Into The Sea

“This place is way too small!”

Lan Yuan swished her tail, floating around the room inside a shimmering water bubble. She finally settled on Lan Wu’s shoulder and grumbled. “I don’t like it.”

“Don’t be so picky.” Lan Wu pulled out a drawer and retrieved a jar of spiritual pills. She poured one out and offered it to Lan Yuan. “These are good for demons too. Here.”

Lan Yuan reluctantly swallowed the pill, which was half the size of her head. She choked, her gills fluttering as she struggled to swallow. Lan Wu gently patted her fin until she recovered. Then, she rummaged through her belongings and found a wooden basin. She filled it with water and placed it on the table. “You can stay here for the next few days.”

“…Are you seriously treating me like a fish?” Lan Yuan grumbled.

“Aren’t you?” Lan Wu poked the water ball, nudging her along. “We don’t have your luxurious coral palace here. You’ll have to make do.”

Lan Yuan flicked her tail in annoyance. If not for the risk of exposing her demonic aura, she would have transformed and claimed Lan Wu’s bed as her own.

As Lan Yuan reluctantly swam into the basin, Lan Wu crushed a few more spiritual pills and sprinkled the powder into the water. The more Lan Yuan watched, the more it felt off. She demanded, “What are you doing? Are you sprinkling fish food?”

Lan Wu paused, feeling a bit wronged, and stopped. She muttered. “I just didn’t want you to choke. I’m trying to be nice and you treat me like this.”

She grumbled to herself as she put away the medicine bottle and moved the basin closer to the window so Lan Yuan could bask in the sunlight.

Just as she finished, a knock sounded at the door. She wiped her hands and quickly went to open it, only to see Ji Lingyue standing solemnly outside.

Lan Wu’s smile faltered. “Y-you’re here,” she stammered. “Is something the matter?”

Ji Lingyue frowned slightly. “Beast contracting.”

“Huh?” Lan Wu blinked in confusion. After a moment, she realized Ji Lingyue was referring to helping her form a contract with a spirit beast. “Oh! Is it now?” she asked in surprise.

“Do you have something else to do?”

“No, not really.” Lan Wu glanced at the sky. “I’ll just grab a few things and we can go.”

With that, she rushed back into her room, eager to escape the awkward atmosphere. Ji Lingyue watched her figure disappear, pressed her lips together, and thought about Lan Wu’s polite tone. She felt a pang of hurt and sadness, and her mood sank even lower.

Soon after, they arrived together outside the barrier.

The sunset had already faded, and night had fallen. The sky was a tapestry of twinkling stars, and fireflies twinkled within the forest. Cool moonlight bathed the moss-covered ground in a silvery glow, stretching their shadows long and thin. Yet, despite the serene beauty of the night, neither of them spoke a word as they walked, maintaining a strained silence.

Ji Lingyue, lost in thought as she tried to figure out how to break the silence when she heard a sudden crash. Looking up, she realized Lan Wu had disappeared. Rushing forward, she saw a hole in the ground that hadn’t been there before, into which Lan Wu had fallen.

It was pitch black inside; Ji Lingyue couldn’t see anything. Forgetting about their earlier awkwardness, she shouted, “Lan Wu! Lan Wu! Are you okay?”

Lan Wu gritted her teeth as she tried to get up in the dark cave. Hearing the voice above, she instinctively responded, “I’m… Ah!”

Ji Lingyue heard her scream and urgently asked, “Lan Wu? Lan Wu, what happened?!”

When there was no immediate reply, Ji Lingyue gritted her teeth and jumped down without hesitation. Poor Lan Wu had just managed to get back on her feet when she was knocked over again by Ji Lingyue, letting out a muffled groan.

In the pitch-black darkness, Ji Lingyue anxiously groped around, asking. “Are you alright? Say something!”

“I’m fine,” Lan Wu mumbled.

It was only then that Ji Lingyue realized her hand was covering Lan Wu’s mouth. She retracted it as if burned, scrambling back in a fluster. Lan Wu hissed, drawing in a sharp breath as she slowly sat up. Hearing the unsteady breath, Ji Lingyue pressed her lips together, unable to help but ask, “Where does it hurt?”

