A large hand landed on her head, successfully immobilizing Luo Luo.
She froze like a quail, motionless for a long while before slowly blinking her eyes.
Li Zhaoye had ruffled her hair twice.
The first time was when she was seven years old. She stood by a small river, waving a tree branch in her hand, replaying in her mind the moment she had stabbed that demon with a fire poker.
The thrill of vengeance was what kept her alive.
She was in so much pain—so much that she couldn’t tell whether it was her heart aching or her entire body screaming.
At night, when the agony kept her awake, she could only swing that branch over and over, mimicking the young swordsman’s movements—"swish, swish, swish"—stabbing the air again and again.
Only when she exhausted herself could she collapse by the riverbank and sleep for a little while.
That way, she’d have enough strength for the day.
It took her several days to dig a large pit by the edge of her family’s farmland. She wrapped her parents in quilts and buried them there.
The soil was packed tightly.
She even tore apart half of a bed plank and planted it firmly atop the grave as a makeshift tombstone.
After laying her parents to rest, the last of the family’s food was gone.
The dried jerky her father had hung from the rafters, the flatbread her mother had hidden beneath the stove, and the big pot of mixed-grain porridge cooked before the tragedy—Luo Luo didn’t waste a single bite, eating everything clean even though she wasn’t the least bit hungry.
Everything that needed to be done was done.
The river swelled with the rainy season, its clear, gentle waves lapping over the pebbles. "Luo Luo, Luo Luo," it seemed to call her.
A huge moon hung in the sky, and another huge moon shimmered in the water.
The rippling surface reflected what looked like the familiar, smiling faces of her village.
"Luo Luo, Luo Luo."
The water murmured.
"We’re all here!" "If you’re too tired, just come home!"
The entire river was calling her name.
"Luo Luo, Luo Luo, Luo Luo ah."
Just then, an immortal descended with the moonlight, landing before her.
Master Qingxu’s facade of dignified grace lasted less than a breath.
He gaped at her like he’d seen a ghost and yelled, "Whoa! Li Zhaoye, look at this—she actually learned the first stance of the Taiyi Sword! Look at her, swinging it like she owns it—how dare an outsider master our sect’s secret technique? I have no choice but to eliminate her!"
Luo Luo followed Master Qingxu’s gaze and saw the young swordsman who had saved her that day.
Li. Zhao. Ye.
She silently repeated his name in her heart. This person was called Li Zhaoye.
Li Zhaoye, arms crossed around his sword, lazily lifted an eyelid before taking two deliberate steps away from the embarrassing old man.
"Hey, kid!" Master Qingxu leaped in front of Luo Luo, scowling menacingly. "You’ve stolen our sect’s forbidden technique. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Luo Luo had no idea what to say.
She was in pain, exhausted, had buried her parents, and finished the last of her food. Her heart was hollow. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do anymore.
She just stared wide-eyed at Master Qingxu, silent.
After a long pause, Master Qingxu stomped his foot again. "Hey! Are you stupid or what? The Taiyi Sword Art is only for our sect’s disciples, got it?! Got it?!"
Luo Luo: "Oh."
Master Qingxu nearly jumped out of his skin. "Oh?! What do you mean, ‘oh’?! What kind of answer is that?!"
Li Zhaoye sighed in exasperation nearby.
He sauntered over, reluctantly freeing one hand from his sword to roughly ruffle her dumbfounded head before pressing his palm against the back of her skull and nudging her forward.
"Bow to your master."
Luo Luo: "...Oh."
The boy’s hand was large, calloused, and warm, like a little adult’s.
The pressure of his push wasn’t too light or too heavy—her head memorized the firmness of his knuckles and the warmth of his touch.
The arrogant youth declared, "As your senior brother, I’ll take you to slay every demon in this world!"
And just like that, she found a new place to belong.
The second time Li Zhaoye ruffled her hair was many years later.
Under a pear blossom tree, she somehow ended up "mutually smitten" with him. He dragged her to the Lovers’ Stone, where they tied a heart-bond beneath the crimson branches of the Matchmaker Tree.
She must have looked even dumber than usual.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled red light over them both, as bright and warm as wedding candles.
He took a step closer, tilting his head slightly as he raised a hand toward her.
Leaning in.
Luo Luo had read about this in romance books! Cupping the back of her head! Pinning her against the tree to kiss!
Her heart raced wildly, her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him, wide-eyed and frozen.
His large hand hovered beside her ear, fingers twitching slightly.
