He did his martial arts meditation, and she quietly watched from the side. The more she looked at this man's face, the less willing she was to avert her gaze. It wasn't because he was good-looking… Something strange was stirring at the bottom of her heart, wanting to unearth a long-buried seed, eager to break through the soil.
The place Beiting Ken was heading to was beyond a strategic pass, a winding journey that would take about thirty days from Bianjing. His fiancée was still in the desert called "Endless Plains," waiting for him to bring her back.
Outside Bianjing City, he asked Ding Xiaocuo to stay in the capital, and after his return, he would definitely bring back the Lingxi sword. Ding Xiaocuo refused; she wanted to accompany him.
That night, he carried her on his back, leaping layer by layer from the cliff. His broad back felt every heartbeat of Ding Xiaocuo without any barrier. The bottomless cliff became nothing to fear because of his body temperature. Wasn't it just like this at some point in the past when she silently leaned on his shoulder, letting him take her in any direction? But weren't they strangers who had just met? Was there something wrong with her?
"I won't give you any trouble!" she promised, patting her chest. "Besides, the journey is long and arduous, so it's good to have someone to chat with along the way!"
"I don't like talking. I don't need anyone to accompany me to chat," he mounted his horse. "Going to Endless Plains is a long journey with dangerous terrain. It's too much for a frail child like you who can't stand a gust of wind. Wait for me at Yijian Inn." With that, without giving her a chance to object, he swiftly departed.
Over the years, he had grown accustomed to a solitary life. Jade-Faced Ghost King was the title given to him by people in the jianghu. No one in the jianghu could make Beitang Ken work for them, no matter how much they offered as payment. However, there was one exception. As long as it was something she wanted, Beitang Ken would spare no effort to obtain it for her, even if it meant taking the pearl from the emperor's crown. That person was Ye Nichang. She was the daughter of an ordinary jewelry merchant and Beitang Ken's childhood sweetheart. When Beitang Ken's parents passed away, it was Ye Nichang's father who had adopted him and even entrusted him with the apple of his eye. Later, the Ye family moved from the capital to the vicinity of Yanmen Pass for some reason, and kept away from the jianghu, avoiding worldly affairs.
Legend has it that Ye Nichang was exceptionally beautiful and enchanting, and the prodigal sons who wanted to get close to her had never ceased. However, due to Beitang Ken's reputation, these chaps dared only to admire the beauty from afar and did not have the nerve to offend her. Yet, someone finally dared to risk it all. In one night, breaking through the heavily guarded Ye residence, they kidnapped Ye Nichang. In the letter sent to Beitang Ken, there was only one demand — to exchange Ye Nichang's name and innocence for his Lingxi sword. The letter was signed by Zhao Si.
Beitang Ken had no interest in who Zhao Si was. He only wanted Ye Nichang to be safe and sound. In truth, thinking about it occasionally, being good to Ye Nichang seemed more like a habit and obligation, with seemingly little connection to romantic feelings. However, he would eventually marry her. Before Ye Nichang's father passed away, he personally promised to take care of Ye Nichang for the rest of her life. This year's Lantern Festival was supposed to be the day of their wedding, but now it seemed that the wedding date would have to be postponed. At the moment he handed over the Lingxi sword, he had a fleeting thought of reneging. This sword was a legacy left by his parents, and the last words his father said to him before passing away were, "This sword must be protected with the lives of the Beitang family!" Yet, for her sake, he had ultimately handed over the Lingxi sword. Heading to Endless Plains, Beitang Ken had a premonition of danger.
The white horse galloped, kicking up a trail of dust along the way. Under the morning light, Beitang Ken swiftly moved towards his destination. Turning onto a winding mountain road, Beitang Ken suddenly pulled the reins, and the white horse let out a sharp neigh, its front hooves lifting high in the air. If it weren't for his excellent riding skills, he might have been thrown off the horse.
Without the slightest warning, Ding Xiaocuo stood on the path he must pass, hands spread wide and her body forming the "大" character, blocking his way. The raised horse's hooves were just inches away from her. Beitang Ken thundered, "Do you want to die!"
"Take me with you," Ding Xiaocuo lowered her head and rubbed the corners of her clothes, pursing her lips as if about to cry, "I'm scared of people when alone." To deal with a domineering man like Beitang Ken, playing the pitiful card worked better than anything else.
So, on the back of the white horse, Ding Xiaocuo nestled safely in Beitang Ken's arms, and they rushed forward. As the sky gradually darkened, in the vast wilderness, aside from the sound of their horse hooves, there were distant howls of wild beasts and the cold wind that cut like a knife. Ding Xiaocuo, with her thin clothes, shivered in the cold. The wind and sand hit her face, causing stinging pain. She began to genuinely miss her home, including that hateful drunkard of a shifu. If she safely returned, she would definitely tell those silly girls who are obsessed with time-travel novels to cherish life and stay away from time-travel! Just as she was lost in these wild thoughts, Beitang Ken suddenly stopped the horse on a barren hillside.
