The Golden Hairpin

Huang Zixiao was puzzled but nodded anyway. She walked over to the man and relayed Li Shubai's words verbatim.

The man leaned dazedly against the tree, looking in Li Shubai's direction. Seeing no movement from him, he sighed, closed his eyes, and said softly, "I'm too weak now. I don’t know if I can still whistle."

Huang Zixiao, the very culprit responsible for his weakened state, showed no remorse as she crouched before him, pointing a dagger at his chest while untying his bound hands.

He gave her a bitter smile, then raised his hand to his lips and let out a sharp whistle.

Despite his exhaustion, the clear, piercing sound reverberated through the forest, carrying for miles. Huang Zixiao tied his hands again and glanced around. Amid the rustling pines, a black horse shot through the dense woods like an arrow.

"Di’e!" Huang Zixiao stood up, so excited that she couldn’t help reaching out to embrace its head—after the night’s ordeal, having a horse by her side suddenly felt like a comforting presence.

Di’e ignored her completely, brushing past her outstretched hand and heading straight for Li Shubai.

Speechless, Huang Zixiao turned and smacked its hindquarters, only for the horse to lift a leg threateningly as if to kick her. She hastily jumped back to avoid it. Still annoyed, she heard someone chuckle softly.

She turned to look—it was the captive, laughing. Though it was just a single sound, something about it struck her as oddly familiar.

Frowning, she studied his face. But that stiff, flat expression revealed no trace of anyone she recognized. She wondered to herself, If Zhou Ziqin were here, with his bone structure theory, could he see through this man’s true appearance?

Then again, she reconsidered, Zhou Ziqin couldn’t even tell I was a woman disguised as a eunuch. What hope is there in relying on him?

When she turned back and saw Di’e nuzzling gently against Li Shubai, its usual fierce demeanor completely gone, she couldn’t help thinking of her own horse, Nafusha, and the pitiful whinnies it had made when injured and trapped in the bushes. A wave of grief washed over her, and without another thought, she marched over to the captive, stuffed his mouth shut, and kicked him twice.

Baffled, he glared at her before turning his face away.

After taking another dose of the antidote, Li Shubai’s condition improved slightly, enough for him to stand, though his fever still raged. Stranded in the wilderness, Huang Zixiao could only wet a cloth and press it to his forehead—there was little else she could do.

She tightened the captive’s bonds and went to search for food and medicinal herbs nearby. Emerging from the dense woods, she stood in the sunlight, surveying the surrounding mountains.

The peaks stretched endlessly, forests sprawling as far as the eye could see. Birds soared across the vast sky, and clouds rolled like waves.

Studying the terrain and the nearby hills, excitement surged within her. She hurried back to Li Shubai’s side and whispered, "Let’s go."

Li Shubai opened his eyes, looking at her in mild surprise.

"We’re close to Chengdu Prefecture—a place I’ve been before. I know a spot nearby that’s better than staying out here," she said, patting Di’e’s head.

Di’e shot her a glare but obediently knelt down.She helped Li Shubai onto the horse, watching his barely supported posture with concern. After a moment's thought, she mounted behind him, her arms encircling his waist as she took hold of the reins.

Feeling the gentle pressure of her arms around him, Li Shubai stiffened slightly before straightening his posture and turning his gaze to the captive behind them.

The prisoner sat sprawled on the ground, tightly bound to a tree by Huang Zixia, yet wore an air of leisurely composure. Only when he saw Huang Zixia seated protectively behind Li Shubai did his eyes—which had been fixed on her—flicker involuntarily.

Following Li Shubai's gaze, Huang Zixia glanced back at the captive and raised her dagger questioningly.

Li Shubai slowly shook his head. "Let him go."

Huang Zixia looked at him in surprise, never expecting the famously cold-hearted Prince Kui to show such leniency. But seeing his resolute expression, she dismounted, cut the ropes binding the prisoner—leaving only his hands tied—sheathed her dagger, and rode away.

The captive leaned against the tree, struggling to his feet. Huang Zixia couldn't help but admire him—after a day and night in these mountains without food or water, severely wounded, yet still able to stand. It took extraordinary physical and mental strength.

His gaze remained locked on her, unwavering, making Huang Zixia turn back to look at him even after walking several steps away.

He stared at her, his eyes shining like stars, imprinting themselves deeply in her heart the moment she met them.

Those eyes... they seemed strangely familiar, as if she'd seen them somewhere before.

Lost in thought, she turned back, tightening her arms around Li Shubai from behind as she took control of the reins. "I'll steer," she said softly. "You handle the directions."

Li Shubai gave a quiet "Mm" in response.

