Chapter Eight: A Decade of Life and Death, Boundless and Apart

“Have some tea.”
Shen Hua gestured for Ji Liu to sit down.

Ji Liu was momentarily stunned, then slowly set down the knife in his hand, lifted the tea cup, and took a sip.

“Huaqiao was burned to death. Back then, I was just a county constable. She was beautiful and skillful.” As he spoke, he touched the embroidered waist belt around his waist, the stitching exquisite.

“I had planned to propose to her the following year, but after one trip, everything changed. Huaqiao was burned alive. After avenging her, I fled my hometown, plunged into the martial world, became a blade-wielding assassin, and for ten years survived by settling scores for others.”

Shen Hua lit an incense stick before the case and asked, “How many people have you killed?”

Ji Liu gave a bitter smile. “I’ve lost count.”

“Did all those people deserve to die?”

Ji Liu was caught off guard by the question, unsure how to respond, his eyelids lowering.

A silence settled over the clinic, soon broken by the sound of a small bell.

Shen Hua shook the copper bell in her hand and said, “That question just now was asked on her behalf.”

Ji Liu slowly lifted his head and saw Huaqiao standing before him. He immediately rose, reaching out to embrace her, but grasped only empty air.

Huaqiao covered half her face with her hand, turning her back to Ji Liu.

“Brother Liu.”

That single call of “Brother Liu” pulled Ji Liu back ten years, to when Huaqiao was only twenty—a girl who would smile whenever she saw him.

Ji Liu stepped closer, his gaze softening. “No matter what you look like, you’re still my Huaqiao.”

Huaqiao stood still, her mouth slightly parted, and as she spoke, flakes of ash fell from her face.

“Brother Liu, you’ve grown much older.”

Ji Liu touched his face and smiled. “Ten years have passed. Sometimes I don’t even dare to look in the mirror.”

Huaqiao reached out her hand but hesitated, tears trailing down her face.

“Brother Liu, I must leave.”

“Where will you go?” Ji Liu asked.

“Ten years have passed. I can’t follow you forever. Actually, the night I first saw Miss Shen at the Misty Tower, I knew it was time to go.”

Shen Hua had sensed her presence the moment she stepped into the Misty Tower. The shadow on the third floor was Huaqiao, watching Shen Hua, waiting for an opportunity to speak, to ask Shen Hua for help in meeting Ji Liu one last time. This was why Ji Liu had heard her plea in his dreams and come to the Ghost Market seeking Shen Hua.

“Brother Liu, these years you’ve wandered, living a life on the edge of a blade. This isn’t the Brother Liu I know. And not all those you killed were truly evil.”

Tears filled Ji Liu’s eyes as he sighed deeply. “Yes, these years I could only drown myself in wine. Otherwise, late at night, I see their faces.”

Shen Hua glanced at the nearly burnt incense and reminded, “Time’s up.”

Huaqiao turned to Shen Hua, understanding with a faint smile.

“Brother Liu, I’m leaving. Take care of yourself and drink less.”

As Huaqiao finished speaking, the copper bell in Shen Hua’s hand rang again. Gradually, Huaqiao faded away before Ji Liu’s eyes, until only Shen Hua and Ji Liu remained in the clinic.

Ji Liu remained lost in sorrow, oblivious to Shen Hua’s gaze and shifting footsteps.

Shen Hua latched the door bolt without a hint of emotion and said, “Ji Liu, your wish is fulfilled. What are your plans now?”

“Miss Shen, do I even have a future now?”

Ji Liu lifted his lowered head to look at Shen Hua calmly.

Shen Hua’s expression flickered, then she relaxed. She sensed a trace of helplessness in his demeanor and asked coldly, “When did you realize?”

---

“People say the ghost doctor Shen Hua is cold on the outside and colder within. Why would she invite someone for tea, and top-grade tea at that, without cause?”

“In that case, let me see your blade.”

A sharp dagger slipped from Shen Hua’s sleeve, her eyes full of murderous intent.

Ji Liu glanced at the knife resting nearby, shook his head, and gave a weary smile, exhaustion deep in his eyes.

“I, Ji Liu, have lived forty years. That is enough, enough.”

Before Shen Hua could react, the dagger was already plunged into Ji Liu’s fatal spot. Blood dripped drop by drop. She swiftly withdrew the blade.

Ji Liu fell to his knees before Shen Hua.

“I am freed. I hope Dr. Shen can soon rise from the mire—the daylight sun is warmer after all.”

Those were Ji Liu’s final words before death.

A flash of realization crossed Shen Hua’s eyes. Then, she said coldly, “If that’s so, I’ll leave your body intact.”

The night was deep. The Misty Tower’s tavern was filled with patrons, some drunk guests teasing the innkeeper, but to no avail. Lu Chenzhou and Wei Shiqi sat steadily on the bench after a few drinks.

“Two unfamiliar faces, eh?”

A drunken man staggered over, carrying a wine jug, and plopped down opposite Lu Chenzhou.

Lu Chenzhou looked at him and replied, “Just passing travelers enjoying some wine.”

“Are you two government agents?”

The drunk man burped at Wei Shiqi.

“If we were agents...”

He waved off Lu Chenzhou before he could finish, then pointed below the table.

Lu Chenzhou and Wei Shiqi looked down, puzzled.

The drunk man, with a knowing air and drunken swagger, pointed at the table and laughed, “Look around—who here doesn’t give off a certain aura? Are your shoes really that clean? Martial folk roam far and wide; their eyes see what yours don’t.”

Seeing they were seen through, Wei Shiqi calmly leaned closer and asked, “Your name?”

Squinting, the man replied, “In the martial world, they call me Shi Taibai.”

Shi Taibai rudely grabbed Wei Shiqi’s chopsticks and took a bite of meat before slowly saying, “No one cares who you really are. The innkeeper saw right through you the moment you walked in.”

Lu Chenzhou tested, “So we came here for nothing?”

“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help. But...”

Shi Taibai rubbed his fingertips together,I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.