In the one hundred thousandth year after the new Goddess Wangshu took office, the six great lords of the ancient eighteen clans who had once completely submitted to the upper realm began to stir restlessly.

In the depths of winter that year, the crown prince of Tian Di perished in an ambush by the great lord Chima. All four wildernesses and eight wastelands trembled at this. When the crown prince perished, the Ziwei Star fell, and heavy snow fell upon the Heavenly Palace for half a month. Half a month later, Tian Di issued a decree to exterminate the ancient eighteen clans completely.

The crown prince of Tian Di had always been benevolent and approachable, and the gods both respected and loved him. Therefore, although this extermination was not comparable to the heavenly demon extermination decree of years past, many volunteered. The one who took the lead without yielding was naturally Dijun Baize. The crown prince was his most accomplished disciple from earlier years. Moreover, he had more decisiveness and capability than the current Tian Di. When he ascended the throne in the future, he would surely usher in an even more prosperous peaceful golden age. Who could have imagined he would perish at the hands of a great lord—it made him furious beyond measure.

After swiftly and decisively exterminating Great Lord Chima, the crown prince of Tian Di’s soul-sending ceremony commenced amid the falling snow that filled the sky. The dance and music divine officials performed mournful songs and wild dances on the spacious green glazed bridge. The crown prince of Tian Di’s divine body had long since transformed into clear qi and dispersed. Because of his extreme reluctance to part, Tian Di was earnestly requesting that Goddess Wangshu release Zhuyin White Snow to freeze a lock of the crown prince’s long hair in ice.

The mournful music came in waves like howling wind. Most of the gods couldn’t bear to listen, and their gazes instead fell upon Goddess Wangshu by the bridge.

The current Goddess Wangshu could be called illustriously famous. In her youth, her reputation had risen dramatically because of the Sea of Parting Regret incident. After taking on the Wangshu position with the status of princess of the Zhuyin Clan, her unmarried husband Shenjun Fucang of the Huaxu Clan had also interfered with the responsibilities of heaven and earth, forcibly taking on the Feilian position. At the time, this was wildly discussed everywhere. Fortunately, the two of them had never had any problems driving the carriage and pursuing the moon. They were actually more efficient than in the past, so the voices rising in protest gradually faded.

Among the gods, some had seen her and some had not. At this moment, seeing her wearing lustrous white luxurious robes with light purple silk draped cloth, just looking at her back showed graceful swaying. When she turned around, her eyes were covered with a layer of fine silver tassels—indescribably enchanting and beautiful. She had a completely different flavor from the quiet and slender Wangshu in their impressions. The shenjuns couldn’t help but want to look a few more times.

Xuan Yi carefully sealed the crown prince of Tian Di’s long hair into crystal-clear cold ice, using her fingernails to carve out some balloon flower shapes on it, making it extremely exquisite, before handing it to the tearful Tian Di across from her. Right now he looked like just an ordinary member of the divine race who had painfully lost a beloved son—his eyes were swollen from crying.

The mournful music of the dance and music divine officials on the bridge, crying and howling, made her head ache. She lightly descended from the bridge and looked around everywhere, not knowing where Tai Yao was. Back when exterminating fallen celestial gods, she had owed him a favor and hadn’t had a chance to repay it. With the crown prince’s demise this time, she would surely have to console him with a few words.

Passing through various glazed bridges with accumulated snow, she saw Tai Yao’s figure in wide-sleeved long robes standing beneath an ancient pine. Zhi Xi was standing beside him keeping him company. This senior martial sister was becoming increasingly skilled at dressing herself. A set of ivory-white lotus robes made her stand gracefully like a camellia blossom.

Xuan Yi was just about to go over and greet them when she suddenly saw Tai Yao turn around and open both arms to embrace the camellia-like goddess across from him. She couldn’t help but freeze. Clearly Zhi Xi was even more shocked than her. Not wanting to rudely push him away, she could only say in a small voice: “Senior Brother Tai Yao?”

Tai Yao said in a low voice: “The crown prince and I differ in age by nearly one hundred thousand years. He always treated me like a brother, like a father. I once thought that when he ascended the throne in the future, if I assisted by his side, I would surely exhaust all my strength and open up a golden age. It’s just a pity…”

Zhi Xi sighed: “The world is impermanent, fortune and misfortune change from morning to evening. At least Great Lord Chima has been exterminated, avenging His Highness the Crown Prince. Senior Brother Tai Yao, please accept my condolences and adapt to this change.”

Tai Yao slowly nodded: “Zhi Xi, could you keep me company a bit longer? With you here, my spirit is more at peace.”

