cold clothes

Yin Jiu easily climbed in from the outside, bracing himself against the windowsill with one hand, as if he weren't even on the second floor. He glanced at Leng Yi with star-like eyes, then turned his gaze to the window he had smashed open. After examining it for a moment, he nodded and said, "Hmm, nothing's broken. This young master's qi has reached its peak." With that, he closed the window and walked over to Leng Yi, who was still in a daze.

He flicked Leng Yi's forehead, a smile unconsciously playing on his lips: "Why are you still spacing out?"

"Why are you here..." Leng Yi asked, still not fully conscious, rubbing her aching forehead.

Yin Jiu suppressed a smile and said indifferently, "I heard you were in trouble again, so I came to see you. Aunt Fang asked me to come; she practically treats you like her own niece." The implication was that he hadn't come voluntarily.

Leng Yi immediately understood his arrogance, and asked casually, "What did you mean when you said you finally found me? You even broke open the window, aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

"There's no one in the surrounding rooms, and the Warm Winter Courtesan isn't here either, so no one will notice."

"How do you know? Did you search every room?"

Yin Jiu slightly turned her gaze away and said, "I didn't know where you were, so I had to search room by room... It was Aunt Fang who was worried about you and insisted that I see you, so I did this."

Leng Yi chuckled. Yin Jiu always seemed to be saying one thing but meaning another, either shifting his gaze or looking at people with his chin down. It was hard to tell if he was being stubborn or just being coquettish, which made him incredibly adorable.

Suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of grievance welled up inside her, and tears streamed down her face. Leng Yi couldn't help but hug Yin Jiu and bury her face in his shoulder, sobbing softly. The faint herbal scent on Yin Jiu's body made her feel very at ease, but it also made her cry even harder, wiping her tears and snot all over Yin Jiu's fur collar.

Yin Jiu was startled by the sudden hug and silently hugged Leng Yi back.

He didn't know how to comfort people, nor did he tell her to stop crying; he simply waited quietly for her to finish. Gradually, Leng Yi stopped crying and stopped shedding tears, but she still held Yin Jiu tightly, refusing to let go.

Yin Jiu felt embarrassed at first, then put down her arms around Leng Yi and said, "You've finished crying and you still won't let go. This cloak of mine is ruined again."

"I just finished crying and I look ugly, turn away and don't look at me."

“I’ve seen you even uglier than you ever have! You’re such a nuisance—” Yin Jiu muttered irritably, but still turned away, which made Leng Yi chuckle again. Yin Jiu knew that she had been tricked by Leng Yi again.

Fine, what's wrong with letting her have her way?

Yin Jiu turned back and met Leng Yi's red-rimmed, teary-eyed, yet smiling eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.

She looks pretty even when she's crying.

After crying, Leng Yi felt much better and sincerely said to Yin Jiu, "Thank you for coming to see me."

Yin Jiu looked away and said, "You're welcome. After all, I'm practically your master." Then she glanced at her collar and said, "It's just another waste of a cloak. I don't know how we're going to get through this winter."

"Hmph, I see you have plenty of clothes." Leng Yi scanned Yin Jiu from head to toe. He had his hair half tied back in a ponytail, and was dressed in a black, narrow-sleeved, cross-collar robe with a red belt around his waist, a black brocade cloak with a white fur collar, and black boots. When they first met, Yin Jiu was dressed in a gray outfit, and the colder the weather, the more expensive his clothes became. Who would believe that he was just an ordinary servant at Fengxiang Tower?

Yin Jiu stared at her, then suddenly said in surprise, "You seem to be in pretty good shape. I thought you would be very scared because it was your first time killing someone."

Leng Yi's eyes narrowed: "How do you know I killed Granny Qin?"

Yin Jiu had already prepared a response to this: "I overheard Mrs. Hu talking, and she mentioned you."

It's quite normal for Yin Jiu to be able to eavesdrop on other people's conversations since she knows light-body skills. As for whether it was "unintentional" or for what reason, Leng Yi felt there was no need to delve too deeply into it. As long as she knew that Yin Jiu had no ill intentions towards her, that was enough.

Actually, Leng Yi didn't want to complain too much to Yin Jiu, but since she had asked... Leng Yi wasn't the type to keep her feelings to herself.

Leng Yi, slumped over the table, recounted the events of the past two days to Yin Jiu with a troubled expression—about Wu Xue, about Granny Qin, about Wei Feng, about Granny Hu… Her mind was a jumbled mess. When asked about her feelings after killing for the first time, she replied that in the heat of the moment, she only felt that Granny Qin deserved to die, that killing was the right thing to do, but she didn't experience a single second of the thrill of revenge. Later, she felt increasingly cold inside, waves of fear washing over her, and even felt sorrow for both Wu Xue's and Granny Qin's deaths… But she still insisted that she was right; a life for a life, it was only right and proper.

So what exactly are her doubts and confusion?

After listening, Yin Jiu calmly pondered for a while and said, "You had thoughts of killing Granny Qin the moment Wu Xue had her accident, didn't you?"

"Correct."

“You thought Wu Xue had a chance of survival and didn’t kill her,” Yin Jiu shook her head regretfully, “but when you actually killed Granny Qin, you used the knife that Hu Mama gave you, not your own sword.”

"You feel like you have no control over your own destiny."

Yin Jiu's words hit the nail on the head, and Leng Yi was startled, the fog in her heart suddenly dissipating.

So that's how it is. Her sorrow and lingering fear stemmed from the feeling of being powerless and unfree. Did Wu Xue truly desire death when she chose to die? It was because she had no other choice. Why didn't she feel relieved after killing Granny Qin? It was because Hu Mama allowed her to kill, and Wei Feng still can't recognize her mistake! What's truly tragic is that Granny Qin, Wu Xue, Wei Feng, and she herself are all being manipulated by Hu Mama.

So this is what Wu Xue hates.

Leng Yi is not her; she wouldn't seek relief through death, but rather—

"Yin Jiu, if I ever want to escape, will you help me?"

Leng Yi's shimmering eyes stared at him, but Yin Jiu was unexpectedly stunned, her midnight-like eyes deep and complex.

Leng Yi suddenly realized the meaning of Wu Xue's words, "You can escape, you are free." Perhaps Yin Jiu was not as detached as she thought; he might also have unknown hatred.

"Hey, I'm just saying that now. Where can two kids like us run off to? We can discuss our escape plans when we're older," Leng Yi said, feigning nonchalance.

"Do you want to take me with you when you escape?" Yin Jiu asked.

Although she didn't understand why Yin Jiu asked that question—it was obvious that he was the one who led her to escape—Leng Yi still said confidently, "Of course, we'll escape together."

Yin Jiu's expression softened considerably, perhaps realizing her earlier odd demeanor. She smiled and changed the subject: "Running away is too early, but going out to play outside Fengxiang Tower is a possibility. There's no curfew on New Year's Eve, so you'll have a chance to go out. How about we have a blast in the capital together?"

"Okay," Leng Yi agreed without hesitation, then asked, "So, will you watch my performance?"

"Yes, how could a master not watch his apprentice's first performance? If he messes up, don't blame me for teaching him."

Leng Yi snorted in dissatisfaction.

Oh no, now I'm actually starting to look forward to New Year's Eve.