Chapter 123: The Stars Are Your Lie

Beneath the starlit canopy, all things have fallen into silence.

A gentle night breeze drifts by, carrying the scent of flowers from an unknown place, along with the faint, intermittent roars of demons, which gradually dissipate into the wind.

Only the sound of paper being folded remains.

It is exceptionally clear in the empty courtyard.

Like a lighthouse on a sea of darkness, it is so eye-catching that it would be hard not to notice.

"Creak—"

Xu Xi pushes open the door and walks through the dim courtyard, easily finding the source of the sound: a familiar figure in red and white robes.

At this moment, she is…

…frantically struggling to fold an old piece of paper with fingers that simply won't listen to her.

Xu Xi recognizes the appearance of that paper.

It comes from the original book of the Yangyuan Technique.

After the Fools Art was developed, the Yangyuan Technique became an unnecessary piece of junk, and no matter how it is treated, Xu Xi would not feel any heartache.

He is only puzzled about what the girl is actually doing.

"Ahem—"

Xu Xi stands behind the girl.

In that narrow space where the moonlight can only illuminate a small patch.

He coughs lightly, trying to get the girl's attention.

"Darn it, why can't I get it right…" the girl mutters to herself, completely failing to hear Xu Xi's voice. With a troubled expression, she leans over the stone table, folding the paper.

Thus, Xu Xi raises his voice.

"Ahem!"

"!!!"

This time, 17-year-old Wu Yingxue finally hears him.

As if startled, she quickly turns around, instinctively grabbing the dragon-patterned long spear placed beside her.

But upon seeing Xu Xi…

…her expression stiffens again.

"S-Sir? Why are you…"

Wu Yingxue's voice cuts off abruptly. Originally wanting to ask why Xu Xi was there, she suddenly realizes that she has disturbed Xu Xi's rest.

Thus, an apologetic look appears on her face.

"I'm sorry, Sir…"

"It's fine."

Xu Xi waves his hand, interrupting the girl's apology.

The silence of the night is like a deep pool of stagnant water, swallowing all light and making everything dim, making it difficult to distinguish their shapes.

But even so.

Xu Xi still sees it.

The paper clutched tightly in the girl's palm, folded all crookedly.

"Yingxue, what are you doing?"

Facing Xu Xi's inquiry, Wu Yingxue's expression is slightly awkward.

Her small, pretty face shifts through various expressions, hesitant and wavering.

Finally, she says in an embarrassed tone: "I am folding a flower."

"Folding a flower? You woke up just to do this?"

"Ah, no, actually I… didn't sleep."

Xu Xi is a Xiantian Martial Artist, and Wu Yingxue is at the Blood Exchange stage of the fifth level of Body Tempering.

Logically, Xu Xi, with his stronger physical constitution, should have woken up earlier than the girl, yet he happened to see the girl's figure first.

The answer is simple.

After saying goodbye during the day.

Wu Yingxue didn't sleep at all.

"I intended to sleep, but after lying in bed, I couldn't fall asleep," she says, like a playful child caught in the act by their parent.

In the thick night, the young girl explains with a sheepish smile.

Tonight's moonlight is dim, not very bright, forming a faint layer of hazy halo that clings to the girl's bewildered fingers.

"It's alright, if you can't sleep, then so be it."

Xu Xi gently comforts her, putting the girl's mind at ease.

Immediately after.

His gaze focuses on that "flower."

No, it would be more appropriate to call it a "tattered piece of paper."

Although the girl repeatedly emphasizes that she wants to fold a flower, the product created by her fingers looks more like a ball of waste paper crumpled up at random.

"?"

Facing the puzzled look from Xu Xi.

Wu Yingxue widens her eyes and says: "Because it is too dark, I can't see clearly at all. I was afraid of disturbing Sir's sleep, so I didn't dare to light a lamp!"

As if to prove something.

The girl quickly finds an oil lamp from the room; the oil inside comes from a demon and is very long-lasting.

"Whoosh—"

The flame flares up, and the weak light carves out a small space in the night.

Although it is not bright enough.

Although it is very faint.

It is enough to let one see the palm prints and tiny marks on her hands.

"Watch me," Wu Yingxue takes a deep breath, spreads the paper flat on the stone table, and slowly pinches the edges of the paper with both hands.

Step by step, she is very careful.

Molding the paper into—

A ball of waste paper.

Starlight sprinkles down like crushed silver, mixing with the flickering moonlight, highlighting the silent atmosphere and that inexplicably rising sense of embarrassment.

"I, actually…"

The girl starts to speak but stops, then tries to speak again.

It seems she still wants to argue something.

"Let me do it," Xu Xi says helplessly, picking up the crumpled paper ball and flattening it out again.

His fingers control the paper precisely, folding it in half or diagonally.

The speed is very fast, so fast that the girl widens her eyes.

It is as if he created it out of thin air.

The previous ball of waste paper abruptly transforms into a paper flower—a strange, white-brown paper flower that will never wither.

"So amazing…"

"Wait, wait, Sir, you can do this too?"

The girl first exclaims in wonder, then looks at Xu Xi with a dazed expression.

She cannot connect the Xu Xi in front of her with his usual image of having superb martial arts and slaughtering demons like dogs.

"When I was young, I learned a little."

Seeing the disbelief on the girl's face, Xu Xi explains with a chuckle.

"So amazing, so amazing…"

Wu Yingxue mutters.

Holding the not-so-precious paper flower, she examines it over and over against the bright moon in the night sky, repeatedly looking at the folds of the petals.

Her gaze is nostalgic.

She cannot put it down.

Watching the girl like this, Xu Xi cannot help but ask: "Yingxue, how did you suddenly think of folding paper flowers in the middle of the night?"

"Actually…"

The girl hesitates for a moment, but finally states the reason.

The reason she couldn't sleep was that she remembered her late parents, and when she was young, the Prince Dingyuan's consort had taught her how to fold paper flowers.

"Back then, I was not interested in folding paper flowers at all…"

"I only thought about saving the country and the people, and becoming a great hero…"

Wu Yingxue's expression is a bit lonely.

With a gentle twist of her fingertips, the paper flower spins in her hand.

Xu Xi rarely sees such an expression on the girl; in the past, Wu Yingxue always displayed a strong appearance.

However.

No matter how strong a person is, there will be moments of vulnerability.

"Sir, tell me…"

"In this world, where do the people who have died go?"

Wu Yingxue lowers her head to gaze at the paper flower, asking such a question.

Xu Xi looks at the girl, then at the night sky above her, his eyes appearing deep in the night, and answers in a gentle tone:

"In my hometown, there is a saying that after people die, they turn into stars hanging in the sky, continuing to watch over their loved ones on the ground. Whenever the starry sky is brilliant, it proves that they have come."

"Is that so… That is really a nice saying."

The girl smiles.

She knows it is false, but she likes it.

"Sir, teach me how to fold paper flowers; I want to learn."