Ink Burns

Chapter 244 Surrender
To this day, the east wing has not been tidied up yet, with stacks of books and miscellaneous items piled up haphazardly. But after the two returned to Xue Nan's residence, Xue Xiao escorted Shan Yue to the door of the west wing, and without saying a word, turned to return to the east wing. After taking only three steps, he turned back and strode back to the west wing.

The door to the west wing was half-open, with a landscape screen made of Chengxintang paper blocking the entrance.

Beyond the porch lies the familiar bed and the crisp scent of pine.

Xue Xiao's steps stopped at the threshold, which was only an inch higher than the threshold.

He pursed his lips tightly, pacing back and forth in the porch, before finally stopping. His left hand rested casually on the dark camphor wood door frame, while his right hand gripped the painting titled "Mountain Moon" tightly in his palm. Xue Xiao lowered his eyes slightly, his long, straight, and thick eyelashes blocking all his vision.

“Mountain Moon—” Xue Xiao began.

No one answered from the inner room.

The landscape screen on paper is grand and majestic, with ink dots and water droplets that seem to move like dragons.

After a while, a head peeked out from behind the screen.

Wang Erniang's face scrunched up like an old eggplant as she looked in and out with a troubled expression, shaking her head at Xue Xiao across the room and mouthing an exaggerated gesture: "Go to sleep now!"

Xue Xiao's left hand unconsciously slid down half an inch, but his eyes were fixed on the half-closed door of the west wing. The door swayed with the wind of early autumn in the midsummer, and the gap in the door was sometimes large and sometimes small. He knew that if the door were completely closed, he would have no chance except to destroy the lock, and he dared not gamble on which direction the next gust of wind would blow.

"I only have one sentence."

Xue Xiao spoke softly, then raised his voice, repeating firmly, "I only have one sentence—let me in."

Wang Erniang's eyelids were so wrinkled they looked like they were about to burst, and Huang Zhi tugged at the hem of her clothes several times.

Wang Erniang cursed under her breath, "Damn it, stop tearing! You've ripped my clothes!" She lowered her head and whispered to Huang Zhi, "...Should we let him in?"

Huang Zhi huddled behind the screen and said something.

Wang Erniang was a little angry: "You don't understand! You haven't seen Shanyue's half-dead, pathetic state!" Wang Erniang looked up at Xue Xiao and lowered her voice to explain to Huang Zhi: "Just think of him as a carp that darts around. As long as it brings the crucian carp in the field back to life, even if we don't kill and eat him, it's still worth it!"

It seems like a very simple and straightforward principle.
Huang Zhi's hand, which was tugging at the corner of her clothes, paused for a moment.

Wang Erniang immediately shouted loudly into the inner room, "Lord Xue, you can come in and get the mattress and quilt, right? -- On such a hot day, you can't expect people to sleep without blankets!" As she spoke, she took the opportunity to stick out one foot, widening the door of the west wing, and then pulled Huang Zhi aside and retreated outwards.

Xue Xiao pushed open the door with one hand and strode inside. He turned his head to avoid the beaded curtain of the archway, and his figure, carrying the stuffy heat of midsummer, rushed in, colliding with the low and cold atmosphere in the room.

Shan Yue leaned against the window, her left hand wrapped around her arm, her right index and ring fingers gripping the long-untouched hookah. Her fingers twitched, and the silver hookah rose and fell with her fluctuating emotions.

Xue Xiao knew at a glance: "You want to try? Are you afraid of fire again?"

Shan Yue stiffened for a moment, then turned to the side, regaining her composure and calm gaze: "Is this your 'that sentence'?"

Xue Xiao did not respond, but instead stepped forward and leaned in. He was a full head taller than Shan Yue, looking down at her with deep and calm eyes: "You are a coward."

Shan Yue's index finger trembled slightly, and the hookah hit the window frame with a soft "bang".

"You are a coward. You never dare to blame others; you can only blame yourself. You pretend to be strong, but in reality, you are always trembling inside a strong shell. You are afraid. You are afraid of failure, afraid of separation, afraid of betrayal, afraid that everything is an illusion, that it will be as fleeting as a flower, and that it will eventually leave you! So you instinctively avoid it, avoid the 'bridge bone,' avoid recognizing Shui Guang, and even refuse to look directly at Cheng Xingyu's corpse!"

Why does Shan Yue habitually spend time with Wang Erniang and Huang Zhi?
Because they never openly express that "she cares about her"! Wang Erniang's "care" is hidden in her loud, shouting insults! Huang Zhi's "care" is hidden in her snobbish haggling!
With each sentence Xue Xiao spoke, he took a step forward until finally his toes touched Shan Yue's toes, leaving her nowhere to go. Shan Yue's lips were pressed tightly into a line; she forced her back straight, refusing to lean back.

Shan Yue stared intently at Xue Xiao, then after a moment let out a soft laugh: "You don't need to goad me. Even if I'm a coward, so what? It won't change anything. I'm just afraid. I'm afraid of fire, I'm afraid of separation, so I'm afraid of living, afraid of having something and then losing it. I don't have that kind of courage—"

Shan Yue's words came to an abrupt end.

Xue Xiao tore the scroll in his hand in half, wrapped the painting inside with the mounted silk cloth, and casually rolled it into a rough roll. With one hand, he lifted the lampshade of the candle and brought the roll of cloth close to the flickering flame.

With a hissing sound.

The candlelight engulfed the new work, titled "Mountain Moon," and the reborn flames burned an uncontrollable red, forming clusters of tiny flowers that burned along the roll of cloth.

The Phoenix Xue Xiao, who had just been looking down with domineering force, now slowly bent down, and in a submissive posture, lit the fire on the water pipe in Shan Yue's hand.

The huddled, crumpled tobacco leaves made a crackling sound as they peeled away, then revealed a faint, distorted, fiery red glow in the vast darkness of the night.

Xue Xiao remained bent over, but raised his head and looked straight up at Shan Yue with the air of a subordinate: "Look—the pipe was lit with a blazing fire, and you didn't tremble or flinch."

Shan Yue's eyes were filled with complex emotions, her eyelashes trembled violently, but her gaze remained fixed on the pipe.

Xue Xiao saw right through her at a glance.

She really wanted to test whether her fear of fire would reignite and make a comeback after Cheng Xingyu's sudden death.

But she didn't even have the courage to give it a try.

Xue Xiao helped her try it.

The lit pipe, like a luminous speck of dust in a galaxy, emitted a pungent and strong aroma that drifted out the window with the rising white smoke, lingering on the mirror-like lake like a lotus flower that had not yet withered but was out of season.

“Since you are no longer afraid of fire, you can certainly deal with other terrifying things with ease,” Xue Xiao said softly.

Xue Xiao stood up and waved his hand to extinguish the stubborn flames on the strip of cloth.

"I can wait, you can leave, but you can't back down."

Xue Xiao bent his knees and stood low, gently holding Shan Yue's arms with both hands. He lowered his head to Shan Yue's forehead, the two of them very close, nose to nose. He murmured but remained firm: "You are Shan Yue, and I am the bird; you are a coward, and I am a mad dog."

"The best thing a mad dog can do is to stick to its guns and never let go."

"That's exactly what I wanted to say."

Shan Yue closed her eyes slightly, and two lines of tears finally fell down her cheeks. She shook her head unconsciously, as if all her strength had been drained away. Crying and tears finally flooded her heart like a torrent.

Let's wait for her.

A coward cannot become brave in three to five days.