White Robe

Chapter 82

My long hair cascaded in the gentle breeze, rising and falling softly. The lotus pond, the weeping willows, the small bridge, the white stones before me seemed to vanish, leaving only the white-clad man sitting by the pond, his fingers playing the flute. Only he remained in my eyes, playing, note by note, the melody of his heart:

The waves of Dongting Lake never cease, the river flows on and on. This water will never run dry, this sentiment will never waver…

This water will never run dry, this intention will never be regretted!

The man in white slowly put down the yellowed bamboo flute in his hand, but did not turn around. He said softly, "Is...is it Yi Yi?"

I bit my lip but didn't reply, slowly walking closer to him. Even through his clothes, I could see the muscles in his back tense slightly; years of being an assassin meant he was still very uncomfortable with people walking behind him. But after that tense, he still didn't turn around.

"Your Ju Xue should still be in your sleeve..." His voice, like his departing figure, was filled with desolation and pain: "I've lied to you so much, so take that sword... and kill me..."

A slender, flawless jade sword silently slid from my sleeve, coldly and mercilessly pressed against his neck. My voice was equally cold and merciless:

"You've done so many wrong things—every single one of them made me want to kill you with a single sword strike!" I flicked my wrist, bringing the blade a little closer to his neck. I said, word by word, "You were clearly poisoned by the Soul-Sealing Poison, yet you tricked me into taking advantage of me; you were clearly afraid I'd be killed by Lan Ye, yet you schemed to lure me to Prince Ning's place; you were clearly afraid I'd be harmed, yet you didn't dare utter a single word; you clearly loved me deeply, yet you always used two identities to deal with me, acting like a cowardly timid fool! You clearly—" I slashed the sword forcefully towards his back, the jade blade flashing with a streak of light, a chill emanating from its blade. Shang Shaozhang stiffened, but remained motionless, waiting for my sword to fall…

"Rip—" A sound of tearing fabric rang out, the sound of clothes being ripped.

With my sword, I sliced open the cloth robe on his back, leaving Shang Shaochang's back completely exposed to the air.

As his clothes were torn to shreds, a deep, gruesome wound, reaching to the bone, snaked from his neck down to his waist, surrounded by countless other wounds of varying sizes. Although seven or eight months had passed and the wound had healed, the sheer danger he faced when he jumped off the cliff and the arduous struggle for survival could never be fully described!

My teeth chattered, my legs buckled, and my knees slammed to the ground. I cursed, "You—you clearly survived the fall from the cliff by a hair's breadth, yet you...you even hid this from me...you—what do you take me for—I—I—" I finally couldn't hold back the tears streaming down my face. My right hand, gripping the sword, trembled uncontrollably, and it clattered to the ground. I threw myself onto Shang Shaochang, hugging his wounded back tightly, and cried, "You—you big liar! The biggest...the biggest lecher in the world! The biggest liar!—"

I clung tightly to Shang Shaochang, my face pressed against his ugly but warm back, sobbing uncontrollably, as if trying to weep away every last drop of longing I had endured over the past eight months! If anyone were watching, they would see a woman in black, unabashedly embracing a shirtless man by the lotus pond, weeping loudly as if no one else were around… But even if someone saw us, what did it matter?! The only man I, Baiyi, loved and cherished in this world, had finally returned to my side! —Unconsciously, Shang Shaochang lifted me up, holding me gently but firmly in his arms. He had never been so strong before, never held me so tightly, as if he feared I would vanish into thin air at any moment:

"Yiyi, my dear Yiyi!..." He hugged me tightly, buried his head in my neck, and whispered in my ear:

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He frantically wiped my face, trying to wipe away the tears streaming down my face, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed. My tears stained his hands, his face, and his chest. I felt like a small, deeply wronged child who had finally found someone to confide in and comfort me. Although I was still crying, I felt a warmth and happiness I hadn't felt in a long time! The man I had been waiting for was finally alive and well in front of me… Su Sanshou was right! As long as he lives well and continues to live well with me, how could I hate him, how could I possibly hate him!

At that moment, I vaguely felt that my collar was damp, as if something warm had flowed inside.

For the first time, a fresh, gentle smile appeared on my tear-streaked face. I didn't look up at Shang Shaochang's face, but instead reached out my hand, which was no longer cold, and embraced him.

He's a real man, that's enough, really enough.

"Yiyi..." A warm hand brushed across my cheek and gently patted it. "Are you asleep?"

"Mmm..." I let out a soft, comfortable hum, reached back and wrapped my arms around the neck of the white-clad man behind me, and moved into a comfortable position in his arms, saying, "I'm not asleep, I'm thinking about something."

