“It’s not a lotus,” the Old Man of the Moon said. “It should be the Heart-Guarding Scale.”
He sat the little immortal child on his lap and taught him how to tie red threads of fate.
“Speaking of which, it’s rather strange. That snow-white lotus had withered away after Divine Venerable Lanxing fell. Yet a thousand years ago, it suddenly bloomed again, and this time, it was black. Everyone thought Lanxing had returned, and they all got excited for nothing.”
A thousand years ago, an extraordinary phenomenon had suddenly appeared at the Jade Lake. A dazzling golden light burst forth, breaking through the barrier surrounding the lake.
All the immortals rushed toward the place in great excitement, but what they saw was not the scene they had been hoping for. Inside the Jade Lake, which the Heavenly Emperor had sealed off, the withered snow lotus had turned black and bloomed once more. Resting in its center was the Heart-Guarding Scale of High God Zhili.
The little immortal child held a red thread in his hand and asked again, “Why was High God Zhili’s Heart-Guarding Scale there? And why hasn’t he come out after a thousand years of secluded cultivation? Sister Shaoyao said High God Zhili is very beautiful. I want to see him.”
Xiyu looked at Lu Zhixing, the corners of his lips curling into an amused smile.
“If we’re talking about beauty, Zhili is still a little inferior to his Master,” the Old Man of the Moon said, his face full of longing. “There is no one in the Three Realms who can surpass Divine Venerable Lanxing in appearance. Even I, your own lord, admired him greatly.”
Xiyu felt the temperature around him drop a little.
The Old Man of the Moon seemed to be reminiscing about the past, and even his voice had softened considerably.
“It’s just a pity that Divine Venerable Lanxing was like a lotus in a pond, like the moon in the sky—someone people could admire from afar but never reach.”
The temperature dropped even further.
Suddenly, Xiyu’s hand was squeezed. He turned to look at Lu Zhixing, who blinked innocently, as though someone else had been the one to squeeze his hand just now.
The little immortal child looked at the Old Man of the Moon expectantly, the very picture of curiosity.
“Then did Divine Venerable Lanxing really never have an immortal companion?”
The answer should have been certain. Divine Venerable Lanxing had never had any kind of partner in the Nine Heavens.
Yet the Old Man of the Moon suddenly fell silent. After a moment, anger welled up in him, and he abruptly threw aside the red thread in his hand.
“He had no proper partner, but he did have a little vixen of a disciple!”
The little immortal child was stunned. “Isn’t Divine Venerable Lanxing’s disciple High God Zhili?”
“Exactly! You must never admire that little vixen!” The Old Man of the Moon pinched the immortal child’s adorable, snow-white cheek and lowered his voice. “Ever since that little vixen appeared, he’d been coaxing Divine Venerable Lanxing into staying behind closed doors. Whenever the Venerable went out, that little vixen would follow him every step of the way. I once saw him in the peach grove, doing something to Divine Venerable Lanxing, doing something to him… Oh, I can’t even bring myself to say it!”
The temperature around them returned to normal. Xiyu could feel that Lu Zhixing had stiffened a little. Xiyu blinked, feeling that he had just discovered something rather astonishing.
After cursing for a while, the Old Man of the Moon let out another long sigh.
“Still, his fate was a tragic one. After Divine Venerable Lanxing died, he went into seclusion and never came out again. I suppose the blow was simply too great. If you’ve loved someone like Divine Venerable Lanxing, I’m afraid you’ll never be able to move on for the rest of your life.”
“So you must never look down on someone’s feelings just because you’ve seen too much. No matter how powerful a person is, once they fall in love, they’ll lose half their life…” The Old Man of the Moon carried the little immortal child back toward his hall, his voice growing fainter and fainter.
Xiyu looked at Lu Zhixing with an almost-smile before finally speaking.
“High God Zhili, what exactly did you do to me in the peach grove that day when I was drunk?”
