Saving over five hundred taels in this remote town was no easy feat. Su Su chuckled wryly—this was likely his entire life savings, yet he'd given it all to a "widow" he'd only recently met. How very characteristic of him.
Even without him finishing his sentence, Su Su could guess what he left unsaid.
"Don't deceive me, or I'll haunt you even as a ghost."
Tantai Jin's obsessive nature was etched into his bones. Cheating him out of silver was one thing, but if she were to flee with his heartfelt emotions, he'd probably kill her first before taking his own life.
That night, Su Su slept soundly while holding little A Mi.
For the first time in the thousand years since losing him, she felt such peace—because Tantai Jin was right next door, and she could see him the moment she opened her eyes.
Bai Ziqian, however, did not sleep peacefully.
Since childhood, he had possessed an intuition sharper than ordinary people's. The year his adoptive parents met with misfortune, he'd been plagued by ominous premonitions and tried everything to stop them from going out. But they dismissed his words as childish nonsense, soothingly promised him they'd stay, yet still left on that stormy night.
Pillowing his head on his arm, he tossed and turned.
Bai Ziqian knew perfectly well that Su Su and A Mi were no ordinary beings. He recalled the day he found A Mi—the little girl was up in a tree, so high she couldn't possibly have climbed it alone.
Tonight, when he carried the pink-clad child from the fire, she had been standing in the flames, yet Tantai Jin noticed A Mi's clothes remained completely unscathed.
The little girl showed no fear of fire.
With peerless beauty and mysterious origins, they were clearly not mortal.
Bai Ziqian wasn't afraid of spirits or Cultivators. What he feared was being powerless if they were to leave.
Or perhaps, last night's drunkenness had led her to whisper intimate nonsense in his ear, laughing as she said she wanted one tael of silver as a betrothal gift.
And now that she was sober, she regretted it.
At daybreak, Bai Ziqian couldn't resist going next door. He raised his hand to knock, then lowered it.
The door opened from within.
Su Su had known he'd been standing outside for a long time. Seeing him hesitate to knock, she simply opened the door herself and asked, "What's wrong?"
The woman before him no longer had the drunken haze in her eyes from the previous night.
Bai Ziqian asked, "Do you remember what you said last night?"
Of course Su Su remembered, but she deliberately teased him, "I said many things to Young Master Bai last night. Which statement are you referring to?"
His dark eyes fixed on her as he said, "If your words last night were careless remarks, you can tell me now. I won't trouble you further. But if you don't regret it now, then never regret it in this lifetime."
Su Su asked, "If I go back on my word, would you really give up just like that?"
He remained silent, not answering.
Seeing his gloomy expression, Su Su knew his inner thoughts must be tumultuous. Clearly not a magnanimous person, yet forcing himself to speak generous words against his nature.
She shook the money pouch in her hand and said solemnly, "Those words weren't nonsense. I don't regret them, and I'm not mistaking you for someone else. I've already accepted the betrothal gift—how could there be any going back? A Mi and I entrust our lives to you from now on, alright?"
Bai Ziqian barely suppressed his rising lips and replied, "Mm."
It wasn't long before Su Su realized he meant every word.
Changing out of his usual attire, he donned moon-white robes and left without telling Su Su where he was going.
But his actions couldn't escape her notice.
What Liu Dongyan had begged for but failed to obtain, Bai Ziqian easily gave to Su Su after meeting her.
He registered for the provincial imperial examination, wanting to provide the best life for her and A Mi.When Bai Ziqian returned, Su Su was waiting for him at the courtyard gate.
In the summer of Changle Town, the roses in the yard that had never bloomed in previous years had somehow blossomed—large, vibrant clusters in brilliant colors.
Several sparrows hopped among the branches as Su Su sat beneath the tree, her features picturesque enough to be immortalized in a painting.
All Living Beings were blessed by the God, and the scenery before his eyes seemed to come alive with vividness.
This lively and enchanting scene made him momentarily dazed. The tranquil afternoon, the person waiting for his return in the courtyard—it felt as though he had yearned for this moment for a very, very long time.
Su Su walked over to him, stood on her toes, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Whose young master is this?" she said softly. "You look so handsome in white."
He couldn't help but smile, taking her hand. "Don't tease. It's all sweat—it's dirty."
The unspoken marriage pact between them instantly drew them closer.
Su Su held his hand in return and whispered, "It's not."
Long ago, she had once remarked in a distant painted scroll how good he looked in white, and from then on, he shed his black robes and wore white for years.
Beneath the white garments, his wounds had nowhere to hide, yet she had once mistaken it for him feigning innocence—thinking that even in white, he could not conceal the fact that he was a demon.
