Su Su set A Mi down and walked over to the man.
Over the past thousand years, she had often dreamed of him. Sometimes she dreamed of him imprisoned in Purgatory, with black iron piercing through his collarbones. Other times, it was the scene from that year when she shattered the Evil Bone—he held her tightly, blood and tears dripping from his eyes drop by drop.
A teardrop fell on the back of her hand as she gently touched his face.
"Tantai Jin, is it you?"
Bai Ziqian looked up, unexpectedly meeting the woman's red-rimmed eyes. Before the pounding of his heart could settle, he heard the unfamiliar name from her lips.
He removed her hand from his face and said indifferently, "Miss, you've mistaken me for someone else."
"What's wrong with you?" Liu Dongyan snapped out of her daze and spoke displeasedly to Su Su. "Brother Ziqian is my fiancé. Stay away from him."
She spread her arms, positioning herself protectively in front of Bai Ziqian.
Bai Ziqian's gaze remained fixed on Su Su, silent and without refutation.
A Mi looked from one to another, her soft voice chiming in, "Mother, you've mistaken him. Uncle Bai is a mortal, not Father."
Having grown up in the realm of Demonic Beasts, A Mi had been taught from childhood that her Demon Lord father possessed unparalleled power, capable of reversing the Path of Shared Sorrow and bringing back the deceased. How could he possibly be a mere mortal?
In all her years, A Mi had never seen her mother shed tears.
Su Su used her Divine Eye to examine Tantai Jin—he indeed emitted the aura of a mortal, yet he was a Demon Embryo.
When he died, he had already become a God. Even if reincarnated, he shouldn't be just an ordinary mortal.
Though uncertain what had happened to Tantai Jin over the past millennium, having waited a thousand years, she could afford to wait a little longer.
Su Su whispered softly, "I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else."
Hearing this, Liu Dongyan breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's alright, as long as it's cleared up. Are you A Mi's mother?" Liu Dongyan smiled. "With such beauty, does your husband feel at ease letting you travel alone to our Changle Town?"
Her words made everyone realize that A Mi had called Su Su "Mother."
Bai Ziqian's gaze turned obscure and dim, his thoughts unclear.
Having encountered people like Ye Bingshang before, Su Su immediately understood Liu Dongyan's intention. The girl's hostility, though she believed it well concealed, was glaringly obvious.
Su Su glanced at Tantai Jin and said to Liu Dongyan, "No need for your concern. I came to Changle Town for business. I rushed over because A Mi went missing. Thank you for taking care of A Mi during this time."
Su Su raised her hand, revealing a gleaming gold ingot from her embroidered handkerchief.
"This is a token of gratitude. Please accept it."
Liu Dongyan's eyes widened with desire, but as she reached for it, the man behind her spoke in a low voice, "Unnecessary. I brought her back not for a reward. Since you've found A Mi, take her home."
A Mi made a face at Liu Dongyan and said, "Uncle Bai was the one taking care of me, not you. Mother's gift isn't for you."
Liu Dongyan withdrew her outstretched hand, looking embarrassed.
Su Su smiled. "Then I'll visit another day to express my thanks properly."
Bai Ziqian's lips moved as if to tell her not to come, but for some reason, he remained silent.
Su Su took A Mi's hand and walked out the door. Liu Dongyan, annoyed by her earlier loss of composure, said, "I was only thinking of Brother Ziqian. If you had taken that gold ingot, wouldn't the betrothal gifts be sufficient?"
Bai Ziqian curled his lips coldly and ignored her.He sat down and continued wiping his bow, though this time he was somewhat distracted, not even noticing when Liu Dongyan left in a huff.
He pursed his lips and touched the spot over his heart.
It had been like stagnant water, yet the moment he saw Su Su, it began beating wildly. Bai Ziqian had never imagined he would develop such absurd feelings for a woman he had just met—especially one who already had a husband and even a child as adorable as A Mi.
In that moment, he even felt a twinge of jealousy toward that man.
Bai Ziqian stopped wiping his bow... even though A Mi had said her father had passed away.
She said she would visit another day to express her gratitude—but when would that "another day" be?
*Little A Mi spent the night processing the fact that Bai Ziqian was her father, Tantai Jin. By daybreak, she asked Su Su shyly, "If he is Father, why can’t he recognize Mother and A Mi? Does Father not love us anymore?"
Su Su knew the child yearned for her father yet feared her mischievousness might make him dislike her. She patted A Mi’s head and said, "Father’s memories have been sealed. Over a thousand years, he must have suffered greatly, which is why he doesn’t recognize us. A Mi knows how lonely and painful it is to be alone, right? Once he accepts and remembers us again, he can come home with us."
