Ming Li was too exhausted. She had intended to hear Dong Yeshou’s explanation about the Yin-Yang Curse, but as soon as she lay down and relaxed, she couldn’t fight her heavy eyelids.

Perhaps because she had returned to the place most familiar to her, her dreams were filled with the people she knew best.

In her dream was an endless expanse of deep blue sea. The sky was gloomy, with thick clouds and waves both rolling, the sound of waves crashing loudly.

It seemed to be an ordinary day when everyone had arranged to visit a nearby coastal area for fun.

Every year, when they came to the sea, they would agree not to use their Star Meridian powers. On the beach stood several small wooden cabins that the Bei Dou disciples had built themselves with materials they had gathered.

Her brother, Dong Yenu, had brought back a savory ingredient perfect for seafood soup, which was why they had arranged this trip to the seaside.

The boys were responsible for preparing the ingredients, so they sat outside the cabin shelling peanuts.

While shelling peanuts, Dong Yenu watched Ming Li and Qing Ying playing in the shallow water on the beach. His gaze gradually turned envious, and the peanuts in his hands began to feel heavy.

Qing Ying had rolled up her sleeves and skirt hem. She returned with a basket of oysters and tossed it to Dong Yenu: “Here you go. There might be sand in them, so you’ll need to find a way to clean them thoroughly.”

Ming Li was still at the shore, bending down to collect more. Zhou Zixi looked up at her and, noticing his senior sister walking farther away, put down the peanuts in his hand and walked toward her.

Dong Yenu took the bamboo basket from Qing Ying and looked inside. He turned to Liang Junxia, who was seriously focused on shelling peanuts, and asked: “Why don’t we go collect oysters first?”

Liang Junxia didn’t even look up, competing with Black Fox Mask beside him to see who could shell more peanuts: “We need the peanuts right away. The oysters are for dinner. What’s the rush?”

Chen Zhou said lazily, “Don’t make excuses to go play at the beach. Stay put and finish shelling the peanuts.”

Fu Yuan poked his head out from the kitchen window to look at the group below, saying impatiently: “Why haven’t you finished yet?”

“Almost, almost,” Yin Luo looked at the raw peanuts piled almost into a small mountain before him, picked one up and threw it at Fu Yuan, saying, “Why don’t you cook them with the shells on? Why insist on shelling them? So picky!”

Fu Yuan caught it, peeled it, and threw it back at him. “Does your family put peanut shells in soup?”

Yin Luo replied righteously: “What’s wrong with that?!”

Chen Zhou put his arm around Yin Luo and said to Fu Yuan: “Alright, alright, don’t get angry with a child who survived five days and five nights in the mountains by eating dirt.”

Fu Yuan laughed coldly: “Why didn’t he starve to death during those five days of the mountain challenge?”

Qing Ying, who was helping to shell peanuts, looked at Yin Luo in surprise: “You were trapped for five days during the mountain challenge? That’s so long!”

Yin Luo spread his hands: “That year, Bei Dou was full of talented individuals. Those who came to participate in the mountain challenge were all formidable opponents.”

Black Fox Mask nodded: “Like me.”

Yin Luo: “Shameless.”

Black Fox Mask, without looking up, said: “Stealing food from others during those five trapped days is even more shameless.”

“That wasn’t stealing, that was cooperation. I helped figure out the positions for array points, shared intelligence in exchange for food—that can’t be called stealing, right?” Yin Luo turned to look at Chen Zhou, who nodded in agreement.

Qing Ying seemed to recall something upon hearing this: “Oh—was that the year of the joint examination by the Yu Heng, Gleaming Light, and Tian Xuan Academies?”

Yin Luo looked at her, puzzled: “How are you only remembering now?”

“She wasn’t in Bei Dou that year,” Chen Zhou interjected. “And there aren’t many of us who came in through the mountain challenge.”

At these words, both Black Fox Mask and Yin Luo stopped what they were doing and looked up at the people around them.

When Black Fox Mask looked at him, Liang Junxia raised an eyebrow: “I was brought in directly by Master.”

Chen Zhou raised his hand to Yin Luo: “Me too.”

Yin Luo turned to look at Qing Ying, who also raised her hand and blinked.

