Past five
Wen Zhibai dragged his battered body to the dilapidated temple on the mountaintop—under the eaves, a slender figure hung from a foot-long white silk ribbon.
Wen Zhibai's legs went weak and he knelt down.
Rain blurred their vision. The guards cut the white silk ribbon, and when they saw the woman's face clearly, they all sadly removed their masks, choking back tears: "Miss..."
She staggered to her feet with support, each step feeling like she was walking on a knife's edge.
She walked nervously along the short distance of just a few dozen meters.
I walked too fast, afraid it might be her.
If I walk too slowly, I'm afraid I won't be able to find her.
In the final three steps, his face was pale and his wrists were withered. He was still wearing the plain velvet cloak he wore when he left home, but now it was soaked in blood and heavily wrapped around a dying body.
"Mother...?" The voice trembled and became incoherent.
The guards stepped back, and she stumbled and crawled three times before finally touching the hem of her mother's clothes.
Jiang Xuwan's eyelashes trembled slightly, her pupils cloudy like gray glass.
She frantically tried to wipe the rain and blood from her mother's face, but the more she wiped, the dirtier it became. "Mother, I'll take you home... let's go home..."
“Zhibai…” Her mother’s hand touched her face, blood staining the red marks: “Mother can’t walk anymore… I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you.”
She shook her head vehemently: "No! Mother has always protected me very well..."
"In the next life..." Jiang Xuwan's pupils began to dilate, "would you still be willing... to be my daughter..."
Wen Zhibai pressed his forehead against hers, "I will always... be your child."
There was no response.
Heart-wrenching cries echoed through the mountains, staining the inky sky crimson.
"What gods...what divine will!"
She picked up the cold sword from the ground, limped into the moldy lintel, and with all her might slashed at the shrine: "Didn't you say my mother was safe and well? Didn't you say my mother was blessed with good fortune and longevity?!"
They're all fake.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed on the mountaintop. Rainwater filled the eye sockets of the decaying statue, mingling with peeling gold paint, like winding streams of blood and tears.
After an unknown amount of time, the rain gradually stopped, and ripples spread across the mud puddles on the ground.
"Miss! Someone's here!"
"About several hundred... those are the Royal Cavalry!"
The massive procession arrived with a chilling aura, completely surrounding the dilapidated temple.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Jiang family has been found guilty of possessing the secret of the dragon, deceiving the Emperor and committing treason. Their entire clan shall be exterminated!" The Imperial Law Office announced the decree in a cold voice, and the iron cavalry drew their bows and nocked arrows.
"Protect the young lady!" the guards roared, forming a wall with their bodies.
The silver veins on her wrist were burning hot, as Pei Qinzhou desperately tried to sense her location.
The first arrow pierced her shoulder, the second her knee, and the third—she hugged her mother tightly, her back facing the rain of arrows.
"Pei Qinzhou..." Blood and foam spilled from the corner of his lips: "I'm sorry..."
She promised him she would go back, but she couldn't keep her promise.
The head of the Imperial Law Office waved his hand indifferently: "It is reported that Jiang Xuwan, the daughter of a criminal official, defied the imperial decree and was executed. Her daughter, Wen Zhibai, fell off a cliff while fleeing and died without a complete body."
...
The jade pendant at his waist cracked open with a "crack," and Pei Qinzhou froze on the spot as Wen Zhibai's presence rapidly dissipated.
He frantically activated the power of the contract, searching for the last trace of a soul to find the mass grave.
The night wind in the mass grave sounded like the wailing of a million wronged ghosts, and the twisted branches of the withered trees pierced the leaden sky.
She was such a beautiful person, but now she lies there all alone.
Pei Qinzhou touched Wen Zhibai with trembling hands; Wen was as cold as jade and as hard as stone.
His silver hair suddenly came undone, his vertical pupils turning a deep gray. He no longer pretended: "I will save you...don't leave me..."
Between demons and immortals, he was willing to remain as a mere ethereal snake spirit so that he could stay in the mortal realm. Unfortunately, he never imagined that snake spirits possessed the weakest spiritual power, unable to save the person before him or bring back the soul of the dead.
The spirits between life and death told him, "You are neither immortal nor demon, you cannot save her."
