Chapter 1

Thousand Islands, Changge Gate.

"I am Xue Hua of the Cangyun Army. I have come on behalf of my commander to deliver a message to Sect Leader Yang. I hope you will inform her."

The morning mist had not yet dissipated from the lake, and Qiandao Lake was still shrouded in a hazy mist. Within the vaguely visible range of sight, there were stone carvings, green bamboo, white tiles, and blue bricks, resembling a fairyland untouched by the world.

The woman before him, dressed in the Confucian attire of the Changge Sect, possessed a beautiful appearance. Her hair was styled in a high bun, wrapped in green silk, and she carried a golden seven-stringed zither on her back. Her watery eyes surveyed him several times, causing Xue Hua's icy face to flush red.

The woman smiled, cupped her hands in a respectful bow, and said, "I am Jiang Lixue, a disciple of the Changge Sect. General, please wait a moment while I go and inform them."

Xue Hua quickly returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

The woman turned around, bent her knees slightly, and suddenly leaped up to the top of a bamboo stalk several meters high. Her clothes fluttered like flower petals opening. Then, using the strength of a bamboo leaf, she leaped up again and disappeared into the mist.

Changge's lightness skill truly lives up to its reputation.

Xue Hua stretched his limbs and paced back and forth at the doorway, replaying the incident in his mind. He had been handling official business in Taiyuan when Changsun Wangqing suddenly sent him to Jiangnan to deliver a letter to Changge Gate. Xue Hua had intended to send a messenger, but the commander had instructed him that it must be delivered personally. Realizing the importance of the matter, he spurred his horse and galloped all the way there.

As the sun rose, the woman returned to the entrance to escort him to the Shuxin Hall. Once inside the courtyard, the vast Xiangzhi Manor revealed its gentle beauty.

Passing through the corridors and around the small bridges, the beautiful scenery of the mountain villa comes into view. Although it is already dawn, disciples have already begun practicing their martial arts. Changge Sect has always considered itself a place for "literati and scholars," and with the line "I am drunk and wish to sleep, but you may come; if you wish, bring your zither tomorrow," they extend a wide invitation to refined scholars from all over the world to come and meet them.

Xue Hua was amazed by the scene before him and lost in thought. Just as he was about to take a step forward, he heard a crash and nearly bumped his head on a peach tree branch.

"Yang Yuan, what's wrong with you?!"

Xue Hua blinked, realizing it wasn't him.

Looking in the direction of the sound, a few feet away in the corridor, a male disciple of the Changge Sect was sternly reprimanding a little girl kneeling on the ground picking up books and paintings, and was throwing a tantrum.

"What did I tell you before? Why are you always so clumsy?" The man pointed at the girl and said unpleasant things. "If it weren't for Senior Sister Jiang taking pity on you and bringing you back, you'd still be a lonely ghost wandering in Chang'an!"

The girl who had gathered her books quickly stood up, lowered her head, looked at the ground, and didn't say a word. She was only wearing the clothes of an introductory disciple, so she must have just started her studies and had done something wrong, so she was being scolded by her senior brother.

Xue Hua frowned, not for any other reason than that the male disciple's words were a bit too much. Even he, a soldier who had been stationed at the border for many years, had never been criticized like this by his commander, let alone a child who was not yet an adult. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Just as he was about to go over and argue with him, the woman in front of Xue Hua had already walked up to the two of them.

"What's going on?" The woman's calm voice rang out, and the male disciple turned around and immediately panicked, bowing respectfully.

"Senior Sister Jiang."

Jiang Lixue glanced at him, then at the girl with her head down, and asked, "What's wrong?"

The male disciple immediately replied, "Senior Sister Jiang, yesterday the Master said he wanted the Four Books and the Spring and Autumn Annals. I originally intended to deliver them to him personally, but who knew..."

"I didn't ask you."

The male disciple looked up in surprise and found that Jiang Lixue's eyes were not looking at him, and her gaze was even somewhat indifferent. He lowered his head as if he had made a mistake and dared not speak again.

Jiang Lixue looked at the girl with her head down and said softly, "Yang Yuan, you speak."

