Chapter 3: An Old Friend

That night, in the backyard of the Eight Seas Teahouse, a middle-aged man in his forties lightly knocked on the door of a room where candlelight flickered dimly. He tapped three times, then four, in a rhythmic pattern. As the sound fell, a low, husky female voice came from within, "Enter."

The owner pushed the door open just enough to let himself in, entered quickly, and softly closed the door behind him.

The owner had shed his aura of a cunning merchant; his expression was solemn, his back straight. He knelt on one knee, cupping his hands in a salute, and spoke in a low, resonant voice carrying the grit of a martial artist to the black-clad woman standing with her back to him, hands behind her. "Sect Leader, I have released the news. The commoners now know why General Zhou had a dispute with the dog emperor. Now, the people are all praising General Zhou for his loyalty and righteousness. I believe that hindered by public opinion, the dog emperor won't be able to do anything to the General."

The black-clad woman was taller than the average woman. As she turned around, her bare, unadorned face possessed a distinct charm; rather, her appearance held a certain masculine heroism. She had sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, a high bridge to her nose, and very pale lips. Her pursed lips gave her a somewhat cold air, and with ice lingering in her eyes, she appeared to be an unapproachable ice beauty.

"Well done. Rise." Her voice was not as crisp and melodious as an ordinary woman's, being somewhat husky, yet it was not unpleasant; instead, it complemented her looks and temperament perfectly. She slightly raised her hand to look at the thumb-sized black butterfly tattoo on the back of her hand and mused, "Is there any news regarding Sect Leader Yue?"

Only when mentioning "Sect Leader Yue" did a trace of emotion and concern appear on her face.

"The people I sent out have not yet found Sect Leader Yue. None of the people Sect Leader Yue took to investigate the Soul-Severing Hall have returned, and as for Sect Leader Yue... there is no trace..." The teahouse owner—no, to be precise, he should be called Ah Zhang—answered with a frown.

A short, faint sigh drifted through the air. Fuyin had excellent hearing; as the highest-ranking martial artist in the Phoenix Pavilion, even while speaking to a subordinate, such a tiny movement could not escape her ears. Her eyes narrowed, and she lightly flicked her finger. A cufflink shot out with a "swish" toward the roof above. It turned out a small gap had been pried open in the tiles. The expected muffled sound did not come, and Fuyin called out loudly, "Who is eavesdropping surreptitiously on the roof!"

A murderous intent flashed across Ah Zhang's face as he drew the weapon hidden at his waist, preparing to call out to the disciples hidden throughout the courtyard, but he was preempted by a voice from outside the door.

"A-Yin—" A light call, as ethereal as if drifting through the wind, reached them. Fuyin, who had originally been coiled in a state of vigilance and killing intent, felt a flash in her eyes and a surge in her heart. Before she could even react, the clear and pleasant voice of the person outside continued, "Xiao Feng sends Yin Xue, the clear spring draws Jade. Fuyin plays the lute and zither, how long shall the moon-play rest... A-Yin, do you still remember?"

"Sect Leader..." Ah Zhang did not understand what the person outside meant, but he saw that the Sect Leader's posture had become unsteady. She looked utterly shocked, her habitually cold expression vanishing completely. He couldn't help but speak up with concern.

Fuyin felt even her fingers trembling. She wanted to speak, but felt a dull pain in her throat that prevented her from making a sound. It took a long time before she found her voice, "Is it you? You aren't—"

The woman outside interrupted calmly, "Let us speak alone."

Only then did Fuyin realize how much she had lost her composure. She gave Ah Zhang a look to signal him to leave. Although Ah Zhang was suspicious of the woman's identity, he had been in the Phoenix Pavilion for several years and possessed the discipline of the Pavilion's people—never to question the Master's decisions. Without a word, he exited. Outside stood a woman in gray clothes and a black cloak, exuding an air of nobility that he did not dare to look at directly.

Once Ah Zhang had walked far away, Fuyin could no longer suppress the urgency in her heart. As soon as the woman stepped inside, Fuyin stared at the face hidden beneath the cloak. This person... the feeling this person gave her was so similar to *that* person. She could not stop the trembling in her voice, "Is it you? You didn't die, right?"

