Three Steps: From Assassin to Empress - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Are We… a Couple?

The autumn light was faint, the river was clear, and the boat floated on the water. Nearby, the green water was winding, and in the distance, the green mountains were lush. The world was vast.

Ying Xiu sat kneeling at the bow. His dark hair flowed in the river wind, and the wisps of hair by his temples brushed against his cheek. The two golden ribbons in his hair floated gently.

The young man turned his head, revealing a pair of bright, clear eyes.

“Xie Zhou, it’s so cool here.” Ying Xiu turned his head to look at Xie Zhou while reaching out to stir the green water of the river, disturbing the reflection of the mountains in the water.

His slender fingertips became wet, like jade, and also like porcelain.

The fine scars on his hand were particularly noticeable, with some from knives, and some from swords, clearly reflected in the white-robed retainer’s eyes.

Xie Zhou didn’t ask where these wounds came from. As an assassin, getting hurt was to be expected.

But he inexplicably found them an eyesore. He reached out to Ying Xiu. Ying Xiu subconsciously handed his hand over and was grabbed by Xie Zhou. He lifted the golden robe, revealing a delicate white wrist.

The scars on it had faded, but the fine white lines were still etched on the skin, and they were very conspicuous.

Ying Xiu was startled that Xie Zhou would suddenly look at his arm. He wanted to pull his hand away, but he found that the other’s palm was completely motionless and could not be shaken in the slightest.

To be fair, Xie Zhou’s hand was very beautiful, well-proportioned and long, with clear joints. Under the pale skin, prominent blue veins pulsed. Just a light grip on his wrist, and the raised knuckles slightly sank into his skin, making him unable to move.

So close…

Ying Xiu was inexplicably flustered. While he secretly struggled to pull his hand out, he pretended to be calm and explained, “These were all from accidental falls. When I was little, I grew up in the mountains and often fell down…”

He fell and got sword wounds, knife wounds, and marks from a passing arrowhead.

The other person was holding his wrist, quietly looking down at him. His dark, cold eyes were calm, and it was impossible to tell if he believed him or not.

Feeling a little intimidated by Xie Zhou’s gaze, Ying Xiu was the first to give up. He intentionally changed the subject: “The first time we met, you said you wanted to see how I could cross the Yuan River with my light-foot skill. Why don’t I show you now?”

They had met in early autumn, and now it was late autumn, with the winter solstice approaching.

The young man secretly used more force, trying to pull his hand back. Before he could try harder, Xie Zhou suddenly let go. His gaze fell on the red marks on Ying Xiu’s wrist, his eyes dark with an unknown thought.

Ying Xiu quickly put down his robe, covering his arm completely. The flowing golden sleeve fell, completely concealing his slightly reddened wrist.

He muttered in his heart, “How can Xie Zhou’s hand be so strong? He’s more powerful than me, an assassin.”

It seemed he was also good material for being an assassin.

A few egrets were dotted here and there on the Yuan River. The water was like a mirror, and in the next moment, a faint ripple suddenly spread—

The young man nimbly leaped over the bow. His toes touched the surface of the water, and his golden sleeve billowed like a passing wind and a returning snow.

He walked on the river’s surface as if he were walking on flat ground.

There was a large river between heaven and earth, and a young man came and went freely on the river.

The boatman at the bow was so shocked that he almost lost his grip on the oar. His mouth hung open, and he stared blankly at this scene.

The white-robed retainer stood tall at the bow, watching the egrets and mandarin ducks scatter, their wings flapping. The shimmering river water slowly undulated. The young man was having so much fun.

—”Never tired of seeing the green mountains, how long can the joy of flowing water be?”

He suddenly remembered this line of poetry.

The long wind blew Xie Zhou’s snow-white, cold robes, making his sleeves billow like snow and causing the chaotic clouds to stack up.

He still stood quietly in the boat, in the light and color of the river, unmoving.

He bent down and placed the frightened little egret on the back of the big egret. Ying Xiu patted his hands in satisfaction and looked back at the boat.

He saw the retainer standing at the bow, cool, solemn, and standing alone in the boat, like an eternal bright moon.

Ying Xiu crossed the water and went straight for his bright moon.

The young man stepped back onto the boat, his posture light. The golden ribbon in his hair swayed back and forth, shimmering with golden light, which was very dazzling.

“Xie Zhou!” Ying Xiu called out to him, his eyes bright. He turned in a circle in front of Xie Zhou. His robes spread out like a flower, clinking and clanking.

Beautiful and proud, like a golden crane with its head held high, showing off its feathers to people.

“Did you see that just now? I was flying back and forth on the river. This light-foot skill is not something an ordinary person can learn.” Ying Xiu muttered, his face full of pride.

The young man was agile and a little naive, proud and self-assured, waiting for the other person to praise him with all his heart.

The boatman who had witnessed all this lowered his head silently. The young benefactor, in his youthful spirit, showed off his light-foot skill on the water in front of the person he liked, crossing the river, just hoping for a word of praise from the other.

That cool and indifferent white-robed gentleman had been watching the young benefactor quietly for a long time, almost without blinking.

The two seemed both intimate and distantly polite. The atmosphere was extremely strange. They seemed to be only one step away, yet also separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

They had not yet realized the true meaning of the word “love.”

“Very impressive. I have never seen such excellent light-foot skill.” Xie Zhou’s voice was as gentle and calm as ever. It sounded in his ears, but it made Ying Xiu’s face suddenly turn red.

