{"id":3890,"date":"2026-06-07T18:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T18:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pursuit-of-jade-93\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T18:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T18:58:07","slug":"pursuit-of-jade-93","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/chapter\/pursuit-of-jade-93\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuit of Jade 93"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 93

The mountain wind rustled through the treetops.

The man before her lowered his head slightly, staring at her. They were less than half a foot apart. When they spoke, they could even hear each other’s breathing.

Looking at the hostility radiating from Xie Zheng’s eyes and brows, Fan Changyu instinctively sensed danger.

His grip on her shoulders was far too strong.

She tried to pull away, but not only did she fail to break free, he tightened his hold. Her bones were beginning to ache faintly.

Frowning, she said,

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Xie Zheng asked coldly,

“Aren’t you going to Jizhou to join the army?”

“I am joining the army,” Fan Changyu replied, “but not for the reasons you’re thinking.”

Xie Zheng had become so angry that he laughed instead.

“If it’s not what I’m thinking, then why were you afraid to let me know? Why leave without saying a word?”

Looking into his bloodshot, ferocious eyes, Fan Changyu felt a pang of guilt.

Leaving without saying goodbye had indeed been inconsiderate of her.

But some things were difficult to explain to him face-to-face.

Pressing her lips together slightly, she said,

“I’m sorry.”

Looking at the girl who was always so honest and couldn’t even tell a convincing lie, Xie Zheng felt, for a brief moment, as though he wanted to strangle her.

The hand gripping her shoulder trembled.

His expression twisted as he suddenly pulled her tightly into his embrace, unwilling to let her see the even darker emotions in his eyes.

Almost through gritted teeth, he said,

“Fan Changyu, before you left, you should’ve stabbed me twice and crippled me so I couldn’t get out of bed.”

Dark fury churned inside him.

The terror buried deep in his bones\u2014that feeling that he was the only person left in the world\u2014crawled from the cracks in his soul and seeped through his flesh and blood.

Even the arms wrapped around her began to spasm uncontrollably.

All his pride.

All his toughness.

Shattered like thin ice under the sun.

Why wouldn’t she stay with him?

Why did everyone leave him?

That woman back then had.

And now she was doing the same.

Everything she believed stood between them\u2014he was already resolving it.

Yet she still didn’t want him.

He could carve out his entire heart and place it before her, and she still wouldn’t care.

For a moment, Xie Zheng felt as though he wasn’t himself.

Because he couldn’t control what he was doing.

He saw himself lower his head and viciously bite down on her shoulder through her clothing.

Fan Changyu cried out in pain.

Yet his teeth continued to tighten.

A bloody redness spread through his phoenix eyes.

His arms locked around her so tightly that no matter how she struggled, he refused to loosen his grip.

Like a wolf biting into prey it was unwilling to let escape.

Enduring the pain, Fan Changyu cursed,

“Have you lost your mind?”

The man biting her finally released his hold.

There was blood on his lips.

Yet his face seemed pale.

Lowering his eyes to look at her, he murmured,

“Fan Changyu… why can’t you just like me?”

The question sounded less like an accusation and more like a plea.

The gentle breeze stirred the loose strands of hair hanging over his forehead.

For the first time, the expression on his face seemed incredibly fragile.

The anger on Fan Changyu’s face froze.

The Xie Zheng she knew had always been proud.

When had he ever looked so humble?

Her heart softened.

With a sigh, she said,

“How could I not like you?”

She raised a hand and gently touched his hair.

Her gaze was warm yet unwavering.

“If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have come looking for you.”

“And if I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have been afraid you’d die and gone to the battlefield in your place.”

The moment her hand settled atop his head, much of the hostility around him faded.

He stared at her blankly for a long moment before curling his lips into a self-mocking smile.

“The person you like is Yan Zheng\u2014the man you thought I was.”

Fan Changyu hadn’t expected him to become stubborn about this too.

She said,

“When you were Yan Zheng, I liked you.”

“When you’re Xie Zheng, I like you too.”

“If you had nothing, I’d slaughter pigs to support you.”

“Now you’re far more capable than I am, but I’m learning to become stronger too. That’s why I joined the army.”

Xie Zheng froze completely.

His dark eyes stared at her blankly.

