They had been separated for so long, as distant as vast waters and far heavens, with the starry river impossible to cross.

Luoshen had imagined their reunion countless times. On that day, she would adorn her temples with jade earrings, paint her eyebrows with indigo, wear a skirt embroidered with twin phoenixes, radiating pearl-like brilliance and jade-like beauty. She wanted him to see her most beautiful appearance at first glance – her current self.

She never expected that at this moment, as she wandered by the riverbank with hidden resentment in her heart due to the barrier of distant mountains and waters, he would suddenly appear on the distant horizon, galloping toward her.

Between them lay only that last stretch of riverbank bathed in golden sunset light.

His figure was so magnificent, his stride so vigorous. His gaze fixed on her was full of surprise, and the smile on his handsome face, like the sunset enveloping his entire being, carried warm radiance yet possessed a powerful force that struck directly at one’s heart.

In this instant, Luoshen forgot everything.

She stood by the riverbank, watching Li Mu ride across the beach and stride toward her.

“A’Mi!”

When she heard her name from his lips, she could no longer hold back – tears burst forth.

Her husband had finally returned, meeting her by the Luo River at sunset.

She wept and smiled, running toward him again.

Li Mu stepped onto the riverbank in one bound, opened his arms to catch her, and embraced her tightly.

Luoshen closed her eyes, pressing her face against his broad, solid chest, tears flowing continuously.

The one she had longed for day and night had finally returned. Her body was held tight in his arms. She heard him continuously calling her “A’Mi” softly in her ear, heard the surging sound of blood pulsing from within his chest. In her breath, she also caught a faint remaining scent of blood like rust from his body.

Everything was so real. He had truly returned to her side.

This moment should have been filled with joy, yet she didn’t know what was wrong with her. When he truly stood before her and embraced her, why did she have so many tears?

Tears poured from her closed eyes like a burst dam, quickly covering her face and dampening his clothing.

…

To avoid the coming catastrophic flood, Murong Ti’s remaining forces had long since crossed north over the Yellow River, departing completely and retreating to Wei Commandery in Xiangzhou.

This plan that had relied on favorable timing and geography, originally certain of success and seemingly perfect, ultimately ended in failure. Not only did the Xianbei hand over all territory south of the Yellow River, but strategically and in terms of morale, it was also a massive blow.

Once the crisis at Shangjin Pass was resolved, Li Mu deployed troops to control the ferry crossing and organized civilians to voluntarily assist in defense. Knowing that for some time to come, even if the Xianbei were unwilling to accept this, wanting to recapture Luoyang which had served as their secondary capital for several years, they would now be powerless despite their desires. With Luoyang temporarily secure, he immediately set out to return west.

They had been separated too long. The situation had finally temporarily eased. In the previous few days, his heart had yearned for home like an arrow. He had thought he would have to return to Chang’an before seeing her face. He never expected that today, upon reaching Kanglong Pass, he would encounter her.

Indescribable was the shock he felt moments ago when he saw from afar that figure wandering by the Luo River on the other side of the riverbank covered in golden sunset light.

It was as if he had seen the legendary goddess of the Luo River, robes fluttering – in the next moment, she would ride the wind and glide away over the waves.

Without needing to see her face clearly, with just one glance at that figure, he recognized her immediately.

It was his wife, that beloved woman who had entered his dreams countless times during intervals between his military campaigns. She too had left Chang’an and come here, meeting him by the Luo River in this evening filled with sunset light.

The wild joy of reunion completely ignited Li Mu from the first moment he saw her figure.

His heart was no longer young, but at this moment, he was like a youth experiencing lovesickness for the first time. The beloved woman of his dreams had arranged to meet him here. He disregarded everything, only wanting to rush to her side.

For a brief instant, he even had an illusion.

As if all the time he had lived through in this life, even those distant dream-like experiences of his so-called previous life – joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, his love and hate, everything – was merely to fulfill this moment of their meeting by the Luo River.

He held her tightly as she buried her face in his chest, weeping torrentially, his own eyes reddening.

He lowered his head, continuously coaxing her gently in her ear, telling her he had truly returned, returned to her side.

But she wept even more severely, burying her head in his chest, hands gripping his clothes tightly, crying so hard she couldn’t speak a word, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Not far away on the high ground, busy soldiers stopped setting up camp. The returning cavalry halted their horses behind that stretch of beach.

