King of Hundred Victories Saber

Guo Xiangyu sobbed in his arms, both hands clutching his clothes in a death grip, as if afraid that the moment she loosened her hold he would vanish: ”Feiyang, promise me, from now on you’re not allowed to fight like this with your life on the line anymore, all right? Even if there’s the slightest danger, you must think of yourself first... I don’t need you to be some peerless hero, I only need you safe and sound by my side...”

Shi Feiyang gently stroked her long hair and said tenderly, ”All right, I promise you. We still have to go see all the beautiful scenery under heaven together, to grow old side by side and never part—how could I bear to leave you so easily?”

At this moment, moonlight pierced the thin veil of clouds and spilled over the two of them, coating this pair of lovers who had walked through life and death in a soft, gentle glow.

The clamor around them seemed to have nothing to do with them; on this blood-soaked, brutal battlefield, their love bloomed like a flower in full flourish, ever more delicate and dazzling.

The Mid-Autumn night wind carried the metallic sweetness from the banks of the Chishui River, raising fine, sobbing whispers outside the tent. Shi Feiyang fixed his gaze on the swaying torches beyond the canvas, listening to Guo Xiangyu’s even breathing, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the icy hilt of the Celestial Frost Blade.

The face he had not seen for three years grew gradually clear in his mind; Shi Ying holding a child in her arms was an even more searing sight than that red dress in his memory.

He moved softly, tucking the brocade quilt higher over Guo Xiangyu’s shoulders, only to see her lashes tremble, and in her drowsiness she caught his wrist: ”You’re going to see her again?” Her voice was wrapped in sleep-heavy weariness, like a little cat that had been wronged.

Shi Feiyang’s throat tightened. He bent down and kissed away the crease between her brows: ”I’m going to look in on them; I’ll be back in three days at most. Just wait for me in peace. When I return I’ll take you to see the mountains all aflame with red maples.”

Guo Xiangyu suddenly flipped over and sat up. The moonlight made her pale face almost translucent, yet in her eyes burned a stubborn jealous flame. She said sourly, ”It’s been three years. She’s taken the child and hidden away in the deep mountains—do you have any idea how she’s lived through these thousand-odd days and nights?”

Then she clenched his lapels, her voice trembling, ”Every time you say you’re coming to Bozhou, I’m afraid you’ll never come back. Afraid you’ll be ensnared in that tender land of gentleness and forget there’s still someone waiting for you...”

Shi Feiyang drew her into his arms, breathing in the jasmine scent from her hair laced with a faint trace of blood, and said gently, ”Silly girl, you’re the one carved onto my heart.” He stroked her slender jade hand. ”Once Yang Yinglong is put down, I’ll bring you both to the Jiangnan Main Altar. Then, every morning I’ll rise to draw your brows, and at dusk we’ll watch the river of stars together.”

Guo Xiangyu broke into tears and laughter, lightly thumping his chest as she scolded, ”You only know how to sweet-talk people.” Yet she suddenly hugged him tight. ”Be careful on the road, no matter what. If there’s danger, come back at once. I... I’d rather you wronged the whole world than let you wrong yourself.”

Even after Shi Feiyang had vanished into the night using the ”A Thousand Miles Leaving No Trace” Supreme Lightness Technique, Guo Xiangyu still leaned against the tent flap. She stared in the direction he’d gone until the morning mist spread over the Chishui River and swallowed the last trace of starlight.

Morning mist like gauze draped itself over the Thunder Sound Terraces. Rice ears hung with crystal dewdrops that, under the newborn sun, glimmered like shards of gold.

Shi Feiyang’s toes tapped across wave after wave of rippling rice, his heartbeat somehow more violent than when facing the ”Poison Guanyin.” The mist, fine as silk, softly shrouded the Celestial Demon Sect Main Altar atop Thunder God Rock, where Mandala Flowers loomed faintly in the haze, their dark fragrance drifting.

Shi Feiyang passed up the layers of stone steps, his pace unconsciously quickening, the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears like war drums. When he pushed open that familiar vermilion-lacquered door, its creak startled the white doves beneath the eaves; amidst the flurry of beating wings, time seemed to flow backward to three years ago.

In the courtyard, Shi Ying wore a dress of moon-white gauze, like a Banished Immortal descended to the mortal world.

She held their young child in her arms, teasing the golden-silk canary beneath the corridor.

The morning light bestowed a gentle halo upon her, while the pearl hairpin swaying amidst her hair moved lightly with her motions, setting off her features to look all the more pure and lovely. In the three years apart, some of the girlish playfulness in her brows and eyes had faded, replaced by a softer, more mature grace; yet those eyes of hers were still as bright as before, brimming with starlight.

Shi Feiyang’s throat worked; a thousand words jammed in his chest. After a long moment, he finally called out softly, ”Shi Ying.”

Shi Ying’s movements suddenly went rigid, and the child in her arms stopped laughing as well.

She turned slowly, and at the instant her gaze met Shi Feiyang’s, her eyes filled with a sudden mist of tears. The grains of rice in her hand scattered across the ground, yet she seemed not to notice, only stared blankly at the man before her, her lips trembling slightly: ”Feiyang... it really is you...”

Shi Feiyang strode forward, but stopped three steps away from her.

The three years of separation had somehow birthed in him a trace of unease and unfamiliarity. Shi Ying looked hard at him, her fingertips gently brushing his face as if to make sure this was real. ”You’ve gotten thinner, and darker...” Her voice choked; tears slid down her cheeks. ”These three years, I’ve counted the days waiting for you, every single night hoping I could see you in my dreams...”

The child in her arms blinked his big eyes curiously and reached out his chubby little hands to pat lightly at Shi Feiyang’s cheek.

”This is... our child?” Shi Feiyang’s voice shook as he carefully reached out to touch the child’s soft little face. The child suddenly broke into a wide, toothless grin, let out a bright peal of laughter, and grabbed at Shi Feiyang’s lapel, burrowing into his chest.

”His name is Shi Nian—every day he’s thinking of his father.” Shi Ying, weeping and laughing all at once, gently placed the child into Shi Feiyang’s arms. ”Look, he’s exactly like you.”

Shi Feiyang held the child tightly, feeling the warmth of that small body; boundless tenderness and guilt surged in his heart. He raised his head and gazed at Shi Ying with deep affection. ”I’m sorry, for all the suffering you’ve endured. Once the Bozhou rebellion is put down, I will never leave the two of you again, not even half a step. I’ll be there as Nian’Er grows up. I’ll watch the turning of the four seasons with you, and stay with you until our hair turns white, never to part.”