Chapter 47: Little Red's Diary (Maple Prefecture Arc Conclusion)

The four large characters "Xiaohong's Diary" were written in a clumsy, crooked hand, not very pleasing to the eye.

Holding the notebook, Lin Jiangling bit her trembling lower lip in silence, yet still turned the pages one by one—

"Sister Lin has taught Xiaohong many words. Starting today, I can keep a diary!"

"Today's groceries cost five wen, firewood cost ten wen... Sister will be back in ten days."

"It's raining today. I hope Sister doesn't catch a chill out there... Sister will be back in three days."

"Sister is back! She made delicious meat pies for Xiaohong, and brought a cloth doll and a pretty hairpin..."

"Every time Sister comes back, she tells Xiaohong many stories. Sister is a great hero, and when Xiaohong grows up, she wants to follow Sister to uphold justice in the pugilistic world..."

"Today is Sister's birthday, but Sister said she would give her wish to me. Do wishes really work? Xiaohong wants Mom and Dad to come back, and Sister to visit more often..."

"Sister really comes back to see Xiaohong often now! But why are Sister's stories getting fewer..."

"Autumn brings fallen leaves everywhere. Scholar brother from the village says maple leaves represent 'yearning.' He said yearning is the feeling of wanting to see someone, and he taught Xiaohong how to write the word 'yearning.' Xiaohong has learned it..."

"I understand now! The reason Sister's stories have become fewer is all because of Xiaohong. Xiaohong yearns for Sister, and Sister yearns for Xiaohong. To keep coming back to see Xiaohong, Sister cannot go to more places, farther places, to help other people... If only Xiaohong could go with Sister..."

...

Lin Jiangyue's hands trembled uncontrollably. Tears fell like pearls, dampening the handwriting. She hurriedly reached out to wipe them, only to smudge the ink, faintly revealing the contents of the next page—

"The maple leaves are so beautifully red, just like Sister's clothes. Xiaohong will pick the prettiest maple leaf and give it to Sister the next time she comes back. Let the maple leaf accompany Sister in Xiaohong's place. That way, Sister won't yearn for me too much and can go to farther places to help more people. But Xiaohong will still yearn for Sister. It doesn't matter, though. When Xiaohong grows up, she can..."

"Go away with Sister..."

Lin Jiangyue continued to turn the pages, but the pages that followed, one after another, were completely blank.

"Why is there no more... why is there nothing left..."

Lin Jiangyue collapsed to her knees, frantically flipping through the remaining pages until she truly realized that the little girl who wrote the diary would never return.

Panting heavily, she clutched the diary to her chest, pressing her palm fiercely against her heart as if doing so could lessen the pain.

Yan Kuang stepped forward to help her up, but Cheng Ruyi reached out to stop him.

Cheng Ruyi's eyes also turned red. He tilted his head slightly to hold back his tears and took out the handkerchief from his lapel. He thought to himself that although he had been put through a lot by Luo Shaofeng, fortunately, he had kept this handkerchief safely hidden in his clothes without any damage.

He bent down, patted Lin Jiang's shoulder, and gently unfolded the handkerchief. Although the maple leaf was somewhat broken, its deep red color remained unchanged.

It was like jade transformed from dark blood, even more dazzling than the sunset clouds.

...

In the night, Lin Jiangyue leaned indifferently against the maple tree by the doorway. Yan Kuang walked over with two jars of wine and handed one to her.

"What? Are you planning to drink with me until we're thoroughly drunk today?"

Lin Jiangyue took the wine jar, broke the seal, and took a gulp. She said with disdain, "Not strong enough. How stingy, you must have bought the cheap stuff." With that, she peeked behind Yan Kuang and asked, "Where is Mr. Cheng? Didn't he come with you?"

Yan Kuang also unsealed his jar and took a sip. "He's already asleep. You don't need to drown your sorrows in alcohol, so why buy strong liquor?"

Lin Jiangyue sneered, frowned with a touch of melancholy, and said, "That's right. I'm not that reckless younger martial sister of the past anymore. I... I'm already someone else's elder sister."

Watching Lin Jiangyue drinking boldly from her jar, Yan Kuang said softly, "You have indeed changed a lot. It's good that you've pulled yourself together; the road ahead is still long."

