As night, heavy with the stench of blood, crept over the eaves of Qinglan City, Ye Fan’s boot crushed the last fragment of broken brick. Standing before the wooden gate of the camp, he could still hear the notes of Su Qingxue’s zither echoing from beneath the city wall—the tail end of "Cold Plum Breaking" torn to shreds by the wind, as though counting down the closing hours for him.
"Ye Lang." The moment the curtain lifted, a fragrance of plum blossoms rushed out first. Su Qingxue leaned against the doorframe, the pearl tassels at her temples trembling slightly, the tear-drop mole at the corner of her eye looking so red under the oil lamp it seemed it might bleed. She held a celadon bowl from which a mist rose, carrying a few scarlet berries. "Elder Chen said you exhausted your Taichu true qi today. This bowl of ginseng fruit soup..."
Before she finished speaking, a cold glint brushed past the tip of her hair. Lin Zhaoyue walked out from the side room carrying her sword case, the ice crystals on the sword tassel still glistening with night dew. "There is wolf howling five li to the southeast, not like wild beasts." Glancing at the soup bowl in Su Qingxue’s hands, the tips of her ears turned slightly red. "I'll go scout."
Chapter 244