Chapter 17 Twilight Clouds: A Beauty He Had Never Experienced Before

In the academy, Pei Chu was already exhausted. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything for days, making his body as thin as a sheet of silk. Even a few light coughs seemed to drain his energy. The sunlight made his face pale and translucent, and the crisscrossing blood vessels were heartbreaking to see. He tried his best not to blink, afraid that a moment's distraction would cause him to miss the girl in his heart. He struggled to move the bamboo chair, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead. "It'll be alright," Pei Chu told himself again and again. "It will be alright."

Outside the open courtyard gate, faint footsteps could be heard, sometimes loud, sometimes soft. The sound was light and quick, like a nimble deer stepping on the bluestone slabs in the morning light. It was just like the first time I met Jiang Muyun. She accompanied her foster mother to the market to deliver shells. She held out a handful of shells in her hands and offered them to me. She smiled and smiled, her dimples slightly. When I didn't take them, she quietly walked to the side, her starry eyes smiling timidly at me. With the nervousness of our first meeting, she lowered her head shyly.

Since she left, Pei Chu felt as if something had been lost in his heart. Finally, one day, he couldn't hold back any longer and told Pei Bi that he wanted to eat clam meat. That morning, he had someone push a bamboo chair to the intersection and waited from dawn until afternoon. He heard the girl's silvery laughter coming from afar. Pei Chu went to look in surprise and saw the girl's petite figure standing there, tilting her head and looking him over. She wasn't holding any clams in her hands; they were tucked behind her back, looking somewhat lost. Her big eyes were filled with surprise and undisguised joy.

Her elderly foster mother bowed to her, but she didn't speak. Instead, she walked step by step closer to the bamboo chair, and only when she was right in front of it did she raise her face and ask, "My name is Jiang Muyun. What's your name?"

“My name is…” Pei Chu suddenly panicked, “My name is Pei Chu.”

She picked out the largest clam from the bamboo basket her foster mother was carrying, broke it open, took out the clam meat, and lovingly sucked on the salty seawater still inside the shell. She then held the clam meat close to Pei Chu's mouth with one hand, "Want some?"

That was a wonderful experience Pei Chu had never tasted before, so wonderful that she can't forget it even now.

Pei Bi saw through his young master's intentions and left Jiang Muyun in Xingguo Ward, where she stayed for ten years.

The footsteps grew closer, and Pei Chu struggled to get up to meet them. His face contorted with pain, and every movement felt like it was shattering his bones. With a thud, he fell off the bamboo chair, but he still refused to give up. He let out a defiant roar and moved with difficulty toward the courtyard gate.

Today, the smoke in the neighborhood grew even thicker, its color a bluish-white that Pei Chu had never seen before. Through the layers of smoke, he saw a figure appear at the other end of the bluestone road, like a startled fawn breaking free of its ropes and rushing towards him through the sky-covering barrier.

"Mu Yun," Pei Chu murmured, reaching out her hand towards the figure. "Is it you?"

The figure swept past his fallen body, took a few steps, then stopped abruptly, leaving him with only a fleeting glimpse before disappearing without hesitation at the end of the bluestone path.

"Jiang Muyun!" Pei Chu cried out with all her might, "Why did you leave me!"

Apart from the sound of footsteps fading into the distance, there was no one to answer.

After an unknown amount of time, the bluish-white smoke gradually dissipated. Pei Chu rubbed her eyes and saw the person walking towards her. Pei Chu recognized him. He was tall and handsome, yet innocent and naive like a child. Everyone called him Stone. He was the Lou Stone that Guan Ye had mentioned.

"Help me up," Pei Chu whispered.

Lou Shitou strode closer and lifted Pei Chu up with almost no effort. His dark eyes couldn't help but look at the end of the bluestone path, as if searching for something.

"What did you see?" Pei Chu asked, panting heavily.

"She's gone." Lou Shitou raised a finger and shushed her. "Shitou has finally done something big."

"Something big?" Pei Chu asked, puzzled.

