The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

"I did it! I did it!" The boy was overjoyed. He leaped into the pool, his golden shark tail splashing water everywhere, reflecting iridescent light in the sunlight. "Sister-in-law! You're amazing! From now on, my lifespan will be long, my spiritual power will increase greatly, and I won't have to sacrifice my own lifespan to save people. I can protect you all now—Sister-in-law, you'll always be my sister-in-law, my dearest—"

The cheers abruptly stopped.

Because he caught a glimpse of Si Chen's suddenly furrowed brows and that icy profile, yet faintly revealing pain.

Ze Sheng immediately complied, spun around in the water, and grinned at Chu Qingyue: "I... uh—I love the methods of the Jiuli Wuque the most! One-handed hand seals, so cool they shatter the heavens!"

Chu Qingyue didn't look at him.

Her gaze swept across the lotus pond, lingering on Si Chen for a fleeting moment—so brief it was almost an illusion. Then she looked away, as if he were merely an insignificant stone sculpture by the pond.

Her face was pale, as if she had exhausted herself, and she said faintly, "It's good that it's done. I'm going to change my clothes since I'm covered in blood."

He turned around after saying that.

Her skirt swept across the stone steps, leaving behind a cold and almost resolute silhouette.

"Qingyue".

Si Chen called to her.

The sound wasn't loud, but it sounded like it was made with all its might.

Chu Qingyue slowly turned around.

The afternoon sun bathed her in a soft glow, but it couldn't penetrate the deep, still waters of her eyes. She looked at him and suddenly gave a very faint smile.

The smile didn't reach his eyes; instead, it revealed boundless desolation.

"If the Grand Preceptor feels guilty and wants to make amends to me, there's no need for this." Her voice was as cold as ice in the dead of winter. "The harm you've done to me is so great that even if you gave your life, it wouldn't make up for it in the slightest."

Si Chen felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart: "Then what can I do... to make you feel better?"

"Comfortable?" Chu Qingyue repeated the word, taking a step forward, closer to him, close enough to see the shadows cast by his long eyelashes on his pale face. "Si Chen, have you ever seen a living piece of wood?"

Si Chen was taken aback and shook his head.

Chu Qingyue's lips curved even colder, her smile laced with venom and bloodlust: "Then I'll trouble you, Grand Preceptor, to find a mirror and take a look at yourself."

As soon as she finished speaking, she resolutely turned around.

That figure stood straight as a bamboo, yet inexplicably exuded a sense of isolation, as if separated from the entire world by an invisible ice wall.

Si Chen stood frozen in place.

His silver hair was blown by the wind across his cheeks, causing a slight itch, but he was completely unaware of it.

Living wood.

It breathes and has a heartbeat, but it feels neither joy nor sorrow, nor warmth.

So this is how she saw him.

Ze Sheng leaped out of the pool, used a hand seal to evaporate the steam, picked up a peach blossom pastry from a passing maid's plate, and while munching on it, looked at Si Chen with his newly transformed azure eyes, mumbling, "Oh no, Brother Chen, you've angered your sister-in-law. The way you look, you're just like those little mermaid husbands in our sea who have angered their wives and are too clumsy with words to know how to coax them, only able to hold the pearl and worry helplessly."

Si Chen's fingertips curled unconsciously as he gazed in the direction where Chu Qingyue had disappeared, and asked in a low voice, "Ze Sheng."

"Hmm?" The boy's cheeks puffed out.

"What does it mean if someone is kind to another person out of guilt?"

Zesheng blinked: "Feel guilty? Then make it up to her. Give her money, treasures, and help—just like you're doing to your sister-in-law now."

Si Chen's fingers tightened, his knuckles turning white: "Just... compensation?"

"Otherwise what?" Zesheng swallowed the pastry and said matter-of-factly, "Guilt is feeling like you owe the other person something and want to pay it back. Once it's paid off, neither of you owes the other anything, and you can both live peacefully."

Each is well.

The four words, like four icicles, pierced Si Chen's chest.

He didn't want to be even.

Let's not just let each other be well.

He wanted her by his side, to laugh, to make a fuss, to be entangled with him for all eternity—even if it was a calamity, a sin, a burning fire, an abyss that shattered his path.

"Then..." Si Chen's voice trembled, unaware of the fragility within him, "What if it weren't for guilt?"

Ze Sheng tilted his head: "What's that?"

What is it?

When I see her smile, my heart softens like the first thaw of spring.

Seeing her injured makes my heart ache as if it's being torn apart.

He knew that getting close to her would lead to his demise, yet he still succumbed to her charms, finding pleasure in it.

He was the only person on the long and lonely path to immortality over the past four hundred years... who made him feel that there was still warmth in this world.

Si Chen opened his mouth.

Those burning, almost frenzied emotions surged in my chest, but got stuck in my throat, turning into a scorching silence.

"Brother Chen," Zesheng leaned closer cautiously, "what did you and your sister-in-law... say?"

Si Chen repeated his words of "compensation" from the cliff top with a bitter sigh. Finally, he looked up blankly, a hint of fragile confusion surfacing in his usually indifferent eyes: "Was it wrong of me to say compensation?"

After listening, Ze Sheng looked at him like he was an idiot, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh:

"My goodness! Brother Chen, is your emotional intelligence negative infinite? What girl wants to hear 'I'll make it up to you'? That's just a transaction! Although we merfolk believe in equal exchange when it comes to love, humans don't do that! What they want is sincerity! Unique and exclusive affection!"

Si Chen was stunned: "Why are you angry?"

"Because she cares about you, you idiot!" Ze Sheng stamped his foot in frustration. "What she wants is your affection! Your sincerity! Not guilt! Not compensation! Your word 'compensation,' what's the difference between that and paying for a smile? It's like telling her—'I'm good to you not because you deserve it, but because I owe you!' Brother Chen, you're stabbing her in the heart with a knife, isn't that deep enough?"

"boom--"

Si Chen's face turned pale instantly.

He finally understood the disappointment in Chu Qingyue's soft laugh before she left, the loosening of her hand, and the dimming of her eyes—it was a sign of a broken heart.

"I... I misspoke." He staggered, his red robes swaying in the wind, casting a blurry shadow.

"You've said more than just wrong!" Ze Sheng pushed him. "Go after her! Go to the secret room and find her! Explain everything to her! Otherwise, knowing your sister-in-law's personality, she might hold a grudge against you for life!"

A flicker of confusion crossed Si Chen's eyes: "So she's angry now..."

"Go ahead and coax her!" Ze Sheng rolled his eyes. "Go find her! Tell her you love her! You'll stand up for her from now on! You'll avenge her! Chop up all the people who bullied her and feed them to the fish—oh… this sister-in-law can do it herself, so you just go with her! Tell her, 'I'll hand you the knife no matter who you want to kill!'"

Si Chen looked at him: "Why do you know all this?"

Ze Sheng proudly raised his chin: "Although we merfolk didn't understand love before we differentiated, we've read so many romance novels! 'The Overbearing Dragon King Falls in Love with Me,' 'The Cold-Faced Immortal's Little Darling Wife'... I know them all by heart! Want to borrow one?"

Si Chen: "...No need."

He turned around.

The red dress fluttered in the wind under the corridor, like a burning fire or a resolute, solitary figure.

"I'm going to find her."

"That's right!" Zesheng waved and shouted, "Remember to tell her you love her! Tell her you adore her! Tell her you can't live without her! And whatever you do, don't mention the word 'compensation' again! Otherwise, even a god can't save you!"

Si Chen's figure disappeared at the corner of the corridor.