“No matter how skilled he is, he has a weakness, and that weakness is the butterfly silver chain he wears,” Sanshan Zhenren explained calmly. “You can break his butterfly silver chain. Remember that.”
Yuande was puzzled, “Break the butterfly silver chain? Master, do you mean that breaking his butterfly silver chain will render him powerless?”
“No, it will kill him,” Sanshan Zhenren said, stroking his white beard.
Yuande didn’t understand how Sanshan Zhenren knew this, but he dared not ask further. He nodded, “I understand, Master.”
Sanshan Zhenren, feeling weary, waved Yuande away, “I trust you the most. Do not fail.”
“Yes, I will kill them,” Yuande obediently left the inner room. As he stepped into the outer room, he was drenched in sweat, unsure if it was from the heat of the furnace or his own nervousness.
*
The light in the guest room dimmed.
He Sui’an had fallen asleep. Before she slept, Qi Buyan had poured her a cup of hot tea.
Although she hadn’t intended to drink tea tonight, when Qi Buyan handed it to her, she didn’t want to refuse him, so she took a small sip from his hand.
Not long after lying down, He Sui’an fell asleep, her breathing steady and calm.
In the darkness, Qi Buyan lowered his eyes, not sleeping. He found himself smoothing He Sui’an’s long hair that lay scattered on the bed, his fingers twirling the ends, listening to her soft breathing.
He Sui’an turned over in her sleep.
She lifted her foot and placed it on his leg.
The red hem of her skirt spread slightly, overlapping with his indigo robe, revealing a slender, pale ankle. Her embroidered shoes and silk socks had slipped off, and her bare feet emerged from beneath the skirt.
At that moment, the door was gently pushed open from the outside, and the young Taoist Yuande walked in.
He held a dagger.
The dagger gleamed with a cold, sharp light.
Yuande stopped after only a few steps because he saw that the young man, who should have been deeply asleep after drinking several cups of tea, was awake.
The drug in the tea didn’t affect him?
Qi Buyan smiled. This smile, paired with his face, was innocent yet eerily unsettling, causing Yuande to shiver involuntarily.
On the bed, He Sui’an’s foot, having lost its support, moved unconsciously to the edge. Qi Buyan gently grasped her ankle, placed it back on the bed, and covered it with a thin blanket.
Yuande steeled himself and stepped forward.
Qi Buyan’s pupils dilated slightly, whether from surprise or excitement was unclear.
“Are you here to kill us?” Qi Buyan asked.
Yuande did not answer, instead thrusting the dagger toward him. Qi Buyan dodged effortlessly. Yuande stumbled into the table, the legs creaking, and the dagger slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor.
The situation was entirely unexpected for Yuande.
He had assumed that He Sui’an, who hadn’t drunk the tea, would be the only one awake. He hadn’t anticipated that Qi Buyan, who had drunk the tea, would be the one still conscious. Yuande knew he was no match for this young man.
Remembering Sanshan Zhenren’s words, Yuande turned and lunged at Qi Buyan again, grabbing the butterfly silver chain on his wrist.
As Yuande was about to tear it, a strand of Heavenly Silk pressed against his throat.
Yuande’s hand froze.
The Heavenly Silk had already cut into his skin.
“Want to try?” Qi Buyan’s smile grew wider, his gentle tone laced with a madman’s twisted edge, “See if you can break my butterfly silver chain first, or if I can slit your throat first.”
He seemed completely unafraid of the chain being broken.
He Sui’an, who hadn’t drunk much tea and wasn’t sleeping deeply, seemed to hear the commotion and turned over.
“Shh.” Qi Buyan made a silencing gesture with his other hand.
He said, “Don’t wake her up.”
Yuande trembled.
Few people are unafraid of death, and he was no exception.
He closed his eyes briefly and said, “I actually don’t want to kill you.”
Qi Buyan seemed moved, his long eyelashes trembling slightly as he murmured, “Really?”
Yuande thought there was still room for negotiation.
Seeing Qi Buyan’s expression soften, he got excited and raised his voice, “Really! I don’t actually want to kill you. How about we both step back and forget about tonight’s events…”
Before he could finish his sentence, his throat was slit.
Yuande’s eyes widened.
Blood slowly soaked Qi Buyan’s hand. “You didn’t want to kill us, but you still came. If I hadn’t been awake, I would be the one dead. Oh… and He Sui’an.”
He Sui’an had been tired from climbing the mountain, and encountering such an incident would certainly prevent her from resting peacefully. So Qi Buyan had given her a small cup of harmless hot tea, just enough to help her sleep deeply.
Qi Buyan had not chosen to use Gu magic.
He wanted to handle it personally.
Yuande clutched his bleeding throat, his words coming out garbled, “You… you…”
“People must pay for their choices. Don’t you agree?”
Qi Buyan twisted the bloodstained Heavenly Silk, his face, still delicate and beautiful like a porcelain doll, now smeared with blood. “It’s not that being forced or having different intentions absolves you, but today, I’ll leave your body intact.”
In the past, he had always let venomous insects and snakes devour the bodies of those he killed.
He had become a bit kinder.
Qi Buyan thought.
*
As the sun rose, casting a red-orange glow,
The morning light sprinkled over Dengyun Mountain, filtering through the intertwined ancient trees and onto Xuanmiao Temple.
The temple’s bells and drums were struck at the designated times, the sounds slowly spreading. The monks emerged from their chambers in single file, heading towards the Hall of the Three Purities. Everything seemed the same as any other day.
The guest room was now very clean.
It still emitted a faint, fresh scent.
Inside, He Sui’an also heard the bells and drums, but she had already risen early. Qi Buyan was still asleep, so He Sui’an stayed quietly in the room, reading, careful not to make any noise.