Yang Yuan barely raised her head, glanced at Jiang Lixue, and then lowered her head again.

"My third senior brother said yesterday that the teacher wanted the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Four Books today, and asked me to get them from the library early this morning and send them over. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time, so I went to the Wanshulou library last night to get the books."

Upon hearing the word "Sir," Jiang Lixue frowned. All the disciples of the Changge Sect knew that, apart from the reclusive Qinglian Hermit Li Taibai, no one else could use this title.

The little girl glanced at the person beside her whose expression was off, hugged the book in her hands tighter, and mustered her courage to continue:

"The book my senior brother asked me to copy a few days ago... I haven't finished copying it yet, so... I accidentally overslept and woke up at dawn. I was worried that the morning mist would dampen the scroll, so I wrapped it in oiled paper. As a result... I was walking in a hurry just now and slipped and fell on the moss..."

Yang Yuan glanced at the books in her arms, her eyes only reddening slightly.

"You did nothing wrong."

Yang Yuan suddenly raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes, and looked at Xue Hua as he walked in, speechless.

Xue Hua glanced at the person beside him who was sweating profusely, then turned to look at Yang Yuan.

"Some people can't do things themselves, so they just dump them on others and talk about it so casually." Xue Hua crossed his arms and looked away. "So the renowned Changge Sect actually has such disciples."

"If this were Yanmen Pass, I would usually either beat up a guy like this or skin him alive and feed him to the wolves!" The male disciple had felt a terrifying aura when he first saw Xue Hua. He was so frightened by these words that he lowered his head and dared not utter another word to defend himself.

Seeing this, Jiang Lixue simply said, "Go to Wanshulou and finish copying the rest of the Book of Poetry," and then left with Yang Yuan.

Xue Hua glanced at the petite girl who only reached his waist. She was clutching a book tightly in one hand, while her other hand was being held by Jiang Lixue, revealing her right arm. Her arm was covered in bruises and welts. He couldn't tell if she had fallen and injured herself.

Yang Yuan noticed Xue Hua's gaze, turned to look at him, and tears streamed down her face, leaving two streaks. After seeing Xue Hua's face clearly, she suddenly lowered her head and pulled her hand away from Jiang Lixue's.

"Senior sister, thank you for your kindness, but I have to go deliver a book to my husband, so please excuse me."

After a hasty bow, Yang Yuan wiped her face haphazardly and ran off.

Xue Hua watched the figure running away in confusion, then turned to see Jiang Lixue sighing, and felt something was amiss.

"Yang Yuan's father is named Yang Xu. He was also my fellow disciple. We grew up together at Xiangzhi Manor, learning martial arts and swordsmanship. He was exceptionally intelligent and skilled in swordsmanship. The sect leader saw his extraordinary talent and accepted him as an inner disciple."

As Jiang Lixue and Xue Hua walked past Huishan Academy, the disciples who passed by bowed and paid their respects to them.

"Unfortunately, after three years of training away from home, every man in the martial world will encounter someone who admires him. Yang Xu was on his way to Nanzhao when he passed through the Five Poisons Sect. Unfortunately, he was robbed by bandits. Although he saved the family, he was also injured. However, a woman from the Five Poisons Sect who happened to be passing by saved him."

"Yang Xu had saved her life, and being a young man full of vigor, he fell in love with her and they became husband and wife."

"Yang Xu sent me a message by carrier pigeon, saying that he wanted to stay in Miao territory and would not return to Qiandao Lake. The sect leader was greatly disappointed and expelled him from the sect."

Jiang Lixue paused here, and Xue Hua, who was listening intently, was startled by the sudden stop.

"Later..." Jiang Lixue's eyes darkened, "The next time I heard news of him was when I heard that Wu Menggui had betrayed the regime and led the poisonous corpses he had created to attack Qu Yun's Zhu Rong Palace. He fought against them together with the Five Poisons disciples and finally died in Miao territory."

"I met that woman from the Five Poisons Sect in Chang'an. I originally intended to go with my fellow disciples to pay respects to Yang Xu. Unexpectedly, the woman came to the Central Plains on her own. That was a year later. She had already given birth to Yang Yuan and was very weak. She recognized my identity and entrusted me with her infant child, hoping that I would take the child back to Changge Sect and raise her to adulthood."

