Later that night, Ye Cheng returned. His steps were heavy, and his expression darker than usual. He didn't speak as he entered, he just sat at the table where Bai Jing had set food aside.
Bai Jing hesitated, then asked softly: "How was the guild today?"
Ye Cheng didn't answer. He lifted his chopsticks and ate. His silence was suffocating, but Bai Jing endured it.
After a while, Ye Cheng finally spoke, but his tone was sharp: "That herb you burned under the fish. What is it called?"
Bai Jing blinked: "Just… a useless plant I found. It helps with the smell."
Ye Cheng's eyes narrowed, as he studied him. The sword spirit's voice echoed in his head: He's hiding something.
"Where did you learn that?" Ye Cheng asked again.
Bai Jing shifted uncomfortably: "I… just tried it. It worked."
Ye Cheng's gaze lingered, as though trying to pierce through his soul. Finally, he looked away and said aloofly: "Keep making it."
Bai Jing lifted his eyebrows. Was that… an order?
Ye Cheng didn't say anything else. After he was done eating, he got up and retreated to his room with clenched fits beneath his sleeves.
Although he didn't admit it, he hated the thought of needing Bai Jing. Especially after what the other party had done to him. Yet, deep down, he couldn't deny the truth that this was his only hop right now.
For the first time, he wondered if the path to restoring his cultivation lay in the hands of the very person he resented.
...
The next day went as usual, Bai Jing got up early and did his chores. Ye Cheng went to the guild. Lan Zhu returned with the result of his sale and took with him another basket of mushrooms.
The late afternoon sun painted Longxu Village in warm shades of orange. Smoke curled lazily from thatched rooftops, as villagers returned from the fields with weary shoulders and mud-stained boots. To any outsider, it would seem like an ordinary day.
But for Bai Jing, who was crouched in the yard stringing wild herbs onto a thin rope, every small task felt like armor. If his hands were busy, his heart wouldn't have time to ache.
Scruffy lay sprawled across the table, its snowy fur gleaming in the light. The beast's ears twitched now and then, tail flicking restlessly.
Bai Jing hummed softly as he worked. This helped him keep his mind off the whispered gossip of villagers, and to the icy wall that still stood between him and Ye Cheng.
He didn't notice Scruffy's sudden alertness until the beast leapt upright, and a low growl rumbling sound came from its throat.
"What is it?" Bai Jing looked up, following its gaze toward the path that goes up from the village center to his wooden gate.
There, a tall man with elegant bearing dress in a dark blue robe embroidered with silver clouds. Walk with unhurried steps. A servant was trailing behind him.
Bai Jing's breath caught in his chest. His fingers went slack, and the half-tied herbs slipped to the ground.
Zhao Yuyuan. What is he doing here?!
The name alone was enough to unravel him.
Although he didn't have personal dealings with Zhao Yuyuan, the original owner did. And more than once, his emotions and that of the original owner had interwebs. He really doesn't want anything that would make his relationship with Ye Cheng even worse.
He remembered the original owner's first meeting with Zhao Yuyuan in Qingzhou, and that night of humiliation.
It was after the original owner talked to Zhao Yuyuan about the scandal that he threw himself into the river. Although Zhao Yuyuan didn't blame him, he couldn't stand the shame.
The boy who had once dreamed of standing beside Zhao Yuyuan as an equal had drowned along with those shattered hopes. The Bai Jing who lived now carried another man's child, bound by a marriage that was more cage than sanctuary.
'So why are you here?' Bai Jing's heart whispered in anguish. 'Why now, when I finally tried to let you go?'
...
Zhao Yuyuan stopped at the wooden gate, his dark eyes fixed on Bai Jing. The years of discipline and noble upbringing could not hide the raw emotion that trembled at the edges of his voice.
"Jing…" His throat worked as though the word itself pained him: "You're alive."
Bai Jing's lips parted, but no sound came. His heart was pounding so violently he thought the whole village might hear it.
"I…" He forced a brittle smile, clutching his robe at the chest to steady his trembling: "Senior Brother. You shouldn't be here."
Zhao Yuyuan's eyes were filled with exhaustion. He stepped closer, hands gripping the wooden gate: "How could I not come? Rumors reached me that you had been sent away, married to Ye Cheng, living in some remote village. I didn't want to believe them. But now…" His gaze swept over Bai Jing's simple clothes, the faint curve of his abdomen. His voice broke: "…now I see it's true."
