Chapter 365: A Gift for Qiu Tong

“Miss truly did not misjudge you, truly did not misjudge you.”

Qiu Ju couldn’t help but repeat these words over and over, making Zhang Xiaohua blush slightly.

However, he felt at ease in his heart.

“Naturally, if I went to rescue Second Brother, I could also save Ou Yan and Qiu Tong along the way. Qiu Ju wasn’t wrong in saying that. Heh heh.”

“But…” Qiu Ju suddenly realized something and immediately said, “But the disciples of the Incense Spreading Sect are all highly skilled in martial arts. How will you be able to see Miss? Hmm, if you claim to be a servant from Huanxi Villa, perhaps they might let you in for a meeting. But how will you even get to the Incense Spreading Sect? Do you know where it is? Didn’t you just ask me about this a moment ago?”

Qiu Ju raised several “buts” in quick succession, each one hitting the mark.

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “On my way back this time, I happened to run into a disciple of the Piaomiao Sect named Chu Yunfei. He said he’d ask Elder Hu, and if he could find out the location of the Incense Spreading Sect, he’d find a way to let me know. Wouldn’t that solve the problem of how to get there?”

“Oh, I see.” Qiu Ju nodded and said, “Sigh, I really envy you, Xiaohua. If I were a man, I’d want to go see Miss as well.”

Zhang Xiaohua replied: “If Sister Qiu Ju were a man, Miss wouldn’t dare let you see her.”

“Hehe.” Qiu Ju realized the implication and covered her mouth with a laugh. She hadn’t been this happy in years.

Afterwards, Qiu Ju asked: “Xiaohua, where are you staying? I remember your little room was given to a new servant, and I have no idea where your belongings ended up.”

Zhang Xiaohua still held the gradually cooling teacup and said: “Actually, Sister Qiu Ju, I didn’t return to the villa this time, so I didn’t notify Brother Xi either. In fact, I’ll be leaving again in a while.”

“Hmm?” Qiu Ju frowned and asked, “Then, you are…”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Didn’t you just mention it, Sister Qiu Ju? Captain He and I… Oh, right, where is Captain He? How is he doing?”

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohua realized he hadn’t yet inquired about this mentor of his. Perhaps, subconsciously, he had already assumed He Tianshu was among those who had perished for the Piaomiao Sect.

“This…” Qiu Ju shook her head as well and said: “Captain He wasn’t at Huanxi Villa at the time. The Piaomiao Sect suffered countless casualties, and I don’t know what became of Captain He. Besides, when we left with the Incense Spreading Sect, the disciples of the Piaomiao Sect were split into many small groups, each guarded by disciples of the Incense Spreading Sect. I had even less chance to see him.”

“Sigh, I see,” Zhang Xiaohua sighed. “Let’s hope Captain He is all right.”

Then he explained: “Didn’t I learn martial arts from Captain He? Though I’m not a true disciple of the Piaomiao Sect, I’ve made some progress. Tonight, I came straight in from outside the manor and didn’t run into Brother Xi and the others.”

“Oh, I understand,” Qiu Ju nodded, then advised, “It’s probably because it’s New Year’s and there’s such heavy snow tonight that the disciples of the Heaven’s Way Alliance have all returned to the manor, so there’s no one keeping watch outside. Xiaohua, I’ve heard the Heaven’s Way Alliance disciples are very formidable. Be careful when you leave later. And in the future, don’t sneak around when you come to the villa, just come in through the main gate and say you’re looking for me. You’re not a disciple of the Piaomiao Sect, so I doubt they’ll give you any trouble. Remember that, all right?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded: “Got it, Sister Qiu Ju. Next time I come in, I’ll be waving your banner.”

“Oh, right, Sister Qiu Ju, please don’t mention my visit to anyone. If the Heaven’s Way Alliance finds out, who knows what they might do to me…”

Qiu Ju laughed: “Of course I know that. In fact, there might even be Heaven’s Way Alliance people inside the villa. I’m not that foolish.”

Only then did Zhang Xiaohua set the teacup down on the table and stand up, saying: “In that case, I’ll head back for now. Once I’ve seen Miss Ou and Sister Qiu Tong, I’ll return to the villa and tell you all about how they’re doing.”

Qiu Ju stood up as well and said: “All right, Xiaohua. If you see them, give them my regards and tell them that Qiu Ju misses them dearly at the villa.”

“I’ll be sure to pass it on, Sister Qiu Ju. I’m off, then.”

“All right, Xiaohua. Wait, why didn’t you bring an umbrella or something? The snow’s so heavy, you don’t want to catch a chill. Hold on, I’ll find you an umbrella.”

Seeing that Qiu Ju still treated him like the boy he was five years ago, Zhang Xiaohua felt a warm glow in his heart and said: “No need, Sister Qiu Ju. When have you ever seen someone who can leap over rooftops and scale walls carrying an umbrella?”

Qiu Ju slapped her own forehead and laughed: “That’s something I really wouldn’t know, hehe.”

Zhang Xiaohua walked to the door, then turned back and said: “Sister Qiu Ju, there’s no need to see me out. The wind at the door is strong, don’t catch a chill.”

Qiu Ju replied: “Xiaohua, you haven’t been back in five years. Of course I must see you off at the door.”

