"Arrived just in time? Why couldn't you be later? If my senior brother hadn't come, your position as City Lord would have been over."
"If the State Preceptor's daughter had met with misfortune in Jinling City, could you have borne that responsibility?"
The Lord of Jinling City flinched, looking at Er Yuan before him, and remained silent. Yet, the corners of his mouth twisted with bitterness. Even you, a Peak Refining Void cultivator, were no match for that assassin, so what could I have possibly done? he grumbled inwardly.
Li Zijun quickly turned, smiled faintly at Er Yuan, curtsied again, and said softly, "Uncle, it's all right! Please don't blame the City Lord."
"Zi Jun is fine, isn't she? It's you, Uncle, whose injuries are severe. You should stay in Jinling City for a few days to recover before leaving."
She paused, her gaze falling upon the corpses on the ground. She walked over gently, bent down, and with her delicate hands, closed their open eyes.
A breeze rustled through, carrying the faint, lingering scent of blood.
"Uncle, let's take them with us," she said. "Let's take them home together."
Li Zijun looked up at the two men, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
These people died because of me, she thought. At the very least, they shouldn't be left here, abandoned in this ravaged place.
Er Yuan's lips trembled, but he remained silent, simply watching the graceful young woman before him. His contemplation culminated in a long, deep sigh.
Once again escorted by the crowd, Li Zijun entered the ox-drawn Magic Treasure carriage. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she held the golden plaque in her hand.
She lifted a corner of the window curtain, gazing blankly at the passing scenery of Jinling City. After an unknown amount of time, she finally murmured to herself, "That masked man… he uttered the words 'State Preceptor.' He's one of South Wind's people."
This assassination attempt seemed to bring her one step closer to the truth hidden in her heart.
In a daze, a faint ache bloomed in her chest.
That gentle person seemed to appear before Li Zijun's eyes, lips curved in that familiar handsome smile. Yet, his eyes—from what felt like a different era compared to this current life—held more loneliness, a hint of helplessness.
Images surfaced in her mind: a gentle woman, quick to smile. She had encountered that figure robed in white at Jiangnan's Old City God Temple. Then, the man had walked towards her, but she couldn't see his face clearly.
She only remembered saying she was scared that night. When he asked what would make her unafraid, she said she liked to listen to poetry.
That night, too, the celestial phenomena manifested by timeless poems filled the sky unceasingly, like fireworks. Their brilliance illuminated the pitch-dark mountain and the silent City God Temple.
She heard the most beautiful poems in the world flow one after another from his lips. She leaned into his embrace, and he smiled gently.
Until dawn, she asked if they could meet again; he said yes. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt
Later, a century passed. After surviving the Great Desolation Calamity, Li Zijun stood with her back to that person at the No Remorse Pavilion in Jiangnan.
In a light green dress, she gently inclined her head by the lotus pond. The flowers and the woman were alike, both exuding a twofold gentleness.
The sunlight that day was perfect, neither too strong nor too harsh.
It was the end of May. The peach and plum trees stood silent, while in the pond, new lotus buds secretly unfurled.
She asked him, "Do you really have to do this?"
He smiled bitterly, the Longsword in his hand glinting with a deadly chill.
A sword pierced her heart. She collapsed against his chest, inhaling his familiar, pleasant scent, and could feel his body trembling.
A few crystalline drops landed, spreading like plum blossoms.
Perhaps only she saw his tears.
"When, in our longing, shall we meet again? Better had we never met at all!
Though I pass by a field of flowers, I hardly glance back—half for my path of cultivation, and half, my love, for you!"
Li Zijun's eyes slowly opened, tear tracks staining her exquisite cheeks.
"In this life," she vowed, "I will find out the truth... about my master."