His eyes were red. "Do you see that magnolia tree? It was my mother's favorite tree when she was alive."
"Yet the year she passed away, as if sensing it, the tree withered and died overnight."
"Sometimes my father would sit by this tree. He once told me that perhaps he, too, would follow the tree and go to be with my mother."
Xiao Wuji gave a wry chuckle. "At first, I was angry. But soon after, he was deposed, and I was poisoned. He sent me to Liaoxi just to save my life."
"Yet I was disobedient and hurried back from Liaoxi anyway."
"He was furious last night, but in the end, he still placed the hairpin in my hand. With his life, he carved out a path of survival for me."
Xiao Wuji turned his head, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Lingxiao. "Lingxiao, why must the world treat me this way?"
For a moment, Lingxiao did not know how to answer.
She could not say that the root of it all was that someone had stolen his destiny, and that everything she herself had suffered was also something she should never have had to endure.
Looking at Xiao Wuji was almost like looking at her own reflection.
Yet while she had been abandoned by everyone and had family that was worse than none at all, Xiao Wuji had already lost all his loved ones.
Those who remained were merely blood-related strangers and enemies.
"Lingxiao, I now have only two years left to live, and I refuse to let the person behind the scenes feel so at ease."
Xiao Wuji looked at Lingxiao, like a strip of white silk trembling and swaying in the wind on the branch of the magnolia tree—fragile yet beautiful. "I want revenge."
Lingxiao nodded. "Then we shall have revenge."
Tears fell from Xiao Wuji's eyes. He said, "I want to clear the names of my grandfather and my father."
"Then we shall clear their names."
Xiao Wuji's body began to tremble. "I want to... kill those enemies who harmed them and tried to assassinate me."
Lingxiao moved closer and said earnestly, "Then we shall kill!"
Xiao Wuji lowered his head. "Lingxiao, I'm sorry. I have no one else left; I only have you."
He reached out, but just as he was about to touch Lingxiao, he closed his eyes and started to pull his hand back.
A cool breeze brushed across Lingxiao's palm. Looking at the cautious Xiao Wuji, she hesitated for barely a second before reaching out and grabbing his hand firmly in hers.
"Your Highness Changsheng, you can always trust me. I will help you. I will be your blade, your shield, your armor."
Her tone was even, yet it stirred up towering waves in Xiao Wuji's heart.
"You may not know how profound your kindness to me truly is. I am someone destined to live in the darkness. If my existence still has any meaning, the first is to seek revenge, and the second is to bring you..."
She curved the corners of her lips. "Into the light of day."
"When that time comes, I can rest easy and return to the darkness to embrace my own destiny."
She was nothing more than an avenging ghost, crawling out from the abyss, a ghost that could not bear the light of day.
Using her benefactor's connection to return to the human realm and gain a chance for revenge—that single fact alone destined her to help the Imperial Grandson without the slightest hesitation.
"Lingxiao, I've just told you about what happened to me these past few years. Can you tell me what on earth happened to you..."
Xiao Wuji held Lingxiao's icy hand, which felt just like a block of ice.
Compared to him, Lingxiao seemed far more like someone on the brink of death.
Lingxiao paused. It was not that she did not want to speak; rather, she was wondering what she was allowed to say. If she told him the first part of her story, the Imperial Grandson might well guess her true identity.
And once he guessed her identity, he would naturally know that she was already dead.
If that happened, she would no longer be able to conceal her status as a living corpse, nor could she explain what had truly happened to her.
Yama had explicitly instructed her not to expose her supernatural condition.
And so, Lingxiao lowered her head, not knowing how to begin.
Sensing her dilemma, Xiao Wuji hurriedly changed the subject. "It's just your private affair anyway, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to pry. By the way, I was just thinking of hanging some white silk on the magnolia tree, but I don't quite have the strength..."
Lingxiao sprang to her feet. "I'll do it!"
She pulled her hand away and leaped gracefully out the window. Xiao Wuji lingered for a moment, his fingers—still feeling the phantom warmth where she had held them—twitching slightly.
He lowered his head and gently stroked the spot where their skin had touched, sniffed, and gradually willed his tears away.
He could not mourn his father—not even a fraction of it.
Even though this small courtyard belonged to him, there was no telling how many eyes were watching from the shadows.
He had killed his own father with his own hands, cutting off all ties to the throne, which was precisely why His Majesty, after all the agony, had chosen to trust him.
Now he had nothing left, save for this cold, lifeless manor.
Prince Han had been right about one thing: he ought to know what he could do now, and what he had to do.
With corruption so deeply entrenched in the imperial court, could His Majesty really fail to see the hidden hands behind his father's downfall, his grandfather's ruin, and all the rest?
How could His Majesty, manipulated as he had been, not be thinking of striking back?
No matter how one looked at it, he had managed to survive, but whether he could actually seize power and find a chance to avenge his family...
Would depend entirely on whether he could grasp this opportunity.
Outside, beneath the magnolia tree, the young woman was hopping around as she tied strips of white silk to the branches.
She tied them with meticulous care, knowing that Your Highness Changsheng was mourning his father, his mother, and his grandfather's entire family.
She carefully shaped the knots into four petals, which made her work a bit slow.
The sunlight grew increasingly fierce, and the scorching heat intensified.
