The moonlight was gentle and beautiful, and the sea sounded like complaints. In an instant, the young man had finished the wine in his cup. He looked at the full moon in the sky, seeming to speak to himself: “Now the old place hangs empty under the celestial stars. I wonder if the remaining people still have a thousand years…”

These words were clearly not meant for me, and I couldn’t understand them either, so I spoke directly: “I only see one moon—what celestial stars?”

The young man said, “They disappeared these past two days. Before, they hung high for ten days and could only be seen from this place.”

“You’ve been here for ten-odd days?”

“Two months.”

I said in amazement: “Two months, all alone on a high mountain pavilion, drinking dew and eating wind? Oh no, drinking wine and eating wind.”

“Not everyone needs to eat.” The young man continued pouring wine for himself, as if telling me that wine was sufficient.

This person was full of divine power—could he be cultivating immortality? Perhaps he was already a half-immortal? Or maybe, like my eldest sister, I, too, had encountered a Wandering Immortal on this lonely island? Regardless of which it was, it couldn’t help but make one joyful and excited. I said: “May I ask your honored surname and great name?”

He turned his head to look at me. His eyes held starlight, his nose was like a snow mountain, and on both sides of his cheekbones, two water-pattern marks meandered downward. He should have been a beautiful man whose height didn’t reach the misty heavens, yet his gaze carried an air of arbitrary dominance: “You should be more concerned about your safety. If I hadn’t saved you just now, you would have already been captured by that Panlong as pregnancy medicine.”

“Preg… pregnancy medicine…?” I couldn’t help breaking into a cold sweat.

“That Panlong’s wife is pregnant. Your people are the most nourishing medicine.”

No wonder it had been so fierce toward me earlier, yet didn’t immediately kill me—it wanted to capture me alive to make soup… Thinking of this, I couldn’t help shivering. However, Panlong dragons were so extremely poisonous that when encountering this young man, they could only serve as a beast of burden. This made me even more curious about his identity.

But before I could find another chance to ask, he had already clapped his hands twice and said to me: “Now that night has fallen, you should return home.”

Then, large shadows spread across the ground before me.

I originally thought it was dark clouds, but when I turned around, I nearly fell to the ground in fright again: at some unknown time, another dragon had appeared beside the cliff, maintaining the same head-bowed posture toward us. However, this dragon had wings on its back, was red-yellow all over, and much larger than the previous one.

Books mentioned that dragons became horned dragons after five hundred years and Yinglong dragons after a thousand years. Those with scales were called Jiaolong, those with wings were called Yinglong.

This massive creature was a thousand-year-old Yinglong!

Seeing two dragons in one day, with the second being so formidable, I felt somewhat overwhelmed. But thinking that this young man could command dragons, apart from being frightened by their fierce appearance, I knew I was still safe.

In the next moment, this Yinglong actually extended its claws and scooped me up to sit on its head. I cried out softly, only hearing the young man say: “It will take you home now. In the future when going out, it’s better to be cautious and careful.”

“Wait! Wait!” I grabbed hold of one or two dragon whiskers and said urgently, “My Father King said only immortals can command dragons. Could it be… you’re an immortal?”

“It’s not only immortals who can command dragons.”

“Then what exactly are you? What’s your name? Today’s kindness, Luowei, will surely be kept in heart. Someday, I will repay it by tying grass and holding rings…”

The more I spoke, the more my body leaned forward.

“It’s merely a small effort, unnecessary.” The young man said indifferently, “You and I are separated by a great distance. Most likely, we won’t meet again in this lifetime.”

“At least tell me your name!”

“I have no name.”

After saying this, he clapped his hands twice again. The Yinglong spread its wings toward the sky and soared with the wind, taking me to an extremely distant place in just a few moves. I twisted my head to look at that young man once more. The sea wind billowed his wide sleeves and brocade robes, his flowing black hair.

That was merely an ordinary mountain peak, yet it was filled with the moon’s clear radiance and the peerless elegance blooming in the deep night.

Two hours later, the Yinglong delivered me to Suozhao’s outskirts. Flocks of Yiniao flew from Suozhao, their five-colored feathers brilliant and dazzling, illuminating the night sky like phoenix nirvana. Riding back onto the light Yiniao’s back, the touch of soft feathers immediately relaxed my tense emotions.

Seeing again that full moon occupying half the sky, recalling what had happened before, it seemed like a magnificent dream.

I dozed briefly on Yiniao’s back before being awakened by my family’s calling voices.

