Chaos reigned, with chickens flapping and dogs barking everywhere.

The first thing Mingyue did upon returning to the Hall of Longing was, of course, to go back to her room and rest. Lately, she had found herself sleeping more and more, as if overcome by a strange drowsiness. And each time she dreamed, she returned to those earliest days when she had first taken Qin Shi in. It felt like an omen, though she could not decipher its meaning. Hugging her soft quilt as she lay on the couch, Mingyue gazed up at the pale canopy above. Suddenly, a familiar but inexplicable chill crept over her body... She had just eaten Kang Sheng's Longing Elixir, so why was she feeling this way again? Mingyue raised her hand, staring in astonishment as her five fingers gradually turned transparent in midair. Just as she was about to scream, her fingers returned to normal.

“I must be too tired, seeing things that aren’t there... Yes, that must be it.” Clutching her quilt, she rolled over and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Her dream once again returned to that familiar setting.

Back then, Qin Shi had not been with her long; though Mingyue had gained a free laborer, she had not yet recovered from her disappointment at missing the chance to swindle a wealthy young master. Clearly, the latter would have pleased her more. For that reason, her attitude toward Qin Shi was less than kind. Fortunately, Qin Shi was quiet by nature and never uttered a word of complaint at her orders—not even when she offhandedly gave him the name “Qin Shi,” he accepted it in silence.

One evening, Mingyue went to the kitchen for some tea, only to find Qin Shi standing in the courtyard, holding a lantern. She went closer for a look and saw that the lantern glimmered with a cool light, its surface like jade, and inside, the wick was a rare, transparent thread. Overjoyed at her discovery, she decided to take the lantern and sell it the next day.

“I did take you in, after all. This lantern will do nicely as your repayment,” Mingyue said, snatching the lantern from his hands. But to her astonishment, as soon as the lantern left Qin Shi’s grasp, it vanished. Believing Qin Shi had played some trick on her, she scolded him fiercely and ordered him to produce the lantern again.

But whether once, twice, or thrice—no matter how many times she tried, Mingyue could not take the lantern. It seemed to possess a spirit of its own, disappearing the moment it left Qin Shi’s hands. After a long night spent in vain, Mingyue finally gave up and returned to her room with weary, shadowed eyes. She moved slowly toward her bed and, glancing inadvertently at the bronze mirror, froze in shock.

“Ah!!” Mingyue threw herself before the mirror, prying her left eyelid open desperately, blinking again and again in denial. But there, staring back at her, was a crimson six-pointed star—her original deep-brown iris nowhere to be seen.

“What’s happening? What’s happening? Am I dying?” Mingyue began to jump and wail, growing increasingly distraught. She wept and howled as though losing her mind, and only exhaustion finally silenced her as she collapsed onto her couch and slept. Only then did Qin Shi, who had waited outside, quietly enter, lift her onto the bed, and tuck her in with a brocade quilt.

The next day, though the six-pointed star had vanished, Mingyue knew it had not been a dream, and her spirit wilted. She paid even less attention to Qin Shi, convinced in her subconscious that his lantern had somehow caused her transformation, and so she harbored a vague hostility toward him.

About a month passed in this way before a pair of master and servant burst in. The master, a woman disguised as a man, staggered drunkenly into the Hall of Longing, supported by a young attendant. She slammed her hand on the counter and declared, “Hall of Longing, what a fine name! But what am I to do if I don’t want to long for anyone any more? Can you help me?”

Mingyue, already in a foul mood, had no patience to deal with a drunken woman.

The attendant, sensing this, pulled a substantial silver ingot from his robe and pressed it into Mingyue’s hand. “My mistress is heartbroken. May we trouble you for shelter?”

