Chapter 20 - Men's promise must be kept

Returning to the Iron Sword School, Jin Shuiyue fixed her gaze on Han Zhen, her eyes sharp and impatient. "You must have found something, right?"

She had held her question in for as long as she could, but now that they were back in the relative safety of the school, the matter pressed on her too heavily to wait any longer.

Han Zhen didn't make her wait. He nodded and replied, his tone matter-of-fact, "I found a palm print marked with yang poison at the crime scene."

Jin Shuiyue's expression darkened.

"Is that it?" she asked, her voice tight.

If that was all they had, it wouldn't be enough. Not with Sunspire Tower reduced to ashes, obliterating whatever other clues might have remained. The fire had not only destroyed the building but had likely wiped away any chance of tracing the culprit's movements or intentions.

Han Zhen's face was impassive as he shook his head. "That's all."

A heavy silence settled between them. Jin Shuiyue's brow furrowed as her mind worked furiously, trying to piece together any shred of hope from the little they had.

After a long pause, Han Zhen hesitated before speaking again, his voice low but steady. "Why are you helping me so much?"

Jin Shuiyue blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question.

Han Zhen's gaze remained fixed on her. "If this is about repaying a favor, then you owe it to my mother, not me. Over the years, you have helped her manage the school, and taken on burdens that weren't yours to bear. You don't owe us anything."

His eyes searched hers, as if trying to read something unspoken. "You're talented, and beautiful, and your future is bright. My family already severed the engagement, we gave you the chance to leave anytime. Yet you stayed. And now, you're risking your life to help me prove my innocence."

His voice softened, but his gaze remained. "Why?"

Jin Shuiyue's lips parted, the words on the tip of her tongue, but they remained locked in her throat, unspoken.

She looked down for a moment, her mind drifting back to a distant memory, a time when everything had been different.

"Why...?" she whispered, her mind recalling a distant memory…

The warm glow of the setting sun bathed the narrow alley in a soft golden light, casting long shadows on the cobblestones.

A young boy, no older than seven or eight, stepped out from the dimness, his small frame caked in mud. His clothes were torn and ragged, and a fresh cut on his forehead bled freely, yet he pressed his lips together tightly, refusing to let a single tear fall.

On his back, he carried a little girl, just as filthy, her face streaked with tears. Her small hands clutched at his shoulders, trembling as she cried, her voice breaking.

"Brother Zhen, you're bleeding..." she sobbed, trying with her tiny hands to wipe away the blood from his forehead, but the effort only smeared it further.

The boy, despite his injuries, managed to give a carefree laugh, though his voice carried a firmness beyond his years. "Shuiyue, don't cry. I'm fine! I, Han Zhen, am a real man. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll beat them up!"

The girl sniffled, still shaking, her small heart burdened with the cruel words she had heard. "They said I'm cursed... that I have no father, no mother, no family..."

The boy's face hardened, and his small fists clenched in anger. "They're lying! Shuiyue, you're not cursed! And who says you have no family? We're family!"

The girl gazed up at him, her eyes wide and filled with hope, the warmth of his words chasing away some of her fears. "Really? Brother Zhen… will you always protect me?"

Without a second's hesitation, the boy beamed at her, his grin wide and full of conviction. "Of course! And when I grow up, I'm going to marry you!"

The sorrow in the girl's eyes melted away, replaced by a bright, innocent smile, her fear momentarily forgotten. "Brother Zhen, you can't lie to me…"

"Of course not!" he declared with all the confidence of a child who believed in everything he said. "My mother says that men must always keep their promises!"

As the sun sank lower, casting the alley into deeper shadows, their figures stretched long across the ground.

The moment, pure and fleeting, seemed to freeze in time, a snapshot of childhood innocence that neither of them could fully grasp in the years that followed.

The boy, once full of strength and determination, now lay broken in the eyes of the people of Sunreach City, labeled as a cripple.

The girl, once abandoned, weak, and shunned, had risen to become a prodigy, her talents and drive earning her respect and admiration from all who met her.

But despite the changes that time had brought in them, one thing had remained constant, Jin Shuiyue had never forgotten his words. The promise he had made to her as a child had stayed with her, etched deep in her heart.

She had waited for the day when he would fulfill it, when he would rise up and prove that the boy she had once believed in still existed.

The memory faded as Jin Shuiyue blinked, bringing her back to the present. She stared at Han Zhen, the man before her, he looked the same, yet he was so different. Everything between them had changed, leaving her unsettled and unsure.

Her expression shifted, becoming unreadable, her thoughts tangled. She turned her gaze away, trying to push the feelings that threatened to overwhelm her back into the corners of her mind.

"It's late," she said softly. "I should rest. Tomorrow, we'll continue searching for clues."

Han Zhen didn't press her for an answer. He simply nodded. "Trust me, I will uncover the truth."

Jin Shuiyue hesitated for a moment, her heart heavy with unspoken words. She met his eyes one last time, her voice barely above a murmur. "I've always trusted you."

Without another word, she turned and walked away.