"I think that what you had weren't hallucinations, "said Su Wan as she sat down on the Kang bed to warm her feet and hands. She wrapped herself up with the blanket. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that maybe that saggy old hag just sent someone who knows martial arts with a child and has him stand on your roof to scare you. Did you tell someone about what you saw as a child? Because that's the only explanation that something like that happened after so long."

Lin Yan pondered over this thought for a while before he climbed inside the blanket with Su Wan and covered his hands and feet. He shook his head as he answered Su Wan, "I don't think I told anyone in Luo Xin's courtyard. I was quite wary of the servants there. I did have a friend there, and he found out about my hallucinations by chance because I had a nightmare. I didn't want to tell him, but I had no choice."

"Well, then maybe your friend betrayed you," said Su Wan simply. She laid back on the Kang, "of course, this is all my own hypothetical theories that I am coming up with. But you need to understand that it doesn't take long for people to change. So maybe that old friend betrayed you for his own advantage or something."

"Who knows?" said Lin Yan, lying on the Kang covered with blankets until only his eyes were peeking out next to Su Wan. "I really can't distinguish between the reality or the hallucinations in these situations. You see, whether it was a prank by that old woman or there was really something wrong on the roof, I don't know, and maybe I don't want to know because, in all honesty, my heart can't take it anymore."

While he was saying this, he kept rubbing the broken string in his hand. Su Wan watched him do it in silence before an exhausted sigh broke past her lips. Honestly, if possible, she wanted to know as well, but she would gladly take the latter option.

But then again, if this brought him peace of mind, she might as well go along with him. 

After contemplating the situation, Su Wan closed her eyes and finally slept and succumbed to her exhaustion. She had a feeling that tomorrow would be a rather tiring day for her.

Mother Lin watched the broken teacup and suddenly felt a bit of foreboding rising in her heart. She was confident that something big was going to happen today. She didn't know what it was, but she just had a feeling. 

"Mother-in-law?"

"Oh dear, my lord!" gasped mother Lin, entirely taken by surprise when Su Wan appeared out of nowhere. She was already having difficulty settling her restless heart down after seeing such an unlucky thing in the morning. Now Su Wan scared her by appearing out of the air, "What's - what's the matter, Wan Wan?" 

Though Mother Lin was upset and shocked, she was a kind woman. She didn't snap at Su Wan just because of a slight scare and kept herself reasonably calm as she talked to Su Wan. 

"Mother, I was just wondering where did you get the red string that Yan always wears? He told me that it is nothing less than a miracle to comfort his heart. Where did you get it from?" asked Su Wan as she sat down next to Mother Lin. Her expression was a mask of total calm and simple curiosity. No one, even the sharp-eyed Lin Yu, wouldn't be able to figure out what was going on in her mind.

"Ah, that string?" Mother Lin hadn't forgotten about that string. After all, that red string was something that saved Lin Yan's life years ago. "I got it from the temple of The Luminescent Peak. It's quite far from here, but everyone says that the high priest can tell you everything about your life, whether it is the future or the past. I was fortunate enough to meet the high priest, if not -" Mother Lin paused. "Anyway, it was all luck, but why are you asking about it?"

"Oh, it's nothing," said Su Wan as she stood up. "Yan kept yammering about how that temple was a miraculous thing and wouldn't tell me where it was, so I got a bit curious nothing more. Well, then, mother, have a good day."

----

Su Wan felt her legs quiver standing in front of the Luminescent peak. She came here full of courage and guts, but now she wasn't so sure. The only reason she came here was Lin Yan's faith. Honestly, she felt confident that Lin Yan was paranoid because of his fear, but she would do whatever it took to calm his heart.

"Miss, are you sure that you want to do this?" the carriage driver, who brought Su Wan to the Luminescent peak, couldn't help but ask. The girl in front of him was tiny, like a petite pixie with a stature that was so tiny that he could crush her with a single blow. He really couldn't see this small young girl climbing the five hundred steps up, kowtowing on every step as she climbed. "It's five hundred steps. I think you should reconsider it, little girl."

Su Wan smiled at the kind old man trying to change her mind. She was not someone who would change her mind once she had decided to do something. "Thank you, Uncle. I really appreciate your kindness, but honestly, I'm doing this for someone I love rather than for myself, so I can not back down."

She turned around and walked towards the old yet clean stairs. It seemed that the person in charge of the cleanliness here was really particular about keeping everything neat and tidy. Every step was just as spotless as the ones above. Su Wan took one last look at the steps in front of her and then kneeled down before kowtowing three times in front of it. The force with which she kowtowed wasn't light, and her pale forehead soon turned red from pressing it against the steps.

The carriage driver watched her kowtow and climb, and with a sigh, he thought to himself, 'she really was such a young girl, but her life seemed filled with adversities. Or else she wouldn't be here'.

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