Shang Shaochang smiled gently and pulled me closer. He held me as we sat in the bamboo grove outside the cottage, just as he had years ago, in his blue robe and playing the bamboo flute, when he first embraced me, drunk, under the moonlight. The moon in the sky was still as bright and flawless as ever, and the bamboo grove was as verdant and graceful as it had been then. But he and I were more sober than Shang Shaochang and Bai Yi had been that night, and we could better appreciate this rare tranquility and sweetness, the sweetness of mutual affection.

Shang Shaozhang gently brushed the stray hairs from my forehead and smiled, "What are you thinking about?"

I stared at him with wide eyes, then suddenly sat up straight from his embrace, cupped his face in my hands to examine it from side to side, and tilted my head to ask, "I'm wondering if your surname is Shang or Ye?"

Shang Shaozhang was slightly taken aback, then winked and laughed, "What does it matter what my surname is?"

"You annoying Young Master Shang! Of course it's related!" Seeing Young Master Shang looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes, I gritted my teeth in anger, forgetting all about blushing, and shouted, "At least—at least—I need to know what my future children's surname is!" Seeing that Young Master Shang couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing my words, I felt both ashamed and angry. I reached out and pretended to grab his neck, saying fiercely, "Will you tell me or not? Will you tell me or not?... Ouch!" It turned out that Young Master Shang had put three fingers under my armpit to tickle me. He was so focused on "interrogating" me that he had fallen into his trap.

We laughed and joked around, then exchanged a smile, both finding our childish behavior both naive and amusing. Shang Shaozhang pulled me onto his lap and gently picked the tiny bits of grass from my hair. He sighed softly, saying, "I don't really know what my surname should be… My late mother's surname was Xia, and my younger sister Yanliang took her surname, naturally inheriting her medical skills. My father, however, was just a nameless assassin… He never knew who his parents were, let alone his own surname. So, I only learned his assassin skills, but never had a surname. It wasn't until my mother said, 'The Xia and Shang dynasties changed, so why not use 'Shang' as our surname? Brothers and sisters are of one mind, bound by blood, so let's name him 'Shaozhang,' and that's how I got my name."

"When I was a teenager, my parents passed away one after the other. I learned martial arts skills, but I didn't know who was the murderer who killed them. To find the real killer, I had to become the assassin my father had been... I can't remember how many people I killed, whether they were good or bad, but the more I killed, the brighter my reputation became, and the deeper I fell into an endless hell... Assassins shouldn't be famous, but I was the opposite. Everyone in the martial arts world knew that 'there is precedence but not age,' but the blood on my hands kept increasing..."

As Young Master Shang slowly recounted his story, I gazed into his eyes. His dark pupils were filled with endless sorrow and loneliness. The events he recounted seemed unremarkable, but the bloodshed and life-or-death struggles of that time made it impossible to fully describe them. I reached out and grasped his cold fingers, softly asking, "And then...and then...?"

Shang Shaochang smiled gently, a hint of warmth returning to his eyes, and said, "Back then, I was young and impetuous, but my heart gradually became numb... I didn't even know if I was killing for revenge or just killing for the sake of killing... To survive, I could take on the most difficult killing jobs and use the simplest knife techniques to defeat my enemies in one strike. But I was still an assassin, and once you become an assassin, you can only be an assassin for life... Until one day, I unintentionally saved a dying old man. This was the first time I saved someone, and also the first time I killed someone for free."

"I've seen plenty of robbers stealing money and killing people, but this time, I inexplicably saved that old man. The strangest thing is that the old man refused to let go of the tattered bundle in his arms, even at the cost of his life. No matter how fast I acted, the old man had already been slashed in the back by those men and was clearly dying. In his dying moments, he entrusted the contents of the bundle to me, and his last words were: 'Young master, you are a good man. I entrust this to you so that I can die in peace.' If he knew that I was actually a hundred times more vicious than those robbers, what would he think?"

"There was nothing else in the bag except a book called 'The Illustrated Compendium of Fabrics,' which was full of various fabric patterns and weaving instructions, written in great detail. The book was signed by Old Man Ye, without any further explanation. This thin booklet could actually attract others to snatch it up, so its contents must be extraordinary. Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into my mind. I had quite a bit of money at the time. If I could buy a loom and hire a weaver to weave brocade according to the patterns, I might be able to succeed in one go!"

"This plan was actually full of flaws and had almost no chance of success... but it succeeded unbelievably! Qiuye Pavilion became famous almost overnight because of Qing Si Xue Chou, and the name Ye Zhi Qiu became famous all over the world! ... This is exactly the result I wanted—I have a second identity besides being an assassin. Although this identity is just a shadow of myself, I may need it someday!"

"So, by day I am the mysterious Ye Zhi Qiu, and by night I am the fearsome assassin Shang Shao Chang. ... But I feel I can never go back to being the ruthless Shang Shao Chang. I prefer to be a businessman, though it's a mundane life, it's easier and happier than being an assassin."

