Chapter 32: Crows Cry at Night (Part 1)
Fifteen years ago, at the Battle of Mu Shen Mountain, Du San Cai had been the officer responsible for transporting supplies.
But Xu He Xue and his Jing An Army, after three days of bloody fighting deep within enemy territory, hadn’t received reinforcements from the other three armies, nor had they received the supplies from Du San Cai.
Fifteen years. The blood of thirty thousand Jing An Army souls had long since dried, yet Du San Cai had risen through the ranks, becoming a fifth-rank official.
Most of the candles in the room had burned out. Xu He Xue sat alone in the shadows, his vision blurred, the veins in his hand gripping the bedpost standing out.
“Xu Zi Ling,” Ni Su called from outside, holding a basin of willow water.
Xu He Xue instinctively looked towards her voice, but his vision was obscured. His eyes, injured by a barbarian’s blade years ago, now seemed filled with blood. He wasn’t sure what he looked like, but it couldn’t be pleasant.
“Will you feel better if I don’t come in?” Ni Su put down the basin and sat down by the door, leaning against the frame. Rain and mist filled the courtyard. She looked up. “You know, I really want to ask you about your past, but I feel like I would be hurting you.”
In the dim room, blood seeped from Xu He Xue’s eyes. He blinked, a drop of blood rolling down his cheek. After a long silence, he said hoarsely, “I’m sorry, Ni Su.”
She had summoned him back to the mortal realm.
He owed her honesty.
But how could he tell her? Tell her that his real name was Xu He Xue, that he was the traitorous general who had been executed in Yongzhou fifteen years ago?
He couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“What are you apologizing for?” Ni Su asked, hugging her knees and looking at the door. “I understand you have secrets. I just want to ask you one question. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”
Xu He Xue looked towards the faint light coming from the doorway.
“You know Du San Cai, and you have a grudge against him, don’t you?” she asked.
Xu He Xue lowered his eyes. After a moment, he said, “Yes.”
“Then he truly is a scourge,” Ni Su said, looking at the steam rising from the basin. “In that case, we have a common enemy.”
Xu He Xue remained silent.
His vengeance wasn’t just against Du San Cai.
He had returned to the mortal realm not to find an old friend, but to find the person who had framed his thirty thousand soldiers for treason.
The autumn rain fell steadily.
Xu He Xue listened inside, while Ni Su watched outside.
“Ni Su, I want to go to Du San Cai’s residence,” he suddenly said.
Only Du San Cai’s godfather and his wife were currently at the residence, which was undoubtedly under heavy guard. It would be impossible for Ni Su to enter.
But she nodded. “Alright.”
“Will you let me in now?”
Everything here belonged to her: the clean room, the furnishings, the books, the ink and paper. She had chosen everything carefully.
Yet, she stood outside the door, waiting for his permission.
The willow water was still warm, perfect for washing his face.
The rain fell steadily. Xu He Xue sat on the bed, his hand gripping the bedpost, his bloodstained eyelashes fluttering nervously, until she gently placed a warm cloth over his eyes.
“This is your personal matter. I can’t stop you. But I can’t go inside with you. I’ll wait outside, as close as I can, and I’ll buy more candles for you,” Ni Su said, wiping his eyelids, watching the water droplets roll down his cheeks. His docility seemed forced, unnatural. “But Xu Zi Ling, if it’s not too painful, please be kind to yourself.”
Xu He Xue opened his eyes.
He hadn’t realized she was so close. Her dark hair, her pale face, her eyes shining like stars in the candlelight.
“Did you hear me?” she asked, wiping his face.
“Yes.”
“Why are your eyelashes fluttering?” She couldn’t resist touching his long, thick lashes.
Xu He Xue’s grip on the bedpost tightened. He turned his head away, but her fingers continued to tease him, tracing his eyelids.
“Are you ticklish?” she asked, her eyes crinkling with amusement.
Xu He Xue couldn’t remember if he had been ticklish in life, but her teasing made him flustered. He tried to turn away, but she wouldn’t let him. The light from the doorway and the candlelight mingled, illuminating her smiling face.
He unconsciously smiled back, mirroring her expression. He took her hand, careful not to touch her skin, his fingers gripping her sleeve. “Yes,” he said.
“Then be careful,” she said, pretending to touch his eyelashes again, laughing as he flinched. “If you make me angry, I’ll do this to you.”
She said if you make me angry.
