He was the kind of person who never bow his head down, yet unexpectedly, without realizing it, he hung his head down, and spoke sadly, "Zaixia indeed deserve to die; why did Zaixia adamantly force Madame to …"

Qiu Lingsu cut him off, "You did not force me. I am willingly letting you see my face."

Her fluid glance was still gentle and bright. And this moment, in this pair of bright eyes, not only there was not the slightest bit fear and excitement, there was a hint of indifferent smile instead.

She calmly went on, "It's a pity you came twenty years too late. Unexpectedly I am not able to let Chu Liuxiang see my appearance twenty years ago. While admittedly it is a regret for you, how could I not feel regret as well?"

Forcing a laughter, Chu Liuxiang said, "It doesn't matter what Madame's appearance has turned into, Madame's graceful bearing is still incomparable in the world. Zaixia is able to see Madame's elegance, it is indeed a blessing of three lifetimes."

With a smile on her face, Qiu Lingsu said, "You don't have to comfort me, because I don't feel uncomfortable at all. My face has been destroyed for twenty years, yet these twenty years have been the happiest days of my life."

She watched the mountain breeze blowing away the rosy clouds, and unhurriedly went on, "I even feel grateful to the person who ruined my appearance. Were it not for her, how could I enjoy twenty years of tranquil and happy days?"

Chu Liuxiang could not help asking, "But I wonder who that person was?"

The light in Qiu Lingsu's eyes returned; fixing her gaze on Chu Liuxiang, she said, "Have you ever heard the name 's.h.i.+ Guanyin' [Stone G.o.ddess of Mercy (Avalokitesvara)]?"

"Stone Guanyin?" Chu Liuxiang blurted out.

Qiu Lingsu sighed and said, "Of course you knew that name. She is originally the woman with the highest martial art skill and with the coldest heart in the world. And now, perhaps she also the most beautiful woman in the world."

Chu Liuxiang said, "She … what enmity did she have against Madame?"

Qiu Lingsu replied, "There was no enmity, she even met me only once."

Chu Liuxiang asked, "Then why did she …"

Qiu Lingsu interrupted him with a gentle sigh, she said, "According to Jianghu legend, it is said that she had a magical mirror, and she asked the mirror every day … 'Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all?'" [Okay, since Gu Long seemed to borrow this concept from Brothers Grimm (later on, Disney), I also borrowed the line from the same story, . The literal translation of the Chinese text is, 'who is the most beautiful woman in the world?' Note that 'tian xia' (land under heaven) is commonly used to refer to China.]

"And each time the mirror said she was the most beautiful woman on earth?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

"That's right," Qiu Lingsu replied, "Until one day, this magic mirror suddenly changed; unexpectedly it said that I … that Qiu Lingsu was the most beautiful woman on earth. And thus my disaster began at that very moment."

Naturally it sounded like a fairy tale.

Although the fairy tale was not beautiful, it was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with some kind of fleeting, secluded and deceitful mystery. Listening to the story, Chu Liuxiang unconsciously stared blankly for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, "So, she came to look for Madame?"

Qiu Lingsu replied, "When she found me, she stayed silent and motionless, fixing her gaze on me for two sichen. In these two sichen, practically her eyes never blinked. And then she suddenly asked me, 'Do you want me to kill you, or do you want to destroy your own appearance?' …"

Smiling ruefully, Chu Liuxiang said, "That question is really ridiculous."

Qiu Lingsu sighed and said, "But at that time I did not feel it was ridiculous at all. I only felt my hands and feet turned icy-cold, and I was unable to utter a single word. She then looked at me for half a day, and then suddenly turned around, she said, 'Three months later, I am coming back, and if by that time you are still like this, I am going to kill you.' She left a bottle on the table, and said, 'I'll let you keep your beauty for three months; I am sure you'll know how to cherish it.'"

Chu Liuxiang said, "Since she already left, why didn't Madame …"

Qiu Lingsu said, "If the s.h.i.+ Guanyin wanted to kill someone, n.o.body would be able to escape. I have seen her martial art skill with my own eyes, and at that time, I did not want to die."

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "How could there be anybody on earth who really want to die?"

Qiu Lingsu slowly closed her eyes and said, "At that time, I was still young, my life was really full of love; I thought, I might no longer be beautiful, but to keep on living was always better than being dead."

She opened her eyes as if she was smiling, and then she went on, "I also thought that at least I would still have three months of being a beauty, naturally I must cherish it well, in which case, what should I do in those three months?"

Chu Liuxiang could not help commenting, "Thereupon Madame wanted to keep this beauty forever preserved in the hearts of the people, as a result, you went to see the most famous painter in the world, specializing in portraits, Sun Xuepu."

Qiu Lingsu was stunned. "You … you already knew?" she asked.

"Zaixia has met Mr. Sun," Chu Liuxiang replied.

