At sixteen, in the vibrant bloom of youth, Pei Mingzhu met Yun Guo. Mingzhu, the esteemed daughter of the Heavenly Capital's Pei Clan, and Yun Guo, a disciple of the far-off Western Desert's Boundless Sea Pavilion, should never have crossed paths. Yet, a single act of bravery—or perhaps robbery—brought them together. Mingzhu was the one offering aid; Yun Guo, the one attempting the heist.

Later, in a teahouse, Mingzhu watched the young girl devour pastries, a smile playing on her lips. "Just how long has it been since you've eaten?"

Cheeks puffed with food, Yun Guo mumbled, "Th-three days… Mmm, so good. Pei Jiejie," she looked up, large almond eyes sparkling like black crystals, "You're so good."

Mingzhu chuckled, tapping Yun Guo's forehead. "Not I'm good, you're just silly!"

Having snuck away from her sect with only ten taels of silver, Yun Guo had promptly been swindled by a pair of con artists. Penniless and starving for three days, dizzy and desperate, she'd resorted to robbing a passing caravan. She'd effortlessly incapacitated everyone with her skills, yet instead of taking the silver, she'd crouched beside the caravan leader. "Sir, I have no money for food. Could I borrow a tael? I promise, I'll pay you back."

The leader was dumbfounded. Who robbed someone like this?

"Shijie always says I'm silly too," Yun Guo sighed, putting down the pastry. "That's why she wouldn't let me leave the valley. I'm fourteen now! Boundless Sea disciples can travel at fourteen. I just… snuck out. Pei Jiejie," she blinked, "Am I really that silly?"

Mingzhu laughed again. If this girl weren't silly, how could she have spilled her entire story within half an hour of meeting her?

"It's alright," Mingzhu mused. She was traveling anyway; what was one more person? "Follow me. Even if you're a bit silly, no one will dare bully you."

"Mm!" Yun Guo nodded vigorously. "Pei Jiejie, you're so good!"

Years passed—one, two, then ten—and Mingzhu never forgot those words. Yun Guo, that perpetually innocent girl, no matter what Mingzhu did, would always smile and say, "Pei Jiejie, you're so good."

It was as natural as breathing, as certain as the sky, so ingrained that even as Mingzhu's sword pierced her heart, Yun Guo still smiled warmly. "Pei Jiejie, you've been so good to me all these years. It's… I'm sorry."

Where did it all go wrong? Was it when Mingzhu fell in love? When she refused to believe Yun Guo's warnings about the man's true nature? Or when she discovered her husband and Yun Guo together, consumed by rage?

The tangled web of love and hate, the twists and turns of fate, stemmed from one's pride and the other's innocence. Proud Mingzhu couldn't believe her beloved was a philanderer. She trusted her judgment too much, even when her dearest friend, Yun Guo, cautioned her, refusing to admit she was blinded by love. That same pride fueled her fury when she discovered Yun Guo and her husband together. Betrayal by those closest cuts deepest, and these two were her sworn sister and the father of her children.

The depth of her love became the intensity of her hate, festering, consuming her, until even the sight of their child filled her with murderous intent.

Yun Guo was already dead. Mingzhu had run her through with her sword, along with the man who betrayed them both. Blood splattered, staining the ground crimson.

Did Mingzhu regret it? Later, when she learned Yun Guo hadn't been willing, that her brother-in-law had drugged and r4ped her. Yun Guo, that innocent soul who trusted her implicitly. Because of that trust, Yun Guo had fallen prey to that monster. Afterward, she hadn't dared tell anyone, silenced by the man's threats. "You know how much your sister loves me. You even warned her about me, but she didn't believe you. Even if you tell her now, she won't believe you. Besides," he'd sneered, "if she finds out, how heartbroken she'll be. Could you… bear to see her in such pain?"

Trapped by this cruel twist of fate, Yun Guo endured, the mistake compounding until she carried the man's child, making the situation irredeemable.

"How could you?!" Upon hearing of her Shimei's death, a furious Lady Le Yin stormed the Heavenly Capital Estate, confronting Mingzhu. "How could you hate her?! Yun Guo was the true victim!"

But by then, Mingzhu was beyond regret. She was mad, her heart a desolate wasteland where only hate thrived.