Black Fox Mask looked up at Fu Yuan, leaning on the window, who waved his hand: “As long as your talent is good enough, masters will come looking for you.”

Yin Luo rolled his eyes: “As if everyone has awakened all eight meridians.”

This time, it was Dong Yenu and Liang Junxia who looked up.

Liang Junxia rolled his eyes back: “I haven’t.”

Dong Yenu said: “Neither have I.”

“…” Yin Luo looked around, “That’s not right. There must be others who came in through the mountain challenge.”

Chen Zhou said, “Zixi.”

“Right! Zixi!” Yin Luo continued shelling peanuts while telling Fu Yuan, “You’re no good. You can’t cook peanut soup with the shells on. Let Zixi do it—he knows how to cook. You come here and shell peanuts.”

Fu Yuan asked: “Where is Zixi?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? He’s right beside me—” Yin Luo turned his head to find nothing, “Where did my big Zixi go?”

Everyone then realized that Zhou Zixi had disappeared at some point, until Dong Yenu raised his hand and pointed ahead: “Perhaps… is that the Zhou junior brother you’re looking for?”

A faint light penetrated through the thick black clouds, its rays falling on the rolling sea. The waves repeatedly crawled up the shore, curiously observing the man and woman standing on the beach and what they were saying.

Zhou Zixi was listening to Ming Li as he rolled up his sleeves, barefoot in the water, allowing the waves to wash over his feet.

Ming Li seemed to be having great fun, shaking her wet hair and pointing at a huge rock in the distance, saying: “Let’s see who can run there first.”

“Sure,” Zhou Zixi smiled in response, and the two ran along the shore.

The huge rock ahead blocked the waves. The waves came fiercely, and when they met the obstacle, they rose as high as a person. Ming Li had already played several rounds with him, winning some and losing some, but each time they were drenched in seawater.

As the two approached the target point, the waves surged forth, rising high and crashing against the rock with a heavy sound. Zhou Zixi, who had been slightly ahead, turned back at this moment and extended his hand toward Ming Li. Without thinking much, she reached out and was grasped by him.

Zhou Zixi led Ming Li to the back of the rock. As the water fell, this small space felt like it was experiencing a heavy downpour.

“Senior Sister,” Zhou Zixi, with water droplets still on his face, didn’t let go of Ming Li’s hand. He gestured for her to look at their positions. He was standing at the edge of the rock and smiled at Ming Li, who was closer to the inside: “You won.”

When Ming Li raised her eyes to look at him with water droplets hanging from her eyelashes, Zhou Zixi’s heartbeat stopped along with the falling seawater.

The crowd in front of the wooden cabin: “…”

Why am I here, shelling peanuts while that little guy gets to play in the water?

Qing Ying covered her face with both hands. The person who should be playing in the water with Senior Sister should be me! Why am I here, shelling peanuts?

Chen Zhou asked expressionlessly: “Why is he so far away?”

Everyone crushed the peanut shells in their hands and called out to their junior brother in the distance through gritted teeth: “Zhou! Zi! Xi!”

Zhou Zixi’s heartbeat was awakened again.

He released Ming Li’s hand and rubbed his nose.

Ming Li smiled at him: “You’ve been caught slacking.”

Zhou Zixi said, “I’ll go back now.”

“Let’s go,” Ming Li took his hand as they walked back. Zhou Zixi was caught off guard by this and somewhat dazed as he followed Ming Li’s lead for a couple of steps before he came to his senses.

He was still wondering what to do about being seen by the senior brothers, how to explain it later, what if everyone realized he liked Senior Sister?

But he was overthinking.

No one cared whether Ming Li had taken his hand or he had taken Ming Li’s hand. Everyone just felt that he had betrayed them, betrayed the yet-to-be-shelled peanuts before them.

As soon as Zhou Zixi returned to the cabin, he was surrounded and pelted with peanuts. All the remaining unshelled peanuts were piled into his basket. In the end, it was he and Ming Li who dutifully shelled peanuts while everyone else went to play at the beach.

Ming Li’s clothes and hair were dripping with water, so she got up, saying she would go change.

Zhou Zixi looked up at her back.

Fu Yuan asked: “What are you looking at?”

Zhou Zixi: “…”

He looked up at Fu Yuan standing by the kitchen window and asked: “Why didn’t you go play?”

