The gentle autumn breeze rustled the banana leaves as the rain pattered down.
The small town at dusk was particularly quiet, with rain lines hanging from the eaves, creating ripples in the puddles on the ground.
A cool breeze blew in, and Li Jingyu, sitting on the couch, reached out to poke the little White Dragon pretending to be dead on her wrist, letting out a soft sigh.
After the grand sequence of Da Luo Tian, their spiritual incarnations returned to Jiuzhou, wandering the mountains and rivers.
Recently, they found a quiet little town to settle in.
It was her own fault for being too demanding and angering Ji Yutang, who was now bringing up grievances from hundreds of years ago, and she had no idea how long this anger would last.
“Are you planning to stay like this?” Li Jingyu brushed her thumb over the small dragon horns, speaking helplessly.
She had ways to bring her down, but doing so would only further anger Ji Yutang.
After some thought, she added, “Haven’t I already apologized to you? I didn’t mean to hide it from you back then; I just didn’t want you to worry.
What if I failed—”
Li Jingyu’s words were like pouring oil on Ji Yutang’s fiery anger.
The little White Dragon immediately sprang up, transforming into human form, kneeling on the couch, and pushed Li Jingyu back, gritting her teeth, “You still dare to speak!”
Li Jingyu lay back, blinking, “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more.” In truth, she had thought it through.
If she failed, she would disappear from the world, leaving no trace behind.
When her last breath dissipated, no one would remember her.
If she succeeded, she would seek out Ji Yutang, but if she failed… it wouldn’t matter whether she looked for her or not.
Rather than making her worry, it was better not to say anything.
Besides, after so many years, she had her own grievances too.
Neither of them spoke, only the sound of rain outside could be heard.
Ji Yutang sat up, tidying her clothes.
Li Jingyu remained lying down, her eyes filled with a myriad of emotions.
Once Ji Yutang finished tidying her clothes, she suddenly sat up and pulled her back.
Without looking at Ji Yutang’s expression, she messed up her clothes again, feeling it wasn’t enough, and reached out to remove the hairpin from her head, letting her long black hair cascade down.
Ji Yutang turned around.
She grasped Li Jingyu’s wrist, gazing into her affectionate eyes.
She was annoyed at Li Jingyu’s lack of restraint, but she wasn’t much better herself.
She released Li Jingyu, raising her hand to cover her eyes, slowly sliding down her face, brushing over her rosy lips.
Li Jingyu parted her lips, her tongue pressing against the warm palm.
Ji Yutang’s body trembled, intending to withdraw her hand, but was pulled down by Li Jingyu.
Their clothes intertwined, red and white mingling.
A blush crept up to the corners of their eyes, and the threads of desire silently intertwined like silk.
Li Jingyu leaned closer to Ji Yutang, but just as Ji Yutang thought she couldn’t hold back any longer, she suddenly pulled out a contract with a name seal.
At their level, they could easily erase their names and spiritual energy from the contract.
Ji Yutang was first stunned, then realized, “Is this the contract from the Ran Family?”
Li Jingyu nodded, flicking her finger, turning the contract into dust.
She met Ji Yutang’s gaze, huffing lightly, “Even if the name seal was ours, it doesn’t count as a marriage contract.”
Ji Yutang agreed with this, smoothing her hair, “So what do you plan to do?” Initially unwilling, but later feeling it unnecessary, in the blink of an eye, they had been together for hundreds of years.
Li Jingyu threw the question back, “What do you think?”
Ji Yutang pondered for a moment, “I don’t know.”
Li Jingyu was annoyed by these four words, biting Ji Yutang’s lip.
Though they spoke endlessly, after returning to Jiuzhou, they rarely engaged in “dual cultivation,” all their intimacy mimicking the human world, purely for their own pleasure.
Not for the Dao, but it was a kind of free Dao.
Amidst Ji Yutang’s protests, Li Jingyu wrapped her arms around her slender waist.
The rain outside gradually stopped.
Night enveloped the secluded little town, the gentle wind blowing across the fields.
When they woke, the sun was high, the day already bright.
The cries of street vendors began to echo again, mingling with the barking of dogs.
Li Jingyu opened her sleepy eyes, frowning at the noise outside.
She cast a spell to block the sound, satisfied, she closed her eyes again.
But she hadn’t been lying down long before Ji Yutang woke up.
Li Jingyu reached out, twirling the black hair around her fingers, but before her fingers could touch the moon-like white skin, Ji Yutang shot her a look, making her drop her playful thoughts.
However, she didn’t let go, playing with Ji Yutang’s hair for a while before intertwining it with her own, feeling satisfied.
Li Jingyu lazily said, “According to human customs, is this considered tying the knot?”
Ji Yutang raised an eyebrow, “I suppose so.”
Hearing this, Li Jingyu became interested, smiling, “I remember there are quite a few customs, like…” She thought for a moment, but having been busy with the Dao, she had no time for worldly matters.
Ji Yutang, however, flipped her wrist, producing a comb.
She nudged Li Jingyu, softly saying, “Sit up straight.”
Li Jingyu responded with an “Oh,” quickly sitting up properly.
Ji Yutang took the comb and began to brush Li Jingyu’s hair.
