Chapter 418: EXTRA 13.

"You took the long route through the western pass because you knew I was staying in the village at the foot of the mountain."

Bai Li hesitated. "The road was quieter."

Yan Cijin’s smile became triumphant. "You fell in love with me first."

"You sent me a letter asking whether I had recovered from a training injury."

"Because you were injured."

"You sent a second letter asking whether I had received the first."

"The courier was unreliable."

"And a third letter with a poem you claimed was copied from an old book."

Yan Cijin’s face warmed. "It was an old book."

"You wrote it yourself."

"That has not been proven."

Bai Li smiled. "You fell in love with me first."

Yan Cijin narrowed her eyes. "We should establish a rule that no one is permitted to use evidence against me in my own home."

"That seems unreasonable."

"Then I shall make it a household rule."

"I will appeal."

"Your appeal will be denied."

Bai Li reached for her wife, and Yan Cijin willingly let herself be pulled close. Their laughter faded into another kiss, this one slower and more comfortable. They had argued over the same memories so often that the details had become part of their private language. Neither actually needed to win. The point was to revisit the beginning and be reminded of how far they had traveled since then.

Yan Cijin had never been impressed by strength alone. She had met too many powerful people who used their abilities to make other people feel small. What drew her to Bai Li had been the quiet care beneath the cold exterior, the way Bai Li checked whether a traveling companion had enough water, the way she listened to a witness who could barely speak, and the way she could be ruthless toward cruelty without becoming cruel herself. Bai Li, for her part, had fallen for Yan Cijin’s mind before she fully admitted her attraction to the woman’s beauty. Yan Cijin noticed things other people missed. She asked difficult questions without turning every conversation into a contest. She was kind without being naive, and powerful without needing the world to bow at every step.

Their marriage had not meant that they stopped pursuing their own goals. Yan Cijin continued refining her martial art. Bai Li continued searching for ways to understand the highest levels of sword intent. They trained together, argued over old manuscripts, and sometimes spent entire afternoons testing a technique from opposite sides of the courtyard. They were equals in power, but equality did not mean they had become the same person. Bai Li could be direct to the point of stubbornness. Yan Cijin could be patient to the point of mischief. Each understood the other’s habits well enough to know when a disagreement was useful and when it was merely an excuse to keep talking.

"Do you remember the day you confessed?" Yan Cijin asked.

Bai Li sighed. "I remember that you interrupted me."

"You had been talking for nearly half an hour."

"I was choosing my words carefully."

"You had explained the difference between admiration, respect, and emotional attachment. Then you began discussing how a long-term partnership might affect two people’s cultivation. I thought you were going to ask me to help review a sword manual."

"I was not."

"I know that now. At the time, I was beginning to worry that you wanted me to reorganize your notes."

Bai Li covered her face with one hand. "You have never allowed me to forget that."

"It was memorable."

"I had prepared an entire speech."

"And I had already decided that I loved you. If I waited for the speech to finish, you might have started explaining the best season for a wedding."

Bai Li looked at her through her fingers. "I had considered it."

Yan Cijin fell backward against the cushions, laughing. Bai Li leaned over her, trying to look stern and failing because she was laughing too. When Yan Cijin finally caught her breath, she raised both hands toward Bai Li. Bai Li took them and helped her sit up, then kissed her once on the forehead and once on the cheek.

"For the record," Bai Li said, "I had planned to ask you whether you would marry me."

Yan Cijin’s laughter softened. "I know."

"You answered before I finished."

"I knew what you wanted to ask."

"You might have allowed me the dignity of finishing."

Yan Cijin slid her arms around Bai Li’s neck. "Would you like to try again?"

Bai Li paused. The question was playful, but there was real tenderness beneath it. Their wedding had taken place years ago. They had made promises before their friends, their teachers, and the elders of Mount Hua. They had shared the years since, with all the ordinary care and difficult work that marriage required. Yet the idea of asking again, of hearing Yan Cijin choose her with the same certainty, felt like a gift she had not known she wanted.

Bai Li rested her forehead against Yan Cijin’s. "Yan Cijin, will you marry me?"

Yan Cijin smiled. "Yes."

"You did it again."

"You took too long."

Bai Li laughed and kissed her. Yan Cijin held her close, one hand sliding through the long hair at the back of her neck. The room had become quiet around them. Outside, someone crossed the courtyard with a basket of folded laundry. A bird called from the roof. Somewhere in the distance, a group of disciples began a new training drill. None of those sounds interrupted the moment. Their world was full of people and responsibilities, but the quiet space they made together belonged to them.

Yan Cijin brushed her thumb across Bai Li’s cheek. "You know I would choose you again."

"I know."

"Even if you were a poor traveling swordswoman with one robe and a terrible attitude."

"My attitude is excellent."

"Even if you had no sword."

Bai Li thought about that. "I would find another one."

"You are missing the point."

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TO BE CONTINUED.