Wan Yu Yuedan took a step back as the crisp autumn evening breeze swept past, lifting the hem of his robe lightly. He raised his head toward the sky, recalling in his mind the hues of dusk—so many autumn twilights, so many lives come and gone, so many unfulfilled wishes, and yet so many grasses upon the yellow earth had already bloomed and borne fruit.
The two stood quietly in the graveyard for a moment when footsteps echoed from the carved corridor behind them. Fu Zhumei turned to see a woman in red, her graceful figure disappearing behind the garden's arched gate. "She's been following you," Fu Zhumei said, glancing at Wan Yu Yuedan. "Is that alright? Who is she?" Wan Yu Yuedan replied, "She is an intelligent woman caught in hesitation." Fu Zhumei looked in the direction she had gone. "Hesitating about what?" Wan Yu Yuedan answered, "Whether selfless love that asks for nothing in return is more precious, or if the gentle affection gained from small, immediate gestures is more worthy of longing." Fu Zhumei sighed. "Of course, everyone hopes their feelings will be reciprocated equally, but such things are rare indeed." Wan Yu Yuedan's expression softened. "The proud are often stubborn. I only hope that after she makes her choice, there will be fewer regrets between them." Fu Zhumei ruffled his hair. "Is her choice that important?" Wan Yu Yuedan chuckled. "Very."
As they spoke, Fu Zhumei caught sight of the woman in red again in the distance. She stood beneath a nearby tree as a man in green handed her a cup of tea. She lowered her head in silence, and the man in green said nothing, standing with her for a while before turning to leave. "Huh? Is that Bi Lianyi?" Fu Zhumei suddenly understood. "Ah! So she's Xiao Bi's beloved. But why was she following you?" Wan Yu Yuedan smiled. "Xiao Fu is always so sharp. How did you know she's Brother Bi's beloved?" Fu Zhumei blinked innocently. "Huh? Just a feeling, I guess. It's different, you know?" Wan Yu Yuedan said gently, "Is that so? By the way, there's something troubling me. Could you lend me a hand, Xiao Fu?" Fu Zhumei nodded eagerly. "What is it?" Wan Yu Yuedan explained, "I have a patient here whose joints are pinned by over a hundred Poisonous Thorns. He can't move or speak. If no one can help expel the thorns from his body soon, I fear he won't last much longer. Though there are many skilled martial artists in Azure Fall Palace, none possess the necessary strength..." Fu Zhumei quickly interjected, "I'll give it a try. Where is he?"“He’s in the Forget Orchid Pavilion.” Wan Yu Yuedan led the way ahead. Though blind, his steps were unhurried and relaxed. As he walked, he smiled and said, “Actually, for many years, I couldn’t understand—Xiao Fu is such a warm-hearted, simple person with no desire for fame, so why does he become a completely different person when he wields the Imperial Plum Blossom Saber? What goes through his mind when he draws his blade to kill?” Fu Zhumei fell silent for a moment before replying, “I think that no matter what you do, if you decide it’s the right thing, you must do it well—whether it’s something you like or dislike. Once you’ve decided to do it, you should give it your all. So…” He sighed. “So when I hold the saber, I immerse myself fully in being a swordsman, just as I do with everything else. When I’m not holding the saber, I’m earnestly being myself. All these years, I’ve never wanted to change, because I think I’m fine just the way I am.”
Wan Yu Yuedan smiled. “When you devote yourself wholeheartedly, you reach a realm beyond ordinary people. Not everyone can do that. To be earnestly yourself—how many in this world possess such honesty and confidence in themselves? Ha, you and Young Master Tang are both like that… Ah, not that way—this way.” He tugged at Fu Zhumei’s sleeve, as if guiding a child prone to wandering, and led him into a courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with orchids, a few autumn varieties in bloom. They weren’t rare species, but their fragrance was delicate and refined nonetheless. Fu Zhumei studied the orchids curiously—undoubtedly, he didn’t recognize a single one—but it was clear he greatly admired whoever had planted them. After gazing at the flowers for a long while, he turned his attention to the house. Two youths in azure robes were carrying out a tall, rigid man with wild, unkempt hair. The man wore tattered purple robes, meticulously cleaned—likely washed and dressed by the Azure Fall Palace attendants.
“He…” Fu Zhumei stared blankly at the man. “Who is he?”
“Raging Orchid No Trace,” Wan Yu Yuedan said softly. “One of the Seven Cloud Traveling Guests, a fierce warrior skilled with an eight-foot-long sword.” Fu Zhumei rubbed his head, looking even more bewildered. Perhaps he had heard the name before and forgotten, or more likely, he had never bothered to remember. “Where are the thorns on him?”
