She fixed her gaze on the white-clad swordsman who had come to visit, and suddenly smiled: "But in the end, she used it to save a complete stranger's child."
Upon hearing those words, Huo Zhanbai's anger and shock gradually subsided.
"Then... is Senior Liao confident?" he asked hesitantly.
"Fifty percent." Liao Qingran nodded.
Huo Zhanbai felt relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart.
“Mo’er’s condition is critical. I’ll pack my things now,” Liao Qingran said, clearing the table and instructing a maid to organize medicine pouches and clothes in the room. “When my husband returns, I’ll tell him, and we’ll head to Lin’an together tonight.”
"Yes." Huo Zhanbai bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your trouble, Senior Liao."
Just as things were getting busy, the sound of the door being pushed open came from the outside. Someone rushed in, their voice tinged with wariness: "Xiaoqing, there are stranger's footprints in the yard outside—who's here?"
“It’s nothing, Fengxing,” Liao Qingran replied casually. “It’s a friend of my disciple who’s visiting.”
Upon hearing the voice, Huo Zhanbai felt strangely familiar and involuntarily turned his head to look. He met the person's face and they both exclaimed in surprise.
"Fifth brother?!"
"Seventh Brother?!"
Huo Zhanbai stared in disbelief. This tall, elegant man held a pack of diapers in his left hand and a brand-new pearl hairpin in his right. His waist was empty, and the longsword he always carried had been replaced by a money pouch. Even if a thunderbolt struck him on the head, he couldn't imagine that Wei Wu Gongzi, one of the Eight Swords, the once-renowned "Jade Tree Sword" Wei Fengxing, would look like this!
The children inside were startled awake by their exclamation and burst into tears.
"You two know each other?" Liao Qingran looked at the two staring at each other, somewhat surprised. However, she didn't have time to say anything and glared at Wei Fengxing. "What are you all standing there for? Go change Abao's diaper! Do you want our son to cry himself to death?"
Wei Fengxing was startled, then immediately slipped aside and entered the inner room.
A moment later, the child stopped crying.
Huo Zhanbai stood there dumbfounded, staring into the room. Wei Fengxing's technique for changing the baby's diaper was extremely skillful, almost comparable to his "Jade Tree Sword Technique" from back then.
"So..." He turned his head stammeringly, looking at Liao Qingran, "You...you're my fifth sister-in-law?"
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Chapter 8, The Seventh Night of Snow (Part 1)
As dusk began to fall, Huo Zhanbai and Liao Qingran prepared to head south to Lin'an.
On this snowy day, Wei and Liao should have been enjoying a quiet evening by the window in their courtyard, with a small red clay stove burning and some new wine, playing drinking games. Unfortunately, this tactless person interrupted their plans.
"You've had a long journey," Huo Zhanbai said apologetically, looking at the woman who had traveled through the night. "Liao..."
The title stuck in his throat—if he were Xue Ziye's friend, he should address him as "senior"; but if he uttered "senior," wouldn't that be acknowledging that he was inferior to Wei Wu?
"Seventh Young Master, no need to be so polite." Liao Qingran didn't mind these minor details. She patted the sleeping child, turned around and handed him to Wei Fengxing, instructing him: "The weather is still cold these days, so be sure not to let Abao catch a cold. Make sure to heat up his food and wear more clothes when going out—if anything happens, come back and see how I deal with you!"
Wei Fengxing held the child and nodded meekly, not daring to utter a single word.
This was no longer the dashing and charming Young Master Wei who had captivated countless women in the martial world. He was clearly a sheep intimidated by a shrew. Huo Zhanbai could only find it amusing, but dared not utter a word.
He finally understood where Xue Ziye's temper came from; truly, like teacher, like student.
"Fengxing, I'll head over with Seventh Young Master first." Liao Qingran mounted her horse and gently instructed, "The departure time is uncertain, depending entirely on Xu Mo's condition—it could be three to five days, or a month or two. You need to be extra careful while you're home alone—" Her gentle instructions trailed off, then her tone suddenly changed: "If I find out you and Xia Qianyu are fooling around in places like that again, I'll break your legs!"
"Yes, yes." Wei Fengxing wasn't angry; he just hugged Abao and nodded repeatedly.
As dusk fell, a chill hung in the air, the clouds were greyish-white, and there were faint signs of impending snow. Wei Fengxing pulled something from the bundle beside him, unfolded it to reveal a cloak, and wrapped it around his wife: "Even a divine physician should be careful not to catch a cold."
Liao Qingran smiled and suddenly turned her head to kiss his forehead, revealing a girlish expression: "I know. Be a good girl at home, and wait for me to bring you your favorite plum blossom cake from Lin'an."
She rode off first along the grassy path, and Huo Zhanbai immediately jumped onto his horse. He looked back at the man who was standing in the courtyard holding the child, watching them leave, and suddenly felt a slight sense of loss.
This is what they call a perfect couple.
He caught up with Liao Qingran, and the two rode side by side. The woman, wearing a hood, hurried through the night. Although she was over thirty, she was like a piece of fine jade, increasingly warm and elegant, with a refined and noble air.
That fifth brother is really lucky.
Huo Zhanbai vaguely remembered that many years ago, during a battle with the Moon Worshiping Sect of Southern Xinjiang, Wei Fengxing was seriously injured and left the Central Plains to seek medical treatment, only returning a year later. He figured that's when the two of them met—then the woman resigned from her position as the Valley Master of Medicine Master Valley and came to the Central Plains incognito; while the young and promising Fifth Young Master Wei also soon retired from the martial arts world, living a carefree and blissful life together.
"Young Master Huo, I should actually thank you—" He was still lost in thought when he suddenly heard a sigh.
He was slightly startled, then turned to meet Liao Qingran's meaningful eyes: "Because of you, my foolish disciple finally gave up that unrealistic fantasy. She was immersed in that dream for too long. Now that her obsession has been broken, everything can start anew."
She smiled at him and said, "Seventh Young Master Huo, when will you be able to see through the obsession in your heart?"
Huo Zhanbai stroked the Ferghana horse that Xue Ziye had given him, and suddenly smiled: "Valley Master Liao, your disciple has a very good capacity for alcohol. When Mo'er is fully recovered, I want to go back to Medicine Master Valley and have another good sparring session with her."
“Really? Then you can’t outdrink her,” Liao Qingran tucked her hood behind her ear and winked at him. “Drinking and rock-paper-scissors, I taught her all of those skills, and she’s already surpassed me—you know? That’s how Fengxing lost to me back then.”
"Huh?" Huo Zhanbai was surprised and then chuckled.
“Hehe,” Liao Qingran looked at him and laughed, “If you go, it’s hard to guarantee that you won’t repeat the same mistakes.”
"Hahaha," Huo Zhanbai was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter again, spurred his horse and galloped far away, replying loudly, "That's fine too!"
As dusk deepened and a light snow began to fall, Huo Zhanbai looked up at the falling snow as he sped along, and suddenly felt a little dazed: What was that woman doing now? Was she drinking alone, or talking to herself to the person under the ice?
That desolate valley...time seemed to stand still.
He suddenly found himself unable to stop thinking about her. On the eve of his return to Lin'an to end everything, with the burden in his heart lifted, every little detail of the past eight years vividly surfaced... The bright moon in the snow that night, the falling plum blossoms, the person sleeping soundly in his arms, all seemed so close at hand.
Perhaps... it really is time to say goodbye to the past.