Lin Jiangyue wiped the wine stain from the corner of her mouth. "Of course... Xiaohong also hopes... that I can go and help more people."

Hearing this, Yan Kuang was deeply moved. After a moment, he said, "My junior sister has grown up."

She smiled and turned back to look at Yan Kuang. The man before her was taller than in her memories. Although he still cared for her as always, he seemed to have forgotten how to smile.

...

Lin Jiangyue pondered for a moment and asked slowly, "Senior Brother, how have you been all these years?"

Yan Kuang was momentarily at a loss for words; he didn't know how to answer. Good? Bad? He had been plotting and biding his time for ten years, yet before achieving his goal, he was already nearing death.

Lin Jiangyue asked tentatively, "Senior Brother... You didn't betray our sect, and you didn't genuinely work for the imperial court, did you?"

"Those rumors in the pugilistic world... they're all false, right?"

Faced with Lin Jiangyue's eager and expectant gaze, Yan Kuang found himself in a difficult spot. He kept a straight face and avoided her eyes.

Seeing him remain silent, Lin Jiangyue instead became certain. "You have your reasons, don't you...? Fine, don't bother trying to make up lies to comfort me. I know you; whenever you want to deceive someone, you put on this deadpan expression. It's too obvious..."

Yan Kuang remained silent and took another gulp from his wine jar. Lin Jiang's hand reached out to stop him. "What? Is it your turn to drown your sorrows in alcohol?"

"What, is your own wine not enough, and now you're eyeing mine?" Yan Kuang feigned ease, relaxed his brow, and handed the jar to her. "Take it all."

Lin Jiangyue waved her hand dismissively. "I told you I'm not a child anymore, stop playing those tricks on me..." She muttered to herself, "Stop acting like an adult with me. Weren't you just a child yourself when we parted ways back then...? We will always be Master's children..."

At the mention of the past, Yan Kuang was momentarily stunned, and past scenes flashed instantly through his mind—

The howling winds of the snowy valley. Amidst the debris scattered everywhere, the white-haired elder leaned on a broken sword, standing rigidly in the snow.

The original color of his white robes was no longer discernible, and his flesh and blood had long been ravaged beyond recognition by arrows and broken swords. Yet, he refused to kneel, standing firm like a monument. His eyes, which should have been gentle as water, stared lifelessly, forever gazing toward the direction behind him.

That was his home, and his disciples.

...

The past rushed over him like a tide. Yan Kuang felt a sharp pang in his heart, triggering his old injuries. A dull pain spread across his chest, and a sweet, bloody taste rose to the back of his throat. Noticing something was wrong, Yan Kuang took two steps back.

He forcefully swallowed the blood back down.

"Senior Brother... Are you unwell?"

Lin Jiangyue persistently insisted on taking his pulse, but Yan Kuang pushed her hand away and abruptly changed the subject. "I ate too much at dinner. Aside from me, do you have news of anyone else over the years?"

Lin Jiangyue had a simple mind and was easily fooled by him. She sighed at his words, saying, "Eldest Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister have been missing and presumed dead all these years. You... actually, I always wanted to find you, but I was afraid... afraid that you really were like the rumors say..."

"Little Junior Brother... you know, he is the young master of the Tang Clan."

Hearing this, Yan Kuang paused. "You've been to the Tang Clan, haven't you?"

"Yes," Lin Jiangyue said. "The only person I could look for was Little Junior Brother, but Tang Family Fortress is riddled with mechanisms; I simply couldn't get in... For ten years, I haven't even caught a glimpse of him, though I've learned to recognize all the mechanisms and poisons of the Tang Clan."

A flicker crossed Yan Kuang's eyes. "Do you really think Luo Shaofeng was the mastermind behind this affair?"

"Are you talking about the Tang Clan..." Lin Jiangyue had long suspected as much, but Tang Shuangling was dead, and all clues had been cut off.

Yan Kuang gave a noncommittal response. Suddenly energized, Lin Jiangyue exclaimed, "Senior Brother! Let's go to the Tang Clan! With your martial arts, plus my understanding of Tang Family Fortress, maybe we can break in! Then we can finally see that stubborn bastard of a Little Junior Brother!"