“Just… just my waist,” Lan Wu hissed, feeling intense pain. She instinctively reached to hold her waist but accidentally touched Ji Lingyue’s hand.

They both froze. Ji Lingyue reacted first, immediately withdrew her hand, hiding it in her sleeve. But Lan Wu’s body moved faster than her mind; she instinctively reached out and tightly grasped Ji Lingyue’s hand.

She blinked, realizing that she had meant to grab Ji Lingyue’s sleeve, but it was too late now. Letting go would only make things more awkward. To her surprise, Ji Lingyue didn’t pull away. She simply stood there, her hand staying still and letting Lan Wu hold her hand.

In the darkness of the cave, only their shallow breaths could be heard. Perhaps the darkness gave Lan Wu more courage. After hesitating for a long time, she finally said, “I’m sorry.”

Ji Lingyue blinked but remained silent.

Lan Wu mustered her courage and continued, “That day I was out of my mind to say such hurtful things to you. You were only looking out for me, but I lost my temper and even called you cruel…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re a good person Ah Yue. It was my fault; I hurt you.”

“I know you didn’t mean it,” Ji Lingyue finally replied. “I said that day I’d pretend I never heard those words.”

“Then why are you angry? Why did you ignore me?”

Ji Lingyue frowned, unable to help but retort, “You’ve been ignoring me too.”

“Well, that’s true.” Feeling guilty, Lan Wu lowered her head and obediently apologized, “I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

Her straightforward admission made Ji Lingyue feel a lump in her chest. After taking a few deep breaths, she said coldly, “But I was really a bit angry.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt Lan Wu’s grip on her hand loosen slightly.

This coward!

A mixture of anger and frustration welled up within her. She tightened her grip on Lan Wu’s hand, “It’s not just about what you said. But on my birthday, I waited all day, from morning till night… and you never showed up. That made me even angrier.”

Lan Wu blinked, realizing what she meant. She quickly said softly, “That was my fault too.” She couldn’t help but defend herself: “But I did prepare a gift for you. It’s just… it didn’t seem good enough compared to what others were giving you…”

“What gift?” Ji Lingyue interrupted.

“Huh?”

“What was the gift you originally prepared?”

“Oh!” Lan Wu blinked, fumbling in her robes before pulling out a jade hairpin.

“This hairpin has a defensive formation carved inside. The shopkeeper said it’s a mid-grade spiritual artifact.” She blushed slightly. “You travel a lot now and must have seen much better things. Besides, Qing Zibai even gave you a top-grade spiritual sword…”

“I didn’t accept his gift,” i Lingyue suddenly said. She looked up at Lan Wu and said seriously, “Lan Wu, he likes me, so I wouldn’t accept anything from him.”

Lan Wu was taken aback. She didn’t know why Ji Lingyue was telling her this, but she couldn’t help feeling a weird mix of nervousness and inexplicable joy.

“Really?” She couldn’t help breaking into a smile, her eyes sparkling even in the darkness.

Ji Lingyue was affected by her mood and couldn’t help but let a small smile grace her lips. “I really like your gift.”

Lan Wu became even happier and offered, “Then let me help you put it on.”

“No, I’ll do it myself,” Ji Lingyue shook her head and extended her hand. “Give it to me.”

Lan Wu hesitated, feeling anxious again, but seeing Ji Lingyue’s calm expression, she tentatively reached out to place the hairpin in her palm. “Alright, then you…”

Before she could finish, she felt a sudden coolness on her wrist. Lan Wu instinctively looked down and saw Ji Lingyue putting a silver bracelet on her wrist.

The bracelet, crafted from Beiyuan Living Iron, emitted a beautiful silver glow even in the darkness, its soft light reflecting in Ji Lingyue’s bright eyes. She examined it for a moment, then looked up at Lan Wu with a warm smile. “I knew it would look good on you.”

Lan Wu’s long lashes fluttered, and for a moment, it felt like butterflies were fluttering in her stomach, making her heart race and leaving her speechless.

“Lan Wu?” When no response came, Ji Lingyue frowned slightly in worry. “You don’t like it?”

