"What is it? Do you not agree with what he just said?"
"I don't agree," Changyi said.
"I came to the north initially to get back at you. If we go by his logic, then everyone in the world should come and thank you."
He singled out the past so bluntly that Ji Yunhe did not know whether to laugh or cry. She stroked Changyi's silver hair and said, "Laying the boundary is serious business, I will leave for the border tomorrow to scope it out and make preparations. You have overexerted yourself too much lately, so you must not use your magic again. Stay here as your Lord of the North. You can still oversee everything and delegate."
Changyi was quiet for a long time before commenting, "My people would always stay together once they have exchanged the mark of the jiaoren, but people on land always seem to part ways." Ji Yunhe felt bad again and held his hand.
"It will get better. Once everything is over, Changyi, we will never separate again." They looked at each other with love and affection.
"Okay."
....
After leaving Changyi's room, Snow March kept glancing at Ji Yunhe with smiling eyes as they walked down the road.
"Staring at me the whole way. If you have something to say, then say it." Ji Yunhe could not stand it anymore.
"So unexpected!"
Snow March clasped her hands together and teased, "When everything is over, we will never separate again..."
She laughed a little then continued, "If I were to tell the old Ji Yunhe that she would say something like this, she would've beaten me up."
"I can still beat you up now!"
Ji Yunhe feigned some anger, but it disappeared in the next instant and both of them laughed out loud. The sun of spring had finally warmed up the north. Walking on the stone path in the light of day recaptured some nostalgia of the past. Snow March elbowed Ji Yunhe.
"What does it feel like to be a demon?"
"No different from being a human."
"I'd like to try being a demon sometimes too."
"Why?"
"I want to know what it's like to be similar to Li Shu."
Ji Yunhe paused her steps and extended her hand, "Come."
Snow March did not understand, but she still placed her hand inside Ji Yunhe's palm.
"What is it?"
"Squeeze me." Snow March listened and squeezed Ji Yunhe.
"Feel anything different?" Ji Yunhe asked, and Snow March shook her head. Ji Yunhe then said, "You've also held Li Shu's hand, you should remember the feeling. It's no different from mine, right?"
"His hand was bigger than yours." Ji Yunhe smiled and patted her.
"Back then, we didn't really get a chance to say goodbye, nor did we get a chance to talk about Li Shu's blood sacrifice."
Snow March's smile faded from her face, but Ji Yunhe went on, "In your opinion, perhaps Li Shu was using you, and maybe saw you as a substitute."
"Is your opinion not the same?"
"Not exactly. It was obvious that he prepared for a long time to break the seal, but why did he choose to do it when you were captured? Performing such a ritual under the public eye was very unwise, so it couldn't have been part of his plan." Ji Yunhe analyzed.
"I believe Li Shu found the ten eyes a long time ago, but he postponed his plan. Instead, he chose to follow you left and right for years, because he didn't just see you as a substitute for Qing Ji." Snow March looked at her hand and was silent.
"He didn't want to end this relationship with you." Snow March grew emotional and her lips trembled.
"In the end, he did the ritual in order to save you." Ji Yunhe patted her on the arm.
"So, don't think that Li Shu didn't like you, or he was just using you. And definitely don't think you being a human had anything to do with it." Under the sunlight, Snow March finally gave a faint smile.
"Yunhe, no wonder you're the most powerful demon master in the valley. You really do understand them."
"As I've always said, treat demons as people, then it wouldn't be so difficult to understand them. You guys just never listen." Ji Yunhe waved her hand and stepped away.
"But maybe there's no need for me to keep saying that."