Young Song: The Hidden Sword God, Han Yi and Her Child Arrive at the Door.

The wind at the edge of Changqing Boundary is a bit colder than the wind inside the courtyard.

It's not cold.

It's more like a kind of clarity that lies between "inside the boundary" and "outside the boundary".

It's as if if you take just half a step forward, you'll step from a place filled with human warmth, peach blossoms, and spiritual springs into a completely different order.

Su Changqing walked at a slow pace.

He didn't carry a sword, nor did he exude any menacing killing intent. Unlike when he dragged Bai Heng down from the Heavenly Gate during the day, he didn't simply grasp the entire path in his palm.

At this moment, he seemed more like someone digesting his food after a meal.

However, the direction of my walk happened to be where the doorway was located.

Not far behind him, Li Hanyi stood by the courtyard gate, holding Su Xiaonuo, quietly watching him.

Little Nuonuo originally wanted to chase after them, but then she was made serious by the words "the person who keeps accounts behind the door hasn't paid for the candy yet," so she obediently stayed in her mother's arms, but kept trying to peek forward with her little head, wanting to see what the "door that owes candy" looked like.

Big White followed at her feet, glancing at Su Changqing, then at the door, then at Su Xiaonuo, before finally sitting down like a round, white wall.

Little Flower, however, had somehow flown to a slightly higher peach branch, stretched her neck, and whispered:

"The boss went to collect the debts... the boss went to collect the debts..."

"The one behind the door is in trouble, really in trouble..."

Li Hanyi heard the bird speak and glanced at it from the side.

Xiao Hua immediately shrank her neck and changed to an even softer tone:

"I wasn't saying anything bad... I was praising the boss..."

Li Hanyi ignored it and simply turned her gaze forward again.

She could see Su Changqing's back.

They could also see the doorway standing outside the edge of the Evergreen Realm, extremely faint and high, as if drawn out bit by bit with cold ink.

The door was quiet.

So quiet it was almost invisible.

If it weren't for the information Bai Heng relayed back based on the book's meaning, and the few wisps of "page-turning intent" that Su Changqing himself had touched last night, most people would have thought it was just a wisp of mist blown thin by the morning breeze.

But Li Hanyi knew that wasn't the case.

That was a hand reaching out from behind the door.

However, this hand did not directly turn the page or write, nor did it press down on people from a distance. It simply created a doorway, waiting for Su Changqing to come over.

The fact that this happened is incredible enough.

Since that old book, that net behind the door, began to cover all realms, it has always been others who look up at the door.

When have we ever had a time when we were "waiting for someone behind the door"?

And now, it is waiting.

When Su Changqing reached the door.

Thinking of this, Li Hanyi felt less worried and more of a faint chill.

Of course she knew there wouldn't be anything good in there.

But she also knew—

If Su Changqing was willing to walk to the door, it would mean that he thought the door was at least "worth a glance".

Further up the chain, whether or not there can be negotiations, how much can be negotiated, and whether or not the structure should be dismantled are all matters for later discussion.

……

Su Changqing finally reached the edge of the Changqing Realm.

Beneath their feet was a very faint, thin layer of blue membrane.

Like a layer of water.

It's like a layer of wind that's been stretched out to be extremely flat and steady.

When you step on it, there is no hard feedback like on solid ground; instead, it feels like standing on an extremely quiet lake.

However, beneath the surface of this lake, there is no water.

It is the inherent structure and boundaries of the evergreen world itself.

They spread out quietly at Su Changqing's feet, completely dividing the inside and outside of the door into two worlds.

Inside the gate lies the Evergreen Realm.

Outside the door, there is only the shadow of the door.

Su Changqing stopped and looked ahead.

That door was really tall.

The door was so high it didn't seem like it was meant for "people" to walk through.

It has no specific lintel or carved plaque; the door frame is just an outline that is paler than the morning mist and colder than old ink.

Fine lines of writing flashed by along the edges of the outline.

Like a record that was never truly finished, yet is constantly being supplemented by itself.

Upon closer inspection, the characters sometimes resemble names, sometimes boundary markers, and sometimes some kind of ancient judgment.

But when you really want to see them clearly, they instantly dissipate back into the ink, as if they simply don't want to be seen completely by the "people outside the door".

However, such tricks meant nothing to Su Changqing.

He only glanced at it, but he roughly understood.

This is not a real door.

It's more like a "speaking spot".

The person behind the door still had no intention of actually showing themselves.

It's simply about creating a space that's enough to separate the upper and lower levels, inside and outside, and inside and outside the book, while still ensuring that "you can come to my door and we can talk."

to be honest--

Still maintaining an air of composure.

They still refuse to actually implement it.

