A lingering spring chill filled the air, interspersed with a fine drizzle that moistened the earth.
The string of wind chimes hung from the eaves of a plain carriage, jingling as it moved. The carriage traveled along the official road to Cangzhou.
The anxiety in Lu Feiyue’s mind was palpable; she sought temporary refuge from lifting back the carriage curtain, fixing her gaze on the unending descent of the small rain.
The two main leads had a mission to go to Cangzhou. Coincidentally, the antidote Li Ruoshui needed was also in the same location, so the group traveled together again.
The carriage had been traveling for two days. Tonight was the 15th of March, the first night Li Ruoshui’s poison would flare up.
Both Lu Feiyue and Jiang Nian were deeply concerned and felt somewhat guilty, for failing to stop the assassin from harming her.
After all, they were the ones who asked Li Ruoshui to lead the way. Feeling they hadn’t taken care of her during the incident, they bore some weight of the responsibility.
Despite the circumstances she was feeling, the air within the carriage emitted a surprising lightness. Apart from Lu Zhiyao, who was unsurprisingly asleep, Li Ruoshui was carefreely watching the fine spring rain, having completely forgotten the time she cried her heart out on the day she was poisoned.
Lu Feiyue patted her shoulder, her expression serious. “Don’t worry Li Ruoshi, the Fire Blaze Grass is in Cangzhou. You won’t have to endure the poison for long now.”
Li Ruoshui smiled back at Lu Feiyue, patting her hand reassuringly. “Sister Lu, you shouldn’t blame yourselves. This was my own choice. It has nothing to do with you.”
Jiang Nian, thinking of her dejected appearance the day she was poisoned, couldn’t help but lean closer to ask, “You were so upset before, how come you’re acting like nothing’s wrong now? I heard that poison is really bad.”
Lu Feiyue covered his mouth, glaring at him, then turned to Li Ruoshui with an apologetic smile. “He’s not very bright. Don’t take it to heart.”
“It’s fine.” Li Ruoshui felt inexplicably cold and put down the wind-blocking curtain. “I was scared at first, but nothing has happened these past two days, so I better not worry, not yet at least.”
She pointed at Lu Zhiyao, who might or might not have been truly asleep. “He said he was poisoned with this before. Apart from just feeling colder, he said there wasn’t any other particular discomfort.”
Having read the original book and heard Lu Zhiyao mention his past poisoning, Li Ruoshui had long since relaxed considerably.
After all, in the book, even when he was injured, he didn’t seem to suffer much—other than using an extra layer of quilt.
Lu Feiyue shook her head in disagreement. “We still can’t be careless. We also can’t stay in the carriage tonight; we need to find a place to rest.”
Li Ruoshui nodded, but her thoughts weren’t on that.
Compared to the poison flare-up, she was more worried about her bet with Lu Zhiyao.
Logically, she should have won, but this guy never played by the rules, or had common sense. What if he reneged and insisted she swallow his sword?
Speak of the devil, and he shall move. He had been asleep but his eyelashes fluttered as if he were about to open his eyes.
Looking at his blanked eyes, Li Ruoshui remembered his childhood and couldn’t help but sigh.
He was a bit twisted even as a child, and he’s even more perverted now that he’s grown up.
And the way he smiles with curved lips is so like his mother. Is this the saying where you say ‘an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’?
“You’re staring at me again.”
Lu Zhiyao, leaning against the carriage wall, shifted slightly. His collar loosened, revealing the small mole on his collarbone.
Some people are just born with good-looking collarbones.
Li Ruoshui averted her gaze, responding deadpanas usual, “Yes, because you’re good-looking.” (T_T)
For some reason, always agreeing with him like this had made her develop a habit of turning to look at him, whether she had a reason to or not.
The spring breeze blew into the carriage through the curtain. The rain had lightened considerably, fine and dense like misty beads.
It probably won’t rain tonight.
The carriage rocked forward, rolling over puddles and grass, finally stopping before a dilapidated temple.
They will rest here tonight.
The temple was old and poorly maintained, with several holes on the roof. Water had accumulated in a few places inside, so the group settled in the open space before the Buddhist altar as it was relatively clean and dry. This chapter was taken from NovelPing without permission.
