Immortalis

Hong Wan III

“Couldn’t get into the city to buy wine, so this is all we have. Make do with it.”

By the time Yang Wujian returned with the wine, Zhou Huai had already finished grilling the fish. The mouthwatering aroma wafted from beside the house, while Shen Qingshi sat on the doorstep, holding Xue Qiu and gazing at the sky.

Yang Wujian pulled Shen Qingshi to his feet. “What are you looking at?”

Shen Qingshi shook his head. “We’ll probably be back in the cage soon. I just want to look at the sky a little longer.”

After all the commotion, most of this precious day had already passed, but the three of them were no longer in a hurry. Yang Wujian opened the wine jar. The coarse brew from the countryside couldn’t compare to the city’s wine—just the smell alone was enough to make one feel drunk.

Zhou Huai handed a grilled fish to Yang Wujian and gave Shen Qingshi some roasted, softened, and cooled fruit, boasting, “Try it. With my current skills, I might even make a decent living running a restaurant someday.”

In this regard, Zhou Huai truly resembled Zhou Jinglei’s son. The meager funds they had entrusted to him had actually doubled over the past few days. When asked, it turned out Zhou Huai, with his excellent martial skills, had hunted rabbits, separated the pelts from the meat, simply stitched the pelts into hats, and dried the meat into jerky, selling them along the way—all at good prices.

Yang Wujian took a bite of the grilled fish. It was indeed crispy on the outside and fragrant on the inside, even seasoned with the salt Zhou Huai carried with him. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Young Master, if I’d known your cooking was this good, I would’ve made you cook all along… You’ve had Qingshi and me working all this time for nothing.”

At that very moment, the Zhaoming Guard was searching the city just ten li away, but the three of them acted as if they were living an ordinary life, drinking and eating without a care in the world.

Shen Qingshi still held Xue Qiu in his arms, sharing half of every bite of fruit with the rabbit. As he fed it, he murmured, “Am I feeding you too much? If you ever sneak out, someone might really kill and eat you… You should run around more in your cage.”

Yang Wujian chuckled. “Qingshi must be talking about someone like you, Young Master. You’ve killed so many rabbits to sell along the way—Xue Qiu has seen it all… Let’s hope it doesn’t grow to resent you.”

“Yang Wujian, don’t slander me like that! When you and Qingshi were at odds earlier, wasn’t I the one feeding Xue Qiu? If it could talk, it would’ve called me ‘Dad’ by now!”

Zhou Huai rolled his eyes, took a big gulp of wine, and immediately scrunched up his face from the burn, struggling to swallow it.

“Yang Wujian, what kind of wine did you buy…?”

“Shaodaozi, Young Master. It’s all they have out here in the wilderness. Besides, given the circumstances, just make do with it. Why so picky?”

“Speaking of which, can Xue Qiu drink this wine…?”

“No!”

The three of them bantered for a while, finishing the fish and fruit. As the sun set, sure enough, Young Master Zhou was the first to pass out drunk. Shen Qingshi gently turned him over and asked, “Did you drug his wine?”

Yang Wujian smiled wryly. “Does he need me to drug him? With his tolerance, and drinking so fiercely when he’s upset… At least he’s a well-behaved drunk and didn’t throw up.”

To prevent the young master from catching a chill in his drunken state, they covered him with an unsold rabbit-fur blanket. Then, carrying the unfinished wine, they headed out to a nearby grove to gaze at the moon.Shen Qingshi weighed Yang Wujian's wine cup in her hand and realized that although he had appeared to take sip after sip earlier, the cup was nearly full. She asked, "Why aren't you drinking?"

Yang Wujian found a clearing in the woods and sat down directly. This time, he genuinely took a large gulp of wine, then let out a long sigh. "If the young master drank like that and started crying halfway through, we couldn't count on you to comfort him."

Shen Qingshi also sat down beside him and, unusually, took a small sip. It was indeed pungent and spicy. She whispered, "Do you think Zhou Huai can handle it alone?"

"After what happened at White Rainbow Tower, the fact that he can still stand here now speaks for itself... Do you really look down on the young master that much? He might be stronger than both of us."