However, compared to Bai Heng's initial attitude of "I stand before the Heavenly Gate, and you are all just entries in the book," he was already much lower.

After Su Changqing understood, he actually laughed.

"We don't even dare to open the door properly."

"What's there to talk about?"

His voice was not high.

But as soon as it landed in front of that doorway, the entire cold, dark silhouette trembled almost imperceptibly.

It's like the hand behind the door, truly "listening".

After a while.

From the depths of the doorway, a voice finally rose slowly.

The sound was very soft and cold.

It wasn't the kind of cold, orderly sound that Bai Heng deliberately maintained.

It wasn't the aloof and superior tone of a high-ranking official like Zhao Xuance.

It sounds more like the rubbing sound of turning pages of paper.

It's very thin.

It's very flat.

Yet, one can instinctively sense that there is no real warmth behind that voice.

"You're arrogant."

The sound came from behind the door, unhurried and gentle.

It sounds like a statement, not an outburst of anger.

But the more it's like this, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

This tone is very much like that of someone who has witnessed far too many rises and falls of worlds and the reversals of cause and effect, and has finally become too lazy to have any more emotions about most things.

It has seen too much.

So even if the old book was stained with sugar, the pen tip was crooked by bamboo sticks, the door servant was taken away, and even the shadow of the door was forced to be released to "talk", the voice still revealed a very deep "I am still watching you".

However, this kind of "looking at you" clearly doesn't carry much weight in front of Su Changqing.

Su Changqing stood on the boundary membrane, his expression calm.

"A little better than you guys."

"At least I keep my word."

The voice behind the door paused for a moment.

"You left your name in the old register, defiled my pages, robbed my gatekeeper, and imprisoned my guide."

"And now you say you keep your word?"

Su Changqing chuckled.

"You're wrong about that."

"You were the ones who wrote my name first, added random notes with a pen first, sent your servants into my dreams first, and sent Bai Heng down to demolish my land first."

"I was just returning the favor casually."

"What, you can change people's fates through your secret records, but I can't leave a message like 'candy'?"

These words were spoken very naturally.

But the voice behind the door remained silent for a few moments.

Because logically speaking—

Su Changqing is right.

It was the person behind the door who made the first move.

He was just retaliating.

The problem is that those behind the door never feel that "doing it yourself" requires logic.

They are used to putting pen to paper.

I'm used to turning pages.

I've gotten into the habit of drawing a circle on a boundary, leaving my name, and adding a label after seeing it.

Who cares whether something circled in the image is reasonable or not?

There wasn't before.

Now we have it.

Moreover, this person even wrote "Remember to buy a ticket" backwards on the old booklet.

This unprecedented sense of awkwardness, even though the voice behind the door tried its best to remain steady, still revealed a subtle discomfort.

You shouldn't have touched the book.

"That statement is also incorrect."

Su Changqing interrupted him.

"I didn't do that."

"I touched you."

"I just happened to come across the book."

The voice behind the door fell silent for a moment.

This time, the stillness was even more pronounced.

It was as if the hand behind the door hadn't expected Su Changqing to speak about this so directly.

It's not "offensive".

It wasn't an "accidental touch".

It's not about "you offend me first, then I retaliate."

But -

I came here specifically for you guys.

I just happened to come across the book.

This goes beyond the word "madness".

This is a complete reversal of the lofty logic behind the door, stepping into the rhythm of human life.

The voice from behind the door sounded again after a moment.

"Aren't you afraid of having your proper name listed in the register?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Once a proper name is established, it is no longer just an anomaly in a certain world."

"You will be constantly observed, constantly corrected, and constantly hunted."

Su Changqing simply nodded after listening.

"Sounds like you're quite busy."

"..."

"That's perfect."

He looked up at the doorway, a faint smile in his eyes.

"You guys are busy, but I'm not idle either."

"I shut Bai Heng down, I crushed the gatekeepers into pieces, and I wrote on the old books."

"A little more wouldn't hurt."

The voice behind the door finally carried a genuine chill.

It wasn't a steady rustling sound.

It looked like the corner of the page had been pressed down hard.

"How many pages of old books do you think you can hold?"

Su Changqing looked at the doorway and asked in return:

"Do you think your few pages of old paper can withstand a few knocks on the door?"

As soon as these words were spoken, it seemed as if the wind inside and outside the circle stopped.

The voice behind the door did not respond immediately.

Clearly, the other party is also reassessing Su Changqing.

Or rather, re-evaluating whether there is still any point in "talking".

Su Changqing wasn't in a hurry.

Since he's here, he doesn't mind standing for a while.

Anyway, it's not him who's in a hurry.

So he even casually took out a candied hawthorn berry left over from last night from his sleeve, put it in his mouth and chewed it.

Chew while you wait.