“One comb to the end, tying the knot until old age?” Li Jingyu lazily said, her brows still carrying the morning’s laziness.
After saying this, she laughed, “Old age won’t happen.
But if you want to, it’s easy.”
Ji Yutang: “…” What kind of talk is this? She almost wanted to throw the comb and leave, but after taking a deep breath, she suppressed the urge, resignedly styling Li Jingyu’s hair.
A braid of fragrant silk scattered on the ground, the jade hairpin falling silently.
Her delicate hands couldn’t manage the crow-black hair, the smooth jade hairpin unable to hold it.
This small town had a sparse population, though there were cultivators stationed here, they weren’t here to preach, but to protect the mortal residents.
There were thousands of such small towns in Jiuzhou.
Ji Yutang walked hand in hand with Li Jingyu through the town, their ethereal presence often drawing gazes.
The town did have some unsavory characters, but Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu, having long achieved true form, even as incarnations, inspired reverence from the depths of people’s hearts.
Li Jingyu held a string of candied hawthorns, but after one bite, she lost interest, handing it to Ji Yutang.
“This life is a bit dull,” Li Jingyu said slowly.
Ji Yutang glanced at her, huffing, “What kind of excitement do you want? With our incarnations here, tied to fate, no storms will arise.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “Not just us returning to Jiuzhou, if you’re truly bored, you can seek out old friends for a discussion.”
Li Jingyu: “Isn’t that even more boring?”
Ji Yutang patiently said, “Then what do you want to do?”
Li Jingyu’s eyes sparkled, clearing her throat, “I got quite a few storybooks today.”
Ji Yutang met Li Jingyu’s gaze, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.
She braced herself, unable to resist asking, “And then?”
Li Jingyu: “They’re mostly stories about eloping.”
Ji Yutang was a bit puzzled.
She didn’t know Li Jingyu liked reading these romantic and entangled stories.
This was likely a ploy.
Realizing this, Ji Yutang feigned ignorance, pulling Li Jingyu quickly towards their little house.
Li Jingyu chuckled, not saying anything more.
Once home, she let go of Ji Yutang’s hand, “What do you think about becoming mortal?”
“Becoming mortal?” Ji Yutang was taken aback.
Was she planning to reincarnate? For ordinary people, becoming mortal might enhance their understanding of the Dao once their incarnation returned.
But they were different.
She could comprehend the true meaning from the great Dao, being the master of this era, “becoming mortal” was of little use.
As for Li Jingyu, she had already achieved the true form of Dao Mother, making it even more unnecessary.
Ji Yutang was quite puzzled, but when she met Li Jingyu’s gaze, she swallowed the words “unnecessary.”
Li Jingyu said, “Not in Jiuzhou, there are countless small realms in the heavens, find one without a Dao embryo to be born into.”
Ji Yutang glanced at her, “And then stage a ‘runaway’ drama?”
Li Jingyu rested her chin on her hand, “Isn’t it fun? A young lady and a poor girl eloping, sleeping on the streets, selling wine…”
“Stop!” Ji Yutang saw Li Jingyu getting more and more outrageous, interrupting her with annoyance.
Li Jingyu, seeing Ji Yutang’s reluctance, sighed regretfully, having to give up.
She just wanted to find a different place to be together, but if she went into reincarnation alone, what was the point?
Rejected by Ji Yutang for “becoming mortal,” Li Jingyu was dispirited, unable to muster enthusiasm for anything, not even “intimate pleasures.”
Ji Yutang couldn’t be bothered with her.
After staying in the small town for a while, she planned to move on to another place.
The carriage traveled through mountains and rivers, sometimes with a caravan, sometimes alone towards secluded places.
The night deepened, the dew heavy.
The wild wind howled across the wilderness, a pack of wolves howling at the moon.
They were driven by an invisible force, bypassing the two lonely carriages in the field.
The seemingly simple carriage was luxurious inside, with the best of everything from the human world.
Ji Yutang reclined on the couch, holding a storybook she got from Li Jingyu.
Li Jingyu frowned, clearly dissatisfied, “Aren’t you going to talk to me?”
Ji Yutang lifted her eyelids, “I spoke half an hour ago.”
Li Jingyu was choked by her words, frowning even more, she grabbed Ji Yutang’s wrist, dissatisfied, “You’re heartless.”
Ji Yutang lowered her gaze to Li Jingyu’s hand, huffing, “You’re the one causing trouble.”
Li Jingyu refused to admit it, furrowing her brows as she said, “Don’t you feel like there’s always something missing between us?”
Ji Yutang heard this and smiled, winking as she replied, “An oath of eternal love?” Before Li Jingyu could answer, she continued, “The mountains and seas are me, the wind and moon are me, the endless years are also me, how can the mountains and seas bear witness to this?” The mountains and seas are eternal, and so are they.
Li Jingyu’s eyes lifted, her gaze sweeping over Ji Yutang.
The days of feeling “unfulfilled” and lazy were gone, and her eyes once again burned with wildness and boldness.
She reached out to touch Ji Yutang’s lips, smiling as she said, “You’ve taken quite the advantage of me.”
Ji Yutang pulled down Li Jingyu’s hand.
“You’ve got it backwards.” After a pause, she added, “Let’s go, back to the Southern Border.”
