Even with the shortcut that Zhenghuan knew, it was still an arduous climb up the mountainside. They had already been walking for over half a day. Still, Zi-ning gritted her teeth and plodded on, even when the injury to her forehead began to hurt once again. Thanks to Old Hu's medicines, she was almost fully recovered, but there was still a lingering ache near her left temple from time to time.

Her foot slipped on an icy patch, threatening to send her sliding backwards. Strong fingers gripped onto her upper arm.

"Be careful," Zhenghuan said. His stern tone made her feel like an incompetent child, which was absurd, considering she had already lived this life twice. She shrugged his hand away and continued the climb.

The higher they went, the colder it became, and now she could see her own frosty breath leaving her lips. It was a good thing the exertion was helping her body to generate heat, else she reckoned she could die from hypothermia before finding the vines.

"Are we almost there?" she asked.

"Just up ahead." Zhenghuan walked up towards a steep cliff face that sat at an almost vertical incline from them, towering at approximately the height of three men. He pointed upwards. "Once we get up there, we should see the entrance to a small cave. There should be devil's vines growing in there."

Zi-ning stared in dismay. The climb up here had already drained a great deal of energy out of her, and it did not look like there was an easy way to scale the rockface, even though it wasn't very high.

As if sensing her distress, Zhenghuan added, "You can wait down here. I'll climb up and gather the vines, then I'll come back down. It shouldn't take longer than half a stick of incense."

"No, you've already done me a great favour by bringing me up here. I shouldn't impose any further," she replied firmly.

It was going to be a strenuous climb to get up to the cave, but she could do it. She had to. There was no way she was leaving this place without getting a huanhun dan from the River Immortal.

Sucking in a breath, she searched for suitable crevices and protruding sections of the rock, then braced herself as she began her ascent. Several times she almost slipped and fell, but her own determination helped her to pull through. Relief washed over her when her fingers finally found themselves clutching onto the edge of the cliff. Zhenghuan, who had easily overtaken her, reached out a hand from above and helped to pull her up.

He studied her briefly, lips set in a hard line, as if disapproving of her insistence to come up here. Then he simply shook his head and continued moving ahead.

Zhenghuan was right about the cave. Its entrance was hidden behind a mass of shrubbery and cascading vines, and could have easily been missed by anyone who didn't already know it was there.

"How did you find out about this cave?" Zi-ning asked as they made their way towards it.

"I... Studying the topography surrounding the capital is part of my responsibilities," he replied.

There was something about the way he said it that made Zi-ning feel like he was lying, but it wasn't her place to probe. If Zhenghuan was willing to let her keep her secrets, then the least she could do was to accord him that same prerogative.

She pushed aside the hanging vines and stepped inside the cave. A chill immediately went down her spine from the sudden drop in temperature. There was also a damp, musty odour coming from the walls that made her nose tickle.

Zhenghuan had gone in front, and she could see his silhouette crouched a short distance ahead.

"Did you find it?" she asked, and her question echoed back. She followed along, peering curiously through the darkness into a diamond-shaped crack in the wall that Zhenghuan was looking at.

He reached an arm into the void and yanked hard. "Bring the baskets here," he said.

Zi-ning thought she heard a slight wince from him as he pulled out the vines, but she didn't think much of it. Obeying his instruction, she quickly retrieved the rattan baskets from the cave entrance and brought them over.

"I can help," she said, thinking to stick her hand in and pluck the vines together. After all, the hole looked almost large enough for a child to squeeze through.

To her surprise, Zhenghuan grabbed hold of her wrist and stopped her from doing so. "It's okay, I'll do it. It requires quite some strength to pull the vines out, so it'll be faster if I did it alone."

"But I'm the one who's supposed to collect the vines. You don't have to do this for me."

"Who says I'm doing it for you? I just want to finish this more quickly so that we can make it back down the mountain by nightfall. I don't fancy catching hypothermia out here, so do me a favour and don't get in the way. You can wait outside."

In the way? Zi-ning scowled, retracting her hand. Fine, if he thought she would be a nuisance then she would make herself scarce. Spinning on her heels, she headed back out, squatting by the cave entrance and plucking blades of grass from the ground.

It wasn't long before Zhenghuan emerged out into the open, hauling one rattan basket in each hand. Both baskets were now filled, and in the light, Zi-ning could see that the devil's vines had winding purplish stems and mottled leaves with a similar shade of purple venation running across their heart-shaped surfaces.

But as Zhenghuan came closer, she noticed something else.

The hands that were holding on to the basket handles were stained red. With blood.

"What happened to your hands?" she gasped, rushing over. She snatched one basket from him and chucked it on the ground, taking hold of his hand and flipping it over. Then, she checked the other.

Zhenghuan's palms had been shredded, his skin a mess of bloodied ribbons. He pulled his hands away and closed his fingers around the carnage. "I'm fine," he said. "I've had far worse before."

Zi-ning stared down in horror at the basket of purple vines sitting by her feet. It was then that she saw the tiny, teeth-like thorns that lined the winding stems. Those must have been the culprits that had ruined Zhenghuan's hands.

"Why didn't you protect your hands before you touched those? Wrap them up with cloth?" she asked.