His long eyelashes were thick and curled, soft-looking beneath the sunlight.

His face, cold and refined as jade, unexpectedly carried a trace of innocence.

Like a child who had never received candy before suddenly being handed a piece.

His first reaction wasn’t joy.

It was disbelief and confusion.

After a long while, he looked at her as though examining her.

“Are you trying to coax me?”

Fan Changyu nearly choked with frustration.

Yet seeing him like this only made her heart ache.

She had always thought he was heaven’s favored son\u2014someone who could obtain anything he wanted.

But now she suddenly felt that perhaps he possessed very little.

Which was why every loss felt like something being forcibly torn from his flesh.

Enough to cost him half his life.

She said,

“I’m not coaxing you.”

“I’m just telling you that I like you too, whether you’re Yan Zheng or Xie Zheng.”

“The reason I rejected you before was because I thought we’d never have a good ending.”

“When you were Yan Zheng, the only things we’d have worried about were firewood, rice, oil, and salt.”

“You could copy books and write essays to earn silver. I could slaughter pigs and sell pork to make money.”

“No matter what hardships came our way, we’d support each other and get through them.”

“But when you’re Marquis Wu’an, any trouble you encounter is beyond my ability to help with. I don’t even understand what you’re busy with or what worries you.”

“My mother used to say that a marriage only lasts when husband and wife support and understand each other.”

“The couples who end up resenting each other usually run out of affection long before they finish compromising for one another.”

“I wanted to make a clean break.”

“But then you told me we’d watch the sunrise in Yanshan together one day.”

“You said we’d go hunting in Huizhou.”

“You were afraid I’d be mistreated and asked Master Tao to accept me as his adopted daughter.”

“I’m not made of stone.”

“I get hurt too.”

“I find it hard to let go too.”

She looked at him seriously.

“I don’t know whether choosing this path will make me regret it in the future.”

“But right now, I’m willing to give everything I have and fight for it.”

“I’ll become someone like you.”

“I’ll stand beside you openly and honestly.”

Under the blazing sun, no light seemed to enter Xie Zheng’s dark eyes.

They reflected only Fan Changyu’s figure.

Like a pool of black ink trying to swallow her whole.

He pulled her tightly into his arms.

His voice was deep and hoarse.

“No matter what identity you have, being with me is already open and honorable.”

Fan Changyu shook her head.

“What I’m searching for is the confidence to keep walking beside you.”

“That confidence doesn’t come from how deeply you love me.”

“It comes from myself.”

“No matter how powerful an eagle is, it still can’t carry another eagle and fly.”

Xie Zheng understood exactly what she meant.

And because he understood, his lips pressed together even more tightly.

Straightening up, he said,

“The battlefield isn’t a game.”

“One mistake can cost you your life.”

“Even someone capable of facing ten thousand enemies alone can meet an unexpected death.”

“I won’t let you put yourself in danger.”

The battlefield could bring military merit.

But buried beneath those yellow sands were countless bones.

Fan Changyu looked at him and said,

“I’m afraid of death too.”

“I can’t bear to leave Ningniang.”

“And I can’t bear to leave you.”

“But if I don’t walk this road myself, someone may force me into danger someday anyway.”

“I still remember the two assassination attempts at our home in Lin’an Town.”

“I never imagined that my enemy would be someone with such overwhelming power.”

“You nearly died at his hands yourself.”

“Rather than being protected like a fragile porcelain vase that shatters the moment it falls, I’d rather forge myself into something unbreakable.”

“I told you already.”

“I want to walk beside you.”

“Those people are my enemies too.”

“For the sake of avenging my parents, I should be doing this.”

“I like you.”

“But I can’t spend the rest of my life depending on you.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be myself anymore.”

Xie Zheng couldn’t refute any of her words.

In the end, he yielded.

“Wouldn’t it be better to stay in the Yanzhou Army?”

Fan Changyu replied,

“Then it wouldn’t really be any different from before.”

They looked at each other.

His phoenix eyes were restrained and quiet.

Her almond eyes were clear and unwavering.

Finally, Xie Zheng relented.

“Fine.”

“You can join the Jizhou Army.”

“But you’re taking Xie Wu and Xie Qi with you.”

Fan Changyu knew this was already the greatest concession he could make.

