That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Jiang Jingming grabbed her by the back of her collar and dragged her away:

"Weren't you supposed to be a knight-errant hidden in the night? If you dawdle any longer, it'll be almost dawn!"

"Okay, okay!"

Xie Yunqi had no choice but to pull himself together and shift his focus from food to business.

"According to the informant's report, he was discovered by the bandit gang when he went hiking in the mountains with his companions. He had the most pocket money among the group, so he was the only one who brought candied winter melon and candied hawthorn, which were all robbed by the bandits."

It's just a few candied hawthorns and two pieces of candied winter melon; there's no need to use the phrase "all at once."

Jiang Jingming silently complained in his heart.

"Does that bandit have a name?"

"do not know."

Xie Yunqi shook his head:

"However, the informant said they were shouting something at the time, but he was too scared to understand it."

"Is this the kind of tree I planted?"

"Maybe."

Xie Yunqi curled his lip, clearly disgusted:

"What era are we living in that we're still shouting such outdated slogans! No wonder they can only rob children!"

......

The two left the city and traveled along the mountain road.

The rain had stopped for several days, and the mountain path was much easier to walk on than before. In addition, this mountain outside the city was not as big as Cuiwei Mountain, so the two of them did not have to exert too much effort to climb to the top.

"I didn't see any buildings that looked like a bandit stronghold."

The moon is hidden behind the clouds tonight, but the twinkling stars make the night look even clearer.

Jiang Jingming looked up, momentarily astonished.

The Milky Way hangs upside down, flowing and dazzling.

When I was in Mangya, I rarely saw such a bright starry sky, making me feel as if I could reach out and pluck the stars from the sky.

Xie Yunqi stared blankly at the starry sky, lost in thought.

The capital city was always brightly lit at night, with towering pavilions and city walls blocking out the sky.

This was the first time in her life she had ever seen such a beautiful Milky Way. She couldn't take her eyes off it, and for a moment she felt as if she had become a star, following the Milky Way, drifting towards the end of the sky.

"Jingming, have you ever heard the saying that after people die, they turn into stars?"

"I've heard of it."

Jiang Jingming nodded. Such a rare sight was something they both wanted to enjoy a little longer, so they decided to sit down on the edge of the cliff.

Xie Yunqi dangled his legs over the edge of the cliff, swaying gently in the night breeze:

"If only it were true, then when I die, I would become a star too."

"..."

Jiang Jingming was slightly taken aback.

Her words sounded childish, yet they sent a chill down one's spine, as if she were about to turn into a star and leave at any moment.

Why do you want to become a star?

"No reason why, the stars are just pretty!"

The young lady seemed to have broken free from her previous emotions and returned to her usual unreasonable tone.

Jiang Jingming turned to look at her.

The young lady's peach blossom eyes reflected starlight, so beautiful that one couldn't help but want to hold their breath.

Like the two most beautiful stars in the sky that fell to earth and became her eyes.

Why are you looking at me like that? Are you afraid I'll suddenly turn into a star and fly away?

Xie Yunqi glanced at him sideways, as if he could see right through him.

Jiang Jingming curled the corners of his mouth indifferently:

"Don't be afraid. If you fly away now, I'll catch you."

"Humph!"

Although Xie Yunqi snorted coldly, she laughed, and her mood seemed to change from cloudy to sunny in an instant.

"Let me tell you, people don't actually turn into stars immediately after they die."

"Then how do we change it?"

"After you die, it will be like having a nightmare, falling from a very, very high cliff, falling and falling, and your life will flash before your eyes like a revolving lantern."

"Your past, the people you used to know, all the mistakes you made... whether you want to remember them or not, everything will come back to you."

"Once all of this is over, you'll have been hanging on the cliff for so long, you'll be starving to death by now. That's when your soul will be extracted, turn into a star, and return to the sky."

Xie Yunqi muttered a string of ramblings.

Jiang Jingming nodded after listening:

"Sounds pretty good."

"Right, right!"

Xie Yunqi grinned, like a child showing off a hidden treasure.

"When I become a star, if you miss me, climb a little higher, to the highest mountain nearby, and find the prettiest one."

"By the time you become a star, I reckon it'll be soon. Making someone who's about to die climb such a high mountain is just bullying them."

Jiang Jingming followed her gaze to the night sky, only to find that she wasn't actually looking at anything; she was just spacing out.

"Besides, with so many stars in the sky, how am I supposed to find you?"

"Hmm... let me think."

Xie Yunqi scratched his face, then clapped his hands suddenly:

"I know! I'll wink at you like crazy, and you just need to find the star that twinkles the fastest to know it's me."

As soon as she finished speaking, she moved closer to him, shaking her head and blinking.

