Amidst the mountains and wilderness, a wind rustles through the trees, stirring up a flurry of falling leaves.
Assassins emerge and quickly surround an open space up ahead. Following the tracks of two horses, they close in on a deep crimson figure – the color reserved for the Crown Prince.
Taking advantage of the sound of rustling leaves, the silent assassins draw their swords and knives, steadily approaching the person in the woods.
According to their intel, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess Consort had broken through the encirclement together. But to their surprise, there is only the Crown Prince standing alone in the woods, with two horses by his side.
He stands there alone, holding a brazier, draped in a fox fur coat, looking elegant and tranquil as he leans against a Chinese fir.
…What is the meaning of this?
The Crown Prince looks up, saying mildly, “I surrender.”
“…” The assassins are doubtful and bewildered.
Their mission is to assassinate the prince. But their target has suddenly surrendered, laying himself open to be killed…does he want them to just casually murder him?
The assassins steady their hearts, grip their swords and knives, and slowly close in around the Crown Prince, exchanging looks of confusion and seeking confirmation from each other.
The Crown Prince holds out his empty hands, demonstrating he is harmless. “Come on over.”
…But no one dares approach.
Finally, the lead assassin bravely takes a step forward. He takes a deep breath, grips his sword in both hands, and stabs straight towards the Crown Prince’s heart!
“Tap.” A light, rhythmic footstep rings out.
That sound did not come from afar, but from directly above!
The young lady in arrow clothing slides down the Chinese fir, long spear whistling as she thrusts it out to pierce the assassin’s chest!
Blood splatters like spilled ink.
Jiang Kui uses her toes to lightly bounce off the tree trunk, shooting herself forward. Her long spear sweeps out to knock down the ring of assassins before her. She spins and drops to the ground, swinging her spear. The spear tip becomes a killing array that tears open and reaps lives amongst the crowd.
This is the strategy she devised together with Xie Wuyang to counter the enemies. They do not know how many assassins lie in ambush here. If surrounded, neither of them can escape. But if Xie Wuyang acts as bait to draw the assassins to gather in one spot, with her holding the element of surprise and suddenly ambushing from the tall Chinese fir tree, she is more than capable of handling a mere dozen-odd people.
Blood splashes onto her sleeves as she takes a dozen lives in one breath.
Amidst the fallen corpses, she slowly stands tall, spear erect, raising her bright, beautiful face that looks like a youthful yet bewitching death god.
Xie Wuyang gazes silently at her. Sunbeams filter down through the canopy, falling into her hair. Those vivid blood flowers splattered across her fair skin are illuminated by the golden rays, making them seem wildly resplendent.
“Xie Wuyang, are you afraid of me?” She looks back at him with a faint smile.
That smile suddenly takes on a sorrowful, bewildered meaning, like a lonely ghost aimlessly looking around the mortal realm.
He looks intently at her. “I am not afraid.”
He knows she detests killing.
If he were Zhu Zi’an right now, he would have a myriad ways to comfort her.
But right now he is Xie Wuyang.
Pillars of sunlight fall amongst the Chinese fir woods, amidst the endless wavering lights and shadows. He walks towards her, very slowly, step by step, as if fearing to startle her.
Finally he stops before her.
She gives a little start, surprised. He takes out a white handkerchief from his sleeve, reaching out to gently and meticulously wipe the bloodstains off of her, bit by bit.
His actions are extremely light, almost like a passing breeze, as if touching an easily shattered porcelain doll.
“There.” His voice is soft.
“Thank you.” Her voice is very small.
“It’s nothing.” He suddenly chuckles. “I didn’t know you would thank me too.”
Jiang Kui glances at him. This is the first time she has seen him laugh. It is hard to describe that laugh…quiet beyond belief.
He is clearly laughing, yet there is little joy in his eyes. Just boundless, swirling tranquility, like an undisturbed lake at dawn, or a silent, soundless sea.
But she feels he ought to laugh readily.
She thinks of Zhu Zi’an again. That person laughs lightly and heartily, with a mischievous air, half sly and half teasing, nothing like Xie Wuyang at all. Yet she doesn’t know why, but feels Xie Wuyang should laugh like that.
“Let’s go,” she turns her head away. “Go find Prince Wen.”
The two mount their horses and leave the Chinese fir woods one after the other, the swaying forest stretching behind them.
The light gradually darkens.
