Wei Zhixi

When the pageboy rushed in with news that the "Star Stealer" moniker was stirring up a storm across the jianghu, Wei Zhixi was drinking atop a high tower. She wiped down her throwing star, struggling to suppress a grin. Listen to that! What a resounding, dashing alias! Look at how the common folk adore this hero! In heart the moon shines bright, with hands the stars take flight. With the Star Stealer around, no matter which noble household, Zhang, Li, or Wang, she'd reclaim every copper coin stolen from the people, piece by piece! Such were Wei Zhixi's "Star Stealer" years, radiant, untamed, and dazzling. Yet the Battle of Wolf Mountain changed everything. Blizzards sealed the peaks, iron cavalry trampled the land, and refugees scattered like leaves. When Zhao Pu trudged through the snow-laden winds to the mountain cave where Wei Zhixi hid, she looked up from wiping her bloodstained blade and flashed him a smile... and then felt like crying. That was the last year of Wei Zhixi as the "Star Stealer". She was tired. She longed for home. A bird born to soar should spend its life in flight. But when the bird doubts, when it realizes its wings alone cannot shield all under heaven, such a bird ceases to exist. Yet the world gained a new lady: one who sits in the inner hall with her husband, together seeking ways to save the people.

Under the pear tree, pear blossoms fluttered in the wind. Many petals had fallen on the stone table. Between the petals was a jar of wine, and beside the jar were two white porcelain wine cups painted with willow leaf patterns. Han Xiangxun had already poured the wine. Wei Zhixi didn't stand on ceremony with Han Xiangxun. She tilted her head back, drank the first cup in one go, and finally felt relieved. The only person in the world who could order her to do something like burying bones... was the woman sitting across from her. But there was nothing she could do, she owed her a life. She drank the second cup. Wei Zhixi touched the long sword on the stone table, there were still water stains on it. She hadn't wielded a sword in a long time after the Wolf Mountain Battle. Yesterday, she had come to find Han Xiangxun to drink and relieve her boredom. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the mountain, she saw Han Xiangxun chasing someone with a sword. "Stop him!" "Okay." She threw a flying star dart, and the man knelt down and fell to the ground. Han Xiangxun caught up, raised her sword, and struck, clean and decisive. So she had wanted to kill him. Wei Zhixi touched the long sword at her waist. In fact, if Han Xiangxun had shouted "Kill him," she would not have hesitated to draw her sword. But she hated seeing blood, and Han Xiangxun understood her. That's why the sword hadn't shed blood yesterday. She had just felt bored while watching Han Xiangxun wash her sword in the river, so she used her own sword to stir up a few eddies... and received a few eye-rolls in return. She drank the third cup. Wei Zhixi thought it was time to leave. Before the Khitan spy died, they had extracted a lot of information from him. About Northern Han, about the imperial court... This information made her more aware of her path ahead. She had to climb higher, even higher. Only when standing high enough could she see far enough. She wanted to see how the knots tangled, how decay took root, and then use the sword in her heart to cut off the roots of evil born in this chaotic world. Han Xiangxun, however, thought it was time to stay. She had to get closer, even closer. Only when getting close enough could she see clearly enough. She wanted to do what she could in the present, protect those she could behind her. She wanted to save one person, then another, then another... Saving enough people would also make a corner of the martial arts world, a world of her own. Moreover, what those people had said about face-swapping, about Hidden Swallow... She looked down at her hands. It seemed time to put her skills on display. The wine cups fell onto the table. The two exchanged a glance, then stood up and took their leave. Three cups of wine, half a quarter of an hour. It was as if they had said nothing, yet as if they had said everything. This world needs a ferry boat to cross the river, and it also needs timely rain. They would part, but they would meet again and again in the hearts of everyone they had protected.