Volume Three: No Longer at Ease, Chapter Ninety

The young man’s tone was gentle and unhurried, warm with the joy and disbelief of having lost and found her again.

What kind of love must it be, to laugh until tears come.

A restless tide rose in Jin Li’s heart, for some reason leaving her faintly sorrowful.

The girl curved her lips into a soft smile and said gently, “It’s me. I’m here. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

“Ah Jin.”

“Mm?”

“Ah Jin.”

This time she did not answer. She fell silent, and he did not know whose name the boy was calling. He even began to suspect that perhaps the person in his heart was the one he had always treasured there; seeing her would make him rejoice, and not seeing her would make him miss her and ache for her.

Perhaps the Ah Jin he called was the one he loved beyond all else.

The ripples in her heart gradually stilled, and what filled her eyes now was pity and compassion. She stroked his back gently, again and again saying, “It’s all right now. It’s all right now...”

The young man fell asleep against her shoulder. Jin Li froze, feeling a warm, tender touch at the side of her neck.

It was the boy’s lips.

Jin Li let out a soft laugh, then lifted her eyes to the figures frozen before her. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers crisply. Only then did the others come back to their senses, but when they looked at the companions before them, their eyes were full of rage and hatred, as though everyone in sight were their mortal enemy.

Maintaining her serene, compassionate guise, the girl parted her rose-colored lips. “Beat them for me.”

With that, she turned to smoke and departed with the boy. In the forest, only those ignorant disciples remained, brawling with one another.

They would continue living with their misunderstandings of each other, and even the smallest matter would stir endless quarrels between them.

In the cave, after Jin Li had settled the boy down, she conjured a fire with a lift of her hand, then slowly and methodically bandaged his wounds. Looking at the injuries on his hand, his handsome, quiet features were so flawless they seemed beyond reproach.

To be so young, and yet so devoted. Perhaps this was the earnest love of youth.

She gave a bitter smile, then leaned against the stone wall, staring blankly at the pale strip of sky beyond the cave mouth, slowly sinking into endless thought.

By the time daylight fully broke, sunlight spilled into the cave, making the stones before the entrance gleam brilliantly.

When she rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them, a cloak was lying over her body. It was the one she had covered the boy with the night before.

The boy was gone.

She gathered up the cloak on her own, then went to the cave mouth. The mountains were lush and beautiful, birds called from the empty valley, and all was quiet and serene.

At that moment, the boy’s voice sounded from behind her. “You’re awake.”

Jin Li turned. The boy stood in the sunlight, his skin fair, a smile on his face, joy overflowing in his eyes.

A spirited young man, with every emotion in his gaze laid bare.

She smiled. “How are your injuries?”

Geng Yuan moved his hand, then looked at her pitifully. “They still hurt a little.”

Jin Li walked toward him. “Let me see.”

As the girl came closer, the fragrance of lotus seemed to grow richer and richer, and for a moment he actually flushed red.

The loose strands of her hair brushed lightly over the back of his hand. She was carefully rolling up her sleeve, blowing on it softly, as though the breeze she sent would only stir the boy’s affection into a fiercer blaze, like a roaring fire.

Her expression was serious, her clear eyes carrying a trace of tenderness.

He laughed softly. The girl looked up at him, bewildered. “What are you laughing at?”

Geng Yuan did not answer. He only smiled, his eyes curving. Those bewitching peach blossom eyes now looked almost foxlike; with just one glance, her heart surged again with stormy waves.

And so it was for the boy as well. With only a single gesture from the girl, a single look, he wanted to devote everything he had to treating her well.

“Sis, if you blow on it, it won’t hurt anymore.”

At the words above her head, Jin Li froze. Her face slowly turned red. She let go and turned her face away, not daring to meet his eyes. This boy was far too skilled at provoking others; one careless glance and he could steal your heart away, so under no circumstances could she look at him.

The boy smiled. “Sis, why won’t you look at me?”

Jin Li brushed it off. “It’s too hot.”

“Hot?”

His voice held a hint of testing, and a hint of smugness.

It was obvious he was doing it on purpose.

Jin Li said nothing more, but just as she was about to sit down, the boy caught her hand. “It rained last night. Though the surface has dried, you still shouldn’t sit there. It’s bad for you.”

Ah Jin feared the cold. She absolutely could not be chilled.

At that moment, Jin Li did not know what to do. She felt flustered, awkward.

“If I insist on sitting?”

Without another word, the boy sat down. Before the girl could react, he looked at her with innocent eyes, then patted his leg. “Sit here.”

Jin Li was instantly both embarrassed and indignant. Since attaining enlightenment, this was the first time she had been teased by a little brat. She bent down, raised a hand, and lightly tilted the boy’s chin. At first he was stunned; then came delight; finally, that delight transformed into dense, lingering affection, and he slowly fell into a daze.

“You little brat, that trick of yours doesn’t work on me.”

A mere disciple of an immortal sect, and yet he had not devoted his heart to cultivation at all, only to thinking about how to win a girl’s favor. Truly in need of discipline.

Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, the boy swiftly caught it, then carefully guided Jin Li’s hand to his own chest, a sly note in his voice. “Ah Jin, how do you know you aren’t the first?”

What did that mean?

Then his voice turned faintly enchanting. “I know. This trick works very well on you.”

Jin Li went rigid on the spot. All she could feel was the heartbeat in her palm, strong and forceful, beating one after another, growing ever quicker with her own breathing, as though his heart were being thrown into disarray by the rhythm of her breath.

It was the boy’s heartbeat.

“Can you feel it?”

“Feel what?” Her face was faintly red.

“My heart is in chaos because of Ah Jin.”

Besides the breeze and birdsong, there was only the boy’s voice beside her ear. It was sincere, tender, like pear blossoms opening in March, pure and gentle. Yet in his eyes, affection blazed like midsummer, earnest and ardent.

To meet once was to be startled into delight; to remain long was still to feel one’s heart skip.

At that very moment, she suddenly felt a little feverish, and a flush slowly rose in her face. In a flurry, she pulled her hand away, her gaze darting aside, her tone edged with displeasure.

“Presumptuous.”

The boy was not angry. Instead, seeing Jin Li’s ears turn bright red, he let out a soft laugh. His voice was clear as he said, “So... sis, do you like it?”

Like what? Like him?

“What?”

She looked at him in astonishment, uncertain how to respond.

How could someone so young say such shameless things?

The boy rose, his tone full of apology. “Sis, that was impertinent of me just now. Don’t be mad.”

Mad? Was that the issue? How did this place teach its disciples? All they taught were useless things.

Geng Yuan’s eyes were full of affection. Before, she had also used a roguish tone to say such suggestive things, and those words had left him at a loss, thoroughly teased and helpless.

Today, it seemed only right to change things around.

Jin Li gave him a fleeting glance, then said, “Go on to the trial first. I’m leaving.”

“All right. Since sister has given the order, I naturally must do it well.”

“You... hurry and go.”

The boy grinned and had only just run out before darting back. He looked at Jin Li with complete seriousness and said, “If I get first place, what reward will sister give me?”

A reward? He still wanted a reward? It would be mercy not to slap him.

Jin Li forced a smile. “What reward do you want?”

“Ah Jin.”

“What?”

The boy smiled and replied, “From now on, I’ll call you Ah Jin. Doesn’t it sound nice? Ah Jin?”

“You... shut up.”

Geng Yuan had intended to stop while he was ahead, but he was also afraid she might overthink things, so he said, “Ah Jin is you, and can only be you.”

Jin Li froze. The boy then turned and left with a smile.

It is you, and can only be you.