# 109: The Forest Dweller (X)

◎True Heart◎

As Qu You heard his words, she instinctively took a step toward the door, but Bai Ying grabbed her wrist tightly—she had no idea he possessed such strength.

The offspring of Jinling’s Bai family were all strikingly handsome. Leaving Zhou Tan aside, even Bai Shating had thrived in the pleasure districts thanks to his good looks.

Bai Ying usually wore plain gray or white hemp robes, only recently favoring silvery satin. Lightning reflected off the smooth fabric of his robe, yet his eyes remained devoid of light.

Bai Ying gazed at her calmly, asking with unnerving serenity, “Why must you be so clever?”

His grip was firm, tightening painfully—and it happened to be on Qu You’s injured arm. She winced slightly, and he seemed to notice, loosening his hold just a fraction.

Li Yuanjun spoke softly, “Brother, Zhou Yan followed Zhou Tan out of the city, surely not daring to bring many troops. This place is far from the suburban camp. Before the emperor leaves the palace, we should settle them here.”

Bai Ying said nothing.

Li Yuanjun continued, “Before I lured them to Ting Mountain, I had the Western Sha people switch clothes with Li Family soldiers. We have three hundred men here today, five thousand in the city, and ten thousand along Ji Wang River. Once Zhou Yan dies, we’ll spread the rumor that the emperor ordered it. The suburban camp won’t be able to mobilize, and the imperial city will fall into our hands!”

Qu You stared at him intently, surprised to see an unusual weariness cross Bai Ying’s face. “Did I ever tell you that you’re too impatient?”

Li Yuanjun paused, quickly explaining, “Luo Jiangting has already succeeded in driving them apart. You sent word last time... Zhou Yan was personally promoted by Zhou Tan from the border. How loyal can he truly be to Song Shixuan? If we wait any longer, we’ll lose this perfect opportunity. Killing Zhou Tan and Zhou Yan now ensures nothing changes even if we wait twenty more years!”

The sky began to brighten faintly, lightning flashing without rain. After finishing her speech, Li Yuanjun fell silent for a moment, her gaze shifting to Qu You. “You shouldn’t have come today. You should’ve stayed in the imperial city, waiting to collaborate with me after I succeeded. Knowing it was wrong, you still came—Brother, are you afraid I’ll kill her?”

Bai Ying shook his head, offering a faint smile but no explanation. “I came because I didn’t want you to die here不明不白. After speaking with her just now, I feel even more certain that I made the right choice. Even if everything falls apart, we should face our opponents honestly. It’s only fitting.”

Li Yuanjun was stunned. “Brother, what do you mean?”

“Go,” Bai Ying said simply. “Go down the mountain and let Zhou Tan come up. I’ll wait here for you both.”

Li Yuanjun wanted to ask more, but Bai Ying refused to elaborate. After she turned and left, Qu You suddenly spoke. “So you didn’t know she abducted me.”

Bai Ying replied, “I told you she was too impatient. Isn’t this exactly falling into your trap?”

“Then why release Zhou Tan to come up here?”

Bai Ying hesitated briefly before answering simply, “At this point, one must face their opponent honestly.”

“Li Yuanjun’s words earlier assumed Zi Qian and Zhou Tan were truly estranged. But I already told you this was just a ruse. Yet you still invited him up...” Qu You stared at him, her throat tightening. “What’s your contingency plan?”

Bai Ying lowered his eyelashes, neither confirming nor denying.

Before Qu You could say more, Bai Ying pressed a point on the back of her neck. She felt no pain, collapsing limply into his arms.

________________________________________

Qu You’s unconsciousness was deep and unrelenting.

In her dream, she seemed to return to the first life where she first met Zhou Tan. Back then, she was still an unmarried maiden, innocent and carefree, and he was far from the cunning strategist he later became.

At a spring banquet, a sixteen-year-old girl in pink stood beneath an apricot tree, bathed in light.

“The stream carries flowers away...”

He brought two jugs of apricot wine.

The glow beside her brightened as memories surfaced of her days in the palace, forgetting her name while sitting on the steps and gazing at the distant candle-lit tower. She watched as its candles were lit one by one, then extinguished silently.

Through the door, he asked, “Miss Qu, does our engagement still stand?”

She replied, “That girl is dead. You needn’t come again.”

Qu You walked slowly through a snowy night under long red walls, recalling the days she endured torture under Song Shiyan within those walls.

She clutched a white jade thumb ring tightly—the only thing she had refused to relinquish in the Ministry of Justice. When they tried to take it, she had fought like a madwoman, biting and clawing.

“Give it back, give it back—this is all I have left. Give him back to me, please!”

The smooth jade was stained red with blood. She thought she would die in that sunless place.

Until the slender fingers of a physician gently pried open her clenched fist.

Bai Ying wrapped her wound with white gauze, his voice tinged with pity. “The people at the Ministry don’t know restraint. Your injuries are severe. In the future... childbirth may no longer be possible.”

Half-dead, she lay on the ground, unable to comprehend the words of the physician sent by the Crown Prince.

Bai Ying knelt amidst scattered straw, brushing her tangled hair from her face. For some reason, his hands trembled.

