Chapter 55: Littered with Bones

Another year of heavy snowfall. The world has been in chaos for a long time. Ji Yunhe could not remember how many days she had spent in prison. The rebellion in the north turned into a full on war, and the encounters between the people of the "Bitter Cold State'' and the imperial court was so frequent that it no longer made news. The Grand Master lost interest and stopped talking about the victories and defeats.

He just read his books in prison every day. As long as Princess Shunde's life was not in danger, he refused to intervene. Ji Yunhe did not reject his companionship. If he did not come, no one else would. She also preferred having someone around because being alone in prison all day would be too suffocating.

"Grand Master." Ji Yunhe knocked on the floor with a broken piece of wood out of boredom.

"This winter is too cold, give me a fire pit, eh?"

The Grand Master flipped a page in his book and did not look at her. Ji Yunhe continued to knock on the floor.

"Then when will you finish this book in your hand?" she asked.

"I finished my last book a long time ago. Hurry up so you can give it to me, eh?"

"Finished the last book? I'll ask you a few questions then I'll give you this one."

"Not again…"

Ji Yunhe felt like this Grand Master who had wanted to mourn for the world was actually just a lonely old man who was a little introverted. Everyone was afraid of him, but Ji Yunhe was more comfortable getting along with him than with Lin Canglan, or even Lin Haoqing.

Because she did not have to scheme in front of him. When faced with absolute power, all of her calculations were insignificant It allowed her to be herself.

"Ask then."

"First page, first line, the author wanted to 'walk among the green mist'. Where is the green mist?"

"Here."

The Grand Master raised his eyebrows. Ji Yunhe smiled and continued, "In the last book, 'Notes on the Heavenly South Kingdom', the author used her dream as a means to travel through the land. She wrote about its mountains and lakes, yet she kept chasing the footsteps of one person. That person in her dream was dressed in white, tall and slender, and unmatched by anyone, so she wanted to follow him to the end of the world. She indulged in her dream because of him, and eventually died in the dream."

She paused then continued, "What the author wanted to see was not the Heavenly South in her dream, and the person she wanted to find was not the shadow in her dream either. Just that this person was too unattainable in the real world. She preferred to stay asleep inside her dream until she exhausted her life, than to wake up and face someone she could never get."

The Grand Master was silent. "This book 'Notes on the Heavenly South Kingdom', and the book 'Notes on the Everlasting Water', and the 'Glorious Long Night', were all written by the same woman, right?" Ji Yunhe peered at the Grand Master.

"How do you know it's a woman?"

"How? These pages are overflowing with longing and desire. How else would I know?"

Ji Yunhe knocked on the floor with her wood. "In this book, the longing to be with one another is very strong, but the intentions are trapped by her writing style. Her use of words sometimes appears inappropriate. I enjoyed reading it very much, but it doesn't seem suitable for someone like the Grand Master. Could this book be written by…

"Ji Yunhe peeked at him.

"The love you lost?" The Grand Master was not ambiguous about it.

"She wrote it." Then he looked at the book in his hand and said, "I made copies." So he treasured the original books so much that he did not even want to touch them? Ji Yunhe sighed.

"Since you liked each other this much, why didn't you two end up together?" He gently stroked the page with his fingers.

"Why else do you think I mourn for this world?"

Ji Yunhe said, "I have not yet read the book in your hands, but from the previous ones I've read, even though she was troubled by unattainable desire, her love for the land, the heaven and earth, and the world in general was very apparent. Why do you..."

The Grand Master suddenly stood up before she finished. Ji Yunhe stopped talking. She saw the serious look on his face and dropped the wood she had been knocking against the floor.

"Okay, I'll stop bothering you. You take your time with that book." The Grand Master turned around to leave.

"What's the matter?"

"Ruling is in danger." The Grand Master's body transformed into a flash of white light and disappeared in an instant. The book in his hand fell to the ground with a plop.

Ji Yunhe immediately shouted out, "Wait! Throw the book to me first! Hey!" Her voice echoed twice in the empty prison, but the Grand Master was long gone.

Ji Yunhe sat in the cell and stared at the book on the ground outside. She waited for the Grand Master to return. And this wait lasted over ten days.