Chapter 105 The Lingering Sorrow of Water (Part 3) Evening Breeze.
The last ray of golden light disappeared along the ridgeline.
Ji Wuchou slowly emerged from the woods.
She arrived a little late today; Jiang Qushui had been waiting for a long time and thought she wasn't coming.
“Let’s begin.” Ji Wuchou sat down beside him and extended her hand to him.
Jiang Qushui was about to hand over the game console when he paused. He leaned forward, staring at Ji Wuchou's face in the setting sun.
She looks a little different today.
If yesterday was like frost, then today Ji Wuchou was like spring snow melting, cool and about to drip down. He stared at her somewhat pale lips.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
Ji Wuchou did not answer. She took a shallow breath and did not exhale for a long time. Jiang Qushui's eyes were always so bright, especially when it got dark, like the moon in the sky had fallen into the Gongshui River.
"Nothing." She shook her head, a chill emanating from her lips. "What position did you reach yesterday?" Then she picked up the handheld console and started playing.
The cheerful and lighthearted game sound effects and the passionate lines seemed a bit out of place in the quiet mountains.
Ji Wuchou was very focused when playing games, as if he were solving the last word problem on a math test. He could easily lose focus and forget to breathe.
It's good that nothing's wrong, Jiang Qushui thought. In any case, there's nothing that a game can't solve.
But it seems like it won't work today. A simple dungeon, and he's stuck on the first level. "GAME OVER" keeps appearing on the screen, and several times Jiang Qushui tried to help, but she stubbornly refused.
"Never mind." Ji Wuchou simply turned off the screen and shoved the game console back into his arms.
Her usually ramrod-straight back was now slightly bent. She shifted to a more comfortable position, resting her chin gently on her knees, gazing at the distant clouds and birds, her eyes shimmering like candlelight flickering in the wind.
Jiang Qushui dared not speak, and even her movements were cautious. She followed her example and curled up her body.
The river waters collide with each other, impacting the riverbanks and rocks, intertwining and converging before being forced to diverge. Separated by mountains, they rush and entwine again after thousands of miles. The rivers flow eastward, while the green mountains remain unchanged.
"Convert me into a rabbit again," Ji Wuchou suddenly said.
"Huh?" Jiang Qushui was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.
"Okay, okay!" He adjusted his posture, gently cupped his hands, and water droplets rose and gathered into a sheet, revealing a rabbit with droopy ears in his palm.
"Little Sorrow, the rabbit." He shakily held it up in front of Ji Wuchou's eyes. In that short distance, the fat rabbit shook off some water and became thin and small, but its shape could still be barely made out.
Ji Wuchou lowered her head, some stray hairs obscuring her eyes. Jiang Qushui saw her extend her slender fingers and gently touch the rabbit. The next second, the water ball rabbit froze into an ice cube and fell coldly into his hand.
Jiang Qushui stared wide-eyed at Ji Wuchou with great curiosity.
"You, you, you..." He couldn't finish a sentence for a long time. Before he could ask anything, he saw Ji Wuchou stand up. She had her back to Jiang Qushui, and her voice was colder than ever before.
"I've had enough of this game, so don't come here again."
After saying that, she was about to leave, which startled Jiang Qushui so much that he quickly got up and tried to grab her sleeve, but then hesitated.
"Why? Did I do something to upset you?"
"No." Her voice sounded muffled.
"If not, I will come back here."
Ji Wuchou could imagine his stubbornness without even turning her head.
"Whatever, I'm not coming back anyway." She turned and walked into the woods without looking back. Jiang Qushui stood there anxiously, jumping up and down and shouting at Ji Wuchou's retreating figure, "It doesn't matter! My birthday is in three days, I'll invite you to my house then, not here, but to my house!"
He waved his hand vigorously, not caring whether Ji Wuchou could see it or not.
"I have another birthday wish! I want to tell you..."
He dared not chase after her, nor did he dare leave. For some reason, he had a premonition that this might be the last time he would see Ji Wuchou.
Just as the white figure was about to disappear from sight, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and took two steps toward Jiang Qushui.
"Thank you for the little snake. I like it very much. Consider the rabbit my return gift; you can take it back with you."
The leaves rustled a few times, and then she disappeared completely.
Jiang Qushui was left standing blankly by the river. He looked down at the ice rabbit he was holding in his hand. His knuckles were stiff from the cold and his wrist was trembling. He had been holding it for so long, but the rabbit had not melted.
He stood there until the sun had completely disappeared and the surroundings had darkened before he groggily walked home. There was a lamp lit in his yard, and when he looked up, his grandfather was standing outside the door waiting for him.