Thinking of how pitiful her father’s situation was, A Mi instantly shed her hesitation and eagerly recounted to Su Su in her childish voice how Mother Liu and her daughter had treated him.
Su Su listened carefully to A Mi’s words, deep in thought.
Bound by a marriage agreement that had become a joke, the Liu family had not only failed to support and care for the Bai family’s orphan after their decline but had frequently mocked him and even taken the Bai family’s possessions as if it were their right.
Mother Liu had long considered breaking off the engagement, yet Liu Dongyan stubbornly refused.
"Don’t worry, Mother has a plan."
Everything may change, but the feeling of loving someone does not. As long as this profound love remains, no matter how far apart they are, he will eventually return to where she is.
This time, it was her turn to bring him home.
The next day, Su Su found a residence next to Bai Ziqian’s and settled in. She also bought a tavern in the town.
On the day the tavern opened, she brought two jars of the finest wine and, holding little A Mi’s hand, went to Bai Ziqian’s home.
Bai Ziqian had been about to go out with his bow but, upon seeing the mother and daughter, silently set it down.
Su Su smiled warmly. "The other day, Young Master Bai declined our gift of thanks. Today, I’ve brought two jars of wine from the tavern. I insist you accept them. If you find it to your liking, please come by tonight for the tavern’s opening and lend us your support."
Her demeanor was usually cool and reserved, but her smile broke through that icy exterior, revealing a charming and lively sweetness.
Bai Ziqian took the two jars and said, "Mm."
He didn’t specify whether he would go or not—perhaps he himself understood what going would imply.
A Mi rushed over and hugged him. "Uncle Bai, did you miss A Mi?"
Bai Ziqian avoided answering directly. "Now that you’re home, don’t run off again in the future."
A Mi nodded obediently.
After delivering the gift, Su Su left with A Mi. A Mi asked anxiously, "Will Father come?"
Su Su’s eyes held a gentle, flowing warmth. "He will."
However, contrary to their expectations, though the tavern was bustling with customers that evening, Bai Ziqian was nowhere to be seen.
Su Su was not worried.
The tavern proprietress’s reputation for beauty spread through the town in a single day. Many local ruffians and hooligans frequented the tavern. While Su Su carried wine jars to serve the guests, one bold troublemaker attempted to harass her.She pretended not to notice, but before that hand could touch her arm, it was caught by another pale hand.
"Ouch, that hurts, it hurts!"
Su Su turned and indeed saw Bai Ziqian's unpleasant expression.
With a glance, she noticed the ruffian's wrist was broken. The severity of his strike revealed the depth of his anger.
"Sorry for injuring your customer."
Though apologizing, his tone held no remorse, only coldness.
Su Su said, "You were helping me, why would I blame you?"
She waved, signaling the waiter to attend to the customers, then smiled at Tantai Jin and said, "I'll treat Young Master Bai to a drink."
Bai Ziqian knew he shouldn't get involved with her.
From the day he gained consciousness, a voice in his Divine Sense had told him not to seek anything, to live an ordinary mortal life peacefully in Changle Town.
In this life, he was not to marry, not to have children, not to become a noble, not to contend for power.
His steps had halted before the tavern, originally intending only to glance from afar without entering. But unable to bear someone disrespecting her, he had still intervened.
Bai Ziqian understood what this feeling was—a man's longing for a woman.
For over twenty years, this was the first time he had felt such an emotion.
It was as if something missing from his empty heart had one day returned on its own, and he couldn't resist stealing one more glance, and then another.
Since he had already come, refusing now would only seem like he was trying to cover up his true intentions. Bai Ziqian followed Su Su as she led him to the inner room.
Su Su poured wine for him. The tavern's candlelight flickered as she propped her chin in her hand and watched him. A thousand years had passed, and she could finally be with him like this again.
Her gaze was clear yet intense; even someone as aloof as Bai Ziqian couldn't withstand such scrutiny. He gritted his teeth, suppressing the warmth creeping up his ears and the shameful, eager leap in his heart.
"Miss Li, why are you looking at me like that?"
Su Su replied, "You resemble an old acquaintance of mine."
Bai Ziqian fell silent for a moment. "Is it Miss Li's late husband?"
Su Su answered candidly with a smile, "Yes."
He tightened his grip on the cup. "Did Miss Li love that person very much?"
He inwardly scoffed at himself—why ask such a ridiculous question? With her beauty, nobles and generals probably vied for her hand. If she hadn't loved him, why would she remain unmarried to this day?
