It's me, that's who I am.
Chapter Six
Zhou Yuanling secretly observed her elder brother's daughter. Ever since she made a mistake and was demoted to the temple, he hadn't paid her much attention. The reason was simple: now, there was no safer place for the Zhou family than Guanyin Temple. The Zhou family had been kind to the abbot of the temple, who had promised to protect Yulin's safety.
No matter how much he planned, he never expected that the little girl would come back on her own.
"You little girl, you've made some progress in the few months I've seen you. You do have some of your father's style now." Zhou Yulin's second uncle was well-maintained. At around forty years old, he hadn't gained weight yet. He had a kind and amiable face, but when his shrewd eyes swept over Zhou Yulin's face, there was a hint of sadness and bewilderment that was hard to detect.
"Second Uncle is really willing to trade Zhou Xiu'er for me to go to the Wu family."
Zhou Yuanling could easily hear the sarcasm in his words.
However, he showed no sign of being provoked. Instead, he calmly said, "If Xiu'er can bring fifty years of peace to the Zhou family, then it is worth it."
This is a game of interests, a substitution game where both Zhou Yulin and Zhou Xiuer are pawns, their fates controlled by others.
According to what Madam Xu recorded, Zhou Yulin learned that the Zhou family had recently encountered some business problems, and Zhou Yuanling had no choice but to renegotiate the marriage contract with the Wu family in exchange for the Wu family's protection in Jiangning for fifty years.
"The Zhou family is well-off and shouldn't have suffered any huge business losses, so... I think the rumors about the business outside are false. Why don't you tell me what it is, Second Uncle, that you'd be willing to give up your daughter for?"
Zhou Yuanling remained silent for a while, then looked at Zhou Yulin in front of her. She wanted to keep it a secret, but she could only keep it a secret for a while.
The once-glorious head of the Zhou family bent his back and rubbed his temples wearily. "The selection process for the Qingyun Sect is about to begin in various places, and no one from the Zhou family can go... Our only elder brother is missing, and the remaining juniors are all unable to cultivate spiritual power. If no disciples enter this year, the sect will stop protecting the Zhou family merchants. At that time, no matter how rich the Zhou family is, they will be coveted. A tall tree catches the wind. Now that the tree has fallen, not only in the capital, but also in Jiangning, the Xu and Zhao families, aren't they all hoping for the Zhou family to fall so they can divide it up?"
"Is this what Second Uncle is after?"
Zhou Yulin's light tone made Zhou Yuanling a little uncomfortable, but she figured Zhou Yulin didn't understand these things, so it was normal for her to be a little arrogant and conceited.
"Therefore, I'll make a deal with the Wu family: Xiu'er will marry into their family, and in return, the Wu family will send a spiritual cultivator to the Qingyun Sect to participate in the selection process on our behalf."
"Second Uncle, Yu Lin can give it a try." Zhou Yu Lin volunteered without the slightest hesitation. The old Zhou Yu Lin would definitely not have been able to do it, but the soul inside her now is that of a genius girl who broke through to the Golden Core stage at the age of sixteen. Even without spiritual power, Zhou Yu Lin is confident that she can enter the Qingyun Sect.
This wasn't arrogance, but rather a complete and unwavering confidence in one's own abilities. The world is vast; whether it's alchemy, talisman drawing, weapon forging, or beast taming, every profession can produce a master. Zhou Yulin truly refused to believe that he couldn't excel in any of these areas based solely on theoretical knowledge.
Zhou Yuanling ultimately did not agree to Zhou Yulin's request, and sent her back to rest first. Wu Chi and Zhou Xiuer's wedding date was set as scheduled, to be held two days later.
A crescent moon hangs in the sky, and people in the courtyard drink wine while gazing at the moon, their lonely figures carrying a hint of desolation and bewilderment.
The bamboo grove stirred the water, creating ripples that spread across the surface before quickly dissipating.
The man was staring at the moon and didn't notice anyone approaching him.
"cousin."
Zhou Xiu'er was somewhat surprised that there were still people out for a night stroll so late.
"Why are you drinking alone here all by yourself?"
Zhou Yulin's tone was not friendly, but it made Zhou Xiuer's heart soften suddenly.
"I'm in a bad mood," Zhou Xiu'er told Zhou Yulin without hiding her emotions.
She was not happy about getting married. She didn't like Wu Chi, but she couldn't bear to hurt her father, or rather, she understood that her father, who had finally become independent, needed help.
She had seen her father grovel and beg at the Wu family's doorstep, so she couldn't say no. Perhaps this was her fate, but she didn't want to submit to it.
"If we put everything else aside, what would your cousin most like to do?"
Zhou Xiu'er thought about the question for a moment and quickly gave an answer.
“The world is vast. When I was young, I saw people suffering and children homeless. I cannot shelter all the poor and needy, but I think that if I could bring commerce to some backward and remote towns, so that the people there could live normal lives and the children could go to school, that would be my wish.”
Zhou Xiu'er had a broad mind; she cared not only about her own family but also about the greater good.
She should be a phoenix, soaring in the sky; not a canary confined to the inner quarters, admiring her own beauty in solitude.
