On a spring night, flowers brushed against the jade palace walls. Although it was not the golden and splendid inner palace of Chang'an, it was no less magnificent and grand. Carved railings, jade steps, and lake waters shimmered, winding through the entire courtyard in deep, nine-curved, eighteen-bend paths.

From afar, it looked like lotuses were in full bloom. In fact, during this lush spring season, the lotuses were all adorned with gold powder and rouge, appearing like a dream, like jade, like fairy flowers from a distance.

Scattered among them were a few exceptionally gorgeous ones, exquisitely carved from the finest white jade, with top-notch material and craftsmanship. Just one of them would be a rare treasure in the world; unfortunately, in the eyes of the supreme emperor, they could only be scattered together in the moonlit lotus pond.

A lotus boat glided leisurely through the emerald waters. Zhuo Yu, wearing a thin silk robe, stood at the bow. As the breeze passed by, it lifted his white clothes like gossamer, momentarily resembling a celestial being from the Southern Jin dynasty who was reluctant to return to the Nine Heavens.

However, no matter how ethereal he appeared, it could not erase the hint of coldness in his eyes. The armored guard kneeling behind him on the boat said in a low voice, "Since the retreat of the army, the entire nation has been in mourning. Her Majesty the Queen personally attended the funeral and wept bitterly. After that, she has been in low spirits... Although the ministers on the list bestowed by you have been diligent, after all, the fortune of the dynasty has declined and it is difficult to recover..."

Zhuo Yu remained silent. The armored guard waited for a moment and said, "This subordinate boldly requests that you return to the country to shake up the court. Otherwise, with people's hearts in disarray, it will be difficult to pacify them. Perhaps in the future..."

"Xiwan," Zhuo Yu suddenly interrupted him, "is just a small country."

The armored guard abruptly paused.

"In those days, when the King of Qin was enraged, he assassinated three people; when the Son of Heaven was enraged, corpses piled up by the hundreds of thousands, and blood flowed for a thousand miles. With millions of people in the vast Celestial Dynasty, do you think they can withstand our rage?"

Zhuo Yu turned around, and the armored guard bowed deeply, "This subordinate understands."

The gleam of the light armor only flickered for a fraction in the night before swiftly vanishing like a ghost. Zhuo Yu had not yet turned his head when he suddenly heard a faint clang of metal clashing not far away. If it weren't for his exceptional alertness, that slight disturbance would have quickly been drowned out by the gurgling sound of flowing water.

Zhuo Yu frowned, and his entire body glided across the water surface. In the breeze, he had already reached the corner of the courtyard wall. The armored guard was being struck in the chest by someone with a palm, and his face immediately turned a dark green color.

The armored guard was, after all, tenacious. His footsteps paused, stopping the collapsing momentum. He raised his eyes and saw in surprise, "General Lu?"

They only knew that the State Preceptor had escaped danger but was severely injured by treacherous people. He was temporarily staying in the Central Plains and could not return to the court. However, why this General Lu, who was their mortal enemy, was with the State Preceptor, no one knew.

Lu Jiuchen's expression remained unchanged. He followed up with a lethal palm strike aimed directly at the armored guard's crown. At this juncture, his palm paused, already grabbed by Zhuo Yu from behind.

"Lu Jiuchen, why bother making things difficult for a mere subordinate?"

"A subordinate in name but a confidant in reality. Since he's not easy to control, it's better to chop him off for convenience."

In the end, Zhuo Yu no longer had the overbearing martial arts skills he once possessed. Seeing Lu Jiuchen's palm about to strike, he could only turn sideways to block the killing move. Lu Jiuchen abruptly paused. In that fleeting moment, the armored guard had already disappeared into the night.

Zhuo Yu touched his chest and slowly smiled, "General Lu's opinion is quite bold."

Lu Jiuchen coldly asked, "You're done stirring up trouble in Xiwan, so now you've come to the Central Plains to stir up trouble?"

"...Your words are truly incomprehensible," Zhuo Yu smiled faintly, with an indescribable meaning. "I have my own hands and feet, so of course I'll do as I please. Aren't you... meddling too much?"

Lu Jiuchen stared at him motionlessly for a while. Under the moonlight and sparse shadows, this person's face appeared even more cold, handsome, and chillingly beautiful.

A full twenty years had passed. The people from back then had grown old and died, the courtyards from back then had seen flowers bloom and wither, and the aspirations of the young man from back then had gradually cooled in the lonely cold of the northern desert. Even the vows from back then had been worn away and forgotten in the passage of time...

Only this person, time seemed to have stopped for him. After twenty years, his appearance remained the same, still just as devoid of humanity, just as... despairing.

He had once thought that they were different from each other. Over the past twenty years, the people around them had changed like flowing water. Some had already faded into obscurity in the passage of time, while others had turned to dust in the wastelands beyond the frontier.

After so many years of scheming and plotting against each other, one day, they looked back and realized that only each other remained in their world; everyone else had been eliminated.

He thought everything would be different, but in fact, he had overestimated the humanity that person possessed.

Zhuo Yu coughed a few times and left with a sweep of his sleeve. Just as they brushed past each other, Lu Jiuchen suddenly reached out a hand and tightly gripped Zhuo Yu's throat.

"...Can't you learn a bit of humanity? ...Or are you still the wolf cub raised by beasts in the deep mountains twenty years ago, forever unable to learn human emotions?..."

That hand gripped so tightly, as if it wanted to strangle his own throat. The bones slowly interlocked, making creaking sounds. Zhuo Yu thought his face must be very distorted, perhaps even looking quite eerie under the moonlight, but he didn't care.

