[Five Years Later]

In the East City Lord's Manor, Yuwen Jin tossed aside the letter from South City, his face full of depression. "It's over, it's over, what should I do now? Don't tell me I really have to hand it over? Our East City and South City have always been at odds, and this time they want our East City's treasure, the Honey Peach Seed. If I really give it to them, won't I lose a lot of face? My elder brother and my father would be so angry they'd come back to life and beat me to death. Ah Ming, what do you think I should do?"

Duan Ming, sitting beside him, unhurriedly sipped his tea and glanced at him sideways. "You are now the Lord of East City after all, how can you still get so flustered at the drop of a hat?"

Yuwen Jin said indignantly, "You know what the Lord of South City is like, utterly shameless. If I don't give it to him, he could even hire assassins to come and take my life to force me to hand it over. How can I not be flustered?"

"Speaking of assassins, don't you know someone? Just ask him to come protect you," said Duan Ming.

Yuwen Jin was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head. "You mean Xun?"

Duan Ming: "Yes, him. Five years ago, if you hadn't saved his life, he probably would have died in the snow. With this kindness, he surely won't refuse to help you."

Yuwen Jin felt a bit awkward. "He helped me deal with the rebellion in East City before, and assisted me in becoming the City Lord. That should already count as repaying the favor. Wouldn't it be too inappropriate for me to hold the favor over him again?"

Duan Ming scoffed. "Stupid, who's telling you to hold the favor over him? Xun made a name for himself in the martial world at a young age. As the number one assassin in the Realm of Refinement, who knows how many people feared him.

"Although he has gradually faded from the scene in recent years, three years ago he broke into North City and severely injured the North City Lord Xiahou Xuanyu, greatly boosting his reputation. His martial arts now are probably even more unfathomable. You have this connection with him, so you can more or less be considered friends. Isn't it only natural to help a friend with a small favor?"

Yuwen Jin hesitated. "But..."

Duan Ming couldn't stand his indecisiveness. "But what? Look at how spineless you are. It's not like anyone is asking you to do anything bad. Just treat it as inviting a friend to get together. Invite him to stay in East City for a while. Just having such a god of death around will be enough to guard the place. Then you won't have to worry about South City trying any underhanded assassinations or threats."

Although Yuwen Jin was good at business and had made East City prosperous and lively under his rule, in terms of top martial power, East City still couldn't compare to the other three cities.

Especially since Yuwen Jin was young and had hastily taken over as City Lord, he didn't have anyone with strong martial arts that he could fully trust by his side. Duan Ming had hit it off with him, which is why he gave him this idea.

After considering for a moment, Yuwen Jin said, "Brother Xun... I only know he was still in the northern desert a few months ago. Every year, except for his wife's death anniversary when he comes back to pay respects, he's hard to track down the rest of the time. Last winter, when he came back to pay respects, I saw him, but unfortunately you had gone home at that time and didn't get to meet him."

Duan Ming shook his head. "Meeting is fine, but I'm most afraid of those silent, unsociable, eccentric blade and sword masters. It's more fun to be friends with a talkative little fool like you. But as you said, his wife - I'm a bit curious. I haven't heard anything about his wife. Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Actually, I don't know much either." Yuwen Jin recalled that day five years ago. He had originally heard that there was a novel northern song and dance performance being staged in Langcheng, and was planning to go watch.

But who knew that it suddenly started snowing halfway there. The snow was so heavy that the road could barely be seen. When passing by Langtou, the guards reported that they had discovered a bunch of freshly dead bodies ahead, and many of the corpses were wearing clothes with the North City Lord's seal.

Yuwen Jin was not good at martial arts, but had a curious heart. Finding this matter strange, he went to take a look.

When he saw Xun, he was just half-kneeling there, a layer of thin white snow piled on his body, his eyes closed like a dead statue. In his arms, he tightly held a woman whose face could not be seen clearly.

Yuwen Jin was drawn to their appearance and went up to take a closer look. He found Xun's face familiar, and remembered that he was the big brother who had saved him before and only took a small reward.

So, in addition to sighing with emotion, he ordered his men to collect the bodies without a second thought. But unexpectedly, his subordinates reported back that the man was not dead and still had a breath left, while the woman in his arms had long since passed away.

Yuwen Jin took them back for treatment. Because the two could not be separated, he had no choice but to bring the woman's corpse back as well.

Later, the man quickly regained consciousness. Holding the corpse, he refused to let anyone near and did not say a word. When his condition had improved a bit, one day he suddenly disappeared with the corpse. Half a month passed before he returned, and by then the corpse was gone.

Only then did Yuwen Jin learn that he was Xun, and the woman who died was his wife.

"Actually, I didn't even get a clear look at what that woman looked like. She was covered in blood at the time, and Brother Xun refused to let go of her for a moment or let anyone approach. That blade of his was chillingly cold, and he could cut people down like slicing melons and vegetables. I didn't dare take the risk."

Even now, when Yuwen Jin thought back to the situation that year, he still felt lingering fear and rubbed his nose.

Seeing his friend's expression held a hint of mockery, Yuwen Jin added, "Although Brother Xun has a frightening reputation, his personality is actually not bad. Except for not liking to talk much and having a cold, intimidating gaze, he's quite easy to get along with and has helped me a lot."

In the end, Yuwen Jin sent out the letter with a mindset of giving it a try. Unexpectedly, there was indeed a reply, which said that he would arrive in East City soon. Yuwen Jin was overjoyed and waited in the manor every day, almost staring his eyes out, causing his good friend Duan Ming to keep shaking his head.