Yang Wujian laughed. For some reason, the moon seemed exceptionally bright tonight, making the worry in Shen Qingshi's eyes utterly clear.

When they first met at Boundless Sword Manor, Yang Wujian never imagined that Shen Qingshi would one day wear such an expression.

Hesitating for a moment, Yang Wujian reached out and gently brushed his thumb across the corner of her eye. Fortunately, it was dry.

"...?"

Shen Qingshi looked at him in confusion. Yang Wujian sighed helplessly, "It's because you cried so miserably last time—you scared both me and the young master. I had to check."

The worry in Shen Qingshi's eyes immediately turned to bewilderment. "I'm sorry. I've never cried before, so I didn't know it was frightening."

Yang Wujian took another sip of wine. "But... it's thanks to your lack of emotion over the years, or else the pain would only be greater. Do you hate me for making you take the Blood Cleansing Pill? Your ability to cry, to feel sorrow, to worry—it's all because of me."

"Hate you?"

Even now, Shen Qingshi's understanding of love and hate remained vague, but some things had already become clear to her.

She looked up at the moon in the sky and suddenly said calmly, "I told you I want to die by your hand. I meant it."

"Why?"

Yang Wujian felt a subtle displeasure at this. "Why are you always asking me to kill you? Why don't you make such unreasonable demands of the young master?"

Shen Qingshi shook her head without hesitation. "You won't live long, but Zhou Huai still has a long life ahead. Dying by your hand is more practical. Even if you kill me, you won't suffer for long."

"..."

Yang Wujian was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he asked, "But why do you want to die? Just because you're a Cicada Molt?"

Shen Qingshi thought carefully and replied softly, "Before, I couldn't feel anything, like a stone. So if others told me to live, I lived. I never wondered why I should live, what I wanted in life, or what I didn't want."

She paused, opening her palm to look at the lines. "But now, I don't want to be used anymore, nor do I want to live in a cage. As a Cicada Molt, I can't choose how I live. Since that's the case, I want to choose how I die. Toward you, I've done many wrongs and have many regrets. If I were to die like this, I'd be unwilling. I don't have anything more precious, so I might as well entrust my life to you. That would make me very happy."

"But it wouldn't make me happy."

By now, the alcohol had risen to Yang Wujian's head. Unable to help himself, he gripped Shen Qingshi's shoulders and stared into her eyes."Shen Qingshi, I was wrong before. You never owed me anything, understand? Saving you was my own choice, bringing you back to Longevity Palace was my own choice. I couldn't bear to part with you, I wanted to be with you. Whatever happened afterward was my own decision, none of it was your fault."

Yang Wujian spoke these words, though he wasn't at all sure how much Shen Qingshi could actually understand. He felt somewhat anxious, but Shen Qingshi looked back at him and said, "I understand."

He should have known.

Yang Wujian smiled bitterly: "I don't think you understand, Qingshi. Answer me again now - whose life is yours?"

He had thought Shen Qingshi would give the same answer as before.

But under the moonlight, Shen Qingshi remained calm and spoke word by word: "My life is my own, but now I'm willing to give it to you. Just like you want to be with me, this is my own choice."

"......"

At this, Yang Wujian finally fell silent.

He could tell Shen Qingshi wasn't lying, or perhaps Shen Qingshi could no longer lie to him.

She had indeed long since given everything to him.

"Shen Qingshi, you really are..."

With a bitter laugh, Yang Wujian drank down the pungent liquor and lay back: "Suddenly I feel some regret. Perhaps I shouldn't have given you that Blood Cleansing Pill from the start. That way, you'd remain simple-minded like before, easy to deceive. If I told you to live well, you would live well."

After he finished speaking, Shen Qingshi remained silent for a long time. Seeing her dazed expression, Yang Wujian couldn't help but laugh and reached out to pinch her cheek.

"What, even at a time like this, you're still so stingy you won't come hug me? Do you want me to keep being jealous of the young master over this?"

Hearing this, Shen Qingshi paused slightly, then leaned down to listen to Yang Wujian's heartbeat in the silence.

