The familiar voice from behind was enough for Rao Zhengsheng to instantly sheathe his sword, recognizing it as Xue Horan's. Still stunned and bewildered by the knowledge that Xue Horan had somehow escaped the bottomless cliff, he nonetheless felt a surge of overwhelming relief. He quickly spun around, covering the distance in two steps, and pulled Xue Horan tightly into his arms. "How did you get here?" he demanded, his voice thick with confusion and emotion.
Xue Horan, who was as confused as him about their location, replied, "We accidentally found a tunnel, which led us here." He looked around the burnt-down structure. "Da shixiong, what is this place?"
Rao Zhengsheng answered softly, "Rao Manor." He looked intensely at Xue Horan. "Hoa'er, why?"
Xue Horan asked in confusion, "Why? What?"
Rao Zhengsheng's grip tightened. "Why did you decide to stay down there?"
"I don't know, I think it's for the best," Xue Horan replied vaguely, unwilling to elaborate on Dong Shun's political advice.
Rao Zhengsheng explained their immediate peril. "We were going to come and find you, but Cao Wenyan heard that Cao Yanmei had come to rescue us, so he came. We had to hide here first." He held Xue Horan's hands tenderly. "Hao'er, you don't have to listen to Dong shushu, he can't make decisions for me."
Xue Horan gently pulled away his hands, took a step back, and stood beside Yongzheng. "I know. He didn't force me to stay. I asked for his opinion, and I decided to stay." He smiled and looked at Yongzheng, the bond between them visible. "But we accidentally found a tunnel that led us here."
Rao Zhengsheng looked from Xue Horan to Yongzheng, his frustration boiling over. "Diwei!"
Yongzheng's eyes flashed with cold anger. "My name is not Diwei. You can call me by any name, but you can't call me by that name."
Rao Zhengsheng tried to appeal to his conscience. "Yongzheng, don't be angry with Dong shushu. When you jumped off the cliff, his heart was broken."
Rao Zhengsheng led Yongzheng and Xue Horan into a small, secure room. Sitting inside were Dong Shun, Dong Lanying, and Yuan Xiurong. The three of them were understandably shocked to see Yongzheng and Xue Horan standing there, safe after the dramatic double jump off the cliff.
Dong Shun quickly asked, concern mixed with awe, "How did you two get out?"
Yongzheng's response was sharp. "You have lived down there for almost twenty years, don't you know there is a secret passage?"
"I don't know there is a passage below," Dong Shun asserted, genuinely surprised. He looked intently at the two. "Did you two find anything below?"
"A lot of skeletons," Yongzheng replied somberly. He looked pointedly at Dong Shun. "Do you know why there are so many skeletons below, all of adults and children?"
Dong Shun shook his head; his eyes clouded with uncertainty. "I don't know," he replied. "The only person who might have known would be your father, but I'm not even sure he was aware of this secret passage here in the Rao Manor."
Yuan Xiurong spoke up, already planning for the future. "Rao gege, when we rebuild the Rao Manor, we should give those people down there a proper burial."
Rao Zhengsheng nodded solemnly in agreement.
Yongzheng asked, "When are we leaving this place?"
Rao Zhengsheng looked determined. "I am not running away anymore."
Xue Horan, mindful of their resources, pointed out, "Da shixiong, it will cost a lot of money to rebuild this manor."
Yuan Xiurong smiled, radiating confidence. "Don't worry, I have already sent a message to my father, and he will come soon."
Well past midnight, Yongzheng and Xue Horan sought out the highest point, settling onto the dark, cooling roof tiles. The air was crisp and still, carrying only the faint scent of pine and distant smoke. As they sat, the world beneath them was a patchwork of soft shadows, but their attention was fixed entirely on the immense sky, where the Milky Way spilled across the darkness in a dazzling, silent spectacle.
"I don't know that Rao Manor has such a good view of the starry sky," Xue Horan murmured. He turned to Yongzheng. "Yongzheng, this is the fourth time we've watched stars together."
Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan and smiled faintly. "Horan, do you want to ask me why I don't like the name Diwei?"
"Let me know when you're ready," Xue Horan replied, giving him space.
Yongzheng took a deep breath, the time for secrets finally over. "There was a four-year-old boy named Xie Diwei."
