He didn't speak, but simply turned and gazed silently at the houses engulfed in flames, the fire reaching the sky, red flames and black smoke threatening to engulf the heavens. Dark night, blood-stained clothes, bright eyes. His long sleeves billowed high, like a painting that would never fade.
He opened his mouth, about to speak, when suddenly he heard a sharp gust of wind lashing behind his ear. His heart tightened, and he quickly leaped aside. But as if the black whip knew he would dodge, it suddenly turned, its thorny blade wrapping around him and pulling him into the burning house.
Xiao Man gasped, rushed over, and cried out, "Tianquan! Tianquan!"
Red-hot roof tiles fell down, but no one answered her. Her tears, frozen on her face, froze. She ran around the house, unwilling to leave, calling his name repeatedly.
She heard someone else calling her name from a short distance away, but she didn't hear it. She just stared blankly at the raging fire, completely stunned.
"Xiao Man!" someone shouted her name and rushed up to hug her tightly.
She turned around in a daze, and there was Zexiu. His face was covered in sweat, but his expression was a mixture of joy and worry. He picked her up and said urgently, "There's a fire here! Let's go!"
She was carried away from the burning courtyard in his arms, numbly, when she suddenly whispered, "He...he's dead?"
"Who? Tianquan?" Zexiu asked, looking down.
She nodded, then shook her head. Seeing that her expression was off, Zexiu couldn't help but whisper, "Xiaoman?"
She said softly, "Yes, Zexiu, you're here."
She didn't speak again until Zexiu brought her back to the inn.
Xiaoman, do you love me?
Someone asked her this question.
She thought about it for a very long time, but still didn't know how to answer.
If I say I love you, I'm definitely lying to you; if I say I don't love you, I'm definitely lying to myself.
So, is it love or not?
The door was pushed open, footsteps approached the bedside, and a person sat down, touching her forehead and whispering, "The doctor said you were frightened."
She shook her head: "I'm fine, I'm alright. Zexiu, thank you for saving me. How did you find me?"
“That night I chased after him and found Black Bat’s body not far away. He had two arrow wounds on his shoulder. Although the arrows had been removed, after cleaning the wounds, it was still clear that they were not ordinary bows and arrows. Only the Divine Martial Bow could inflict such wounds. Moreover, the arrows were coated with extremely potent poison, and he died almost instantly. So I know that it was Tianquan who saved you.”
She nodded: "Yes...that's how it is."
Zexiu looked at her for a while, then suddenly said, "I went back to that courtyard and saw that there were five corpses in the house, all burned... so I couldn't tell who Tianquan was. I've already buried them all."
She nodded again: "Thank you."
He looked at her quietly, then reached out and picked her up, holding her close in his arms: "Xiaoman, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
She whispered, "No, no... I'm just... I'm tired and want to sleep for a while."
He nodded: "Okay, I'll have the guy bring some hot water over. Take a good shower and go to sleep."
After Xiaoman finished her bath and got dressed, she lay back down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she saw a raging fire. It felt as if she were being burned in the flames herself; the floral pattern on her ears felt intensely hot. She covered her ears tightly, curled up into a ball, and fell into a deep daze.
She felt a warmth on her shoulder as someone's hand touched her. She trembled, opened her eyes, and saw Zexiu lying beside her. He looked at her quietly, raised his hand to touch her hair, and after a long while, said softly, "Don't be afraid of anything, it's all over."
She hummed in agreement, raised her arms to hug his neck, and buried her face in his chest.
Zexiu hugged her tightly, lowered his head and gently kissed her hair, one hand slowly stroking her back, tender and loving.
"It's my fault for not taking good care of you," he murmured.
She didn't speak, but simply looked up at him quietly. Zexiu brushed the hair away from her face and said softly, "Let's get married."
Xiao Man was stunned; she never expected him to suddenly say that.
"There will be an auspicious day this month for me to marry you."
“You…you always called me a brat…” she murmured.
He chuckled softly: "Silly child, you're sixteen now, you're old enough to get married."
She didn't speak, closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep. Zexiu quietly held her, stroking her hair gently.
She tried to turn over in her sleep, so Zexiu gently placed her on the bed, stared at her blankly, and finally sighed, lowered his head to kiss her on the cheek, sat up and leaned against the wall, gazing at the shadows of the swirling snow outside the window, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
If I say I love you, I'm lying to you; if I say I don't love you, I'm lying to myself.
So, is it love or not?
Whether Xiaoman truly loves Tianquan is a question for everyone to ponder.
Well, one thing is certain: her feelings for Zexiu never wavered. Her love for Zexiu was simpler, while her relationship with Tianquan was much more complicated... Because it was so complex, it's impossible to explain it clearly in words. I think this is enough. Writing too much would be cumbersome.
By the way, do you hope Tianquan will reappear? No? Tell me. Do you hope it's my biological mother or my stepmother?
S: I've reached my weekly limit for adding featured reviews to the book review section, so I can't add them this week. I'll try again next week. Lately, the reviews have been blank, without any red "featured" stamps, which is really annoying.
Chapter Twelve of the Crimson Butterfly Scroll: Crimson Butterfly (Part Three)
Updated: 2008-10-20 15:34:33 Word Count: 4271
Uh, only one chapter today.
I'll see when I can have another burst of energy and post three chapters... I can't manage that today.
Xiaoman quickly regained her usual energy, chatting and laughing, and the gloom completely disappeared.
After finishing her meal, she took out a map and studied it: "Zexiu, when are we going to Kaifeng? My legs are getting itchy from staying in the inn all the time."
He ate a grape, spitting out the skin, and said, "I can leave tomorrow. By the way, Madam Tang from Lanzhizhai sent you something through someone. Don't you want to go see it?"
