Chapter 10: Riverside Immortal (Part 4)
Burdened by her mother’s final instructions, Ni Su both longed to dream of her and feared doing so. Unable to sleep through the rest of the night, she packed her belongings, left a few pieces of silver and a note under the candlestick, picked up a lantern, led her horse, and quietly left Lady Jiang’s house.
The night road was difficult to navigate. Ni Su rode slowly, the spirit silently by her side, accompanying her through the faint, drifting mist.
Swaying gently on horseback, Ni Su’s lost sleepiness returned, her eyelids growing heavy. She forced herself to stay awake, shaking her head, then couldn’t resist glancing at him.
He looked very young, and his gait was graceful.
“How old were you… then?”
Xu Hexue’s half-closed eyes lifted slightly at her sudden question. Understanding what she meant by “then,” he raised the lone lamp in his hand and replied, “Nineteen.”
Ni Su was surprised. “Nineteen, and you…”
Her voice trailed off.
“What was the reason?”
Ni Su couldn’t imagine it. Nineteen should have been the prime of his life. Why had he died so young, wandering in Youdu?
Xu Hexue considered her question. He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know how you died?”
“No.”
The lamplight flickered, illuminating Xu Hexue’s clothes and shoes. He stared at them, then heard the rushing sound of a river. He looked up, the mountains dark against the shimmering water. “I don’t know why I died.”
Ni Su didn’t understand. She thought for a moment, then said, “Not even halfway through life… you must have many regrets.”
“Too much time has passed. I’ve forgotten many things,”
Xu Hexue said, his pale face shrouded in mist. “Now I only remember one.”
“Is it the old friend you’re looking for in the capital?”
Ni Su looked at the cloak he wore.
Xu Hexue met her gaze but didn’t answer.
“As we agreed, you’ll help me find my brother,” Ni Su said, holding the reins. Hearing the horse exhale, she stroked its mane. “And I’ll help you find your old friend, to fulfill your regret.”
The distant mountains shimmered faintly in the pre-dawn light. Xu Hexue silently observed the young woman on horseback. After a moment, he looked away and said softly, “You don’t need to do anything for me. Just keep the lamp lit for me.”
The flame in the lantern flickered and died. The sky turned a grayish blue. The river, hidden among the green trees to their right, was quiet. A stone bridge spanned the river. An old man leading an ox slowly approached from the other side. Pushing back his bamboo hat, he squinted and saw a figure on horseback approaching along the mountain path.
The horse’s hooves clopped softly. The young woman on its back nodded drowsily, swaying from side to side. The old man watched as the horse suddenly veered towards a grassy ditch. The dozing woman, caught off guard, slumped sideways and was about to fall.
The old man opened his mouth to shout, but then he saw her falling body seemingly caught by something.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he had imagined it. The young woman sat up straight in the saddle, blinking in confusion.
“Strange…”
The old man muttered, crossing the bridge and leading his ox down a path by the riverbank.
Ni Su suddenly felt her hands empty. She looked down and saw the hand holding the reins, pale and slender, the bones beneath the skin delicate and graceful.
There was someone behind her, but she couldn’t feel his breath. His embrace was cold, as cold as snow, as if freezing away her drowsiness.
He seemed to sense her awareness and pulled back slightly. “If you’re tired, sleep.”
Ni Su didn’t turn around. She looked at the bag, which should have been on her shoulder but was now hanging around the horse’s neck. She murmured in agreement. The remnants of her drowsiness, not yet entirely frozen away, lulled her into a peaceful sleep as the carriage swayed along the road.
It was the height of summer. Even though the sun had set and darkness had fallen, Qingzhou City was still sweltering. The innkeeper of the Song Yuan Inn sat behind the counter, clicking his abacus and occasionally wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Several waiters busied themselves lighting lanterns in the main hall. The innkeeper noticed a shadow on the counter and looked up to see a dust-covered young woman.
“Miss, are you looking for a room?” the innkeeper asked with a smile.
“Two rooms,”
Ni Su said, placing money on the counter.
Two rooms?
The innkeeper craned his neck, looking behind her, but saw no one else. “You seem to be alone, Miss,” he said, puzzled.
Ni Su paused, realizing she had almost forgotten that others couldn’t see Xu Zi Ling. “Oh,” she said, not correcting herself, “I’m waiting for a friend. He’ll arrive later.”
The innkeeper nodded. “Don’t worry, Miss. We have someone on duty in the hall all night. If your friend knocks, we’ll let him in.”
“Thank you.”
Ni Su replied curtly and followed the waiter upstairs.
After ordering a simple meal, Ni Su placed her bag on the bed, turned around, extinguished the candles in the room, and then relit them herself. She lit five candles in total, and as expected, the figure in the lamplight became more solid.