“How could I not?” Lan Wu quickly shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. “I like it very much, I just…”

She looked at Ji Lingyue intently, her gaze falling on Ji Lingyue’s dark eyes. For some reason, she lost her voice again.

Since when did Ah Yue start looking at me like this?

Blinking away the sudden rush of warmth, Lan Wu felt an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her.

“Lan Wu?”

When the person in front of her hugged her, Ji Lingyue stiffened for a moment but then instinctively wrapped her arms around Lan Wu’s waist. Lan Wu buried her face in Ji Lingyue’s shoulder, her voice trembling slightly. “Ah Yue, I don’t want to go home…”

Ji Lingyue, unsure what brought this on, gently patted Lan Wu’s back. “Then don’t go back. Besides, I’m here with you.”

Lan Wu couldn’t help but tighten her grip, her curled eyelashes moist with tears. “If… if I have to leave the sect and go somewhere else, would you come with me?”

“What do you mean” Ji Lingyue blinked, patiently asking, “Are you going to cultivate outside the sect? But you haven’t even reached the Qi Refining stage yet. You wouldn’t be able to take on any missions. Wait for me, Lan Wu. Wait until I find the Sea Pearl and restore your danxin. Then we can leave the mountain together and go anywhere you want, alright?”

Lan Wu bit her lip and finally responded with a gentle “Okay.”

Once they climbed back up, both felt much lighter, especially Ji Lingyue. She no longer wore a cold expression and, as they walked deeper into the forest, she occasionally helped Lan Wu whenever the path became treacherous. Finally, seeing Lan Wu struggle, she drew her sword and cleared a path through the overgrown weeds and fallen branches.

She really was easy to appease. It seemed that as long as Lan Wu apologized, she would quickly cheer up.

Lan Wu lowered her head and noticed that Ji Lingyue was still holding that cracked sword. She couldn’t help but ask. “Ah Yue, why don’t you get a new sword?”

Ji Lingyue paused, glanced at her, then turned her head calmly. “It still works. It would be a waste to replace it.”

“But you’re a sword cultivator! How can you settle for a broken sword?”

Seeing Lan Wu about to lecture her seriously, Ji Lingyue coughed lightly and quickly changed the subject. “Let’s not talk about swords. Why did you suddenly bring up going home today? Did your family send a letter?”

Lan Wu’s expression stiffened, and she became listless again. “Something like that.”

“There’s nothing wrong with going back once. You’ve been away for five years.” Ji Lingyue slowed her pace, walking alongside her. “Doesn’t your family treat you well?”

“It’s not that they treat me badly,” Lan Wu gave a bitter smile. “If anything, they treat me too well.”

“Then why don’t you want to go back?”

“I don’t know.” Lan Wu’s voice lowered, as if talking to herself. “You see… I have two older siblings. When we were young, my father hired teachers to educate us. I was just a child, I was always running around and sneaking away. But my father never scolded me. Instead, he told me that if I didn’t want to study, I didn’t have to, and I could do whatever I wanted. But he was very strict with my older brother and sister… He never allowed them to slack off. When I was young, I thought it was my father’s favoritism towards me and felt happy. But as I grew older, I realized I had been left behind.”

She sighed and continued, “Later, I couldn’t study with them anymore, so my father hired new teachers for me. But they were very lenient too. If I showed the slightest sign of fatigue, they would let me go. Everyone doted on me, they were afraid I would suffer or get tired. I couldn’t express my dissatisfaction because it seemed like everything was done according to my wishes.”

Ji Lingyue stopped walking, turning to look at Lan Wu’s dejected face, slowly frowning.

“Everyone thinks I’m the most spoiled child. My parents and relatives granted my every wish. Even my sister used to fight with me out of jealousy. Looking back, I realize that running away without a word and holding a grudge against them makes me seem incredibly ungrateful. In the end, maybe I’m just being overly sensitive…”

“It’s not like that,” Ji Lingyue suddenly interrupted. She took Lan Wu’s hand and said earnestly, “I don’t know what your family is like, but I know you. If you’re not happy, then it’s not your fault. Lan Wu, don’t feel guilty for having negative feelings.”