Zanxing (Retranslated)

Extra 3 - Meeting Again (3)

The hall was silent. Zanxing looked at the person in front of her incredulously. “That wasn’t arranged by me!”

Her soul fragment had wandered in the capital for five years, barely getting by day to day. She had no time or energy for indulgent pleasures or romance. It was obvious that Xiao Shuang had made up some nonsense to pacify Lantern Ghost and the others, yet Gu Baiying took it seriously.

How was he still as gullible as he had been back then?

Yet, here he was, still brooding over it. With a blank expression, he said, “The pool in your hall is still there.”

Zanxing was speechless. “It’s perfectly fine, so why would I go through the trouble of filling it in? What a hassle!” She stared at Gu Baiying, suddenly crossing her arms and giving him a once-over. “Besides, what right do you have to talk about me?”

Gu Baiying looked at her. “What?”

“In the past five years, being just a soul fragment, even if I wanted to do anything, I wouldn’t have had the strength. But you’re different. While I was gone, you surely didn’t keep to yourself, right?” Zanxing wore a sharp expression. “You’re so handsome, and as the beloved young Martial Uncle of the Taiyan Sect, I don’t believe you didn’t have a swarm of admirers around you.”

Gu Baiying laughed in exasperation, clearly annoyed. “You’re talking nonsense.”

“How am I talking nonsense?” Zanxing looked at him. The young Gu Baiying had once been strikingly handsome, and now, with a few more years on him, he had lost some of his youthful arrogance but gained a bit more calm. Yet, the proud and aloof air in his eyes remained as prominent as ever, making him all the more eye-catching. Standing in the hall, he was like a sharp, upright spear, always exuding an unignorable edge.

Zanxing said, “Oh, I just remembered that little junior sister from the Xiang Ling Sect. I wonder how the two of you have been getting along these past years while I wasn’t around. The world is unpredictable, and people’s hearts change easily. Who knows if you’ve flirted with any other girls?”

Gu Baiying couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into his embrace.

Zanxing was stunned.

“Stop accusing me first,” he said. His embrace was warm, with a faint scent of fresh grass lingering on his robes. Holding Zanxing close, it was as if he was cradling a precious treasure he thought he’d lost. His voice came from above her, soft yet firm. “I’m not like you. I’ve told you before, the Jie Xin Bell only rings for one person. If you hadn’t returned, I would have waited forever.”

“You’re lucky.”

Fortunately, she had come back.

His arms tightened, hugging her so tightly that it started to hurt a little.

Zanxing didn’t push him away. Instead, she reached out and hugged Gu Baiying back.

“In truth, I’ve been by your side for a while now,” she whispered.

When her body was nearly ready to be reforged, the Qinchong had already repaired most of her spiritual veins and soul fragment. Although she couldn’t reveal herself yet, Zanxing was able to travel to more distant places.

Knowing that everything was now peaceful in the capital, she first went to Gufeng Mountain, only to find it empty. She heard that Gu Baiying had gone down the mountain.

In the vast lands of the capital, finding one person was like searching for a needle in a haystack, and she had no idea where Gu Baiying might have gone. After pondering for a long time, Zanxing decided to take a chance and went to Li’er Country.

It was on the beach there, in Li’er Country, that she saw Gu Baiying gazing at the night sky, lost in thought.

People passed by, coming and going, while the sea shimmered in serene beauty. She saw Gu Baiying standing there in the night, his figure shrouded in an endless, invisible loneliness that no one else could perceive.

Zanxing wanted to reach out and hold his hand.

She walked up to him and said, “Gu Baiying, I’m here.”

He didn’t hear her.

After that, Zanxing accompanied Gu Baiying to many places. She watched him sit by the fire on Wudong Mountain, muttering to himself, “I don’t want to be separated.” She saw him carve two names into the snow in the hidden treasure trove. She followed him through the Wudanlin Desert and watched the sunset in the Buddha Temple in Yue Mountain. Just like they had done back in the day, walking together through those same places.

If all the past memories had been erased, then they would simply leave new footprints on those paths again. After all, memories are made from countless present moments.

Finally, she followed Gu Baiying back to Heishi City.

Amid the crowd, a young man paused to watch a play to its end, witnessing the happy and cliche finale.

The performers on stage sang, “May we never part, may we always be united through the ages, wishing all those who are in love to become companions.”

The demonic power in her spiritual veins filled the last remnants of her soul. Zanxing felt herself becoming whole again. She gently tugged on Gu Baiying’s hand and softly said to him, though he remained unaware, “Gu Baiying, we will soon reunite too.”

The night wind twisted around the hall, and the crisp sound of a bell broke the peaceful silence.

He held Zanxing tightly, still somewhat disgruntled, and continued to press her harshly, “Back then, you said you wanted me never to contact you again.”

Zanxing let out a small laugh.

At the time, she didn’t know how things would end, and she felt she needed to prepare for both outcomes. If she never returned, at least she didn’t want to become a lingering regret in someone’s heart—an eternal, unreachable illusion. Since she couldn’t make promises, she thought it would be better to shatter any hopes herself and let that be the end.

But she hadn’t anticipated that there would be a fool in the world who would wait so stubbornly, making it impossible for her to bear the thought of separating again.

Zanxing hugged him tightly in return, burying her head in Gu Baiying’s chest. “Weren’t you the one who answered? You said you would wait for me, that you would never be separated from me in life or in death. I thought about it, and it wouldn’t be right to ruin someone’s life without reason, so I simply came back.”

He raised his eyebrows. “When did I say ‘never separated in life and death’?”

Zanxing replied, “Ah, then what about my harem of concubines?”

He lowered his head, hugging her even tighter, and grunted. “It’s not too late to say it now.”

The flowers outside the window swayed, and the wind carried the sound of the bell further into the distance.

Zanxing thought, even ordinary people have their own persistence. If the ending isn’t good, it only means the story isn’t over yet.

And this story would definitely have the best ending.