Qixue had considered many methods for faking his death during this time, but he ultimately decided that “dying” in a great fire would be the most inconspicuous and feasible option.
Given that he had once gone missing for an entire month in the past, His Majesty and the others had not believed he was dead. This time, to make them all believe he was truly gone, they needed to see his “corpse” with their own eyes—and a charred fake body would be the hardest to expose.
Qixue planned to start preparing for his fake death from that day onward, but some matters were beyond his own power to accomplish. He needed the Holy Monarch’s assistance.
—
Half a month later.
The peak of summer gradually passed, and the weather in the mountains grew cooler day by day. With abundant rainfall, it rained every two or three days, bringing a distinct autumn chill.
In previous years, such cool mountain air without charcoal fires in the Summer Palace would have left Helan Ji, with his frail constitution, bedridden with illness. Yet the imperial physicians were astonished to discover that Helan Ji’s debilitated body had fully recovered. Not only had his chronic ailments vanished, but his physique was now even stronger than that of an ordinary person—comparable to a seasoned martial general.
The physicians offered their congratulations, praising him as the True Dragon Emperor blessed by the heavens. Only Qixue knew this was Xuan Yang’s doing; Xuan Yang had kept his promise and healed Helan Ji’s body.
Even so, with his old illnesses cured, Helan Ji’s hair remained as white as snow, with no new black strands growing in.
In Helan Ji’s view, his recovery was entirely thanks to Qixue. It wasn’t just the Dual Cultivation Technique; in the past, he had often been weighed down by worries and overthinking, but ever since Qixue had stayed by his side, he felt serene and content, his mood relaxed, and his body naturally healthy.
Helan Ji sat at his desk reviewing memorials, with the soft Rabbit Tuan sprawled on his lap. He stroked its fur gently, one pat at a time, and when it felt good, it coquettishly licked the pad of his finger with its small mouth.
He stayed like this with Helan Ji for an entire afternoon. When Helan Ji remained still, so did he, perfectly obedient and quiet.
It wasn’t until evening, when Helan Ji finished all his documents, that he lowered his gaze to Rabbit Tuan on his lap and asked warmly, “Yuan Yuan, you’ve been keeping me company like this these past few days without doing anything. Don’t you get bored?”
“Of course not.”
Rabbit Tuan lifted its black grape-like eyes and nuzzled Helan Ji’s palm. “Being by His Majesty’s side makes me happier than anything. I love staying with His Majesty.”
Helan Ji gently stroked Rabbit Tuan’s little head, but soon the serenity in his brows faded, replaced by a trace of worry. “Yuan Yuan, have you been hiding something from me lately?”
Rabbit Tuan’s ears twitched slightly. “What’s wrong, Your Majesty? Have I been acting strange?”
“You might not have noticed yourself, but you occasionally sigh. I suspect you have something on your mind.”
Helan Ji cradled Rabbit Tuan in his palm and lifted it to eye level, gazing into its eyes. “I won’t force you to tell me everything, but if you have any troubles, you must let me know. I’ll share the burden with you.”
“Your Majesty…”
Rabbit Tuan truly hadn’t noticed its own sighs. It had been trying so hard to conceal them, but His Majesty knew it too well. With them spending every day together, it was hard to hide from his eyes.
He felt both touched and a little panicked. He couldn’t reveal the truth to His Majesty, but if he said nothing, His Majesty would pay even more attention to him, making it harder to act without notice.
“Actually… I just miss Seventh Brother a little.”
He said it in a somewhat embarrassed tone. “Seventh Brother is out on the border exterminating the Man-Eating Demons—it’s so dangerous. I’m worried he’ll get hurt. But I didn’t want to make Your Majesty jealous, so I didn’t mention it. Please don’t be mad…”
He acted cute and silly in Helan Ji’s palm, rolling back and forth to muddle through with his adorableness.
Besides, he wasn’t lying—he did worry about Wei Huai’s safety… though only a little, because he knew Wei Huai swept through armies on the battlefield. Even without intelligence, the Man-Eating Demons would flee at the scent of him, their fear ingrained in their instincts.
