When Ping'an arrived safely in the evening, she saw Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu still waiting for her at the dining table. Guo Baiyu was quietly reading, while Zhao Renshu was meticulously cleaning his sword.
"I brought dinner," Ping'an announced, placing four packs of food on the table.
"Good, we haven't eaten yet!" Zhao Renshu exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
Ping'an put the food on the table and walked into the kitchen. After a while, she came out with three bowls and three pairs of chopsticks. She opened the packages of food. They sat at the table and had dinner together.
"What's the matter? Why don't you eat anymore?" Guo Baiyu asked, noticing her distraction.
"Oh, I had dinner with the children and Dachin," Ping'an replied. "Dachin pretends to be very happy, but I don't think he is. His eyes are a little sad."
"He misses Yaoting. It's been a year," Guo Baiyu sighed, understanding the lingering pain.
Zhao Renshu ignored them, but stuffed more food into his mouth, eating quickly.
"Slow down, you may choke," Guo Baiyu warned.
"My mouth, not yours; I'm hungry!" Zhao Renshu retorted, his mouth full.
"You have to show more self-respect and table manners," Guo Baiyu chastised, a playful irritation in his voice.
The two men argued back and forth, only then did Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu realize that Ping'an was spacing out. Zhao Renshu looked at Guo Baiyu, and the two men stared at Ping'an, concerned.
Zhao Renshu stretched out his hand and gently pinched Ping'an's left cheek. "What's the matter, dear?"
"I'm just thinking about one thing," Ping'an confessed.
"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Renshu prompted.
"I'm thinking about Zhiqiang," Ping'an admitted, her voice soft.
"He wrote that he won't be back home for two or three months," Guo Baiyu said, surprised by her worry. "Do you want Shan to check on him again?"
"What did he do?" Zhao Renshu asked, confused. "Peizhi already cleared him."
"I met him at the shop today," Ping'an revealed. She put down her bowl and chopsticks, her expression grim. "He was broken. He didn't tell me anything. He only told me that he was hurt and asked me why people made promises if they could not keep their promises."
"Hurt? With his ability, ordinary people can't hurt him," Zhao Renshu scoffed, misunderstanding the nature of the pain.
"Not that kind of hurt," Ping'an clarified sadly.
"It must be very difficult for him to come home with a broken heart," Guo Baiyu mused, a compassionate understanding in his voice. "It is best for him to figure it out by himself."
"I hope he doesn't commit suicide," Zhao Renshu teased, laughing, still unable to grasp the emotional depth of the situation.
"You won't understand, because you have never come home with a broken heart," Guo Baiyu said, a rare jab at his brother.
"Who said that?" Zhao Renshu retorted, rising to the bait.
Guo Baiyu became excited, a rare glint in his eye. "Oh, you came home with a broken heart too. When?"
"Yeah, I did," Zhao Renshu declared proudly. "I brought Ping'an back to you."
"You two, stop arguing!" Ping'an said, shaking her head but smiling. "I believe Zhiqiang is a very strong person, and he will overcome this obstacle."
"Mistakes are not always bad," Guo Baiyu said, turning serious. "Mistakes help us make better judgments. He showed us that the hardships he has experienced in the past will not affect his current decisions as a Hunter."
"It's time to teach him the next level," Zhao Renshu declared, already thinking of training.
"Maybe it's a good thing for him," Ping'an conceded, hoping it would help him heal.
"This will keep him busy and divert his attention from personal issues," Guo Baiyu agreed.
"Why are you so cruel to him?" Zhao Renshu complained playfully. "I don't remember my master being so cruel to me, but I turned out great!"
"If Master Zhao had known that you would turn out this way," Guo Baiyu countered, a dry wit in his voice, "he would have been harder on you."
"So, I could become someone like you!" Zhao Renshu shook his head dramatically. "No way!"
"What's wrong with being like Baiyu?" Ping'an asked, defending her husband.
"You want two husbands who only talk to you when you ask questions?" Zhao Renshu quipped, enjoying his teasing.
Guo Baiyu frowned, genuinely annoyed. "Ridiculous."
Ping'an and Zhao Renshu burst out laughing at Guo Baiyu's reaction.
Shan suddenly appeared behind Zhao Renshu, a spectral figure. "Renshu," he said.
"What is it, Lao Shan?" Zhao Renshu asked, his laughter dying down.
"Tam Village," Shan replied.
"How much?" Zhao Renshu asked, ever practical.
"Zero," Shan stated simply.
"Lao Shan, you know I have a family to feed; I won't go," Zhao Renshu complained.
"I have told her, she refused to leave," Shan said, his voice tinged with pity.
"What do you mean?" Guo Baiyu asked, sensing the gravity.
"It is a spirit standing outside your house who is asking for help," Shan revealed.
Guo Baiyu, Zhao Renshu, Ping'an turned to their front door, their faces grim.
Outside the main entrance of Peach Blossom Valley, a clear apparition of a young woman stood. The apparition was so clear that the three Guozhao Hunters could even see her face, despite her ethereal nature.
Guo Baiyu sighed, his voice filled with concern. "Forcing yourself up the mountain will destroy your last preserved life energy. Your soul will be destroyed forever."
The woman apparition cried, a ghostly sob. "I know."
"If you knew, why did you have to forcibly climb the mountain?" Zhao Renshu demanded. "You should know that no ghosts can go in except Lao Shan!"
The woman apparition pleaded, her voice faint. "Please help me."
"Why do you think we will help you?" Zhao Renshu asked, testing her.
The Woman apparition knelt on the ground, a desperate, fading gesture. "I gambled with my soul that the Guozhao Hunters will help me because of their principles."
"What is your story?" Guo Baiyu asked, willing to listen.
"I am Tam Lin," the woman apparition said, her voice weak. "I died two days ago. I am a teacher in Tam Village. Our village was a peaceful village until an abandoned ship drifted up by our river pier three days ago. When the village chief and villagers went to investigate, they found blood everywhere and dead bodies inside the ship. Not long after the ship was discovered, thirty people came in and took the ship away." Tam Lin cried, her spectral tears falling.
"What's next?" Guo Baiyu pressed gently.
Tam Lin sobbed. "The men left for two hours, and then they came back and began killing everyone. I was at school with the children. Another teacher came and asked me to hide the children. I entered the backyard with twenty-four students, and I hid the children in one of the hidden rooms. The room could only be opened and closed from the outside. I had to close it and ran to ask for help, only to be found by those wicked people. They..." Tam Lin sobbed loudly, unable to continue.
"Stop," Ping'an said softly, her heart aching for the spirit. "You don't have to say any more."
Tam Lin pleaded, her voice fading. "Please help the children. If they stay longer, they will die. I beg you to help the children." Tam Lin's apparition slowly evaporated, her cries for help echoing as she disappeared.
"Baiyu, how far is Tam Village from here?" Ping'an asked, already determined.
"Two days up North," Guo Baiyu replied. "We will leave tomorrow, and we'll take Zhiqiang and Ah Bao with us."
"She must have tremendous guilt, that is why she sacrificed her soul," Zhao Renshu mused, understanding her desperation.
"Shan, you send a message to Zhiqiang and Ah Bao," Guo Baiyu commanded. "Get ready; we will leave early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Master Baiyu," Shan said, then disappeared, carrying out his orders.