(This story will definitely be published!!!)
The winter of the sixth year of the Longqing reign was unusually cold.
Gu Wan Zhi finally made it back to Mount Fengming, only to learn that her senior sister, Chu Xue Ling, had died.
She had loved her all her life, but could never bring herself to say it.
She had no choice but to flee the martial world. Ten years passed.
When they finally met again, all she received was a farewell letter.
Leaning against her grave, she died smiling on a winter night.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in her youth.
At this point, Chu Xue Ling was still a quiet, reserved girl on the cusp of womanhood. She wasn't yet as cold and taciturn as she would later become, and their master hadn't arranged a marriage for her yet.
There was still time.
Except... things seemed a little different.
In her previous life, Chu Xue Ling hadn't made a sound even when a sword pierced her shoulder blade. But after a mosquito bit her, she gently tugged at Gu Wan Zhi's sleeve and pointed to the little red bump on her wrist. "Junior sister, it hurts here."
Gu Wan Zhi bent down, heart aching, and blew on it for her. She caught the faint scent of the delicate wrist, fair as frost and snow, and her heart pounded like a drum.
In her previous life, Chu Xue Ling had forced herself to swing her sword ten thousand times even when she had her period. Now, leaning weakly against the doorframe like a willow in the breeze, she raised her luminous, limpid eyes and looked at her tenderly. "Junior sister, my stomach hurts today."
Gu Wan Zhi, her heart aching for her, made her some brown sugar water. But the woman before her lowered her eyes and spoke softly. "Junior sister, my hands are weak."
So Gu Wan Zhi fed her spoonful by spoonful. Somewhere along the way, she found herself holding Chu Xue Ling in her arms. Her face flushed with embarrassment, but she was so happy she nearly fainted.
The thing she feared still came to pass: the son of the Martial Alliance Leader came to ask for Chu Xue Ling's hand in marriage.
Swearing she wouldn't repeat the mistakes of her previous life, Gu Wan Zhi broke into Chu Xue Ling's room in the middle of the night.
"Senior sister, the Martial Alliance Leader's son is a despicable man. You mustn't agree."
Chu Xue Ling's radiant, peerlessly beautiful face looked almost bewitching in the lamplight. She sighed softly. "Alas... I must be fated for misfortune. To suffer such a cruel fate with no one close to me to share my burden..."
Gu Wan Zhi's heart broke. The words slipped out before she could stop them. "Senior sister, I'll take you away!"
She pulled Chu Xue Ling along and ran without a second thought.
She didn't notice the clever, bright smile that flashed in the eyes of the woman behind her.
Later, news of the elopement spread across the land.
Chu Xue Ling's eyes reddened. Her pale hand clasped Gu Wan Zhi's fingertips, and she gazed at her through tears. "Junior sister, my reputation is ruined. No one will ever dare marry me now..."
At last, unable to suppress the love in her heart, Gu Wan Zhi kissed the eyes still glistening with tears. "Senior sister, I'll marry you!"
After that...
Chu Xue Ling became her wife. Gu Wan Zhi loved her more than life itself and cherished her with all her heart. Even when they slept, she wrapped herself tightly around her, murmuring in her dreams, "Senior sister, I love you..."
Chu Xue Ling tenderly wiped away her sweat, gazing at her with a look so gentle it was intoxicating. "Junior sister, I knew in my previous life."
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Theme: Love can overcome every obstacle.