After a long pause, he finally settled it atop her head, pressing down before giving her a firm, rough scrub.
"What are you spacing out for? Let’s go!"
"...Oh."
Now, bathed in the sunset glow of the Jianmu Tree, that familiar hand landed on her head again.
The same knuckles, the same scrubbing motion.
And then, the sickly-looking pretty boy found himself with a very dazed Luo Luo.
Her gaze was vacant, her thoughts a chaotic mess: Head. Head. Stop thinking about his head—no, stop thinking altogether! I’ll kill Chen Xuanyi! I’ll kill Chen Xuanyi! I’ll kill Chen Xuanyi!
The pretty boy: "..."
Well. At least she still remembered to kill Chen Xuanyi.
He mentally adjusted his evaluation of her—from a confused oddball to a lucid oddball.
He hauled her behind him.
Stepping forward, he retrieved their Cloud Crest Tokens from the Heavenly Dao Sect disciple.
The Cloud Crest Tokens were specially crafted jade plaques. They served as competitors’ identification, tracking merit points in real time, while also functioning as room keys, meal tickets, medical vouchers, and more—extremely practical.
The jade plaques gleamed emerald-green, names inscribed on the front and swirling auspicious clouds on the back.
After collecting the tokens, Xu Junzhu stepped forward to lecture Luo Luo. "Little Junior Sister, this was highly improper. First, you shouldn’t have impersonated someone else, especially using the senior brother’s name. Second—"
"Enough already!" Xu Junlan couldn’t take it anymore, yanking her sister away. "What’s done is done—scolding her now is pointless! Let her rest properly first. I’ll settle accounts with her later!"
"Hey, you—!" Xu Junzhu protested as she was dragged off. "I wasn’t finished—"
Xu Junlan: "No more talking!"
Dragged away, just like that.
Xu Junzhu’s voice floated back from the distance. "Anyway—we’re all on the same side. If you need anything, come find me—"
Luo Luo, stiff as a wooden puppet, managed a faint smile and waved at them.
Walking along the exquisitely carved bronze skybridge, Luo Luo clutched the two Cloud Crest Tokens as she followed the pretty boy to their lodgings.
Despite his injuries, he couldn’t stay idle—tugging at the swaying rope ladders, plucking colorful feathers from passing phoenixes.
"Chirp!" A phoenix turned its head indignantly.
Seizing the opportunity, he reached out to snatch its gorgeous crown feathers.
The phoenix screeched curses: "Chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!"
Luo Luo: "..."
There was no one in this world more infuriating than him.
Sighing, she lowered her gaze to the tokens in her hand—and stiffened, her fingers and eyes burning as if scalded.
The name etched into the jade in her grasp was unmistakable:
Li Zhaoye.
Heat rushed from her fingertips to her ears. Before she could stop herself, she silently mouthed the name on the token.
The man grabbing Fei Luan paused, turning his head with a sinister grin, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "What did you just call me?"
Was she really treating him as a substitute?
Fine. If she wanted to die, he’d oblige her!
But when he saw what she was doing, his ferocious expression faltered slightly—she was looking at the name on the Qingyun Token.
Still, having already acted tough, he couldn’t admit he’d misjudged. So he pointed a finger at her and warned, "If you dare mistake me for that pretty boy again, you’re dead!"
Luo Luo: "Oh."
She thought to herself: You’re even more of a pretty boy than he is.
Suddenly realizing her slip, she clapped a hand over her mouth—though it was too late.
He seized her by the nape and shoved her against the railing of the skywalk.
Luo Luo obediently let herself be pressed against the carved balustrade, her heart pounding wildly.
"Hmm?" He leaned in, his long eyes narrowing. "Why’s your face red?"
Luo Luo: "..."
She forced out a lie. "The sun. It’s hot."
He burst into laughter. "You look like a boiled crab!"
Luo Luo was mortified.
From the training grounds, the sight of the two "flirting" on the skywalk was unmistakable.
Chen Xuanyi stared fixedly in their direction, his gaze flickering with something unreadable.
Gu Meng tugged at his sleeve several times before he finally snapped out of it. "What?"
She fumed, "Everyone’s laughing at you! And you’re still staring?"
Chen Xuanyi studied her with mild amusement.
"You hate Luo Luo," he said suddenly, not phrasing it as a question.
Caught off guard, Gu Meng’s expression twisted briefly before she forced a smile. "What are you talking about?"