"Qu Shui, lately you..." Before Grandpa could finish speaking, his gaze fell on the rabbit in Jiang Qu Shui's hand. "What did you get? Let me see."
He reached out his hand to Jiang Qushui, who hesitated for a few seconds before handing the rabbit to his grandfather.
"The gift... was a gift from a friend..." He didn't know why he felt guilty, but he thought it was because he was always going out to play and had fallen behind in his studies, and he was afraid that his grandfather would scold him.
Unexpectedly, the old man reacted so strongly after seeing what was in his hand. He grabbed Jiang Qushui by the collar and dragged him into the room, slamming the door shut. He pointed at Jiang Qushui's nose and shouted angrily, "Friend? Is your friend a woman? Do you know what this is? Do you know who she is!"
Jiang Qushui stared blankly at the ice cube rabbit in his hand, wanting to say that of course she knew, she was Xiao Chou, his friend.
Grandpa paced back and forth in the room, muttering with exasperation, "Luckily, no one in the clan knows about this. Luckily, it hasn't reached the point of no return." He sternly demanded that Jiang go to the water, and from today onwards, he must report wherever he goes, and he must never see the person who gave him the rabbit again.
"Don't be angry." Jiang Qushui didn't resist or try to argue with his grandfather. He grinned and helped the old man to sit on the sofa, then turned on the TV and tuned it to the news channel.
The TV presenter's clear and articulate voice came through the screen. Grandpa's rapid breathing gradually calmed down. Jiang Qushui poked his head out of the kitchen window and asked the person on the sofa if they wanted to have a little wine tonight.
He seemed perfectly fine, always wearing a warm smile that instantly calmed anyone who saw him, dispelling any anger he might feel. The old man knew his grandson was kind, sensible, and obedient, someone who wouldn't cause worry to those around him.
When his parents passed away, the first thing they did upon seeing him was to comfort him, saying that since his mother could no longer be there to show filial piety, he, Jiang Qushui, would take care of the old man and ensure his peaceful old age.
He's always like this, cheerful and not taking anything to heart, only thinking about making the people around him happy.
Perhaps I don't need to worry too much. I just need to tell him the reasons and the whole story, and he will understand on his own.
Thinking of this, Grandpa breathed a sigh of relief and nodded gently.
*
The Broken Jade Pavilion stands atop Qiongyin Mountain.
This is a separate accommodation prepared by the Ji family of Puyang specifically for unidentified officials and cicada catchers within their clan.
It was a stilted house, quite different from the local architectural style, built on a cliff, seemingly about to collapse. It seemed to constantly remind them of their impending mission and the impending crisis.
As soon as Ji Wuchou stepped onto the steps, a pair of legs entered her field of vision.
She knew someone would be waiting for her to return, so she stopped and calmly looked up at the person.
"Ji Wuchou, after being whipped, can still run out full of energy. He truly deserves to be called the most outstanding unseen official in Puyang in the last hundred years."
The man's tone was mocking, his thoughts completely open and undisguised. He chuckled lightly, then his expression changed drastically, his face filled with malice as he stared down at her condescendingly.
"Do you know what the consequences will be if you go out without permission during your punishment period!"
Ji Wuchou replied without blinking, "I know."
The man was taken aback, his lips twitched, but then he put on a smile. "It's good that you know. The patriarch already knows that you went out on your own again. He has ordered me to stay in the freezing room and watch over you until you finish enduring the rest of the ice whippings. You are not allowed to leave there for three days and three nights." He snorted lightly, as if pleased. "Of course, don't expect food or water either. Everything will only be delivered to you after three days."
He leaned down close to her, their breaths mingling.
"Ji Wuchou, why don't you beg me?"
But she didn't even give him a glance, and went straight up the stairs, leaving him with the words, "Then what are we waiting for?"
In such a narrow stairwell, not even a single strand of her hair brushed against his shoulder.
Ji Wuchou did not want to waste words with this person.
Everyone in Puyang knew that if there had to be one person in the world who hated her the most, it would definitely be Ji Duzhi.
She walked so fast, disappearing around the corner like a gust of wind, leaving Ji Duzhi alone on the stairs, gritting his teeth, gripping the handrail tightly, his eyes blazing as if he wanted to burn her to ashes.
Of course he hated her. He hated that she was a woman, hated that she was exceptionally talented, hated that as his captain she was meticulous and demanding towards him, causing him to almost lose a finger in the freezing room, yet she could still pull out the ice blade without batting an eye and say she could return it to him, like a heartless block of ice.
Ji Duzhi hated her to the core, hated that she always walked past him as if she couldn't see him.
Ji Duzhi lacked sufficient power to wield the ice whip, yet the patriarch appointed him as a guard, tasking him with overseeing the torture inflicted on Ji Wuchou within the frozen chamber.
