Chapter Forty-Two: A Dream Interrupted by the Moon's Shadow - Questioning the True Heart
"Zhaoqing! Bai Zhaoqing!"
Moonlight streamed into the room. Bai Ming was curled up in bed, frowning as he flipped through a military book. He had just yawned and hadn't even put the book down when he heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the door, and shouts came through the window on the wind.
He put down his military treatise, rubbed his eyes, put on his coat, and walked to the door when the door suddenly opened. Zhongli Shuo, radiating cold air, dispelled the little warmth in his room.
Zhong Lishuo looked at Bai Ming and nodded in satisfaction.
Bai Ming was also not asleep.
"What's wrong?" Bai Ming turned around, closed the door, sat down by the stove, and warmed his hands by the fire. "In the middle of the night, instead of sleeping, you rushed over here in a flurry."
Zhong Lishuo sat to the side, raised his hand to take off his cloak, and smiled at Bai Ming, interrupting, "I say, how come you're so susceptible to the cold? You got this cold just from opening the door for me?"
Bai Ming looked sleepy and shook his head helplessly. "I was just about to sleep when I heard you making noise, so I rushed off the bed. How could I not be cold?" He propped his elbows on his knees and looked up at Zhong Lishuo. "So, what did you come here for?"
"Do you have any sword oil left? Can I borrow it?" Zhong Lishuo casually folded his cloak and placed it on the table. "I didn't have much sword oil to begin with, and it's gone before I've even used it much."
"Sword oil?" Bai Ming frowned, stood up, walked to the side, opened the cabinet door and rummaged through it. After a moment, he came back with a small box. "Why are you suddenly using sword oil? Don't you usually practice swordsmanship?" He tossed the box to Zhong Lishuo. "Besides, you can get that stuff anywhere. It's not too late to get it tomorrow."
Zhong Lishuo opened the lid, looked at it, nodded in satisfaction, and then closed the lid again. "Tomorrow won't work," he said, looking up at Bai Ming. "Tomorrow is the winter solstice."
"What about the Winter Solstice?" Bai Ming sat back down by the fire, looked at him curiously, and laughed, "Could it be something like, 'Success or failure both come from one sword'?"
“What and what,” Zhong Lishuo waved his hand with a smile, then deliberately turned his head away. “I was just saying it casually when I was too excited.”
Bai Ming chuckled and propped his head up with his hand, "Could it be that tomorrow, on the Winter Solstice, you're going to confess your feelings to Miss Cen?"
Zhong Lishuo laughed noncommittally when his thoughts were guessed, then turned to look at Bai Ming in surprise, "You figured it out?" He chuckled teasingly, "How come even a blockhead like you couldn't be fooled?"
"What are you talking about? You never intended to hide it from me, did you?" Bai Ming smiled at him. "We could tell from the moment you started clamoring to compete with Lingyu after we returned from crossing the river."
“Oh, so you knew back then,” Zhong Lishuo pointed at Bai Ming. “You even went down to retrieve the leaves that Lingyu had pierced, without giving me any face.”
Bai Ming chuckled and shook his head, sitting down beside him. "You still dare to talk? You've practiced for so long and still can't outfly Ling Yu. She's the one who pierced that leaf, how can you deny it?"
"I must say, you're really good at judging people." Zhong Lishuo spread his hands in defeat and sighed softly.
"Besides, that night you asked me if I believed in love at first sight, how could I not see it?"
Zhong Lishuo nodded in agreement, then looked up at Bai Ming, "However, Zhao Qing, you're so good at judging people, can't you see Ling Yu's feelings for you?"
"This..." Bai Ming froze, a blush creeping across his face. He shook his head, seemingly avoiding the question, "She probably wouldn't..."
“You,” Zhong Lishuo pointed at him with exasperation, “Every time she sees me, she either chases after me to beat me or yells at me, but when she sees you, she protects you all the time. How could you not notice anything?”
Bai Ming sighed softly, turned around and smiled at Zhong Lishuo, "Isn't that because you always clamor to spar with her and tease her when you have nothing better to do?"
“Look, you’re still defending her,” Zhong Lishuo said with a smile, tapping him. “Let’s get down to business. I don’t believe you didn’t notice anything.”
“Actually…” Bai Ming pondered for a long time, then looked up at the hazy moon outside the window. All his thoughts turned into a soft sigh. “Perhaps it’s because I’ve admired her for too many years. The affection she showed me… I dare not think too much about it.”
Zhong Lishuo rested his knees on his hands and listened intently, "Starting from when you gave away the gun?"
"Didn't I tell you I believe in love at first sight?" Bai Ming smiled and glanced at Zhong Lishuo, his mind immediately filled with memories of their first meeting. "Back then, she was all alone, carrying a flower spear, protecting the entire opera troupe, fighting against four or five thugs..."