Rabbit Tuan wasn’t sure if Helan Ji bought it, but at least he didn’t press further. “It’s fine. I understand your concern, Yuan Yuan. Reports from the army say all is well on the front lines. No need to worry too much.”
“I understand.” Rabbit Tuan said sweetly. “Besides, even if the sky falls, Your Majesty will hold it up for me. I have nothing to fear.”
Helan Ji lightly tapped its nose. “Exactly.”
“By the way, I have a gift for Your Majesty.”
Rabbit Tuan pulled a plush rabbit about its own size from the Sleeve Universe and carried it to the desk in its mouth. “I made it myself, using my own fur.”
He had finished all the plush rabbits. The ones for Helan Ji were a large and small pair, nestled closely together—the small one symbolizing Rabbit Tuan from the year they first met, the large one from after their reunion.
The sound recordings in these two plush rabbits were different. Qixue had left many, many messages for Helan Ji—more than for the other three combined. He couldn’t help it; he was just that biased toward his Majesty.
Helan Ji naturally loved the gift from Rabbit Tuan.
“I always knew you were clever with your hands, Yuan Yuan, but you’re even more ingenious than I imagined.”
Helan Ji examined the plush rabbit closely, listening to the recordings repeatedly. A faint smile softened his usually aloof features, his delight in the gift plain to see.
But he was also concerned about Rabbit Tuan. “You said these two plush rabbits are made from your fur. Does it hurt when you gather it?”
“It doesn’t hurt. I shed fur every day—these are all naturally fallen hairs.”
Rabbit Tuan’s heart warmed. No matter the time, His Majesty’s top priority was always his health and happiness.
With His Majesty loving him so deeply, he had to love him back just as much. Every sacrifice was worth it—even if it meant losing his freedom forever.
—
Naturally, he had two more plush rabbits to give: one to Ji Yuheng and one to Xie Shu.
The plush rabbit for Ji Yuheng wore a tiny jade bracelet, symbolizing the one Ji Yuheng had given Qixue. Qixue couldn’t carve jade, so this small bracelet was made with the Transformation Technique. Decades later, when the Demon Power within it depleted, it would revert to stone.
Qixue calculated the days and realized with disappointment that he had no time to return to Shangjing for a final meeting with Ji Yuheng. He had once promised him they would see each other again soon, but now that promise would go unfulfilled.
Truth be told, Qixue wasn’t one to always keep his promises—he often relied on lies and deception to achieve his goals. But this time was different; he truly wanted to see Ji Yuheng one last time, but sadly, that wish couldn’t come true.
Qixue wrote Ji Yuheng a thick letter detailing his life from childhood onward, sparing no details. He also introduced his homeland, Dali Mountain—from its customs and people to family and friends. All those warm memories went into the letter.
He wanted to leave Ji Yuheng with a sense of warmth, not have him wracked with heartbreak after his “death,” tormenting himself endlessly in pain for the rest of his life.
Two days later, Luxiangqiu brought back Ji Yuheng’s reply—a thick letter of her own, along with a scroll painting.
Ji Yuheng wrote that he loved the plush rabbit Qixue sent and carried it everywhere—on his desk during the day for handling state affairs, by his pillow at night to fall asleep to its recordings.
In return, he shared his own past in the letter. Qixue had read much of it in the original novel, but from Ji Yuheng’s perspective, it was still engaging, and he read it with great interest.
Finally, Ji Yuheng mentioned the scroll: a painting he had begun long ago and just finished these past two days, as his gift in return.
Qixue unrolled it to find the Moonlit Beauty Portrait. The beauty was, of course, himself, cradling a white rabbit that resembled his true form.
Ji Yuheng’s brushwork was masterful, infused with his deep emotions and effort. The painting was vivid and lifelike, capturing the essence perfectly—even Qixue was momentarily entranced by his depicted self, then utterly amazed upon snapping out of it.
Looking closer, he noticed a firefly perched on the beauty’s shoulder.
In the letter, Ji Yuheng wrote that he was like the firefly in the painting, while Qixue was the bright moon in the sky—pure, radiant, eternally illuminating him. His own light was small, but he strove to reflect Qixue’s glow, hoping to bring him even a bit of brightness.