The wilds are fraught with danger at night, with fierce beasts often on the prowl. They are already very far from the imperial hunting grounds. Considering Xie Wuyang’s condition worsening and dozing off, after much deliberation Jiang Kui decides they should rest for the night by the creek and continue their journey at dawn.
The two rein their horses by the creek on the sandy pebbled bank. Xie Wuyang leans against a waterside tree, enveloped in the thick fox fur coat, eyes half-closed as if too tired to even keep his head up.
Jiang Kui picks up an empty wine gourd, goes to the creek to fill it with water, and brings it back to Xie Wuyang. As she watches him slowly sip from the wine gourd, she steps closer and removes the sword at his waist.
“What’s the matter?” He asks.
“I’m hungry. Going to hunt some rabbits,” she replies. “Not much visibility at night so bow and arrow are useless. And such small prey doesn’t warrant a spear either.”
She patiently explains much more than usual, perhaps because she sees his poor condition and feels a tinge of guilt. After all, he came on this autumn hunt because of her, regardless.
Instead her explanation makes him laugh in exasperation. “Is my sword only meant for hunting rabbits?”
Jiang Kui snorts. She realizes for the first time this person also has his pride. If he can retort, he must still have some energy. So she snatches away the wine gourd and stuffs the little brazier back into his hands before striding off.
She returns with two rabbits dangling from one hand. Xie Wuyang is still quietly leaning against the tree waiting for her. When she comes back he raises his eyes, gazing at her with tired eyes full of sleep.
“I thought you were asleep,” she says.
“My lady,” his look is sincere, “I’m hungry too.”
Jiang Kui glares at him poisonously. She rummages in the travel pack on her horse and pulls out a firesteel that she uses to barely ignite a fire amidst the piled grass and leaves.
Xie Wuyang watches her from under the tree for a while. She suddenly whips around with teeth sunk into her lower lip, voice lowered as she asks, “Xie Wuyang, do you know how to cook?”
Xie Wuyang stills. “I don’t.”
Jiang Kui says softly, “…Neither do I.”
The two look at each other speechlessly.
After a period of silence, Xie Wuyang coughs and gets up, determined to at least try roasting meat for his lady wife. Seeing his wan complexion, Jiang Kui sighs and waves him to sit back down while struggling over the fire herself.
After a long while, the sizzling aroma of roasted meat wafts up amidst the thick smoke from burning char. Jiang Kui’s face blackens as she shoves the charred meat in front of Xie Wuyang and forces him to take the first bite.
He swallows with great difficulty, saying mildly, “The taste is passable… next time I’ll do it.”
“There won’t be a next time,” snorts Jiang Kui as she also takes a bite herself, her expression quickly turning awful. She sits beside him, bravely chewing the blackened thing she roasted herself.
Once the two somehow fill their stomachs with difficulty, the myriad of glittering stars have already risen across the night sky. The bright river of stars unfurls from one end of the heavens, arching across the entire borderless, magnificent starry expanse until the other end.
Jiang Kui removes both saddles from their mounts and places them on the ground to use as pillows. The two lie down side by side. She turns her head to see Xie Wuyang also looking sideways at her.
The Milky Way shimmers in his eyes, flowing with the radiance of countless stars.
“You… move farther from me,” Jiang Kui turns her head away without looking at him.
“Alright.” He very obediently shifts his makeshift pillow about three feet farther away.
After a brief silence beside her, Jiang Kui rolls over wanting to see if Xie Wuyang has fallen asleep. To her surprise, he is still lying on his side facing her, quietly gazing at her.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Kui’s brows jump up.
“Nothing.” Xie Wuyang closes his eyes.
“No peeking at me.” She holds up a finger in warning.
“Understood.” His voice is warm.
Jiang Kui points at his saddle-turned-pillow. “And properly sleep on your own side. Don’t…”
She glowers fiercely at him, enunciating each word. “Sleep on me.”
Xie Wuyang blinks. “But I’ve never…”
“You have never.” Jiang Kui flips over with her back to him. “I’m just being careful.”
Xie Wuyang looks silently at her back view and smiles faintly to himself.
A cool night breeze blows past. He gives a tiny shiver and pulls the fox fur draped over him tighter, seeming extremely drowsy as he slowly closes his eyes.
For a long time there is no movement from behind her. Jiang Kui lies with her back facing him, listening to the wind gusting past the grass and leaves, the babbling creek water flowing over pebbles, and some nameless insects singing in the nearby woods.
