Chapter Sixty-Seven: Youth Knows Not Love

"Shut up! Shut up!" Liu Lan nearly shouted at Zhang Qing'er.

"I, Liu Lanzhi, hereby swear that in this lifetime I will marry none but Che Wuyou, and should I break this vow, let me meet a bitter end." A crystal-clear tear hung at the corner of Liu Lanzhi's eye; her voice was calm yet resolute, leaving no doubt as to her determination.

Liu Lanzhi turned to look at Che Wuyou’s solitary, desolate figure, as if she saw a traveler shivering in the cold night. Gazing at his pale, almost fearful face, something in her heart seemed to shatter, something seemed to melt...

Liu Lanzhi gave Che Wuyou a sorrowful smile, sweet and gentle, irresistibly alluring. "Wuyou, when I grow up, will you marry me?"

Seeing the look of stunned hesitation on Che Wuyou’s face, Liu Lanzhi felt a pain and sorrow unlike any she had ever known... Could this be affection, could this be love?

In those youthful, reckless days, who promised whom a lifetime? In those days, whose heart was stirred by whom? In those days, who could truly know whose destiny belonged to whom...

"Will you?" These four simple words struck so deeply, intoxicating and mesmerizing. "Will you?" For years to come, whenever he recalled this moment, the boy would feel a shiver from the depths of his soul. Some color returned to his pale face, and his heart seemed to melt into those four words...

"I... but, I..." The boy looked at that beautiful figure in lake-green, at the elf-like grace dancing in the wind, at her resolute vow and calm promise. He saw a face so breathtaking it seemed to have stepped from a painting; his lips trembled, but he could not utter a single word.

Liu Lanzhi slowly stepped forward, gently cupping Che Wuyou’s rough-hewn face, tenderly caressing him, and softly said, "Do you not like me? Do you not want me as your wife? Or is it that your heart belongs only to your Lady Ye, and you simply look down upon this country girl?"

The Lady Ye Liu Lanzhi mentioned was, of course, the daughter of the master of the Ye family—one of the ten great ancient families of cultivators, now dominating Ye Prefecture, a major force throughout the Southern Border. Liu Lanzhi brought up Ye Li only in jest, to ease the mood; she never believed Che Wuyou and Ye Li could have any connection.

Ye Li was truly a princess of the Southern Border. Though Liu Lanzhi had never met nor seen her, Ye Li's reputation had reached her ears. As the darling of fate in all the Southern Border and even the entire Southern Continent, Ye Li was famous; even in the remote corners of Ji Prefecture, stories of Ye Li's deeds could be heard...

It was said that countless talented young men pursued Ye Li, each backed by formidable powers that could make anyone tremble...

It was not that Liu Lanzhi looked down upon Che Wuyou, but that she never considered him and Ye Li to have any possibility, for the gap between them was simply too vast, so vast as to inspire despair.

As for the engagement between Che Wuyou and Ye Li, Liu Lanzhi saw it as nothing more than a joke—a prank played by the Ye family upon the Che family. Not only Liu Lanzhi thought so; everyone in the Miao family did as well. Anyone who wasn't blind could see: if Ye Li was a phoenix in the heavens, then Che Wuyou was an ant on the earth. The ant might see the soaring phoenix, but how would the phoenix ever notice the humble ant...

"I... no, no, how could I look down on you? I... like you more than I can say... My heart has always belonged only to you; no matter when, there will never be anyone but you in my heart. But..." Che Wuyou felt both anxious and elated, yet a shade of gloom lingered. Could he truly be with Liu Lanzhi? If he never reached the Core Formation stage, as Zhang Qing'er said, wouldn't he ruin her life?

"There is no 'but.' Your words alone are enough. Life is long; as long as we can be happy together each day, what need is there to worry so much? Besides, who can say what will happen in the future? Though your aptitude is lacking, that doesn’t mean you’ll never form a core."

