Tao Mian dreamed of being pulled back by a powerful force, falling into a deep pool.

After losing his senses for a moment, he opened his eyes and awoke from the dream.

"Little Tao? You're finally awake!"

A voice came from the doorway, but there were no footsteps. It must be his Fifth Disciple, who had the occupational habits of a Shadow Guard but a loud voice.

Rong Zheng placed the washbasin aside and almost threw herself in front of Tao Mian.

Tao Mian lowered his eyes, still feeling the novelty of just escaping the dream.

The girl in the dream and his disciple in front of him had similar yet different faces.

He glanced at the basin filled with water, feeling somewhat gratified.

"My disciple has grown up, even knows to fetch water for Shi Fu to wash up."

"Little Tao, you're overthinking it," Rong Zheng said, her thin arms crossed, chin resting, her cheeks moving as she spoke, "I just haven't had a chance to pour out the water yet."

"……"

A waste of emotions.

Tao Mian held his forehead with one hand, feeling slightly dizzy from waking too abruptly.

Rong Zheng lay by the bedside, her eyes never leaving him as he got up.

"I dreamed of you again."

Tao Mian told her truthfully.

He briefly recounted the dream, where Rong Zheng met Du Hong, and also her Shi Fu.

And... her confrontation with Du Yi.

Rong Zheng looked conflicted.

"I don't remember any of that. But... if I had to guess, it might be because of my Shi Fu."

Rong Zheng said, based on Tao Mian's description and her age at the time, the most likely scenario was the year her Shi Fu died.

She was young, and the only Shi Fu she respected had died. With no outlet for her emotions, she might have turned to Du Yi.

"If that's the case, I was really childish," Rong Zheng guessed, feeling embarrassed, "Even though Shi Fu's death was related to the Floating Pavilion, that was the old pavilion master's doing, not Du Yi's fault."

Rong Zheng couldn't understand why she acted that way in the past.

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She muttered and fretted, but in the end, Shi Fu spoke up, telling her not to blame herself too much.

"It's all in the past, Little Hua. We just need to fill in your memories, and that's enough."

Rong Zheng pulled herself out of her emotions, no longer going in circles like before.

Tao Mian asked if she had made any progress.

Rong Zheng felt guilty.

"No, I slept very well."

"……"

The Immortal couldn't help but raise a hand to press his temples.

"You're sleeping soundly next door, while Shi Fu is here bearing the burden for you."

"Oh, Little Tao, don't say that. You should look at me when I was little, I was quite cute."

"Not even a loquat tree this time?"

"I did dream of eating fruit."

The Immortal was silent.

"Forget it, forget it. Perhaps this is all fate. If something too heavy happens later, I can recount it for you, so it won't be too hard for you to bear."

Rong Zheng eagerly offered to massage his back.

"Thank you, Little Tao. I'll cook today! You can order anything you like."

Tao Mian went along with her, ordering two simple dishes.

He knew Rong Zheng had been unsettled lately and didn't want to add to her worries.

Regarding Rong Zheng and Du Yi, combining the Fifth Disciple's account, Tao Mian came up with several versions.

The one that convinced him the most was that the two had fallen out over Shi Fu's matter.

At that time, master and servant weren't quite like master and servant. Du Yi had always been lenient with Rong Zheng, perhaps not wanting to stifle her lively nature, treating her as a friend.

Playing chess leisurely, brewing tea by the stove.

If Du Yi had become the pavilion master of the Floating Pavilion, Rong Zheng's path might not have been so difficult.

However, reality was far from what Tao Mian imagined.

It wasn't that he thought too poorly of Rong Zheng, but rather he thought too highly of Du Yi.

By the third time he entered the dream, Tao Mian knew everything.

But what he didn't expect was that this time, the adult Rong Zheng appeared by his side.

Rong Zheng widened her eyes, curiously looking around at everything.

"Have we really gone back to the past? It's unbelievable. This pond, the bonsai... and the two buckets I mentioned!"

She wandered around the small courtyard, everything seemed both unfamiliar and familiar, touching the red carp in the water tank and pulling at the precious flowers and plants in the yard.

After making a half-circle, she finally noticed the two people in the room locked in a standoff.

One was her past self, and the other was the enigmatic Du Yi.

Tao Mian stood in the courtyard, in the perfect spot to watch the scene unfold.

The scene before him was somewhat absurd.

His disciple moved back and forth between the two protagonists—one of whom was herself—yet the latter two didn't notice her presence at all.

It was like a play, where he and Rong Zheng were accidental spectators, while the actors on stage were immersed in their performance, completely isolated from the outside world.

The young Rong Zheng spoke first.

Her posture was tense like a drawn sword, seemingly suppressing immense emotions, not wanting to appear weak.

But as soon as she spoke, her voice trembled slightly.

"Du Yi, did my Shi Fu's death have anything to do with you?"

The adult Rong Zheng's steps faltered, unprepared for what she was about to hear.

Tao Mian could see confusion in her eyes.

Shi Fu... wasn't it because he didn't want to sacrifice for the Floating Pavilion anymore and chose to end it himself?

She took a few steps back, instinctively wanting to distance herself from the two.

She had the keen instincts of a bird in the mountains, and such intuition and sensitivity had saved her from danger time and again.

"Little Hua..."

Tao Mian wanted to call his disciple to his side, but she could no longer hear his call.

After leaving the room, she stopped again, rooted to the spot, as if wanting to escape but being pulled back by an invisible thread.

Inside and outside the door, both Rong Zhengs heard Du Yi's response, "Yes."

The young Rong Zheng's eyes instantly reddened. Her expression turned panicked, clearly not the answer she wanted to hear.

Even if Du Yi lied to her, even if he gave her more time to find the "truth."

Why couldn't he give her a buffer, why did he have to lay the facts bare before her?

The adult Rong Zheng also froze in place.

Compared to her younger self, the latter, having forgotten many things and not remembering her past with Du Yi, was not as devastated upon hearing these words.

Until she heard Du Yi's next sentence.

"Little Zheng, if Shi Fu hadn't died, you wouldn't have been able to take her place. You couldn't... become the Kite."

If different-aged Rong Zhengs were to express their sorrow, five-year-old Rong Zheng would cry loudly, since no one cared and no one managed her. Since she couldn't get anything, she might as well cry and vent her frustrations.

Ten-year-old Rong Zheng would care about her image, with a strong sense of pride, too stubborn to cry even when wronged. Why cry when she could wield a sword and solve her woes?

As for fifteen-year-old Rong Zheng, she was right in front of her. She was like a slender celadon vase, precious and fragile. Why precious? Because preciousness always came with fragility, untouchable, like the current Rong Zheng. Without a push, she had already fallen, shattering herself.

As for twenty-five-year-old Rong Zheng...

Her heart was open, with ruins and broken walls. She patched it up with bricks, tearing down the east wall to fix the west. She didn't know why she persisted in these futile efforts, she just thought, with a house, there would be a home. She could invite others in, set a table with dishes, and two pots of good wine.

But a wind from ten years ago blew through, and Rong Zheng looked down at her heart, finding it empty.

She could hear the wind passing through her heart, and nothing else remained.