“I’d like to,” Fu Yuan pointed to the inside, “Can you watch this pot of soup for me?”

Zhou Zixi: “I’ll watch it.”

“Really?” Fu Yuan raised an eyebrow. Seeing Zhou Zixi nod, he climbed out the window and ran toward the beach.

When Ming Li from the adjacent room had changed her clothes and dried her hair, standing at the door looking up, she saw Zhou Zixi sitting alone at the opposite doorway, shelling peanuts, with a white towel draped over his shoulders. Several strands of wet hair clung to his cheeks.

When he heard a sound, he looked toward the people playing on the beach. There was a hint of a smile flowing in his calm eyes. A moment later, as if startled by a realization, he gently lowered his gaze, concealing all emotions, and continued to carefully shell the peanuts.

Ming Li quietly watched him for a moment without approaching, until Zhou Zixi noticed her himself.

He smiled: “Senior Sister.”

*

Dong Yeshou didn’t wake the two sleeping figures. He sat at the table until dawn, then through the afternoon. In the hazy twilight, Chen Zhou finally awoke.

He rubbed his eyes, yawned as he sat up, glanced at Ming Li, who was still asleep, then stood and said to Dong Yeshou: “Master, I’ll go wash up first. I smell terrible.”

Dong Yeshou: “That’s not what I said.”

He looked at Ming Li, who was still sleeping, as Qu Zhuyue walked from the far end of the corridor carrying a large food box. She asked: “Where is Chen Zhou?”

Dong Yeshou answered: “He went to bathe.”

Qu Zhuyue said, “Wait for him to finish before eating, or ask if he wants to go eat with Junxia and the others.”

“Junxia came by this morning,” Dong Yeshou said. “He left because he smelled too bad.”

Qu Zhuyue’s lips curved into a smile, and she asked softly: “Ming Li hasn’t woken at all?”

Dong Yeshou shook his head: “She’s too exhausted.”

Although the burns on her Star Meridian were painful and hard to bear, she couldn’t show any sign of it before returning to Bei Dou. If people had seen through her condition, her enemies would surely come one after another.

Dong Yeshou said, “Her injuries also need rest for a period. During this time, she cannot use her Star Meridian power.”

“Especially her Qi Circulation Meridian,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what method she used to forcibly raise her Star Meridian level to use Life and Death, but her Qi Circulation Meridian is like it’s been burned by a great fire, nearly severed.”

If her Qi Circulation Meridian were to break, she would never be able to return to the Pilgrim realm in this lifetime.

Qu Zhuyue asked: “What about Shi Fei?”

Dong Yeshou said, “It might help.”

But he didn’t dare to wake Ming Li rashly. Though she was sleeping, her Star Meridian was self-repairing. Her Qi Circulation Meridian was in a precarious state—the slightest issue could cause problems. It was better to wait for her to wake up on her own.

*

Ming Li dreamed of many happy things.

Those nostalgic pasts that made one reluctant to wake up.

Her eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes. Again, she saw the sunset twilight—the flowers, grass, and branches in the courtyard were tinged with a crimson hue. Yet this haziness made everything before her mysterious and uncertain.

Ming Li thought she had woken up, but saw that the person sitting opposite her was not Dong Yeshou but Zhou Zixi. Only then did she realize that the scene before her was just an illusion.

Zhou Zixi sat under the corridor, one leg bent, both hands pressed on the ground as he tilted his body slightly to look at the sky. Noticing Ming Li’s movement, he merely glanced at her with his peripheral vision before looking back at the sky.

He said softly, “Senior Sister, no need to rush to wake up.”

Ming Li shook her head, saying in a low voice: “I need to find all of you.”

Perhaps it was the stark contrast between dream and reality, or the vast, hazy twilight color that was too sorrowful, pulling one deeply into it.

Ming Li experienced a rare feeling of slight sadness.

Zhou Zixi reached out his hand, gently cupping half of her face, his fingertips lightly brushing across the corner of her eye. He spoke softly to her: “No need to rush. You must take care of yourself first. No one should let you harm yourself—not even me.”

He suddenly understood something.

If Ming Li hadn’t been resurrected, then the first person they had lost was Ming Li.