“All things in the world have souls. Since she has already shattered the illusion, her soul is free to reincarnate through the cycle of rebirth. Perhaps one day, you’ll meet again.”

“…Meet again?” Mendong looked at her in bewilderment.

Meng Ying nodded. Those beautiful, always cold eyes appeared gentle and warm under the weak light of the fireflies as she said softly: “In the future, when you’ve grown up, one day as you walk along the road, the flowers you pass, the wind that blows by, the red carp in the pond, the birds flying in the courtyard—perhaps that will be her. Maybe she’ll be reborn as a person, looking the same as in this life. When that time comes and you encounter her on the road, you’ll recognize her at first sight.”

Tian Fangfang’s motion of holding his wine bowl paused.

She was comforting Mendong.

Meng Ying usually didn’t like to meddle in such idle affairs. Aside from cultivation, she didn’t pay much attention to anything. Now, she had the patience to comfort this sad little junior brother.

Some things had indeed changed.

Mu Cengxiao lowered his head and smiled slightly. Liu Yunxin looked at him thoughtfully, then said nothing more.

The atmosphere that had been frozen like ice seemed to be blown by gentle wind and gradually melted away.

……

The night deepened.

The light of the fireflies gradually dimmed. Stars twinkled in the mountains, and the lotus-appreciating disciples, drunk and sleepy, dispersed one after another. Only one table of people remained.

Tian Fangfang pushed the collapsed Mu Cengxiao onto the table: “Junior Brother, wake up?”

Mu Cengxiao drowsily extended an arm, batted away Tian Fangfang’s hand, then retracted it and became still again.

“Big Brother Mu is drunk.” Liu Yunxin was somewhat at a loss.

Zanxing put down her bowl and blamed Tian Fangfang: “It’s all your fault. Why did you keep making him drink?”

Tian Fangfang loudly protested his innocence: “Junior Sister, listen to what you’re saying! Did I make him drink? He only had two bowls total and got this drunk. Junior Brother Mendong at least had three bowls!”

Zanxing was speechless. This was indeed true. Who could have thought that Mu Cengxiao couldn’t handle alcohol at all? Although the Floating Dream wine was called wine, it was more like a tonic. Now that Mu Cengxiao’s protagonist’s halo in cultivation had been taken away, his romantic protagonist’s halo was no longer obvious either—could it be that even his drinking ability was lacking too?

What a sin.

Mendong lifted his small face, his cheeks flushed red, and asked: “Senior Brother, what time is it now? Is it time for lunch?”

Zanxing: “……”

Meng Ying said calmly, “It’s getting late now. We should send them back to their respective halls to rest early.”

Tian Fangfang nodded: “Right, right, right. We can’t leave them here to catch a cold in the wind.”

Zanxing stood up: “I’ll send Mendong back.” As soon as she got up, she felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Floating Dream wine could be called tonic-flavored alcohol or alcohol-flavored tonic. Although it tasted bitter, drinking too much still brought some intoxication. The pastries on the table were too sweet, so she inevitably drank several more bowls to wash away the sweetness. She hadn’t felt it before, but now, upon standing up, she realized the wine had quite an aftereffect, making her unsteady on her feet.

Zanxing staggered a few steps before steadying herself by holding the table. Seeing this, Tian Fangfang asked: “Junior Sister, are you alright?”

Zanxing waved her hand: “I’m fine.”

Tian Fangfang looked at the collapsed Mu Cengxiao with some difficulty.

Both Mendong and Mu Cengxiao were too drunk to walk and would need someone to escort them back. Liu Yunxin looked frail and had poor health—it wouldn’t be easy for her to get Mu Cengxiao back. As for Meng Ying… given everyone’s current relationship, if Meng Ying helped, who knew what gossip would spread tomorrow?

“Senior Sister Meng, please escort Junior Brother back,” Tian Fangfang said. “I’ll take Junior Brother Mu back first.”

Meng Ying glanced at Mu Cengxiao, said nothing, walked to Mendong’s side, and with a wave of her hand, easily lifted Mendong by his collar and left Duoluo Terrace.

Tian Fangfang put one of Mu Cengxiao’s arms over his shoulder while Liu Yunxin supported Mu Cengxiao’s other side. He said to Zanxing, “Junior Sister, wait for me a moment. I’ll be back to get you in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

Zanxing nodded: “Don’t worry, I can walk by myself.”

“Don’t be stubborn,” Tian Fangfang instructed. “Senior Sister Zi Luo said that every year, countless drunk senior and junior brothers fall into Changchun Pool and nearly drown. It’s dark here—be careful not to fall. Our Miaokong Hall isn’t far away. Wait for me.” With that, he and Liu Yunxin carried Mu Cengxiao away.

Suddenly, only Zanxing remained alone in all directions.

She sat quietly, looking at the red flower growing in her palm. The flower was enchanting and alluring, its vines intertwined like the mysterious and impermanent fate.

After a while, “Achoo—”

Zanxing sneezed: “So cold.”

……

The last firefly flew away from the flowing firefly lamp, drifting and swaying, becoming a brilliant green dot among the lotus shadows before disappearing.

Also missing was the person who should have been sitting here.

Gu Baiying frowned: “Where is she?”

On his way back to the hall, he had encountered Tian Fangfang, who was supporting Mu Cengxiao as they walked back. Seeing him, Tian Fangfang was overjoyed: “Martial Uncle, you came at just the right time. Junior Sister Zanxing is drunk and still at Duoluo Terrace. Please help me pick her up, so she doesn’t have to blow in the cold wind for several more moments.”