“Miss Jiang, I’d like to… interject a word.” Xue Hua couldn’t help but interrupt Jiang Lixue.

"Please speak."

"You shouldn't be telling me this, should you? It's inappropriate for an outsider like me to know about these things concerning you inner court disciples, isn't it?"

Jiang Lixue smiled. "General, since I've told you, it means I trust you. Aren't the Cangyun Iron Cavalry the most trustworthy people?"

Xue Hua was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

Under a tree not far away, a small figure was watching their every move.

Yang Yuan didn't go to deliver the book. She knew she would inevitably be scolded by her third senior brother and subjected to the stares of her fellow disciples. But she wasn't afraid. Because she had discovered an opportunity to leave this place, even if the chances were slim, she was determined to fight for it.

Yang Yuan wiped away her tears, her eyes red, gritted her teeth, and ran away.

Having completed the task entrusted to him by Changsun Wangqing, Xue Hua could not linger. Taiyuan was currently unstable, and Luoyang was also in grave danger. There were always orders to be transferred within the army, so he had to depart immediately.

After bidding farewell to Yang Yifei and Jiang Lixue who saw him off, Xue Hua rode his horse towards Taiyuan.

He had just stepped out of Changge Gate and mounted his horse, ready to leave, when suddenly! The peach tree branches above his head began to tremble. He sensed something was wrong, and as soon as he looked up, something black fell down.

Xue Hua instinctively raised his hand to catch it, and his armored arms steadily caught the person.

A living person fell from the sky.

Xue Hua stared wide-eyed at the little girl in her arms. She was holding a bundle, still wearing her clothes, her arms covered in bruises, and her eyes were tightly closed, as if she were about to die a martyr.

Xue Hua was shocked. "Mom... little girl, how could you dare fall from such a height... Luckily I didn't have a weapon with me, otherwise you would have been cut in half..."

“Yang…Yang Yuan?” Xue Hua recalled the little girl’s name and called it out with difficulty.

Yang Yuan opened her eyes only after confirming that she had not fallen on the bluestone slabs but on a person.

His very first words were choked with sobs.

"Please, take me to my mother!"

What the heck is going on?!

Xue Hua was completely baffled and quickly said, "Little girl, I'm not going to Miao territory, I'm going to Taiyuan. Do you know Taiyuan? It's...very far from Miao territory!"

"Please! Take me to my mother..." Yang Yuan cried as she spoke, trying to hide her cries. She bit her arm, trying not to make a sound. Xue Hua, afraid she would hurt herself, quickly reached out to pull her away, but the reins were still in his hand.

With a pull and a neigh, Xue Hua's steed, carrying him and the little girl who had seemingly fallen from the sky, galloped towards the ferry.

Changge Gate.

Jiang Lixue sat in Siqi Academy playing the zither. The tone of the zither, played by Yingque in her hands, was like a clear spring flowing from a high mountain, slowly flowing down the mountain, immediately making people feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

When the piece ended, she stood up, picked up Yingque, and looked at the disciples practicing the zither at the academy.

That young general must be quite surprised, right? Hehe... But it's also a kind of fate! Jiang Lixue thought to herself.

She recalled the letter someone had left in front of her door a few nights ago, and realized that there was more to all of this than met the eye.

"A guest will be visiting soon. I hope you will entrust Yang Yuan's matter to him. He will reward you handsomely once it is done."

Signed: Mo.

Jiang Lixue smiled and shook her head, then hugged her zither and walked towards the end of the academy.

"Little Mozi, I've done as you instructed. What are you planning to do next?"

Xue Hua had never felt that riding a horse could be such a difficult thing.

The little girl in his arms—no, her name is Yang Yuan—cried and babbled a bunch of unintelligible words before falling asleep against him. Even when they boarded the boat to cross the river and then got back on the shore to ride horses, she didn't wake up at all.