Zhi Xi’s face flushed red. Apprehensively, she looked around randomly. Although these years she had quite a lot of contact with this senior brother, he was a gentle and refined type who had never revealed the slightest personal feelings. She had also treated him with the thick affection one shows an elder brother. This sudden embrace—she couldn’t react for a moment and only stiffened in place. In the end, she still didn’t move.

Xuan Yi stood behind the tree for a moment. After thinking it over carefully, she lightly turned and moved away, not even disturbing a single grain of snow.

This was quite good. Just continue like this.

Leaving the small garden, Xuan Yi looked at the dim sky and exhaled a breath. Her father, elder brother, and Fucang were all main forces in exterminating the great lords. Right now they were probably all still rushing about in the lower realm. Calculating it, it had been several months since she’d seen them. The Feilian position at night had also been temporarily handed over to the divine officials of Changye Palace as substitutes. Rather stifling.

She leaned against a flowerpot and lowered her head to pinch white snow, pinching out a snowman Fucang wearing Feilian divine envoy ceremonial robes, then pinching a snowman Qing Yan whose earring never left his person.

“Little junior martial sister!”

Yan Xia’s joyful voice sounded within this somewhat desolate and sorrowful Heavenly Palace—rather inappropriate. Xuan Yi turned her head and saw her hopping and jumping over. Gu Ting’s face behind her was green.

“Alone here pinching white snow again.” Yan Xia came forward to look at the snowmen in her hands, teasing: “So you were missing Junior Brother Fucang.”

Gu Ting pursued all the way and supported her arm, his voice trembling: “Don’t run. Two hundred years is precisely the most dangerous time.”

Yan Xia, who had eight hundred more years until becoming a mother, had no self-awareness at all and laughed with pure innocence: “I’m fine. Don’t always worry. My mother said when she was pregnant with me, she was still throwing punches the night before giving birth. I should be like her.”

If she really threw punches the night before giving birth, Gu Ting felt he would rather jump down from that unfilled hole in the extreme western lands.

Xuan Yi pinched two round and plump little snowmen and gave them to Yan Xia. She loved them dearly and played with them in her hands for a long while. Suddenly, as if remembering something: “Oh right, have you seen Senior Sister Zhi Xi? These years she’s always gone about alone. I heard many shenjuns in the Ministry of Justice have expressed their feelings to her, but she turned them all down. Is she… uh, still unable to forget Shao Yi?”

Xuan Yi tilted her head and thought: “I don’t think so.”

Yan Xia sighed: “I think it looks quite like it. I need to pull her out of this pit.”

She now similarly held office in Wenhua Hall. Most of those she encountered around her were gentle and refined shenjuns. All were far more reliable than Shao Yi.

“I’m going to find her.” Yan Xia turned and began running again. “I’ll introduce her to one person per month. I don’t believe they’ll all fail!”

Maybe they really could all fail. Xuan Yi silently thought, pinching out a green-faced Gu Ting.

The mournful music on the green glazed bridge gradually diminished. The hissing wind and snow swirled within the empty Heavenly Palace. Not knowing how much time passed, the sound of footsteps in snow gradually drew near. Xuan Yi was concentrating intently on carving camellia flowers by snowman Zhi Xi’s temples with her fingernails and didn’t look up.

The sound of footsteps in snow stopped three feet to her side. After a while, that low and enchanting voice she hadn’t heard in a long time suddenly sounded: “Not wearing ceremonial robes—you’re rarely this obedient.”

This fellow particularly liked making sudden attacks recently.

Xuan Yi turned her head with a beaming smile, somewhat surprised as she looked at the white-robed war general across from her. He really didn’t look very clean and refined at all. His white robes were stained with much dried demon blood, travel-worn and dusty. Probably because his jade crown had been shattered again, his long hair was simply gathered over his shoulders, casually tied with a torn strip of sleeve.

He must have come to find her without time to return to Qing Di Palace first.

Xuan Yi threw aside the snowman, walked two steps toward him, and wrinkled her nose in disdain: “So dirty.”

Fucang patted her forehead. Caught off guard, this princess who had just been full of disdain rolled into his embrace and directly clung monkey-like to his body. He then used his arms to support her.

“I don’t like watching you run around like this.” She used her fingernails to lightly pick away the blood traces at his brow. “Don’t be Feilian anymore.”

If he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t let other shenjuns do it either.

Fucang patted her head again: “Let’s go. It’s almost the hour of You.”

The dragon princess silently used her fingertips to rub away every blood spatter on his face. He lifted aside the fine silver tassels. Her gaze held only tenderness, no longer any trace of sadness.

This was very good. It was already enough.

He held her hand and left the snowy Heavenly Palace. Tonight they would drive the carriage and pursue the moon again. Feilian leading the way, Wangshu carrying the moon. Through the long, long night, nestled together, the time alone that belonged to him and her.