strong self-defense militia, if Mei Shi were to intervene from this point onward...
In Shangjing of the Liao Kingdom.
A beam of moonlight streamed through the roof of a secret chamber, landing just before a man clad in black.
He sat in a wheelchair. His well-fitted clothes outlined a slender figure, his long hair unbound and cascading over broad shoulders. A half-mask of silver clung tightly to his skin, reflecting a faint, cold glow that traced the sharp lines of his profile, exuding an air of stern solemnity.
"State Preceptor, His Majesty has already sent someone into Hexi," reported a shadowy figure in the darkness, bowing as he spoke of Yelü Quancang’s movements. "That person was once the Old Madam of Mei Shi’s main branch—An Jiu’s grandmother."
The man never defied Xiao Che’s orders, but he couldn’t understand why a genius like the State Preceptor would fixate on obtaining an unknown, obscure woman instead of focusing on grander schemes.
A book rested on Xiao Che’s lap. His long fingers, clad in white gloves, turned the tattered pages one by one.
"What does she look like?" he asked.
He had posed this question no fewer than ten times.
If he truly wished to see An Jiu, he could have done so long ago—whether by capturing her or going to see her himself. The shadowy figure harbored doubts but, as before, described An Jiu’s appearance.
Beautiful. Cold.
From others’ accounts, these were the only vague descriptors he ever received.
"Go. Keep watching," Xiao Che said.
The man acknowledged and vanished into the darkness.
Xiao Che paused, tilting his head to gaze at the beam of moonlight, motionless as a striking statue.
"An Jiu..." Each time he uttered her name, an inexplicable emotion stirred within him.
The book on his lap was one he had written himself, back when fragments of memory still lingered. He had hastily recorded many things, and in the years that followed, he used these remnants to commit countless horrifying acts. Yet his heart grew increasingly hollow.
Confusion shadowed him relentlessly. As his memories faded, the confusion deepened.
Until he learned of An Jiu’s existence.
Obsessed with perfection to the point of distortion, he pondered how to weave her into his life. When forming the "Hunters," she was his first thought—in every aspect, she embodied the perfect weapon he sought. Yet, for reasons unknown, he ultimately abandoned the idea.
Just as he was still struggling to understand, someone else had approached An Jiu, shielding her completely.
So, to possess something, one must first intersect with it.
"Are you my Medicine?" Xiao Che’s fingers traced the frenzied script on the page, a long-absent warmth igniting in his blood.
It was the thrill of confronting his deepest fear.
Whether he admitted it or not, he couldn’t erase the dread lurking within. What if An Jiu couldn’t help him regain his memories? What if her presence changed nothing? What would he do then? What path would remain?She was like a hope, just being there was enough to sustain him, but he couldn't keep living in uncertainty forever. One day, he would have to reach out and touch it, to see whether it was truth or just a bubble.
Xiao Che closed the book and leaned forward to touch the beam of moonlight before him. His ten slender fingers interlaced as if trying to catch it, but only succeeded in shattering the white frost on the ground into fragments.
An Jiu, I'm coming. Do you know? (To be continued...)
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