Chapter 32: What had changed

"Sumeng, there's something I want to do," Yuan Xuelan was smiling and pawed Liu Sumeng like a neglected dog. He was smiling a lot these days, with Peng Jipei and Zhao Fanyu dead.

Liu Sumeng was writing and didn't want to be disturbed. He shoved Yuan Xuelan aside while dipping his brush into ink. Wangyun Peak had become rather quiet of late, and people kept their distance from the Sect Leader and his esteemed guest. They were probably scared.

Liu Sumeng's heart was cold. He didn't care.

"Liu Sumeng!" Yuan Xuelan rolled on the floor and knocked over some books he had placed there earlier but didn't read, "Sumeng, why are you ignoring me? This is getting old." He gave Liu Sumeng a little kick, causing his brush to stutter and wrecked the letter he was in the midst of writing. Liu Sumeng finally paused and looked over at the whining Yuan Xuelan.

Now finally, with Liu Sumeng's attention won, Yuan Xuelan propped himself up and grinned, "There's something interesting I want to check out. I want you to come with me." The Ivory Sword Saint's glare was still cold and unyielding. On the desk, his letter was ruined, sporting a fat blotch of ink in the middle. Yuan Xuelan rolled his eyes, "What, are you angry about that? Hey, stop being mad and I'll rewrite it for you, ok? Sorry, Sumeng I was in the wrong. So will you listen to me already?"

Ever since they swore on vengeance and soaked their hands in blood, Yuan Xuelan had grown overbearingly close. Liu Sumeng was almost annoyed at first, unsure where he suddenly gained a new parasite in the form of his late wife's Shidi. But every time he thought about pushing this person away, he couldn't.

Not when they were the same. Not when no one else in the world could understand the vast coldness he felt in his heart, the emptiness and the endless stretch of darkness. And he couldn't help but feel that he owed as much to this pitiful Yuan Xuelan as he did to the unfortunate Chen Anyue.

At the time he hadn't known that he would become so emotionally dependent on this person, that he could no longer imagine a world without him. Slowly, Liu Sumeng set down his brush, with a sigh he turned his gaze to Yuan Xuelan, "What is it?"

Yuan Xuelan grinned with triumph, and Liu Sumeng felt oddly warm. This smile was different from the one he wore when he made a mess of Zhao Fanyu's corpse. It was sweeter, more boyish and reminded Liu Sumeng of the days when Yuan Xuelan barked after Chen Anyue like a loyal guard god. "Have you heard of the treasure called the Tiger Heart Amethyst?"

It was an old treasure but had fallen out of relevancy long ago when the Demon Tiger Clan faded into obscurity. Recently, it'd been rumored that some crazy rogue cultivator had gotten a hold of it, but Liu Sumeng was neither interested nor impressed by the news. "Some idiot's toy," he said dismissively.

"What!? No, no! The Tiger Heart Amethyst is capable of so many amazing feats, it just needs a bit more refinement. It was wasted in that Black Handed Warrior's hands! But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Did you know the Black Handed Warrior is dead? I have a source that told me he got killed by some demons. And I know where."

Oh. Liu Sumeng had an idea about where this was going. Obtaining treasures and killing demons were two of Yuan Xuelan's favorite past times, only second to enacting revenge.

Back then, Liu Sumeng didn't understand the lengths Yuan Xuelan went through to obtain the Tiger Heart Amethyst but now he couldn't help but wonder if Yuan Xuelan had known that the Black Handed Warrior was, in fact, his mother. Yuan Xuelan didn't have many nice things to say about the mother that sold him off to the Chen family, but he never parted with the old beaded bracelet she gave him in his youth either. Liu Sumeng couldn't help but think that Yuan Xuelan had a rather complicated relationship with Cao Sanmei.

In his newer incarnation, someone was waiting at the gates for him when he arrived back at Wangyun Peak. Chen Anyue waved and beamed at him. "I had a feeling you'd come back around this time, could it be that we're connected by fate?"

Liu Sumeng was a little taken aback. He never remembered Chen Anyue being this bold! And after he had that chat with her at the village, this was the last thing he expected to hear from her.

Upon receiving a silent response, Chen Anyue chuckled nervously, her cheeks flushing pink, "Oh, was that perhaps a little bold of me? Forgive me. I…" her voice fell as she brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Liu Sumeng waited patiently for her to continue, "Until the day of our appointed joining I…will not give up!"

How was Liu Sumeng supposed to react to this!?

