Chapter 12#

A Birthday#

Small spots of red had appeared on the white robes — at some point, Yin Yuheng’s shoulder wound had cracked open and begun to bleed.

Whether from standing guard too long without rest, or from the jolt of Lu Yan’s grip just now, the wound had split and was seeping.

“You’re so careful about other people’s injuries, but do you ever think about your own?”

Lu Yan’s expression was complicated — something between exasperation and a warmth he couldn’t suppress.

“It’ll heal in a while…” Yin Yuheng said quietly.

“What do you mean, ‘in a while’?” Lu Yan’s voice sharpened. “You just don’t take yourself seriously. Do you even know how relentless demon poison is?”

Yin Yuheng: “…”

You sound exactly like my older brother. Always lecturing.

“Don’t bother with my wrists,” Lu Yan said, brow knitted tight. “Take care of yourself first.”

Yin Yuheng gave a rueful smile and offered repeated assurances that he would, in fact, look after himself — only then did Lu Yan let the matter drop.

“You’re not angry anymore?” Yin Yuheng asked quietly.

Moved and worried in equal measure — how could I stay angry?

Lu Yan could only think that he was being embarrassingly soft. His expression gentled, and he said with a low laugh, “Your Highness.”

Yin Yuheng’s brow twitched.

Lu Yan caught the shift in his mood and smiled, correcting himself: “Yuheng.”

Yin Yuheng smiled back, quietly.

Lu Yan looked at him with careful attention, his gaze tracing every line of Yin Yuheng’s face as though committing each detail to memory. “Family turning against me, driven from my home, hunted across a thousand li…” he said softly. “I used to think I was terribly unlucky. I don’t think that anymore.”

“Meeting someone as good as you — that’s a fortunate thing.”

…

“Heng-ge, he just called you a good person.”

Xiao Bai had watched the whole scene unfold and felt he had been hit by something enormous.

Shot with an arrow, then put through a grueling ordeal — and somehow Lu Yan trusted Yin Yuheng more than before.

If what Lu Yan had felt toward Yin Yuheng before was gratitude, what it had become now was genuine closeness.

Yin Yuheng was no longer just a benefactor Lu Yan owed a debt to. He was a friend Lu Yan was sincere with, a companion he’d be willing to face life and death alongside.

And all of this had shifted in the span of a single day.

“Of course I’m a good person.” Yin Yuheng was perfectly self-assured.

“…You shot him with an arrow. Then you tied him to a chair.”

Yin Yuheng gave a low laugh. “Managing someone’s emotions requires strategy. Lu Yan isn’t a fool. If he’d found out on his own that I was the one who shot him, there would always have been a seed of doubt in his heart no matter what. Better that I revealed it myself — at the moment when he was most grateful to me, in order to protect him. That way, he had no reason to dwell on it…”

“Of course, there would still have been a residual unease. A latent suspicion — a weak point.” Yin Yuheng’s tone was unhurried. “So today I deliberately drew that suspicion out into the open, and then let the ’truth come to light’ — purging the doubt completely. After what happened today, the trust between us is properly established.”

“Believe me — from now on, even if I pressed a blade to his throat, he’d be the type to ask whether I had some hidden reason for it.”

Xiao Bai listened, blinking. “You can do that? I thought you were just testing him and working off some frustration…”

“You’re not wrong either,” Yin Yuheng said carelessly. “Testing him, venting a little, eliminating suspicion — all of the above.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Completing a plot point, while I was at it.”

One arrow, four birds.

Xiao Bai: “…Huh?”

According to the plot, after discovering that it was the Crown Prince of Li who had shot him, Lu Yan would deliberately draw close and earn his trust, becoming his bosom friend and confidant. Yin Yuheng, learning of Lu Yan’s circumstances, would then bring him into the palace to shelter him from the demon clan’s hunters.

Yin Yuheng smiled faintly. “Milestone achieved: confidant and close friend. Objective reached: brought into the palace. Plot point complete, wouldn’t you say?”

Xiao Bai stood there for a moment, then did the mental arithmetic — and arrived, with some horror, at the same conclusion.

But — even if the outcome was the same, the path there was completely different!

The Lu Yan of right now… there was simply no version of events where he could do something as cruel as toying with and tormenting Yin Yuheng…

“Heng-ge,” Xiao Bai said faintly, “I think if you hadn’t transmigrated into this book — in your original world — you would’ve been the type who runs a fan club of devoted admirers. The kind where every single fish in the pond is also grateful to you for the privilege.”

