The mood in Yue Jin’s heart felt as though it had returned to the earliest days in Qingyuan Palace.
Back then, Yue Yuanqiu and the others were all there. Every day was spent messing around and fighting playfully, incredibly carefree.
Unfortunately, later she ended up managing Qingyuan Palace herself, and the bothersome matters were twice as numerous as before.
But now, the days felt like a long thread being pulled out, allowing her to experience the past, filled with memories and nostalgia.
Every night, she was held to sleep. When she woke up in the morning, Fu Lingyi was already sitting by her side, holding a tray of food, waiting for her to wake up with a smile.
Being fed and dressed was a daily necessity. Playing and having fun were options she could choose from.
Why cultivate immortality? Even immortals couldn’t live like this.
“Ah Jin, if you’re awake, get up.”
Today was the same. Fu Lingyi was already dressed neatly, sitting on a chair, waiting for her.
Unlike usual, she had replaced her everyday silver hairpins with jade ones. On one, there was a transparent blood bead, making her complexion look rosy.
“Mm, what time is it? Why did you change your hairpin?” Yue Jin yawned, rubbing her eyes as she asked.
“You noticed so quickly,” Fu Lingyi tilted her head slightly, the corner of her lips lifting. “Do you like it?”
“It’s quite pretty, it suits you very well.”
“As long as you like it.” Fu Lingyi’s smile didn’t fade, but as she spoke, she seemed a little hesitant. “Do you have anything else you need to do today? I want to take you somewhere.”
Something important she needed to do? What important thing could she possibly have to do every day?
Sunbathing, playing with Tao Lan, affecting Yun Lingyue’s work, listening to Shui Yiqiu check her pulse – other than that, it seemed there was nothing else.
She was truly very idle.
“Where to?” Yue Jin sat at the table, propping her head up. She was used to Fu Lingyi feeding her daily and opened her mouth quite naturally.
Seeing her agree, Fu Lingyi was very happy. “I’ll take you. Just follow me. I won’t disappoint you.”
Yue Jin nodded. Her eyes darted around. She slightly pulled open her collar and beckoned to her with a finger.
“Come here.”
Fu Lingyi always said these two words to her. Now that she was saying them herself, she felt a little enjoyable.
“Hmm?” Fu Lingyi leaned closer, a little confused.
“A little closer.”
She leaned in even more, bending her body to get right in front of her face.
“Closer still.”
Fu Lingyi put down the bowl, wishing she could press her forehead against hers. “Any closer?”
Yue Jin reached out, pinched her chin, leaned forward, and pressed her lips against hers before separating again.
“Good morning.” She smiled boldly, without any restraint.
Fu Lingyi’s face was red like a ripe cherry.
Yue Jin rarely took the initiative.
But every single time, she could pluck at Fu Lingyi’s heartstrings.
The place Fu Lingyi mentioned was within Lin’an City, a scenic spot far from the bustling areas. The number of vendors calling out their wares decreased, but the number of tourists playing increased extraordinarily.
The river flowed slowly, meandering along the stone banks and down the small alleyways, like an old person walking with a shuffle, neither fast nor slow.
Pavilions lined the banks, mostly occupied by two people leaning against each other. It was rare to see many people gathered together.
Everyone was incredibly quiet, each whispering their own secrets.
“This wouldn’t happen to be some kind of, place for romance under the moon and flowers, would it?” Yue Jin said, glancing at the person beside her.
“Nothing escapes you,” Fu Lingyi held her hand in hers, smiling gently like a warm breeze. “I often heard the junior sisters talk about this place, but I’ve never been. After all, being by myself… there was no need to come.”
She spoke with a touch of melancholy, slightly immersed in the feeling. Before Yue Jin could offer comfort, she quickly adopted a slightly pleading tone. “Ah Jin, later, they’ll release flower lanterns on this river. You can make a wish then. Shall we release one together?”
