The Zhuyin darkness was spread out on a handkerchief. Xuan Yi held it before her eyes to try it on—unexpectedly suitable. These eyes of hers were far more fragile than before and needed to be well cared for.

Looking at the surrounding golden radiance now was much more bearable. She lay down on the ground and tapped the sword wall with her hand, lazily spouting nonsense: “Zhuyin Dajun is hungry and wants to eat people. Take me to a place with many mortals.”

The sword wall was immediately tapped twice by Fucang’s fingers. He showed no courtesy at all, tapping with loud thunking sounds that made her head ache. His voice sounded as if it came from the distant horizon: “Endure it.”

Endure it again—why was he so tyrannical?

Xuan Yi rolled back and forth inside the golden dragon’s belly with nothing to do, so she simply used her fingernails to scratch at the sword wall. Who would have thought that after three or two scratches, the golden light would actually yield a hole? She pressed her face to the hole to look outside. That foolish lion Fucang usually rode wasn’t there—he was traveling by wind. The sky was pitch black. The auspicious lights that used to dance across the heavens due to the All-Heavens Demon Slaying Decree had all disappeared. The demon hordes lurked while the various deities held their troops at bay. The quiet was instead somewhat hair-raising.

A hand reached over to plug the hole. Fucang was helpless about her bad habit of scratching everywhere: “Feeling stuffy?”

Xuan Yi gently blew a breath outward. His palm immediately frosted over with a layer of pitch-black ice. He immediately used his fingertips to flick the wooden sword several times, continuing to make it thunk loudly.

As if finding this very amusing, the dragon princess’s soft laughter rang out from within the wooden sword.

Fucang looked down at the wooden sword that had turned pitch black. After all, it wasn’t Chun Jun. With a fallen celestial deity locked inside, over time it couldn’t withstand the turbid qi’s erosion. His fingertip brushed across the wooden sword, and the Huaxu Clan’s gold-wood divine power made it smooth and clean again. She also followed with an “Aya”: “Much more refreshing.”

Then be quiet. If anyone discovered this wooden sword could make sounds, big trouble would ensue.

Who knew she would start speaking again in a leisurely manner: “Senior Brother Fucang, next time have the golden dragon swallow some books, flowers, and grass inside, okay?”

The awesome sword qi transforming into a dragon had been bizarrely twisted in purpose by her like this.

“What books do you want to read?” Fucang always found it miraculous that she loved reading. What kind of books did she read all day that instead made her so unruly and outrageous?

Xuan Yi buried her head and thought seriously for a while before speaking: “When I was a mortal, there were several red-covered books on the bookshelf, their titles were something like…”

Before she could finish, she was coldly and harshly interrupted by Fucang: “You remember wrong.”

Her memory had always been good—how could she remember wrong?

“The titles were…”

His fingertip heavily flicked the wooden sword again, making her ears ring with noise. Being embarrassed into anger like this, there was definitely something fishy going on. Xuan Yi pouted: “Brute.”

Fucang said flatly: “Speak again, and you won’t be allowed out for three days.”

She didn’t believe he could keep her locked in the sword for a lifetime. Xuan Yi blew another breath toward that hole.

As it turned out, he really didn’t keep her locked up for long. When she was dragged out of the wooden sword, the mortal realm was bathed in brilliant sunshine. A gentle breeze swept across the verdant little mountain peak—no matter how she looked, it seemed familiar.

Xuan Yi looked around in a circle. Her gaze fell on that Emperor’s Mulberry tree at the cliff’s edge. Its broad leaves were still so clean and refreshing. The sound of wind blowing on them was still so pleasant, like fine rain falling.

The sudden joy was just like what he had brought her back then. Finally seeing it again—nothing had changed.

Xuan Yi floated lightly over and gazed up at it. Below the mountain, there was no longer half a city—greenery covered the entire field of vision. She couldn’t help but turn her head again. The mortal prince of that time was now a white-robed war general, while the goddess of that time had now become a demon clan member.

The way he looked at her still hadn’t changed. Ten thousand years apart, yet this moment was still that moment.

Xuan Yi smiled and reached out her hand toward him. She was very happy that the one accompanying her now was still him.

That slender hand grasped hers. The white-robed Shenjun already stood beside her, standing with her beneath this mortal Emperor’s Mulberry tree, gazing together at the half-city that no longer existed below the mountain.

