The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

She was in the abyss, where there was no light and no path.

It was Master who, by breaking bones for fuel and using his soul as a sword, carved out a path of life where the light of heaven fell in the endless night.

Tang Xixue stepped forward, crossing the sandalwood window sill that separated the wind and snow from the warmth.

The hem of the dark cloak swept across the carved window frame, scattering a few snowflakes from the eaves.

Like shattered jade, the tears splattered onto the edge of her boots, instantly kissed into glistening tear stains by the warm, misty air of the room.

"Didn't you say yourself... you wanted to see me?"

She stopped just three steps away from his wheelchair, her voice as soft as snowflakes falling on his palm, yet resonating deeply in his heart.

Xie Jinlian froze in place.

My heart pounded like a war drum that had completely broken out of control, each beat more rapid than the last, crashing against the thin walls of my chest, almost shattering this already broken body.

Blood roared and surged through my ears, rushing to every part of my body, then rushing back to my heart.

It seemed as if it would break free of the shackles of bone and flesh at any moment, transforming into a butterfly that frantically rushed towards her.

"Now, I am right in front of you."

She took a step forward.

Those footsteps, as light as falling feathers, were nothing short of a deafening roar as a pillar of heaven collapsing in his dark and silent world.

The entire world collapsed, shattered, and vanished at that moment, leaving only the fact that she alone existed.

Her breath, her voice, the air currents caused by her every step she took closer were all magnified infinitely in his incredibly keen senses, crystal clear.

"Brother, where did your composure go? At least... consider my feelings..."

Yun Boyan stood to the side, breathing rapidly, a resonance like a landslide and a tsunami resonating deep within his blood.

He felt his heart pounding wildly, almost bursting open, each contraction accompanied by a strange, sharp pain.

He never knew that one person's heart could resonate to such an extent for another.

"My little lotus flower..."

Tang Xixue knelt down in front of Xie Jinlian's wheelchair, her slightly trembling hand gently caressing his cold cheek as if touching the most precious and fragile rare glass in the world.

Her fingertips first carefully brushed over the cold, smooth edges of the silk veil covering his eyes, and then truly touched his delicate, jade-like skin.

She was much thinner than she remembered, and her skin was slightly cool to the touch, yet it still retained the silhouette she cherished.

Her eyes were red, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"How did you end up making yourself look so pathetic?"

She choked out, each word seemingly soaked with the salty bitterness of tears and the sharp pain of her heart being squeezed and crushed.

Seeing him like this, her heart ached as if it were being pierced by a thousand arrows.

"As long as I can wait for Zhizhi to return, I won't feel sorry for her."

Xie Jinlian immediately shook her head, and the ice silk swayed slightly with the movement.

Her voice tried to remain gentle and refined, but it couldn't hide the deep, almost humble tenderness she felt in wanting to comfort her.

It was as if the person who was seriously injured and tormented was not himself at all, as if the pain that haunted him day and night had become insignificant at this moment.

"Does it hurt?"

She asked softly.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

Xie Jinlian tried to curl the corners of her lips into a gentle smile that could reassure her a little.

That smile was pale and weak, like a translucent flower blooming in the snow, breathtakingly beautiful, yet dazzlingly fragile.

But they were completely unaware—

That forced, pale, weak smile, seen through her tear-blurred eyes, was a sight of utter devastation, a heart-wrenching, soul-crushing grief.

He was truly an extremely gentle person, silently swallowing all his bitterness and even comforting her in return.

"Master."

Tang Xixue blinked desperately, her eyes blurred with tears, trying to force back the overwhelming surge of emotion.

She tried hard to make her voice sound lighter, but it still had a heavy nasal tone, soft and sweet like the way she used to whine when she was a child.

"Master, are you happy to see Zhizhi?"

"joy."

He answered without hesitation or doubt.

Her peerless beauty, as pure and cold as a snow lotus in its first bloom, with the corners of her lips turned up, blossomed at this moment with a breathtaking beauty that could eclipse the heavens and earth.

Like a sacred lotus frozen for millennia on a snow-capped peak, it blooms without reservation at the moment of their destined reunion, even if it withers into mud the next moment.

"Zhizhi is a thousand times braver than Master imagined."

He spoke softly, each word as if bathed in moonlight, gentle enough to melt even the coldest ice.

"You have never... disappointed your master."

"Never."

His words are like the gentlest spring breeze atop the Kunlun Mountains.

"The road back... must have been difficult, right?"

His tone was filled with almost overflowing heartache and pity.

"They must have been afraid, cried, and suffered a lot of grievances."

"I really... thank you for your hard work, my Zhizhi."

Every word is filled with boundless tenderness.

That gentle, profound warmth enveloped her completely, shielding her from all the storms of the outside world.

Finally, he slowly raised his hand and gently touched the air.

His fingertips paused in mid-air for a moment before gently and steadily covering the back of her hand that was stroking his cheek.

The palms were slightly cool, yet strangely possessed a calming and reassuring power.

Those hands had taught her to wield a sword and guided her to play the zither; they remained the most reliable image in her memory.

"Welcome home, my Zhizhi."

Upon hearing his words, Tang Xixue could no longer hold back her tears, which instantly burst forth.

"Waaah..."

She finally cried out, no longer silently, but with a pitiful whimper like a kitten.

She buried her face in his cool palms, and hot tears quickly soaked his fingers.

"Master, Zhizhi is so scared... I'm afraid I'll never see you again..."

"It's so dark there... I can't hear any sounds, and I can't see any light..."

"Every step... feels like walking on a knife's edge... but I dare not stop..."

In front of her master, she instantly dropped all pretense and felt incredibly wronged.

All the fears endured alone, the bewilderment that could not be spoken to, and the stubbornness that endured in dire straits all transformed into a torrent of tears, pouring out.

"Zhizhi, my Zhizhi..."

Xie Jinlian touched her cheek with her fingertips, her movements as gentle as brushing away dewdrops from flower petals, wiping away the hot tear stains little by little.

His touch was with a precious and careful tenderness, as if she were a lost treasure that had been found again.

"Stop crying."

"If you cry again, my heart... will break too."

Her tears wet her eyes, but shattered his heart.

He reached out and, with an almost reverent care, gently pulled her into his arms.

She finally fell into the moonlight she had gazed at and longed for for so long.

The hug was very light, as if afraid of disturbing a dream.

Yet it was also very heavy, heavy enough to completely imprison and properly settle her wandering, helpless soul.

At that moment, he used his broken body as a wall to build a city for her, a city untouched by wind and frost, impervious to rain and snow.

Her cheek pressed against his slightly cool collar, and she finally heard his steady and clear heartbeat:

Boom, boom, boom.

That was the other shore we finally reached after traversing the fog of life and death.

It is the home I desperately want to return to after shattering the long, dark night.

Each heartbeat silently tells: "Zhizhi, you're home."

"From now on, Master will be here."

He whispered in her ear, his warm breath brushing against her damp eyelashes, each word etched into her memory.

"No matter how fierce the wind and snow, no matter how deep the night—"

He paused, then transformed his unfinished vow into a promise weighing a ton:

"I will protect you from all of this."