Hua Chongyang turned around coldly, then turned to leave.
Lan Wuxie stepped forward and tightened his grip on her wrist, the light gold fabric rustling against each other, his voice suddenly lowering:
"Don't go... Chongyang Festival."
Even without turning around, Hua Chongyang could almost see his eyes.
A slight pang of pain flashed through my heart.
She still found it hard to believe that he looked at her with such eyes just for a copy of the Azure Heart Sutra.
Not long ago, in the Half-Drunken Garden at midnight, when he was still Zu Xian, he drank until he was quite drunk and spoke to her, his tone and eyes carrying three parts willfulness and seven parts vulnerability; whether it was Zu Xian or Lan Wuxie, that tone and eyes always made people feel sorry for him.
At this moment, Lan Wuxie gripped her wrist tightly, looking down at her. It was still that peerless beauty, with three parts ink-black eyebrows like a painting and seven parts slanted, arched eyes, a snow-white face and a pointed chin. The face that had once been so spirited and arrogant at the martial arts tournament was now drawing closer, lowering itself towards her.
"As long as you stay, you can have anything you want."
Hua Chongyang didn't answer. He paused, then spoke in a low voice:
"If you don't want the child, I—I'll never touch you again—"
The words were almost a plea, but Lan Wuxie was clearly not good at asking for favors; her tone was flat and almost dry. Hua Chongyang felt both heartache and pain listening to her, turning his face away, closing his eyes, and then opening them again:
"I'm not afraid of the children."
After a long while, she turned her face back and looked at Lan Wuxie seriously:
"What I fear is that my child will suffer the same fate as me, growing up without parental love, constantly disliked and adrift. Lan Wuxie, if you treat me this way now, will you say the same thing to other women then and there? My mother's fate was enough; I can't bear another fate like this."
"Whatever I want, you'll give it to me? I want you to only touch me from now on, and never touch any other woman. Can you afford that?"
Lan Wuxie's lips trembled slightly, but he remained silent for a long time.
"Can't you nod?" With each sentence, Hua Chongyang's tone became increasingly aggressive. "Then I'll ask you one last question: do you dare say that you came to me not because you wanted the Azure Sky Heart Sutra?!"
Lan Wuxie listened, her face drained of color, her thin lips pale, yet she remained silent. Hua Chongyang's heart grew colder, and finally, he let out a cold laugh:
"Never mind, Pavilion Master Lan."
She glanced at him one last time, then flung her hand away:
"From now on, let's take care of ourselves."
Lan Wuxie still reached out and pulled her along.
The curtain at the back gate leading to the garden was suddenly thrown open, and Lan Shu ran in to look at Hua Chongyang and then at Lan Wuxie, before hesitatingly speaking:
"Sect Master... Lan Ye just brought a message saying that members of the Martial Alliance have boarded the pleasure boat!"
Lan Wuxie glanced at Hua Chongyang, lowered his hand, turned to the orchid tree, and his voice, which had been low and hoarse just moments before, instantly turned cold and hard as ice:
"I'll go."
Hua Chongyang subtly raised the corners of his lips, then, without turning his head, lifted the bamboo curtain and stepped out.
Springtime colors filled the streets, and people came and went. Hua Chongyang walked along, her heart aching, yet a faint smile remained on her face.
Her steps were unsteady, as if she were subconsciously waiting for someone to chase her; when she realized this, she stopped and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. Passersby turned to look at her curiously, but she stopped laughing, raised an eyebrow, and glared back coldly:
"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a madman before?"
Passersby quickly moved away, their gazes growing increasingly curious and inquisitive. Hua Chongyang wiped away the tears from the corner of his eye with his sleeve, and sneered:
"I refuse to believe that I can't live well without anyone."
She ate at each of the breakfast stalls along the street until her stomach was round and full. When she left the last steamed bun shop, she felt her purse and found she still had a few taels of silver. She weighed the purse in her hand and stepped into the clothing shop next to the steamed bun shop.
The moment her foot touched the ground, the plump proprietress in front of the shop counter was stunned for a moment:
"Oh! What a handsome young man!"
Then he waved to her:
"Unfortunately, young master, you've come to the wrong place. This is a shop selling dresses."
Hua Chongyang smiled and stepped forward to join them:
"Boss, I'm just a girl."
The proprietress looked up and exclaimed "Oh!" again. Hua Chongyang, still smiling, turned his money bag upside down and poured it onto the counter.
"Here's the money, boss. Pick out some clothes for me."
What color and style?
"casual."
"What about the fabric?"
"casual."
"What do you think of this one, young lady?"
"good."
"And this one?"
"good."
"Young lady, why don't you look up and see which of these two you want?"