Yue Jin looked at her. At this moment, the corner of Fu Lingyi’s lips wasn’t pulled down. She was asking for her opinion excitedly, only hoping that she would accompany her to release the flower lanterns.
Having someone who could be so careful, just to earn her favor, life’s contentment was nothing more than this.
“Alright, I’ll stay with you no matter how late it is.”
During the day, Lin’an City was still bustling with people coming and going. Restaurants and tea houses were packed. But once night fell, people flowed towards the riverside streets, enjoying the night market.
It was Yue Jin’s first time strolling through a night market. She had intended to hide her excitement, but her eyes darting left and right and her naturally flirtatious gaze betrayed her unusual behavior.
This street stall is interesting, and I’ve never seen that small vendor before either.
The little toys sold here make clear jingling sounds, and I’ve never tasted the pastries sold over there either.
She wanted everything, wanted to buy everything. Yue Jin was captivated, wishing she could glue her eyes onto everything.
Fu Lingyi followed behind. As long as Yue Jin glanced at something, she bought it all and put it into her storage bag. Even if she only swept her gaze over it briefly, she would pay spiritual stones to buy it.
If she couldn’t tell which one Yue Jin was looking at, she would simply buy the entire stall.
“Fu Lingyi, can you please stop buying? I’m just looking,” Yue Jin said, holding a nine-ring puzzle she had just bought, looking speechless. “Why are you buying this? Do you even have time to solve it yourself?”
“It’s Lingyi.”
Fu Lingyi pinched her cheek, reaching out to snatch the nine-ring puzzle. “I can solve it right now. What’s so difficult about this?”
She concentrated fully, fiddling with the nine-ring puzzle for a long time. The metal rings constantly clinked, making clear sounds, but they just wouldn’t separate.
This made her slightly impatient. Without realizing it, she infused spiritual energy into it, gave it a hard squeeze, and the nine-ring puzzle shattered into dust, falling onto the ground.
Fu Lingyi looked up, gazing innocently at Yue Jin.
“It broke…”
“Yes, I saw.”
“It broke by itself.”
Yue Jin shook her head, smiling, without any blame. “Anyway, you bought a lot. Let’s play with something else.”
Fu Lingyi smiled brightly. She leaned in close, pressing her lips against Yue Jin’s, and kissed her.
“Ah Jin, you’re the best.”
“!” Yue Jin quickly dodged away, noticing that the people around weren’t looking over. Only then did she lower her voice. “You’re not allowed to do that outside!”
“Alright…” Fu Lingyi was rejected and looked a little dejected, her hair hanging down on either side, like a soft white lop-eared rabbit.
Yue Jin felt soft-hearted, but she just wouldn’t relent.
Being so unrestrained outside, what kind of proper conduct is that…
How could Fu Lingyi care even less than her?
I absolutely mustn’t spoil her. If I spoil her too much, she’ll become even more presumptuous!
Perhaps knowing Yue Jin’s temperament, Fu Lingyi was only wronged for a moment and quickly returned to her usual self.
They strolled for a long time. Yue Jin’s leg hadn’t fully healed, and she seemed a bit tired. The two of them went to a leisurely pavilion to sit and rest.
The twilight carried away the last bit of orange-red light, which dispersed on the horizon, leaving behind only rich, dark black.
But unlike the twilight, countless twinkling flower lanterns lit up the river surface, illuminating everyone’s faces.
Fu Lingyi seemed to have finally waited for this moment. She had Yue Jin wait for a moment in the pavilion, then rushed off, returning with two small flower lanterns cradled in her hands.
One flower lantern was no bigger than her palm. She knelt in front of Yue Jin and handed her one.
“How do I use this?” Yue Jin turned it over and over, unable to figure out any mechanism or trick.
“Look,” Fu Lingyi pulled out half a piece of paper attached to the lantern from the middle, along with a small calligraphy brush. “Write your wish on this, and then release the flower lantern. Spring is coming, and the flowing water will make it come true.”
