He seemed to be lost.

Looking at the same scenery for the third time, Gong Sun Yun who has just turned twenty, wrinkled his brow.

There were several black jade stone pillars erected around the natural hot spring. Colourful chiffon cloths hung between the pillars forming the walls of a bath.  There was no roof and whoever in the bath would be able to see the stars, indicating that whoever who built this structure knew how to enjoy life.

He gave up trying to find a way out by the front and walked to the back.  Behind a chiffon curtain was a changing room and behind it was a little lounge.  The hot spring was located at the top of Tian Bi Cliff and unless one possesses excellent qinggong, ordinary folks would not be able to climb to the top.  The other path up the mountain was blocked by a maze filled with poison mist, so he has thought that such a secluded spot would be an ideal place to imprison unruly Sky Slaves. Who would have guessed that it was actually a bath?

He sighed.  He has been asked by the Old Master of Tian He Manor to sneak into Bai Ming Sect to look for He Yue Hua.  It was a thankless task but he has no choice since Cloud Manor was a neutral ent.i.ty, since his kungfu was good, since he was only twenty and needed to respect the elders…

So what if he was highly skilled?   No one would guess he that he would often get lost, which was why he always need to travel with another Gentleman.  Since no one is perfect, he is not usually bothered by his lack of direction sense until times like now.

It was a secret that Old Master of Tian He Manor has contacted an incurable illness and was unlikely to have long to live.  For this reason, he has agreed to try to look for He Yue Hua and if he failed, he would have tried his best.  But at two hours past midnight, he would be lucky if he could even figure a way out of Bai Ming Sect.

He tucked his long sword into its sheath and cut through the changing room.  Lifting one semi-transparent curtain, he did not expect to find another person inside.  At the sight of a young maiden’s bare back soaking in the hot spring, he quickly turned around in dismay. She was leaning face down on a black jade stone and he did not see what she was doing.

Had he known this, he would never have come!  It was a small matter getting injured or captured, but he definitely did not want get hitched with some stranger. Troubled, he decided not to alert the young maiden to his presence and sat down near a pillar behind the curtain and waited patiently for her to leave.

“Ay…”

He kept still.

“Ay…”

He remained motionless.  The sighs and tinkling of bells continued and he thought she could be a Sky Slave. But how could an ordinary Sky Slave have the ability to reach Tian Bi Cliff, or bath in such exclusive surroundings?

“Every fifteenth of the month is the day for me to pamper myself. Otherwise, how I can carry on?”  Her self-mutterings were very soft, but he has very good hearing and caught every word.

Besides, it wasn’t as if he has a choice.

He heard the familiar sound of a page turning.  Was this her way of pampering herself? By reading in a hot spring?

“Ay, Guo Jian of the ancient times could taste his enemy’s excrement, laugh happily and even wish his enemy well after that. What excellent ‘taste’! What a good model for endurance!” [Side Note from Mb:-  Guo Jian tasted bitter bile, not excrement.  Oh w.a.n.g Yun, where did you get your books?]

His eyes widen.

“I doubt I could ever reach his level of endurance.  Perhaps I could, under extreme duress, taste my enemy’s perspiration.  But excrement? Ay, I think I need to practice some more, pamper myself some more, before I can ever taste someone’s excrement without batting an eyelid.”

To his amazement, she continued to read out other acts of endurance from her book. That was her definition of pampering?  Which young girl in Bai Ming Sect was able enjoy this hot spring and yet needed to attain such levels of endurance?

After a while, her voice trailed off, leaving only the soft sounds of her breathing.  After some hesitation, he decided to stick his head inside and confirmed that she had indeed fallen asleep.  From her words, she seemed apt at endurance and coming here was her way to de-stress and prep herself to endure some more.  This secluded spot must be within her comfort zone that she could even fall asleep here.

The mist from the hot spring has obscured her features, but he caught a glimpse of honey-coloured skin.  Just when he wanted to avert his eyes, he heard a sound and he saw a poisonous snake slithering towards her. 

Thinking, he picked up a fallen leaf on the floor and aimed it at her bare shoulder.  She was on guard even in sleep and woke up the instant the leaf brushed past her shoulders.  She surveyed her surroundings with a cold eye.  It was a pity her kungfu was not very good and she did not see the person behind the chiffon curtain.

He has been unwilling to look at her but when the snake got closer, he has no choice. Behind the mist, he vaguely saw that she was around thirteen or fourteen.  Her eyes and brows were quite pretty but the expression in her eyes was at odds with her childlike looks

When she has convinced herself that there was no one and the leaf was just something the wind blew over, she lifted her head to the skies.  She heard a slithering sound, turned and saw the snake. She did not move her body but her small face backed away instinctively.  Then as if dissatisfied with her show of fear, she leaned her face forward again.

He narrowed her eyes?  Wasn’t she asking for trouble?

At her confrontational stance, the snake suddenly shot forward while she remained motionless. When the snake was only a finger length away. Gong Sun Zhi was about to strike when the snake suddenly fell limply on the ground.

She shook her head and mumbled. “Ay, which is why I said it is best to depend on oneself.”  Her slight quiver gave away the fear she was suppressing.  Slowly, she got up from the pool, put on her clothes, and slowly left the pool.