She looked up at him shyly and assessed his reaction. As expected, the Ivory Sword Saint appeared as stoic and silent as ever and was impossible for her to read. But Chen Anyue was a strong woman and refused to be deterred, "I understand your reservations. But I ask you of this…please, put off your thoughts and opinions about me for now. I… I want to grow some more. I want to see if I can become a woman that you can one day love."

No, Chen Anyue, you have this all wrong! But he couldn't say that. He couldn't tell her that she was still to him that gentle spring and a woman he cherished above all others. He would not take her from Yuan Xuelan this time. He would not curse her with the same wretched fate and a lukewarm love. Because Chen Anyue deserved the sun, and Liu Sumeng was but a shadow cast by bright noon rays.

"...Anyue-"

"Don't say anything!" she interrupted, "Please just give me this chance!"

And before Liu Sumeng could utter a single word, the poor girl had run off, face red, leaving a stunned Ivory Sword Saint in her wake. But he couldn't help but chuckle to himself because the silly girl didn't know that she didn't need to prove anything to him. She wasn't like this in his past life. He couldn't help but wonder how and why in this life things had changed.

There were disciples in the court, sweeping away the red and golden leaves that littered the ground. They stopped to greet him and with a bow, affectionate and respectful, "Second Young Master Liu."

But he'd been feeling nostalgic and the halls of Wangyun Peak melted into one of a Golden Palace. And where Wangyun Peak was awash with warmth the palace halls echoed mockingly after his steps, empty, silent, cold. People bowed to him but were too fearful to say his name even when they knew he could be kind, or at least kinder than the emperor. And perhaps he should have cursed such a place, cursed at the memories of his miserable past incarnation. But the palace too was a place he once called his home.

Liu Sumeng's destination was first his room, a bath was due to wash away the grime and the memories of the mess that was his trip to Boling. Ah, he wanted nothing more to cleanse his mind of the oddities he encountered there. He thought gloomily that he hadn't managed to improve his personality in the slightest. And then there was Chen Anyue who promised to change for his sake…

Weren't they the same? Driven by the desire to change for another. It was an odd thought that fluttered in his head. The screen door slid open and Liu Sumeng could tell his abode had been disturbed. He wasn't concerned, knowing Xu Hexian to often help himself to his private collection when Liu Sumeng wasn't around.

Something caught his eye, a small steaming bowl set on the table. Upon closer inspection there were two buns placed within, still warm.

Now that was definitely something that neither Liu Suye or Xu Hexian or anyone else in the Heavenly Sword Sect would do.

Liu Sumeng squinted and scrutinized it, wondering if perhaps it'd been a conjuring of his imagination. He cautiously picked up one soft bun, still hot. A subtle sweet fragrance invaded his nose and he couldn't help but wonder, was this some strange attempt to poison him?

Wearily, he couldn't help but perform a basic spell to check the toxicity of the food in front of him.

It seemed safe.

So he took a bite. Baiyun Hall Auntie's masterful cooking was delightful upon his tongue with the twang of sweetness and full creamy flavor without being overpowering. While he was still wrought with suspicion, Liu Sumeng couldn't help but feel pleased.

Just outside of Liu Sumeng's window, Yuan Xuelan cursed his own stupidity. He stood there frozen in an awkward pose, body leaning in to peer but head tilted away out of sight. His muscles strained, angry and groaning as he endured the strange position. Yet Yuan Xuelan didn't dare move, he didn't dare even take a single huff of breath, lest he be discovered with a stupid flushed face and a racing heart.

Dammit! This wouldn't do. A cowardly apology like this was out of his character. He didn't even know what he was thinking when he quickly collected the custard buns from Baiyun Hall when he heard the news of Second Young Master Liu's return.

This wasn't what he planned to do at all! But Yuan Xuelan was feeling uncertain and didn't really know how to approach Liu Sumeng with the odd gift he ended up preparing. He couldn't help but think that the Old Man Liu was lying to him! Argh… and yet he had spent the past two days, scouring the village markets like a desperate fool, even enlisting Chen Anyue for a more sophisticated, female eye.

And after all his efforts he was still plagued with doubt and awkwardness. Because who in their right mind would believe that the Ivory Sword Saint liked cute, embroidered handkerchiefs!

His vigilance faltered, the grass crunched beneath a soft step and Yuan Xuelan didn't even realize his mistake until it was too late. "What are you doing?"

Yuan Xuelan was going to vomit out his whole heart. How terrible! The Ivory Sword Saint poked his head out of the window, his countenance still and calm while Yuan Xuelan's was surely an embarrassing mess.

"...I was just passing by."

"Is that so?"

"Yup."

"..."