As she spoke, she was about to step forward, but just as she moved, she suddenly called out: “Oh! Xiaohua, wait a moment. I got so caught up talking to you earlier that I completely forgot about something. Ah, but perhaps it’s all just fleeting smoke and clouds now.”

With that, she turned and walked into the inner room.

Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled. He returned to the table and waited in confusion.

After a while, Qiu Ju emerged from inside, holding an envelope and a small paper box. As she walked, she blew the dust off the envelope and the box.

Qiu Ju came to the table, placed the envelope and the box on it, and smiled: “These two things belong to Qiu Tong. Take them with you, and when you see her, give them to her.”

Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback. “Sister Qiu Ju, since these are Sister Qiu Tong’s, why didn’t she take them with her that day? Just now, you also mentioned something about ‘fleeting smoke and clouds’?”

“Hehe,” Qiu Ju laughed when she heard this. “These were originally given to Qiu Tong by someone else, but she left in such a hurry that day, and I forgot all about them. If you hadn’t mentioned going to see Qiu Tong today, I wouldn’t have remembered either. Hmm, let me tell you the whole story.”

Actually, it was a very simple matter. On the day the Piaomiao Sect was besieged by the three sects, Piaomiao Manor was on high alert, but Huanxi Villa was as calm as ever, with everyone busy with their own affairs. Qiu Ju was in the kitchen preparing something for Miss, when a rather handsome male disciple of the Piaomiao Sect came over, holding these two items. He asked her to help pass them on to Qiu Tong. At the time, Qiu Ju found it very strange, Qiu Tong was just in the main hall of the inner manor, so why not give them to her directly? Why bother going through someone else?

However, seeing how the male disciple’s face was so red it looked like it could bleed, Qiu Ju more or less understood. Moreover, the disciple explained that these were birthday gifts he had prepared for Qiu Tong. Qiu Tong’s birthday was in two weeks, but the disciple would soon be leaving on business and likely wouldn’t be able to return in time. So, he asked Qiu Ju to deliver the gifts for him, specifically instructing her to give them to Qiu Tong on her birthday. Only then would his intentions be clear, and perhaps it would give Qiu Tong a pleasant surprise.

Naturally, Qiu Ju readily agreed to help with such a romantic favor, and even teased the disciple a bit at the time, making him even more embarrassed. However, Qiu Ju was busy and couldn’t spare a hand, so she told the disciple to leave the letter and the box on the kitchen shelf. Once she finished her work, she would take them and keep them in her own room. The disciple thanked her happily, left the items, and reminded her again to deliver them to Qiu Tong personally on her birthday. Qiu Ju, of course, waved her hand and told him not to worry.

But things turned out far differently than she had expected. Before she even finished her work in the kitchen, and while she was still wondering when Qiu Tong had managed to find herself a Piaomiao Sect sweetheart, the news broke that Piaomiao Manor was under attack by the three sects. Such thunderous news made Qiu Ju forget all about the small matter. She immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed to find Ou Yan, but by then, Ou Yan had already been taken up to Piaomiao Peak by Ou Peng, and Qiu Ju couldn’t see her. At that moment, Huanxi Villa, as part of the Piaomiao Sect, was also attacked by the three sects, and Qiu Ju and the others were forcibly driven back to their rooms, forbidden to go anywhere.

After a long while, things only got worse. A group of female disciples from the Incense Spreading Sect, along with a few monks and some disciples from the Heavne’s Way Alliance, stormed in like wolves and tigers, searching every room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, looking for something. Qiu Ju didn’t dare ask what they were searching for and just let them be. Later, she learned they were looking for martial arts manuals. Qiu Ju found it amusing, there were plenty of such things in Piaomiao Manor, but she’d never heard of any in Huanxi Villa, let alone in the quarters of a servant like herself.

What followed was a period of utter darkness. The Piaomiao Sect was annihilated, Ou Yan was taken back to the Incense Spreading Sect, and Qiu Tong and Elder Yu went with her. Qiu Ju only saw Qiu Tong once more, during their farewell. How could she possibly remember the Piaomiao Sect disciple’s secret token of affection for Qiu Tong?

It wasn’t until two weeks after Ou Yan had left, precisely on Qiu Tong’s birthday, that Qiu Ju suddenly remembered the matter. She hurried to the kitchen, which hadn’t been used in ages, and there she found the letter and the small paper box, tossed haphazardly among a pile of seasonings. Looking at the letter and the box, Qiu Ju couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow. Thinking back to that day, that male disciple must have known his chances of survival were slim, which was why he had summoned the courage to confess his feelings to Qiu Tong. Yet Qiu Tong had no idea that there was a disciple of the Piaomiao Sect who secretly admired her. Such is the way of the world, who knows if that disciple is even still alive?

Regardless of whether that disciple lived or died, his heartfelt intentions deserved to be known by Qiu Tong. So Qiu Ju took the two items back with her, intending to hand them to Qiu Tong herself when they met again.

But that wait stretched into three years. Qiu Tong never returned, and the letter and the box gradually faded from Qiu Ju’s memory, gathering only a thin layer of dust with each passing day.

After listening to Qiu Ju’s story, Zhang Xiaohua looked at the envelope, which didn’t appear old at all, and smiled: “That’s quite an interesting tale. Don’t worry, Sister Qiu Ju, I’ll make sure to deliver these two things to Sister Qiu Tong with my own hands. It’s just a pity we don’t even know the name of that Piaomiao Sect disciple.”