“If there’s another life... meet me sooner. I owe you, I owe your husband...”

Time blurred in the dungeon. He healed her wounds but didn’t leave immediately.

“I often think, if only I could be purely good or purely evil, it would be easier... Now...”

She still didn’t understand his words.

From afar, the sound of boots crunching through straw echoed. Song Shiyan arrived in a hurry, calling out, “Jing An, they... are coming into the city.”

The young physician picked up his medicine box and left the dim dungeon. Her face was wiped clean of blood, and she managed to open her eyes, blinded by blood until now, seeing only a flash of silvery fabric.

Someone hummed a tune faintly.

“...I drift upon the great river’s waters, ascending to the capital under the bright sun, through nine layers of phoenix mountains... Immortals gift me eternal peace, guiding me like a cold star.”

Great river’s waters, three.

Bright sun ascends to the capital, Jing.

This was a poem Bai Shating wrote when he went to the capital to find his elder brother.

But Bai Ying wasn’t Bai Sanjing.

Bai Sanjing had been dead for years. He stole the identity of the deceased, assuming the alias “Jing An” to serve as an advisor in the Crown Prince’s residence. Though the poem had nothing to do with him, he couldn’t help reciting it repeatedly.

Perhaps he envied such pure, cherished emotions.

Li Yuanjun must have told Song Shiyan on the city wall that the Empress’s child hadn’t died, which explained his sudden change in demeanor.

Later, as he laughed and recited this poem before his death, did he finally realize the true identity of his trusted advisor?

A tangled mess.

History’s pages span thousands of years, swallowing countless lives into its crevices. Even the flames of mutual destruction fail to reach the eyes of future observers.

She was never an observer—she was part of the game.

Four lifetimes passed in the blink of an eye. The face of the imperial physician who once treated her in prison, whose features she couldn’t recall, gradually became clear.

The final image of her dream was of her and Zhou Tan pouring wine before a green mound.

A single tear fell. Zhou Tan didn’t ask, merely wiping it away with his hand.

Her gaze fell on the name engraved on the tombstone.

Both she and Zhou Tan knew—Bai Ying was simply unwilling to accept his fate.

Before meeting them, he had already chosen his path, embarking on a decade-long journey with no turning back.

“Heaven and earth, unknowing...”

Across several lifetimes, he still waited for them in the black night to fulfill their final appointment.

As always.

“Boom—”

What truly woke her was an earth-shattering explosion.

Shards of stone flew past her ears. She smelled the scent of still water incense as Zhou Tan clutched her tightly, falling through the straw-lined corridor and rolling for what felt like ages before stopping.

His voice was hoarse and strained from tension. “Are you hurt?”

Qu You shook her head, instinctively reaching to touch his back. “What about you? Did you fall just now?”

“It’s fine,” Zhou Tan replied tersely, glancing around before explaining. “Li Yuanjun let me up the mountain. I found you unconscious in that ruined temple. Before I could say much, I was trapped inside. Not long after, someone ignited the oil surrounding the temple, causing the ground to collapse.”

Among the strange scents, Qu You immediately recognized the acrid smell of oil she had encountered at Xiuqing Temple.

She looked up to see a perpetual lamp lit on the wall ahead. “So we’re in...”

Zhou Tan gave a bitter smile. “Chang Mausoleum.”

Qu You was startled. Zhou Tan continued, “That ruined temple was likely once part of the mausoleum—a weak seal disguised as a temple to deter grave robbers. Over time, it fell into disrepair and hid within the forest. Li Yuanjun chose this place deliberately—to trap us here. Moreover, the long, deep corridor we rolled down would be completely blocked by the temple’s collapse. Even if Xiaoyan avoids Li’s army and reaches the mountain, it’ll take time to find us.”

“But...”

He didn’t finish. Qu You, however, couldn’t dwell on it. Clutching his hand, she asked, “He... he probably wants to burn this mausoleum to ashes. By luring us here, he likely intends mutual destruction... Did Li Yuanjun not come down with you?”

Zhou Tan shook his head, pausing briefly. “You... already know who he is?”

Qu You’s heart ached, but she nodded. “He’s...”

“I guessed,” Zhou Tan interrupted, sighing. “He was smart and cautious for over a decade. He shouldn’t have followed you here... But perhaps it’s better this way. Fenghua Mountain holds the graves of his father, mother, siblings—all whom he deeply resents. Ending it here brings closure.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Qu You saw a figure holding a lantern standing at the entrance of the tomb chamber, blocking the perpetual lamp from view.

Backlit, they couldn’t see his face, only hearing his familiar yet alien voice.

“You’re here.”

Zhou Tan tightened his grip on Qu You. His arm, injured during the fall, coupled with his recent frailty, struggled to steady his breathing.

“Do you really not regret this?”

“...You didn’t have to choose this path. You had so many chances, so many options... Even without today’s events, someone as clever as you could’ve remained hidden forever.”

In the darkness, the figure stepped back, holding the lantern, his voice still soft. “I had no other choice... Otherwise, I’d betray my destiny.”

“Enough... Plants have their essence; they don’t seek admiration from beauties. Today, let’s settle this once and for all.”