If Bai Heng saw this, he would probably vomit blood again.

They've already set up a door and started talking behind it.

You're still eating hawthorns at the door?

But Su Changqing actually did it.

It's not just a pose.

He felt that talking behind the door was too slow, and since he was waiting anyway, he needed to have something to say.

The voice behind the door had clearly noticed this as well.

This time, it remained silent for an even longer period.

So long that several more peach blossoms in the Evergreen Realm have fallen.

Even Li Hanyi, watching from a distance, narrowed her eyes slightly.

So long that even the little flower couldn't resist peeking out from the peach branch and whispering:

"Why aren't you saying anything...? The thing behind the door is stuck..."

Su Xiaonuo leaned on Li Hanyi's shoulder, stretching her little neck to look in that direction.

"Mother, is Father eating?"

Li Hanyi gave a soft "hmm".

"Eating hawthorn."

"Isn't that bad guy outside the door?"

"Most likely not."

"Oh, it's so pitiful."

"..."

Li Hanyi almost couldn't hold back.

She looked down at her daughter's earnest, pitying face, which seemed to be concerned for the "bad guy outside the door," and the slight tension in her heart dissipated.

Yes.

Those guys behind the door probably rarely encounter this kind of scene.

They are used to others being tense, cautious, careful, and looking up to them.

Who would be eating hawthorns in front of the door while waiting for them to compose their words?

When this rhythm is disrupted, it's naturally not Su Changqing who suffers.

……

Finally, the voice from behind the door spoke again.

This time, it's less hollow and flat, and more clearly defined and hard.

What do you want?

very direct.

Also behind the door.

Since I can't argue with that "you shouldn't touch the book" logic, I'll just ask for the conditions directly.

Because in the system behind the door, most things can ultimately be categorized into the logic of "wanting something".

Your resistance stems from a desire for more.

You flipped the table because you wanted a higher position.

You leave traces because you want the right to negotiate.

Therefore, the voice behind the door naturally assumed that Su Changqing's actions would ultimately lead to some kind of "want".

But Su Changqing laughed after hearing this.

"What you're saying sounds more like a discussion."

"Unfortunately, that was the wrong question."

The voice from behind the door said:

"What's wrong?"

"It's not what I want."

Su Changqing raised his eyes, his gaze indifferent.

"What are you prepared to exchange?"

This time, the voice behind the door actually fell silent again.

Clearly, it hadn't expected Su Changqing to answer that way.

Or rather—

It's not used to it.

Those behind the door are too used to being the ones setting the conditions, too used to having the power to revise and seal documents to judge what others are worth and what they are not.

But now, Su Changqing has directly reversed the positions.

It's not about "what I want".

It means "What are you going to give in exchange?"

What to change?

Change to Baiheng.

Change the door slave paper charm.

The sugar stain on the old booklet.

Su Changqing temporarily refused to continue touching the book upwards as he wished.

If this "talk" hadn't completely collapsed into another door-tearing incident tonight...

The initiative is clearly no longer behind the door.

The voice behind the door grew deeper.

"You want Bai Heng's life?"

Su Changqing shook his head.

"It's worthless."

"You want Bai Heng's bones?"

"I've already taken four, no rush."

"Do you want the booklet pages?"

"You can't bear to part with them."

"Do you want the names of those behind the door?"

"This one is decent enough."

The sound from behind the door finally paused noticeably for the first time.

Because it suddenly realized that Su Changqing wasn't just randomly asking for exorbitant prices.

He knows very well what he can and cannot ask for, what you cannot provide, and what you would lose out if you provided it.

Moreover, this person is not in a hurry to close the deal tonight.

So he can take his time choosing.

The voice from behind the door said coldly:

"I can't give you a name."

"Then let's not talk about it."

Su Changqing answered even more decisively.

The voice behind the door paused.

"you……"

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

Su Changqing raised his hand and pointed at the shadowy door.

"If you come to me with this, you should bring something substantial."

"Just a simple 'we can talk outside,' coupled with that pretentious tone, and you expect me to stand here and chat with you until midnight?"

"Have you been flipping through those pages behind your door for too long? Have you gotten your brains hard from all that flipping?"

If these words were spoken outside, they would be enough to scare everyone in front of the Taiji Hall into silence.

But in the Evergreen Realm, Li Hanyi listened to it and actually felt it was perfectly natural.

Because this is Su Changqing.

Others have already extended their reach beyond the boundary; they want to talk.

His first reaction wasn't one of heightened alarm, nor one of cautious probing, but rather—

You want to get something for nothing?

This doesn't work.

The voice behind the door remained silent for an even longer time this time.

It's like a real reassessment.

After a moment, it slowly said:

"I can take back half of the imperial decree attached to Bai Heng."