Meanwhile...
On the other side of the academy walls, Joye Gan sat in her quiet chamber, honing the edge of her blade with focused precision.
The room was dim, silent....save for the crisp whisper of steel against stone.
Suddenly, the door creaked open....soft, almost secretive.
Shu Bi Suan tiptoed inside, shoes in his hand and two swords strapped across his back like an assassin not armed with steel....
but with mischief.
He sauntered over to the table without a word, placed his sword against it, and sat down in his usual impish manner.
Joye Gan scowled, her eyes blazing.
"You're using the door again?! How many times have I told you not to come through the front?!"
She scolded him for what felt like forever, her voice stern, her demeanor unyielding.
But Shu Bi Suan, ever unbothered, merely scratched his ear, half-listening with that mischievous grin that said this is our routine, isn't it?
Being scolded by Joye... was almost a part of his daily life.
Eventually, her stormy fury began to calm..
And just like a thundercloud drifting away to reveal the serene sky, her face softened.
That rigid exterior melted into a gentle bloom ....
Light and lively as wildflowers in the high valleys.
She finally sighed and said in a softer, affectionate voice,
"You do realize… sneaking into someone else's room at night is strictly forbidden, don't you? It's against the academy rules.
I told you to come through the window instead...
But never mind. Thank the heavens no one saw you.
Just… be more careful next time."
Her words echoed gently in the room, and then once again silence fell.
The kind of silence that doesn't suffocate.....
but holds space for understanding.
They both sat still.
And then
Joye's eyes grew distant, soft. A quiet sadness spread across her face like twilight over snow.
In a voice cracked with emotion, she asked:
"Your brother...
How is he?"
At the mention of his brother, Shu Bi Suan lit up as though someone had ignited stars inside him.
Wings of joy unfurled in his heart.
He smiled the kind of smile that could heal wounds
The kind that only surfaces when one speaks of someone they cherish more than anything else in the world.
He spoke with pride and reverence:
"I don't know where he is right now...
But wherever he is, I know he'll return to me.
He promised me he would."
The moment she heard that he was happy..
Joye broke down.
Tears burst forth like a dam long denied.
She wept with the kind of pain that only comes from a soul both shattered and restored all at once.
Her sobs were raw, unfiltered...
like thunder cracking through her chest.
Yet she smiled through it, watching Shu Bi Suan with a trembling heart.
Shu Bi Suan rushed to her side, utterly stunned.
He held her gently, trying to comfort her,
but perhaps the weight she bore in her heart was too great to be soothed so easily.
She laughed and wept all at once
As though joy and sorrow were two rivers that had long since merged.
And then, with tear-filled eyes, she whispered:
"I'm so happy today... for you, Lao Duan.
I just can't hold myself back anymore...
You finally found the one you were searching for."
Shu Bi Suan could no longer watch his sister like this.
His own eyes welled up...his heart melting like wax before a sacred flame.
He held her hand tighter and said with all the love in his soul:
"No, Sister Wuzu…
Please don't cry.
Grandmaster Yu Sui made me a promise…
And you did too
You promised to look after me.
That's more than enough for me.
With your love and his…
This life, and even the death that came before it,
have all been worth it.
Please...
don't cry anymore."