She nodded.

Then she added,

“Take me back. Otherwise Master Tao and Ningniang will start worrying.”

She still wasn’t used to calling Grand Tutor Tao her foster father.

Turning toward the black horse grazing nearby, she was about to walk away when someone grabbed her hand.

Confused, she looked at him.

“Yan Zheng?”

Sunlight filtered through the canopy overhead.

Scattered patches of light danced across the young man’s hair and jade-like face.

His dark eyes remained fixed on her.

He said nothing.

Yet it seemed as though he was silently asking her for something.

Not understanding, Fan Changyu asked again,

“What is it?”

Slowly, he said,

“You said you like me.”

Fan Changyu froze.

Meeting his gaze, she suddenly understood what he meant.

After all, he’d done that sort of thing to her many times before.

This would be her first time.

It wasn’t like the occasion when he had kissed her eyelid while ill and she had absentmindedly kissed his forehead in return.

Back then, she’d given it no thought.

It felt no different from planting a kiss on Changning’s cheek.

This time was different.

Now she understood what it meant.

Before she’d even done anything, merely being watched by him made her heart pound wildly.

As though a small deer had been released inside her chest.

She had never seen how other people kissed.

But every time Xie Zheng kissed her, he simply leaned down and did it.

So whether she should close her eyes never even crossed Fan Changyu’s mind.

She was considered tall among women.

Yet Xie Zheng still stood more than half a head taller than her.

Keeping a stiff expression, she rose onto her tiptoes and quickly brushed her lips against his beautifully shaped ones.

Unlike every time Xie Zheng kissed her, when her lips ended up swollen and aching afterward, Fan Changyu was surprised to discover that his lips were actually quite soft.

Then why had her mouth hurt so much before?

Could it be because he’d bitten her?

The thought immediately surfaced.

Feeling that a gentleman’s revenge should never wait, and remembering the bite mark on her shoulder still hurting, she unapologetically bit his lip in return.

Not hard.

But she clearly felt the man before her stop breathing for a moment.

Knowing when to quit, Fan Changyu immediately retreated.

“Alright, let’s head back\u2014”

Xie Zheng seemed not to have recovered either.

For a moment, he simply stared at her blankly.

His long dark lashes trembled faintly.

His features had always been strikingly beautiful and restrained.

Years on the battlefield and his lofty position only made people notice his authority and dignity.

Now that he revealed such an expression, losing some of his usual sharpness and dominance, his appearance became even more breathtaking.

Fan Changyu’s heart skipped several beats.

How could a man be this good-looking?

Xie Zheng lifted a hand and touched the lower lip she had bitten.

Then he looked at her again.

The emotion in his eyes was unreadable.

No one knew what he was thinking.

He raised two fingers to his lips and released a sharp whistle.

The black horse grazing in the distance immediately raised its head and came galloping back.

After mounting, he extended a hand toward her.

When Fan Changyu placed her hand in his, he pulled lightly and lifted her onto the horse behind him.

Curious, she asked,

“Can that whistle call sea eagles and command horses too?”

As she spoke, she glanced at the finger he’d used to whistle.

Only then did she notice a ring-shaped scar around it.

It looked almost like a bite mark.

Yet somehow much worse.

The man behind her answered,

“Different lengths and pitches of whistles carry different commands.”

For the remainder of the journey, they spoke very little.

Occasionally, Fan Changyu would ask a question or two.

His replies were brief.

He seemed lost in thought.

Only when they reached a gentle slope from which they could see the tail end of the Jizhou Army did Xie Zheng suddenly pull the reins.

Fan Changyu assumed he didn’t want to attract attention by escorting her directly back into the army formation.

She was about to dismount when he grabbed her arm.

Puzzled, she turned around.

Only to find those dark eyes fixed on her again.

He was so close that he could kiss her merely by lowering his head.

Yet he made no move to do so.

His intention couldn’t have been clearer.

Fan Changyu nearly choked.

As she leaned in to kiss him, one thought ran through her mind:

Why was this man’s temperament so awful?

Even when he wanted someone to kiss him, he’d rather stand there acting stubborn and refusing to ask.

And if she didn’t do it, he’d immediately change his expression and sulk.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3890","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3891,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3890\/revisions\/3891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}