Through the bonfire, Ying Ran looked at Xu Liling, seated among the gathering.
He was looking at her too, his expression calm, his deep-sea-like eyes reflecting only her, gentle and serene.
Ying Ran tilted her head to the moon, her skirt embroidered with Wuyin village patterns swaying lightly.
The Wuyin villagers closed their eyes, praying to the moon in their language.
Ying Ran closed her eyes too, praying to the moon in her heart:
Gentle Mother of Heaven and Earth, please be kind to Huai Zhen.
The Wuyin villagers danced tirelessly, joyfully.
The night seemed their domain.
But Ying Ran was exhausted. She returned to Xu Liling’s side, picked up a cup from the table, and drank it in one gulp.
It tasted of locust flowers—Xu Liling’s untouched Wuyin wine.
Wine was strange to Ying Ran. She found it unpleasant when sober, and though she still didn’t like it when drunk, another sip didn’t seem to matter.
But the wine intensified her drunkenness.
Feeling sleepy, she leaned against Xu Liling and closed her eyes.
Xu Liling asked, “Want to sleep?”
Ying Ran nodded.
The night breeze was cool; sleeping here would make her catch a cold.
Xu Liling carried her on his back, said goodbye to Uncle Xi, picked up their small bag, and left.
As they moved away from the village’s bonfire gathering, the silence made Ying Ran uneasy.
Opening her eyes and looking around, she saw Xu Liling carrying her and felt reassured, hugging his neck, “Huai Zhen…”
“Hm?”
“You know what?”
Xu Liling: “Hm?”
Ying Ran, a bit surprised: “You know? The Immortal’s Tomb is your tomb. You know?”
Xu Liling: “Hm.”
Xiao Huang, following behind, froze: What?! The tomb it guarded was Xu Liling’s tomb?!
Da Hua, passing by, scoffed, “Stupid dog.”
Seeing he knew, Ying Ran felt wronged, “I only read the summary, not the rest, and then you came in… Did you do that on purpose?”
Xu Liling: “Hm.”
Ying Ran glared at him, “You really did it on purpose?”
Xu Liling: “What’s there to see?”
Ying Ran: “It’s about the you I didn’t know.”
Xu Liling was silent.
Ying Ran caressed his face, murmuring, “You came in, and I worried you’d be sad knowing it was your tomb, so I didn’t tell you…”
She leaned forward, staring at him, “What else do you know?”
Xu Liling: “You want to know what I know?”
She patted his head, “Are you teasing me with tongue-twisters?”
After patting, she ruffled his neatly tied hair, asking, “Why don’t you like drinking anymore?”
Xu Liling remained silent.
Ying Ran, feeling wronged, mumbled in his ear, “Can’t you tell me?”
Xu Liling: “Wine fuels demonic nature.”
Ying Ran fell quiet for a moment, then whispered in his ear, “Huai Zhen, you’re so pitiful…”
Da Hua: …She really says whatever comes to mind when drunk.
Xiao Huang, just recovering from shock, was speechless: She’s probably the only person in the world who thinks Xu Liling is pitiful.
Xu Liling chuckled, “Don’t drink next time.”
Ying Ran muttered, “I don’t even like drinking. It’s all because of you…”
“You?”
“You used to like drinking, so I wanted to know what it felt like.”
“What did it feel like?”
“I still don’t like wine. My feeling’s probably different from yours.”
Ying Ran pouted, then asked, “What did it feel like for you back then?”
Xu Liling: “I don’t remember.”
Ying Ran had no words, gently kissing his cheek.
Back at Uncle Xi’s house, in the main room, Xu Liling placed her on the bed. She lay lazily, unwilling to move.
Xu Liling brought her a cup of water, feeding it to her, then helped remove her shoes and clothes.
Ying Ran reluctantly got up to wash, changed into sleepwear, and flopped back onto the bed. She kept her eyes open, waiting for Xu Liling to finish washing and lie beside her, then rolled into his arms.
Xu Liling held her.
She tilted her head, kissed his chin, and closed her eyes.
“This time, you’re here to save someone again?”
A familiar voice, laced with teasing, reached Ying Ran’s ears.
Still somewhat drunk, Ying Ran was dazed, dragged from a strange mountain gate to being escorted here, completely confused.
During this, Da Hua explained the mission from a thousand years ago:
Assist the righteous in saving people; the head of Moyi Residence, Duan Yushan, must be saved.
Ying Ran: …What? No heads-up, just pulling me into a mission? Is that reasonable?