Ding Xiaocuo turned her stiff neck and looked at him suspiciously. He released the reins and began unbuttoning his outer garment, staring at her with a rather impure look as he did so. This, this... her current identity was that of a man!!!
"Hey hey, what are you doing..." Ding Xiaocuo instinctively protected her chest, nervously shouting, "I'm not a cut-sleeve[1]!"
With a whoosh, his outer garment "flew" over and tightly wrapped her up, and Beitang Ken also casually picked up a sleeve, winding it around her face as a makeshift mask. In a matter of seconds, Ding Xiaocuo turned into a rice dumpling[2].
"You..." Ding Xiaocuo looked at him in surprise. "Giddyup!" he shouted, continuing on the road. The sand blown by the wind continued and the bitter cold was as before, but Ding Xiaocuo, smelling the unique scent emanating from his clothes, felt all the previous chill swept away. It was alright to just follow him, even with no purpose or direction. With his clothes to keep out the cold and his arms around her, it didn't matter where they went. Let's just keep going like this. On the bumpy back of the horse, her weary eyelids gradually grew heavy…
Before descending to the Mortal Realm, Yue Lao once told Ding Xiaocuo that "restoring" is thousands of times more difficult than "destroying." Each person has only one original red thread, and once it breaks, there is only one way to revive it — you, Ding Xiaocuo, must use every possible means to make this man's heart shift from Ye Nichang, who was mismatched to him, to yourself. Only when Beitang Ken truly falls in love with you, the instigator, will the red thread between him and Ye Nichang be severed, and the original red thread cut by you will be revived. If you fail, there's only one outcome — a life worse than death. Besides this, there's an additional condition: you cannot use any magic to interfere with his emotions. You must approach Beitang Ken as an ordinary mortal woman and make him fall in love with you.
The senior matchmakers in Yue Lao Palace advised her that to make a man fall in love with you, the more time you spend with him, the better, the so-called "love develops with time." This was the reason why she insisted on accompanying Beitang Ken to Endless Plains even if it meant risking her life. Was a month's time enough for familiarity to breed fondness?
They traveled through the night until the next evening when they finally reached a roadside inn at a fork in the path. Ding Xiaocuo, who was almost dying of hunger, was lifted down from the horse and thrown into the inn by Beitang Ken. The simple little inn had no other guests. The white-haired old man dozing by the stove quickly came to greet them when he saw new customers. The aroma of piping hot food gradually filled the air.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Beitang Ken twirled a pair of chopsticks in his hand, glancing at Ding Xiaocuo who was looking around, "A long time ago."
"Definitely not!" Ding Xiaocuo shook her head like a rattle drum, forcing a smile, "How can a nobody like me have the honor of being a former acquaintance of the Jade-Faced Ghost King."
He narrowed his eyes, "How do you know my alias?" Oh no, she couldn't tell him that she had thoroughly investigated his details long before she descended to the Mortal Realm.
"I heard the green-clothed woman call you Beitang Ken. Who in the jianghu doesn't know the Jade-Faced Ghost King Beitang Ken? With your handsome appearance and exceptional skills, you can't deny it!" She pretended to be calm, finishing her words before immediately turning her head away.
He smiled lightly and asked again, "You said only the Lingxi sword can save your parents. What makes you think I'll help you get the Lingxi sword back?"
"Ah, didn't you just promise me?" Ding Xiaocuo was stunned.
"I only promise those who tell the truth." Beitang Ken's gaze changed as he seized her wrist, "The reason you gave me is too low in credibility."
"Ouch!" Ding Xiaocuo let out a cry of pain and blurted out, "I mean no harm. I'm just here to help you..." As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she quickly shut up.
"Help me?" Beitang Ken pulled her closer. "Help me with what? Who are you exactly?"
"I, I..." Ding Xiaocuo stuttered, unable to say anything for a long time. Just as the two were deadlocked, a shout came, "Guests, your meal!"
Beitang Ken slowly wiped off the stains on his sword. In the chaotic roadside inn, tables and chairs were overturned, broken bowls were scattered everywhere, and a red-legged centipede half a person long lay in a pool of murky slime, with a large hole in its head, thoroughly dead. It was still encased in a split human skin, showing the outline of the white-haired old man.
There are always monsters in desolate mountains and forests. Ding Xiaocuo sniffed out a queer smell from the dishes brought by the old man. Those ordinary dishes and drinks were mixed with the centipede demon's venom. Beitang Ken should thank her because she stopped him from eating that fragrant braised beef in time. Of course, she should be even more thankful to Beitang Ken for his extraordinary swordsmanship. Her superficial martial arts were no match at all. He swung his sword back to its sheath, and the last rays of the setting sun on the horizon stretched his shadow awfully long.
Ding Xiaocuo looked at his profile, and suddenly her mind was filled with confusion. The inexplicable feelings that had been stirring in her heart surged more and more intensely. She involuntarily tried to recall, desperately recalling, as if she'd realized something crucial.
