When he opened his eyes again, it was the fierce afternoon sunlight that woke him.
The clamor outside had already faded. Pei Ye was dazed for a moment before remembering that he had not rested for a moment yesterday either. He stretched his stiff legs, then suddenly remembered the girl and looked back. She had woken at some point and was sitting propped up on the bed, quietly looking out the door.
Pei Ye shifted out of the sunlight and stretched. "Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"
"When there's something weighing on your mind, you can't sleep long. A little nap was good enough," the girl said softly.
Only when she spoke did Pei Ye hear the lingering catch in her voice. His movement paused. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I felt much better after crying." Li Piaoqing turned toward him and managed a smile.
Her voice was still soft and hoarse, and she looked weak, but her spirits had indeed improved considerably. She seemed much more at ease, no longer surrounded by that heavy chill.
"I was just thinking that Master is getting very old too," the girl said quietly.
"..."
Yes, her senior brother, her martial uncle... In another two years, her master would leave her too. Before the girl turned twenty, all the people closest to her in the world might have withered and fallen away.
Pei Ye could not help falling silent. In truth, he had gradually begun to taste that loneliness himself.
"Right, you still haven't told me how you killed him." The girl's curiosity seemed to have recovered along with her spirits. "Was he wounded too? Or did you have help?"
"Neither. I killed him by myself."
"I saw Yang Yan there too. Didn't he help?"
"He just joined in the fun."