"We'll discuss it tomorrow..."

Faced with Lin Jiangyue's excited and hopeful expression, Yan Kuang lacked the heart to refuse her outright.

He said nothing more and simply drank in silence. Lin Jiangyue, taking this as tacit agreement, happily began to drink heavily.

After finishing an entire jar, the bright-eyed, pink-cheeked heroine leaned against her senior brother's shoulder and rambled on in a drunken haze—

"Ten years... all of you are gone... At first, I even thought about revenge, about killing that dog of an emperor, but later he abdicated of his own accord... I didn't even know who to seek revenge against. For these past ten years, Xiaohong and Brother Luo have been like family to me... But now..."

"They're gone too... It's all right, it's all right... Senior Brother, you're back. You're not a bad person... You're back..."

As she spoke, Lin Jiangyue threw her arms around Yan Kuang's arm and began to weep miserably, wiping her tears and snot all over his clothes.

...

Yan Kuang said, "...Stop crying. The wind is strong; be careful not to catch a cold."

Drunk as she was, Lin Jiangyue turned a deaf ear to his words and continued to mutter, "Senior Brother... Senior Brother, I knew it... You wouldn't become a lackey, you wouldn't do bad things..."

"Mn..." Yan Kuang acknowledged, his voice so soft that even he could hardly hear it.

Moonlight and cloud shadows rippled like flowing water. Yan Kuang carried the drunken Lin Jiangyue back to her couch and covered her with a blanket.

Her junior sister had truly grown up; she was no longer that wild, erratic, gluttonous, and playful silly girl. Yan Kuang could not help but reach out and smooth the stray locks of hair from her temple.

"Ah-yue, no matter what... Senior Brother will never hurt you."

"Never."

...

When Lin Jiangyue opened her eyes again, it was already noon the next day. Feeling her throat uncomfortably dry, she pushed back the blanket to pour a cup of water, only to find that a cup of tea had long been prepared on the table, with a note pinned underneath it—

"Junior Sister, the martial arts world is vast; take good care of yourself."

Signed: Han Kuang.

"Senior Brother?!"

Lin Jiangyue woke up instantly. She threw on a heavy cloak and dashed toward the small courtyard shared by Yan Kuang and Cheng Ruyi, only to find it already empty and abandoned.

Seeing her, a middle-aged woman sweeping the neighboring courtyard said, "Are you looking for those two fellows? They packed up and left early this morning."

Lin Jiangyue rushed out of the courtyard and sprinted toward the village entrance. Before her eyes lay the boundless, brilliant red of the maple forest, stretching across mountains and fields all the way to the edge of the sky.

...

Capital city, suburban courtyard.

The main gate of the manor bore no plaque or inscription. The dark red courtyard walls were heavy yet bizarre. A figure in black wearing a hooded cloak hurried through the main gate, traversed several covered corridors, and arrived at a room door. After knocking three times, the door opened by itself.

The mysterious person hurriedly entered. The room was dimly lit, and behind a landscape folding screen, a figure stood in profile.

"Greetings, Master... All matters in Fengzhou are settled. May Master rest assured."

The figure behind the screen said coldly, "And Yan Kuang?"

The figure in black hesitated. "This subordinate..."

The figure behind the screen abruptly turned around and issued a slow, commanding order—

"Keep a close eye on him."

"Don't let him die."

...

On a small mountain path, Cheng Ruyi drove a donkey cart with Yan Kuang seated behind him. The cart wheels creaked, crushing the maple leaves as they slowly rolled out of the maple forest. Ahead, the red leaves gradually gave way to golden, shimmering yellow foliage, glowing brilliantly beneath the sun.

Cheng Ruyi hesitated. "Is it really okay... to leave without even saying goodbye?"

"Mr. Cheng, focus on driving your donkey." Yan Kuang lay down, resting his head on his arms, and gently closed his eyes to enjoy the warm sunlight.

Cheng Ruyi curled his lips. "Fine, fine... His Excellency makes his own decisions, and this old servant dares not interfere. Then, Your Excellency, where is our next stop?"