The Old Man of the Moon was probably referring to the time the Heavenly Emperor had hosted a banquet. Xiyu had been unable to refuse the invitation, and the green plum wine had been at its best during that period, so he had drunk a few extra cups. When the alcohol began to take effect, he was afraid he might lose control of himself, so he had taken Zhili to the peach grove to walk off the effects of the wine.
He had been so drunk that day that he didn’t even know how he had gotten back. Naturally, he hadn’t known anything like this had happened.
Lu Zhixing hadn’t expected anyone to see them, either. His entire face turned bright red, and he defended himself rather unconvincingly.
“Really, I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh?” Xiyu jumped down from the tree and made as if to walk into the Old Man of the Moon’s hall. “In that case, I’ll go ask him.”
“Don’t!” Lu Zhixing hurriedly grabbed Xiyu. Extremely embarrassed, he said, “That day… that day… I kissed Master’s fingertip.”
Lu Zhixing’s voice was very soft, so soft that it was almost indistinct, but Xiyu heard him clearly.
…
Seeing Lu Zhixing act like this, Xiyu had thought it was something terribly serious. After all that, it turned out he’d only kissed his fingertip.
But Lu Zhixing didn’t even dare look at him after saying it. Xiyu suddenly felt like teasing him. He raised his hand and waved it in front of Lu Zhixing’s eyes.
“Oh? How did you kiss it?”
Xiyu’s hand was slender, with distinct knuckles. His fingertips were faintly red, and his skin was as smooth and delicate as white jade. Just looking at it made one want to toy with it. Yet he was completely unaware of this, placing his hand in the most dangerous position in what could almost be considered an invitation.
Lu Zhixing’s gaze followed Xiyu’s hand. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he was practically unable to wait before leaning in to kiss it.
But just as his lips were about to touch it, Xiyu withdrew his hand. Looking at Lu Zhixing, he smiled brightly.
“You little rascal. You actually dared to defy your superior and take advantage of your Master while I was drunk. I’ll have to think about how to punish you.”
With that, Xiyu left first.
Lu Zhixing followed a step behind. Before leaving, he had secretly taken one of the Old Man of the Moon’s red threads.
Because they had been delayed for a while, by the time the two returned to the mortal realm, it was already late spring.
Even the night breeze carried a hint of warmth.
However, Xiyu did not bring Lu Zhixing back to their room. Instead, he went straight into the ring.
“Master, are we sleeping here again tonight?” Lu Zhixing looked at Xiyu expectantly.
The furnishings in Lanxing Hall were still arranged like a bridal chamber. Whenever Xiyu saw the red on the bed, his face turned hot with embarrassment. With a wave of his hand, he restored the room to its original appearance.
Xiyu shattered Lu Zhixing’s hopes with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I’m only helping you repair your soul. Don’t read too much into it.”
At present, Lu Zhixing’s soul only had a few gaps remaining. His memories had returned, and he could now control the circulation of spiritual energy himself to smooth out those gaps.
Although they were no longer a problem, since they could be repaired, it was naturally best to restore his soul completely.
Lu Zhixing was clearly a little disappointed. He tugged at the corner of Xiyu’s robe and suggested softly, “Actually, dual cultivation would work too…”
……………………
Xiyu pressed his index finger against Lu Zhixing’s lips and smiled.
“All right, no more talking. Repair your soul yourself. I’m going to sleep first.”
“Master—”
Xiyu patted Lu Zhixing’s cheek. “Calling me anything won’t help. Be good. Once your soul is repaired, I’ll give you a present.”
“Let me know when you’re done.”
Xiyu lay down on the bed and closed the curtains, leaving behind Lu Zhixing, whose eyes were shining brightly at the prospect of receiving a present.
While Xiyu was half-asleep, he suddenly found himself falling into a slightly cool embrace. He shifted his body, found a comfortable position, and drifted off to sleep.
When Xiyu opened his eyes again, the space beside the bed was already empty. He felt a little puzzled about whether Zhili had actually gotten into bed with him last night.