They lit the gathered dry firewood found inside the temple, forming a circle to heat up some flatbread and steamed buns.
After a day’s travel, Li Ruoshui and the others were already hungry.
Except for Lu Zhiyao.
He only casually ate one steamed bun before moving away. One hand lightly tapped the pillar next to him while the other held a steamed bun, though it was unclear what he was doing.
“Look at this Buddha statue.” Jiang Nian looked around, his gaze settling on the stone Buddha beside them.
The statue was missing half its face, leaving only one eye and a compassionate smile.
Jiang Nian leaned closer to Lu Feiyue and gently rested his head on her arm. “Will anything strange happen tonight?” he scaredly asked, as a mischievous grin form to his lips
Lu Feiyue sat upright, carefully examining the statue but finding nothing odd. “What strange things could happen… Your head, you’re too close!”
She glanced quickly at Li Ruoshui, somewhat embarrassed, and hurriedly pushed Jiang Nian away.
Jiang Nian chuckled, he is mischievous by nature. He had been more reserved in front of Li Ruoshui before, but now that they were more familiar, his true colors finally showed.
He glanced at Lu Zhiyao, called Li Ruoshui softly, and leaned in to ask, “You and him…”
Seeing Jiang Nian’s suggestive look, his brows practically ascended up the sky, Li Ruoshui immediately shook her head, then she hastily changed her mind when she remembered her mission and hesitantly nodded, pointing at herself.
Gossip is human nature. Even someone as serious and disciplined as Lu Feiyue couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows in surprise.
The details of how people interact are hard to fake. After all her years as a constable, she could clearly see who had feelings for whom, but she couldn’t sense any fondness or any particular feelings from Li Ruoshui towards Lu Zhiyao.
But she did get poisoned for him, so perhaps this ‘having feelings’ thing makes sense.
Lu Feiyue sighed with an air of worldly experience. Truly, the matters of the heart are the most difficult—harder to judge and the hardest to sever.
Unlike Lu Feiyue’s uncertainty, Jiang Nian believed it immediately. Perhaps due to empathy, Li Ruoshui seemed like a fellow sufferer in unrequited love, someone who needed consolation.
“Look on the bright side, I’m in the same boat. You’ll get used to it soon enough.” He sagely advises, and comfortingly shoves a roasted bun into Li Ruoshui’s hand and turns to roast the next flatbread.
Looking at the golden-brown bun in her hand, Li Ruoshui was speechless. There’s a fundamental difference between him and me. A massive difference.
She turned to look at Lu Zhiyao, who had only eaten one bun, and sighed deeply. “The buns are roasted. Do you want another one?”
“No.”
Not only did Lu Zhiyao eat little, but his appetite also wasn’t great.
Sweet, salty, spicy, numbing—he could eat them all, but none were particularly his favorite.
These past few days, they had only eaten dry rations. The others were already fantasizing about feasting once they reached Cangzhou, eagerly discussing delicious food in the carriage. Only he listened with a smile, not showing much interest in food.
Li Ruoshui found it hard to imagine someone not interested in good cuisine.
Li Ruoshui stood up and walked to his side, bending over with her hands on her knees to watch his fingers tapping the pillar, curious. “What are you doing?”
Feeling her long hair brush against his ear, the seated Lu Zhiyao curved his lips and suddenly struck the pillar with increased force. Amid the vibration, something soft landed right on Li Ruoshui’s head.
“Ah—”
Li Ruoshui grabbed his lapel sharply. Lu Zhiyao withdrew his hand, relaxing his shoulders and letting her pull him, amusement in his voice. “I was luring a cat over.”
An orange-and-white striped tail dangled before Li Ruoshui’s eyes. She let out a sudden sigh of relief and released her grip on his collar. “You scared me. I thought it was a rat.”
Lu Feiyue and Jiang Nian, who had stood up, sat back down. Exchanging a glance, they decidingly look away, as if nothing has happened.
Hearing her mention a rat piqued Lu Zhiyao’s interest. He tugged Li Ruoshui’s sleeve, making her sit in front of him, his expression curious. “They’re both animals. Why are you afraid of rats but not with cats?”
