The Beauty and the Swordsman

He Xiuhe raised her hand and slapped Qingge hard across the face.

Qingge neither dodged nor flinched, just as she had ten years ago, waiting for her mother's anger to descend.

At that time, Qingge was just a seven-year-old girl.

She lived with her parents and her newborn brother, Atuan, in a courtyard at the westernmost end of Danxia City.

The courtyard was small, and the house sometimes leaked when it rained, but He Xiuhe kept it all clean and tidy, and decorated it with reeds and lotus leaves, making it look particularly cozy.

My father worked hard in the fields from dawn till dusk, and his earnings were meager. Most of his income was taken by the imperial court's taxes, leaving him with only a little to barely feed the family.

Even though life was so simple, Qingge felt incredibly happy.

Until that year, a rare winter disaster struck, and the fields yielded no harvest.

But the imperial tax decree still came.

Despite her parents scraping together money and borrowing from all sides, they still couldn't pay the exorbitant taxes.

The tax collectors said that if people couldn't pay, they would have to take someone as payment.

My father was taken to the capital to build the magnificent Fuyue Pavilion to celebrate the birthday of the Imperial Concubine. He died there from exhaustion in less than three months.

He Xiuhe didn't even have the money to hire someone to transport the body back. In the end, all she could get by begging someone to bring back was a pair of coarse cloth shoes covered in blood and with holes.

He Xiuhe cried day and night, and several times wanted to follow her husband away, but for the sake of Qingge and the one-year-old Atuan, she finally chose to be strong and persevere.

She learned from her husband and tended the meager fields, working tirelessly from dawn till dusk just like him.

Cooking, laundry, and taking care of Atuan all fell on Qingge's shoulders, who was not yet eight years old.

The eight-year-old girl couldn't even reach the lowest green branch on the willow tree at the gate of the courtyard, yet she had to carry her younger brother on her back while washing vegetables and cooking in front of the stove.

After finishing cooking, she hurriedly went to the well to fetch water to wash clothes, so that He Xiuhe wouldn't have no clean clothes to wear the next day.

But Qingge was so tired that she fell asleep while still washing clothes.

When He Xiuhe's desperate scream rang out, it startled Qingge awake. She then realized that A Tuan had somehow plunged headfirst into the bucket of water.

It was a bucket as tall as Atuan. The water wasn't deep, but Atuan fell in headfirst, her little feet pointing upwards, and disappeared without a sound.

Qingge felt utterly hopeless.

What's even more terrifying is that He Xiuhe didn't shed a single tear. After slapping her hard, she silently picked up Atuan's body without saying a word.

This unfortunate woman numbly dug the soil and dug a pit to bury little Atuan.

From then on, he never went to the fields to tend the crops again, and spent his days holding Atuan's little clothes, his tears flowing like two bitter streams that never dried up.

She sits by the roadside every day, sometimes for the entire day.

Day after day, year after year.

Qingge took on the responsibility of farming and caring for her mother all by herself.

Until two years ago, the elders and the painter appeared.

A cup of celestial elixir, comparable to poison, allowed He Xiuhe to see her husband, her A-Tuan, again in a dream world.

The illusion was so beautiful that she couldn't bear to leave.

Every time I regain consciousness, it feels like my beloved has died again, causing me immense pain.

Therefore, in order to keep her elders, He Xiuhe spared no expense, even sacrificing herself, her daughter, and harming other innocent people...

Now, the Crossing Heart Society is about to disappear, and the Celestial Dew will also vanish.

Aside from desperately grasping at the last straw, He Xiuhe didn't know what else she could do.

Faced with Pei Lingyou's disdain and contempt, He Xiuhe had nothing to say and could only turn her anger towards Qingge.

He Xiuhe slapped him hard, but before she could land, Pei Lingyou slapped her away, and she fell to the ground.

Even though her mother treated her harshly and looked down on her, Qingge still rushed over to help her up.

He Xiuhe, like a raging lioness, shoved Qingge away and roared:

"It's just celestial hyacinth, right? From the Western Regions! I'll go learn how to make it myself! Nobody can stop me! Nobody can control me!"

Faced with He Xiuhe like this, Qingge helplessly collapsed to the ground and wept.

Pei Lingyou stepped forward to help Qingge up, dusted off her clothes, tossed her a handkerchief, and then shouted to Shoumo, "Go to the clinic and get some life-saving medicine!" She walked up to He Xiuhe, who was about to set off for the Western Kingdom to learn the secret recipe for immortal elixir, and tripped her.