Authentic silver spoke louder than words, and Mingyue nodded weakly, then unceremoniously kicked Qin Shi out of his room to make way for the new guests. The young attendant brought Mingyue plenty of silver each day, and so she no longer cared how long they stayed. As for Qin Shi, now living in the storeroom, that was his own problem. The woman, however, seemed to be drunk every day, and no amount of persuasion could stop her. Each time she encountered Mingyue, she would say, “Aren’t you the proprietress of the Hall of Longing? Can you pluck the longing from my mind? It hurts so much... I don’t want to feel this way anymore.”

Under the attendant’s apologetic gaze, Mingyue would furrow her brow, pretending to ponder. But as soon as more silver was offered, her irritation would vanish, replaced by a look of satisfaction. In time, the attendant learned the pattern and would slip her the silver as soon as his mistress spoke, never giving Mingyue the chance to frown.

One day, the woman returned later than usual. As she stumbled into the back courtyard, supported by the attendant, she happened upon Qin Shi standing in the courtyard holding that lantern. The lantern’s tranquil blue glow seemed to calm her at once. She walked over, bent down, and cradled the lantern, studying it closely.

Mingyue, just coming outside, witnessed the scene. What happened next astonished everyone. The lantern was not tall, so the woman simply sat on the ground, clasped it tightly, and pulled a fire striker from her robe. “It’s... not bright enough. Let me light it for you...”

She actually lit the striker and brought it to the transparent wick, and when Mingyue and the attendant tried to stop her, she exclaimed in surprise, “Hey... it’s transparent, how strange... Why won’t it... light? Haha, look, I told you it would be brighter if I lit it! None of you believe me, you don’t want me...”

Soon her speech dissolved into sobs. The attendant hurried to help her up, but in that moment she began to speak: “Did you know? The first time I met him was two years ago, when I sneaked out to attend the martial arts gathering. He appeared alongside the head of the Hall of Gentlemen, and I thought he was just an ordinary disciple...”

Mingyue suddenly saw a white mist before her eyes. She waved her hand, bewildered by this sudden, out-of-season fog. As her vision cleared again, terror seized her—this was no longer the Hall of Longing. Surrounded by strange buildings and faces, Mingyue had no idea where she was.

“Master.”

Mingyue jumped and, looking closely, realized it was indeed Qin Shi. Though she felt little for this foundling servant, at least he was a familiar face, and Mingyue was so relieved she nearly cried. She clung to his sleeve with her right hand and whispered, “What’s going on? Where are we?”

“It seems we’re here because of that woman. I think these scenes are from the martial arts gathering she spoke of...” Qin Shi replied calmly.

Mingyue’s tears flowed all the more. “What are we going to do? When can we leave? Is it dangerous in here?”

Just then, Qin Shi raised his hand for silence. Mingyue bit back her sobs and looked up, only to find that the scene had changed again—from a bustling grandstand to a quiet courtyard where a man and a woman stood together. Mingyue regarded them in confusion, still clutching Qin Shi’s sleeve, not daring to let go. But before she could see clearly, the surroundings shifted again, and the two of them were suddenly on a dueling platform.

Seeing a bright blade about to swing their way, Mingyue cried out in fear. Qin Shi quickly clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her aside. She saw the man with the broadsword glance around in bewilderment before the man facing him disarmed him with a single stroke and kicked him off the stage. Mingyue dared not utter another word, trailing behind Qin Shi like a timid bride.

After a while, Mingyue began to understand. Everything here was the story of that drunken woman—this was her past, before the drinking began, in the prime of her youth. A budding girl, beautiful and hopeful, with eyes for only the handsome young man in blue and white. Though Mingyue could not fully comprehend the situation, she understood that the man did not return the girl’s feelings—indeed, he seemed to treat everyone with the same distant courtesy.

The story was not complicated. Setting aside the ever-shifting scenes and the occasional chaos, it was simply the tale of a girl pursuing a love she could not attain. She even joined his sect for his sake, but it did nothing to change their relationship. In the end, her family came to fetch her, and she resolved to confront him—only to receive the answer she had dreaded.

That very night, the girl left, accompanied by the family’s young attendant, drinking as she went. And so she became the woman Mingyue knew now.