They moved slowly through the dense forest in silence, the only sounds being the hoofbeats of Di'e and the rustling of grass.

The horse's jolting made Huang Zixia, seated behind, worry that the weakened Li Shubai might fall. She instinctively tightened her hold on him, then quickly loosened it, realizing she shouldn't.

Her grip alternated between tight and loose throughout the journey, like the wind flowing past them—now gentle, now urgent.

Li Shubai gazed ahead silently until her arms tightened around him again. Without thinking, his hand covered hers. "Huang Zixiang..." he murmured.

"Hmm?" she responded, but he fell silent, unsure what to say.

Noticing his quiet and feeling the warmth of his palm against her hand, Huang Zixiang felt an inexplicable flutter of nervousness.

"There seems to be a temple ahead," he said quietly. "Stop for a moment."

"Oh!" She leaned forward to look, then exclaimed happily, "Yes, this is the place! My memory was right after all!"

He turned slightly to study her delighted expression. "I wonder if anyone's in such a dilapidated temple."“Probably not, because last year, a bloody incident occurred in this temple.” Huang Zixiang dismounted and led Di’e forward, scanning the sparse grassy path on the ground. “Originally, there was an abbot and two monks in the temple. After the abbot passed away, in such a small, dilapidated temple, one monk killed the other over the position of abbot and secretly buried him in the backyard.”

Li Shubai remarked casually, “Such a rundown temple—did someone come and discover the crime?”

“They were just unlucky.” Huang Zixiang guided Di’e around the large rocks by the stream and said, “I… and Yu Xuan were traveling in the mountains at the time but took the wrong path and got lost. We ended up following a small trail to this place. While paying respects to the Buddha, I noticed a faint bloodstain on the canopy—the shape suggested it had been splattered.”

Li Shubai nodded. “In any case, even if the temple’s occupants secretly ate meat, they wouldn’t slaughter animals in the main hall.”

“Right. Based on the trajectory of the bloodstain, I deduced that the victim must have been kneeling on the prayer mat in front of the Buddha, striking the wooden fish, while the murderer crept up from behind and stabbed him in the back. The height and angle of the blood spatter pointed to that exact spot.”

“So, from that, you could also infer the victim was a monk?”

“Yes. And the only person in the temple who could kill a monk so brazenly without fear of discovery, and clean up the crime scene so thoroughly, was likely the remaining monk.” Huang Zixiang had already led the horse to the yellow earthen wall and pushed open the cobweb-covered door. “So, I deliberately engaged the monk in conversation. He said that after the abbot died a few days earlier, his senior brother had gone wandering. I pointed to the prayer mat in front of the wooden fish in the hall and asked him, ‘Then who is that monk kneeling there, striking the wooden fish? Why is he staring at you with wide eyes?’”

At this point, she couldn’t help but smile slightly. “Guess what happened next? He collapsed in terror, unable to speak a word!”

“So, after the monk was arrested, the temple has been empty ever since?”

“Yes. It seems even the occasional devotees who used to come and offer incense have stopped visiting. After all, with such a bloody incident, how could this still be considered sacred ground?”

The temple was small—just one gate, a front hall, and a rear hall. Parts of the wall had already collapsed, and the courtyard was overgrown with waist-high weeds. The rotting doors and windows emitted a musty stench. Fortunately, a low bed remained in the side room next to the hall. She quickly helped Li Shubai sit down, then took the torn cloth strips from yesterday to wash them in the mountain spring behind the house. After wiping the bed clean, she assisted Li Shubai in lying down, administered another dose of antidote, changed the wound medicine, and placed a damp cloth on his forehead.

Li Shubai lay on the bed, his high fever leaving him somewhat dazed. A dull heat gnawed at his senses, but he struggled to sit up and leaned against the window, watching her every move.

She parted the waist-high reeds in the courtyard and walked toward the front hall. The overgrown wormwood and cogongrass bore fluffy white blossoms that swayed as she passed, floating around her like clouds.

First, she bowed to the Bodhisattva in the hall, then gathered the two or three remaining incense sticks on the altar, dusted them off, and tucked them into her sleeve.

Li Shubai couldn’t help but rest his chin on the windowsill, smiling faintly.Huang Ziyao turned her head and, through the fluttering willow catkins, caught sight of Li Shubai's smile by the window—an unexpected delight that caught her off guard.

Her face flushed involuntarily as she slowly shuffled to his window, somewhat awkwardly saying, "I thought we might need it tonight."

Li Shubai rested his chin on his elbow, a faint curve at the corner of his lips as he gazed at her and asked, "Then why did you have to pray to the Bodhisattva first?"

Huang Ziyao looked at him in surprise. "When you stay at someone else's place and take their things, don't you at least say something to them first?"