Into The Sea

As dawn broke, Yu Shanye and Ah Li, guided by Danqing, found them.

Ji Lingyue raised her arm, and the snow-white bird folded its wings, landing gracefully on her forearm. It rubbed its head affectionately against her chin.

Lan Wu, observing from the side, crossed her arms and muttered under her breath, “I don’t even know who its real master is anymore.”

Ji Lingyue glanced at her. “If you don’t want me to be your master, why do you want to be Danqing’s master?”

Lan Wu choked on her words, “I… That’s… That’s different!”

“How is it different? Danqing just hasn’t developed enough awareness to understand the concept of dignity, that’s all,” Ji Lingyue snorted, placing Danqing on her shoulder before stepping onto her sword and flying into the sky.

Lan Wu stood there, dumbfounded for a while, unable to react.

Yu Shanye watched Ji Lingyue disappear into the distance, then turned to Lan Wu, her curiosity getting the better of her. She nudged Ah Li. “Ask your master if she had a fight with Ji Lingyue.”

Ah Li hesitated, glancing at the short distance between them. “Master…”

“Why would I fight with her?” Lan Wu sighed, frowning. “Am I really that difficult?”

Yu Shanye continued, “Ah Li, ask your master if it’s strange for a demon to form a contract with a spirit beast.”

Lan Wu mused, “Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange.”

Yu Shanye pressed, “Ah Li…”

Ah Li stamped her foot in frustration. “If you want to ask, do it yourself! You’re standing right next to my master, why are you acting more childish than me? I’m going after Sister Ah Yue, you and Master better hurry!”

Yu Shanye was left speechless.

After a moment of silence, she turned to Lan Wu, who met her gaze directly, tilting her head. “What’s wrong? Do you have something else to ask?”

Yu Shanye hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you feel sad about your current situation?”

Lan Wu was taken aback, then shook her head. “You’re too late. You missed me at my worst. I’m much better now.”

Yu Shanye scoffed. “What a shame, I was hoping to laugh at your misery.”

Lan Wu couldn’t help but smile faintly. “Thank you, Shanye.”

“What for?”

“For staying by Ah Yue’s side all these years.”

“What are you talking about?” Yu Shanye looked away. “She’s my friend too, I didn’t do it for you. But honestly, at first, I really hated you.”

Lan Wu’s eyes dimmed. “I’m sorry for deceiving you back then…”

Yu Shanye shook her head. “It wasn’t entirely because of that. Do you have any idea what a mess you left behind when you disappeared? To help fix your mistakes, both Master and Ji Lingyue were punished. Ji Lingyue… she… was forced to take medicine continuously for a month, nearly draining half her blood.”

Lan Wu was shocked and instinctively took a step forward. “What do you mean? Why would they take her blood?”

Yu Shanye raised an eyebrow and sighed. “She really didn’t tell you.”

After hesitating for a moment, she looked at Lan Wu and recounted the events of the past. “After coming down from the Cliff of Contemplation, Ji Lingyue went back to her usual routine of traveling far and wide on missions. She’d return only after a long time, and even then, she’d immediately go into seclusion to cultivate, barely speaking to anyone. Later, when I went to find her, I discovered that every time she went out, she would go to the South Sea, taking a boat and drifting on the ocean for months.”

But the sea was vast, and without direction, she could only follow the waves aimlessly, traveling day and night, enduring harsh conditions, sleeping under the open sky, all in a desperate attempt to find the legendary and mysterious homeland of the merfolk–the Kunlun Sea.

“Of course, she couldn’t find it. Even though you two were lovers, you knew everything about her, but she knew almost nothing about you. She only found out what you really were on the day you left. After that, even if she poured all her efforts into searching, it was nothing but a fool’s errand.” Yu Shanye paused, then continued calmly, “Lan Wu, sometimes I can’t help but think that you were too cruel.”

Lan Wu’s eyelashes quivered. Her fingers curled into her palm, nails digging into her skin. Her throat felt blocked, and she couldn’t make a sound.

“So, when I saw her form a contract with you, I felt a bit sorry for you, but at the same time, I thought you deserved it.” Yu Shanye pursed her lips. “You understand how I feel, right?”

After a long silence, Lan Wu murmured, “I understand.”

“Good.” Yu Shanye added, “But that doesn’t mean I support Ji Lingyue’s decision to bind you to her.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Lan Wu said.

“Who’s worried about you?” Yu Shanye rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried about you at all. I just pity you. I…”

Lan Wu closed her eyes and hugged her tightly, sighing. “Thank you, Shanye.”

Yu Shanye stiffened for a moment before awkwardly raising her hand to pat Lan Wu’s back. “We’re… kind-of-sort-of friends, I guess. No need to thank me. Besides, I still haven’t fully forgiven you.”

Lan Wu chuckled. “You’re right.”

As the words left her lips, a distorted ripple appeared before her eyes. Lan Wu’s heart skipped a beat. Her arms were still wrapped around Yu Shanye, but the person before her had transformed into Ji Lingyue with her cold beautiful face.

Ah, this…

She blinked, couldn’t help looking toward Yu Shanye, who was on the ground looking up at them with a bewildered expression.

Suddenly, her collar was grabbed, and a warm pair of lips pressed against hers. Lan Wu’s eyes widened in shock, her hands frozen in midair. She couldn’t decide whether to be more surprised by Ji Lingyue’s boldness or her shamelessness for kissing her in broad daylight in front of Yu Shanye.

Yu Shanye’s expression changed slightly. After a moment, she helplessly put her hands on her hips and raised her voice. “Ji Lingyue, can you stop being so petty? You know what kind of relationship I have with her, don’t you?”

Ji Lingyue finally broke the kiss, biting Lan Wu’s lower lip lightly before glancing at Yu Shanye with indifference. “So what?”

Yu Shanye was speechless.

Lan Wu couldn’t help but laugh. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Ji Lingyue’s waist. “Alright, don’t be angry.”

Ji Lingyue retorted irritably, “I’m not angry.”

Lan Wu nodded, looking at her seriously for a moment. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“What?”

“Not one year. How about two years?”

Ji Lingyue’s eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that after all that pondering, this was the best Lan Wu could come up with. She clenched her fists and raised her voice, “No!”

“Fine, no need to shout,” Lan Wu muttered, then cupped Ji Lingyue’s face and gently kissed her.

Ji Lingyue froze, and when she realized what had happened, her eyes lit up with joy. But then, a thought occurred to her, and she frowned in suspicion. “What trick are you playing at now?”

“Don’t accuse me. I’m not that cunning.”

As Lan Wu was defending herself, she caught sight of several streaks of light out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see a few cultivators speeding across the sky with frantic urgency, their swords leaving long trails of afterimages. Sensing something wrong, Yu Shanye pondered for a moment before grabbing Ah Li’s hand and chasing after them.

Lan Wu swallowed her words and, together with Ji Lingyue, followed closely behind.

They hadn’t flown far when Yu Shanye, who had gone ahead, rushed back frantically. From a distance, she shouted, “Hurry up, the secret realm is closing!”

Ji Lingyue was startled. “But it’s only the fourth day!”

“It’s not the fourth day, it’s already the sixth day!” Yu Shanye exclaimed in panic. “The flow of time inside Tuntian is different from outside. If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to get out!”

As she spoke, she complained, “Seriously, we barely did anything after finally getting in, and now we’re out of time!”