The mountain wind carried turbid qi much thicker than back then, brushing past her snow-white, wide, flowing sleeves and hem. She was still wearing his clothes, blown by the wind as if about to take flight.

Xuan Yi slowly sat at the cliff’s edge. Her loose hair stuck in several strands to her face. As she brushed them away, she looked up at the Emperor’s Mulberry leaves overhead and said softly: “This Emperor’s Mulberry is more beautiful than the one in my Purple Manor. It should be the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.”

Fucang also sat down, slowly combing through her loose hair with his fingers. From his sleeve, he took out the golden earring she had left behind in Ba She’s belly and fastened it at her ear. But she removed the golden earring again, grabbed his sleeve, and placed it inside, then said tenderly: “Little thief, always stealing my golden earring—just keep it.”

He shook his head and opened his arms to embrace her. Don’t treat these like relics left behind—whether clothing or jewelry, they only had meaning because the one loved in his heart wore them.

In such a tender and affectionate moment, out of the blue, the dragon princess suddenly piped up inappropriately: “I didn’t remember wrong. I flipped through a few pages. Those red-covered books seemed to tell stories about female ghosts and scholars.”

…Bringing this up again.

Fucang simply didn’t know whether to lock her back in the wooden sword and give her a good thumping, or just throw her off this cliff. He only heard her laugh softly and gently blow a breath toward his face. Her breath was fragrant as orchids, her voice tender: “Pretending to be proper.”

She tilted her head up close and gave a kiss, very light.

Little female ghost. Fucang bowed his head to deepen this light kiss.

Let time return to the past, let him be able to rush back to the lower realm on that snowy night when heaven and earth were covered in white. Still young, with the four wilds and eight wastes, heaven above and earth below, everywhere three thousand landscapes, to the ends of the earth and corners of the sea. They would be together for a very, very long time. Everything wouldn’t be a brief beautiful dream like illusions and bubbles.

Night gradually deepened. The wind at the cliff’s edge was strong. The dragon princess curled up in his embrace. The sound of wind didn’t disturb her—she slept very deeply.

Don’t dream. Fucang lowered his head and kissed her face, tossing out the wooden sword to have the golden dragon protect her within its belly.

At the extremely distant horizon, auspicious light seemed to streak past. He narrowed his eyes and stood, about to leave, when he saw several clusters of auspicious light suddenly fall rapidly in the distance. Crown Prince Chang Qin’s voice suddenly rang out: “Fucang! I knew you’d be in this vicinity!”

Fucang turned around and saw Crown Prince Chang Qin leading several Dingmao Department war generals approaching with anxious expressions, saying as he walked: “Stop looking for that princess! She deliberately escaped! There’s news from the upper realm saying she’s already fallen into demon nature. The full war department summoning order is about to be issued—quickly return to the Dingmao Department!”

The full war department summoning order? Fucang said nothing. The vast night before his eyes suddenly became so bleak and perilous.

Crown Prince Chang Qin was still speaking: “I said that sword qi transforming into dragon technique couldn’t possibly have failed—Chun Jun must have recognized the scent of a fallen celestial deity! Hurry back!”

Fucang remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and turned to rise on the wind. Suddenly he saw several massive Truth-Binding restraints fall from the void, immediately about to bind him. He seemed to have been prepared—the azure Heavenly Treasure Sword leaped from its sheath, transforming into an incomparably massive golden dragon that rapidly coiled once and shattered those restraints.

He didn’t turn his head: “The full war department summoning order isn’t about to be issued—it’s already been issued, hasn’t it? Brother Chang Qin has always been straightforward and bold. Why bother learning these clumsy acting skills?”

Given Crown Prince Chang Qin’s nature, he would never have specially run out to find him. If he came looking and deliberately brought several war generals, there must be something unusual.

Crown Prince Chang Qin’s expression was complex. After looking at him for a while, he sighed deeply: “Since you understand, how can you be so foolish? She’s a fallen celestial deity with absolutely no chance of survival. Even if it means opposing the entire Zhuyin Clan, it’s impossible to keep her. Looking at our past friendship, I came first to warn you. These days you haven’t returned to the war department—you must have been with her, right? Where is she hiding? Quickly hand her over. Don’t be foolish and do wrong things. This matter absolutely has no room for compromise.”

Fucang quietly gazed at the bleak night, then turned his head again, his voice indifferent: “Correct. This matter absolutely has no room for compromise.”