From then on, only the bright moonlight remained in the forest.

This was the final night.

Yang Wujian stayed awake until dawn, his eyes open. When the dew grew cold and he sat up, he finally heard Shen Qingshi's voice again.

"Follow this path straight... we'll soon leave this place."

Yang Wujian looked down and saw only a pair of bright eyes in his embrace, similar to those he'd seen in that cage fifteen years ago, yet ultimately somewhat different.

He thought, he truly had never regretted saving her.

"Shall we go?"

Yang Wujian checked the Tian Ting concealed in his robes: "While the young master is still asleep, it should be easier to leave now."

Hearing this, Shen Qingshi just glanced toward the direction of the abandoned house. Xue Qiu's nest was filled with fresh grass she had gathered yesterday. With Zhou Huai taking care of it afterward, it could probably remain plump and white like this.

Thus she set her mind at ease and tightened her grip on Yang Wujian's hand.

"Let's go..."

Shen Qingshi exhaled softly. This time, it was finally her turn to say these words to Yang Wujian.

"Don't look back no matter what."

This was just another ordinary day in Shuzhou.

The common people in the city had actually noticed that many well-dressed officials had been searching everywhere in the city these past two days. But because of Prince Li's residence, Shuzhou often had visits from the Zhaoming Guard anyway, so the people had long grown accustomed to it.

They were just somewhat curious - who exactly were these Zhaoming Guard looking for?Having stayed up all night, Cao Zhao watched the sky brighten without a trace of fatigue on his face. On the contrary, he was even exhilarated, his eyes gleaming sharply.

Cao Zhao knew he was very close to Shen Qingshi now. Not only that, but Shen Qingshi had also prepared a grand gift for him during this trip to Shuzhou.

With the intelligence provided by Prince Li, this audience with the Emperor upon his return might allow him to make up for some of the losses he had suffered earlier at Immeasurable Manor... Moreover, he might even use this opportunity to bring down Fu Hong and Shen Xin.

Just as Cao Zhao was pondering this, a Zhaoming Guard hurriedly came to report. Cao Zhao was taken aback upon hearing the beginning, then smiled knowingly and said, "Since she dares to come, she has no intention of leaving. Don’t touch her—let her come to me herself."

After that, Cao Zhao waited. After a while, he saw Yang Wujian leading Shen Qingshi by the hand, slowly approaching from the other end of the street. Surrounded by layers of Zhaoming Guards, the two of them didn’t look like they were coming to face death, but rather as if they were strolling through the city and had accidentally run into him.

"Brother Cao."

Shen Qingshi walked up to him and calmly met his gaze, then added, "Thank you for giving me time. If I hadn’t returned by now, I would have caused you trouble, right?"

Just as Cao Zhao was about to speak, Yang Wujian, standing nearby, suddenly snorted coldly, "If I had known you would be so polite to him, calling him Brother Cao over and over, I wouldn’t have let you come back."

"Yang Wujian, your life is truly tenacious."

Cao Zhao smiled faintly, neither warm nor cold. "Qingshi has saved you many times, but you should know that this time, since you dared to follow her back, no one can protect you, right?"

Yang Wujian sneered, "Yes, of course I know. But I’m not like some people who, for the sake of wealth and status, would even kill the disciple they raised from childhood... You don’t care about Shen Qingshi’s life, but someone does. There are even those willing to die with her."

"It seems not only is your life tenacious, but your mouth is too. I wonder how long that mouth of yours will stay defiant once you enter Zhaoming Prison?"

As Cao Zhao spoke, he was about to call for someone to seize Yang Wujian, but Shen Qingshi stepped in front of him.

She said calmly, "Brother Cao, don’t touch him. Right now, aside from him, the only other person in the world who knows the first three chapters of the Longevity Heart Sutra is the White-faced Guest. If you intend to refine me into medicine, the Emperor won’t easily take the Cicada Molt—you’ll need someone who knows the Longevity Heart Sutra to test the medicine... Compared to Guanri, Wu Jian will only cherish me more and treasure the hard-won peace of this world. Brother Cao, even if you hold grudges against each other, you should understand which of the two is more trustworthy."