Later, after he fell into demonhood, he never touched white again. It wasn't until the very end, when he personally carved the tomb Stele in the imperial mausoleum, that Su Su finally understood: he had wished to remain pure and untarnished in her heart.
His growth had never been praised; from birth, he was seen as a mistake. A single small compliment from her was something he could remember for many years.
"I'll help you repair the yard this afternoon," Bai Ziqian said.
The previous night, Mother Liu had gone to pick a fight with Su Su. Only A Mi was home, and she ended up knocking over a candle. With A Mi present, the candle couldn't possibly ignite. To scare Mother Liu, A Mi created the illusion of a fire.
But the little one didn't know that illusions shouldn't be used in front of mortals, so Su Su had to play along, making it seem as though the yard had been damaged.
Hearing Bai Ziqian's words, her clear, bright eyes looked at him. "Once the yard is repaired, will you drive me away?"
He replied in a low voice, "No, you may stay as long as you wish."
Su Su said, "Good thing you're not sending me away, or else we should just leave the yard broken."
Her words were exceedingly frank, causing Bai Ziqian's ears to grow warm. In all his life, he had never felt anything akin to shyness, but now, for the first time, he felt embarrassed.
Even Sprites weren't this bold.
Did she not know that for mortals, it was improper for her to live in her... future husband's home before marriage?
But she didn't need to follow any rules, and Bai Ziqian didn't want her to leave either.
Bai Ziqian tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I will make Mother Liu give you an explanation, and as for my former engagement with Liu Dongyan, I will handle it as well."
Su Su shook her head. "No need. She's already frightened enough. As for Liu Dongyan, you don't have to seek her out. I have other plans. Do you trust me?"
"What plans?"
"You'll know in a few days."
Liu Dongyan had been constantly preoccupied with the provincial exams. She had been closely following them, and since Bai Ziqian skipped them year after year, this was her last chance—she couldn't afford any more delays.
Unwilling to marry an ordinary man, Liu Dongyan gritted her teeth, thinking that if Bai Ziqian didn't take the exam this time, she would have no choice but to listen to her mother and marry the widower, Squire Li.
But upon inquiry, she learned that Bai Ziqian would indeed participate in this year's provincial exams.She was overjoyed, thinking Bai Ziqian had finally come to his senses and was willing to marry her.
But before her happiness could last long, she learned from the cursing Mother Liu that A Mi and her mother were staying at Bai Ziqian’s home.
How could this be? Liu Dongyan’s expression immediately darkened, and she wanted to go cause trouble.
Mother Liu, feeling guilty, stammered and tried to stop her: "Forget it, I heard that the young widow’s house caught fire, so she’s just staying temporarily at Bai Ziqian’s place."
Liu Dongyan refused to listen and, ignoring the attempts to hold her back, went out to find Bai Ziqian. She could barely maintain her virtuous facade.
"You actually let that little tramp stay in your house! What do you take me for?"
Bai Ziqian glanced toward the inner room where Su Su and A Mi were, making sure they couldn’t hear, then immediately turned cold and sneered, "What do you think I take you for, Miss Liu? Self-awareness is a virtue. The so-called engagement you speak of was just a joke my mother made back when your mother worked as a servant in our house. Only your family took it seriously and deliberately spread it all over Changle Town."
"After the Bai family declined, your mother, seeing no benefit to be gained, has been trying to back out all these years. What do you think you are in my eyes?" He scoffed. "Don’t let me hear you speak of Su Su and A Mi in that tone again. One is my future wife, and the other is my daughter."
"Brother Ziqian, have you gone mad? She’s been married before and even bore someone else’s child. How could you marry someone like that!"
Bai Ziqian took a step forward, a faint, mocking smile curling his lips as he looked her over. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "But I don’t mind. Do you know how Wang Si, the town’s most notorious swindler and troublemaker, died?"
At this, Liu Dongyan’s face turned pale with fright.
The entire town knew how gruesome Wang Si’s death had been.
"You... you..."
"Miss Liu, go home early."
Liu Dongyan, her face ashen, turned and fled without looking back.
Inside the room, A Mi blinked and asked her mother, "Does Father also know how to scare people?"
Su Su chuckled softly, placing a finger to her lips. "Yes, but A Mi must pretend she didn’t hear anything."
Otherwise, he would feel uneasy.
Even if he was pretending, he wanted to be seen as a good person in their eyes.
A Mi quickly covered her little mouth and nodded solemnly.
In her heart, her father was the very best.
Despite this, Liu Dongyan still refused to give up on Bai Ziqian easily.