It baked Lingxiao's skin until it took on an unnatural shade of red, but just then, a shadow fell over her head.
She turned her head to see Xiao Wuji looking at her with a worried expression. "Lingxiao, your skin..."It was only then that Lingxiao noticed the skin exposed to the sun had begun to redden.
"It’s nothing; it will pass in a while."
Xiao Wuji gritted his teeth. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know you couldn't handle the sun."
He shoved the umbrella into Lingxiao’s hands. "Watch me. I’ll do it."
Before Lingxiao could stop him, the umbrella was already in her grip. Xiao Wuji hurried to hang it, but in the next moment, his feet slipped, and his body tilted as if he were about to fall.
Lingxiao reached out and caught him—a figure who was lean and tall, yet far from sturdy—directly into her arms.
The white silk drifted through the air, falling like magnolia petals hitting the ground.
Xiao Wuji’s face turned visibly red—even redder than Lingxiao’s had from the sun. He bowed his head, speaking in embarrassment. "I’m sorry..."
Lingxiao sighed. "Your Highness Changsheng, I am truly fine. How about this: if you’re really worried, just hold the umbrella for me."
Xiao Wuji nodded. "Alright!"
Soon, white magnolia flowers were tied to the withered branches, swaying in the breeze under the sunlight. From a distance, they looked just like real blossoms.
"Your Highness Changsheng, no matter what preparations you have made, if there is something you wish to do, then do it."
"Lingxiao believes in your capabilities, and I believe that the day will come when you achieve everything you desire."
Xiao Wuji paused, looking at Lingxiao—this young girl he had only truly known for two days. She spoke with such sincerity, giving Xiao Wuji a great sense of encouragement and motivation in that moment.
"Even if... I do some bad things..."
Xiao Wuji was well aware of what he would have to do in service to the Emperor. He was actually worried—worried that Lingxiao might, because of that...
But Lingxiao said, "Your Highness Changsheng, you may not realize it, but in this world, your life and death are what I care about most. Compared to your life, everyone else is expendable."
"Besides, I don’t think there is a distinction between good and bad in what you intend to do."
"As long as it allows you to get what you desire, then it is a good thing."
Xiao Wuji was truly stunned this time. He could see that Lingxiao meant every word. But he... he didn't quite understand. He didn't understand what could make Lingxiao treat him with such kindness.
"Lingxiao, if I ever gain the power, perhaps I can help you exact your revenge as well."
Lingxiao had her reservations and had not told him about her past experiences, but Xiao Wuji did not mind. He simply thought that he had already received enough grace from Lingxiao. She had descended like a deity, saving him from the depths of fire and water.
Yet, he knew nothing of her. He only knew that the Lingxiao of the past was not called Lingxiao; she had once called herself Yaoniang. But one could never find someone based solely on a woman’s childhood nickname. Such intimate names existed only between family members and... a husband.
Therefore, he knew nothing of Lingxiao’s past, nor what she planned for the future. She had her own vengeance to seek, and Xiao Wuji only hoped that he would not be a burden to her.
"There may come a time when I need to ask for Your Highness's help. I hope that when that time comes, you will reach out."
Lingxiao curled her lips into a smile, yet even as she smiled, Xiao Wuji still could not feel any emotional fluctuation from her. It was strange; for the past two days, Lingxiao had been like a mountain—steady, reliable, but completely devoid of emotion. Her voice was cold, though because it was so pleasant to hear, it didn’t seem out of place.
But Xiao Wuji was born with the ability to sense the emotions of others. He paused. "Lingxiao, you say you are a person of the shadows, but to me, you are the brightest light in my world."
"I am not good with words, but I want to tell you: from the moment you saved me from that dungeon in the camp on the outskirts of the city, my life has been yours."
"I am grateful for your friendship and your kindness, but I cannot simply take it all for nothing."
"Lingxiao, we are one person now."
"So, no matter what happens, you can ring this bell too, right?"
Lingxiao froze. She did, in fact, have a matching bell tucked inside her clothes. But she had never thought to ring it; Xiao Wuji did not want to be a burden, and Lingxiao did not want to cause him trouble.
"I knew it must be a pair. So, Lingxiao, let us climb out of the darkness together."
"Not just me, but you as well," Xiao Wuji smiled at her, his beautiful eyes shining brightly. "Lingxiao, let us return to the sunlight together."
"How about it?"
Lingxiao’s lips parted. Even though she knew the answer should be a refusal, looking at Xiao Wuji, she found herself nodding uncontrollably.
"Alright..."
Xiao Wuji hurriedly reached out to hook his pinky finger with Lingxiao’s, pressing his thumb against hers.
"Since you’ve agreed, then it is settled. One day, we will avenge ourselves together, clear our names, and if I am still alive, I will bring you out to live openly in the light!"
Two years. Within two years, he would turn this Daqing upside down!
Xiao Wuji was never a foolish man. Born with the expectations of Daqing, he had studied diligently since childhood and was naturally gifted. If not for the successive blows he had suffered, and if not for the fact that no one had ever given him a chance, he would never have ended up in this state.
A man like him only needed one chance.
That one chance would allow him to soar to the heavens!
The two of them walked side by side, ready to slay demons and eradicate evil.
Watching Xiao Wuji, Lingxiao secretly swore to herself that she must kill Prince Han sooner and obtain the information she needed...