"What happened to him?" Xue Horan asked, sensing the gravity of the confession.
"He died," Yongzheng said, his eyes now holding the painful memory. He looked directly at Xue Horan. "I killed him."
Xue Horan was shocked into silence. After a moment, he managed to ask, "Why?"
"Do you remember when we were on Butterfly Island, Cao Fengge and the man in black called me by what name?" Yongzheng asked, referencing his past.
Xue Horan concentrated, trying to recall the frightening moment. "I don't remember."
"Number One," Yongzheng sighed, his voice heavy with the weight of that title. He looked at Xue Horan, knowing the devastating nature of the truth he was about to reveal would surely invite judgment. But he also knew that for a clean slate, a fresh start, there could be no more secrets between them.
He looked away from Xue Horan and refocused his eyes on the distant stars, beginning his confession. "Many years ago, there was an organization called the Men of Thousand Faces. The people in this organization were all master assassins, doing things that others dared not do, killing those others were afraid to kill. Inside the organization, these top one hundred famous assassins have no name—they only have numbers. They strove constantly to climb the ranks and reach the very top." He paused, the memory raw.
"Xie Diwei's father, Xie Changpu, was the fifth top assassin in the organization. His name was Number Five. One day, a rich man came and hired an assassin to kill the Yao family. The job was given to Number Five. But when Number Five met the Yao daughter, he fell in love with her. He changed his name to Xie Changpu, married her, and fled the organization. Fifteen years later, the new head of the organization found Number Five and his family. The new leader went to the Xie Manor and killed the entire Xie Family. He ordered his ten followers to burn the Xie Manor to the ground."
Xue Horan's face was etched with horror. "Why? He has already run away, why wouldn't the organization let him go?"
Yongzheng's reply was grim. "Because once you become a member of the organization, you are a member for life."
Xue Horan connected the pieces. "Xie Changpu's name was Number Five, what did they call the chief?"
Yongzheng closed his eyes and sighed, the word a self-inflicted wound. "Number One."
"It makes sense," Xue Horan conceded, but his judgment was clear. "But this Number One is too heartless."
Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan, a flicker of pain in his eyes. "Do you think so?"
"He shouldn't kill so many people," Xue Horan asserted.
Yongzheng pressed the counterpoint. "If he was raised among ruthless people before he learned how to speak, would you still call him ruthless?"
"I don't think so," Xue Horan admitted, softening his judgment. "I think it depends on the environment in which he grew up."
Yongzheng explained the mechanics of his past life. "To Number One, the people he killed are like objects. But Xie Diwei's last words before his death changed Number One's heart."
"What did he say?"
Yongzheng repeated the haunting words, "If you bully me, aren't you afraid, your mother will scold at you?' But Xie Diwei didn't know that Number One has no mother or father. He was raised as an animal and kept in a cage. He was trained as an assassin since he can remember."
Xue Horan asked gently, "What happened to Number One?"
Yongzheng met his gaze, his voice final. "He has been dead for a long time. His last mission was to kill the son of some general, but he failed because he met a Taoist. The holy Taoist opened his eyes with wisdom, and he decided to become a Taoist. He destroyed the organization to repent his mistakes. He tries to do as many good deeds as possible, so when he goes to hell, maybe his punishment will lessen."
"Yongzheng, how do you know so much in detail about this organization, when many martial artists don't know anything about it?" Xue Horan asked, bewildered by the clarity and intimacy of the story.
Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan, his expression heavy with sorrow and self-loathing. "Horan, because... I am Number One."
Xue Horan was profoundly taken aback. His lips began shaking as he stared at Yongzheng, feeling a confusing mix of pity for his tragic past and raw fear of the demon standing before him. He swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he repeated the terrible truth. "You are Number One?"
When Yongzheng's eyes fell upon Xue Horan's innocent face, he saw not love, but the same look of disgust and terror that all the people he had killed stared at him with before they died. Yongzheng knew the moment he confessed his dark secret, Xue Horan's view of him had irrevocably changed.
Yongzheng stood up abruptly, the raw truth tearing him apart. "Rao Zhengsheng's shushu was right. No matter how I deny it, I am still the bloodthirsty demon in human skin." He jumped off the roof tiles and started walking toward his room, his voice strained with finality. "You are also right too. In reality, you can never choose me, nor should you choose me."