To her, before the Bai family’s decline, Bai Ziqian had been like the moon in the sky—unreachable. Now that the moon had fallen to earth, whoever picked it up could claim it.
A young man of exceptional looks and remarkable talent, not to mention the remnants of the Bai family’s former wealth—how could someone like that be compared to the likes of Squire Li, who was already halfway into his coffin?
Liu Dongyan gritted her teeth, unwilling to concede, but she no longer dared to cause trouble for Su Su.
She decided to wait until after the autumn imperial examinations to make her next move.
If Bai Ziqian passed, she would spread word of their engagement far and wide, ensuring all the villagers knew. Besides, with Li Susu and A Mi living in his house, he was already in the wrong.
If he didn’t pass, Liu Dongyan had no desire to provoke such a person and risk getting herself into trouble. What did it matter if she left a worthless man to that little vixen?
After the autumn examinations, before the results were announced, Tantai Jin’s courtyard was filled with harmony and joy.
The wedding was set for the tenth month. Though Su Su and A Mi lived in his home, he had always been the epitome of a "gentleman," never overstepping any boundaries.One day, Su Su pretended to be asleep in the courtyard. Bai Ziqian traced her brows and eyes with his fingers for a long time, his lips hovering near her forehead. She could even hear him swallowing, but after waiting for what felt like an eternity, he ultimately did not touch her.
After he left, Su Su quietly opened one eye.
The pomegranate tree planted by Bai Ziqian’s late mother had borne many fruits, each plump and full. While A Mi was sleeping, Su Su took paper and a brush and went to find Bai Ziqian. Smiling, she asked, “Could you teach me how to paint?”
Bai Ziqian naturally agreed.
“What would you like to paint?”
“That pomegranate tree.”
“Alright.”
Su Su rested her chin in her hand, watching as a vivid painting took shape under his skilled hands, her mind drifting.
Tantai Jin had a photographic memory. If he hadn’t been born a creature of darkness, he could have wielded a brush to bring peace to the world and mounted a horse to secure the realm. Back when she taught him to draw the Talisman of All Beings, he had been exceptionally clever.
Only a few leaves remained to be painted on the pomegranate tree.
Bai Ziqian handed her the brush. “Your turn.”
Su Su didn’t hesitate. “Alright.”
She took the brush and, with a flourish, added a few irregularly shaped leaves to the painting. She glanced at Bai Ziqian’s reaction, but his expression remained calm and gentle, as if he hadn’t noticed the “mischievous strokes” that disrupted the painting.
Su Su asked, “Does it look good?”
Without a second thought, Bai Ziqian replied, “It looks good.”
Su Su couldn’t help but laugh as she gazed at him. “You know, I’m not skilled at painting. I can’t do embroidery, compose poetry, or dance.”
Bai Ziqian was inwardly surprised. Su Su’s appearance was truly deceptive—with such a face capable of toppling cities and ruining nations, one would assume she was born with these talents.
“I can’t do anything. Will you look down on me?”
Bai Ziqian said, “No.”
“Well, actually, there is one thing I can do.” Su Su picked up the brush. “Let me teach you.”
She pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, dipped the brush in ink, and began to paint with bold, sweeping strokes.
There were many things she couldn’t do, but there were also many things she could—wielding all manner of weapons, capturing demons, drawing talismans, subduing evil, and healing wounds.
“Do you know what miraculous thing will happen if this is completed?”
Bai Ziqian watched the peculiar brushstrokes, a faint tension stirring in his heart.
Was she finally going to reveal her origins to him?
He had long since resolved that no matter what she was, he would never let her leave.
So, he feigned calm and asked, “What will happen?”
He expected flowers to bloom on the paper or living creatures to emerge—nothing more than such fantastical phenomena.
But such things held no fear for him. Since childhood, his heart had been cold and barren, unafraid of gods or ghosts.
As the ink spread across the paper, what he received was a very light, very gentle kiss on the corner of his lips.
The woman’s soft lips touched the corner of his mouth, carrying the fleeting fragrance of an Epiphyllum in full bloom.
His entire body stiffened, but Su Su had already pulled away.
With a serious expression, she said, “It turns into a kiss. Did you learn it?”
The man before her had eyes as dark as ink. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he murmured, “Mm.”
Su Su had initially intended to make him happy, but now, under his intense gaze, she felt her cheeks grow warm.
Just as she was about to stand up, the back of her head was held in place.
Under the heavily fruited tree, his lips were scorching, and the autumn day seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Su Su didn’t know that from that moment on, he began counting down the days to their wedding in October.
She liked him—he could feel it.
This mortal world was truly gentle.
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