Jiang Jingming chuckled at her antics, cupped her face in his hands, and stopped her from shaking herself any further.

After all, the two of them were standing on a cliff. If they accidentally fell off, they would have to experience firsthand whether what Xie Yunqi said was true.

Chapter 133 Yesterday is too near, tomorrow is too far

Although he kept joking and teasing him, Xie Yunqi wasn't as happy as he seemed on the surface.

Jiang Jingming had been aware of this for a long time, but he had never been so certain of it as he was now.

A carefree, pampered young lady who knows no worries would not mutter such sad words to the starry sky.

Misery and aversion to life.

Jiang Jingming suddenly thought of this word.

Others might think this word has nothing to do with Xie Yunqi, after all, she's always fooling around without a care in the world, and she's a hot-blooded idiot with a very low temper.

But the more she acted this way, the more she seemed... when she calmed down.

She didn't seem to like this world much either.

Putting on this act is nothing more than fooling others and fooling oneself.

But why?

Jiang Jingming couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

If it's because Aqing doesn't like this world, then of course he can understand.

A girl who experienced hardship from a young age and was forced to wander alone must have been bullied a lot, so it's normal for her not to like it.

If it were Fang Zhiyi, it would be perfectly normal.

Having witnessed the tragic deaths of his parents, he was left to wander the world alone. As a doctor, he had seen countless instances of the world's coldness and warmth, making it difficult for him to talk about liking anything anymore.

But what was Xie Yunqi's reason?

Jiang Jingming couldn't think of any reason why she would be so world-weary. She was a young girl who had grown up in luxury and was pampered by everyone. She was the "Ming Zhaojun" personally bestowed upon her by the current emperor.

Does it have anything to do with me?

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingming couldn't help but turn to look at her.

"Young Miss, what kind of person was that deceased friend you mentioned before?"

"Actually, I can't quite remember anymore."

Xie Yunqi hugged his knees, gazing at the lonely starlight in the night sky.

“I’ve always had a bad memory. I would memorize the articles that Master Wen taught me, then forget them, then memorize them again. So I’ve always been afraid that I would completely forget this person, and then no one in the world would remember him. But there’s nothing I can do about it.”

"I see."

Jiang Jingming listened silently and nodded slowly.

She's right. In this world, Miss Xie is probably the only one who still remembers her former self.

His unreliable and arrogant biological parents have probably forgotten about him long ago—they might even have several alternate accounts already.

"He is the son of the sect leader of the Xiquan Sword Sect, but he lives alone on a very high mountain. I asked the sect leader why, and he just smiled and said that the boy has a cold and aloof personality and that I don't need to worry about him."

Xie Yunqi said sullenly:

"But that mountain is so big, and he doesn't even know how to use a sword. What if there are bears or something? I heard that when the snow melts in spring, the bears on the mountain wake up from their hibernation and come out to hunt for food when they are very hungry."

“In Zhige City, there are very few bears.”

Jiang Jingming smiled slightly and shook his head.

He had never seen a bear on the mountain; at most, he had only seen deer and wild boars.

"I can't even remember what he looked like now, I only remember that he had very beautiful eyes and was very quiet."

As Xie Yunqi spoke, he suddenly turned his head and looked intently into his eyes:

"You look a lot like me."

"Is that so?"

At this moment, avoiding eye contact would only make him appear guilty, so Jiang Jingming had no choice but to stare back steadily, putting on an open and honest demeanor.

After an unknown amount of time, when the night wind had made his eyes dry, Xie Yunqi finally withdrew his gaze.

She rested her chin on her knees and hummed a song casually.

Jiang Jingming recognized the tune. After a moment's thought, he realized it was the piece the musicians played when he encountered the fake mermaid in Shulan City.

The young lady seemed to like it very much; she remembered it for so long.

The piece is called "Moonlight Over the Vast Sea," which is probably taken from that timeless poem.

The moon shines brightly over the vast sea, pearls seem to weep; the sun warms the fields of Lantian, jade seems to emit smoke.

This feeling can only be cherished in retrospect, for at the time it was already a regret.

Xie Yunqi usually speaks in a high-pitched voice, but this time he was humming a song softly, showing a rare gentleness.

Jiang Jingming listened quietly for a while, then felt a chill in the early spring night breeze, so he took off his outer robe and draped it over her shoulders.

Xie Yunqi, small as a beet, was wrapped in a wide robe, like a porcelain doll sold in a market, delicate and well-behaved.

Jiang Jingming looked at her curled eyelashes and couldn't help but reach out and poke her cheek.

"what!"

Xie Yunqi reacted quickly, turning his head and making a face.

"Cheer up, Miss."