She glanced around the courtyard but didn’t see Min Ning’s figure. Feeling puzzled, she looked up and caught sight of Min Ning sitting with Grandpa on the rooftop, side by side, basking in the vast expanse of the sunset glow.
"Ah, if I weren’t already dead, I’d definitely go give my congratulations, to soak up so of the joy."
From a distance, Min He saw the wedding procession forming a long dragon-like line. The bridal sedan advanced gracefully, mbers of the groom’s household continuously handing out red envelopes and dividing red eggs. The sight reminded the old man of his youth, and as his thoughts wandered, he recalled his son’s wedding day.
"Back then, your dad was so shy. After finally marrying Miss Tang, he went to pick up the bride and got so nervous his legs turned weak. He fell off the horse several tis before he managed to ride it, all thanks to helping him get back on."
Min He’s gaze sparkled with nostalgia, fragnts of that day vividly replaying in his mind.
Min Ning watched from afar as the groom helped the bride down from the sedan, her gaze distant and her thoughts elsewhere. After a while, she asked, "How long after did they have elder sister?"
"Less than a year, I think. When she was born, the old nurse weighed her—close to eight pounds—and since she cried so fiercely, we nad her ’Ming’."
"So... I was nad ’Ning’ to complent her na?"
"Not really. When you were born, you only weighed five or six pounds. You were so tiny and didn’t cry imdiately. Your mom and dad were frightened out of their wits, but I told them not to worry. After quite a while, you finally cried, and coincidentally, your sister started crying then, too."
As Min He recounted the past, his gaze stretched into the horizon. Min Ning followed his line of sight, pondering. How curious it was—because of that delay in crying, they nad her "Ning." Perhaps it wasn’t until later that her parents realized the sisters’ nas complented each other. Such serendipity felt like destiny written in the stars.
Back then, everything was so blissful, but then, one day, it all vanished.
Min Ning’s eyes dimd as she softly asked:
"Grandpa, what really happened with the Chancellor case back then?"
Min He fell silent, letting out a faint sigh:
"Why cling to it?"
"I’m leaving the Capital City. I don’t want to carry this confusion with ."
Hearing this, Min He turned to look at Min Ning, then after a long pause and so hesitation, his thoughts drifted to Chen Qianhu. At last, he opened his mouth and said:
"Back then, regarding the Chancellor case, the rumors claid that Chancellor Zhang approached the Emperor with the Immortality thod to curry favor and caused chaos within the court. But the truth is, the Chancellor never suggested it—the Emperor himself first brought it up to the Chancellor."
Min Ning was taken aback by this revelation,
"What..."
All this ti, she’d believed the rumors, convinced that the root of it all was Chancellor Zhang’s fault.
"Ning’er, you don’t understand. Whether Zhang Chancellor or Li Chancellor—without the Emperor, there wouldn’t be any Chancellor. In the 25th year of Qing Ying, I, along with my fellow Jin Yi Guards, traveled far and wide under the Emperor’s orders. We searched in the ancient Xia lands for two years before finding the Immortality thod in King Xia’s ancient tomb in Tu Mountain. But that thod... it was terrifying. It defied all human principles, even heaven’s laws. I reported it overnight to Chancellor Zhang, who then presented it to the Emperor."
Min He rambled on, and finally, with a lanting sigh, added,
"The key to the thod was cutting down the three corpses. Because of this, the Emperor killed the Grand Empress Dowager. To conceal the matter, he also eliminated and Chancellor Zhang."
Min Ning listened in silence for a while. Although the truth bore so resemblance to her prior suspicions, hearing it directly from Grandpa’s lips felt completely different.
Her grandfather had rely obeyed orders, but he was sentenced to death. The investigation her father undertook also led to his untily demise, leaving her mother grief-stricken. The abrupt changes shattered their family’s past happiness, leaving it all behind.
"Let’s not speak of it anymore," Min He shook his head and said.
Min Ning nodded slightly, her gaze stretching over the rooftops toward the Capital City. She felt more strongly than ever that this place was not for her.
She would leave, venture into Jianghu, and co back one day. Without announcing her return, she’d appear outside Chen Yi’s courtyard and let him witness the person she’d beco. Would he be so frightened he’d wet his pants and regret bullying her back then?
Min He’s gaze wandered toward the distance. Suddenly, he pointed to the tallest pavilion in the Capital City and said:
"That watchtower—once, I climbed it."
"You climbed it?"
"The view’s incredible. Better than here. Back then, when I first arrived in the Capital City, I joined so colleagues in a tipsy competition to see whose Qinggong was the best."
As Min He spoke, his eyes lit up with an unrestrained gleam:
"’Youthful Ranger from Chang’an, climbing the watchtower to glimpse Venus at night.’"
Min Ning scratched her head. She knew it was a poem but hadn’t read much herself, so she couldn’t fully understand.
The old man chuckled and cursed in jest,
"Silly Ning’er. To , the Capital City was Jianghu back then."
Min Ning paused briefly, deep in thought.
"Everywhere is Jianghu; everywhere has those who climb watchtowers at night,"
The old man sighed, reminiscing about his past, weaving tales of the Jianghu Min Ning yearned for.
"Jianghu ans roaming, running everywhere—young Rangers without a place to settle. Until one day, you find a haven, et a lifelong companion, and calm your restless spirit. Looking back, you’ll realize you’ve traveled so many roads, crossed so many mountains, embraced so much chivalry, and upheld so much righteousness."
"Min Ning, you’ve already started... being a great hero."
Hearing Grandpa call her na, Min Ning stared in a trance at the tallest watchtower.
"Grandpa, will I really beco a great hero?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Even though my dad never beca one..."
"I was a hero once, and you’re just like back then—no, you’re better than I was. I failed to care for my family or my sect."
"Grandpa, actually... I want to travel with him, but it doesn’t seem appropriate..."
"So things require you to experience alone. But imagine, when you et again one day, what if he calls you a great hero?"
The grandfather and granddaughter’s conversation drifted back and forth, as Min Ning’s thoughts swirled. Under the twilight sun, layered rooftops glowed golden like an illuminated path—her path.
This path burned, beckoned—it was only just beginning.
"Grandpa, I’ll leave this place, then co back and make that scoundrel see once and for all—whether I’m still the sa Min Yuechi from before."
Facing the tallest watchtower, Min Ning clenched her fists.
"..."
"Grandpa?"
As she called out, Min Ning turned her face, but tears suddenly stread down.
There was no response.
The space beside her was empty,
At so point without her noticing, the ti had co—Grandpa was already... gone.
Firecrackers continued to crackle loudly, but the Min household had returned to silence.
Min Ning took a deep breath.
Grandpa had left, and just like before, the world would now only hold her and her sister.
Min Ning wiped her tears, exhaling deeply.
Other than her sister, she no longer had any relatives.
She inadvertently touched the knife at her waist and, realizing her thoughts were not pure, chuckled softly.
She suddenly recalled the guy who borrowed her blade and muttered:
"Maybe... I should count half an extra one?"
She didn’t know.
Looking at the wedding procession, she was lost in thought.
Eventually, she smiled broadly:
"Who cares? If he won’t marry , I’ll marry him instead."
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