"I didn't love him long ago. Back then, I was always scheming against him, and he had ulterior motives too. By the time I came to love him, we had already missed our chance."
Bai Ziqian drank the wine in his cup, his dark eyes somber.
Su Su blinked, holding back a smile. "What about you, Young Master Bai? I heard you have a marriage arrangement with Miss Liu. Logically, you should have married two years ago. Why haven't you married Miss Liu yet?"
Bai Ziqian said, "It was just a casual remark by our parents in the past; it shouldn't be taken seriously." Before his mother passed away, she had already annulled this engagement, but Liu Dongyan had never accepted it.
"Is that so? There's no other reason?"
"None," he denied.
Su Su didn't press him further and drank with him. The atmosphere remained harmonious. By evening, when the tavern closed, a faint peach-blossom hue tinged Su Su's cheeks.
After the waiter left, she closed up the tavern and found Bai Ziqian still waiting for her.
Nights in Changle Town were not entirely safe, especially for a woman like her.
Gazing at that dark-clad figure in the night, her heart softened into tenderness.
She suddenly missed that year when she and Tantai Jin had subdued the Peach Blossom Demon together in a small town. Back then, he wore a woman's wedding dress, his expression cold and fierce, his face impatient, yet he had carried her weakened form on his back to see the spirits beneath the peach tree.
She had missed someone for a thousand years.So after deliberately twisting her ankle, she tilted her head to look at him.
Su Su said, "Perhaps Young Master Bai could go and fetch A Guang from the tavern for me, while he hasn't gone far yet."
The corners of his lips curved with displeasure, but without a word, he lifted her onto his back and began walking toward Su Su's home.
Watching their overlapping shadows under the moonlight, a faint smile touched Su Su's eyes.
She gently wrapped her arms around him and whispered softly by his ear, "Young Master Bai, marrying me only costs one tael of silver."
As she spoke, the light fragrance of flower-brewed wine lingered in the night air.
Though it sounded like nonsensical drunken talk, it made his heart skip a beat.
"Don't talk nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense," her voice, though light and airy, carried an air of conviction. "A Mi needs a father, and I need a husband. So... do you mind that I've been married before?"
Resting her head on his shoulder, she tilted her head to observe him.
Bai Ziqian's Adam's apple moved slightly, but he remained silent.
How could he mind? In that moment, his heart nearly burst with joy. But he was terrified that these words were merely a jest.
Love is a peculiar thing sometimes. Liking someone can be concealed, but love cannot be hidden.
Even when neither speaks, that subtle affection continues to spread.
Su Su smiled cheerfully; even without his response, she felt no disappointment.
He had been abandoned too many times, his heart already scarred all over.
This time, she had the patience to wait for him to come home with her.
That stretch of road under the moonlight was the most peaceful moment Su Su had felt in a thousand years.
Yet as they neared her home, Su Su saw flames raging in the sky.
She watched in surprise as Mother Liu hurriedly ran out from her house, exclaiming, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me! I didn't mean to!"
Bai Ziqian set Su Su down. "Where's A Mi?"
Su Su replied, "Inside."
Bai Ziqian's expression shifted, and he immediately rushed into the burning house.
Su Su knew in her heart that her daughter was fine—the fire was clearly an illusion, likely caused by A Mi trying to scare Mother Liu, who had come to cause trouble. A Mi, being of divine form, wouldn't be harmed even in a fire.
She followed Bai Ziqian inside. He turned back and snapped angrily, "Why are you coming in? Get out! I'll bring A Mi out!"
She was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "Alright."
Bai Ziqian hadn't expected her to trust him so completely. Without another word, he went in, picked up A Mi, and ran out.
A Mi looked bewildered, glancing at her mother as she realized she had caused trouble.
Su Su sighed, took her daughter, and looked at Bai Ziqian, deciding to go along with the situation. "We have nowhere to go now."
A Mi played along, putting on a pitiful expression.
Looking at the two faces, one big and one small, Bai Ziqian remained silent for a moment before saying, "If you don't mind, you can rest at my place for the night."
A Mi nearly cheered aloud.
Su Su also curved her lips into a smile.
Bai Ziqian brought Su Su and A Mi to the room where A Mi had stayed before.
Just as Su Su was about to close the door, he suddenly pressed against it.
Su Su looked up at him in confusion.
Something heavy was pressed into her hand.
A weighty object.
"Whether what you said is true or not, I'm taking it seriously," he said, giving her a deep look, defying the warning voice in his mind with a stubborn, almost mocking resolve. "Don't lie to me, or else..."
Su Su opened the pouch in her hand.
—It contained over five hundred taels of silver.
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