Green Waterfall in its Youth 7
He repeated it again, as if he had finally given in to something, or as if he had taken off some heavy shackles.
He stepped forward and reached out—this time without hesitation—his calloused and cool fingertips roughly wiping away the tears on Shi Qing's face. The movement was not gentle, even somewhat clumsy.
“You said something wrong.” Yuan Xi’s tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and he rubbed Shi Qing’s reddened eyes. “Saving you is not a ‘burden’. I’ve never thought of it that way.”
"I will come back." He looked into Shi Qing's eyes and said each word carefully, no longer perfunctory, but a solemn promise, even though the road ahead was still fraught with danger and uncertainty. "So..."
“So I will wait.” Shi Qing interrupted, grabbing his hand that was wiping away his tears and holding it tightly, leaving no room for doubt. “But this time, it’s your turn to come back to me.”
Yuanxi grasped his hand in return. His palm was icy cold, but finally had a firm grip.
“…Hmm.” He responded softly.
At the end of the passage, the faint sound of a bell urging people could be heard; it was the arrival of the people from Wuxin Valley to guide them.
Yuan Xi released his grip, giving Shi Qing one last look. His gaze was complex and unreadable, yet it no longer held any resistance or lifelessness. Then, he turned and, together with Hong Yue and the others, walked into the unknown darkness.
Shi Qing stood still, not giving chase. He simply clenched the hand that had just been held, the lingering coldness seeming to be the source of all his strength.
He watched Yuan Xi's figure disappear around the corner, took a soft breath, and spoke again into the empty passageway in a voice only he could hear:
"I'm waiting for you."
No matter how long.
Regardless of the outcome.
This time, his waiting was no longer passive.
Rather, it was an agreement he personally chose and forced the other party to accept.
...
After leaving the Ghost Market, Shi Qing did not return directly to his residence. Instead, he took Shuangshuang, who was fast asleep in his sleeve, and went to a willow tree on the bank of the Bian River under the moonlight.
On the way, Shi Qing was still quietly apologizing to Shuangshuang, saying that she was sorry for accusing it of being "naughty".
There was a small patch of land under the willow tree that looked out of place with its surroundings, as if it had just been renovated.
Shi Qing sat down on the shore, took out a handful of rat food from his pocket, and gently placed it on that small patch of land.
"Zhizhi, do you still remember me?" Shi Qing asked softly. He thought he wouldn't have any more emotional fluctuations, but when he asked the question, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat.
A while ago, he went to the market to buy food for Shuangshuang and happened to run into the burly middle-aged man who lived in the ghost market. The man saw the rat on his head, clicked his tongue, and circled Shi Qing's head several times. "It looks like it, really like it. At first glance, I thought it was Zhizhi. But that little guy wasn't so well-behaved. She even chewed up our cloaks. You should have seen it when you were at the straw sandal camp. It was Yuanxi's little rat."
"I've seen it." Recalling that arrogant and frightening rat, Shi Qing showed a nostalgic expression and said regretfully, "It's a pity that a rat's lifespan is only a few years, but it's a good thing to die of old age."
"Died of old age?" The man seemed to have heard something unusual. He exclaimed, "Who told you it was a peaceful death?"
"Isn't that right?"
“Of course not.” The man sighed as he mentioned this, his words rambling incoherently, “…The hidden darts came from all directions, there was no way to dodge them…Those rats, even though we told them to run, they wouldn’t…The most clever ones, they had already jumped up into the trees, but when they saw Yuanxi get hit, they scurried down again…”
Shi Qing felt a buzzing sound in her head, and her head felt heavy and her legs felt light.
Perhaps old stories are too easy to open up, and since men are naturally talkative, once they start, they can't stop. He said that those of them who were poisoned by the Dream Puppet would soon be sent to the Valley of Heartlessness for them to experiment on; whether they lived or died—
"It's all about fate!"
Before parting, Shi Qing asked them where they had buried all the rats.
The man scratched his head and said he didn't know. It was too chaotic back then, and there were too many people. Some animals that fell off their owners were trampled to pieces, while others were buried on the spot. The place was quite far away.
However, the man had a deep impression of Zhizhi.
"They were pinned to the ground by the darts, but they were still crawling towards Yuanxi... Yuanxi crawled over, picked them up, and put them in his pocket... When he came back, they were already hard."
"Where to bury him? Under that old willow tree by the Bian River."