A sea of admirers, and each one convinced they were uniquely blessed.

…

Having sorted out the business with Lu Yan, Yin Yuheng obediently went to see his older brother and received a thorough scolding.

Yin Shaozhu took one look at the injury and was furious — he berated Yin Yuheng soundly, then turned to reprimand Commander Qin and Eunuch De for their failure in protection.

Yin Yuheng, knowing full well that he had deliberately stirred up trouble on his own, couldn’t in good conscience let others be punished for it. He talked Yin Shaozhu down with some effort.

Catching the grateful looks from Commander Qin and Eunuch De, Yin Yuheng felt, for once, a little sheepish.

When Yin Shaozhu heard that Yin Yuheng had brought back the Demon Clan’s Shao Jun, Lu Yan, he frowned and thought it over at length, then said he would meet with Lu Yan once he had recovered.

“Elder brother knows you always have your reasons,” Yin Shaozhu said, with the earnest weight of someone who meant every word. “What you choose to do, elder brother won’t stop you. But before you act — think it through carefully. Don’t trust anyone lightly.”

Yin Yuheng accepted the advice with a smile, warmth settling quietly in his chest. He left with a box of almond pastries and an entirely satisfied expression.

…

Yin Yuheng did not return to the Eastern Palace.

It was growing late. He left Lu Yan to rest in the Eastern Palace and wandered off on his own to Yuanming Pavilion.

Yuanming Pavilion was famous throughout the Li Dynasty. It was said that any rare treasure in all the world could be found through them, so long as you could meet their price.

The bright moon hung high. Lanterns were just beginning to be lit. Yuanming Pavilion was a five-story building of delicate, extravagant beauty — golden pearls dangled from the upturned eaves, swaying gently in the breeze, scattering light like fragments of stars.

Yin Yuheng passed through that shimmer of light and stepped into the glittering main hall. A serving girl approached at once and led him upstairs with a respectful bow.

She brought him directly to a private room on the topmost floor, where a man in blue robes sat brewing tea.

The faint, clean bitterness of the tea drifted through the air. The man in blue heard footsteps and looked toward the door. A pair of cool, clear eyes appeared — and the moment they landed on Yin Yuheng, the coolness softened almost imperceptibly into the faintest trace of a smile.

“Your Highness. It’s been a while.”

Yin Yuheng sat down with a smile, a note of apology in his eyes. “I came back from the Demon Realm and wanted to see you right away — I ended up delayed by one thing after another. My apologies, Pavilion Master.”

The master of Yuanming Pavilion was named Shen Fengxiu. He and Yin Yuheng had known each other for years, and were something close to friends.

Shen Fengxiu poured him a cup of tea. “Did Your Highness come today to drink tea and catch up?”

Yin Yuheng smiled. “There is something. I’d like to ask you to help me find a particular treasure.”

Shen Fengxiu was mildly curious. “What could there possibly be that the palace treasury doesn’t already have?”

“Qilin horn.” Yin Yuheng’s voice was measured. “I checked the palace storerooms — there’s none to spare. I could only come to you and try my luck.”

Shen Fengxiu looked faintly surprised. “Qilin horn. A heavenly material like that is genuinely difficult to find… though as it happens, your timing is good.”

“Word just came in that a qilin horn has appeared near Chuyue Mountain.”

“Chuyue Mountain.” Yin Yuheng filed the name away and smiled at Shen Fengxiu. “Thank you.”

When Yin Yuheng smiled, the words refined gentleman, warm as fine jade suited him perfectly, and Shen Fengxiu found himself momentarily transfixed.

“What do you want a qilin horn for?” he asked, coming back to himself, unable to resist the question.

“Shifu’s birthday is coming up,” Yin Yuheng said with a smile.

“…” Shen Fengxiu’s expression cooled instantly. “I almost forgot. It’s that time of year again — when you go about selecting gifts for Li Guanghan.”

His tone when referring to Li Guanghan was not particularly warm.

“Cultivators can live for centuries. Who even thinks about something as trivial as a birthday?” Shen Fengxiu said flatly. “Only someone as young as you would still bother with birthdays. Li Guanghan won’t appreciate it.”

Yin Yuheng laughed despite himself. “Fengxiu… Shifu is a good person. Don’t say things like that.”

