If only Shuo’er could also forget everything that had happened that night and live in peace.
After leaving the back courtyard, Chong Zhao pulled two books from the bottom of the wooden box and placed them in Bai Shuo’s hands.
Bai Shuo’s eyes curved with delight when she saw the two volumes of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. “How did you know I wanted this book?”
Seeing her finally smile, Chong Zhao replied proudly, “Is there anything I don’t know about you? You had Uncle Bai go buy these ghost stories for you, but the bookstore owner is my nursemaid’s eldest son. Naturally, he told me.”
Bai Shuo, even more pleased, tugged his sleeve again. “Really? Then you’ll have to keep bringing me more of these books!”
Chong Zhao nodded but couldn’t help his curiosity. “Shuo’er, you’ve never been a fan of books before. Why are you suddenly so interested in ghost stories?”
Bai Shuo hesitated for a moment, but she hadn’t planned to hide it from Chong Zhao. Leaning closer, she whispered, “A-Zhao, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?” Seeing how serious she looked, Chong Zhao straightened up, matching her demeanor.
“In the future, I’m afraid I won’t be able to marry you.” Bai Shuo spoke earnestly.
The ten-year-old boy’s face instantly went pale, and the wooden box fell from his arms, scattering spinning tops across the ground.
“W-why?” he stammered, his eyes reddening. “Is it because General Bai looks down on me and doesn’t want you to marry me?”
The Bai family’s eldest daughter was engaged to the Crown Prince, so Bai Shuo marrying the son of a prince would be a fair match. Chong Zhao knew this well. Though he was the legitimate son of the Left Prime Minister, he held no title or noble rank, so his family had merely relied on General Bai’s past kindness to secure the engagement. As they had grown up together, Chong Zhao had come to view Bai Shuo as his future bride.
“No, no,” Bai Shuo waved her hands quickly. “It has nothing to do with my father.”
“Then… do you look down on me?” Chong Zhao’s face grew even paler.
“No, no!” Bai Shuo, seeing that things were only becoming more confusing, decided to speak plainly. “A-Zhao, I’m going to become an immortal. Naturally, I can’t marry anyone.”
Chong Zhao’s face twisted, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. “You’re going to become what?”
“An immortal!” Bai Shuo declared with conviction, clutching her books on ghost stories. “I’ve been reading lots of books recently, and many of them mention immortal mountains and sects. Once my father lifts my house confinement, I’ll go to one of these immortal mountains to find a teacher. When I’ve learned the immortal arts, I’ll ascend to become an immortal. How could I stay here and get married?”
Chong Zhao stared at her for a long moment, stunned. Bai Shuo began to feel uneasy under his gaze and was about to say something when he reached out, pressing a hand to her forehead.
“Shuo’er, are you alright?”
Bai Shuo swatted his hand away, frowning. “I’m not talking nonsense!”
Chong Zhao withdrew his hand, looking at her with a mix of exasperation and amusement.
Seeing his expression, Bai Shuo straightened, turned, and walked off. “If you don’t believe me, so be it. But I’ve already told you—I’m not getting married. I’m going to cultivate and become an immortal.”
Seeing she was truly upset, Chong Zhao quickly caught up to her. “Alright, alright, I believe you.”
Bai Shuo stopped abruptly, giving him a skeptical look. “You agree not to marry me?”
Chong Zhao shook his head.
“Then what did you agree to?”
“I agree to accompany you in becoming an immortal.”
He grinned, gently patting her small topknot. “When you’re well enough, if you want to visit famous mountains to find a teacher, I’ll go with you. If you want to cultivate, I’ll cultivate with you. Whatever you want to do, I’ll be by your side.”
Bai Shuo froze, touched by the sincerity in his gaze.
Ever since she had returned home, whatever she said or did, her father, mother, and Bai Xi would all pretend not to notice and only urged her to forget everything. But only Chong Zhao, who knew nothing of what had happened, was willing to believe her and stand by her.
For the first time, young Bai Shuo looked at Chong Zhao seriously. She gripped his hand and gave him a sincere promise.
“Alright, A-Zhao. I’ll make sure you join me in becoming an immortal, and someday we’ll live for a thousand years together!”
* * *
Meanwhile, outside Phoenix Island, Tian Qi hovered in midair, his gaze falling on the lush grove of ancestral phoenix trees, focusing on the spot where the Phoenix Emperor’s aura lay.
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