Back in her world, she heard that the powerful families of the capital, the Gao, Lin, Jiang, and Xu clans, had all been bestowed with Soul-Searching Pills by the Emperor, which could bring people back to life.
Wuyu Pavilion was sealed off, the Jiang family suffered a devastating defeat last night, their entire clan was wiped out, and the Soul-Seeking Pill disappeared without a trace.
The next three families were unwilling to give this treasure to someone without power or influence.
In their eyes, Pei Qinzhou was nothing more than an ant.
What do the lives and deaths of others have to do with them?
In the pouring rain, Pei Qinzhou carried Wen Zhibai's cold body across the long street, knelt beneath the tightly closed, heavy gate, and begged the people inside to save his beloved.
But no one was willing to open the door, no one was willing to save her.
The poison took effect, and she curled up tightly in his arms, trembling all over: "Pei Lang... I'm in pain... Take me away, hide me away, okay?"
Wen Zhibai also knew that no one was willing to give her anything now, and she didn't want him to suffer with her.
Knowing Wen Zhibai's current predicament, the teacher and the students of Jingcheng secretly took out all the food and savings and gave them to Pei Qinzhou, asking him to hide Wen Zhibai in a small courtyard in the suburbs.
The sun has been shining brightly these past few days. Wen Zhibai sat on a recliner by the door, filled with hatred, unable to avenge her enemies in this lifetime.
To make her happy, Pei Qinzhou learned to read some storybooks.
Finally, to repay the kindness, the fox also chose death to be reborn and went with the girl.
Wen Zhibai sighed, "What a foolish fox."
Whenever she suffered excruciating pain, she would be drenched in sweat and pale-faced. He would hold her in his arms and quietly transfer his spiritual energy to her, just to alleviate her suffering.
She couldn't sleep at night, and was repeatedly gripped by the terror of that night at Tuoming Temple.
Wen Zhibai turned around and grabbed his collar tightly, her nails digging into his heart through the fabric: "I heard my mother crying... Pei Qinzhou, she's crying under the eaves of Tuoming Temple..."
He suddenly wanted her to cry, but she just bit his shoulder until she tasted blood before letting go.
On these unbearable nights, she would often feel someone sitting by her bedside in her half-awake state, their cool fingers stroking her cheek.
“Pei…Qinzhou?” she asked groggily.
"Mmm," he replied softly. "Go to sleep, I'll watch over you."
You can't defy fate, you can't change destiny.
"What can I do to keep you..." He gently rubbed her palm.
That day, she listened to him recite poetry.
"We made a vow to be together through life and death, in separation and intimacy."
The girl interrupted him at that moment.
Wen Zhibai's eyes seemed to be veiled with a layer of mist: "I want to eat lotus seed pastries, can you go and buy some?"
"Okay, wait for me, I'll be right back."
He strode out of the house in a few steps.
After thinking it over again and again, she called out to him, "Pei Qinzhou."
He stopped at the threshold without turning around.
"If the jasmine in front of my house blooms someday..." her voice tinged with laughter, "pick one for me and place it in front of my grave."
A drop of water hits the blue brick.
He thought it was raining.
"Thank you."
They've always been with me.
Wen Zhibai picked up the poetry collection on the table and turned to the page that Pei Qinzhou had just read.
Tears stained the words, and sorrow blossomed with the ink.
Finally, she pressed the poetry collection to her heart, as if that would preserve the unfinished line of poetry.
“Pei Qinzhou, I want to stay here with you forever, undisturbed by the noise and chaos of the world.”
True to his word, he returned quickly.
He stepped forward and gently moved the sleeping girl's head onto his shoulder, so that they could face the setting sun together, just like the day he first met her in his husband's vegetable garden.
Her breath had long since dissipated, yet Pei Qinzhou could still hear her saying—
"Pei Lang, I'm tired and want to take a nap."
He would always reply, "Okay, I'll wait for you."
A few days later, he finally arrived at the girl's grave.
Pei Qinzhou repeatedly expended his spiritual energy to return to her memories, to peer into her world, where their story lay.
He returned to her memories before she left home and learned that on the day he went to pick up his wedding dress, she had suffered all kinds of grievances at the Wen family home.
