They move to the pavilion, with both Lan Xiaohui and Wu Yulan taking one of Yun Fei’s arms to help her to their destination. Yun Fei doesn’t object to this at all; she knows best just how terrible her physical state is.
Once they sit down in the pavilion overlooking the waterfall beneath them, Wu Yulan leaves to get the tea.
During Wu Yulan’s absence, my owner and Yun Fei stare over the vast land below them, from the waterfall and cliffs, down below to the sprawling forests, plains, valleys, and mountains. At least, that is my recollection of the immediate area; I cannot see this vast “natural beauty”.
“After the disciple selection, I was told that I would be sent to Starsword Peak. I assume this is it?” Yun Fei speaks after a moment of silence.
Lan Xiaohui glances at Yun Fei and nods. “This is it,” Lan Xiaohui confirms. “Although, it’s not much at the moment. We didn’t have many opportunities to improve it.”
“You planted a garden,” Yun Fei points out.
Lan Xiaohui chuckles. “I suppose I did.”
The conversation stalls here again, introducing another long moment of silence where neither is willing to do more than awkwardly stare at the unexploited nature beyond this place.
After this long silence, Yun Fei stares at her feet as she whispers a single word: “Why?”
Lan Xiaohui, once again, glances at Yun Fei rather than facing her — this is her own way of keeping some distance from Yun Fei, for the latter’s sake — and then shrugs. “Because you were nice to me.”
Yun Fei blinks. “Just because of this?”
Lan Xiaohui rests her elbow in the nook of my hilt and guard, nodding to Yun Fei’s words. “It might seem too simple and light to you, but to me, it is very important.” With these words, Lan Xiaohui leans against the railing of the pavilion and stares into the distance as she continues. “When I came to the Seven Killing Swords sect, no one liked me, but no one hated me either. I did not cultivate the sword at the time, so that is understandable. But I was going to be the future sect master’s wife; who would dare to object?”
Yun Fei nods and joins my owner in leaning against the railing.
“It wasn’t until I became his concubine that everything began to change. My family abandoned me, and the sect disciples openly ridiculed me; even the outer disciples,” Lan Xiaohui explains. “It didn’t help either that a lot of the medicine I was given was actually something Yu Shun robbed from others. Later, when I no longer had Yu Shun’s protection — beyond the bare minimum — those he robbed and wronged came after me. At one point, I was too afraid to leave my quarters, or to meet and speak with anyone.”
Yun Fei frowns and lowers her head. She knows this story all too well.
“Everyone thought you were just cold and… mean,” Yun Fei says. “I didn’t think it would be like this.”
Lan Xiaohui shrugs. “That day, when I was harassed by an inner disciple, I lost the hairpin my mother gave to me on the day I left,” Lan Xiaohui continues. “I looked for it day and night, endured all the abuse and ridicule from the others—“
“That is when I first spoke to you,” Yun Fei interjects.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“You helped me find it,” Lan Xiaohui says, with a darkening smile. “As we became friends, you even helped me forget about it and my attachment to those people.”
Yun Fei frowns. “I am so sorry,” she whispers. “I did not know. I thought you were happy. You always seemed happy.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Lan Xiaohui says, finally turning toward Yun Fei. “I am not exaggerating when I say that you were the only person that was good to me in that place. I thought I cut my ties with the past, but when I saw you were in trouble, I couldn’t help myself but want to bring you with me — because you were good to me.”
Yun Fei chews on her bottom lip and nods.
“What happened to you?” Lan Xiaohui asks.
Yun Fei’s eyes widen and she takes half a step back. “I… I’ve done somethi—“
“Tea is here!” Wu Yulan excitedly calls out as she approaches with a tea set and hurriedly deposits it on the table in the middle of the pavilion. When she looks up and sees Yun Fei’s expression, she queries: “Did you tell her about the princess already?”
“Not yet,” Lan Xiaohui says and then steps away from the railing and sits down.
“The princess?” Yun Fei asks as she follows Lan Xiaohui’s lead, happy to discard her previous thought and leave it for another time.
“We found someone who can cure you,” Wu Yulan says, but her tone lacks the joviality of the occasion. Lan Xiaohui also makes a grim expression.
Yun Fei looks at the two and her own excitement diminishes. “What is the problem? Isn’t this a good thing?” After a pause, she adds: “Will it leave me crippled for life? If that’s the case, I don’t mind, as long as I—“
“It’s not that,” Lan Xiaohui interrupts. “This person — no, this monster nearly killed us.”
“For fun,” Wu Yulan adds.
Lan Xiaohui nods. “Nothing she does is for someone else’s benefit,” Lan Xiaohui says, sharing her opinion on the princess with Yun Fei. “We already paid the price for your treatment, but there is no guarantee that you will not have to pay for it as well.”
“Pay for it… how?” Yun Fei asks, suspecting the deeper meaning behind Lan Xiaohui’s words.
Lan Xiaohui shrugs again. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it will change your life,” she says.
“What price did you pay?” Yun Fei asks.
Lan Xiaohui frowns and looks at Wu Yulan who nods in response.
“We did not think we would survive our meeting with her, so we burned out our roots and veins to kill her,” Lan Xiaohui explains. “I even broke my heart vessels.”
Yun Fei stares at Lan Xiaohui as if she is seeing a ghost. “How… are you still…?”
“This princess is not ordinary. Not only did she stop my life from evaporating away, but she even rebuilt our roots,” Lan Xiaohui says, even pointing at the burning flower in her hair. “However, if we do not kill the man that imprisoned her, within twenty years, we will die. She has the power to incinerate the soul — she tortured us this way for a week — so I am fairly certain if we don’t accomplish this, dying will be the least of our worries.”
Yun Fei lowers her head again, hands balling into fists.
“Do you understand, Yun Fei? If you go there and she cures you, she might just torture you,” Wu Yulan adds.
“I want to go,” Yun Fei replies almost immediately.
“Are you sure?” Lan Xiaohui asks. “There could still be other ways.”
Yun Fei shakes her head. “Even if Yaoyue can cure me—“ she says, directly staring in my direction, as if more evidence was needed to point out that she knows about me; most likely because she was somehow conscious during my treatment of her, — “There is no guarantee that I will be little more than a cripple waiting to die. I don’t want that if there's another way.”
None of them question whether it’s possible that the princess could obtain the result, but that is because none of them question her ability. Not only did she rebuild Wu Yulan and Lan Xiaohui’s roots, but she could also stop Lan Xiaohui from dying after she broke her heart vessels, which is supposed to be a certain death.
Lan Xiaohui finally smiles and nods. “Good,” she says. “I am glad that you want to live, no matter what.”
“That’s right!” Yun Fei exclaims, sharply raising her head. “I want to live! Not as a cripple, but as my own person!” A pause. “And I want to help you settle your debt with the princess. I know you went out there for me, and I can see that this journey nearly killed you. I have to repay my debts also.”
Wu Yulan laughs and then nods, reaching out to pour tea into the three cups. “I knew we would understand each other well,” she says, pouring tea for Yun Fei first. “We will head out tomorrow. I will be coming with you.”
“Thank you, Sister Wu,” Yun Fei says, taking the cup into her hands. She looks at Lan Xiaohui next. “And thank you, Sister Zhu. For everything.”