Chapter Four: Unrecognized Reunion (Part One)

“Truly, I wouldn’t dare!”
“Then… then I believe you. I’ll listen and go back first. But you mustn’t deceive me, or… or I… I…” She struggled for a long while but could think of nothing she could actually do. If he simply left, what recourse would she have?
Bai Yue couldn’t help but laugh. “Little sister, you should go back first. I’ll wait for the rain to stop before I leave.”
Bai Xing didn’t react at first, feeling that they were both drenched. But when she saw Bai Yue leaning against Bu Jingxian’s shoulder, her eyes sparkling with mischief at her expense, she finally understood. Blushing, she said, “Then… then I’ll wait and leave with you, sister.”
Their wet bodies were chilled to the bone in the cold wind. Bu Jingxian held them tightly, and they pressed closer to him for warmth.
Watching the rain pour from the night sky, Bu Jingxian recalled the rear cliffs of Beiling Mountain. For so many seasons, through autumns and winters, he had worn only thin garments, enduring the biting cold and solitude, watching the rain fall and the snow drift. Seldom did his thoughts linger on matters of love between man and woman; even after his betrothal to Zheng Linran, he never dared dream of having her share such desolation with him.
And yet now, he found himself accompanied by these two women, huddled with him under the eaves, enduring the chill as they watched the rain.
He had long known that if Bai Yue and Bai Xing tried so hard to persuade him to stay, it would be difficult to leave. So he calculated carefully, leaving without a word while they practiced martial arts. Two hours later, he was already on the mountain road. When they pursued him up the mountain, they were met with endless, indistinguishable trails and finally gave up the search.
But hearing them recount their experiences, he couldn’t help but feel that fate itself had brought them together. Obedient Bai Xing had delayed their schedule for the sake of the embroidered insoles she made for him, and the sharp-minded Bai Yue had deduced his intentions from the carved wine vessel.
He remembered Old Man Beiling once telling their third senior brother: “Man proposes, but Heaven disposes. In the end, there is a destiny beyond our schemes. However carefully one plans, no matter how well prepared, fate may overturn everything with a mere flick of its hand.”
Bu Jingxian no longer wished to insist on parting ways. Since this was the sisters’ thoughtful decision, he too would have the courage to face whatever future awaited them.
At last, the rain eased a little.
“You’ll catch cold. Let’s go back.”
Only then did Bai Yue release him, first tidying Bai Xing’s clothes and hair, then her own.
“Tomorrow at noon, I’ll have Elder Yan wait for you here,” Bai Yue said, taking Bai Xing’s hand. The latter looked back every few steps, afraid Bu Jingxian would sneak away again. Even as they grew distant, she anxiously turned back and called, “You’re not allowed to leave again!”
Watching them disappear into the rain, Bu Jingxian headed straight for the roadside inn before North Pass.
Early the next morning, Bai Xing rushed to the inn to ask if a guest named Bu Jingxian was there, just in time to see him coming downstairs for breakfast. Her face flushed, and she lowered her voice in embarrassment. “I was afraid you’d be gone… I’ll go back now.”