He couldn’t see his face redden. He only knew that his cheeks were a little hot, so hot that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

He wanted Xie Zhou to praise him, but when he actually heard the other person’s praise, he felt so embarrassed that he didn’t dare to look Xie Zhou in the eye.

“—Really?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Ying Xiu realized he had asked a very stupid question. He carefully lifted his long eyelashes, secretly observing Xie Zhou’s reaction.

“Of course it’s true,” Xie Zhou’s voice was very soft. He evaluated him: “Like a crane.”

An agile crane, born among the river’s waves, unrestrained.

Although he was not bound by a rope, he was willing to fly back into his hand.

Like a crane?

Thinking of the two egrets, one big and one small, snuggling together, Ying Xiu took it as Xie Zhou complimenting him. He hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to talk about his life: “I grew up in the mountains. My father taught me my light-foot skill. He told me since I was little that if I encountered danger, I had to run fast enough and not linger.”

It was a bit funny to say. He had learned his light-foot skill just to escape faster when he was in danger.

He remembered that when he was little, he was always running away, from one mountain to another. As long as there was a little sign of human life nearby, his father would take him and move into a deeper part of the mountains.

The news from the Hanging Mirror Bureau stated that Ying Xiu was a refugee from another region. In the eighth year of Yongning, he saved Wang Shouzhen and then temporarily stayed at the Wang family of Langya’s residence in Guangling, Xuzhou, for two years. After that, he became an assassin.

As for where Ying Xiu was and what he was doing before the eighth year of Yongning, there were no traces to be found.

Seeing him bring it up on his own, Xie Zhou’s eyes flickered, and he asked calmly, “Where is your father now?”

Ying Xiu shook his head, his gaze becoming a little dim. That year, in order to save Jiànxīn, he injured someone with his wooden sword. His father saw it and scolded him for not saving these aristocratic children, and even more so, for not coming into contact with people from the outside world. He was then driven down the mountain.

He was only thirteen years old that year.

Xie Zhou did not ask any more questions.

For a moment, the two sat quietly in the boat, listening to the sound of the waves, the water, and the wind on the Yuan River, as well as the sound of egrets flapping their wings in the sky.

Faint clouds drifted from a distance, slowly covering the clear sky. A drop of rain landed on the river, stirring up a circle of water.

The wind blew, gently shaking the pointed eaves of the boat. The drizzle was as fine as silk, lightly brushing against the small boat.

The autumn rain was soft and dense. The rain was not visible to the naked eye. One could only see a vast fog on the river’s surface, and the world was suddenly covered in a blanket of white mist.

Raindrops slid down the young man’s delicate face and into his collar, making it wet and soft. It clung to his collarbone, outlining the slight contours of his muscles and bones.

He finally came to his senses and, covered in rain, ducked into the boat’s canopy, beckoning Xie Zhou to come in as well.

The canopy was not very large. With two people in it, it felt a bit cramped. Ying Xiu and Xie Zhou sat facing each other. He suddenly poked his head out and called for the boatman to come in to avoid the rain as well.

The boatman had already put on his raincoat and bamboo hat. He waved his hand at Ying Xiu’s invitation and firmly refused.

He couldn’t stand between two lovers.

Seeing that the boatman was not willing to come in, Ying Xiu did not force him and just sat back in the canopy.

The canopy was dim. The rain slanted in from both sides, landing on the wet floor.

In the silence, the sound of rain was a steady patter.

“Thump—”

Something suddenly slipped out of Ying Xiu’s robe. It was a scroll of bamboo slips that slid onto the wet floor of the boat and came to a stop in front of Xie Zhou.

Ying Xiu quickly bent down to pick it up. Xie Zhou had already picked it up and was about to hand it back to Ying Xiu when he suddenly paused. His gaze fell on the title of the scroll.

—No Discussion of Love.

An easily misunderstood title, and Ying Xiu carried it with him.

Xie Zhou held the scroll and slowly untied the ribbon in front of the young man. The scroll unfurled section by section, revealing the illustrations on it.

…

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

Ying Xiu was completely unaware. He reached out to take it back, not forgetting to explain: “I found this in the Sea Chest Pavilion. It seems to teach sword moves, but they are all for two people, not for one.”

Of course, there were no single-person moves. If they were single-person, they would be called…

Xie Zhou held a corner of the scroll firmly, with no intention of returning it to Ying Xiu. He looked down at him and questioned, “Why do you carry it with you?”

Who did he learn this from? And who was trying to lead Ying Xiu astray?

If he found out—

The retainer’s violent thoughts were interrupted by the young man’s clear voice. “Speaking of this scroll, I have a question I want to ask you.”

Ying Xiu subconsciously leaned toward Xie Zhou, his face a little uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, his fingers gripped a corner of the scroll, and his delicate white fingers blocked the vividly illustrated patterns.

“This book tells the story of two young men who get to know and promise themselves to each other. From youth to old age, they live under one roof every day, eat together, and practice together…”

The young man’s voice trembled with nervousness. Although he did not fully understand the meaning of the book No Discussion of Love, he could vaguely sense how shocking the words he was about to say were.

“The book says,” Ying Xiu took a deep breath, “that they are called a couple.”

At this point, he paused, seemingly wanting to see Xie Zhou’s reaction. If the other person showed even a hint of a negative reaction, he would immediately retreat and never bring it up again.

Xie Zhou just looked at him quietly.

Perhaps a moment passed, or perhaps a whole quarter of an hour. In the world, the wind and rain had all stopped.

Ying Xiu finally heard Xie Zhou say softly, “Go on.”