“How could they let you suffer like this…” he trembled as he kissed the jade pendant she had given him before her death.
After she left, Pei Qinzhou's eyes were filled with only gray and white; the snake spirit had no need for bright colors.
He simply imitated her appearance all day long. As agreed, he dismissed the servants brought by Jiang's mother from the Wen family and also sent money to the students of Jingcheng like a moon.
At night, Pei Qinzhou would always keep her clothes by his side, like a snake building a nest. He would curl up there every night, in the last place in this world where her scent remained.
Months later, the jasmine in the city bloomed.
He tucked the jade pendant she had given him into his bosom, put on a bamboo hat, gripped his cold sword, and charged through the gate.
"Since they won't save you, then I'll make them—all of them come and keep you company."
The Gao and Wen families were all wiped out overnight, striking fear into the hearts of everyone in the city.
"Have you all heard? Wen Lingchen, the head of the Wen family, committed suicide in front of his late wife's memorial tablet. Everyone says it's the ghost of the Jiang family seeking revenge..."
"What does that have to do with the Gao family?"
"I don't know, I don't know, that's what everyone's saying anyway."
Blood splattered on several jasmine blossoms. He plucked a clean one and took it to her grave.
"I kept my promise to you."
Pei Qinzhou's fingertips traced the newly carved characters on the tombstone, and drops of blood from the sword seeped into the soil.
The sword in her hand slashed across his neck... Pei Qinzhou fell to the ground.
At the end of a thousand years of life, the colors of all things in the world appeared because of her, and in the moment before he closed his eyes, the blood-stained jasmine in front of her tombstone was also gradually fading.
——
The past has shaped the various things that linger in Wen Zhibai's mind. It would be a lie to say that she doesn't love Pei Qinzhou. Now, facing the risk of losing him again, Wen Zhibai has come to understand her own heart.
She was unwilling to let go of Pei Qinzhou's hand.
"Wait for me... Pei Qinzhou."
Wen Zhibai walked through the wind and snow, silently repeating himself.
——
Thousands of soldiers clashed, fighting for three days, with rivers of blood flowing.
This game is not over yet.
Heaven showed no mercy, and heavy snow fell, making the battle even more dire and protracted.
In a quarter of an hour, the war drums will sound again.
Armor stained with blood, Pei Qinzhou gritted his teeth and pulled the arrow out of his shoulder.
Xia Chengen gasped for breath, clutching his bleeding thigh and grimacing.
Seeing this, Pei Qinzhou cut off his robe and wrapped it around his thigh: "For the final battle, Your Highness will stay here."
"No, I can still do it."
"Now is not the time to be reckless. If something happens to His Highness, the morale of the army will be unstable."
"Thump—thump—thump—"
The war drums beat.
Pei Qinzhou picked up his still-dripping sword and led the remaining soldiers in a head-on charge against the Naqi army.
The series of battles had gradually made him feel his strength waning.
He knelt on one knee on the ground.
The Naqi surrounded him, and someone first stabbed at his chest, but it was blocked by the wooden plaque on his chest.
...
Because of Qi Yuning's presence, Wen Zhibai was able to successfully enter the military camp.
The battle was fierce, and it was necessary to lead an elite force to cooperate with the army from within and without. Qi Yuning hastily put on a layer of iron armor and led General Qi's original troops to the battlefield.
"Miss Qi, you're back safe and sound!" Wen Zhibai called out from behind.
Qi Yuning, perched high on horseback, turned to look at her: "Definitely!"
Xie An: "Miss, you stay here, I'll go find the master."
"Xie An, no! This is a battlefield, not child's play. If we blindly rush in, we'll only cause trouble!"
Afterwards, Wen Zhibai led his men to distribute the transported grain and cotton clothing, and also took care of the wounded soldiers in the military camp.
"Miss...who are you?" the wounded man asked.
"..." She hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I am Wen Zhibai, a friend of Pei Qinzhou."
"General Pei's... friend?"
"Has any of you... seen Pei Qinzhou before?"
The wounded all raised their heads and looked at Wen Zhibai, and then intermittent sobs could be heard.
"General Pei fought fiercely for five days and did not return even once. I was seriously wounded last night and sent back to the camp. Before I left... before I left, I saw that General Pei was covered in blood..."
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