That night, ZW shared her conversation with Qing-er with Er Kang. He was much surprised at their plan.

EK: "You two are right…I never thought to dig deeper into XJ's story. The magnitude of the crime and XJ's conviction prevented me from thinking about it some more. And if it turns out that it wasn't HS's order, then it's a definite miscarriage of justice. I will talk to ET, but I'm sure he'll help look as well. I wonder if A Ma (father. Indicating Fu Da Ren) knows anything…"

ZW replied thoughtfully: "Is it safe to tell him? Not that I don't trust A Ma; he kept XYZ and my secrets safe after all. And I think he will be a great asset in this case. He does have the advantage of having lived through the event after all. But do you think Xiao Jian will agree to let him know?"

EK thought for a while before replying: "Hmmm…I think we need to talk to Xiao Jian. I like Qing-er's plan of finding information before we decide on a more definite course of action. But I think in such a delicate manner, we need Xiao Jian's approval."

ZW nodded: "That's definitely true. But I think he'll agree. Especially if it means he can safely marry Qing-er."

EK chuckled: "It would be great, wouldn't it? If they can avoid the life and death situations we faced."

ZW smiled: "I don't know. I feel like our adventures only strengthened our bond. Nothing like life and death situations to test us and to help us treasure each other even more."

EK hugged ZW close to him: "For you, I would go through all those adventures again. Come now, let us talk of happier things. What do you think about getting on the road again? XJ, ET, YQ, and I talked today and we decided we should get going soon. XJ's is quite impatient to see his godparents."

ZW happily replied: "Oh yes. XYZ, QE, SY, and I were just wondering about that today too. I think we would all like to experience the beauty of Da Li for ourselves. Besides, we need to see if we can't find Hang Xiang and Meng Dan. I'm sure they're worried sick about us."

EK nodded: "Then it is decided. We will leave soon. Let's settle on an exact date with everyone tomorrow at breakfast."

ZW nodded and the couple retired for the night.

Meanwhile, Qing-er and Xiao Jian were once again enjoying the moon and stars of the night sky. Qing-er was much amused at Tian-er's reaction at the comparative poverty he was expected to live in on the farm.

"You say he actually threw a tantrum like small child?" Qing-er laughed, "And his father ignored him and told your friend that if Tian-er is going to behave like a child to just treat him as one? Xiao Jian, you're certainly a marvel to have friends like that."

Xiao Jian grinned at her smiling face: "When you're constantly on the road like me, you make friends whenever and wherever you can."

Qing-er turned to him and grew serious: "Xiao Jian, do you miss that life? I remember when Zi Wei first told me about you, she quoted a poem. The two lines that struck me the most were 'yi tian wei gai, di wei lo' (sky as roof and ground as hearth). And now, because of me, you've settled down roots."

Xiao Jian sighed but answered her honestly: "Do I miss that life? Sometimes; I walked both the dark and light sides of society and saw many wonderful and also truly terrible things. I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself. Staying somewhere was easy, but so was leaving. Things were just so much easier. But, Qing-er, I don't regret setting down roots. My life really only had two true purposes: avenging my family and finding my sister. Now that I've met XYZ, avenging my family seems no longer as important. And with all the great friends we have, I have really experience the meaning of friendship, family, and love. I feel it's contagious and somewhere along the way, having roots isn't so bad."

Qing-er nodded: "You know, that's what I told LFY once too. That I've contracted whatever it is XYZ and the others share; once I had the sickness, there's no way to be rid of it. There are only two possible outcomes; one is to die from it, the other is to follow their example."

Xiao Jian replied: "Well, I for one am glad you chose the living path." He chuckled, "I really should thank you."

Qing-er: "Oh?"

XiaoJian: "Of course. Based on what you said about this sickness, I fear I was destined for the first path. Thank you for keeping me on the better one."

Qing-er smiled shyly at him: "It is I who must thank you for entering my life and giving it meaning."

They gazed at each intently. XiaoJian slowly bent his head and softly brushed his lips against hers. Qing-er blushed but wrapped her arms around him.

After they parted, she said softly: "XiaoJian, I've been thinking about something."

XiaoJian looked at her inquiringly: "What is it?"

Qing-er pulled away slightly: "About your family actually. Mostly your father. It occurred to me that there has to be a record of events. Have you ever thought about looking them up? It's not that I don't trust your godfather's version of the story, but why not investigate the other side too? What if someone framed your father? What if it was like when XYZ and them were running away and Huang Hou Niang Niang went against Huang Shang's orders and still tried to kill them?"

Xiao Jian was silent as he pondered her views. Finally, he said: "I've lived my whole life with this hatred burning inside me. It gave me purpose and the will to survive through anything. If things are as you suspect, then doesn't that mean I've lived a whole life's worth of mistakes? That I've been wrong my whole life?"

Qing-er shook her head: "No, no. Your life and experiences made you who you are today. I like you for your experienced-based wisdom and your frank way of looking at the world. I'm sorry I brought it up…I just thought that maybe…"

XiaoJian: "Maybe what?"

Qing-er sighed: "I'll admit. I was being selfish. I thought that if what I suspect is true, then maybe you and I will have a better time of it than XYZ and ZW did. It's not that I'm not willing to sacrifice everything for you. It's just that I don't think, growing up as I do in the Palace, that I have the capability to accompany you on your journeys and not be a burden. I'm sorry I brought it up. If you don't want to find out, then we won't."

XiaoJian looked at her thoughtfully: "Qing-er, it's not wrong for you to try to make things easier for us. Truth be told, I don't want a wandering life for you, for us. I appreciate your willingness, but I also don't want you to live a hard life. I want to be someone you can be proud of, someone worthy of you. The school is my way of starting on that wish. And I didn't say I didn't want to know. I'll admit, I've never even thought about the possibility as you have…But perhaps you're right. I'll never know unless we look."

Qing-er looked at him wonderingly: "XiaoJian. I'm already proud of you. But…are you sure you want to look?"

XiaoJian nodded: "What is more beautiful than Truth?"

Qing-er was relieved: "Well, then, EK and ET will need to do some digging for old records, won't they? And ZW and I will see if any of the old court gossip can tell us anything useful." Seeing his worried look, she added: "Don't worry, we'll be careful. XYZ and YQ won't hear a word from us."

XiaoJian hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear: "Thank you Qing-er."

Mystified, Qing-er asked: "Whatever for?"

XiaoJian chucked: "For being so objective, so logical. For giving me hope. For…everything."

Qing-er smiled softly and snuggled into the embrace.