The landscapes along the way, the bumpy horseback ride, his clothes, the roadside inn with the centipede demon at the fork in the road, and even the last sliver of the sunset on the horizon at the moment, all hinted at one thing — she had been here. She had walked the same path. She had seen the same people. She had done the same things. But she couldn't remember the details. The only thing clear to her was that a person stood under the evening sun, his shadow stretched very long. Moreover, he had always been there, never leaving, unaffected by time.
"Mount up!" He reached out to her from horseback. "We'll reach West River Town before dawn."
During the night, sporadic snow began to fall. Along the way, she became silent. She recalled the words Beitang Ken spoke after killing the centipede demon. He coldly looked at the centipede demon's corpse and said that monsters are really so ugly and disgusting. There was undisguised disdain and rejection in his eyes. What would he do if the person he was now holding in his arms was also a monster in human form?
Ding Xiaocuo tightly pressed her lips, burdened with heavy thoughts. She found herself starting to crave his embrace. In her memory, she had seen too many handsome men, but none had ever evoked such feelings in her. This was really bad. They had only known each other for a few days. Was she already having an outbreak of infatuation even though spring was far away[3]?
When passing by a river with a thin layer of ice, he stopped, dismounted, and walked towards a pile of rocks on the riverbank. When he returned, he had a red fruit with icicles hanging on it in his hand. "This is a sour fruit, the only edible thing in the wilderness in winter." He stuffed the fruit into Ding Xiaocuo's hand. "Your stomach's growling is quite annoying." Ding Xiaocuo, whose stomach was rumbling with hunger, gulped and took a bite, her facial expression instantly twisted. So sour! She forced herself to swallow the pulp. With the second bite, it became sweeter, and the third bite even more so. Spitting out the pit, she licked her lips in satisfaction. Besides the lingering sweetness in her mouth, there was also a strange sense of emotion. When Beitang Ken gave her the sour fruit, she clearly saw a few reddish scratches and the small thorn stuck in his hand.
As he said, before dawn, they finally arrived at a decent town, West River Town. The buns at the small tavern in the town were really delicious, and they had glutinous rice wine too. She ate a whole dozen buns and three bowls of glutinous rice wine. He leisurely ate a chicken leg and said, "You're the most voracious woman I've ever seen."
Ding Xiaocuo almost died choking on a bun. He knew she was a woman?
"How... how do you know?" Ding Xiaocuo scanned herself up and down; there was no flaw in her male attire.
He downed a bowl of strong liquor and said, "I carried you all the way from the cliff to the mountaintop, your chest to my back. So wouldn't it be strange if I can't tell whether you're a man or a woman?"
Ding Xiaocuo blushed and lowered her head, hastily munching on the bun. Her embarrassed appearance had a touch of cuteness. A slight curve formed at the corner of Beitang Ken's mouth uncontrollably. She claimed to be a person from nine hundred years in the future. This reason was really absurd; even more absurd, however, was the fact that he actually believed her a little. Facing this Ding Xiaocuo, who appeared out of the blue and had unconventional behavior, Beitang Ken admitted that he was becoming curious.
In a book called "Yue Lao's Guide to Love," there is a line that says: "Love usually begins with curiosity." Unfortunately, neither Ding Xiaocuo nor Beitang Ken had read this book. Nine hundred years ago, Yue Lao had not yet published that book.
On this night, Beitang Ken sat in his room, polishing his sword, sleepless throughout the night. Endless Plains, Ye Nichang, and the mysterious Zhao Si kept circling in his mind.
On the other side of the wall, Ding Xiaocuo lay soundly asleep. Beitang Ken could even imagine this young girl who could sleep on horseback, having an ugly sleeping posture while drooling at the moment. In fact, Ding Xiaocuo was currently sleeping in the exact manner he imagined, snoring away cocooned in the covers. His guess was absolutely correct.
Ye Nichang would never have an "unsightly" moment. She cherished her beauty like a bird cherishes its feathers. Her silk dress was the most perfect, so detailed that every embroidered flower on it bloomed just right; the pearls and gemstones embedded in it were all of the highest quality; her rouge and liquid powder were specially made, with a unique fragrance and color that was unparalleled. She didn't allow anyone else to possess the same gorgeousness as her.
Putting down his sword, Beitang Ken walked to the window, opened it, and let the cold wind, accompanied by snowflakes, touch his face, feeling comfortable. Endless Plains is not the end, but the starting point. He suddenly had this strange premonition.
Leave West River Town.
Footnotes:
[1] 断袖之癖 (duàn xiù zhī pǐ): euphemism for homosexuality.
[2] Zòngzi: a kind of Chinese dumpling made of glutinous rice, stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.
[3] In case the meaning is unclear: Ding Xiaocuo wonders if she is experiencing a strong infatuation or crush despite the relationship being in its early stages. The use of outbreak emphasizes the intensity of her crush.
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