Chapter 146: The Moon in the Sky and the Moon in the Water

“Sir has been getting busier and busier lately…”

As night fell, the evening breeze turned into a soft whisper, brushing through every corner of the room before slipping out the window in a clash of air currents. Outside the window, a particularly bright full moon shone, so luminous that it overshadowed the stars, leaving the sky dominated solely by the moon.

In the quiet night, with the full moon reigning supreme, the young girl, after covering Xu Xi with a coat, stood beside him, quietly gazing at his face. As her eyes blinked, looking at Xu Xi’s face and figure, Wu Yingxue recalled the past six months.

After uncovering the truth about the Thirteen Provinces of the Great Qian Dynasty, Xu Xi chose not to reveal it. Firstly, it would cause panic among the people, leading to chaos without any positive outcome. Secondly, it might alert the demons and monsters of the Ten Thousand Mountains, causing the breakout plan to fail before it even began.

Thus, over the past six months, Xu Xi only shared specific information about the demons with a few trusted individuals like A Niu. For the rest of the populace, he subtly influenced them, gradually increasing their acceptance of the harsh reality. When the time was ripe, he would make the final revelation.

In places unseen by others, Xu Xi silently planned everything, preparing for the future breakout from the Ten Thousand Mountains, an extremely arduous task. Wu Yingxue helped, but she felt her role was limited. Most tasks required Xu Xi’s assistance to be truly accomplished.

“If I become more outstanding, can Sir rest well?” Wu Yingxue thought, her tone tinged with melancholy. It was dissatisfaction with her own inadequacy. Driven by this dissatisfaction, the girl sat at the other end of the desk, picking up documents related to civilian farming, thinking to help with some of the work.

“Hmm… first this, then that.”

She flipped through, reviewed, and pondered seriously, pen in hand, chin propped. Once she figured out the answers, Wu Yingxue made annotations and marks. Time flew by unnoticed during these serious moments, and when the girl came to her senses, she realized much time had passed.

The feeling was subtle, like moist, smooth fingertips with droplets falling, unconsciously forming a puddle.

“Does Sir spend every day like this? Doesn’t he find it dull?”

Wu Yingxue muttered to herself.

She put down the pen and paper, rubbed her cheeks with both hands, then patted them, trying to wake her drowsy mind.

“Come on, Yingxue! Sir is so hardworking, how can you slack off!”

“Eeek~~” The girl stretched in place, twisted her left shoulder, then her right, and finally picked up the pen again, adopting a diligent and studious demeanor, looking quite amusing.

But as she wrote, her eyes reflected the flickering candlelight, its shadow falling on Xu Xi’s face. The girl gazed at this scene, her thoughts wandering.

She thought of the Ten Thousand Mountains, Qingniu Town, and everything from the past.

…

Since childhood, Wu Yingxue always felt she was special. She believed herself stronger than most girls, even surpassing boys, diligent and talented. Though she never voiced it, the girl, the princess, always harbored dreams of being a “savior hero.”

She firmly believed that her special self could save the nation and its people, revered and praised by all. But a变故 years ago shattered that naive hero dream. Wu Yingxue didn’t become a savior hero; instead, she became a fugitive wanted by the Great Qian Dynasty. The sudden turn of events was too much to accept.

Ah…

Just recalling it made her chest feel tight, as if her neck was being strangled, suffocating.

“…” Wu Yingxue’s pen stopped, unconsciously twirling the pen, appearing distracted.

The shattering of her dream and the harsh reality were too cruel for her at that time. She wasn’t a naturally resilient deity, unable to ignore setbacks.

In the end, the young heroine was no different from others, just privileged from a young age, living in a noble family, hence the series of unrealistic fantasies. When she lost that identity and shed the external光环, the girl named Wu Yingxue was just as mortal as anyone else.

This was the first thing Xu Xi taught her.

“If it weren’t for Sir, I might have died long ago,” the girl was clumsy, only skilled in martial arts, and the little administrative work she knew was learned after meeting Xu Xi.

Her not-so-bright mind remembered many things about Xu Xi.

There were walks under the starry sky.

New Year’s blessings.

Paper flowers folded together.

These things, these experiences, taken individually, weren’t particularly profound. But when combined, they formed an invisible path, with two people on it: Xu Xi and Wu Yingxue.

As their steps rose and fell, emotions settled with time, flowing quietly, gently passing by.

The two walked the same path, moving towards the future together.

“What is my relationship with Sir…” In the empty room, the girl looked at the weary face, suddenly frowning in deep thought.

Was it a master-disciple relationship?

It didn’t seem so.

She had never formally become his disciple; their relationship was very casual, far from the hierarchy between teacher and student.

Then, was it a romantic relationship between opposite sexes?

Not entirely either.

Wu Yingxue had seen many couples, and their ways of interaction were clearly different from hers and Xu Xi’s.

In her deep contemplation, the girl suddenly recalled a term she heard from Xu Xi long ago: 【Dao Companion】.

Companions with shared aspirations, walking the same path, supporting each other forward.

Wu Yingxue felt this description was somewhat close.

“Sir said that Dao Companions can also be called Dao Partners, it sounds quite interesting…”

Pfft.

The girl covered her mouth, chuckling.

Looking at the deeply sleeping Xu Xi, she suddenly thought that the character for “friend” (朋) is made up of two “moons” (月).

When talking about two moons, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic tale of the moon in the sky and the moon in the water.

“I feel like Sir is the moon in the sky.”

“And I am the accompanying moon in the water…”

The moon in the sky, warm and bright.

The moon in the water, hiding its light within.

The moon in the sky reflects the moon in the water.

The moon in the water mirrors the moon in the sky.

Sky and water merge, moons reflecting each other.

Water, originally empty, in reflecting the moon, takes on the moon’s form, filling the void.

Isn’t that interesting?

Wu Yingxue clutched the fabric at her chest, feeling the unease and anxiety about the future, her fingers gradually tightening.

She whispered to herself:

“We must survive, Sir.”