“I don’t need a name,” he said.
He had been hungry for a long time and finished eating quickly.
Xing Shuishui rested her chin on her crossed hands. “You’re strange. I’ve never met someone who doesn’t need a name.”
“You’re sheltered,” the youth mocked coldly. “Is it so hard to understand? The world outside is chaotic. Many infants die young. Why waste names on the dead?”
This was Xing Shuishui’s first time hearing about the outside world. It didn’t sound like a good place. She just wanted to return to her original world.
She mumbled, “That’s sad. They won’t even know where to send offerings to your spirit.”
“Offerings?” The youth laughed. “You’ll die before I do.”
“You’re dreaming,” Xing Shuishui retorted. “I’m a spirit – I can live for many years. You’re just a mortal. Guan Shuangshuang might kill you tomorrow if she’s in a bad mood.”
The youth scoffed. “Aren’t you locked up here too? As skinny as you are, I doubt you’ll live long.”
“You’re so harsh!” Xing Shuishui said unhappily.
The youth replied coldly, “I won’t become gentle just for you.”
“You shouldn’t treat me like this after I gave you food.”
“Just think of me as ungrateful then,” he said dismissively.
Xing Shuishui was furious. He looked around and asked, “Being locked in this awful place, don’t you want to leave?”
Of course Xing Shuishui wanted to, but thinking about how she got imprisoned, she shook her head and said quietly, “Don’t say such things if you want to live.”
The youth showed no restraint and smirked, “Then I’ll definitely get out.”
Xing Shuishui glanced at him.
Never mind, let this madman struggle a bit more. After struggling, he’ll understand what kind of place the Guan family estate is. She would be released in two weeks anyway.
Unexpectedly, the youth really did try to escape. Over the next few days, he searched for sharp objects. Guan Shuangshuang came by once and ordered him beaten. Then she pointed at Xing Shuishui and asked, “You’re Xue Zhuangxin’s sister?”
This fat brute liked her sister but didn’t dare let his father find out.
Xing Shuishui reluctantly nodded.
Guan Shuangshuang threw her a package and lifted his chin saying, “Your sister begged me to give you this.”
After he left, the cell was quiet. Xing Shuishui opened the floral cloth package.
The youth wiped blood from his face and asked, “Is there a knife inside?”
Xing Shuishui hugged the clothes her sister sent, feeling complicated. “No. But I have a small knife. I won’t let you use it.”
The youth smirked, “They didn’t search you?”
“They didn’t need to. In their eyes, this knife is just a child’s toy.”
He reached out his hand: “Give it to me.”
“No.”
The system seemed to have a very bad impression of this person. He’d probably stab him to death right away.
She glanced at the bloodied youth: “You’re already like this and still thinking of escape. Better to submit. Maybe Guan Shuangshuang will have a moment of mercy and let you go.”
He mocked, “You have no backbone?”
“This is how you survive. When you’re beaten to death, you’ll learn your pride means nothing.”
She watched as the youth staggered to his feet and walked to the iron bars. His injured hands gripped the bars and with one wrench, he bent them to make a hole.
They were lucky some important guest had arrived at the Guan estate recently. Everyone was busy and the guards had gone drinking at this hour.
He smirked, “This is also how you survive. Though it’s a bit troublesome.”
The youth looked down at his bleeding hands, unbothered. He asked her, “Aren’t you coming?”
Xing Shuishui had no reason to leave.
But she was curious about the world outside the estate and hesitated.
She said, “My mother and sister are here. I can’t leave.”
The youth said, “I heard Lingshan’s people hunt and eliminate evil spirits. If you go to Lingshan, perhaps they can save your family too.”
Xing Shuishui still shook her head. “Never mind.”
He was losing patience. He grabbed Xing Shuishui’s hand, his tone fierce: “When I tell you to run, you run! Do you really want to die in this cursed place?”
Xing Shuishui frowned, “Let go, you’re hurting me. Truth is, I’ll be released in two weeks.”
He pulled her along: “You talk too much.”
Near sunset, their shadows stretched across the gilded blue bricks under a rose-colored sky.
Xing Shuishui protested, “You’ll get me killed!”
Who knew where Guan Yinzi’s spies were now.
He turned, expression fierce but tone confused: “Don’t be ungrateful. I won’t waste your food. And I won’t let you die here.”
Xing Shuishui looked up, seeing his face clearly for the first time. He was more handsome than he appeared in the cell – jade-white skin, pale lips, messy bangs, and sharp eyes. Besides the blood and dirt on his face, she could find no fault.
She twisted her hands behind her back: “I won’t die. I need to live at least 400 years.”
“Be good,” the youth said, still fierce. “I told you I won’t let you die in this cursed place.”
Xing Shuishui: “You know this seems like…”
“?”
“Eloping.”
He sneered, “Is something wrong with your head? Once we’re out, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me.”
They hid behind walls, hands pressed against stone as they dodged patrolling guards, like playing hide and seek. Xing Shuishui thought it might be fun if it wasn’t so deadly serious.
What would the outside world have? Lantern festivals? Rabbit god figurines? Would it be as difficult as now?
