Be Gentle, Immortal Master

Bai Ye heard my approach first and looked up. Su Nian turned around next, just as my flying sword touched the ground.

She was more beautiful than I expected. Her appearance was in her mid-twenties like Bai Ye told me, but that said nothing about her ageless charm. Her figure was slim and graceful, her features impeccable, and while I barely reached Bai Ye's shoulders, she was eye level with his chin. There was a certain air about her that matched his as well … cool and collected, sharp as a sword.

They couldn't look more perfect standing next to each other.

A dull pain stabbed my heart. No matter how much I trusted Bai Ye's feelings for me, I couldn't change the fact that I would always be the plain, drab sight I was. I could never make such a flawless image alongside him.

"Master." I offered a formal greeting to announce my return, hiding my thoughts as I buried my face in a low bow.

"You came back at a good time." I heard him say. His tone was warm, though I couldn't see the expression on his face. "Greet Master Su Nian."

I straightened and was about to bow again when Su Nian stopped me. "No need for formalities," she smiled amicably. "I watched your match with Shiyin at the tournament. Bai Ye has taught you well."

The way she said his name—with such familiarity as if she was used to uttering it every day—made me wince inwardly. I managed a somewhat awkward smile.

"I was surprised when I heard you finally took in a disciple after all these years," she said to Bai Ye before turning her eyes back onto me. "Even more surprised when I saw that you've given her Twin Stars … Those swords used to mean the world to you. What changed?"

She didn't see a displeased look flash across Bai Ye's face behind her. "Nothing changed," he said flatly. "They still mean the world to me."

Su Nian's eyes narrowed at the response, though her smile didn't falter. "Aren't you lucky?" she said to me. "Now, please don't let my presence stop you from returning to your room. You must be tired from the trip, and our discussion might still take a while."

She was skilled with words—just a simple choice of "our" had alienated me from her and Bai Ye, and she had commanded me to leave using such a cordial suggestion that I couldn't even make myself feel offended. I nodded my acknowledgment a bit numbly, and I was already through the gate on my way to my room when Bai Ye stretched out his arm in front of me. I stopped.

"I think our discussion has ended, Su Nian," he said. "You've already made your point, and I will consider it. Besides … My disciple doesn't need to follow anyone else's orders."

His tone surprised me. It was courteous, yet straightforward and devoid of warmth, just like the way he had spoken to that young woman at Silver Gate. I had thought that given his guilt towards Su Nian and the time she had spent by his side, he would treat her a little differently from everyone else. Maybe at least with more fondness. Maybe with the same tone that he always spoke to me with …

But I was thrilled at the fact that he did not.

Su Nian, on the other hand, didn't sound thrilled at all. "But I haven't finished," she protested behind me. "The Gatekeeper wants to—"

"I'm aware of what he wants," Bai Ye interrupted her. "I will do my best. No need to over-concern yourself with this."

Su Nian turned quiet for a moment. Then I heard a light sigh. "Very well … I will see you in a week then, Bai Ye. Please take care. You seem … a bit thinner than the last time I saw you. Much paler too."

My head snapped up at the last of her words. How could I have not noticed Bai Ye's change? But before I could get a closer look, he had strode forward towards the gate. "I look forward to the trip as well," he said politely as he gripped the gate handles. "Take care."

I barely waited till the flash of Su Nian's flying sword was out of sight before I dashed over to him. "Are you not feeling well?" I blurted, though he didn't seem as pale and thin to me as Su Nian had suggested. Had I grown too used to seeing him every day that I couldn't even notice those changes she saw?

He only laughed. "She's making up excuses to talk." He closed the gate behind him and turned back to me. "She likes to sound as if she knows me better than anyone else. Don't let her fool you."

But she did know him better than most … even better than me when it came to his past, I thought wistfully. Though I didn't say it. "She does care about you," I said in a tiny voice instead. "I can understand how she feels … she should've been the perfect match for you, but—"

"Perfect match?" He stared at me like I had just said something absurd. "In what way?"

"In … every way." I bit my lips. That dull pain returned inside me. "She's beautiful, elegant, shar—"

"Qing-er." he didn't let me finish. "Your understanding of a perfect match seems a bit off … Let me show you something."

He gave me no chance to protest as he took my hand and led me through the garden, across the corridors and towards his room. "Look," he said and wrapped his arms around me from behind, sitting in front of the mirror and placing me on his lap.

I stared into the mirror, confused. His bright smile stared back at me from the polished surface, along with the puzzled look of the girl next to him.

On most days, I rarely looked into a mirror, and I was surprised to see how much I had changed over the past few weeks. My features were still myself, of course—hooded eyes, button nose, thin lips—but my dull skin had somehow grown smoother and more radiant without me noticing. My hollow cheeks were plump and rosy for once, my lackluster hair silky.

I was … no longer the scrawny girl I remembered. When did all this happen?

But of course, I could still never compare to a true beauty like Su Nian, and in no way did I resemble a perfect match to Bai Ye's godly figure. I moved my eyes away from the mirror. "What do you expect me to see?" I asked.

"The light in your eyes," he said softly. "Look at me in the mirror."

I didn't need to see to know the gaze that I couldn't be more familiar with. But I looked anyway, and the moment I did, I thought the world was going to melt in its warmth. The overwhelming, loving tenderness that he had always looked at me with.

"Now look at yourself," he said.

I obeyed. For a fleeting second, I caught a glimpse of what was in my eyes before it faded away. The same look that was in his. The endless warmth and love.

"Do you see it?" he whispered into my ears. "This is what a perfect match looks like to me, Qing-er.. It's for you and me, and no one else."