Xue Hua looked down at the tiny girl whose face was no bigger than his palm. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face was pale, her mouth was twitching and wouldn't close, and her face was covered in tears. But Xue Hua didn't have a free hand to wipe them away. He held the reins and the long sword in his left hand, and held Yang Yuan in his arms with his right hand. He had to ride forward on horseback while making sure Yang Yuan wouldn't fall off.

The horse seemed a little confused about why it had an extra burden, and neighed impatiently a few times along the way. Xue Hua had no choice but to slow down and stop at an abandoned, dilapidated post station to rest for a while.

Xue Hua carried Yang Yuan down from the horse, landing steadily on the ground. He placed her on the stone steps and used the bundle as a pillow. He then walked back to the horse, led it to the manger, took out the dry rations from the bundle, and fed it to the horse.

"Brother, you've worked hard!" Xue Hua stroked the steed and looked around. He walked to the roadside, picked up some dry branches and leaves, went back to the stone steps, started a fire, and carried Yang Yuan to the fire.

In the silent mountains, besides the pitch-black sky and the dark forest, the only sign of life was the sporadic firelight. Xue Hua hollowed out the center of the fire; when there was no firewood, he used dry grass to keep it burning. Staring at the flames that occasionally crackled and popped as they burned, Xue Hua's face was bathed in the glow of the fire.

"Shh...shh..." The sound of the wind rustling through the trees rang in his ears. Xue Hua leaned against a table, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. The firelight flickered, vaguely illuminating a third figure on the ground besides the two of them.

The figure moved slowly and quietly, heading towards Yang Yuan's direction.

As he walked, suddenly! A long sword slashed past him, and the figure bent down and dodged. However, the sword was immediately grasped by a hand clad in black armor, which swung towards the man's face. The newcomer did a somersault to the right, landing in front of Xue Hua, and raised his hand to point at Xue Hua's neck, but only managed to pierce Xue Hua's palm.

Xue Hua immediately grabbed his fingers, surprised to find the hand was very small. Without thinking, he twisted it in the opposite direction, seizing the man. The newcomer seemed familiar with these moves, using the momentum to turn and kick, but Xue Hua blocked it with his long-handled broadsword.

In just a fraction of a second, Xue Hua saw that the person was wearing a cloak and a mask.

Just as he was about to ask a question, the man spun around and kicked Xue Hua's elbow, which was holding the knife. The sudden kick caused Xue Hua to lose his balance and stumble backward. Taking advantage of this moment, the man leaped away and disappeared into the night.

Xue Hua chased after them out of the post station, looked around warily, and only after confirming that there were no more traces did he put away his knife and go back.

When he stepped into the post station, Yang Yuan was already awake. The little girl was clutching her bundle, which she was using as a pillow, huddled behind the table, not daring to peek out. Xue Hua blinked and said, "Don't be afraid, he's gone, everything's alright."

Yang Yuan dared not relax, keeping her eyes wide open and staring at the Mo Dao in Xue Hua's hand.

Xue Hua followed her gaze and, upon discovering what she was afraid of, placed the Mo Dao (a type of long sword) beside the shield, opened his arms, and said to her, "I'm putting the sword down. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

Yang Yuan then slowly crawled out from under the table.

Seeing that she had been holding the package in her arms the whole time, Xue Hua asked softly, "Is what you've been holding so tightly important?"

Yang Yuan nodded.

Xue Hua smiled and said, "Yes, you must protect your important things yourself and never let others take them away."

Yang Yuan looked up at him, her amber eyes reflecting the firelight. She slowly opened her mouth and said:

Why are you willing to help me?

Xue Hua was taken aback.

"You could have thrown me back, abandoned me on the road, and you didn't need to protect me just now. Why did you do it in the first place?"

Um... to be honest, Xue Hua's heart was racing at that moment. This little girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, crying and wanting to go to the Five Poisons to find her mother. The way she cried and spoke was something that the female soldiers of Yanmen Pass had never heard before.

Xue Hua felt that he was in big trouble.

"Actually... I think it's because I want to protect her."

Xue Hua scratched his head, looking at Yang Yuan with embarrassment.

“Miss Jiang told me about your parents. I didn’t ask on purpose! She told me after I met you. After hearing about your background, I just felt a little…sympathetic.”

