Though he was now nothing but a lone spirit, he had gained a group of enemies turned into cherished friends, standing together through life and death—in truth, Xuanyuan Lige had long since felt satisfied.

Never in his life had he imagined that one day, he would stand alongside Jun Beiyue, protecting Ziqing every step of the way.

Now, looking at the three people before him—Jun Beiyue’s dominant resolve, Ziqing’s stubbornness, Baili Weisheng’s earnestness—Xuanyuan Lige’s heart ached, filled with sorrow, filled with reluctance to part.

And yet, there was no resentment, no regret, no sense of anything left undone.

He let Ziqing and the others watch him, but he simply wouldn’t speak. Then, suddenly, his gaze turned grave and serious, sweeping over Jun Beiyue, Ziqing, and Baili Weisheng one by one.

Under that scrutiny, Ziqing was startled, and even the usually composed Jun Beiyue and carefree Baili Weisheng flinched slightly, hearts pounding with dread, fearing this fellow was about to say something none of them could bear to hear!

As Xuanyuan Lige’s gaze grew heavier and heavier, their moods and expressions gradually grew cautious, careful, tinged with fear.

But then, without warning, Xuanyuan Lige suddenly burst into laughter, mocking them.

This enraged Ziqing, who threw a hard punch his way. “Xuanyuan Lige, what do you mean by this!”

Jun Beiyue’s face darkened, clearly displeased. Baili Weisheng clicked his tongue, narrowing his long eyes into dangerous slits. “Xiao Lili, having fun toying with us, are you?”

Ignoring their threats, Xuanyuan Lige laughed until he doubled over, simply delighted—as if he’d never in his life laughed so freely, so unrestrained, never been this happy.

While he laughed on to his heart’s content, the other three glared at him with darkened faces.

Finally, Ziqing couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop dodging the question. I don’t care—either way, you’re not staying, you’re coming with us!”

At this, Xuanyuan Lige stopped laughing and looked at them, his handsome eyes turning impossibly soft. “No matter what, I will go with you. Don’t worry.”

At these words, Ziqing froze slightly, feeling it was all rather sudden.

But quickly, she grew excited, immediately holding out her little finger. “Pinky swear—lying means… no, no, lying means…”

Before Ziqing could think of what to say, Baili Weisheng chimed in with his usual sharp tongue, “It means both your hands rot off and you can never play the zither again! The moment your hand touches a zither, the zither rots too!”

Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes widened, clearly stung by that.

Ziqing nodded firmly. “That’s the one! Pinky swear!”

A flash of helplessness crossed Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes, but he still smiled warmly, extending his little finger to link with Ziqing’s.

Once done with Ziqing, Baili Weisheng reached out too, saying seriously, “Pinky swear!”

Xuanyuan Lige did the same, but to his surprise, even Jun Beiyue—who normally scoffed at such gestures—extended his hand toward him as well.

Xuanyuan Lige smiled radiantly, solemnly linking pinkies with Jun Beiyue too, sealing the promise with all three of them: they would leave together.

That night, they still couldn’t sleep, chatting and laughing through the night, talking about the past, and about the future, about old grudges, and about old loves.

Together, they waited for the first ray of dawn.

Not far from them, Nangong Jun and Xinyun sat side by side, backs against the cave wall, listening to their laughter, Nangong Jun’s gaze fixed the whole while on Xuanyuan Lige.

In the silence, after hesitating for a long time, Xinyun finally spoke up. “Nangong, it’s been over twenty years. Miss Helian must still be waiting for you to go back.”

Only then did Nangong Jun turn to look at her, smiling faintly. “Mm, she definitely will be.”