At that time, he had glared coldly: “Why should I pick her up?” looking completely unwilling to take the initiative. Yet in the end, he still compromised.

After all, Zanxing called him martial uncle, and as an elder, taking care of a junior was natural. Gu Baiying convinced himself this way.

However, now that he’d arrived at Duoluo Terrace, he’d come up empty.

Xuan Lingzi’s past words floated in his ears.

“Every year during lotus appreciation, so many drunk disciples who can’t walk steadily fall into Changchun Pool. What if some disciple gets too drunk and doesn’t react in time and dies? Junior Brother, why don’t we ask the sect master for some money this year to add some railings to Duoluo Terrace to prevent accidents?”

Gu Baiying pressed his forehead and muttered to himself: “That fool…”

In an instant, he extended his hand and suddenly clenched it. When he opened his palm again, four glowing green paper cranes appeared in his palm. The paper cranes wobbled as they flew in different directions. He turned and walked toward Changchun Pool.

The clear breeze was refreshing, brushing over the lotus leaves filling Changchun Pool. The night was clear as water, with scattered flower shadows.

Various oddly shaped stones were piled beside the pool. These stones were all brought back by Yushan Shengren from various secret realms during his travels years ago. He was passionate about collecting these worldly objects—sometimes a tree seed, sometimes a stone, even a handful of soil or sand.

It was precisely because of this that the currently cold and somber Taiyan Sect always carried a touch of the rich vitality of the mortal world.

As he walked, a paper crane in the distance called out to him with a clear sound. The young man’s steps paused, and then he walked toward the paper crane’s direction.

The lotus flowers were newly red, the evening breeze blew, and fragrance filled the hall.

By the water pool, on the blue stone, someone lay drunk in their clothes, thoroughly intoxicated.

The woman’s green dress was adorned with silver stars—the darker it got, the more brilliant they became. She pillowed her head on her arm, her skirt covering the blue stone completely. At first glance, she looked like a fairy spirit.

Gu Baiying stopped beside her and looked down: “Yang Zanxing.”

Zanxing was completely unaware.

He frowned, his tone somewhat impatient: “Hey, Yang Zanxing, wake up!”

Zanxing still didn’t respond.

After a moment, he helplessly half-crouched down, helped the sleeping person up, and tried to lift her.

Usually, she was chattering and lively. Though not as noisy as Mendong, she never stopped for a moment either. It was rare to see such a quiet moment. When she was quiet, she seemed like another person.

A stranger who would make his heart feel like ants crawling over it, butterflies flying past—itchy, not belonging to himself, another person entirely.

As he was thinking this, the person in his arms suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him drowsily: “Gu Baiying…”

Gu Baiying was startled and almost let go, but after a moment, he steadied his mind and scolded without much confidence: “Who told you to sleep here? Thoughtless, running around everywhere when drunk…”

Zanxing frowned and interrupted him: “Why are you so meddlesome even in dreams…”

“Meddlesome?” The young man looked at her incredulously: “You’re saying I’m meddlesome?”

Zanxing smiled at him. The next moment, before Gu Baiying could react, she had already lunged forward and cupped his face.

Their eyes met.

Gu Baiying froze.

In the distance, there were sounds of cicadas, perhaps frogs too. The summer night on Gufeng Mountain was both quiet and lively—this was an unnoticed corner. She was grabbing his face and still approaching.

Zanxing said: “Gu Baiying…”

She leaned very close, and he could feel the woman’s wine-scented breath—warm, intimate, dangerously close. The instigator was completely unaware, almost touching him as she said seriously, word by word: “You shouldn’t be called Gu Baiying. You should be called Gu Baixue.”

Gu Baiying’s breathing became unsteady. He struggled to maintain calm on his face and tried to pull back distance from her: “What?”

She spoke leisurely: “Look, your skin is white as snow.” Her finger traced over the young man’s face, and wherever she touched immediately became burning hot.

“Your hair is black as ebony…” Her hand brushed through his hair, through his hair ribbon. The vermilion silk ribbon was cool as moonlight, slipping through her fingertips.

And she continued.

“Your mouth is red as blood…”

Her fingertip reached his lips.

The young man’s entire body stiffened.

She was still leaning closer, her eyes clear like that lake in the secret realm that was so clear you could see the bottom, quiet, gentle, reflecting all things in the world and his reflection. The night wind blew, and he could smell the magnolia fragrance from the woman—light, soft, like the eternal fragrance of spring.

Behind him was a huge blue stone—he had nowhere to retreat.

The starry sky hung heavy overhead, clear light illuminating the lotus leaves everywhere, the evening breeze blowing people’s clothes askew.

In this perfect silence, he suddenly heard a clear bell ring.

The Jiexin Bell that had been bound with a silencing spell, the Jiexin Bell that should never ring again, broke free from the complex spell formations and rang out abruptly in this summer night filled with pools.

“What sound…” Zanxing murmured.

The young man was startled and instinctively reached out to cover the woman’s ears.

The next moment, lips met a touch of warmth.

His hands still maintained the position of covering her ears, the bell sound still echoed throughout the mountains and valleys, the wind still blew, flowers still bloomed, fireflies danced, and the night was intoxicating.

Their shadows overlapped on the blue stone.

She had kissed Gu Baiying.