Xu He Xue didn’t know how much longer he had, but he couldn’t ignore the flicker of hope in his heart. And the stronger the hope, the more unbearable his guilt.
As darkness fell, a gloomy atmosphere settled over the Du residence. Master Qin, tired of his daughter-in-law’s crying, paced back and forth. “Enough crying! My own son is dead, and all you do is cry! That useless adopted son is missing, not dead! You’re crying too soon!”
“He must have run away, abandoning you and me! That heartless wretch! I treated him so well…” He Shi, Du Cong’s wife, sobbed, her handkerchief soaked with tears.
“He caused this mess. The Emperor is merciful and won’t implicate us.”
“How can you be so sure?” He Shi cried. “What if… what if he never comes back?”
“If he comes back, he’ll be executed. Only a fool would return!” Master Qin snorted. “I don’t know who he associated with, but he spent so much money, bribes he received, money he embezzled… I doubt he even knows how much. And where did all that money go? He spent it all! And look, now that he’s in trouble, who’s helping him?”
He looked at He Shi. “Did he really not say anything that night? He didn’t return to his room?”
“No, he’s been sleeping in his study for days,” He Shi sobbed. “I thought he was having an affair…”
A gust of cold wind swept through the window, sending a chill down their spines.
Master Qin looked outside, a sense of unease washing over him. “I need to check his study,” he said to He Shi.
“What for? If he left any messages, the Yin Ye Si would have found them already,” He Shi said, sniffling.
“Whether he left a message or not is irrelevant,” Master Qin frowned. “What matters is that besides the winter examination case, there might be other shady dealings he was involved in. If any powerful figures are implicated, we’ll be buried with him!”
Rain fell steadily, the lantern light flickering.
Ni Su sat under the awning of a tea stall, listening to the rain, wrapping the incense and candles in her basket with oil paper. She looked up and saw the young man in dark robes standing in the rain.
He wasn’t holding an umbrella. Raindrops cleansed his handsome features. He unbuckled his sword, entered the awning, and sat down opposite Ni Su.
“Commander Zhou,” she said, pouring him a cup of hot tea.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, glancing at the steaming tea.
“Just looking around.”
“Just looking around?” Ni Su held her teacup and met his gaze. “What else can I do? Do you think I can enter the Du residence?”
The tea stall was close to the Du residence, far from Nan Huai Street. She clearly wasn’t here just for tea.
But as she had said, the Du residence was heavily guarded. What could she do?
Zhou Ting couldn’t fault her logic, but he still felt uneasy. His gaze fell on the basket beside her.
“Are you looking for me, Commander Zhou?” Ni Su asked.
“No,” he said, then added, “I just raided a tavern nearby. I’m taking the people back to the Yin Ye Si for questioning.”
He took a sip of tea and stood up. “Miss Ni, even with Du Cong missing, there are other leads in your brother’s case. Please heed my warning. Finish your tea and go home.”
“Thank you, Commander Zhou,” Ni Su stood up and bowed.
“It’s my duty, Miss Ni,” Zhou Ting said, buckling his sword and nodding to her before walking out into the rain.
Ni Su saw Chao Yi Song in the distance, escorting several prisoners eastward. She took a few steps forward, watching them.
Back at the table, she slowly sipped her tea. The vendor, feeling awkward, said, “Miss, I’m closing up soon.”
Ni Su picked up her basket and umbrella and left.
The night mist was damp. She stood under an awning, leaning against the wall, waiting. She stared at the lantern above, its flame flickering before being extinguished by the rain.
She crouched down, holding the basket close to protect the candles, and watched the raindrops falling from the eaves.
After a while, a warm, yellow light approached.
Ni Su looked up.
The young man’s white robes were soaked with rain and blood. Blood trickled down his wrist. His clear eyes reflected the lantern light.
The lantern he held had been lit by her.
Zhou Ting had left, but the Yin Ye Si officers were still watching her. She couldn’t speak to him, but seeing his face, her eyes welled up.
She stood up and walked forward silently, tilting the umbrella to include him in its shelter.
The rain fell softly.
Ni Su looked ahead, not at him, her voice barely audible above the rain. “Are you in pain?”
“No,” Xu He Xue said, walking beside her. In this moment, when she couldn’t see him, he allowed himself to look at her.
Ni Su looked down at the raindrops collecting on the oil paper covering the basket.
“Liar,” she whispered.
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