Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

Just then.

Suddenly, a low sobbing sound came from outside.

That voice sounds familiar... like... Jiang Zhiyu's voice?!

Chai Xiaomi looked puzzled, then climbed towards the window. Just as she poked her head out, she felt a chill on her shoulder and her clothes slipped down.

After all that fuss, her neckline was already loose, and with this movement, it slipped down halfway down her shoulder, revealing her pale shoulder completely in the moonlight.

The next second, a pair of hands reached out from behind, firmly grabbed her collar, and quickly pulled her up.

Chai Xiaomi turned her head and saw Wu Li with a dark face, burying his head in tidying her clothes. His movements were quick and meticulous, as if there were wolves and tigers watching them from outside, afraid of being seen by others.

He tightened her collar, not even bothering to glance out the window, his tone icy: "Tsk, a grown man, what kind of drama is he putting on so late at night? He's shedding more tears than the widow at the village entrance. It's the first time I've ever seen a man cry; I'm ashamed for him."

Chai Xiaomi pouted.

If she hadn't seen the redness in the corners of the man's eyes with her own eyes, she would have almost believed his arrogant statement.

"Lili," she whispered, "I'm asking you, if I left you, would you cry?"

Wu Li's hand suddenly stopped.

He looked up and met her clear, black and white eyes. Before he could speak, he suddenly realized that the question had a deeper meaning, and looked past her out the window.

He then realized that Jiang Zhiyu wasn't alone by the lake; Song Yueyao was standing in front of him, seemingly about to leave.

From this angle, the two people below could easily spot them peeking if they simply looked up.

Wu Li's brow twitched slightly. He reached out and pressed Chai Xiaomi's head down, pulling her closer together behind the window frame.

"Lili, what are you doing?"

"Idiot, how can you peek so blatantly?" He took her hand. "If you want to see, come with me."

In the shade of the trees, a tall figure pulled a slender woman out of the treehouse. He pulled her into his arms and carried her up the thickest branch in a few steps, his movements swift and silent.

Before long, Chai Xiaomi sat down in the best viewing spot on the branch, where the dense leaves completely shaded the two of them.

She glanced at Wu Li, who had his hands behind his head, one knee bent, leaning against a tree trunk, ready to catch up on sleep.

"Don't you want to hear what they're saying?"

"I'm sleepy," he said honestly. "You stay seated and don't move around. Call me when you're done eavesdropping, I'm going to take a nap."

Wu Li yawned. He never imagined he would one day be doing such petty theft. He had no interest in prying into other people's private affairs, but unfortunately, he had a meddlesome wife.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw Chai Xiaomi with a serious little face, her eyes bright, listening intently. Worried that she might fall, he silently pulled at her skirt and tied it to the hem of his own clothes.

Only then did she feel relieved enough to lean back and continue sleeping.

*

"Yaoyao, are you really going to sneak away without telling everyone?"

The shimmering, silvery light on the lake surface made Song Yueyao's figure appear exceptionally slender.

With her back to Jiang Zhiyu, she said in a flat tone, "Didn't we already agree to part ways after arriving in Youquan Town?"

"I was worried that Xiaomi and the others might encounter some trouble on the way, which is why I've accompanied them all this way." She paused, "But we've already lingered for too long. Grand Tutor Yin already knows that the Illusionary Stone is with me. If I continue to stay by your side, it will only bring you trouble."

Jiang Zhiyu's voice came from the night, a little hoarse from crying: "I'm not afraid of trouble."

"Aren't you afraid?" She turned around, the moonlight illuminating her face, her expression as cold as if viewed through frost. "And what about your father and mother?"

"Jiang Zhiyu, don't forget your own identity. You are the young master of Lingyu Prefecture and will become a ruler of a region in the future. I am just an unloved and fallen princess with only a title. You don't need to waste your time on me."

Jiang Zhiyu: "If I could, I would rather not have this identity."

"Don't say such childish things. It would be unfair to those who raised and nurtured you. We all have our own missions and our own paths to walk. Remember to pass on a message to Xiaomi and Wu Li for me: It's been a privilege to have met you. This journey has been the happiest time of my life."

"And what about me?"

Seeing Song Yueyao turn to leave, Jiang Zhiyu hurriedly chased after her, his voice trembling with tears, "You...don't you have anything to say to me? Yaoyao, what am I to you?"

Song Yueyao's back froze for a moment.

The air seemed to be seized by something, frozen between the two of them.

She stood there, her back to him, without moving for a long time.

When he spoke again, his voice was cold and clear, like the lake water in the night, devoid of any warmth.

"From beginning to end, I was just using you."

"Jiang Zhiyu, I've discovered that you're really quite naive, naive to the point of being laughable. When we first met as children, you lied to me and said you were a guard. In fact, I had already discovered your identity back then, and my closeness to you was also intentional. As a poor hostage far from home, why wouldn't I be happy to have the young master's protection and live a more comfortable life?"

She chuckled softly as she finished speaking.

"The young master of a nation even traveled thousands of miles to Japan to save me, to steal my bride, and to follow me through thick and thin... If word got out, I, Song Yueyao, would be proud." Her tone was almost cruelly indifferent. "But that's just being proud. What can you actually do for me? You can only say a few nice words and fan me a little."

"What do you want me to do?" Jiang Zhiyu's voice was hoarse and urgent, like a drowning person grabbing onto the last piece of driftwood. "Just tell me, and I'll do anything."

"Need not."

Song Yueyao interrupted him.

"Mountains may crumble, rivers may flow away; what I, Song Yueyao, need to do, I can do myself."

The night breeze swept across the lake, also lifting a wisp of hair from her temple.

She took a few steps forward, then stopped without looking back.

"Jiangzhiyu".

"Don't be so naive and easily fooled again."

"Though mountains and rivers separate us, I wish you well. Farewell!"

This time, she strode forward resolutely, never looking back.

Chai Xiaomi's gaze remained fixed on Song Yueyao's figure as she gradually disappeared into the night until she was completely gone, before her gaze slowly shifted to Jiang Zhiyu.

He bent down little by little, squatting by the lake, as if crushed by something unseen. The usually cheerful and funny man was now curled up there helplessly and blankly, his tense shoulders trembling slightly, and suppressed sobs escaping from between his teeth.

Chai Xiaomi looked at him quietly, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with a wad of wet cotton, and a sudden surge of sourness welled up in her nose.

This is one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the later part of the original story, where the male and female protagonists go their separate ways. She had read this passage before, but when it actually happened before her eyes, she realized that the descriptions in black and white could not possibly bear the weight of this moment.

Song Yueyao carries too much on her shoulders.

She was someone who survived in the cracks, someone who had long been accustomed to bearing everything alone. She knew how dangerous the place she was going to was, how many unknown dangers lay ahead, so she chose to push everyone aside and move forward alone.

Chai Xiaomi understood her unwavering will and her deep sense of loyalty and righteousness.

Even if they wanted to follow her to Kyoto, she wouldn't agree.

Song Yueyao claimed she wanted to exchange the Illusionary Stone for her imprisoned mother with her father, but that was not the case.

Chai Xiaomi knew that she also needed to exchange one more thing—the military tally of the Nie family army.