"He lied to me," Shi Qing whispered to the land. "Zhizhi, I shouldn't have taken his cloak. I should have put you in my pocket and taken you back to the North. Sister Jingxi's cooking is so delicious..."
...
The willow catkins from the willow trees along the riverbank were really bothersome. Shi Qing, along with several fellow disciples from Tianquan, collected the catkins that were affecting the normal lives of nearby residents and burned them. A few sheets of unfinished homework slipped in along the way. The flames licked the papers, and in the blink of an eye, the "evidence" was burned away. The child was dragged back to the room by the ear by his mother, and soon after, heart-wrenching cries came from behind the door.
Hearing the commotion, everyone around laughed, and a few even knocked on the door, trying to persuade the sister-in-law not to argue with the child.
Shi Qing stood at the back of the crowd, giving Shuangshuang a massage.
"The summer 'snow' has burned away. Will he be able to come back before the winter snow?" he asked Shuangshuang. The little mouse rolled around in its owner's palm, lay down, and turned its rear end towards Shi Qing.
Recalling the old days when he was treated with a rat's rear end, Shi Qing felt a mixture of pity and helplessness, and tapped Shuangshuang's forehead twice with her fingers.
During the time after Yuanxi left, Shiqing continued her life as usual.
Practicing, eating, sleeping... sometimes even working out with both of them.
Those in the same sect who knew the inside story saw his reaction and asked him if he was too confident.
Shi Qing had just finished a set of push-ups. He stood up from the ground, panting, "The first time we parted, he said that as long as I wanted, I could see him again. So I came to Kaifeng, and we met again... As long as I wanted, I could definitely wait for him."
He also wrote a letter to Jingxi, first telling his sister that he was doing well, and then briefly mentioning Yuanxi's condition.
Jingxi's reply arrived three days later than expected. It was a long, rambling letter, first expressing surprise that "Yuanxi is still alive," and then cursing and swearing, saying that if he was alive, why didn't he send a letter?
Shi Qing held the reply letter, and just by reading the words, he could imagine Jing Xi's anger. The words seemed to have a life of their own, and the letter was so fierce that he deliberately held it away from him to read it.
Ugh, if Won-seok were to meet Kyung-hee in the north... he'd definitely get a severe scolding...
Shi Qing shivered and carefully sealed the letter.
He thought he should still save it for Yuanxi to see, so that he could be mentally prepared.
After putting the letter away, Shi Qing picked up his sword again, feeling inexplicably at ease, as if the sword in his hand had lost its weight.
He raised his hand, then swung it down heavily. The blade flashed across the boy's arrogant face, reflected the dust and fallen leaves that flew up with his movement, and revealed the increasingly deep smile on his lips.
Finally, the knife came to a steady stop in mid-air. Shi Qing flipped it over, revealing her slightly messy hair in the mirror.
They are somewhat obstructing the view.
"Jian—"
The blade was sheathed, and the last thing the blade saw was the snow on its owner's boots.
"Junior Brother Qing, Junior Brother!" The senior brother came running from the snow, his arms outstretched and still out of breath, and pointed in the direction of Kaifeng City to Shi Qing, saying, "I, I saw Hong Yue of the Nine Schools!"
Senior Sister Hongyue?
Shi Qing asked with delight, "They've returned from Wuxin Valley?"
"There's no escaping it!"
Shi Qing completely forgot his "bold words" about asking Yuan Xi to come find him. Before his senior brother could even close his mouth, Yuan Xi had already disappeared.
Back in her room changing clothes, Shi Qing suddenly remembered something and slapped her forehead in annoyance—she had forgotten to ask them whether they were going back to the Ghost Market or back to their base on the surface!
Facts often don't need much explanation.
As Shi Qing and Shuangshuang stepped out the door, they saw Hongyue coming in from outside. Caught off guard, they were both stunned.
"Sister Hongyue!" Shi Qing was the first to react, her eyes brighter than the snow in daylight. "You're back? Where's Yuan Xi? Is he in the Ghost Market or—"
Hongyue's smile seemed somewhat forced. She reached out and grabbed Shi Qing's arm, her grip a little too strong. "Xiao Qing, don't rush." She paused, her gaze sweeping over Shuangshuang, who was excitedly squeaking on his shoulder, and her voice lowered, "Yuan Xi... he's in the Ghost Market."
"Are you all back?"
"...No. Some of my fellow disciples were delayed for too long by the poison and couldn't hold on..."
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