Yinghuo Shouxin

"This woman knows martial arts!"

Ning Chen was shocked. Thugs were not frightening; what was frightening was thugs with culture. And now, this female thug who very likely had culture also knew martial arts. Was he supposed to survive this?

The instant he turned around, Qing Ling grabbed him by the collar. In the next moment, he could not take another step.

"Let's talk this out. A gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists." Ning Chen yielded, yielding as completely as he possibly could.

"I am not a gentleman. I am merely a little woman."

Qing Ling did not buy that at all. Dragging Ning Chen along, she headed toward the rear garden.

"You're abusing public power for private revenge!" Ning Chen accused as he struggled.

"We only just met. What private grudge could there be?" Qing Ling would hardly let Ning Chen pin such a "big hat" on her. With a delicate snort, she said this.

"Right, we don't have a grudge."

Ning Chen froze for a moment before finally realizing it. He and Qing Ling had neither old enmity nor recent hatred. What the hell was he afraid of?

"Big sis, could you let me go first? I'm feeling a little dizzy."

Ning Chen pleaded. After being dragged around by his collar for so long, he felt as though he could barely breathe. Why were there stars everywhere?

Yet the moment Qing Ling heard the words "big sis," she immediately felt the true qi in her Ren and Du Meridians surge wildly. If Changsun had not influenced her since childhood, she would have slapped this brat to death.

Ning Chen had no idea why. It was only a form of address, and it had slipped out naturally. He was not even sixteen yet; was it too much to call Qing Ling big sis? Not at all.

Ning Chen felt even dizzier. No, this was the rhythm of being strangled to death.

"Big sis—"

"Don't call me big sis!" Qing Ling was nearly driven mad as well. Her willow brows shot up, and she gritted her teeth.

"Then what should I call you?"

"Qing Ling."

"Qing Ling? Let me go already, or next Qingming Festival, you'll be burning paper offerings for me."

"Hm?" Qing Ling turned around and saw Ning Chen's face flushed crimson. Startled, she immediately released him.

"Cough, cough."

Ning Chen coughed violently twice, then took several deep breaths. Before long, the dizziness receded, and the world finally became beautiful again.

Ning Chen was no fool. At this point, he also realized what had gone wrong. One form of address had nearly cost him his life. Women truly were creatures beyond reason.

"Sister Qing Ling."

Of course, men were creatures who loved courting trouble too, and Ning Chen especially so. Just moments after Qing Ling had nearly strangled him to death, he was already smiling ingratiatingly and trying to build rapport.

As the saying went, one did not strike a smiling face. Qing Ling truly did not want to forgive Ning Chen, but she was troubled by the lack of a reason to strike him, so she could only temporarily suppress the blazing fire in her belly.

"Rest and recuperate for two days first. Once your injuries heal, I'll arrange work for you." Qing Ling hesitated slightly, then still added, "The palace hasn't been peaceful lately. Don't run around."

"Thank you for your concern, Sister Qing Ling." Ning Chen grinned, his smile as dazzling as could be. This young lady looked fierce, but she was actually very kind.

His strategy for the future was obvious: Qing Ling was a good person, the Imperial Consort was a villain, and the Empress was someone he could not afford to provoke. From now on, he would curry favor with Qing Ling, avoid the Empress, and run whenever he saw the Imperial Consort.

Ning Chen's room was near the rear garden of Weiyang Palace, far from the Empress's sleeping chambers. Among the many imperial consorts, Weiyang Palace had the fewest palace maids and eunuchs. Changsun disliked noise, and Qing Ling did too.

Thus, Ning Chen's luck was still quite good. Because of One Coin, he had come to know Changsun and gained a brief night of peace in this undercurrent-ridden imperial palace.

Ning Chen returned to his room and looked at the sky outside through the window, neither moving nor speaking.

Only when he quieted his heart did he realize that the sky outside truly differed from the one in his homeland.

The vast mortal world was nothing more than a grand dream.

"What are you thinking about?"

At some unknown moment, a beautiful figure appeared behind him. Ning Chen came back to himself and realized that the sky outside had already darkened.

"When did you come?" Ning Chen asked in surprise.

"I came a long time ago. You simply never noticed." Mu Chengxue replied.

"Is that so? I was careless." Ning Chen gave a self-mocking smile. The sorrow in his eyes vanished in an instant. He was already here, so why imitate some literary recluse and wallow in self-pity? It would only add to his sadness.

"I still don't know your name." Ning Chen collected himself, a smile returning to his face.

"Mu Chengxue."

"Hair like blue silk at dawn, turned to snow by dusk. What a sorrowful name," Ning Chen sighed softly.

"It is only a name. What about you?" Mu Chengxue asked.

"Ning Chen."

The two fell silent. They seemed to have nothing to say. Two people who should never have known one another had met through a strange twist of fate. Beyond their names, perhaps there was nothing else they ought to know.

"Why did you assassinate the Xia Emperor?" After an unknown amount of time, Ning Chen was the first to break the silence.

Mu Chengxue did not answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the window and looked at the moon outside. After a long while, she softly uttered two words:

"Repaying love."

"They say love is the hardest debt in life to repay. It truly seems so."

Ning Chen did not press her further. Bonds between people ran deep or shallow. Though he and Mu Chengxue had shared adversity, their connection ended there. Asking more would serve no purpose.

"You saved me. Mu Chengxue owes you a favor."

She had repaid one debt of love, only to owe another. Mu Chengxue gazed at the sky and asked herself when these debts would ever be repaid, and when she could cease being bound by love.

"You helped me too. Neither of us owes the other anything."

As though he had seen the weariness in Mu Chengxue's heart, Ning Chen did not wish to place further shackles upon such a woman. The chains of owed favors were far too heavy.