Tranquility ripples outward to blanket the entire mountain wilderness.
“Xie Wuyang,” Jiang Kui suddenly calls out softly, “are you asleep?”
There is no response from the person behind her, not even the sound of breathing. She waits for a spell before guessing he must have fallen asleep. Moving slowly, she rolls over to face his direction, wanting to check on him.
She gives a violent start.
Under the starlight, this person’s entire body is noiselessly shuddering. His eyes are screwed tightly shut, his complexion ashen and pale as paper. His breathing is so fragile it seems on the verge of disappearing completely.
“Hey… what’s wrong with you?” She calls out softly and reaches out.
He is shivering all over. All his bones seem to be battling an invisible enemy, exerting all their strength to tremble as they resist endless cold.
Jiang Kui hesitates before stretching out a hand to feel his forehead, involuntarily shuddering herself.
His body temperature is extremely low, to an alarming extent, making one suspect whether this is even a living person anymore.
Sensing her touch, Xie Wuyang forces his eyes open with great effort.
He still holds the brazier in his hands but the charcoal has long cooled to icy metal that brings him no warmth at all. The temperature of her fingertips is like fiery stoves, instantly injecting him with a bit of strength.
“It’s fine…” His voice also shudders as he says softly, “Don’t mind me… I’ll get better after enduring awhile…”
“Even a blind person can see something’s wrong with you.” Jiang Kui snorts before asking worriedly again, “Xie Wuyang… what exactly is going on?”
Xie Wuyang no longer has the strength to reply.
His breathing grows lighter and lighter, nearly dissipating into the wind. In the end he no longer even has the strength to shiver. Lying perfectly still with closed eyes, his face seems a clump of ice and snow on the verge of melting away in the starlight.
This is her first time truly seeing the manifestation of his sickness. She thought he simply had coughing spells, lethargy, and intolerance to cold. She never imagined he had endured such torment from the bitter cold countless nights before. The frigidness engulfs and freezes him like the tide. He is as cold as if dropped in purgatory.
“Are you…very cold?” Jiang Kui asks in a low voice.
She reaches out and presses her palm to his forehead. The moment their skin meet he stirs slightly. His lowered lashes tremble as his lips part to exhale a faint, barely detectable gasp.
After a split second of hesitation she puts her arms around him to pull him into her embrace.
Drifting around the edges of unconsciousness, he feels someone hug him tight. A pair of hands clasp him firmly into their warmth. He rests weakly against her shoulder, giving a muted cough. Colour slowly returns to his pale lips.
Jiang Kui realizes this method works.
Circulating her inner energy, she raises her body temperature until she is as hot as ember. Barely suppressing her own urge to shiver, she sits behind him, propping up his shoulders so he can pillow his head softly against her embrace.
He gives another slight shudder, this time because of excessive warmth.
“Xie Wuyang,” Jiang Kui whispers by his ear, “you owe me for this. Remember it.”
She holds him under the sea of glittering stars. He sinks into slumber in her arms, draped in the thick fox fur coat. Her low yet warm exhales brush past his ear, accompanied by the lingering traces of an ethereal fragrance.
Starlight spills down like silken veils to quietly blanket the pair in embrace.
At daybreak the next morning, sunshine suddenly spills amidst the floating clouds, bathing the mountains and wilderness in golden glory.
As Jiang Kui wakes from her dreams, she suddenly sees the white deer.
It has an otherworldly grace, fur as lustrously white as jade. Its pale antlers seem a crown atop its head as it lowers its luminous eyes with a noble, magnificent bearing like a forest sovereign.
The white deer steps out from the radiance, crossing the shimmering ripples. Resplendent halos shine around its body. Its gaze is limpid like water as it steps lightly as if treading on clouds, stopping after each step.
“Xie Wuyang!” Jiang Kui shakes the person sleeping beside her awake.
Xie Wuyang blearily opens his eyes to see the beautiful white deer approach to stand before them, bathed in light.
Amidst the swirling motes of radiance it suddenly kneels, inclining its head towards them in greeting.
—There is a beast in the mountains called the White Marsh. It appears in the wilds when a virtuous ruler ascends, its bright reflection illuminating the secluded depths when it arrives.
Note: “In the East Looking Mountain there is a beast called the White Marsh. It can speak. When a virtuous ruler ascends, its bright reflection illuminates the secluded depths when it arrives.” (An excerpt from Classic of Mountains and Seas.)
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