Liu Lanzhi said this to comfort Che Wuyou, though she herself had little faith in his chances. The Core Formation stage was a watershed on the path of cultivation; without extraordinary talent and fortune, no amount of effort could avail. Otherwise, why would Core Formation be known as 'little questioning of immortality'?

"Lanzhi..." Che Wuyou stared at Liu Lanzhi, unable to believe how deeply she cared for him. "I will do everything I can to reach Core Formation. If there is even a sliver of hope, I will never give up. If I succeed, I will... I will marry you."

Che Wuyou was a little excited, a little shy, and a little lost. After a long pause, he added, "But if I fail... Lanzhi, you needn't..."

He meant to say, if he failed, she needn't wait for him.

"If you succeed, I’ll stay by your side for three hundred years. If you do not, I will tend your grave for a lifetime. That is all." Liu Lanzhi, after years of close companionship, knew exactly what he meant.

She looked at the dazed Che Wuyou and shyly said, "That night, if not for your selfless rescue, I would have died. I vowed then: if you woke, I would be your wife, walk with you on the path of cultivation, no matter how hard it is or what we face, I will always be at your side."

"Lanzhi, I... I am so happy, I..."

Liu Lanzhi took Che Wuyou’s arm, nodded with a bright smile, then turned to the stunned Zhang Qing'er and said, "Wuyou and I have walked through life and death together; you cannot imagine what we've experienced. For me, he defied our master to cover up my mistakes. For me, he endured insults and blows from his peers, yet always stood by me. For me, he faced enemies alone, fighting for a slim chance of survival, nearly losing his life..."

"Tell me, is such a man not worthy of love? In his heart, you are his whole world..."

"I am at my prime, yet I would rather keep vigil by his white hair and bones. Whether I reach Core Formation or Ascension, if he lives, I live and share his fate; if he dies, I will guard his grave."

Her words sounded gentle, but to Zhang Qing'er they thundered like rolling clouds, making her stagger back two steps. Was this love? Had it transcended life and death, everything? She felt lost, her heart more confused than ever.

"But then why is he so good to me? If he loves you, why does he treat me so kindly? Why does he deliberately approach me? I don't believe it—does he not have some motive? I don't believe it." Zhang Qing'er spoke partly for herself, partly as if questioning Che Wuyou.

"Because you are my patient, my very first patient. I never expected you would see me this way, say these things about me. If I have done anything to make you misunderstand, I can only apologize." Che Wuyou looked at Zhang Qing'er with a distant gaze. "Your illness is cured. From now on, you are you, and I am I. To avoid further misunderstanding, let us never meet again in this life."

Che Wuyou and Liu Lanzhi left. The once warm spring weather seemed to turn cold, the sky grew darker. Zhang Qing'er stood dumbly by the rushing river, sensing she had misunderstood something, realizing she had done something foolish.

"Never meet again in this life..." At first, the words were just a whisper in her ear, but as time passed, they grew louder and louder, until finally, like a bolt from the blue, Zhang Qing'er spat a mouthful of blood.

"Never meet again..." Zhang Qing'er clutched her chest, feeling a pain and helplessness so deep. She leaned weakly against a small tree, slowly sliding to the ground. She wanted to cry, but could not. Why? Why did it all have to be this way?

She recalled Che Wuyou's gentle smile as he treated her wounds, and then his cold eyes and resolute words just now, and for a moment lost herself. If only time could rewind, she would return to that first meeting, to that moment of beauty.

In that instant, Zhang Qing'er finally understood: she truly liked him, she simply refused to admit it, was trying every way to escape it... If Che Wuyou had exceptional talent, if he stood out from the crowd, everything would fall into place. But why was his aptitude so poor? Why did he have no hope of reaching Core Formation?

If she could choose again, she too would gladly keep vigil by his white hair and bones. What Liu Lanzhi could do, she could also do. But was there still a chance now? Another mouthful of blood spattered her white dress, blooming like cold plum blossoms, so vivid, so tragic.

Two figures approached from behind. Seeing Zhang Qing'er's dazed face and blood-spattered dress, they exclaimed in shock, "Miss, what happened? Are your wounds acting up again?"