Chapter 124 - 94: Bai Xiang: This Is My Gift
"As ethereal as a light cloud veiling the moon, as graceful as swirling snow driven by the wind."
The line of poetry surfaced in Jiang Mu’s mind, unbidden.
Her dance was not one of deliberately crafted allure, but a natural grace that was one with the rhythm of the world itself.
It was as if she was no longer a mortal.
Yes, that was it.
What Bai Xiang was best at was dancing.
As the most noble Princess of Jing Country, she had once served in a ceremonial role for sacrificial rites.
During every grand ceremony, she would offer a dance before the altar to pray to the heavens.
But this dance, the one she performed now, had shed the solemnity of a rite and was imbued with a maiden’s tender affection.
Other than for her long-deceased mother, she had never danced for another soul in this world.
This was her gift.
The moment the fireworks lit up the sky,
The moment the word "Xiang" bloomed in the night sky,
The moment he slipped the ring, engraved with her name, onto her finger...
She decided.
She would give this dance to him.
Call it sentimentality, call it impulse.
Perhaps tomorrow she would be filled with regret and vexation, but in this moment, she was willing.
Within the courtyard, time stood still in tranquil beauty.
An ethereal girl played a melody, a celestial woman danced, and a handsome man watched the figure who seemed to have stepped out of a painting.
The wind whispered in the treetops, clouds lingered lovingly at the horizon, and the moon half-hid its face in their embrace.
In this moment, they seemed to become an old dream, forever preserved in the amber of time.
No matter how the years might change, this scene would never fade.
The small courtyard was quiet and secluded, filled with joy and harmony.
...
...
As the moon sank in the west and the night deepened, this joyful, romantic interlude for the three of them finally came to a close.
After washing up, Jiang Mu lay in bed.
He closed his eyes, but the vision of Bai Xiang’s breathtaking dance filled his mind, impossible to shake.
He had to admit, in that moment, he had been truly captivated.
He had never seen anyone dance so beautifully. It wasn’t the allure of preening or provocative poses, but a beauty that struck straight to the heart, making one forget to even breathe.
’This woman... she has some hidden depths.’
Jiang Mu rubbed his chin. ’She’d make a great wife. She can dance, and she can manage a household.’
But...
’Me, propose again?’
’Not a chance.’
’I’ve got my pride, you know.’
’This time, she’ll have to be the one to ask.’
’Hmph.’
...
「In her room.」
Red candles flickered, and light gauze curtains veiled the moonlight.
On the bed, Bai Xiang was in a state of utter regret, cringing so hard her toes curled. Dressed in a thin nightgown, her long hair in disarray, she tossed and turned restlessly.
AHHHH!
’What was I thinking? Why did I dance?!’
’Have I gone mad?’
’It’s so embarrassing! So mortifying!’
Bai Xiang grabbed at her hair, wishing desperately she could turn back time.
’Why should I have to?’
’Why should I, the dignified Princess of Jing Country and the nominal Empress of Great Qing, have to dance for the amusement of some playboy?’
’What kind of spell did that Jiang cast on me!’
’Damn him! Damn him to hell!’
She recalled the man’s unblinking stare as she danced, and that faint smile on his face...
"He must have been laughing at me! He was definitely mocking me inside!"
"AHHH!!! That bastard!"
Ready to die from shame and anger, Bai Xiang pulled the quilt tightly over her head.
If anyone who had seen her majestic, aloof, and untouchable bearing were to witness this, to see the great Princess of Jing Country acting like a common girl, their jaws would surely drop to the floor.
Even her most trusted handmaiden had never seen her like this.
People always forgot her age.
In truth, she was still young.
She, too, wanted to laugh and play like any ordinary girl.
She, too, had once wished to be innocent and carefree.
After a good while, when she was about to run out of air, Bai Xiang finally poked her head out from under the quilt to breathe.
The woman’s exquisitely beautiful face was flushed bright red, as if it had just been steamed, and seemed to radiate heat.
’Forget it... I danced, and that’s that.’
’Next time, I’ll make him dance for me in return!’
She raised her left hand, gazing quietly at the ring on her fourth finger in the candlelight.
The woman was a little dazed.
’Why did he put it on this finger? And it fits perfectly. When he held my hand before, it felt like he was always trying to size it up...’
Bai Xiang couldn’t figure it out for the life of her.
But regardless, tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.
...
Of course, Yuan Ahqing, who had been the third wheel, was sleeping soundly.
The little girl was curled up under her covers, tightly hugging the Other Shore Sword her Master had given her.
Perhaps because it had accepted her as its master, the sharp Divine Weapon felt exceptionally close to her. It emitted no chill, and she had no fear of being cut by it.
Ah Qing had a dream.
She dreamed that her Master was holding her hand, and they were walking slowly along the earthen ridges of the fields in her hometown.
At the other end of the ridge, her deceased father, mother, grandmother, and younger brother were all there, smiling at her.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long,
The heads of rice swayed in the wind, and the air was filled with the fragrance of soil and fresh grass.
In the dream, Ah Qing didn’t cry.
She looked up at her Master and said, "Look, my mother is there."
In a daze, she was back in her mother’s embrace.
She smiled and said to her mother:
"Mother, Ah Qing is doing very well now."
"You always told me that as long as I’m safe and sound, my skies will always be clear."
"Mother, now that I have the Master, in Ah Qing’s world, the sky is always clear."
Her mother simply smiled, her eyes filled with gratification.
The corners of the sleeping girl’s mouth turned up into two shallow dimples, her smile ever so sweet.
The Other Shore Sword in her arms seemed to sense its master’s state of mind. The blade trembled slightly, and a soft, water-like radiance flowed across its surface.
Her thoughts were clear, and the knots in her heart, released.
At that moment, the True Qi within the girl’s body began to circulate naturally, without the slightest obstruction. In her deep slumber, she quietly achieved a breakthrough.
There were no barriers, no bottlenecks; it was as natural as water finding its own course.
And at the very instant of the girl’s breakthrough—
High above in the nine heavens, within the vast river of stars, an inconspicuous star seemed to flicker for a moment, casting down a faint ray of starlight before gradually fading from view...
The Great Dao is long and arduous, but one’s opportunities are determined by fate.
Some cultivate bitterly for a hundred years and never find the gate, while others awaken from a dream to find themselves already on the path.
Perhaps this so-called immortal fate lies in the freedom found in that single moment of letting go.
Tonight, the clear breeze understood her intent, and the bright moon bore witness to her enlightenment.