Bu Jingxian couldn’t help but laugh. “Remember to practice your inner cultivation these days, to avoid any mishaps when the sect is established.”
“I know,” Bai Xing replied, understanding it was not appropriate to linger. Reassured, she left.
For the next several days, Bu Jingxian stayed at the inn, mostly training in his room, coming downstairs only for meals.
On the seventh day, at noon, he came down as usual and noticed the diners’ attention was fixed on two women in red at a table outside. He recognized them as disciples of the Immortal Flight Sect, and from the phoenix-shaped golden hairpin on the woman to the right, he knew she was Elder Autumn Leaf, famed as the world’s foremost martial master.
He was surprised; he hadn’t expected her to come to Chu.
The hall was crowded, so he had to take a seat at a table by the roadside, directly opposite Autumn Leaf. Only then did he see the other woman at her table, catching her profile.
She sat pensively, elbow on the table, slender fingers gently curved, her delicate chin resting on her middle finger. With her other hand, she idly drew patterns on the table with her chopsticks. Her eyes were strikingly beautiful, but their allure was marred by a brooding coldness.
Bu Jingxian never imagined this woman was Qiyue.
Just as Qiyue could never have guessed that Bu Jingxian was seated at the adjacent table.
Ling Luo, intent on serving his country, had the full support of his father, the Left Minister, who assigned many trusted aides to his command. Zheng now worried most about the intentions of the other states, with Chu being the primary concern. Knowing the Zheng king’s anxieties, Ling Luo resolved to make the journey himself. Autumn Leaf, seeing that Qiyue could not recover from the blow of Bu Jingxian’s death, brought her to Chu, praising the unique flavors of Chu’s cuisine. At the mention of food, Qiyue’s interest was finally piqued.
Zheng Linran was too busy to leave, and as she had little acquaintance with Chu Gaoge, she simply appointed Autumn Leaf as envoy. But Autumn Leaf always acted as she pleased and would not wait for Ling Luo or Princess Tianlai to make their preparations. She set out with Qiyue ahead of them, arriving in Chu, and upon learning that Ling Luo and Princess Tianlai were not far behind, decided to wait for the envoys’ group at this roadside inn.
Seeing someone of Autumn Leaf’s status in Chu, Bu Jingxian guessed it must be important business, but had no intention of prying. After studying Qiyue for a while, he called for the waiter.
“Ten catties of beef, three lotus-leaf chickens…” he ordered as usual, but the waiter interrupted with a broad smile, “Sir, none of those are available.”
Bu Jingxian was surprised that the inn had run out of food so early in the day.
“Then what do you have to eat?”
“Nothing at all.”
Bu Jingxian was baffled. “Then why is the place full of customers?”

The waiter glanced at Qiyue and Autumn Leaf, saw they weren’t paying attention, and leaned in to whisper, “Everyone’s here for the spectacle!”
“The spectacle?”
“Just wait a bit and you’ll see. I’ll fetch you some wine—maybe there’s still some peanuts in the kitchen for you to snack on.”
Soon after, three horse-drawn carts arrived on the main road, each loaded with whole, freshly slaughtered pigs, cows, and sheep. Thinking there would be food after all, Bu Jingxian asked the waiter for ten catties of cooked beef when he brought the wine and peanuts.
“Sir, as I said, there’s nothing left today. Even these peanuts I saved for myself—if you weren’t a guest here for several days, I wouldn’t have brought them out for you.”
“Then what are those for?” Bu Jingxian asked, looking at the meat being carried inside.
“All of that’s for those ladies’ table,” the waiter replied, grinning. “Don’t worry, just enjoy your wine and peanuts; soon you’ll see something even more entertaining than eating beef yourself!”
The waiter’s cryptic hints piqued Bu Jingxian’s curiosity. He reasoned the inn wouldn’t toy with its guests for no reason, so he settled in with his wine and peanuts to wait. He found Qiyue’s countenance oddly familiar and pleasing, and was unconsciously drawn to study her again and again.
Autumn Leaf noticed and, wanting to amuse Qiyue, teased, “That handsome young man at the next table keeps looking at you.”
Qiyue turned coldly and stared straight at Bu Jingxian, catching him off-guard.
Her other cheek was marked with angry red welts, as if she had struck or scraped her face, the wounds marring nearly half her face and ruining her delicate features.
Bu Jingxian saw she was deliberately showing him her injuries, and found the gesture both amusing and interesting. Any other woman would be mortified by such marks, yet she seemed almost eager for others to see, utterly unconcerned. Particularly for a woman, facial injuries are most distressing—her indifference spoke volumes about her unique character.
When Bu Jingxian did not turn away in distaste but instead smiled, Qiyue frowned, made a childish, disgruntled face, and turned away, ignoring him.
Bu Jingxian was even more intrigued. He had never imagined the Immortal Flight Sect would have such a disciple.