“What, you believe this? Then how can you still talk about Yun Lingyue believing everything?” Yue Jin was full of ridicule, laughing nonstop. She even leaned over and patted Fu Lingyi’s shoulder.
Fu Lingyi’s smiling expression from earlier vanished. She turned her head away, very unhappy. “You’re with me, and you’re still bringing up someone else.”
Yue Jin found it even more amusing. Why wasn’t she upset about being mocked, but upset about her mentioning someone else?
“What, you can’t even mention Yun Lingyue? Isn’t she your junior sister?”
“But right now, there’s only the two of us,” Fu Lingyi turned her back, muttering. “Besides, she’s my junior sister, not yours. You keep saying you find her annoying, but in reality, you remember everything about her.”
Yue Jin sighed faintly, reaching out to poke the forehead of the person kneeling on the ground. “You’re slandering me. I won’t talk nonsense with you anymore. Give me the brush.”
Fu Lingyi still wanted to argue, but she also felt her jealousy was unreasonable, especially being jealous of Yun Lingyue, which seemed too petty.
Yun Lingyue was currently stressed out for the sake of them having fun. Thinking of this, she felt a little guilty.
Yue Jin picked up the brush. In the past, in Qingyuan Palace, she always focused on cultivation techniques and physical combat. When it came to learning how to write, she got headaches and didn’t study properly.
As a result, now, wanting to write a couple of balanced poetic lines, she couldn’t.
She thought for a long time, and under Fu Lingyi’s urging gaze, she lifted the brush and wrote:
Peace
Only the two characters “Peace.” It wasn’t to pray for herself, but for Fu Lingyi beside her, the disciples of Qingyuan Palace, and Yue Yuanqiu, who was somewhere unknown far away.
After many years of not seeing her, she only prayed for her peace.
“What did you write?” Fu Lingyi wanted to see, but Yue Jin shoved the brush back into her hand. The upper half of the paper from the flower lantern was also crumpled tightly in her hand, preventing anyone from seeing it.
“Still being secretive.”
Fu Lingyi withdrew her gaze. She sat on the opposite railing of the pavilion, picked up her brush, and seemed to write many characters.
“Writing so much, surely you didn’t compose a poem?” Yue Jin hid her own carefully but kept insisting on seeing someone else’s, acting very sly.
Fu Lingyi also folded her flower lantern, deliberately being mysterious. “I won’t tell. If you don’t tell me yours, I won’t tell you mine. It’s very fair.”
“Then I’ll tell you if you tell me yours?”
“Too late. I changed my mind. I don’t want to hear what you wrote.”
By the riverside, many pedestrians simultaneously released their flower lanterns. They poked them with branches, letting them float further away, signifying that their wishes were more likely to come true.
Fu Lingyi held Yue Jin’s hand. With their hands clasped on one side, they flattened the flower lanterns on the water with the other.
The two flower lanterns swayed. Fu Lingyi blew on them, and surprisingly, they converged together, floating towards the center of the river, drifting leisurely downstream.
The flower lanterns were shaped like lotuses. These two lanterns were like twin lotus flowers, born and growing together.
Entwined with each other, never separating.
“Mo Bieli… she should have been called Mo Bieli back then,” Fu Lingyi murmured by the riverbank.
“What?” Yue Jin didn’t hear clearly and asked again.
“Nothing,” Fu Lingyi shook her head. It was just her deep emotions making her think of her former sword. “Didn’t you want to know what I wrote on the flower lantern?”
Yue Jin nodded gently. She was extremely curious. “Yes, but if you don’t want to say, it’s fine.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to say, it just feels… intimate.”
Fu Lingyi lowered her head slightly. Her hairpin adorned her dark hair. The light from the many flower lanterns on the ground made her eyes glow red and bright.
“If I tell you, you’re not allowed to laugh at me again.”
“Flower lanterns carry people’s affections. In early spring, the immortal who governs spring will definitely receive everyone’s wishes. The junior sisters all say so.”
“I just wrote, ‘I want to be with Yue Jin, never apart.'”
Good work