Shen Fengxiu let out a derisive breath that rather undermined his usual composed elegance.

He set the teapot down with a clunk.

“You’re not entirely wrong, actually. It’s not that Li Guanghan doesn’t care about birthdays.”

“He came to Yuanming Pavilion just this morning. He placed a commission for a sword — qiyu jade for the core, shark pearls for the inlay, to be forged by the finest swordsmith. He asked for it to be completed before the fifth month.”

Shen Fengxiu raised an eyebrow. “It seems to be a birthday gift for someone. Imagine that — Li Guanghan, of all people, taking the initiative to give a gift. Let me think about who could possibly matter enough to him for that. Surely not you, his eldest disciple?”

“Yuheng — if I remember correctly, your birthday isn’t in the fifth month, is it?”

Before Shen Fengxiu had even finished speaking, Yin Yuheng had gone still.

Shifu… is preparing a birthday gift for someone?

He thought of all the times he had brought gifts for Shifu over the years. Shifu would accept them without much expression and say: cultivators need not concern themselves with such worldly matters.

And yet Yin Yuheng had kept bringing them, year after year, of his own accord.

I don’t know what I can do for Shifu. I only want to stay as close to him as possible.

Li Guanghan cultivated the Way of Nine Coldnesses, a path of near-perfect detachment — he paid attention to nothing, cared for nothing. Yin Yuheng had never found a way to make him smile. He could only exhaust himself, rack his mind, offer everything he had — hoping only to secure some small, uncontested place at Shifu’s side.

So even a teacher who claimed to have no use for the ways of the mortal world could, for the right person, step down from that lofty, unreachable height…

Watching Yin Yuheng’s expression drift into vacancy, Shen Fengxiu felt a hot anger rise in his chest — but couldn’t bring himself to aim it at Yin Yuheng. He said harshly, “You’ve been half out of your mind over Li Guanghan for years. Giving and giving without complaint — is he really worth all that?”

Yin Yuheng lowered his head. A faint, rueful smile crossed his lips.

Feelings arise unbidden, and once they take hold, they go deep. What could he do?

Under Shen Fengxiu’s frustrated, helpless gaze, Yin Yuheng left Yuanming Pavilion in a daze, walking aimlessly into the night wind.

By the time he came back to himself, he found — without quite knowing how — that he was standing in front of the Guoshi Manor.

Yin Yuheng pressed his lips together. He hesitated, then stepped inside.

In the past, Li Guanghan would often meditate in quiet cultivation at the Wentian Platform, removed from worldly affairs. At night, the entire Guoshi Manor would fall into a silence so complete you could hear snow landing.

Yin Yuheng would sit beneath the plum tree, facing the direction of the Wentian Platform, and sit through the whole night while snow settled on his shoulders.

But tonight, the moment he stepped inside, he heard voices.

“Raise the sword another three cun.”

“Clear the mind. Focus.”

Yin Yuheng paused. He looked toward the plum tree — and there was Li Guanghan, guiding Zhu Anning through his sword practice.

Li Guanghan’s hand rested on Zhu Anning’s wrist. They were standing close together.

One of them: lofty, composed, beautiful as a god.

The other: bright and vivid, radiant.

For just a moment, Yin Yuheng felt that they looked perfectly matched.

He stopped where he was. He found, suddenly, that he didn’t want to go forward.

“Shixiong?”

Zhu Anning caught a glimpse of Yin Yuheng’s silhouette from the corner of his eye and called out first, setting down his sword and rubbing his reddened fingers. “Shixiong, I’m in the middle of sword practice — it’s so cold out here.”

Yin Yuheng had been intending to take one look and leave. That stopped him.

“It is very cold here,” he said quietly.

He used to sit here through entire nights. The wind and snow would work their way into his collar, chilling him to the bone.

Li Guanghan glanced at his eldest disciple, said nothing, and returned his attention to Zhu Anning. He frowned slightly. “If it’s cold here, practice somewhere else next time.”

“Shifu is so considerate,” Zhu Anning said happily.

Yin Yuheng stood to the side and said nothing.

Then Zhu Anning seemed to think of something, and turned to him with a smile. “Shixiong, do you know what day falls in the fifth month?”

“…What?”

“It’s my birthday!” Zhu Anning laughed, bright and animated. “Shixiong, you’d better have my gift ready in advance.”