There was a strange sensation on his little finger. Xiyu raised his hand and saw a red thread wrapped around it.
Xiyu raised an eyebrow slightly. After flashing once, the red thread vanished.
Xiyu got out of bed and followed the direction it had pointed.
The furnishings inside Lanxing Hall were just as they had always been. When Xiyu stepped outside the hall, he saw Lu Zhixing using spiritual energy to water the red pear blossoms on the branches. The other end of the red thread was tied around his fingertip.
Seeing Xiyu come out, Lu Zhixing withdrew his hand and smiled brightly.
“Master, my soul has been completely repaired!”
Lu Zhixing slipped an arm around Xiyu’s waist. His long, narrow phoenix eyes shone like a puppy’s.
Xiyu probed Lu Zhixing’s sea of consciousness, and sure enough, it had been restored.
Even though he knew the previous damage hadn’t been serious, he had still been worried.
When you love someone, you always hope they’ll be happy and healthy, and that things will get a little better for them, then a little better still.
“Master.” Lu Zhixing opened his palm. “My present.”
Xiyu chuckled and patted Lu Zhixing’s palm before turning his hand over so that the back of it faced upward.
Lu Zhixing seemed to have an inkling of what it was. Even his heart trembled.
As Xiyu turned his hand over, a ring fell into his palm. It was made of metal, with an openwork lotus design on it.
Lu Zhixing’s pupils contracted. His voice trembled slightly.
“Master…”
“The betrothal gift I gave you when you became my disciple was destroyed by my own hands. I’ve always felt sorry about that.”
Looking at Zhili’s face, Xiyu spoke softly.
“I’m also sorry for making you suffer so much. I know how much you cherished that lotus petal, so I used my true form to recreate it as this ring.”
“I’ve never blamed Master.” Lu Zhixing lowered his eyes, his own reddening slightly. “I know Master did it for my own good.”
He had wanted Lu Zhixing to stop doing things that would hurt himself.
Erasing his memories had also been an attempt to let him live.
His Master loved him, protected him, and indulged him.
His Master was the very best Master in the entire world.
Perhaps the redness in Lu Zhixing’s eyes was simply too intense. Xiyu also felt an ache in his chest. He took Lu Zhixing’s hand and slipped the ring onto his finger.
The wedding ring that had been absent from their mortal wedding, along with the betrothal gift he had ground to dust, had now both been made up for by Xiyu.
Looking at the ring, Lu Zhixing felt as though his heart had been immersed in a warm spring, with happy little bubbles rising one after another.
As the ring slid onto his finger, a strand of golden light flashed.
“I used a petal from my true form, along with feathers from the Zhuohua Arrow, to forge this ring.”
Zhuohua had already acknowledged Zhili as its master, but if it had to choose between the two, it would never have chosen Zhili.
Now that Xiyu had forged the ring using its feathers, he had practically given Zhuohua to Zhili.
With this ring, should danger ever arise again, Zhili would be the first person Zhuohua would protect.
“I’m not very good at saying sweet things, but I promise that from now on, I’ll share everything with you. My life, wealth, and authority. Whatever I have is yours to use.”
In truth, Lanxing’s wealth and authority had been shared with Zhili long ago.
Everything in Lanxing Hall had been available for Zhili’s cultivation. That was the wealth Lanxing had shared with him.
Whenever the thousands of gods in the Nine Heavens mentioned Divine Venerable Lanxing, they would inevitably mention Zhili as well. Even when Zhili had merely been a spirit beast, this had been the authority Lanxing shared with him.
And now, forging the ring with a petal from his true form, making it a covenant of life and death, was Lanxing sharing his life with him.
Large teardrops fell from Lu Zhixing’s eyes. It was as though he couldn’t quite take in such overwhelming happiness. He hugged Xiyu and rubbed his nose and cheeks against his.
“Master…” Lu Zhixing sniffled. “I have a present for you, too.”