They were truly worried sick. My mother and my second sister hugged me and cried, and Father repeatedly checked whether I was injured. Fu Chenzhi stood silently to one side, pale-faced and not saying a word.

Mother also noticed him and said: “Sigh, this child has been frantic and restless since returning, unable to eat or sleep, not taking a single bite of food… Chenzhi, since your younger sister has returned, hurry and eat something.”

Fu Chenzhi only shook his head, his small frame swaying as if he could barely stand. I broke free from my parents’ embrace and walked before him. The two of us looked at each other wordlessly. After a long time, I finally took his hand: “Brother, let’s go eat… I’m hungry.”

He had originally been expressionless, even carrying some reproachful anger. Hearing me say this, he first froze, then pressed his lips together as his eyes reddened: “Alright.”

He turned around, pulled me toward the dining table, and used his sleeve to wipe away tears.

If I remember correctly, this was the first time I willingly called him brother, and the first time I felt the warmth of his palm.

Admittedly, what happened that night sounded absurd, but my parents nearly taking me to see a physician still made me rather unhappy. They firmly believed only the Panlong had appeared—the frozen seawater and dragon-commanding young man seemed to be only my sleep talk.

Moreover, to preserve the Suozhao Clan royal family’s dignity, they ordered me not to spread this matter outside. Over time, I stopped mentioning it to others. But I firmly believed that person’s temperament was so noble and extraordinary, he must be a banished immortal who had mistakenly fallen into the mortal world.

In the many years that followed, one mountain pine ridge, one bend of cold moon, one trace of azure shadow, one dragon’s night return… these scenes all appeared repeatedly in my dreams.

As members of the Suozhao Clan, we were naturally drawn to water, light, and shining things. Those thousands of ice particles sparkling on the sea surface were like a starry Milky Way, opening up a night sky in my heart…

Days and months passed, time flowing by imperceptibly. In the span of raising and lowering one’s head, twenty-seven years had gone by.

This year, I was forty-two years old, right at the age that most troubled my parents. Every time I misbehaved and did something wrong, Father King would always speak righteously: “As a princess of our Suozhao Clan, do you think you’re still very young? Do you know that mortals reach understanding at forty and know their heavenly mandate at fifty? By your age, they all have children and grandchildren filling their halls!”

To such deliberate fault-finding, I could always respond quickly and cleverly: “By my age, mosquitoes have already reincarnated hundreds of times. Why don’t you tell me to learn from them?”

Defying my biological father, enraging my biological mother, and quarreling with my siblings had become the greatest pleasure in my life.

This year coincided with early spring. This day was also the second sister’s sixtieth birthday.

I knew that throughout this entire day, the Cangying Altar would be very lively. Because Father King and the civil and military officials were holding a coming-of-age ceremony there for second sister, as well as a crown prince designation ceremony.

How could such a grand event lack this little princess?

However, because I had used too much force when practicing magic earlier, using ice shards to turn Hanmo’s buttocks into a hornet’s nest and causing him to fall flat on his back, I had been confined for three days—three days! Three whole days! There wasn’t a drop of water in the bedchamber, and I was like a wooden club randomly bouncing around inside from boredom!

Fortunately, Hanmo was very loyal to the brotherhood and was a good sister. Not long after getting up, I saw a small stream through the door crack. I extended my index finger and turned it in the air, and that water flowed backward into mid-air, slowly surrounding me.

Then the power of water lifted me, making me slowly rise. I flew to the highest window of the bedchamber, opened it, and when half my body went out, I indeed saw Hanmo below coordinating with me from inside and outside.

He was sticking out his bottom, carrying a large bucket of water, and snapped his fingers at me: “Let’s go.”

Strictly speaking, one could only learn the water-channeling sky-ascending technique at fifty. But I had already secretly learned it behind the master’s back. Hanmo had always been idle and unproductive—the only thing that could interest him was ice carving class. Even at fifty, he probably couldn’t fly a foot high.

Therefore, to successfully reach the altar undetected, I used my extremely unskilled sky-ascending technique to pull both of us into the air simultaneously, bumping and stumbling as we flew to the mountaintop. So throughout the journey, we spent our time in panicked wailing…

This scene was too beautiful—I simply dared not think about it.

The east wind blew new green, and peach blossoms smiled all over the mountain.

On the altar, all powerful ministers and famous generals were present. Over a thousand Suozhao Clan members worshipped in unison, facing the immovable Cangying God. Among so many people, I spotted second sister at first glance.