"Heh." Mu Chengxue smiled softly. Like a peony blooming in the night, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Ning Chen glanced sideways at the woman beside him, a solemn appreciation flashing through his eyes.

"Stay here for the next few days. If there is an opportunity, we'll think of a way for you to leave the palace."

As Ning Chen spoke, he noticed faint traces of blood still clinging to Mu Chengxue's clothes and hair. His thoughts shifted, and he continued, "There are fresh clothes in the wardrobe. You can wash up. I'll head out first."

With that, Ning Chen walked outside, leaving the room to Mu Chengxue.

Watching his departing figure, Mu Chengxue felt a faint warmth rise in her heart. So the favors between people did not bring only exhausting weight.

With nothing to do, Ning Chen went to the rear garden. Seeing no one around, he stretched his legs. Mm, the wound was holding up well and did not hurt much. Carefully, he climbed a maple tree in the corner of the wall onto the roof, then lay contentedly on the tiles and began counting stars in broad daylight fashion.

"One, two, three..."

"One hundred twenty-five, one hundred twenty... one hundred twenty-seven..."

"One thousand one hundred ninety-seven, one thousand one hundred ninety-eight, one thousand one hundred ninety-nine..."

Ning Chen was counting with great enthusiasm, unaware that Qing Ling lay on the bed in the room beneath him, gritting her silver teeth and clenching her fists until they cracked.

Qing Ling possessed martial arts and was extremely sensitive to every rustle of wind and movement of grass nearby. She had noticed Ning Chen the moment he began climbing the wall. Curious about what he intended to do, she had not stopped him. When she discovered that he was merely counting stars, she let him be.

Who could have expected this fellow to become addicted to it? He had already counted past eleven hundred and showed every sign of refusing to stop until he had counted them all.

Furious, Qing Ling threw on her clothes and stepped outside. With a stomp of her foot, she leaped onto the roof and glared angrily at the culprit who had disturbed her sleep.

The sudden figure before him startled Ning Chen. When he saw it was Qing Ling, he relaxed and smiled. "Sister Qing Ling, you couldn't sleep either, so you came up to watch the stars?"

Ning Chen did not know that the room beneath him belonged to Qing Ling. He thought they had merely run into each other by chance and had not considered anything else.

"Is lying there comfortable?" Qing Ling asked through gritted teeth. A dangerous gleam flashed in her beautiful eyes beneath the night sky, as though she might throw Ning Chen off the roof at the slightest disagreement.

"It's all right. Just a little cold." Ning Chen did not hear the danger in Qing Ling's words and answered honestly.

"Would you like me to fetch you some clothes to pad it with?"

Hearing Ning Chen's "shameless" answer, Qing Ling's anger erupted once more. Her vermilion lips parted slightly as she said in a low voice.

"No need. Hm?"

As he spoke, Ning Chen sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. He looked toward Qing Ling, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

Not good. Killing intent.

"Sister Qing Ling, please sit."

Ning Chen sprang to his feet and supported Qing Ling as she sat down, wearing an obsequious smile.

"Sister Qing Ling, you've been tired all day. How about I massage your legs?"

"No."

"Massage your back?"

"No."

"Rub your shoulders?"

"No."

Seeing that Qing Ling would not yield to either soft or hard tactics, Ning Chen's sense of danger grew stronger. He cautiously asked, "Sister Qing Ling, it's so late. Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Wait. Ning Chen suddenly noticed that Qing Ling was wearing different clothes from the daytime, clearly something she had just changed into. Then he thought of the room beneath him and wished he could slap himself.

If one did not court death, one would not die. When bad luck came, even drinking cold water would wedge one's teeth. This was obviously Qing Ling's territory, yet he had been up here for so long without ever considering it.

Qing Ling repeatedly told herself to endure. She discovered that Ning Chen truly was no ordinary person. In less than a day, he had already made her want to kill someone twice.

"Eh?"

Just as Qing Ling was about to demand an explanation, she heard Ning Chen utter an "eh" and instinctively followed his gaze.

Amid the flourishing starry sky, a blood-red star shone with a terrifying radiance. Not far from it was another red star, dimmer and easy to overlook if one did not pay attention.

"What is it?" Qing Ling asked, not understanding.

"That blood-red star is called Xingxiu Er, and the dim star beside it is Mars—the Yinghuo you speak of. These two stars meet only once every fifteen years at the least. It's very rare. If I'm not mistaken, they will meet within two days at most." Ning Chen marveled inwardly. He had not expected to see the legendary Yinghuo Shouxin here. His luck truly was good.

Only then did Qing Ling notice that extremely dim red star. She immediately grabbed Ning Chen's arm and anxiously asked, "Is what you said true?"

Qing Ling's grip made Ning Chen bare his teeth in pain. "Sister Qing Ling, that hurts."

Qing Ling realized her lapse and hurriedly released him, but she still persisted in asking, "Answer me quickly. Is what you said true? Will these two stars truly meet?"

Ning Chen gently rubbed his arm and nodded with certainty. "Yes, eight or nine times out of ten. It may very well be tomorrow."

"This is bad."

Qing Ling's expression changed drastically. Rising to her feet, she stomped and hurried toward Changsun's residence.

"Strange."

Ning Chen shook his head in bewilderment, stood up and patted the dust off his backside, then swaggered back to sleep...

(P.S. A new chapter is here. I'm going back to writing. Ten thousand words a day is hard. Yan Yu is a standard slow-handed writer, and my typing speed is very slow. Especially while ensuring the plot remains exciting, I have to write nearly seven or eight hours a day. I can't compare to those great authors who can update a chapter in an hour. Enough said—the day's task isn't finished yet, so I'm getting back to work. And let me roar once more: please bookmark!!!)