Lou Shitou, of course, wouldn't say much to him. He chuckled and suddenly ran off, waving a silk handkerchief that Pei Chu seemed to recognize, like an excited little animal.

—"She's gone."

In the academy, Pei Chu drank his first sip of water in days. "Thank you all for your help. I, Pei Chu, will offer you tea instead of wine to express my gratitude to you all."

The swordsmen exchanged glances, none daring to speak. Pei Chu refilled his cup, raised it, and laughed, "What, do you want me to drink three cups in a row?"

"Young Master," Guan Ye began, her voice choked with emotion, "Guan Ye is useless..."

"What are you saying?" Pei Chu said, displeased. "You rescued Jiang Muyun, Guan Ye, tell me, how do you want me to thank you?"

"Young Master," Guan Ye knew Pei Chu was finding it hard to accept Jiang Muyun's death, "The meteorite has melted, how could a meteorite melt..."

Pei Chu drank another cup. "Tonight, there's nothing to do with the meteorite. There's only one word: 'thank you.' What does a dead object have to do with me?"

“Jiang Muyun is dead.” Feng Shisan couldn’t bear to watch any longer. “We are sorry for what we did. Young Master has been so grateful for your constant thanks. We are ashamed to accept such praise. Please, Young Master, don’t make us suffer any more.”

"She's gone." Pei Chu shushed her. "Where did you hide her? Why didn't you ask me before letting her leave like this?"

“She’s dead.” Feng Shisan raised his voice excitedly. “Was I not clear enough? Jiang Muyun jumped off the furnace. She’s dead! We all saw it with our own eyes. Guan Ye and Ajiu saw it too.”

"You've been keeping this from me." Pei Chu said nonchalantly. "Knowing she's safe and sound, it doesn't matter where she is. As long as she's alive, that's enough. As long as she's alive, there will be a day when we meet again."

"Young Master," Xiao Ma couldn't hold back any longer, "the dead cannot be brought back to life, Young Master, please accept my condolences." Seeing that Pei Chu was still acting as if nothing had happened, Xiao Ma gave Guan Ye a look, "Guan Ye, tell the Young Master, the white flames, the Heavenly Furnace actually produced white flames, meteorites, meteorites that no other workshop in the world can melt, were made by entering the Heavenly Furnace. Everyone in the workshop is saying that Jiang Muyun sacrificed himself for the furnace, which moved the heavens and helped Xingguo Workshop succeed. Guan Ye, tell me."

"She's not dead!" Pei Chu crushed the teacup in his hand, the shards cutting his palm without him feeling any pain. "How many times do I have to say it? Jiang Muyun is still alive! She's gone, not dead! She's not dead, she's not dead!" Pei Chu opened his bleeding hand, his eyes as red as blood. He had never been so furious, like a mad eagle. He hated all the bystanders, hated his father who forced Jiang Muyun to die in the furnace, hated the Heavenly Furnace that the Pei family cherished, hated the broken sword in the Sword Pavilion engraved with humiliation, and hated his own powerlessness, still unable to do anything at this moment.

All he could do was repeat the same sentence that no one believed: "She is not dead."

"Why...don't you believe me?" Pei Chu shed tears of despair. "Guan Ye, don't you believe me either?"

"I..." Guan Ye hesitated, unable to speak. She had witnessed Jiang Muyun fall into the furnace with her arms outstretched. She had seen the white flames, a sight her father had only ever seen once in his life. She had seen the old blacksmith draw out molten iron infused with the girl's flesh and blood, the liquid shimmering with iridescent gold and a hint of crimson blood. Guan Ye knew that without a living being sacrificed to the furnace, this would never have happened. She didn't want to believe Jiang Muyun was dead, but her eyes wouldn't lie. Jiang Muyun was dead. Pei Chu simply refused to believe it. He preferred to believe that Jiang Muyun had been rescued and, to ensure her safety, hidden somewhere, awaiting their reunion someday.

If this would make Pei Chu feel better, Guan Ye was willing to stay with him as if Jiang Muyun hadn't died.

A note from the author:

----------------------