Unfortunately, he never managed to help her escape. Patrolling guards discovered their hiding spot. The youth pushed her into a gap between walls before walking out to face Guan Shuangshuang’s fury, beaten to death by clubs.
Seventy-four strikes. Silent until death.
Xing Shuishui counted them all before lowering her head.
Blood seeped through the wall’s cracks to her feet, as brief as his life.
Have a better next life, she thought. Don’t suffer so much.
If we meet again — be a gentle man to me.
Xing Shuishui seized the chance to run back to her cell. When Guan Yinzi discovered the broken prison door, he flew into a rage, killed many people, and threatened Xing Shuishui several times. She wasn’t sure if he knew she had been with that youth that day.
Her reasons for not escaping remained the same – her sister, mother, and people were here.
Either seek Lingshan’s help to save them.
Or kill the old monster herself.
The important guest at the Guan estate was indeed Guan Yinzi’s old friend from their cultivation days – Li Shixu from Lingshan’s Li family.
Guan Yinzi was an extreme person – cruel to others but treasuring his close friends. Fearing exposure, he warned the peach blossom spirits beforehand – speak out and die. At that time, Xing Shuishui was still in prison.
Though Xing Shuishui was released from the dungeon a month later to see daylight again, with the former option right before her eyes, she still preferred the latter.
That day, while fetching clothes for her sister, she overheard heated arguing from a room.
“Are the rumors outside true? Tell me honestly. Lingshan is already investigating this matter. If you confess now, I can still plead to the mountain lord for mercy. Don’t be foolish for the sake of immortality!”
“What rumors? Aren’t they just jealous? Jealous that though I’m from a branch family, I’ve achieved such cultivation. You’d rather believe those who’ve harmed me than trust my word?”
“Sigh, I hope so.”
The door opened and Xing Shuishui quickly stepped back. Li Shixu emerged – her strongest impressions of him were his celadon-patterned robes, the pagoda in his hand, and the compassion in his eyes.
He saw her and called out: “Little sister.”
Xing Shuishui turned, carrying her wooden bucket.
Li Shixu knelt down to meet her eyes and said gently: “Why are you so thin? Do they treat you poorly? You can tell me honestly, I won’t tell anyone else.”
Xing Shuishui’s mouth twitched – this was just like when school inspectors visited. She glanced at birds flying overhead.
She said: “Master treats me very well. I just don’t eat much.”
Seeing he couldn’t get the answer he wanted, Li Shixu sighed but still patted her head, giving her some ginger candy and a paper crane: “If you ever want to talk, just drop some blood on this paper crane. I’ll protect you.”
Xing Shuishui ate half the candy and smiled sweetly at him.
“Okay.”
He seemed quite nice.
She hadn’t gone far with her bucket when one of her people ran past, a pregnant spirit who knelt before Li Shixu, kowtowing: “Immortal, save us, save us! I don’t want to die! I have a child… Everything they say outside is—”
Li Shixu’s expression changed.
The spirit suddenly went still, falling to the ground, head separated from body.
Guan Yinzi’s face had never looked so dark: “Spirits are cunning. Kill them and be done with it. Don’t listen to their words.”
This was the closest Xing Shuishui had come to death.
She begged the system for help, muttering to a knife every day until Xue Zhuangxin grew worried. Finally the system deigned to respond.
It said: “You won’t die. Li Shixu has already left Yinshan to send word to Lingshan. Just wait for them to handle it.”
Xing Shuishui was tired of waiting: “Wait for them to collect my corpse?”
System: “…”
“In your estimation, will my sister die?”
“Yes.”
“Will my mother die?”
“Yes.”
“Then I…”
“You won’t.”
The system said: “Host, calm down. If things get really bad there’s still Lihua. You’ll definitely survive to start your mission 400 years later.”
Lihua? Xing Shuishui: “What’s that?”
“An existence that transcends this world’s laws, like bringing a sniper rifle to the Tang Dynasty. Don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”
Xing Shuishui said: “But I need to save them.”
“You don’t need to do anything. Lingshan will send people soon.”
Xing Shuishui said: “I have to. I want Lihua. Otherwise I’ll take this knife and slit my throat right now. Let someone else do it.”
“You can’t control Lihua. Think about your parents in the real world.”
Xing Shuishui: “It’s been nearly a hundred years. Maybe they’re dead, maybe they’ve gone mad looking for me. I’m an unfilial daughter who ran away and got brought to this cursed place by you to complete a mission that does me no good. Did that person wrong me somehow? Why should I kill them?”
System: “This is your destiny.”
Xing Shuishui: “This is your destiny. You didn’t even ask my opinion before bringing me to this world that isn’t mine. I have nothing left, I just want to protect my sister and mother. They’re completely innocent.”
The system was silent for a long time: “I can give you the seed of Lihua. But in exchange, you must agree to one condition.”
Xing Shuishui: “What condition?”
System: “Give me permission to control your body three times.”
So it couldn’t force her, Xing Shuishui realized.
Thinking about it, this system probably had high moral standards. Even with control rights it wouldn’t use her body to do anything truly evil. She had nothing left to lose anyway.
So she agreed without hesitation: “Fine.”
She didn’t understand why it proposed such a useless condition.
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