Parting, Follow Your Heart, Fulfill Your Wishes, for Yourself!

The rabbit's skin had been roasted golden and crisp, fat continuously seeping from the meat and dripping onto the flames with sizzling sounds.

He seemed to have sprinkled some unknown seasonings over it as well, and the rich fragrance was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

Morning light fell across Yang Jian's face, outlining his features with unusual gentleness.

He smiled at Zhu Zhuqing and waved the roasted rabbit in his hand. His smile was clean and bright, as though the awkward incident in the tent had never happened.

Zhu Zhuqing's heart skipped several beats again, completely against her will.

She walked over, sat beside the campfire, and accepted the rabbit leg Yang Jian handed her.

The rabbit was roasted to perfection, crisp on the outside and tender within. With one bite, piping-hot juices burst across her lips and teeth, carrying the distinctive aroma of charcoal and spices.

She ate in small bites, occasionally lifting her eyes to steal a glance at Yang Jian across from her, an unfamiliar feeling rising within her.

Such a peaceful, warm morning felt like an unreal dream amid her days of hardship and flight.

After they had eaten their fill, Yang Jian rose to pack up the tent.

His movements were swift and efficient. In no time at all, the tent that had sheltered the two of them the night before was folded neatly away.

He buried the campfire with soil as well, only rising after confirming that not a single spark remained.

The two stood in the cleared patch of ground as the autumn wind swept past, carrying several withered yellow leaves into the air.

Yang Jian turned and looked at Zhu Zhuqing.

"What are your plans from here?"

His voice was calm, yet carried a hint of seriousness.

Zhu Zhuqing froze slightly, then lowered her head, her gaze falling upon the leaves on the ground.

It was not as though she had never considered that question. But when it was truly spoken aloud, she realized that she did not want to think about the answer at all.

Because it meant... parting.

"I plan to go to Suotuo City."

She raised her head and looked at Yang Jian, her eyes holding a trace of hope that she herself had not noticed.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for my fourth Soul Ring."

Yang Jian answered truthfully.

"The Star Dou Great Forest..."

Zhu Zhuqing murmured the name. The hope in her eyes dimmed bit by bit, and her voice gained a heaviness even she had not noticed.

"It seems we aren't headed the same way."

Yes, they were not headed the same way.

Suotuo City lay to the northeast, while the Star Dou Great Forest was to the southwest.

The two roads were like rays extending from the same point, destined from this moment onward to drift farther and farther apart, never to cross again.

That realization filled Zhu Zhuqing's heart with an indescribable bitterness.

They had known each other for less than a day. They were merely strangers who had met by chance. So why did the thought of parting hurt so much?

"Yes, but it's all right."

Yang Jian's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up and met his smiling face.

His expression was open and composed, as though parting was nothing more than an ordinary matter to him.

"If fate wills it, we will meet again."

His voice was gentle and certain.

"And I truly believe we'll see each other again someday."

As he spoke, his gaze rested on Zhu Zhuqing's face. There was an unshakable certainty in those clear eyes, one that made doubt impossible.

That certainty seemed strangely contagious, and the gloom in Zhu Zhuqing's heart unknowingly scattered by quite a bit.

"I believe so too."

Affected by Yang Jian's mood, Zhu Zhuqing could not help but let the corner of her lips curve upward, revealing a faint smile.

Though the smile vanished in an instant, it was like the first ray of spring sunlight when ice and snow began to melt—cool yet breathtaking enough that Yang Jian's gaze lingered on her face for a moment longer.

"Of course."

Yang Jian suddenly spoke, his tone carrying sincere admiration.

"You look better when you smile."

Zhu Zhuqing froze, the smile on her lips stiffening.

"Although I don't know what you've been through."

Yang Jian continued, looking at her seriously.

"I believe you can overcome anything. Because I see resilience in you."

His voice was not loud, but every word was clear. Like a stone dropped into a still lake, they stirred ripple after ripple in Zhu Zhuqing's heart.

Resilience.

That word was like a key, opening some tightly shut door within her heart.

Over these past days, she had endured her family's indifference, the encirclement of pursuers, and desperate escapes on the edge of life and death. She had thought herself strong enough, capable of facing every storm alone.

Yet at this moment, when those words came from Yang Jian's mouth, she realized that she, too, needed to be seen and acknowledged.

Zhu Zhuqing felt as though something had filled her heart completely—a warmth almost scorching in its intensity, spreading from her chest to every limb and bone, making her nearly break into tears.

But at the thought that they were about to part, the corners of her lips fell again. The smile that had just bloomed vanished in an instant, like an epiphyllum flower.

Yang Jian noticed the shifts in her mood but said nothing more.

He merely looked at her quietly, his gaze gentle and accepting.

"You don't have to force yourself."

He spoke softly, his voice carrying a reassuring strength.

"Before we part, let me give you one more sentence."

Zhu Zhuqing raised her head and looked at him attentively.

"You are not anyone's appendage."

Yang Jian spoke each word distinctly, his expression more serious than ever before.

"A person lives for a century or so. Follow your heart, fulfill your wishes, live for yourself."

Follow your heart... fulfill your wishes... live for yourself.

Those seven words struck Zhu Zhuqing's mind like thunder.

She stood there blankly, her lips slightly parted, unable to say a single word.

Ever since childhood, every voice had told her whose daughter she was, whose fiancée she was, and whose someone she was. Yet no one had ever told her that she was simply herself, that she could live for herself.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyelashes trembled faintly, and something warm gathered in her eyes.

She blinked hard, refusing to let it fall. Then she lowered her head and softly repeated Yang Jian's words, as though she wanted to carve them into her mind, into her bones and blood, never to forget them for all eternity.

"Follow your heart, fulfill your wishes, live for yourself..."

She repeated the words again and again, as though she wanted to chew them to pieces.

After a moment, she lifted her head and nodded firmly.

"I'll remember it."

Her voice was much steadier than before.

"Then goodbye."

Yang Jian spoke with a smile. Morning light fell over his face, making that smile seem especially bright.

"I hope that the next time we meet, I'll see a radiant smile on your face. I think it will be beautiful."