Countless eyes from near and far cast watching gazes.

Several military generals also hadn’t expected to encounter Li Mu here. Their faces showed excitement as they rushed toward them, but seeing this scene, they hesitated and stopped in succession.

Behind them, the black horse stepped through the sunset to the couple’s side, stopped by the river, drank a few mouthfuls of Luo River water, then raised its head and quietly watched its master and mistress.

Li Mu suddenly lifted Luoshen, placed her on the saddle, then leaped onto the horse’s back himself, gently gathering her into his arms. With a low call, the black horse raised its hooves and moved forward lightly and steadily, soon turning around a river bend, blocking those watching gazes behind the hills.

Luoshen turned around, arms tightly embracing the man behind her, lifting a tear-streaked face, gazing at him with tear-filled eyes, calling him “Langjun” in a voice still carrying the soft remnant of crying.

The moment her soft arms and body pressed against him, Li Mu felt his entire being shiver.

Beneath his skin, in his blood vessels, that familiar stirring sensation that made every hair on his body suddenly stand on end was instantly awakened from the deepest part of his body like a sleeping lion.

In this late summer evening, the air carried wind filled with a faint fishy water scent, warm and mixed with the fragrance emanating from her hair and skin, penetrating inch by inch into every pore of his body.

Li Mu felt his heart thundering and his whole body burning with desire.

He longed to kiss her, to touch her. Because he missed her so much, missed everything about her.

Without any more restraint, he released the reins, letting the horse walk along the riverbank. His strong arms lifted her entirely from the saddle, turned her around to face him, and his burning kiss, filled with the torment of longing and the sweetness of reunion, fell upon her lips.

Luoshen closed her eyes, eyelashes trembling slightly, breathless from his passionate kiss, forgetting everything.

All around was quiet, the Luo River flowing silently and winding beneath their feet, with no visible beginning or end. Evening clouds filled the sky, the setting sun quietly falling at the end of the vast fields on the other side of the long river.

The black horse seemed attracted by the distant river sunset, stopped and gazed pensively, gently swishing its tail.

Li Mu lifted Luoshen down from the saddle, removed his outer robe and spread it on a patch of grass by the riverbank, then sat down with her facing the sunset.

His arms still held her tightly, not loosening for even a moment.

Luoshen rested her head on his shoulder, looking at the sun about to sink below the horizon, and said softly: “Langjun, do you know the origin of my name?”

Li Mu looked down at her.

“My father once dreamed of returning to the Luo River, wandering by its banks, singing with wild joy, waking with increased melancholy. He named me Luoshen as a token of his feelings.”

“Since childhood I wondered, if someday I could see with my own eyes the Luo River that so captivated my father’s soul, what kind of water it would be, how wonderful that would be…”

She looked up at Li Mu and slowly said: “That day, on my way from Yi Cheng to Chang’an, I accidentally fell into water and remembered some things I had completely forgotten…”

“I remembered that I seemed to have lived two lifetimes. In my first life, this wish was never fulfilled until I threw myself into the river and died.”

“How fortunate that I have this lifetime. Because of you, Langjun, today my wish is finally fulfilled.”

She paused, gazing into Li Mu’s deep eyes that slowly radiated light from their depths.

“Langjun, why did you insist on marrying me in this lifetime, even wronging yourself so?”

She asked word by word.

“Previously, I personally destroyed everything you had. In this lifetime, I know you came bearing memories of hatred. But why did you never seek revenge against me, against my cousin, against this court, against all who had harmed you?”

“If you had wanted to, you could have done so easily.”

Li Mu gazed at her for a long time without blinking.

The setting sun suddenly withdrew its last ray of red light belonging to day, swiftly falling and disappearing below the horizon.

The light suddenly dimmed. Li Mu’s gaze also darkened accordingly. He suddenly pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, motionless.

“A’Mi, I’m truly not as good as you think…”

After a long while, she heard him say hoarsely in her ear.

“When I originally forced you to marry me, it wasn’t entirely out of protection for you. I also harbored resentment toward you…”

“But you were still better to me.”

The corners of Luoshen’s lips turned up, finally showing a smile.

She tilted her head slightly, studying him.

Under the gaze of those beautiful, bright eyes in his arms, Li Mu finally stopped evading.

