On the Lantern Festival, she and he crossed Lingdingyang by night.
He explained that the strange item meant to deal with the Iron Blood Legion was fireworks from the fox clan.
Bi Xuanji knew about fireworks.
For she had once been the leader of Dark Fragrance. Dark Fragrance had countless medicines of a similar kind, and she knew that the fox clan's fireworks were ordinarily used to make one's blood boil like fire, driving people to do foolish things...
She proposed tasting this strange medicine, under a most legitimate banner. After all, this was a fatal strike launched within enemy territory, one that concerned Great Cang's safety and the safety of the newly recovered Jin lands.
But was that truly the only reason?
No...
Deep in her heart lay a wild thought. Even though she buried it deeply, she scarcely dared dwell on it...
She wanted to be foolish for once!
She wanted it very, very much!
She had once cultivated Zen. Every Buddhist scripture she had read told her that a tranquil heart was paramount.
Yet every little thing amid the mortal world made her want to be foolish just once.
If she simply acted foolishly outright, she would lose face, and she would not be able to explain herself to her younger sister in the future. So she wanted to borrow the power of the fireworks, to give that foolishness an explanation.
And so she did...
The instant she inhaled the fireworks, her heart, which had never been disturbed, fell into utter chaos.
When she saw his excited face, she had nearly thrown herself at him.
But at the final moment, she plunged headfirst into Lingdingyang.
The icy lake water slowly washed away the frenzy in her heart. Once she had fully sobered, she felt regret once more.