Xue Hua smiled and sat down opposite her.

"I guess it's fate!"

Xue Hua smiled, his youthful spirit shining through his brows. Yang Yuan, clutching her bundle, lowered her head, her long hair obscuring her face.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she reached up and touched her hair. Xue Hua noticed her movement and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yang Yuan raised her head and said softly, "The hairpin... is gone..."

Xue Hua was stunned for a moment before she remembered. When Xue Hua fell from the tree earlier, she hadn't noticed that there was a peach wood hairpin in Xue Hua's hair.

Xue Hua gave an awkward laugh. "Maybe... I left it on the way?"

Yang Yuan looked at him and pointed.

"It seems... to be you."

Xue Hua looked down and, oh my god… the peach wood hairpin was stuck in his chest armor…

He tried to pull it out with brute force, but the nail plates on his hand were too sharp; he couldn't reach it at all. The wooden hairpin sank deeper and deeper, so he took off his nail guards and gave it a final push! The hairpin inevitably broke in two…

Suddenly, all was quiet except for the chirping of insects outside the window.

Just as he was about to say something, Yang Yuan seemed to smile, walked over, took the hairpin from his hand, put it into the package in her arms, went back to sit down, and said nothing.

Xue Hua thought to himself, "This is truly an unforgettable night for me!"

The journey, which lasted nearly half a month, was not boring for Yang Yuan at all.

To prevent a repeat of what happened that night on the road, Xue Hua changed out of his sect's clothing when he headed to the town in Yangzhou.

Men are more casual, so Xue Hua changed into a set of clothes called "Western Thunder Sound." The Cangyun army's pay was not as good as the Tang army's; he had even borrowed money from the Ye family of West Lake and friends at Cangjian Manor to buy this outfit.

The two also bought a horse for Yang Yuan in town. They didn't have enough money, and Xue Hua didn't know what to do. However, while haggling with the horse merchant, they saw Yang Yuan take out a gold ingot from her bag.

Is this enough?

Xue Hua, the horse merchant, and the black horse named Longzi were all shocked.

Xue Hua rode his horse side by side with Yang Yuan through the mountains and forests. Every now and then, Xue Hua would turn his head to look back.

Yang Yuan didn't change her clothes, but the hem of her previous outfit was stained. She couldn't bear to throw it away, but she also refused to change. She just washed it with water. The hem of the skirt still had water stains. Her long hair was tied into two buns and hung down her back. She hadn't worn the peach wood hairpin since Xue Hua broke it.

Xue Hua found it strange that she wasn't angry. Don't girls usually dislike others breaking their things?

He intended to ask tentatively, but when Yang Yuan turned her head, she met his bewildered eyes.

"...Ah! Haha, the weather is so nice! Haha..." He changed the subject with a laugh, turning his head away and silently telling himself how embarrassing he was.

“That money wasn’t left to me by my father. I saved it myself,” Yang Yuan said softly.

"My senior sister said that when my mother entrusted me to her, she also gave her the dowry they had prepared for me. My mother hoped that I could become an ordinary qin player and live a peaceful life. But ever since I went to Changge Sect, I've seen that the qins of other disciples were all prepared by their parents..."

"My senior sister said that my father's zither was destroyed by the people of Tianyi Sect... My senior brother wouldn't let me touch any other zithers in the sect, nor would he let me practice them. Only when my senior sister was around would she teach me Tianyin Zhimai using her Yingque zither."

Yang Yuan's eyes reddened, and she raised her hand to wipe them.

"I don't know if my mother is still alive. I hope to find her and go back to her. Although I failed to become a qualified musician, all I want is for my family to be together."

Xue Hua turned his head away, speechless.

Yang Yuan twitched her lips, wiped away her tears, looked at Xue Hua, and smiled.

"So, I want to say thank you."

"Thank you for bringing me out. Thank you for not abandoning me."

Xue Hua didn't know what expression he had on his face that day. He recalled that the sky was clear and the lake water was crystal clear. The wildflowers by the lake were in full bloom. A girl was riding a horse, wearing a long green dress, with her long hair tied up, revealing a smiling face.