He said: “A’Mi, if you remember past events, you should know that even then I couldn’t bear to kill you for revenge, let alone in this lifetime?”

“You are just like your name – noble, beautiful, kind, and not lacking in courage. You are so wonderful that the more time I spend with you, the more I can’t help but love you. You knew nothing, and I couldn’t bear to put you in the painful dilemma of choosing sides because of my revenge. Everything I did was to be worthy of you, hoping to completely make you fall in love with me and unable to leave me, just as I love you and cannot leave you.”

His large hand lovingly stroked her face gently.

“A’Mi,” he said again.

“When I first awakened from that nightmare of death, I found myself returned to the past. You weren’t by my side. You were still the lofty Lady Gao, while I was merely a lowly military officer. I couldn’t approach you – even thinking of you felt like sacrilege. While harboring vengeful hatred, I felt incredibly lonely. This was a loneliness that even having the world presented before me couldn’t replace. I felt as if something that once belonged to me had been carved out of my heart – now it was gone, leaving emptiness.”

He gazed at her.

“Then I knew that while I resented you, I missed you even more.”

“A’Mi, if you had never married me, in Li Mu’s heart, you would probably forever remain just a lofty woman I admired but could never reach.”

“It was precisely because you married me and called me Langjun, even if only for one night of conspiracy, that it fostered my ambition toward you.”

“I missed the one who would say to me ‘from now on, my remaining life is entrusted to Langjun.’ I wanted to win you back, to hear you say it to me again personally. Without you by my side, even if I lived ten more lifetimes, I would still be alone – what joy would there be?”

He stopped speaking, only looking at her with a smile.

Dusk gathered, enveloping the riverbank. A crescent moon rose from the horizon, hanging above distant mountain peaks.

The surroundings grew increasingly quiet. The black horse stood nearby by the riverbank, quietly chewing rich, sweet water grass. Several waterbirds nesting here flew out from hidden grass beaches, wings brushing the river surface as they flew toward the opposite shore.

Gao Huan, seeing his brother-in-law and sister hadn’t returned for so long and noting the late hour, brought several soldiers to search. From afar he saw the black horse standing by the riverbank and through the grass seemed to glimpse Li Mu and his sister sitting intimately together on the shore, their figures close together. Not daring to approach closer, he quietly retreated.

Luoshen’s throat gradually tightened, tears welling in her eyes again.

She blinked once, and a teardrop slid from the corner of her eye.

Li Mu’s finger gently wiped away the tear.

Luoshen choked out: “Langjun, from now on, as long as I’m able, I’ll do anything for you.”

Li Mu gazed at her.

“Good.”

Something seemed to flicker in his eyes as he drawled out a slow “good.”

“A’Mi, I want you to help me bathe again. Just like that summer at the Yi Cheng prefectural office, every evening when I returned from outside covered in sweat, you would personally help me bathe. After returning to Jiankang, you never bathed me again all these years.”

He continued.

Luoshen wiped her eyes, smiled through her tears, and nodded in agreement.

Li Mu smiled broadly, removed his helmet, and casually took off his clothes, leaving only the riding pants worn by soldiers for convenience in mounted combat. Then he rose and waded into the water, standing by the Luo River.

Luoshen smiled, picked up his helmet that was covered with a thick layer of dried sweat and salt, came to his side, and like before by the well in the prefectural office’s back courtyard, stood on a rock by the shore. Rolling up her sleeves, she used the helmet to scoop clear river water, raised it high, and poured it down.

Cool river water splashed onto his broad, muscular shoulders and back, water droplets flying and dampening her chest garments, quietly outlining beautiful curves. She didn’t notice at all, continuing to scoop water and pour it over him, her boneless soft hand moving back and forth over his bare skin.

At her command, Li Mu turned around. His gaze fell on her chest, his already parched throat growing more tense. His Adam’s apple moved as his gaze fixed on her chest and stopped.

“Langjun, do you love the former me more, or the current me?”

As dusk deepened and the river rippled with waves, Luoshen didn’t notice the man’s gradually darkening gaze. While continuing to rub his chest and abdomen, she asked.

Her tone was light, even somewhat coquettish, as if it were merely a whimsical joke.

But only she knew that this question had been circling under her tongue since earlier, and she had finally gathered courage to ask it as if casually.

