100: My name——Qin Wangchuan

Su Yingxue's body trembled violently at his words, and her fingers unconsciously clutched the hem of her skirt.

She almost sprang from her seat, but she forced herself to sit back down slowly.

"Resented... of course, I resented it," she took a deep breath, her voice so soft it was as if she feared disturbing something. "But having my bone taken and being imprisoned in the cold palace... actually, there's no necessary connection."

The young girl hung her head, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the patterns on her sleeve: "Father... it was because he disliked me that he..." Her voice suddenly choked halfway through, and she hastily raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye.

Qin Wangchuan noticed that even while speaking, her back remained perfectly straight, maintaining the most proper posture.

This was the upbringing of years of court etiquette ingrained into her bones.

Even when speaking of her sorrow, a faint but stubborn light flickered in her eyes, like a firefly in a cold night, persistently believing in the arrival of dawn.

"Actually..." Su Yingxue suddenly offered a faint smile, her eyes still damp with unshed tears. "Having my bone taken, for me, didn't feel real. That thing was useless to me; it was just really painful at the time... but it's already in the past!"

She spoke with astonishing calmness, as if discussing someone else's affairs.

There was no hatred in her clear eyes, only a resigned acceptance.

Qin Wangchuan's gaze shifted slightly.

If such an experience had befallen an ordinary person, their mind would likely have been consumed by resentment, yet she could still maintain this clarity.

Despite suffering injustice, she could still maintain a clear understanding—distinguishing between the whims of fate and the wickedness of human hearts.

The young girl suddenly looked up, her gaze clear: "Brother, why... did you suddenly ask this?"

Qin Wangchuan shook his head; he perhaps knew how to resolve this Karma.

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the table and suddenly said, "Since you've left the cold palace, you should have somewhere to go."

His lips curved slightly. "I know a place where the people are all unconventional and most tolerant. Your temperament would suit it perfectly."

"Wh-where?" Su Yingxue blinked her still-reddened eyes.

"Middle Thousand Province, Dao Seeking Palace."

As the young girl pondered, her fingers unconsciously twisted her sleeve: "This... Father would never agree..."

Qin Wangchuan chuckled softly, casually brushing away a non-existent speck of dust from her shoulder: "No matter."

When he looked up, starlight seemed to swirl in his eyes. "My agreement is enough."

"Su Yingxue, many people in this world are watching you. Your Father is watching, and I am watching. After you go to Dao Seeking Palace, they will all be watching you."

"How do you feel about me?"

Su Yingxue's cheeks flushed slightly at his words, and she whispered, "Brother is naturally excellent..."

The words had barely left her lips when she suddenly seemed to realize something, looking up in a panic, a flicker of flustered shyness in her eyes: "Ah, I... I don't even know Brother's name yet..."

A ray of sunlight outside the window happened to pass through the carved lattice, casting dappled light and shadow on the teacups between them.

Amidst the curling tea smoke, Qin Wangchuan's silhouette appeared exceptionally clear yet exceptionally distant.

"Qin Family, Qin Wangchuan."

"Your bone was obtained by me."

His sleeve swept across the table, stirring a faint, elusive cold fragrance.

This action allowed Su Yingxue to see the bottomless abyss in his eyes—there was no guilt, no pity, only an almost cruel honesty.

Su Yingxue was first stunned by his words, then she actually chuckled softly.

The blush on her cheeks faded, and a relieved curve appeared at the corner of her lips: "So that's it..."

The young girl's slender fingers unconsciously stroked her own back, her fingertips trembling slightly: "No wonder... no wonder Brother came."

Her voice was as soft as a feather falling, yet it carried an indescribable clarity.

Qin Wangchuan watched the fear in her eyes recede like a tide, replaced by a strange tranquility.

Her gaze was too clear, yet it carried an indescribable sense of relief.

"Here..." Su Yingxue suddenly grabbed Qin Wangchuan's sleeve, guiding his hand to rest on the back of her neck.

His fingertips first touched the young girl's warm skin, then clearly felt the protruding bones beneath the skin: "There's still half left."