Qiu Lingsu went silent for half a day. Finally she spoke sadly, "At that time my action was indeed too unruly … Just the night before the portraits were finished, the three-month deadline has arrived, and s.h.i.+ Guanyin has always been most punctual."

Chu Liuxiang said, "Therefore, that night Madame destroyed your own appearance."

Qiu Lingsu said, "That little bottle that s.h.i.+ Guanyin left behind was a bottle of potion, which was hotter than fire, which would burn flesh the most." Speaking to this point, her usually tranquil voice was finally quivering with emotion.

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "Madame did not wish Mr. Sun, when he woke up, to see that Madame's appearance has been destroyed, so …"

Qiu Lingsu spoke in trembling voice, "After pouring that bottle of potion onto my face, my mind nearly went crazy, so … I did what I did. I … I …"

She suddenly covered her face with her hands, and was unable to continue.

Chu Liuxiang heaved a deep sigh and said, "Only now Zaixia finally understand why Madame treated Mr. Sun like that, why Madame wanted to have those four portraits. Our previous guess of Madame's intention was completely wrong."

Qiu Lingsu said, "It doesn't matter what my intention was, but I did what I did, you can't never forgive me, can you?"

Chu Liuxiang stayed silent in sadness for half a day; he spoke gently, "Zaixia only know that the Madame Ren of today is the gentlest, the most benevolent woman on the earth. As for Qiu Lingsu of the past, Zaixia knows nothing about her, and neither do I care."

Qiu Lingsu also went silent for a long time. She then spoke unhurriedly, "These past twenty years, I did change a lot. I am sure you can readily guess who made me change."

"Ren Lao Bangzhu," Chu Liuxiang said.

Instead of answering him, Qiu Lingsu said, "After I went crazy and dug Sun Xuepu's eyeb.a.l.l.s, I fainted. When I woke up, my whole head had been bandaged up. Henceforth I lived in the dark for several months. At that time I really did not know how grateful I was to Su Xin Das.h.i.+. If she did not take care of me, how could I keep on living?"

Her voice gradually returned to its tranquil state, and then she went on, "But when I was able to see the light again, I found out that the one staying by my side all these time, taking care of me, unexpectedly was not Su Xin, but Ren Ci."

Chu Liuxiang said, "Therefore, Madame then redirected your grateful heart to Ren Lao Bangzhu?"

Qiu Lingsu shook her head and said with a sigh, "At that time, not only I did not appreciate him, I hated him instead!"

Stunned, Chu Liuxiang asked, "You hated him?"

Qiu Lingsu said, "By the time I could see Ren Ci, I could also see my face. And when I saw this face, I knew that there was no way I was going to keep on living. I lost my face, that was the same as I was losing my life …"

She sighed before continuing, "At that time my heart was filled with grieve, as well as anger. I hated it that Ren Ci saw me like that. Like mad, I drove him away from my presence."

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "Madame's frame of mind at that time, Zaixia can understand a bit."

Qiu Lingsu seemed to smile again, and said, "In that case, you also ought to know that a man like Ren Ci can't be driven away so easily. Early in the morning the second day, he came back, and I drove him away again …"

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "But early in the morning the third day, he came back again."

Qiu Lingsu said, "He came every day, I drove him out every day. I exhausted all the malicious words in the world to curse him, I even beat him up, but the next morning he still came back …"

She gently stroked the urn containing Ren Ci's ashes in her hand; although it was just a porcelain jar, it seemed to bring her infinite warmth.

She continued in tender voice, "You know, at that time he was already the Beggar Clan's Bangzhu, he did not need to be so patient toward a grotesque and cruel woman like me. When you see my face now, you should know that other than Ren Ci, there is no way on earth that a man would endure me as much as Ren Ci did. Unless I was really dead, how could I not be moved by him?"

Chu Liuxiang spoke slowly, "That was because what Ren Lao Bangzhu loved was not the lost beauty, but Madame's … spirit. He only knew that although everybody's appearance might change, but the spirit within will never change."

Qiu Lingsu gloomily said, "Too bad when Ren Ci was still alive, he did not know you. Otherwise, I am sure you would be his good friend … But, your understanding of him is still not enough. You have guessed incorrectly."

"Oh?" Chu Liuxiang said.

Qiu Lingsu said, "Before then, Ren Ci and I only met twice; how could he be so infatuated with me? Besides, at that time I was beautiful only on the outside, my spirit inside was repulsive."

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "Sometimes people can fall in love at first sight, the feeling penetrated deeply into the bones."

Qiu Lingsu appeared to be smiling again, she said, "In any case, that was not the main reason. The main reason was that he knew the pain of a woman having her appearance destroyed. He also knew that only love could alleviate this kind of pain. Therefore, he decided to sacrifice his own life to accompany me, to comfort me for the rest of my life."

She raised her head to the heavens and spoke unhurriedly, "I already said it, he was the most benevolent man in the world." [Translator's note, Ren Ci's name 任慈 sounds like 'benevolent' 仁慈 (ren ci).]