"But there was not a trace of fear in her eyes. She was extremely confident in her martial arts skills, but constrained by the situation, she could only place her hopes on that nearly broken spear, and she never flinched in the slightest..."
Zhong Lishuo rested his chin on his hand and glanced sideways at Bai Ming, "So you showed up back then?"
"How can I stand idly by in such a situation?" Bai Ming smiled at Zhong Lishuo, then looked up at the hazy moon.
"Later, she told me about her experiences in my room, from leaving her teacher, rushing to Bingzhou, and then being forced to go south. Although she had regrets, there was not a trace of despondency in her eyes... You have no idea how excited I was to meet her on the battlefield."
"It's been six years now, hasn't it?" Zhongli Shuo couldn't help but sigh. "You like her so much, why don't you tell her? Aren't you afraid of missing a golden opportunity and regretting it for the rest of your life?"
Bai Ming looked up at the moon, lost in thought. "It's not so much that I'm unwilling, but rather that I'm afraid," he sighed softly, the chill on his body seemingly vanished long ago. "Leaving aside her true feelings for me, even if she agreed to be with me, how could I dare to casually promise her my lifelong commitment?"
Zhong Lishuo frowned and looked at Bai Ming, "What do you mean by that?"
Bai Ming turned to look at Zhong Lishuo, and sighed with a smile, "Haven't we generals long ago put life and death aside?"
"So that's what you're worried about." Zhong Lishuo sighed softly, then looked up at Bai Ming solemnly. "Are you really going to completely dispel the love you've kept hidden for six years because of this unpredictable event?"
"I..." Bai Ming was stunned, and for a moment he was speechless.
Zhong Lishuo chuckled and shook his head, then propped himself up on his knees to stand up. "Such timidity and hesitation, it's not the Bai Ming I know at all."
Bai Ming was about to get up and say something when Zhong Lishuo pressed him down. "In my opinion, no matter what the future holds, it will not betray my feelings at this moment. What does it matter if I live or die? To live to the end is to win with my own abilities; to die on the battlefield is the fate of a warrior, and it is also what my heart desires."
“But none of this,” Zhong Lishuo turned to look at Bai Ming, “can hinder my feelings in the slightest. I believe in love at first sight, and I am certain that Cen Xun is the one my heart desires. That’s enough.” He sat down next to Bai Ming with a carefree smile. “I like her, so I will pursue her, no matter the outcome or whether she accepts me or not. I will take this step.”
Zhong Lishuo closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. "I treated her with all my heart and soul, so even if I fail, I will have no regrets and no shame in this life. If I were to hold myself back because of the uncertainties of the future and fail to live up to the passion I have now," he said, resting his hands behind his back and looking up at the moon, "I would regret it for the rest of my life."
Bai Ming leaned back on his knees, nodded gently, and remained silent for a long time.
Zhong Lishuo stretched, tilted his head to look at Bai Ming beside him, and chuckled as he patted his shoulder. "By the way, Zhao Qing, didn't Ling Yu give you a bunch of snacks the other day?"
Bai Ming nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Zhong Lishuo with sudden realization and couldn't help but chuckle, "Could it be that the unknown friend she mentioned is you?"
“What an unknown friend,” Zhong Lishuo shook his head with a smile. “I took a bunch of pastries to her and asked her to give me some ideas on what to send to Tongxi. Who knew that out of the six boxes of pastries, she kept one for herself, gave you three, gave Tongxi four, and distributed the remaining two to the Chi Ying team. She didn’t leave me a single one.”
Bai Ming couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. "And then? You went to find her?"
“Yes,” Zhong Lishuo nodded with a smile, “She said it was only right for me to give it to Tongxi, and since the Chiying team doesn’t usually eat these, it was only right for me to share them with them and keep a box for myself.”
Zhong Lishuo moved forward and sat down, saying, "I asked her, 'What about Zhao Qing? Why did you give him so much?' Do you know what she replied?"
Bai Ming looked up at Zhong Lishuo with a smile, "What was your reply?"
“She said you like it, so she thought she’d get you a little extra.” Zhong Lishuo playfully tapped him, then chuckled and patted Bai Ming’s shoulder before standing up and walking toward the door. “Alright, it’s getting late,” he said, waving the sword oil in his hand. “Thank you for the sword oil.”
"Hey, Yude, wait a minute." Bai Ming also stood up and took two steps toward him.
"What's wrong?" Zhong Lishuo walked to the door, turned back and smiled at Bai Ming.
Bathed in moonlight, Bai Ming stood there with a relieved smile, raised his hand and clasped his hands in a fist salute, "Thank you."
Zhong Lishuo smiled and nodded at him, then waved and stepped into the darkness outside the door.
The moonlight, like a ribbon, slowly unfolded as he walked with resolute yet unrestrained steps.
This paving was laid out until the winter solstice.
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