Zhou Yulin remained silent, which made Zhou Xiuer feel a little embarrassed. Her cousin had only been back for a short time, and besides, she was about to get married; how could she be qualified to talk about ideals and ambitions? Marriage, children, and a lifetime of scheming in the inner quarters seemed to be her destiny…
"Zhou Xiu'er, I mean, if you had the chance to choose your own destiny, to pick up your own sword, to write your own life story, to gather your own wings and soar through the sky, would you be willing to try?"
Zhou Xiu'er knew her cousin was very beautiful, but at this moment she was different from any other time, like a sword drawn from its sheath, her beauty almost unreal.
Her grass-green dress overlapped with her blue skirt, and a crescent moon rippled across the water. She saw the determination in Zhou Yulin's eyes, nodded, and said firmly, "Of course I'm willing." She didn't believe in fate, nor in ghosts and gods, but at that moment, Zhou Xiuer seemed to see her god again.
Her memory drifted back to when she was six years old. As a child, she was very introverted and was bullied because she was quiet and had a good temper.
Once, she was surrounded by three or four children in an alley. They snatched the cloth tiger that Zhou Xiu'er was holding like a treasure and fought over it.
Seeing that Zhou Xiuer particularly liked the cloth tiger, the group took a knife and slashed it to pieces, the cotton fibers falling away little by little as the knife tip pierced through.
It wasn't winter that day, yet Zhou Xiu'er felt a bone-chilling cold.
This is one of the few things her mother left her.
But just like her, the cloth tiger was trampled underfoot without a second thought, falling into the dust and losing its dignity.
"So annoying, what are you laughing at?"
The girl who suddenly appeared was still young, with delicate features, but even her slight furrowed brows were breathtakingly beautiful, like a little goddess descended from the heavens. In the dark alley, she was so clean and out of place.
Her gaze swept across the scene, quickly grasping the situation. "You're bullying people, aren't you?"
"Fire Spirit Technique".
A casual remark was enough to scare away those bullying kids.
Finally, she muttered to herself, "No, is it that scary? I haven't even raised my hand yet."
Zhou Xiu'er crawled slowly toward the tattered cloth tiger that had been thrown on the ground like trash. Silently, a tear rolled down her cheek. The cloth tiger that she cherished so much was now broken and shrunken, its lifeless body gone.
Unexpectedly, before she could pick it up, another hand picked it up. The other person looked at it with disdain and commented, "So ugly." But Zhou Xiu'er could tell that the person meant no harm, and there was none of the disdain or sarcasm in those bullies' words; it was just a simple complaint.
"Is this little tiger important to you?" The girl's voice was clearly cold, but to Zhou Xiu'er, it felt warm and gentle.
"Um..." Zhou Xiu'er blushed at the thought of what she was about to say. Although she was a little embarrassed, she still asked hesitantly, "Could you... fix it for me?"
"This ugly tiger?"
The girl's words made Zhou Xiu'er blush, and she was extremely flustered as she explained, "No! It's not ugly. It was left to me by my mother, and it has a very special meaning to me."
"Oh, what does that have to do with me? Besides..." the girl said in a strange tone, her voice dry, "You're covered in injuries yourself, why don't you care about yourself?"
Zhou Xiu'er smiled reassuringly, "It's okay, I'm used to it."
In short, she is well-behaved, sensible, and heartbreaking.
Where are your parents?
Zhou Xiu'er paused for a few seconds, then said awkwardly, "My father is away on business and rarely comes back. My mother... has passed away."
The little girl blinked, perhaps she had never heard of such a tragic story before, and for a moment she didn't know what to say, so she could only promise, "Don't be sad, I will try my best to help you get back to normal."
The little girl looked back every few steps before finally returning to Zhou Xiu'er's side. She shoved a bottle of pills into her hand with a fierce expression. "This medicine can remove scars. If anyone bullies you again, remember to say my name. My name is Zhou Yulin."
"And, in two days, go to the Cloud Travel Inn to pick up your tiger."
Zhou Yulin, a person with the same name as her cousin.
She gave Zhou Xiuer a ray of light, and she could never forget it in the years that followed.
It was she who inspired Zhou Xiu'er to aspire to be a person of great ambition, rather than a woman confined to the inner quarters of the house.
Two days later, Zhou Xiu'er arrived at the inn as agreed. A strikingly handsome man handed her something. He was like a deity; Zhou Xiu'er only glanced at him once before daring not to look again. She only noticed a charred tassel on his sword. Later, Zhou Xiu'er learned that the girl she had met was Zhou Yulin, the last disciple of the Xuanling Sect's leader, the youngest disciple under the leader at the time, and one of the Xuanling Sect's most outstanding disciples—a genius of the five elements.
The man was being groomed as the successor to the sect leader; he was the top disciple of the Xuanling Sect and Zhou Yulin's senior brother, Xuan Qingxian.
She knew that she and these two were destined to be from two different worlds, and that their meeting was a stroke of good fortune. Therefore, every year thereafter, Zhou Xiu'er would insist on going to Guanyin Temple to pray for Zhou Yulin's safety, wishing only that her benefactor could be safe and well.
The cloth tiger from back then is still treasured by Zhou Xiuer in a wooden box.
Like a precious treasure, Zhou Xiu'er would recall the bright, arrogant eyes of the little girl from that year whenever she saw her. But tonight, she saw that person's shadow in her cousin, and for a moment she was lost in thought, forgetting the years.
The moon seems rounder today than it was that day, but it also seems closer.
Zhou Xiu'er thought to herself.
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