A Suozhao woman at sixty was at the age when flower buds first bloomed. The second sister wore purple silk ribbons, her new makeup light and graceful, her rouge and powder evenly applied. Standing at the front of the altar, she was like snow pearls from Pearl Diving Day, flourishing flowers under the fifteenth night moon, silkworm moon brewed by thousand-year fox demons.

In the coming-of-age ceremony, women needed to unbind their hair and men needed to bind theirs, both completed by female relatives. Therefore, Mother Queen stepped forward to personally untie the second sister’s bound hair. Then her azure hair flowed down like blue waves, smoothly covering her shoulders and half-concealing her slender willow waist.

My second sister’s beauty was so moving that my heart stopped beating for an instant.

Because the eldest sister had disappeared for too many years with no hope of return, Father King decided to make the second sister the crown princess as soon as she came of age. The so-called killing two birds with one stone, gaining both power and beauty—this was the second sister’s current situation. If the eldest sister saw the second sister’s current appearance, she would probably be so angry she’d spit blood… No, I’m being ridiculous. With her kind of free-spirited personality, seeing such a scene, she would probably just clap and scatter flowers in warm celebration.

“Second sister is truly a great beauty. I want to go forward for a closer look. You wait here properly and don’t get lost.” Over these years, Hanmo had grown much taller and was as heavy as a stone—I really couldn’t lift him anymore, so I dropped him directly on the ground.

His injured bottom suffered another impact. Hanmo covered his painful area, his face flushed red: “Don’t, don’t go. His Highness has returned—he’ll discover you…”

Hearing these words, I had already flown halfway and began looking around in amazement for my brother’s figure. I couldn’t believe that, being locked at home for three days, such a big event had occurred without anyone telling me. All along, because his constitution differed from the Suozhao Clan’s, he had never been able to learn our techniques. Nine years ago, he had spent long periods outside learning from masters, rarely returning to Suozhao. The last time I saw him was two years ago on New Year’s Eve. Last year was even worse—he simply didn’t return for any holidays.

Before long, I spotted my brother in the front row of officials.

Fragrant air warmed the spring, scattered red petals just beginning to fall, and full trees of crimson peach blossoms rose like smoke waves. He stood entirely in snow white under a peach tree, brocade clothes with golden embroidery, a jade tree facing the wind, his black hair rising gently with the breeze.

I remembered when I last saw him, he had still been a youth in appearance, slender and delicate. Seeing him again this time, he had grown much taller, his hands had grown larger, his shoulders broader—he already had some of the bearing of an adult man. But what I never understood was why, though he was mortal, his physical growth rate was similar to the Suozhao Clan’s.

Suddenly, I saw him turn his head and say a few words to someone beside him. His profile was still refined and lean, but his features carried a hint of a sharp heroic spirit. This divine form truly made it impossible to think of the little steamed bun from childhood.

Only then did I notice that the person speaking with him was a black-haired woman, petite and exquisite, with a serene demeanor—I wondered what her status was. I saw that woman tug his sleeve. He lowered his head, listened to her say something, then smiled faintly.

He was smiling at that woman, and I could only see his profile. But I couldn’t help thinking of two lines from the long poem “Beauty of Suozhao” written by Wanran, one of the “Five Heroes of Suozhao”: “One smile turns spring thoughts, two smiles break spring souls. Cloud hair like smoke and jade, light sleeves drunk in dark purple.”

Just at this moment, the second sister’s coming-of-age ceremony began with ritual music and sacrifices. The sound of pipas drifted from the altar—a formation playing in unison, about ten or so people, the sound like pearls falling on jade plates, each string heartbreaking. As the pipa sounds grew lighter, a solitary, cold, and desolate flute melody followed. The music was mournful, the endings trembling, just meeting a spring breeze that shook down more peach blossoms.

After my brother’s light laugh, he brushed the petals from his shoulder and returned to his original standing posture.

But that image—I could never forget it…

After a moment of being entranced, I suddenly realized I was being too rebellious—how could I think of my brother this way? But those damned lines from “Beauty of Suozhao” bounced through my mind once again:

One smile turns spring thoughts, two smiles break spring souls.

May the Cangying God protect me from being struck by five thunderbolts! The “Beauty of Suozhao” tells the story of a romantic young nobleman who fell in love with a famous courtesan during King Lingjing’s reign. In the end, the courtesan was abandoned after being seduced, put on wedding clothes, and threw herself into the Luoshui River. And those soul-stirring two smiles described that courtesan’s laugh…

Brother… I truly know I was wrong.