Every word carved into Bai Jing's chest like a blade.
"Things have changed," Bai Jing whispered: "What's done is done. You should go back before anyone sees you here."
"No!" Zhao Yuyuan said loudly in refusal. His usual gentle composure was gone, replaced by a desperate fire: "Tell me, Jing, was this truly your choice? Did you choose him? I know you. You would never tie yourself to Ye Cheng willingly."
Bai Jing flinched as if struck. His eyes blurred, his throat tightened. For a moment, he wanted to scream the truth, that it hadn't been his choice, everything had been forced on him. But what would that change? The world didn't care about his tears.
He had been wrong since birth and can't even enjoy a few months of happiness!
Finally, he shook his head: "Please. Don't ask me that."
The silence that followed was unbearable. Scruffy hissed from the table and turned around. It doesn't have time for humans' complicated emotions.
Sounds of footsteps broke the tension.
Ye Cheng was returning from the guild. His robes were dusted with soot, his face shadowed by fatigue, but his presence was still sharp as a drawn blade. The moment he saw the carriage parked not far away, his steps slowed. When his gaze landed on Zhao Yuyuan standing at the gate, his expression darkened like a storm rolling over the horizon.
Bai Jing's heart lurched: it's over.
Ye Cheng walked forward, each step deliberate. His eyes, colder than the evening air, locked on Zhao Yuyuan.
"What are you doing here?"
The words were low, but they carried the weight of a sword drawn halfway from its sheath.
Zhao Yuyuan turned around and frowned: "I came to see Bai Jing. You have no right to stop me."
Ye Cheng's lips curled in a humorless smile: "No right? He's my wife."
The words struck Bai Jing like a thunderclap. His knees went weak. For the first time, Ye Cheng had claimed him aloud. Although it was to pissed off Zhao Yuyuan, he still felt as if a weight had been lifted off his back.
Zhao Yuyuan's eyes blazed: "Your wife? Do you even treat him like one? Or is he nothing more than a burden chained to your side?"
Ye Cheng's gaze switched briefly to Bai Jing, who stood trembling between them. His expression was unreadable, but something hard glinted in his eyes. "Whether I treat him well or not, it's none of your concern."
"You—!" Zhao Yuyuan's fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Before his anger could ignite further, Bai Jing stepped forward, and said in a breaking voice: "Stop! Please, stop!"
Both men froze, startled by the desperation in his tone.
Bai Jing's eyes glistened with unshed tears as he looked between them: "Don't fight. I… I'm not worth it. Everything happening here is my fault and I'm aware of it."
The yard fell into suffocating silence. Scruffy leapt down from the table, and went into the house. Keeping itself further away.
Zhao Yuyuan's chest heaved. His gaze softened as he looked at Bai Jing, aching with grief: "Xiao Jing… come with me. You don't belong here. You deserve better."
Bai Jing shook his head fiercely, tears spilling down his cheeks: "No. I made my choice. Thank you, senior brother Zhao, for not looking down on me… But, I… I have to stay."
"But—" Zhao Yuyuan's voice cracked.
"No!" Bai Jing's cry pierced the evening air. His hands cradled his stomach instinctively: "I'm carrying his child. Do you want me to abandon it too? Do you want me to run from this life just because it's hard? I… I won't lie, I do want to run. But I can't, for myself and the baby."
The confession stunned Zhao Yuyuan. His lips parted, but no words came. The noble heir who had once seemed untouchable now stood helpless before the sight of Bai Jing's determination.
Finally, Zhao Yuyuan closed his eyes. He drew a deep breath, then turned away: "Very well. But remember this, Xiao Jing… if you ever change your mind and call for me, I will be waiting."
With a sweep of his sleeve, he strode back to his carriage. The servant followed him obediently. When they reached the carriage, Zhao Yuyuan entered and the wheels rumbled down the dirt road, fading into the night.
...
Silence remained.
Bai Jing stood rooted, shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.
Ye Cheng watched him, expression cold. At last, he spoke in a low voice: "You still care for him."
The accusation was a blade pressed against Bai Jing's throat. He trembled, lips trembling. After a long pause, he whispered, "What does it matter? He's my past. I can only focus on the present."
"Whatever." Ye Cheng turned abruptly, disappearing into his room without another glance.
Bai Jing sagged where he stood, tears dripping silently onto the ground. How good would it have been if he wasn't pregnant or rather if he was pregnant with Zhao Yuyuan's child.