She jumped up immediately: "What is it? Could it be a banknote?"
He was both amused and exasperated, and raised his hand to tap her: "You're blinded by greed! How could anyone possibly give you silver notes!"
She ran happily to her guest room, where, sure enough, there was a package on the bed. Unwrapping it, she found several brand-new garments, all made of the finest silk. She carefully picked them up, looked at them quietly, and said softly, "They're beautiful. Thank you so much."
Zexiu leaned against the door, watching her quietly.
His little girl had changed. Even though she was still as lively and energetic as ever, the carefree, headstrong look in her eyes was no longer there; instead, a hint of melancholy and sadness had settled. This expression made her seem to have grown up overnight; she was becoming less and less like a child and more and more like a real young woman.
Sometimes, in the dead of night, he couldn't help but go to her room to see her. He could no longer hold her in his arms as he slept, kiss her without restraint, or laugh at her like before. He didn't dare, because being too easily moved would hurt her.
However, this melancholy was not something he brought to her.
Zexiu walked over. He hugged her from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, and whispered, "Xiaoman, what I said about getting married that night wasn't a joke."
The clothes in her hands fell onto the bed. Her face flushed, and she was speechless for a long time. She felt herself trembling violently, her heart filled with a mixture of ecstasy and confusion.
Zexiu turned her body around and looked down at her quietly. Her eyes were deep and dreamlike, filled with a passion he had never felt before, as if they wanted to engulf him. He whispered, "Marry me."
She lowered her head, her ears turning red, staring at her unsteady toes. After a moment, her face slowly paled: "I... I'll think about it."
"Don't you want to?" He seemed to smile slightly, but it was extremely bitter.
Xiao Man looked up quickly, her eyes filled with melancholy: "No. I just... don't know... what it's like to be a wife, I'm not ready yet..."
He gazed at her for a long time, almost swallowed by her dreamlike eyes. After a long while, he slowly released her and whispered, "Okay. I'll wait for you. A lifetime, please."
He slowly walked out and closed the door.
Someone else had said those words to her before. Xiaoman suddenly covered her ears, feeling as if she were being torn to pieces by a raging storm.
A moment later, she suddenly heard his door close. ...Footsteps sounded like he was about to go downstairs. Xiao Man was startled; was he leaving?!
She hurriedly chased after him and, sure enough, saw him wearing a cloak and carrying a sword, about to leave. She asked in a trembling voice, "Where are you going?"
He turned back and smiled: "My hands are itching, I'm going to earn some bounty. You wait here for me, I'll be right back."
Xiao Man ran downstairs and grabbed his arm: "Take me there, okay?"
He looked her up and down, a disdainful expression on his face: "You? What are you good at besides causing trouble?"
Xiao Man grabbed his sleeve and shook it vigorously: "Please, take me with you."
He withdrew his hand: "No way, just wait obediently at the inn."
Xiao Man called out softly, "Ze Xiu."
He turned around and saw her looking melancholy and pleading. His heart softened instantly. He grabbed her hand and whispered, "I'll never let you get away with causing me trouble!"
She immediately burst into laughter: "Don't underestimate me!"
He gave a half-smile, clearly not believing she could be of any help.
Now that the challenge had been accepted, the first step was to gather information from various places. Zexiu took her to a brothel.
Xiaoman always felt that she had already been to a brothel once. In her mind, Lanzhizhai was just a big brothel. If Madam Tang knew that she thought this way, she would probably travel a long distance to take back all the clothes that had been given to her, and then give her a good beating.
But the brothel they visited this time was different. The prostitutes were all holding their breath, not daring to make a sound, because a game of dominoes was being played at a table in the center of the hall. There were four people in total, each exuding a murderous aura, and a group of people were watching from the sidelines, no one daring to utter a sound.
Zexiu hadn't expected this situation, so he pulled her closer by the hand and instructed, "You're absolutely not allowed to run around, understand?"
Xiao Man nodded with utmost sincerity.
Suddenly, one of the four spoke, his voice low but still carrying a youthful tone: "One round to decide the winner. If I win, I must tell you where Wu Laoqi is!"
Wu Laoqi? Isn't that the name on the wanted list? Is he also on a bounty? Wait, that's not the most important thing. The important thing is—that voice sounds so familiar!
She strained to push her head through the crowd and saw the young man speaking, dressed in a fur coat and looking very luxurious, but that face… Good heavens! It was Gengu! Xiaoman was startled, but then she heard another person say, “That’s right, if you lose, you’ll have to pay back a hundred taels of silver. Heh, you look like a greenhorn, trying to get a reward from the government, you’re not even fully grown yet. I’ll let you off this time because you’re young, that’s not how you ask for clues.”
Gengu completely ignored him and said calmly, "Shall we begin?"
The man said, "You go first."
Without a word, Gengu rolled the dice. The result was four fives and a pair of clubs. The man picked up the dice and said, "One round to decide the winner! It's rolled!" He shook them twice, then tossed them onto the table. The result was four ones. Gengu's face turned pale. The man chuckled, "Young man, you've lost. Do the other two want to roll again?"
He immediately stood up and tossed a stack of silver notes to the man: "I lost, no need to say more."
The man clutched the money, grinning from ear to ear, exclaiming, "What a bargain! A hundred taels falling from the sky! What a great deal! Anyone else want to gamble on clues? I'll gladly oblige!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sweet, cheerful voice chuckled, "Alright, I'll bet with you."
The voice was very pleasant, and everyone couldn't help but look over. They saw a slender, petite girl walking over with a smile. It was Xiaoman. Zexiu almost popped his eyes out, but it was too late to stop her. Gengu nodded when he saw Xiaoman, then turned and left, clearly unwilling to acknowledge them.