He held her tightly, and Zhan Xinjia struggled in vain for a few moments before finally burying her face in his chest.

The warmth of that not-so-ambiguous kiss still lingered on her lips, tinged with a hint of sweetness from white sugar cake. It was like a dream she had conjured up, absurd and unreal.

Zhan Xinjia twitched the corners of her mouth, wanting to laugh but unable to.

After what seemed like an eternity, the painful constriction finally loosened briefly. The young man's hand gently patted and comforted her back, as if this could ease her pain and his guilt.

After a long while, his voice, now calm and composed, slowly came from above.

"I'll take you away when the rain stops."

How can I take her away? Zhan Xinjia thought vaguely, still covered in injuries himself.

The sound of raindrops outside the cave stopped at some point, and she didn't know if she had fallen asleep or unconscious. When she woke up again, she was lying on his back, staggering with every step.

"Master Xiao Shen...?"

When Zhan Xinjia opened her mouth, she realized that her voice was extremely hoarse.

Above us was the pale, round moon that had risen after the storm, its cold, pale light casting a dim glow across the world, barely illuminating the path ahead.

The thin outer robe had been tucked in and placed over her back to protect her from the cold wind, while she lay prostrate on his shoulder, swaying with his laborious, slow steps forward.

Hearing her call his name, the young man paused and turned his head.

"Awake? Do you want to sleep a little longer?"

From Zhan Xinjia's angle, all that could be seen was his pale profile, with a distinct jawline and dried blood seeping from his thin, white lips. Only the light in his dark pupils remained gentle and clear as ever.

One glance was enough to calm Zhan Xinjia's panicked heart.

She wanted to get down and walk by herself, but she had injured her knee before, and it seemed that she had also injured her leg when she fell off the cliff. Now, although she could still feel her legs, she couldn't muster any strength.

Zhan Xinjia dejectedly pressed her cheek against the back of Xiao Shen's neck.

"I'm sorry, Lord Shen..."

"If you really feel sorry, then say a few more words to me."

Shen Suqing was afraid that if she fell into a coma again, she would be completely unable to be woken up.

The wound in his abdomen throbbed with pain, and he felt drowsy, unable to even fully open his eyes.

His physical strength was sore and numb from being pushed to the limit, and he could collapse at any moment. He was only able to keep going by sheer willpower, but he didn't know how much longer he could hold on.

Shen Suqing gasped for breath, lifted the little girl on his back, and continued walking with a limp.

Just when he thought the little girl had fallen asleep again, he heard her muffled voice from behind him.

"Young Master Shen, why do you have this name?"

"name?"

Shen Suqing paused, as if recalling some distant memory, his eyebrows drooping.

"My parents passed away early, and I stayed at a Taoist temple for a period of time when I was young. My name was given to me by the temple master at the time, and it was taken from the first line of the poem 'Chengqing Yun': 'The sound of jade rings out, and the ten directions are purified.'"

"No wonder I felt this name was so serious when I heard it! ... Just like Lord Shen, fierce but very imposing, with a sense of righteous indignation that is as ruthless as the Great Dao."

"...When did I ever act fierce?"

Shen Suqing was completely bewildered.

"Yes, when Master Shen is angry, his face looks as ugly as if he wants to eat a child. He always scolds people with a stern face, and he takes those tattered books from your study, rolls them up again, and hits me on the head."

She spoke with such seriousness that Shen Suqing was left speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

The little girl is quite vengeful.

"You were the one who disobeyed first. I've told you a thousand times, a young lady shouldn't always use foul language, and she shouldn't always be so unruly..."

"I know, I know~ What kind of behavior is this? It's incomprehensible! You always use these two sentences to yell at me. You don't want to be nice to me at all!"

Interrupting him, Zhan Xinjia snorted defiantly.

Shen Suqing twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.

If he had his hands available, he would have tapped her head to see if it was hollow inside.

How much better could he possibly treat her?

If she were to pester him one day for the stars and the moon, he would have to go to the Imperial Observatory with a heavy heart to discuss the feasibility—even though he would probably be considered crazy.

Even if he knew it was impossible, he would probably still ask. Whether it's possible or not is one thing, whether he actually tried is another.

He never wanted to see that disappointed look in her eyes again.

He used to find it somewhat unbelievable that the aunties in the countryside would spoil their unruly children without any limits, and that they couldn't bear to scold or beat them no matter how naughty they were.

But now, he seems to understand a little.

No wonder in the cultivation novels that Ah Zhi usually reads, a sect always beats up the younger ones and then the older ones come to fight.

No matter how bad she is, she is still my child. Even if it goes against my conscience, I will stand with her.

That's roughly the feeling.

Thinking of this, Shen Suqing sighed helplessly.

"Fine, eat children if you want, you're my only child anyway."

"!"

Zhan Xinjia wanted to retort, but choked back, blushing as she buried her face deeper into his neck, and still said nothing.

The dark clouds dispersed, and moonlight fell on their shoulders and hair, illuminating the steep mountain path. All around was silent, with heavy frost and dew, save for the chirping of insects and the delicate fragrance of gardenias drifting across the hills.

Zhan Xinjia rubbed his eyes, then listlessly played with a strand of his long hair that was hanging down from the front.

"Young Master Shen, if I were to conceal a shocking secret, would you be angry?"

"Hmm? Tell me about it."

"...I can't say right now. Anyway, it's not anything particularly serious, and I didn't mean to hide it. But even so, it would still be deceiving you..."

Zhan Xinjia felt somewhat guilty.

Hearing that she only wanted to issue a "disclaimer" in advance and didn't really want to be honest, Shen Suqing wanted to sigh again.

"Alright, alright, tell me when you're ready to talk, and I'll consider 'reducing your sentence'."

He thought to himself, things couldn't get any worse than she being a convict who had escaped from an exile group.

"So you asked me so many questions, why is Azhi called Azhi?"

Shen Suqing felt that the name was very special when he first heard it.

When her name was mentioned, Zhan Xinjia couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth, her tone somewhat proud.

"My father and mother each had other people they liked a long, long time ago, but perhaps it was just bad luck in our family, neither of them got what they wanted in the end."

At that time, my father was in a very dangerous place, and with the determination to die, he wrote his last letter and sent it to the capital. By some twist of fate, that letter somehow ended up in my mother's hands.

Although my mother didn't know who sent the letter or to whom it was addressed, the letter was filled with despair and suicidal thoughts. She couldn't bear it, so she picked up her pen and wrote a reply, promising to go with the sender to see the pear blossoms in March.

That letter traveled thousands of miles through wind and rain, enduring two springs and autumns, and finally returned to his hands in the spring of the third year…

On the yellowed letter paper, the first line of dried ink reads:

Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person; I am delighted to receive your letter.

Of course, she didn't read this sentence aloud to Lord Shen.

She didn't hear what Master Shen said after that.

Her injuries started throbbing again, and her head was so heavy she couldn't lift it. Zhan Xinjia's eyes began to glaze over and dim. She tried her best to regain her senses, to stay with him, and to talk to him a little longer.

Her consciousness gradually began to blur and her memories began to fade, and no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer open her eyes.

The hand holding that strand of hair loosened its grip, and she felt herself being gently put down. Someone was shaking her frantically, holding her shoulders and shouting something at the top of their lungs.

She couldn't hear clearly; her throat was blocked by blood gushing from her internal organs, and she couldn't respond even when she opened her mouth.

In a daze, a warm tear fell.

It landed on her eyelids.