“Starting from the eye sockets, every movable joint in his body has at least two small thorns.” Wan Yu Yuedan sighed. “Even if they can be extracted, forcing out all one hundred and seven Poisonous Thorns will severely deplete your Vitality, Xiao Fu.” Fu Zhumei gave a sincere, slightly bashful smile, as if he wanted to say something but held back. “Where are the thorns? Where do we start?” Wan Yu Yuedan reached out, carefully feeling along Raging Orchid No Trace’s body until he pressed on a spot near the shoulder. “Here first.”
East Mountain.Fang Pingzhai, clad in yellow robes and wielding a red fan, drifted away after eavesdropping on the conversation between the man and woman from the tree, lost in thought. The soldiers were searching for the Langya Princess. Since this operation had been ongoing for so long and was conducted with such secrecy, it undoubtedly involved deeper secrets. Once they obtained a lead, they would never abandon it halfway. To divert the soldiers, the first method would be for the purple-clad maiden to suddenly appear, drawing the crowd away like the wind. The second method would be to raise his blade and swiftly behead all twenty or thirty of them, temporarily resolving the issue. But slaughtering members of the imperial family would bring endless repercussions.
To kill… or to help them search? Fang Pingzhai strained to recall the direction in which the purple-clad maiden had ridden off. After pondering for a long while, he found no clear answer. If he didn’t know where she had gone, perhaps he could reverse his thinking—why had she come here in the first place? What in Dongshan’s Lingyuan Temple could have drawn her here? The temple was famous only for its Biluochun tea, and at most, the Spirit Spring in the mountains. What could possibly entice a young maiden to travel such a long distance? Hmm… the Spirit Spring? Legends said the Spirit Spring could cure mental ailments. Given how ruthlessly she had killed with a single sword strike, her mind must be unwell—perhaps she had come precisely for the spring. Fang Pingzhai chuckled and waved his fan as he headed toward the back of Lingyuan Temple.
Amidst the dense emerald trees, the flowers had withered, but various wild fruits grew in abundance, filling the forest with their fragrance. Fang Pingzhai used his fan to part the thick branches as he followed the clear stream upstream. After walking several miles, he came upon a gushing spring. The area around the spring was deserted, the muddy ground covered in chaotic footprints. Stepping onto the muddy earth, Fang Pingzhai glanced around and suddenly caught sight of a flash of purple fabric in the dense woods not far from the Spirit Spring.
Hmm? He raised his fan to push aside the undergrowth and saw, about seventeen or eighteen paces from the spring, a purple-clad maiden lying unconscious in the forest. She was drenched from head to toe, her long hair disheveled, her face as pale as snow. Fang Pingzhai immediately recognized her as the woman who had once run Lin Bu through with her sword. Kneeling down, he checked her pulse—she wasn’t injured, merely suffering from severe cold. “Ah, what to do now? I said I’d look for her, but I never expected to actually find her. Heavens, oh heavens, tell me—should I hand her over to the authorities for a reward of a few hundred taels of silver, or leave her here to die of illness and be torn apart by wild dogs, turning this beauty into a skeleton? As a noble gentleman with both conscience and a soft spot for fair maidens, naturally, I shall act with conscience and a soft spot. Come, let this noble gentleman save your life.” Muttering to himself, he picked up the unconscious maiden and, with a flicker of movement, vanished through the dense forest.
Not far outside Lingyuan Temple, beyond the village dwellings, after a fruitless search, a dozen or so squads withdrew and gathered around a particular house. The original owner, having happily accepted a hundred taels of silver, had already moved out. The ones now residing in the house were naturally the man and woman searching for their “little sister.”"Big brother, are you tired?" The woman in martial attire picked up the teapot and poured a cup of water, handing it to the man in martial attire. "We've searched everywhere but found nothing. Perhaps... sigh..." The man took a sip from the cup. "Hush! Don't speak nonsense! Little sister is blessed with great fortune. Since she didn't die in the tomb back then, she naturally won't die now. She's a golden branch and jade leaf." The woman forced a bitter smile and sighed softly.
Just as the two were sighing, a light laugh suddenly came from outside the door. "The Princess of Langya is here—catch!" Both being trained in martial arts, they leaped up at the sound of the laughter. With a loud bang , something crashed through the window and hurtled toward them. The man roared, grabbing with both hands and exerting all his strength to redirect the force, spinning twice before finally stopping the momentum. Looking down, he gasped in shock. "This is—" The woman in martial attire cried out in alarm, "Little sister!"
What had crashed through the window was a drenched young girl in purple robes, her delicate features marred by extreme exhaustion, deep sorrow etched between her brows. The man in martial attire looked up at the woman, then back at the unconscious girl in his arms—the two bore a striking resemblance, though the woman exuded a bold, heroic air while the girl appeared more delicate and refined.
"How... how did she come flying through the window?" The woman quickly checked the girl's condition and found nothing on her except a long sword. Her heart raced with both shock and joy. "Little sister actually knows martial arts—no wonder we couldn’t find her at the place she was fostered. But... why is she unconscious? And who sent her here? Hmm..." She pulled something from the girl's robes. "This is..."
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