On his distorted face, a smile that could even be called a smile slowly surfaced, "...Twenty years ago, you asked the same question."

Lu Jiuchen approached him, their breaths almost intermingling. "I thought I could turn a beast into a human. Now it seems you're still that wolf cub. After twenty years in the human world, you've completely absorbed it into your wolf's heart and dog's lungs!"

The entangled human figures twisted under the moonlight, like intertwined seaweed, difficult to separate even when suffocating to the brink of death. Lu Jiuchen finally let go, and Zhuo Yu suddenly knelt on the ground, one hand tightly clutching his collar, his knuckles turning a jade-like pale color.

"Lu Jiuchen," he laughed and panted, his voice hoarse as if in bone-deep mockery, "—you might as well wait another twenty years to see if I can possibly learn the humanity you speak of."

He coughed, leaning against the wall to stand up, his robe fluttering in the moonlight like an ancient drifting melody, trailing off into the distance.

Lu Jiuchen stood silently in place.

_

The fragrance of the medicinal decoction slowly spread in the room, enveloping Zhuo Yu and Shangguan Mingde sitting in the middle like a fog. Mingde had long been knocked out, lying there in a daze, while Zhuo Yu sat behind him, slowly inserting golden needles into his acupoints.

His movements were extremely slow, almost imperceptible. It took about the time of a meal to insert one needle, and although Mingde had not yet woken up, Zhuo Yu's face was already as pale as paper.

The Qianwan Emperor sat motionless on the side, his expression unreadable, but his eyes fixed. As soon as Zhuo Yu's hands stopped, he heard him ask sternly, "How is it?"

He had no other intentions, just feeling anxious, his voice too harsh, causing Zhuo Yu to chuckle coldly and ask gently, "Impatient already?"

Before the Qianwan Emperor could say anything, Zhuo Yu's fingers moved slightly. In a flash of light, he had already grasped a two-inch long golden needle and stabbed it directly into the flesh. That move was as vicious as stabbing someone with a knife. The Qianwan Emperor exclaimed, "What are you doing!"

Mingde was suddenly startled awake and immediately reached out with teary eyes to touch the back of his neck, "It hurts!... It hurts so much!... Wuwuwu, I want Li Ji..."

The Qianwan Emperor immediately rushed over to hold Mingde in his arms, pressing down his flailing hands. Zhuo Yu leisurely stood up, not minding at all, "—I hate people pointing fingers when I'm working."

The Qianwan Emperor angrily said, "You want land, court power, titles, all of these are completely fine. Even bestowing you the title of State Preceptor wouldn't be an issue! It's just that Mingde knows nothing, so why are you taking it out on him?"

Zhuo Yu had already walked to the door. Hearing this, he turned around and stared at them without a word. The emotions in his eyes were strange, seeming a bit curious, a bit disgusted, but more so the usual cold and sarcastic elegance.

"...It's precisely because he knows nothing that taking it out on him now is still in time; wait until the day he regains his senses, and I'll be waiting to see Your Majesty the Emperor jump into the grave you dug for yourself."

_

Zhuo Yu walked out the door, one hand clutching his chest, slowly walking out along the wall.

The Qianwan Emperor had brought them back to Salt Tax Collector Qian's residence to receive the imperial carriage, telling outsiders that they were reclusive talents from among the people, preparing to bring them back to the capital for important roles in the future. Zhuo Yu inserted needles and administered secret medicinal tonics to treat Mingde every day.

It looked like work that didn't require much effort, but in reality greatly depleted his vitality.

Lu Jiuchen stood by the window at the end of the corridor, turning his head to silently watch him walk over step by step. These past few days, Zhuo Yu's energy had been exhausted to the limit, but everyone knew he was not someone who did good deeds out of the kindness of his heart. Every bit he paid out would be repaid a hundredfold or thousandfold in the future.

He always had ways to quickly grasp power in chaotic times, always had ways to wield great authority and command the winds and clouds.

This person was born to live in a chaotic world, able to lick blood off blades, able to look down upon sandstorms, able to don armor one day and laugh at the world, and also able to die under arrows and be buried in the yellow sands.

Lu Jiuchen suddenly recalled a certain night long ago, the times so chaotic that he forgot which year's moonlight it was. The sound of water dripping on bluestone echoed through the night. Teenage Zhuo Yu dropped a wine jar and asked, "Can you see the future?"

"...I can't see it."

"I can see it."

Zhuo Yu stretched out his hand, his lean teenage arm pointing straight at the distant night sky, the starry sea vast, the Milky Way endless, the stars Shen and Shang alternating with each other. "—I see myself king without a crown, I see myself dying in battle on the ancient smoky road..."

Zhuo Yu walked over, his long robe sleeves dragging on the intricately patterned luxurious carpet, revealing a beautiful wrist with faintly green blood vessels. Lu Jiuchen stood in front of him, gazing into his eyes, every note in the wind scattering and shattering.

"Do you still remember..."

Zhuo Yu looked at him, a cold light flickering in the depths of his dark eyes. Lu Jiuchen fell silent.

Remember what?

It turns out that what I yearned to remember, I myself have already forgotten in the dust of twenty years of vicissitudes...

Zhuo Yu closed his eyes and turned to leave. Behind him, Lu Jiuchen suddenly spoke up, asking in a low voice, "...You see the future, can you see me?"

"You?"

Zhuo Yu looked back, staring at Lu Jiuchen for a long, long time. Probably a very long time passed, until the angle at which the light spread from the window changed again and again, bright and dark, in an instant seeming like years had passed.

"...Aren't you... going to wait another twenty years for me?"