Hua Chongyang leaned lazily against the counter, glanced up, and was about to say "whatever" when someone at the door cheerfully interjected:
"I don't want any of them!"
Hua Chongyang turned around in surprise.
Ye Qinghua, dressed in a light blue dress and emerald green belt, entered the room carrying an embroidered handkerchief. Without even glancing at Hua Chongyang, she raised an eyebrow and slowly pointed out the two outfits:
"Peach pink with bright green, dark blue with bright red—how can you wear such tacky clothes out in public? Aren't you afraid people on the street will stare at you, and you'll vomit blood all the way home and have nightmares all night?"
What a sharp tongue.
But Chongyang listened and couldn't say a word—what did it matter if he chose the wrong clothes than the wrong man?
Ye Qinghua walked to the counter, a handkerchief in her hand, and smiled.
"Boss lady, bring out a few sets of your finest clothes so I can choose some."
Hua Chongyang stared blankly as the shopkeeper responded and hurried into the inner room.
Ye Qinghua stood in front of the counter, finally turning to look at her, but was startled:
"...Something happened?"
After a long silence, Hua Chongyang forced out a bitter smile and said:
"...How did you know?"
Ye Qinghua was startled again, and after a long while shook her head:
"I was right. The way you looked at me made it perfectly clear."
Hua Chongyang moved his lips, then closed them again.
Ye Qinghua risked her life to persuade her not to be with Lan Wuxie, but she didn't listen; everything that happened today, however, was exactly what Ye Qinghua had foreseen.
She lowered her head and gave a bitter smile.
She accepted whatever words Ye Qinghua used to hurt her; she wasn't afraid of what people said, but she was afraid of people telling the truth.
But surprisingly, Ye Qinghua, the brothel owner, didn't speak again. She sighed, walked over, took Hua Chongyang's hand, and pulled her into her arms, stroking the back of her head like a lapdog.
"I heard from my men that you came out; I wanted to come and see you, but who knew you ran away on your own. Silly girl, now you know how dangerous things are, right?"
Hua Chongyang remained silent. Ye Qinghua patted her back and whispered:
"If you're feeling down, just cry it out. Nobody's going to laugh at you."
Hua Chongyang nestled on Ye Qinghua's shoulder, who was half a head shorter than him. His eyes stung and his throat tightened, but after a long while, he smiled and raised his head, mimicking Ye Qinghua's usual tone:
"Don't cry, what's there to cry about? There are plenty of men in the world, I'm not lacking in that one! I'll dress up, and a whole bunch of them will be running after me!"
This time, Ye Qinghua couldn't smile. Looking at her, she raised her hand and gently touched her face:
"Are you still treating me like an outsider? Seventh Brother only told me about that incident later; it was indeed my fault for not protecting you—"
Before she could finish speaking, Hua Chongyang abruptly interrupted her:
"Blue and white porcelain."
Ye Qinghua was taken aback.
Hua Chongyang curled the corners of his lips:
"Let's not talk about the past anymore. I'm incredibly grateful for your magnanimity and forgiveness."
Ye Qinghua held her hand for a long time, then sighed and turned to look at the inner room behind the counter:
"Fatty Huang! Are you going to drag this out until the end of the year just to get me some clothes?! When did I ever owe you any money or what?!"
Half an hour later, Hua Chongyang was already walking on the street with Ye Qinghua.
She changed into a light, flowing crimson silk dress and robe, trimmed with narrow gold thread embroidered with butterfly patterns. It accentuated her fair face, upturned peach blossom eyes, and long, arched eyebrows. Her long, black hair reached past her waist. In the bright spring sunshine, she looked as charming and spirited as could be. She deliberately made herself smile brightly, and everyone on the street, regardless of gender, stared at her. Her head-turning rate was almost 100%.
Ye Qinghua was dragged along by her arm, and although she tried to break free several times, she failed and was in great distress.
Hua Chongyang was incredibly skilled at talking about sex; once he started talking to Ye Qinghua, he would launch into a long, unending monologue:
"Qinghua, let me invite you for a drink. It's the owner's homemade wine at that little wine shop by the stream..."
"I'm busy."
"You're kidding me. You wouldn't have time so early in the morning? I know you're—"
"If I say I'm busy, then I'm busy."
"You have to make time, even if you're not available. This is the first time I've ever treated you after knowing you for so long. How can you refuse me?"
"I'm sorry."
"...You still have to go together. If you don't drink, you can just watch me drink."
"……"
Hua Chongyang was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed:
"Actually, I wanted you to come with me. The world is a dangerous place, and now that Lan Wuxie isn't protecting me, who knows what might happen if I get drunk on the street. You'll feel safer with me. Am I despicable and vile?"