Lu Zhiyao seemed to have an epiphany and chuckled softly. “So you really do care a lot about appearances.” [1]
Li Ruoshui broke off a piece of the golden-brown bun and offered it to the orange cat. Watching it extend its pink tongue to roll the bun into its mouth, she couldn’t help but pet it more.
The frustrations of being trampled by life these past few days instantly eased considerably.
“Who doesn’t like good-looking things?” She rubbed the smooth fur and chubby paws, her tone while talking to Lu Zhiyao becoming more relaxed. “If you could see, you could just look in the mirror whenever you’re unhappy. Your looks could definitely cure your bad mood.”
Lu Zhiyao lowered his head and laughed, like apricot blossoms blooming on a branch—lush, delicate, full of spring color and softness.
Li Ruoshui said this with a clear conscience. Looking at his smiling face, she did feel light and happy.
Lu Zhiyao raised his left hand. The tassels on the white jade prayer beads swayed chaotically. The bright red silk cord draped over his straight nose bridge, the red and white complementing each other.
His fingertip touched the space between his own brows, then slowly slid his fingers down. “Beneath the skin, it’s all pus, blood, and white bones—dirty and ugly. Eyes, nose, mouth—they’re just piles of flesh. I truly don’t understand where the beauty lies.”
The room fell silent. His smile was no different from the compassionate Buddha statue—equally gentle and merciful—but his words were shocking.
Jiang Nian silently took out a mirror to look at himself, suddenly feeling there was some truth to his words. (•_•)
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Li Ruoshui pulled his cold hand down, feeling the prayer beads were somewhat grating.
“Don’t force your views on others. Everyone on the street is wrapped in skin. If you don’t judge by the skin, what do you judge by?”
Suddenly feeling a chill, Li Ruoshui realized with a start that she had been too relaxed. How could I say such things to Lu Zhiyao!
“Of course, some people have high ideological awareness, like you. They don’t care about others’ appearances but focus on their inside. Their soul.”
Before he could say something shocking again, Li Ruoshui quickly pulled his hand and placed it on the cat’s back. Fluffiness can cure everything!
“Feel it too hmm? Isn’t it comfortable?”
The orange cat had already relaxed under Li Ruoshui’s petting, but as soon as Lu Zhiyao’s hand touched it, its fur bristled as if its tail had been stepped on. It leaped onto the Buddhist altar, arching its back and emitting a threatening hiss at Lu Zhiyao.
Li Ruoshui: “…”
She had never seen someone so disliked by animals.
Lu Zhiyao wasn’t surprised at all, as this is not the first time receiving such treatment from animals. Instead, he felt this was how it should be. “You see, the cat isn’t fooled by my appearance.”
Lu Zhiyao said this very naturally, even with a sense of pride that his perspective was correct.
Li Ruoshui threw the remaining bun to the cat, then rubbed her slightly cold fingertips. “It’s a cat. Don’t ask too much of it.”
Lu Zhiyao smiled without speaking. If he had to say, he felt Li Ruoshui was quite like a cat—both prone to bristling if they got too close to him.
Except, Li Ruoshui could control herself; the cat couldn’t.
Outside, the sky was gradually darkening. Li Ruoshui felt the temperature had dropped significantly. Rubbing her arms, she stood up and moved away. “I’m going to warm myself by the fire.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhiyao paused for a moment, rubbed his fingertips a few times, then curved his lips into a smile. “Staying with me might be warmer than the fire.”
Li Ruoshui ignored his words and sat by the fire, rubbing her hands to warm herself.
The dry firewood crackled in the flames, occasionally sparking. As she warmed herself, a sudden, sharp pain bloomed in her palms.
Gasping, thinking a spark had hit her, she reflexively pulled her hands back to check.
Seeing this, Lu Feiyue put down the flatbread she was roasting and turned to fetch some ointment. “Did you get burned?”
“No…” Li Ruoshui’s palms were perfectly clean. Not only that, but her calves, closer to the fire, also began to ache with a bone-deep coldness, as if sharp knives were slicing her. She stood up abruptly, moving away from the fire, she hesitated for a moment. “The poison must be flaring up.”
[1] TLN: Just like Cakieee 😀