He waited until he was sure she would not return before stepping out from his hiding place to examine the hot spring.  He found poison sprinkled around the pool which was likely put there to handle such situations in mind.  At the sound of her distant bell, he left the hot spring and silently followed her.

Her loose robes were dancing wildly in the wind, but she paid them no heed as she walked with her hands folded behind her.  From time to time, she would stop to enjoy the moon and her long hair would fall to her waist. As the wind played with some tendrils of her hair, he thought to himself that she looked very adorable.  Adorable?

Surprised at his turn of thoughts, he looked again at her… white hair?  This young lady was apt at keeping her emotions hidden and revered endurance.  However, she knew how to let off steam so he did not think her white hair was a result of overthinking, so maybe it was genetics?  Looking at her swaying back and forth, he felt his lips curl up into an involuntary smile.

He touched his lips to confirm that he was indeed smiling and started frowning instead. Since he turned sixteen, he would receive marriage offers from time to time which he would politely turn down every time.  Whenever there were female pugilists visiting the manor, he was also careful to maintain a polite distance.

Most of the men in Gong Sun family were rather cool towards the opposite s.e.x, and he in particular, was cooler than most.  Others can say that he has very high expectations, but he just didn’t like the idea of getting close to some strange woman, or marrying a woman who did not understand him even if she possesses unparalleled beauty.  What he wanted was someone he would voluntarily put inside his heart.

“Ay.” She paused and dipped her head in thought.  “How did it go, the poem that He Zai taught me last time?  It would have been so suited to the beautiful scenery tonight.”

He did not know where she was headed for, but if he continued to follow her blindly, he would likely end up at her home.  And the most regrettable part of this option was that she would not notice him.  Thinking, he drew his sword.

She froze immediately per expected.  He has known she would choose to stay still because she would have deduced she was no match for him from the speed of his draw.  He was pained at her need for tolerance, and was amused at the same time that he could be feeling this way.

“Miss, pardon my offence.”

Worried that his sword may hurt her accidentally, he lowered his hand.  Unfortunately, the move cut off a lock of her hair.  Quick as lightening, he caught the fallen strands in his hand.  The hair was slightly wet, black and smooth like silk.

He heard her sigh. “Gentleman had followed me since Tian Bi Cliff?"

The hair in his hands was obviously wet, but they seemed to contain fire which brought heat to his face.  Was it because he saw her shadowy outline or was it because he was holding her hair in his hands?  When he lifted a finger to his face and confirmed that his cheeks were flaming, he was amazed a young lady could have made him feel this way. Dazed, he could only say "...Pardon the offence, Miss."

Who would know their next meeting would be six years later?

As two carriages sped towards home, he went to the back carriage which was heavily draped to prevent people from looking inside. “How is the situation?”

Gong Sun Zhi gave a sad smile.  “Still alive.  She will open her eyes occasionally so I know she is awake although she seems a bit confused at her surroundings.  She must be in a lot of pain but she has not uttered a single word.  If I am her, I doubt I could have kept it in.”

Gong Sun Yun went to her side. “Why not you take care of Seventh Brother?”  Gong Sun Zhi obliged and went to the first carriage.

Three nights ago, he has used the excuse that he needed to send Gong Sun Yao back to Cloud Manor in order to hasten home.  The woman hidden in the second carriage has woke up a few times during the journey but has silently endured her pain in order to maintain her grasp on her surroundings.   When he saw her move, he quickly brought a bowl of medicine to her mouth and said gently.  “Drink this medicine, it will help ease the pain.”

She only stared at the liquid and compressed her lips.  Her face was too pale and frail-looking.  He knew she has not eaten since her fall so she was probably not coherent. Thinking, he whispered in her ear. “He Zai.”

When her mouth opened in surprise, he quickly fed her some medicine.

He Zai, He Zai.  How much of him did she put in her heart? Should he feel fortunate that there were was not one bit of affection in her eyes when she looked at He Zai?

He finally got her to finish the medicine but she could not sleep due to the pain.  He placed his hand gently over her eyes to make it darker and easier to fall asleep.  If she could sleep, she would not feel so much pain.

He helped her lay down and held her firmly against him, using his body to block out more light.

“..Who…are you..”

“I am Xian Yun.”

“...Don’t know you…”

“It does not matter that you do not know me now.  You will slowly get to know me when you are at Cloud Manor.”

He kept looking at her and did not move away.  Six years, he has waited six years for a lady to come to him with his jade pendant.  When he met Che Yan Yan for the first time, he knew then that his young miss was Protector Huang Fu.  But she was too well hidden within Bai Ming Sect that not even Cloud Manor could get a hold on her. So he could only wait.

“…Who are you?”  She repeated again, as if in a dream.

“I am…” he bent his head and whispered in her ear. “I am waiting for a young lady whom I know not how she looks like.  But when I finally meet her, I have to abandon her so she must have been deeply hurt.  Right now, I am only a man who hopes she can forget her pain and let me remember that for her.”

The faint scent of her hair floated up his nose.  When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find her asleep on his shoulder.

Despite being highly skilled, it was beyond him to save three people at the same time. He has to save his brothers whom he has been with for ten over years, and was forced to forsake a woman whom he has been thinking of for six years.

Now, he has been given a second chance.