He Xiuhe was so stubborn that she ignored him completely, got up and continued walking.

Pei Lingyou tripped again, He Xiuhe climbed up again, and tripped again...

Pei Lingyou and He Xiuhe were like two stubborn donkeys competing to see who would give in first.

After more than ten attempts, He Xiuhe's body finally gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood and gasping for breath. Her vision blurred, and she almost fainted.

Fortunately, Shoumo was fast on his feet and put the ginseng he bought from a nearby clinic into He Xiuhe's mouth.

When He Xiuhe regained some of her strength but was still completely exhausted and could only lie on the ground staring blankly, Pei Lingyou smiled, walked up to her, squatted down, and gently placed the drawing of A Tuan into He Xiuhe's arms.

With just one sentence, He Xiuhe was stunned into silence, as if struck by lightning.

"He Xiuhe, did A-Tuan in the illusion ever grow up?"

This sentence struck He Xiuhe like a thunderbolt, waking her up and leaving her speechless.

Yes, it's been two years, but in the illusion, Atuan is still forever one year old.

The Celestial Maiden can control the mind and crush grievances and obsessions, but she cannot create anything that people have never seen before.

He Xiuhe had never seen what A Tuan looked like when he grew up.

If fantasy can coexist with reality, then love should be accepted and reciprocated.

As if breaking through a barrier, He Xiuhe suddenly realized that what she was trying to retain with the Heavenly Fairy was not Atuan, but only a memory.

It felt as if something indestructible in my heart had suddenly shattered.

He Xiuhe's red eyes welled up with tears again, and her hands trembled as she held the drawing of Atuan, letting out the same mournful cries she had uttered ten years ago.

The sound of He Xiuhe crying echoed throughout the courtyard.

The heart-wrenching cries of a mother who has lost her child are enough to bring tears to the eyes of everyone present.

Shoumo and Chen Gui cried their eyes out, while Pingping kept wiping her tears with her sleeve.

Kuang Ye walked behind Pei Lingyou and gently stroked her back.

Pei Lingyou turned her head and looked through her thin tears, meeting Kuang Ye's affirming and comforting gaze.

Pei Lingyou twitched her nose and sighed softly.

Seeing Qingge embrace He Xiuhe countless times, clinging to her mother like a child who could never be pushed away, a thought suddenly popped into Pei Lingyou's mind:

Qingge's life also ended when she was not yet eight years old...

It's not just Atuan who never grows up; Qingge is too...

"Leave the rest to them and to time," Kuang Ye said softly, seeing through Pei Lingyou's thoughts, patting her back like he was comforting a child.

Pei Lingyou quickly calmed down. Besides, she was a straightforward person who didn't keep things to herself, so no matter how big the matter was, she would say it and move on, ending it cleanly and decisively.

"So, it's time to settle accounts with the culprit!" Pei Lingyou's face slowly darkened as she turned and walked towards her elders and the painter.

Kuang Ye quickly ordered Shou Mo to prepare the life-saving ginseng slices.

Pei Lingyou walked up to the two people watching the play, picked up the large bronze ladle from the ground, weighed it in her hand, then threw it away, and instead picked up a kitchen knife from the ground.

This display terrified the elders and the artist, leaving them speechless:

"Calm down, heroine! You know the whole story! We've wanted to disband the Crossing Heart Society for a long time, but He Xiuhe wouldn't allow it! We're in a difficult position too!"

"Your punishment is so fair and your wisdom is unparalleled! We didn't deserve to die; at most, we were just cheated! We can return... part of the money we were cheated out of."

After the two finished speaking, Pei Lingyou laughed angrily, pointed the kitchen knife at them, and cursed loudly:

"You went to the West and think you're some kind of American now? You've even forgotten which ancestors you worship, using foreign things to harm your own people! Even beasts would call you two their ancestor!"

The common people are struggling; eight or nine out of ten of their earnings go to this damned government. And you still use your "Heavenly Fairy" to exploit their weakest points, taking away the last one or two, leaving them destitute and homeless, forced to rely on the Heart-Crossing Society. Today, I'll open their hearts and take their souls, and give them a fresh twist!

After saying that, Pei Lingyou was about to make a move.

Just as he raised the cleaver, a shout suddenly rang out from the courtyard gate to stop him:

"Wait a minute!"

Pei Lingyou looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of fully armed soldiers rushing into the courtyard. The leader was Du Chuan, with his two inseparable brothers.

Ren Wofei and Zhao Xingxing jumped up from behind the officers to greet them:

"Boss, I've found you some help!"