“Until… I saw you behind the white curtain…” Shang Shaochang looked at me and murmured, “Such a woman, even under my murderous aura, remained calm and composed, escaping unscathed. So outstanding, yet so pure—others call you the White-Robed Minister, the pinnacle of merchants; whoever has you is as good as having endless wealth… But I only know that if I miss such a woman with extraordinary courage, I may never have another like her…”

I listened quietly to Shang Shaochang's story, a gentle smile slowly spreading across my eyes. I said, "So, that day you secretly came to look at me while I was drunk? To see if I was beautiful or ugly?... You..." I clenched my fist and finally lightly punched his chest, scolding, "You...you're such a big idiot, a coward!"

"I'm such a fool, such a coward!" Young Master Shang hugged me tightly, his voice trembling slightly. "I don't know how to tell you that Young Master Shang and Ye Zhi Qiu are actually the same person; to conceal this lie, while I was by your side, I had to let Chu Guan Feng eliminate Ye Zhi Qiu; I was afraid you would be in danger by my side, I was afraid my identity as an assassin would bring you trouble! I would rather jump off the cliff myself, maybe that would end it all... Yi Yi, I'm sorry! I—I really didn't know you were going to jump with me! Jump with me..."

I hugged Shang Shaochang tightly, so tightly I could feel his heart pounding strongly in his chest, his breath quickening in my ear. I whispered, "Silly boy... I'm sorry... From now on, no matter what happens, no matter what hardships we face, we must live well, okay?" I looked up at him, gentle yet firm, and said, word by word, "Remember, I am Baiyi. I will be stronger than most people! And I will protect myself better than most people!"

I suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear—it's so late already!"

Shang Shaochang looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late... Do you feel cold?"

I rolled my eyes a few times and said, "Yes, I'm very cold, as cold as I can be."

Shang Shaozhang hurriedly said, "Then I'll take you inside, okay?" Seeing that I didn't move, he asked curiously, "Huh, why aren't you leaving?" He saw that my expression was a mix of a smile and a reproach. Shang Shaozhang looked at me, and a thoughtful smile slowly appeared on the corner of his lips. Suddenly, he stretched out his arms and picked me up around the waist amidst my scream, and said with a smile, "I have a promise with Baiyi, and I will certainly obey."

I felt my cheeks burning hot, and this time I was so ashamed that I wanted to disappear into the ground. Seeing him holding me, I was both surprised and delighted, his eyes full of affection. Helplessly, I punched his chest hard and said, "You bastard—" The word "bastard" came out of my mouth, and I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.

Shang Shaozhang, however, was not offended and laughed loudly, "I'm such a lecherous bastard."

I blushed again, burying my head in his chest, but no longer struggling, letting him carry me into the room… The past year and a half of trials and tribulations, the hardships and joys, the love and companionship, the support and companionship… all seemed to have been rewarded at this moment. What were the life-and-death struggles we had endured compared to this sweet tenderness?! Looking at Shang Shaochang, I only wanted to remember him completely in my heart, never, ever forget him.

Shang Shaochang, we will never be like your parents, because we are both strong, capable of protecting ourselves, and even more capable of protecting each other... Let us live well, and live happily and peacefully like this!

Chapter Thirty-Nine Epilogue

“Sister Bai, you…you’re leaving like this…” Youhua handed over a small blue cloth bundle containing my change of clothes, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears. Su Da, standing beside her, opened his mouth and said, “Sister Bai—” before letting out a deep sigh. He gently patted his newlywed wife’s slender shoulders with his crippled arm, tenderly comforting her.

I used a handkerchief to wipe away Youhua's tears and smiled, "Little sister, you're a bride now, why are you still crying so much?" My own eyes reddened slightly. Thinking of how I had traveled the world with my beloved, not knowing when I would return, I felt an overwhelming sadness. I composed myself, turned to Yun Yiyang, patted his shoulder, and said, "Little Yun, from now on, Guiyun Manor will truly be your own Guiyun Manor. You must manage it well!"

"Sister Bai—" Yun Yiyang grabbed my hand tightly, his large eyes filled with reluctance. This young man, who had grown through countless dangers and trials, no longer had the childish look I had first seen him. He exuded an aura of determination and courage! Yun Yiyang took a deep breath, walked up to Shang Shaozhang behind me, and suddenly punched him hard in the chest, saying, "Master—no, Brother Shang! If you have wronged my Sister Bai, I, Yun Yiyang, will be the first to not forgive you!"

Shang Shaozhang staggered as he took the punch, then laughed, "You too... I've entrusted my only younger sister to you, so you'd better take good care of her." I replied, "If you bully my little green sister, I won't stand for it."

Yun Yiyang was slightly taken aback, exchanged a glance with Shang Shaozhang, and then the two burst into laughter! Little Green was the one who bullied others, never the other way around! Yun Yiyang asked, "Brother Shang, what are your plans for the future with Sister Bai?"