The woman gave a light laugh—a laugh that held an ambiguity between helplessness and pleasure—which made Fuyin's already turbulent emotions even more intense. The slender and graceful woman before her removed her cloak, slowly revealing that face—

*A beauty exists, to see her is to never forget; one glance topples a city, a second glance topples a kingdom!* It was the exact same face, except—

"Who are you? You look so much like her, but she did not have the cinnabar tear mole..." Whether it was wonder or loss, Fuyin stared at this city-toppling beauty, clenching her fists tightly to force herself to remain calm.

Gao Changge looked at the black-clad girl before her with admiration. "A-Yin, as expected, you understand me best. In this world, the only one who could recite these four lines of poetry is me, is it not? Yin Yu only knows the first two lines; only you and I know the full four. Do you still remember when I gave you all your names eight years ago? Later, I only told you this poem. I told you—"

"In the future, if Changge goes missing, A-Yin must use this poem to find Changge back..."

"Junzhu!" Upon hearing this, Fuyin's knees went weak, and she knelt before Gao Changge. Her hands lightly grasped the hem of Changge's clothes, her voice choking, "Junzhu, you didn't die, you didn't die... It has been two months. Every day when Fuyin wakes up, I tell myself that a woman as powerful as you could not have left so easily... Fuyin never dared to believe it. This is wonderful, so wonderful, you are still alive..."

A woman's sigh came from above her head. "A-Yin, you are wrong. I have already died. The person I am now, you have already seen, is Gao Changge, yet is not. The face is the same, but the spirit is different. A-Yin, if I told you that I have died, but my soul has attached itself to this body, would you believe me?"

The voice actually carried a hint of uncertainty and hesitation. Gao Changge felt the hands gripping her hem freeze, and a sense of melancholy washed over her. It seemed as if it were expected—even A-Yin wouldn't believe her. It was true; even she herself had not dared to believe it, taking a full two months to slowly accept the fact of her soul returning in another's body.

"I believe you. You are Junzhu. Your appearance and voice might change, but your aura, your feeling, cannot be wrong. You are Junzhu, Fuyin's only Master." However, Fuyin looked up, her tear-stained eyes looking at Changge with determination, speaking firmly.

Changge froze for a moment, her hands trembling slightly before she reached out to touch the top of Fuyin's head. Finally, she smiled with relief, "Silly girl, I didn't expect you would actually believe me..."

"Do you want to hear my story?" Then, pulling up the kneeling Fuyin, Changge's eyes held a subtle sorrow and clear reminiscence as she began to tell of her ordeal. A month before her accident, Fuyin had been sent out by her to search for Nong Yue, who had gone missing during a mission. However, she hadn't expected that in just one short month, she would fall into a dire situation and attract murderous calamity. During these two months since waking up, she had been thinking about everything she had encountered. The more she thought, the more she felt this matter was not so simple. This was clearly something orchestrated by someone: the wrongful cases of her father and brother, Nong Yue's disappearance, Fuyin's external assignment, Zhou Yi's expedition... all of it felt like a web. She vaguely felt that someone behind the scenes was manipulating everything. Li Zhan, Xue Ji, and Yin Yu—those were the obvious ones, but there were certainly more in the shadows. She had a vague feeling that there were traitors within the Imperial Palace, and even within the Phoenix Pavilion. Therefore, she did not dare to rashly appear before these old acquaintances; firstly, because she feared no one would believe her, and secondly, because besides Zhou Yi, she truly did not know whom to trust. But Fuyin was her confidante of many years, and the information she had gathered these days, along with the words she had just overheard, made her even more certain that Fuyin would not be a traitor. Fuyin had been investigating her "cause of death" and had been helping Zhou Yi escape danger.

Thus, in the end, she took the risk to come find her. Fortunately, she had found the right person. After waking up, this was the first thing worth being happy about. Not everyone around her was untrustworthy; at least, for now, someone finally knew and believed she was not dead.

***

Note to readers

Update times are basically between 17:00 and 23:00 every night. If there are any missed updates due to circumstances, please forgive me. Love you all~

Two chapters tonight, hahaha ==

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