She didn’t hate that woman who had lived deep in her memories. She was also her former self. A living, pitiful and tragic self.

Luoshen sympathized with her former self, but she definitely couldn’t say she liked her.

Even now, knowing he had married her in this life because of his unforgettable longing for her, deep in her heart she even felt a trace of faint jealousy.

She asked and held her breath waiting for his answer, but heard no response.

He seemed lost in thought.

Luoshen asked again. This time, her tone unconsciously carried more gravity.

Li Mu gave a soft “ah,” seeming to finally come to his senses. He raised his eyes, reached out to stop her busy hand on his body, paused, and smiled: “A’Mi, before I pitied her, cherished her, and was grateful for her complete trust in me. That wedding night, facing her, I thought I must protect her for life and never let her suffer any harm again.”

“But you now are different from her. You are her, yet you are not her…”

He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone became low.

“A’Mi, when I collapsed from poison that day, she was forcibly taken from my side. She wept, constantly looking back at me, her eyes full of reluctance and regret. I saw it clearly. But in the end, if I hadn’t reached out to grab her foot and refused to let her leave me, I think she would have ultimately abandoned me and left.”

“But I know you wouldn’t. A’Mi, if that day’s events happened again and you unknowingly harmed me, I know that no matter what, you wouldn’t abandon me and just walk past me like that…”

Luoshen’s nose tingled slightly.

With a “plop,” the helmet in her hand fell into the water, splashing.

She slowly took his hand with nail marks on the palm, brought it to her lips, gently kissed the scar, then pressed that palm against one side of her face.

“Langjun, I’m not afraid, not even of death.”

“Before, I married Elder Brother Lu. When he died young, I was willing to remain faithful to him for life.”

“But now, if you were gone too, I wouldn’t remain faithful to you – I would follow you. These past days when you went to attack Kanglong Pass, I had already decided.”

“If Li Mu lives, I am his wife. If Li Mu is gone, I will follow him – in life and death together…”

As she spoke, she threw herself into his arms, tightly embracing his neck, never wanting to let go.

Li Mu stood by the water, his figure frozen for a moment, then suddenly lifted her up, waded ashore, placed her on the clothes spread on the grass, then knelt beside her. Gazing at that beautiful face under starlight, he leaned down and pressed her between himself and the earth.

“Langjun—Langjun—”

Luoshen closed her eyes, trembling all over under his passionate kisses and caresses, making soft calls from her throat. These sounds carried urgency and joy, full of longing, making his blood boil even more uncontrollably.

He breathed heavily, covered in hot sweat. When they finally joined deeply together with no gap remaining, both simultaneously let out low, satisfied sighs.

The black horse remained close by, eating grass and occasionally turning its head as if curiously observing its master and mistress.

Fine sweat seeped from Luoshen’s white, smooth skin, mingling with his burning perspiration.

Finally, everything gradually quieted.

He was reluctant to release her, wrapping her body in clothes and continuing to hold her, letting her listen to his still drum-like heartbeat as he slowly kissed her.

Suddenly, she pushed him away and in one motion straddled his abdomen.

Li Mu submissively let her straddle him, opened his eyes, hands resting on her waist, calling her name in a hoarse voice still filled with unsatisfied desire.

Luoshen looked down at him from above, finally listening to him and slowly leaning down toward him, lying on his chest, cupping his face and kissing him.

Li Mu closed his eyes contentedly, feeling her passion, when suddenly he heard her whisper in his ear: “Langjun, A’Mi doesn’t just want to be your wife – I want to be the most noble woman in the world.”

Li Mu paused and opened his eyes again.

The starlight overhead sparkled brilliantly.

Her clothes had slipped from her smooth shoulders. She sat on him partially undressed, her long hair falling like black silk from her shoulders, flowing in the wind.

She looked down at him from above, her eyes in the night like fallen infinite stars, shimmering with light.

At this moment, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Li Mu gazed up at her, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating again.

“Langjun, I want to be empress of the world. I want you to help me realize this wish.”

She slowly straightened up, sitting on the man beneath her, meeting his gaze without any evasion.

Li Mu looked at her for a moment, his breathing gradually becoming heavier.

Suddenly, he rolled over and pressed her beneath him again.

“Li Mu will grant everything!”

Veins bulged on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. Amid her low cry of surprise, he entered forcefully, then said word by word in her ear.