"Devil's vines are called devil's vines because they require an offering of blood in order to pluck them out. Without enough blood, their stems are incredibly stiff and their roots are almost impossible to detach from the rock. That's why you don't see it in regular medical halls, even in the capital city, and they cost an exorbitant amount to buy."

"You should have told me..."

So that was why he refused to let her help and insisted on doing it on his own. She silently scolded herself for being so petty earlier. She had become accustomed to thinking the worst of people, and this time Zhenghuan had proven her wrong.

He shrugged. "Your hands are worth more than mine," he said. "Like I said. I've had worse. These are only a couple of scratches."

Zi-ning looked around, then ran a short distance away to scoop up some clean snow that had gathered upon some rocks. "Give me your hands," she said. When Zhenghuan did as told, she gently used the water from the melted snow to wash the wounds that littered his palms. There were several long gashes, but it looked less gory after most of the blood and dirt had been cleaned away. Zi-ning ripped off two strips of cloth from the hem of her robes, using them to carefully bandage both of Zhenghuan's injured hands.

"That should hold until we get back to Old Hu's place," she murmured, studying her handiwork. When she looked up, she startled when she realised Zhenghuan was staring right back at her.

His eyes were midnight black, with an intensity that made her feel like they could burn through her soul. She immediately averted her gaze. There were too many secrets inside her, too much darkness that she did not want him to discover.

"Let's head back down the mountain," she said, moving to pick up the baskets.

#

Old Hu picked up a pale yellow strip from the basket—the core of the devil's vine, carefully stripped from its vicious purple shell—and took a whiff. He nodded, looking mildly impressed.

"Did you gather this by yourself?" he asked, looking up at Zi-ning.

"No. He helped me," she confessed, turning towards the open window, through which she could see Zhenghuan practising his swordsmanship using a long willow branch.

She frowned. Doesn't he know how to take a break? The lacerations on his hands had barely begun to heal. Did he think he was truly invincible?

The old man clucked his tongue. "I figured. The two of you should have used that energy to leave the valley and return to wherever it is you came from." He sat down at the table and poured himself a cup of tea. The fragrance of jasmine flowers wafted into the air. "The huanhun dan won't work on you, you know?"

"Why?"

"Because it can only save a person's life once. It can't work a second time. Your soul has already been returned once before, hasn't it?"

Zi-ning froze.

This was the first time since her rebirth that someone had directly alluded to it. But how did he know?

"No need to look so petrified, child," Old Hu said dismissively, waving his hand. "When you've lived as long as I have, there's nothing you haven't seen. I'll keep up my end of the bargain. You brought me two baskets of devil's vines," he took out a small wooden box and pushed it across the table, "so here you go."

Zi-ning opened the box with trembling fingers to reveal a small white orb that looked exactly like a pearl.

So this is the fabled huanhun dan...

If history repeated itself and her brother was brought home from the battlefield on the brink of death, she would have a way to save him and change his fate.

"Sit down, sit down," the old man said, gesturing at the chair across from him. He poured her another cup of tea. "Since fate somehow brought you here, let me give you some words of advice. Not everyone gets the chance to live life again. It is a gift, from the heavens." He gave her a pointed stare. "Don't. Waste. It."

A lump rose up in Zi-ning's throat. She stared down at the clay teacup in her hands, trying to bury the emotions that had been stirred up by Old Hu's call-out. She could read between the lines. He was trying to tell her to let go of the past. To let bygones be bygones, and start life afresh.

But how could she?

How could someone watch their loved ones die before their very eyes, let themselves be betrayed by those they trusted, let the guillotine fall upon their own neck—and not do anything about it?

If the gods had given her this gift, why had they not taken away her memories of her past life? She could still remember the stench of blood that had filled the air the day she watched them execute the entirety of Ru-wen's household. The face of her Ai-er, who had only been a child.

The old man sighed. "I know it takes more than that to undo a grudge, so I shan't belabour the point. Just remember that there is a cost to everything, and the price you'll end up paying may not be worth it." He stood up and shuffled over to one of his shelves, flipping through a stack of books before he pulled out a thin bound volume. He brought it back to the table and tossed it in front of her.

"What's this?" she asked. The characters on the book's cover read "The Shanhe Manual". She had never heard of it before.

"I happen to be in a good mood today, so count yourself lucky! The huanhun dan can't save you, but maybe this will."

Zi-ning skimmed through a few pages. "It's a physician's manual?"

"Saw that you have some basic training in the physician's art, from the way you treated and bandaged that fellow's hands. Very basic. This manual might be of interest. I have no use for it anyway, so might as well get rid of it."

The contents of the manual were very eccentric, much like the River Immortal himself, and she had seen none of these prescriptions in the medical books back at the Taishan temple. Still, her instincts told her that these would come in very handy in future.

She stood up and bowed respectfully to the elder.

"Thank you, Master Hu," she said. "For everything."

"I have no need for your thanks," the old man said with a snort. "Now that you have everything you wanted, get out of my sight and go back to whatever piss hole it is you came from."

Zi-ning smiled, then picked up her two items and headed for the door. Before she closed the doors behind her, she took another look at the grouchy elder, who had begun smoking some herbal concoction out of his long bamboo pipe. She had a feeling that once she left this hidden valley, she would not be seeing the River Immortal again in this lifetime.