Da Hua: “I think it’s unreasonable.”
But as the lowest-level system, it had no say.
The Goddess contacted Ying Ran, explaining, “Sorry, it was sudden. Based on my last hundred experiences, the Holy Demon was supposed to attack Feiyao Mountain. But he changed course to Moyi Residence, catching them off guard, and the entire sect was captured by the demonic path.”
“I can’t get there now. With the Holy Demon’s unpredictable nature, I fear by dawn, Moyi Residence will be refined into evil elixirs. I had to bring you here.”
“For this mission, I’ll give you double energy rewards.”
Da Hua, excited: “I think that’s fair!”
Ying Ran: “I think it’s not.”
Goddess: “What’s the issue?”
Ying Ran: “I’ve already been caught.”
Perhaps because they couldn’t catch her last time, the demon guards now knew how to capture ghosts.
Da Hua: …
Goddess: …
“What? Thinking of excuses?”
A playful, intrigued voice rang out.
Ying Ran looked up, seeing Xu Liling lounging arrogantly on the head’s throne at Moyi Residence, legs crossed.
Still not fully sober, her gaze was a bit dazed.
Xu Liling noticed her state, “You’ve been drinking?”
Ying Ran nodded.
Xu Liling leaned back, looking down at her, “Sending a drunk person? Is the Mysterious Way out of people?”
Ying Ran didn’t know if the Mysterious Way lacked people; she only cared about him, “Huai Zhen, did you get punished for last time?”
Xu Liling paused, then gave a slow, mocking smile, “That was three years ago. Asking now, isn’t it a bit late? The same trick from three years ago won’t work now. It only makes people think…”
“Mysterious Way cultivators are truly shameless.”
Ying Ran, both shocked and aggrieved, “Three years? It’s been three years… You’re saying I’m shameless?”
Her tone was slow and coy, clearly speaking without thinking.
Xu Liling, too lazy to deal with someone not sober, stood to leave, “Come talk to me when you’re sober.”
The demon guards, hearing this, moved to take Ying Ran to Moyi Residence’s spiritual prison. One reached for her.
As Xu Liling passed by, he shot the guard a glance, “Leave her here.”
“Yes.”
Demons always obeyed the Holy Demon without question.
Following orders, they left with Xu Liling.
Ying Ran sat on the floor, dazed, then asked the Goddess, “It’s already Tengyu 22?”
Goddess: “Yes. How did the Holy Demon deal with you? Are you in the spiritual prison? The captured Moyi Residence cultivators are there; you could plan with them.”
Ying Ran, slowly, “No, someone I know—though he doesn’t acknowledge me—didn’t send me to the spiritual prison. I’m now…”
Ying Ran looked around, unsure where she was, only that it was a grand hall.
The hall was empty, save for two demon guards at the entrance.
The floor was cold. Ying Ran got up, slowly walking to the throne Xu Liling had sat on.
The throne was large; for petite Ying Ran, she could curl up on it.
Her drunkenness made her head spin, so she lay down and slept.
The throne carried Xu Liling’s familiar scent, making Ying Ran unsure if she was dreaming or awake.
The Goddess, pondering what to do next, fell silent.
In the quiet, Ying Ran drifted to sleep.
Xu Liling went to the spiritual prison, took dozens of cultivators to the refining room, and returned to Moyi Residence’s Kongxian Hall at night.
He saw her sleeping peacefully on his throne, looking comfortable.
Was she bold, or was this another act?
Xu Liling, intrigued, approached the throne.
He stared at her for a while; she didn’t stir, seemingly fast asleep.
Xu Liling tapped her forehead, “Sleeping like this, how will you save anyone? By tomorrow at dawn, I’ll refine Duan Yushan.”
Ying Ran, disturbed, frowned and hummed, turning her head, still asleep.
Xu Liling poked her again, “Didn’t Yaoxing’s orders send you to save Duan Yushan?”
Ying Ran groggily opened her eyes, mumbling, “Huai Zhen, is something wrong?”
He never disturbed her sleep unless something was up.
Her tone was intimate and natural, her eyes soft and unguarded as she looked at him.
He leaned down, dark eyes fixed on her, “What do you think?”
Ying Ran thought for a moment, then, like every morning when he left for Jinshui Town, reached to hug his neck and kissed his cheek, “Be safe…”
Then she closed her eyes, still holding his neck, waiting for his kiss before lying back to sleep.
Xu Liling stared at her lips, so close, feeling the warm, soft sensation lingering on his right cheek, momentarily stunned.