Seeing her constantly rubbing her head, Situ Qiwu walked over, half supporting her, and touched her head. “Does it hurt here? You might have hit the ground when you fell. Fortunately, I followed you; otherwise, you’d have slept outside tonight, and tomorrow you’d have more than just a headache.”
Ru Feng raised her head to look at him.
“What’s wrong?” Situ Qiwu said, puzzled.
“Nothing,” Ru Feng replied, sensing something different about him.
“Let’s eat quickly!”
Situ Qiwu sat beside her, watching her enjoy the meal he had prepared. It was surprisingly pleasing to see her eat. His heart felt full.
“Are you hungry too?” Ru Feng asked, pausing her chopsticks.
“I just ate. Eat slowly, there’s plenty.”
“Oh, you look like you want to eat. I was going to invite you, but…”
Situ Qiwu suddenly rubbed his stomach. “I didn’t feel hungry until you mentioned it. Since you invited me, let’s eat together!”
“Uh! Okay.” Ru Feng thought, this is your place; do you need my permission to eat?
As if the heavens wanted to keep a guest, it started pouring rain from the second day.
Ru Feng frowned at the rain outside, sighing. Situ Qiwu sat beside her in a good mood.
When Qi Feng arrived, her usually cold face showed a hint of a smile at the incongruous scene of worry and cheer.
“Sister Qi Feng, is there something?” Situ Qiwu greeted her.
Qi Feng nodded slightly and looked at Ru Feng. “The Grand Elder wants to see you.”
“What for?” Ru Feng seemed uninterested, knowing she wouldn’t agree to their conditions.
“You’re staying here; you should do something, right?”
Qiwu was about to speak but fell silent at Qi Feng’s eye signal.
Ru Feng looked up. “What do you want me to do? Be clear. I can’t carry things or cook; Qiwu seems more suitable for that.”
“Yes, I can,” Situ Qiwu chimed in.
Qi Feng cleared her throat. “Go play chess with several elders.”
So it’s to pass time with some boring old men! Ru Feng stood up as Qiwu opened an umbrella for her. She smiled at him. “Do you want me to win or lose?”
Qi Feng walked ahead. “One game a day. If you win, you can borrow a book from the library.”
“What?” Ru Feng raised her voice.
Qi Feng continued walking ahead, seemingly unfazed.
Qiwu patted her head and said happily, “The elder is giving you a chance.”
Ru Feng shook her head in confusion and continued walking.
“So, you have a month. Whether you can find the record you want depends on your ability and fate,” Qi Feng’s voice echoed in the distance.
In a small wooden building, sunlight streamed in. Two cups of tea sat on a chessboard. Ru Feng squinted her eyes, imagining if the old man opposite her were a graceful young gentleman, it would be poetic.
She sat down as Cang Shan raised his eyes. “Are you confident?” he asked.
Ru Feng held a white chess piece and smiled slightly, “You play black first.”
Cang Shan’s eyes gleamed as he glanced at the quiet young man behind her, then back at her. “Do you believe in past and present lives?” he asked before placing a piece.
Ru Feng paused and then placed her chess piece. “I do.” She felt it—an unfinished past life and a present life someone else had lived for twenty years.
Silence lingered until she turned to look at the young man behind her. He smiled back, pure and bright as a clear moon. Ru Feng returned the smile and shifted her gaze back to Cang Shan. “We are just ordinary people.”
The debts of past and present lives have dissolved in Meng Po’s soup, leaving one unaware and unburdened by past responsibilities. One should seek happiness in this life rather than obsess over a forgotten past.
Cang Shan lowered his eyes, asking, “Do you truly believe your return is solely due to Si Tu Qi Feng?” Ru Feng felt a tightness in her heart; the situation seemed overly simplistic. Everything involves gains and losses, and it was unreasonable that she was spared from the Si Tu family’s curse while her second brother had not.
Cang Shan smiled softly, “If you want to know the reason, first win this chess game.”
The chess game lasted from sunrise to sunset. The players remained calm and leisurely, while the observers furrowed their brows, watching the woman before them.
Finally, the game ended.
Ru Feng exhaled lightly, looking at Cang Shan, “I won.”
Cang Shan’s expression was dazed, seemingly entrapped in thought.
Si Tu Qi Wu presented a plate of osmanthus cake to Ru Feng, his eyes full of disapproval. “You’ve been hungry since breakfast.”
“Oh, okay, thank you.” Ru Feng, indeed hungry, immediately took a piece to eat.
“Cough, cough!”
Cang Shan cleared his throat, and Qi Wu came to his senses, quickly offering the plate to Cang Shan, “Grand Elder, please.”
Cang Shan accepted it and said to Ru Feng, “The answer to the previous question still requires borrowing a book. You may choose.”
Ru Feng stood up, “Borrowing a book.” Brushing off the cake crumbs, she stepped into the book pavilion without hesitation. Any further questions were less important than her second brother’s health.
“Si Tu Ru Feng, who taught you military strategy?” Cang Shan’s voice rang out.
Ru Feng was stunned, “Military strategy?”
“Yes,” Cang Shan nodded. “The chess game you played could only be won by someone well-versed in military texts.”
Military strategy? How many more surprises do you have for me, second brother? Her heart swelled with pride and admiration. What her second brother created was a skill others would admire.
She smiled slightly, “My second brother taught me.”
As the book pavilion door closed behind Ru Feng, Qi Wu slowly lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions.
Cang Shan glanced at him. “Qi Wu, this was originally a predestined marriage. Now, with the forbidden curse, the marriage is disrupted. From now on, no one can be certain.”
“Yes, Qi Wu understands.”
Cang Shan sighed. In this world, only the word ‘love’ remains uncertain until the end.
Meanwhile, Ru Feng, now in the book pavilion, stared wide-eyed at the room full of books. She rubbed her forehead and smiled bitterly.
Was the Si Tu family planning to open a library?
The shelves were densely packed with books and lacked categorization. After walking around, she sat in the middle of the room, feeling helpless. How would she find the book she needed? It would take a lifetime to read through everything.
Where were the books recording the Si Tu family’s curse? She assumed she would find nothing that day.
“Ah! Qi Wu, do you know how these books are classified? They can’t be randomly placed, right? How would anyone find anything?” Ru Feng lay on the table, tired and with strained eyes.
Qi Wu, who was arranging her bed, replied, “I don’t know. No one has ever gone in.”
“Not even the elders?”
Qi Wu shook his head. “The elders never told me.”
Ru Feng deflated, “What have you been doing here all these years?”
Qi Wu stood straight, not turning back. After a long silence, he finally said, “I’ve been constantly learning. Doing laundry, cooking, practicing martial arts, reading.”
“You have to learn to do laundry and cooking?”
“Mm.”
Doing laundry and cooking were for her; practicing martial arts and reading were also for her. Everything he did was for her, but… He gently closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again.
He knew the things he learned might never be used.
After arranging the bed, he turned to find it had been quiet for a while. Looking back, he was stunned. The beautiful young girl had fallen asleep at the table, her blue-black hair cascading under the lamplight.
The sourness in his heart receded, replaced by tenderness. He walked over, lifted her effortlessly, and placed her on the bed, covering her with a blanket. Brushing a strand of hair from her face, he whispered, “That person must have taken good care of you, which is why you’re unable to care for yourself!”