He only needs to sit comfortably in his chair, legs crossed, to enjoy the man's miserable state.
Unfortunately, even when the sharp icicles sliced through her back, the woman remained completely silent.
Not hearing the screams and pleas for mercy that he had been longing for, Ji Duzhi was still somewhat disappointed.
However, just seeing her scorched by hot blood like a withered flower and a broken sword, and being firmly imprisoned at his feet by iron chains covered in frost, was enough to excite him to the point of almost trembling and fainting.
If it weren't for the rules, he would have loved to preserve this moment forever.
The three-day punishment ended, and because she was unconscious, the head of the family relented and carried her out of the freezing room ahead of schedule.
Ji Wuchou lay on her bed in her room. Due to her constitution, her wounds kept reopening and healing, but even so, she was still only human, and she couldn't help but have a high fever. Her blood boiled and rushed to her brain, making her dizzy and disoriented. She had hallucinations and kept seeing a little person in overalls going up and down on the windowsill, occasionally stuffing mushrooms into his mouth.
She reached out her hand to the little man in a daze, but then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
There was a short knock on the door.
Someone tiptoed in and placed a tray on the bedside table.
"Sister Wuchou, this is warm water. Drink some first. I'll cook you some porridge tomorrow when you feel better."
Ji Wuchou's vision was blurry and she couldn't see the person's face clearly, but she could tell by the voice that it was Ji Ling, the youngest member of her team.
She nodded slightly, but grabbed Ji Ling's hand just as Ji Ling was about to leave.
"What time is it now?" she asked.
"It shouldn't be past midnight yet."
She let go, thanked him, and heard Ji Ling leave and close the door.
Ji Wuchou closed her eyes, carefully feeling the cold current in her body slowly washing over her blood vessels, lowering the rapidly rising temperature in her body, and finally reaching her brain, calming down the boiling, hot blood.
Little by little, every meridian calmed down.
She let out a long breath and opened her eyes.
The night was still and quiet. She hid herself in the darkness and left the Broken Jade Pavilion without a sound. Her eyes gradually cleared, and she felt that even her steps became much lighter. She walked through the forest as if she were in a world apart from the world.
Little did she know that her heart was being slowly frost up.
Ji Wuchou sat by the river, hugging her knees, staring at the murmuring water.
She gently curled the corners of her lips into a smile.
That makes sense. Who would choose to spend their birthday outdoors in the middle of the night instead of at home with family and friends?
Home?
When she thought of that word, her mind went blank for a moment. She didn't quite understand the meaning of "home," but everyone said that Riyue Mountain was her home.
She became curious and began to construct a mental image of what home would look like, thus ultimately defining it.
Perhaps she needs a house; she has one in the Broken Jade Pavilion.
Perhaps she needed someone to accompany her; she thought of the unknown official who lived next door.
Perhaps there should be happiness. She remembered sitting here often a few days ago, the warm mountain breeze blowing on her face, and the sound effects of victory ringing out from the screen.
Ji Wuchou chuckled softly. This must be home. As long as she can sit by the Gongshui River every day.
With whom?
She suddenly couldn't remember anything, and tried blinking hard, but felt her movements slowing down, not just her thoughts.
My limbs felt heavy, like the feeling of participating in an unknown training session for the first time. It lasted all day, from before dawn until the moon was high in the sky, and when I returned to my room and lay on the bed, I felt just like this. My hands and feet felt like they were melting, and it felt like something was quietly flowing away from my extremities.
She felt tired, as if she hadn't slept in a long time.
The night breeze was gentle and the bright moon was high in the sky, just the right time to get a good night's sleep. She thought she would sleep for a while and then go back, as she still had to report to the head of the family tomorrow.
In a hazy state, she saw a full moon overhead, its clear light radiating outwards, exuding unparalleled peace. Her body began to float, and as the moon drew closer, she suddenly remembered many things: the ancient poems she had first learned as a child, and the story of Chang'e flying to the moon.
Suddenly, she heard someone crying, sobbing as if they had lost something important. She also heard someone calling her name, each cry like a lament.
The voice was like a giant hand, instantly resisting the moon's power and pulling her back to the earth. She could feel the weight of her body, and even her consciousness was warming up. But she still couldn't see what the person who called her name looked like. She only felt warmth all over her, as if enveloped by flowing water, rippling gently. She felt like she had become a clump of drifting waterweed.
Sleepiness came again, and she couldn't stay awake any longer. Her body felt as if it had been placed in a cradle, though she had never slept in anything like this before. Before closing her eyes, she felt someone whisper in her ear, their voice like a series of ethereal and warm dreams slipping into her body.
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