He stood up, hesitating a little; it was admittedly rude to leave without saying goodbye. He left behind two letters: one for Zhang Chengling, saying “Mountains are still green, waters will still flow long and far3”. An incredible satisfaction washed over him after writing the note, as he felt like he had finally embodied being a jianghu wanderer now. The other letter was for Zhao Jing with one mere sentence: Ever grateful for the welcoming stay.

He placed them under the teapot before gracefully jumping onto the roof.

On the roof was a small dragon li cat4 strolling. It felt a fleeting shadow and halted in alert, eyes wide, but didn’t see anything else. Tilting its head in confusion, the cat ran towards the kitchen.

Zhou Zishu left the Zhaos without a sound. He was sure that no one had noticed, so never would he have imagined that there was someone seemingly having predicted his moves and was already waiting for him in a small forest only a mile away from the Holdings.

Zhou Zishu felt annoyance creeping up the moment he glanced at that person. He saw Wen Kexing saluting him smilingly, “Ah, how coincidental, Brother Zhou. Seems like we are fated after all; only soulmates would keep crossing paths under the moonlight like this.”

Zhou Zishu smiled back, “Truly coincidental isn’t it, Brother Wen?”

Coincidental my ass, you pestilence, he thought.

He tilted his head, asking after not seeing Gu Xiang, “Young Miss Gu’s not here?”

Wen Kexing gave a straightforward answer, “That little girl is an inconvenience, she walks too slow; she’ll only be in the way while I’m looking for this important, elusive figure that is… you.”

The smile freezed on Zhou Zishu’s face. He stared at Wen Kexing, then spoke after a good while, “If this useless one was an important figure, then what would become of Monk Gu of Mount Chang Ming, the Poison King of the Southern Sea’s Guanyin Palace, or the Ghost Lord of Qingzhu Ridge?”

Wen Kexing stared back meaningfully. “Monk Gu cares none for the mortals, all he seeks is the path of cultivation; the Poison King is said to have blended into the vast world of jianghu, it’d be a hard feat to find him; and the Ghost Lord is no less ambiguous, never have I got the chance to meet this one… as for whether he’s human or not, it’s a story for another day.”

They looked at each other after that, smiles carrying malicious intentions.

Zhou Zishu was the first to turn his eyes away. “Zhou-mou5 is merely a passerby, why is it that everyone have their eyes on me?”