"Why?" Chen Xuanyi pressed. "Is it jealousy?"
"No!" Her voice tightened, sharp with indignation. "Absolutely not!"
Half-joking, half-serious, he remarked, "The way you looked at her just now—like you wanted to kill her."
"That’s ridiculous! You’re seeing things!" Gu Meng stamped her foot angrily. "I just can’t stand her behavior! A woman should have some self-respect, not cling shamelessly to someone—I would never act like her. When I left, I left. I never thought of sticking around where I wasn’t wanted!"
Her fury and disdain were genuine. Chen Xuanyi let out a soft, almost mocking sound.
Gu Meng grew more agitated. "She flirts with everyone just to prove she’s desirable, to make you jealous. Can’t you see through such cheap tricks?"
Chen Xuanyi opened his mouth, then chuckled. "Ah, I see."
So when Gu Meng had exchanged coy glances with Yue Ranchen, it was all about proving her own allure—to make him jealous.
He laughed under his breath.
People judged others by their own standards, unwittingly revealing themselves in the process.
Disdain aside, Chen Xuanyi felt an odd sense of relief—he and Gu Meng were nothing alike.
Back then, he’d just been blinded by illusion, making the same foolish mistakes.
Kill Luo Luo, and the inner demon would vanish.
Luo Luo used her Qingyun Token to unlock a courtyard nestled among the "branches."
Yellow walls, blue tiles, drifting clouds above—and the moment she pushed open the gate, a massive crimson-blossomed tree filled the yard with fiery hues.
She turned. "Hey—"
But the man had already vaulted over the wall with one hand, landing squarely in the center of the courtyard with a thud.
Luo Luo: "..."
The practiced move made her eye twitch.
As she watched his retreating back heading straight for the main hall, a fleeting thought crossed her mind.
"Maybe I could stab him in the kidney and get some soul blood..."
He froze mid-step, pulling his left foot back from the threshold. Swiveling around, he stood on the porch steps, staring at her in disbelief. "What, tired of living again?"
First, she mistook him for a substitute. Now, she wanted to cripple him?
So young, so deranged—utterly reckless!
Luo Luo: "..."
She shut the gate, walked past him with a deadpan expression, and pretended nothing had happened.
He instinctively sidestepped, keeping his distance from the lunatic.
Luo Luo: "..."
"First round’s tomorrow. I’m going to sleep!" Too drained to inspect her surroundings, she drifted into the inner chamber, scrambled onto the bed, and curled into a ball facing the wall—a mushroom of misery.
Leaving him alone by the window seat, questioning his existence.
Had he lost his edge?
Midnight.
The familiar rustling reached his ears again.
He turned to see Luo Luo crawling off the bed, barefoot and eyes shut, drifting toward him like a sleepwalker.
His lips twitched. Crossing his arms, he watched the little ghost roam.
Luo Luo knew she was dreaming again.
By day, she kept her thoughts in check. But at night, suppressed emotions surged like a tidal wave, sweeping her into a world of blossoms.
The Matchmaker Tree stood crimson—twisted scarlet trunk, pale pink leaves, clusters of sunset-hued flowers weighing down the branches.
And beneath it, lounging lazily, was a man.
His face was so unfairly handsome—the kind of pretty even he seemed to resent.
Luo Luo didn’t dare hug him.
Even in a dream, she only had the courage to embrace a dead Li Zhaoye.
A possibly living one? No way.
She circled him at a safe distance, pretending to practice sword forms, flicking her fingers like blades—stealing glances at him all the while.
Suddenly, he spoke. "What are you doing?"
Luo Luo startled slightly.
She turned to face him. Under the tree’s glow, bathed in red light, he looked just like he had on their wedding day, when they’d stood beneath the Matchmaker Tree.
Dreams had no restraint—joy and sorrow tangled freely.
Tentatively, she asked, "Are you Li Zhaoye?"
His expression was as if he’d seen a ghost.
Even in the dead of night, she was still hunting for substitutes.
A cold laugh rose in his chest. He debated whether to kick her into the yard—or out of it entirely—when his gaze landed on her face and stilled.
Moonlight streamed through the window, tinted by the courtyard’s crimson blossoms.
But her face was pale.
Her body trembled faintly, like a fragile snail ready to retreat at the slightest touch.
Who else could wear the world’s most pitiful expression while committing its most audacious acts?
Was being a substitute really that non-negotiable?
He glared at her fiercely.
Finally, deadpan, he opened his mouth. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