She looked up, tears in her eyes but smiling brightly:

"But Brother can't take it away again..." Her voice suddenly choked, "Because... it really... really hurts..."

— — — — — — — — — — — —

The renown of Xuan Yin Pavilion originated from an astonishingly talented Disciple of Xuan Yin Immortal Pavilion a thousand years ago.

After she departed, although the pavilion still bore the 'Xuan Yin' plaque, it gradually fell silent, like a body without a soul.

Until a year ago—

Xuan Yin Fairy was invited by the hidden Pavilion Master.

From that day on, the Xuan Yin Pavilion, which had been silent for many years, suddenly chimed nine times, and the Nine Heavens Guidance Phoenix Lamp on its roof, dormant for a century, lit up on its own, its brilliance illuminating half the Imperial Capital.

Xuan Yin Pavilion once again became the most luxurious establishment in the entire Imperial Capital.

The so-called Fairy was, of course, not her real name; mere mortals were not worthy of knowing it.

Xuan Yin Pavilion was circular, with a central, rising and lowering zither platform.

Above the zither platform, Spiritual Qi mist swirled.

Xuan Yin Fairy, dressed in a plain white, wide-sleeved, flowing Immortal dress, sat before a jade table, her skirt spreading out like clouds, shimmering with a hazy glow under the moonlight-stone's reflection.

As she lowered her gaze and played the zither, a few strands of dark hair on her forehead gently swayed in the breeze, revealing the vermilion mark between her brows—like a red plum blossoming in the snow, vibrant but not alluring, intensely pure and intensely beautiful.

As her delicate hand plucked the strings, the mutton-fat jade bells by her ears chimed without wind, each gentle tremor sending out ripples of Spiritual Qi visible to the naked eye.

These ripples touched the bronze chimes hanging in the pavilion, causing them to resonate on their own, intertwining with the zither music to form a heavenly melody.

"Xuan Yin Fairy's music truly makes us feel as if we are hearing Immortal music!" Fan Zai clapped his hands in praise, the Fan Family jade token hanging from his waist gleaming under the lamplight—he was none other than the Young Lord of the Fan Family, the head of the six great Families of the Imperial Capital.

He usually enjoyed collecting beautiful women, having already married thirty wives and countless concubines.

But after seeing Xuan Yin Fairy, he spent his days in Xuan Yin Pavilion, even abandoning Family affairs.

She was too beautiful; Fan Zai had never seen a woman whose temperament and appearance were so perfect.

If he could marry her and bring her home.

To press her against the zither... to be behind her as she played... to use those slender, jade-like hands...

How wonderful that would be!

It was just too difficult.

Xuan Yin Immortal Pavilion's status was undeniable; he could not forcibly take her, so he could only use zither music to win her heart.

Although he had also dedicated some time to studying the zither, what he played was utter nonsense, and he reluctantly gave up.

But even so, Fan Zai's eyes still gleamed with determination.

"Such zither skills are truly those of a Fairy descended to the mortal realm..." another man also exclaimed in admiration.

He was the Young Lord of Tianyin Valley.

He had followed Xuan Yin Fairy all the way from another place.

Tianyin Valley was an ancient power of the Ten Directions Immortal Court, though not as prominent as Xuan Yin Immortal Pavilion, it was still extraordinary.

Unlike Fan Zai, this man was proficient in music.

And he knew that Xuan Yin Fairy's true identity was the Saintess of Xuan Yin Immortal Pavilion.

Alas, despite repeatedly showcasing his zither artistry and exhausting his lifelong pursuit of the Dao of the zither, he failed to catch Xuan Yin Fairy's eye.

It was like a mortal trying to pluck the bright moon from the Nine Heavens—ultimately, a pipe dream.

The kindred spirit she sought was the foremost person in the world.

Just then, the scoff of a red-dressed woman interrupted the zither music.

Xiao Hongling's lips curved into a sneering arc, her gaze, like a blade, swept over the assembled guests, finally fixing on Xuan Yin Fairy on the high platform:

"I heard you were putting on airs here, so I specifically came early. I see you haven't improved much compared to before."