In the corner of the guest room at the temple, a few books lay discarded as if forgotten.
She picked them up out of curiosity.
Expecting them to be books on Taoism, she was surprised to find they were medical texts. He Sui’an flipped through a few pages and was soon engrossed.
Reading medical books was beneficial. Although she might not understand everything as a layperson, she could still learn some common remedies. As she was halfway through, a shadow fell over the pages.
She turned to see Qi Buyan awake.
Qi Buyan had just woken up, and his eyes were a bit redder than usual. His pale skin made the redness at the corners of his eyes particularly noticeable.
Meanwhile, his Gu insects were already lively, crawling on the wooden floor of the guest room.
He Sui’an sat on the Luohan bed to read.
She was still afraid of insects and snakes.
Otherwise, she would have sat at the table and chairs in the middle of the room, finding a more comfortable position to read instead of sitting on the Luohan bed, holding the book up high, making her hands and neck tired.
Qi Buyan picked up his outer garment from the bedside and put it on, the metal clasps making a sound as he fastened them. His slender figure and the belt accentuated his resilient, narrow waist.
He Sui’an put down her book, “You’re awake.”
“Yes.”
His gaze swept over He Sui’an’s hair, tied with silk ribbons, “You got up very early today.”
She rubbed her eyes.
Qi Buyan withdrew his gaze from her hair and looked at the book under her hand as he put on his wrist guards, “What book were you reading?”
He Sui’an held up the book she had been reading, “A medical book I found in the corner.”
They were in no hurry to leave Xuanmiao Temple.
The ten thousand-flower plant bloomed at night. Even if they went up the mountain now, they wouldn’t find it and would have to wait at the top until dark. So it was better to leave later.
Just as Qi Buyan finished dressing and washing up, another Taoist came to the room.
It wasn’t the young Taoist from last night.
It was a different Taoist, unfamiliar to them. He explained that they performed morning lessons for an hour each day, followed by breakfast at the dining hall. He had come to invite them to join for breakfast.
After the Taoist explained his purpose, he waited for them to come out.
He Sui’an didn’t keep the Taoist waiting long. Almost immediately after he finished speaking, she opened the door.
Seeing that it wasn’t the young Taoist from last night, He Sui’an didn’t find it strange. There were many Taoists in the temple, and it didn’t have to be the same one coming to invite them.
The Taoist led them to the dining hall of Xuanmiao Temple.
The hall was filled with other Taoists.
When they saw He Sui’an and Qi Buyan enter, they all nodded in greeting.
The dining hall had several long tables, each laden with large trays of steamed buns, dumplings, and bowls of congee, available for anyone to take and eat.
Since He Sui’an entered the temple last night, the behavior of the Taoists had been entirely normal, almost too normal. Yet, she could always feel their subtle, scrutinizing glances.
Was it her imagination?
He Sui’an glanced around the dining hall.
Several Taoists were unable to withdraw their scrutinizing gazes in time, and she caught their eyes.
It wasn’t her imagination.
It was real.
They were indeed quietly observing her and Qi Buyan. Why? He Sui’an was puzzled. Was it simply because they were outsiders? But these Taoists were used to seeing outsiders.
Xuanmiao Temple was well-known, and people from Qingzhou and even visitors from afar would come to worship here. He Sui’an didn’t think she was particularly special, so why would she attract so much attention?
Was it because they stayed overnight?
She couldn’t understand why staying overnight at Xuanmiao Temple would be unusual. Deep in thought, she furrowed her brows, only to have a hand smooth them out. Qi Buyan gently touched her brow, “Eat first.”
Qi Buyan seemed oblivious, calmly sitting at the long table indicated by the Taoist. He filled a bowl with congee and took a bun for He Sui’an.
He Sui’an also sat down and accepted the bun.
She took a bite.
The Taoist who brought them over went to eat at another table, leaving only the sounds of eating in the hall.
He Sui’an ate two buns and half a bowl of congee. She couldn’t finish the rest of her congee, but she didn’t want to waste it. Just as she was about to finish it in one go, Qi Buyan took it from her and drank it.
Suddenly, an elderly white-haired Taoist entered the dining hall, and all the Taoists stood up, calling out, “Master.”
The elderly Taoist walked up to them.
He Sui’an looked up in confusion.
Qi Buyan, still calmly eating half a bun, was unfazed.
He Sui’an stood up. She heard the Taoists refer to this elder as Master, so he must be the highly respected Sanshan Zhenren of Xuanmiao Temple.
She also addressed him as “Master.”
Sanshan Zhenren smiled lightly, indicating that there was no need for excessive formality. “You must be the young gentleman and young lady who stayed at Xuanmiao Temple last night.”
“Yes, sorry for the trouble,” He Sui’an said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Sanshan Zhenren’s smile remained unchanged.
He said, “It’s no trouble at all. Guests are always welcome here at Xuanmiao Temple. However, Dengyun Mountain is often visited by wild animals at night, so it’s best to avoid climbing it after dark in the future.”
Qi Buyan finished his half bun and gave a gentle smile to the ever-smiling Sanshan Zhenren, “We’ll be more careful.”
He Sui’an nodded in agreement.
Sanshan Zhenren then asked how they had rested.
Qi Buyan, with a sincere look, replied, “Not very well. It was a bit noisy last night.”
Sanshan Zhenren’s expression didn’t change as he listened.
He Sui’an was puzzled, “Noisy last night? How did I not notice?”
Qi Buyan replied nonchalantly, “You were sleeping too soundly. But it stopped being noisy eventually; otherwise, it would have definitely woken you up.”