Yuwen Jin righteously said, "What's wrong with being afraid of death!"

Duan Ming: "You're probably the most cowardly city lord in the history of East City."

Yuwen Jin didn't mind and proudly said, "Also the city lord who can make the most money!"

A steward of the manor suddenly came over with quick steps. "City Lord, the honored guest you instructed us to welcome has arrived."

Yuwen Jin: "Brother Xun is here already? Haha, I'll go welcome Brother Xun in right now. Ah Ming, I'll trouble you to brew us some good tea!"

Duan Ming: "What tea? Let's drink alcohol directly." He instructed the steward, "Go dig out those few jars of fine wine your city lord has hidden away."

Yuwen Jin had only walked halfway when he saw the person brought in by the attendant. He looked more or less the same as when he had seen him last winter, still with an unmelting frosty aura all over his body. He was wearing the cloak most commonly seen in the northern desert regions and carrying a black saber in a wooden sheath. He looked travel-worn, completely out of place in this luxurious and prosperous East City Lord's Manor.

Yuwen Jin smiled and greeted him warmly, calling out "Brother Xun". "Brother Xun, please stay here for a few more days this time. I want to introduce a friend to you..."

The two of them walked through the corridor to the courtyard in the back. Suddenly, Yuwen Jin felt something was off. He turned his head and saw that Xun had stopped at some point, his gaze fixed on the newly planted pear tree in the courtyard.

It was April, and the pear blossoms were in full bloom, the tree piled with snow-like flowers. When the wind blew, the pure white petals fluttered like snow, falling on the corridor and at Xun's dusty feet.

Xun stood still for a long time. Yuwen Jin didn't understand and carefully walked over to ask, "Brother Xun, what's the matter? Do you like this pear tree?"

He originally thought Xun wouldn't answer, but to his surprise, Xun spoke. It seemed he hadn't spoken for a long time, his voice hoarse and slow. "I also planted pear trees in front of her grave, but they have never bloomed."

Yuwen Jin paused. He almost immediately understood that the "her" in Brother Xun's words referred to his deceased wife. Yuwen Jin wasn't clear about where he had buried his wife, so he could only say tactfully, "Perhaps the location is not suitable. The soil and climate will affect the blooming."

Xun finally turned his head and continued walking forward. Yuwen Jin hurried to catch up, secretly marveling in his heart. Brother Xun actually likes pear blossoms.

At the same time, in a courtyard of the city lord's rear residence in the South City, far from the East City, a pale young woman was carefully supported by her maids as she walked out of the room and sat down on the soft chair that had been arranged outside.

The woman was beautiful, but her figure was thin as if she had just recovered from a serious illness. Her fair skin glowed under the sunlight, and her long eyelashes trembled, covering her slightly pale eyes.

She leaned on the soft chair, her expression calm, not saying a word. The maids stood by her side, waiting for her orders.

Several maids carrying makeup boxes and new cloth saw this scene from afar in the corridor. One of them couldn't help sighing, "The sun is so good today, and the flowers in the courtyard are all blooming. Those were all planted by the young lady before the incident. If she could see them, she would definitely be very happy."

Another maid nudged her arm, "Don't say such things. If someone else hears it, you will definitely be punished!"

Everyone in the South City Lord's residence knew that Lady Nangong Qin, who had been sleeping for several years due to poison, had finally woken up recently. This should have been a great thing, but unfortunately, the residual poison in her body had not been cleared, causing her to be blind and unable to see.

The divine doctor specially invited by the city lord said that the honey peach from the East City was needed as a medicinal guide to completely remove the residual poison. For this, the city lord had sent letters to Yuwen Jin, the city lord of the East City, several times, but no good news had come so far.

Nangong Qin had been in a coma for several years. Even though she had been nourished with various precious and good medicines, her body was still weak after waking up. The maids were all careful in serving her and didn't dare to be negligent. They dared even less to mention her eyes in front of her.

A tall figure walked into the courtyard from outside. The servants all bowed their heads and saluted, "City Lord."

Nangong Xian, the city lord of the South City, strode to Nangong Qin's side, his square face full of doting affection. "Qian'er, do you feel better today?"

Nangong Qin opened her empty eyes and said softly, "Niece is much better now. Uncle doesn't need to worry."

Nangong Xian, the city lord of the South City, was Nangong Qin's uncle. He had always doted on this niece whose parents had passed away early. There were once rumors in the city that Nangong Qin was not the biological daughter of the previous city lord, but the daughter of Nangong Xian and his sister-in-law's private affair. That was why Nangong Xian doted on her like his own daughter.

"Qian'er, don't worry. Uncle will definitely cure your eyes." After visiting his niece, Nangong Xian said this last sentence and instructed the servants to take good care of her before leaving in a hurry again.

Nangong Qin sat under the sun, undisturbed. She couldn't see the surrounding scenery, but she could smell various floral fragrances and feel the wind blowing unknown flower petals that happened to fall into her hand.

She grasped the soft petal in her hand, but there was an indescribable restlessness in her heart.

She didn't know how her Xun Nu was doing now.

In her memory, she was punched through the chest by Xiahou Xuanyu and should have been dead. But a few days ago, she suddenly woke up. She originally thought she had survived by chance, but there was no trace of a wound on her chest. The people around her all called her "Young Lady".

She sensed something was wrong and carefully inquired, only to find out her current identity. She had actually become Nangong Qin - the number one vicious female supporting character in the original novel, the male lead's white moonlight in the early and middle stages, and the female lead's twin sister.