“If I light more candles, will you be visible to others for longer?” Ni Su asked, sitting down at the table and pouring herself a cup of tea.
Xu Hexue glanced at the lamps on the table and nodded slightly. “These are enough to sustain me for some time.”
He wasn’t incapable of appearing, but the more candles the summoner lit for him, the more solid his form became, until he was indistinguishable from an ordinary person.
“Then when you go to see your old friend, I’ll light a whole room full of candles for you,”
Ni Su said, resting her chin on her hand.
Xu Hexue looked up, then said after a moment, “You don’t actually need another room.”
“You’re a courteous gentleman, unwilling to share a room with me. If I don’t get another room, where will you stay tonight? Will you find another tree outside?”
Seeing his silence, Ni Su put down her teacup. “Xu Zi Ling, even as a ghost, you’re so humble and polite. How can I not treat you with the same courtesy? All the clues about my brother lie with you now. Please don’t refuse.”
She said this only to make it easier for Xu Hexue to accept her kindness.
He was so courteous and proper; he must have been someone of standing in his previous life. And as a wandering soul, wouldn’t he be even more lost without shelter?
After all, he had once been a living person.
“Thank you,”
Xu Hexue said after a long pause, lowering his eyes.
Having traveled all day, Ni Su was exhausted. Fortunately, the inn provided hot water, so she finally bathed and changed into clean clothes, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
In the quiet of the night, the waiter on duty struggled to stay awake. For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of light upstairs. He immediately opened his eyes and looked up. The candles in the unoccupied room were brightly lit, but the upstairs was silent, no sounds of anyone stirring.
The bored waiter remembered that he had fetched those candles for the young woman. Her friend hadn’t arrived yet, so he wondered why she had lit so many candles in an empty room.
A strange feeling settled over him. He yawned, hoping the night would pass quickly so he could go back to sleep.
Upstairs, the lantern swayed in the breeze. A faint mist drifted through the half-open door, solidifying into the form of a young man in the bright candlelight.
Xu Hexue silently observed the simple furnishings of the room. After a moment, he sat down on the edge of the bed and remained there quietly for a while, until he suddenly frowned.
He rolled up his left sleeve. The warm lamplight illuminated his pale arm. The unblemished skin, under his gaze, cracked and split, revealing a network of scars, like the marks of swords and knives.
Crimson blood flowed down his wrist and dripped onto the floor, instantly turning into shimmering dust that floated and dispersed.
Xu Hexue lowered his sleeve and touched the soft bedding. Tentatively, he lay down, just as he had many years ago, when he was still alive.
Shimmering dust swirled around him, then vanished.
He closed his eyes.
He heard the rustling of pine trees outside the window, the chirping of birds, and… a knock on the door.
Xu Hexue’s eyes snapped open.
He got up, walked over, and opened the door. A sleepy young woman stood outside, her long, dark hair loose, a few strands clinging to her cheeks. Hearing the door open, she blinked and looked at him.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Hexue asked.
“I forgot to ask… do you want to bathe?” Ni Su stifled a yawn, tears welling up in her eyes.
They had been traveling for days. He always looked clean; he must be very particular about hygiene.
Xu Hexue was taken aback, not expecting her to wake up in the middle of the night to ask him this.
“I…”
He considered his words. “I don’t need water.”
“You don’t need water? Then what do you use?” Ni Su’s sleepiness faded, her curiosity piqued.
Downstairs in the main hall, the waiter was fast asleep, snoring loudly.
Ni Su quietly went downstairs and slipped out into the inn’s backyard.
The full moon was partially hidden behind the eaves, but its silver light illuminated the courtyard. Ni Su saw Xu Hexue standing there, not wearing his cloak, his robes as white as snow.
Observed by the young woman in the walkway, a look of slight discomfort flickered in Xu Hexue’s cold eyes. He moved his fingers slightly, and Ni Su felt the moonlight in the courtyard become even more dreamlike.
It bathed him, and shimmering particles of light floated from his robes, faint and ethereal, even fainter than his shadow on the ground.
Ni Su couldn’t describe what she was seeing.
She almost thought she was dreaming.
Basking in the moonlight… was that all it took?
Ni Su stared in astonishment at the young man, or rather, the boyish figure, standing in the courtyard, his features refined and elegant.
Now, surrounded by a shimmering cloud of light, he seemed both distant and divine.
“You don’t look like a ghost at all,”
Ni Su said, walking over to him and reaching out to touch the shimmering particles. She looked up, not noticing the slight flicker of his eyelashes as her fingers brushed against a particle of light.
The furry, shimmering light on the ground wagged its tail.
“I think…”
Ni Su looked up at the night sky above the eaves. “…like the stars.”
