Into The Sea

“Clang!”

“Smash!”

The continuous noise assaulted her ears. Lan Wu buried her head deeper into the pillow, her brows furrowed as she tried to burrow further into the warm, comfortable blankets. Her squirming, however, roused the person beside her.

Ji Lingyue turned over, her shoulder, exposed from under the soft covers, bathed in the warm sunlight.

She languidly pulled the person who had burrowed into her arms closer, gently stroking her soft silver hair. Her eyes closed, ready to drift back to sleep.

Bang!

The loud crash made the person in her arms jolt again. Finally, with an exasperated sigh, she pulled her messy head out of the covers, her beautiful eyes wide with annoyance. “Danqing!”

Ji Lingyue, still lying lazily beneath her, tilted her head slightly. Her crimson eyes, half-lidded, were filled with tender amusement. “It’s alright. It’s about time to get up anyway.”

“It might be time to get up on a normal day,” Lan Wu turned her head and pinched her nose. “But have you forgotten what time we went to sleep last night?”

Ji Lingyue tilted her head, feigning innocence. “As cultivators, we don’t really need to sleep at all.”

Lan Wu scoffed. “You’re just protecting her.”

Before she could say more, a series of clattering sounds reached their ears, followed by a small white bird fluttering in, struggling to carry a long scroll in its beak.

Ji Lingyue glanced over casually, but then froze, sitting up abruptly as if to grab the painting. Lan Wu, however, was faster, catching it first. “What’s this?”

“Wait…”

Before she could finish, Lan Wu had already unfurled the entire painting.

The long painting was filled with the soft glow of moonlight.

A silver-haired mermaid reclined on a reef, her eyes smiling, lips red, and teeth white. Her chest and waist were covered in wave-like scales, and her translucent tail fins floated on the water’s surface, so lifelike that it seemed a gust of wind could make the water droplets clinging to her bare skin fall.

Lan Wu stared at it for a moment before commenting, “The artistry is quite good.”

Ji Lingyue tightened her lips and slowly closed her eyes, a blush creeping up to her ears.

“What’s wrong?” Lan Wu chuckled. “It’s not like this is the first time I’ve seen it. Why are you so shy?”

Ji Lingyue paused, her eyelashes fluttering open slightly. “It’s not the first time?”

“I saw it on the flying boat back then.” She put down the painting, thinking for a moment before adding, “But in the previous painting, I was wearing clothes.”

“…” Ji Lingyue closed her eyes again.

As if adding fuel to the fire, Danqing piped up, “All the boxes are full of these things! I’ve already found them all. There are about a hundred of them.”

Ji Lingyue bit her lip, a dark aura beginning to stir around her, her red eyes turning ominous. “Danqing.”

“Don’t get angry at her yet,” Lan Wu said with a smile, though she continued, “Tell me first, why have you been hiding the life-and-death contract from me?”

Ji Lingyue froze, the dark aura that had begun to rise quickly receding like a dying flame.

“About that… last night… didn’t you say you weren’t angry anymore?”

“I’m not angry.” Lan Wu continued smiling. “I just want to know the reason.”

Ji Lingyue clenched her hands, her gaze darting away. After a moment, she said, “Because… I was afraid you’d be angry.”

Lan Wu said, “So, you were afraid I’d be angry, so you hid it from me. But hiding it from me made me even angrier. Does that make sense?”

Ji Lingyue reluctantly said, “Yes.”

“And you still hid it from me.” Lan Wu moved closer to her, her voice gentle. “Didn’t we agree before that we should be honest with each other about what we like and don’t like? We shouldn’t keep secrets from each other.”

“This is about both of us, yet you kept it to yourself. Isn’t that just causing unnecessary trouble? If you had told me, maybe the outcome wouldn’t have been so bad.”

Ji Lingyue said, “But… when I first formed the life-death contract, it wasn’t for your sake.”

“Hmm?”

“At the time, I was still full of resentment toward you. I formed the beast contract to bind you, and the life-and-death contract was to prevent you from betraying me.”

“I was afraid your family would take you away, and I wanted to use it as a threat. If it came to it, we could both die together. That way, you wouldn’t dare leave me.” Ji Lingyue’s voice grew softer as she spoke, her eyes red. “I treated you poorly back then, blaming you for everything. But in truth, it was me… I was too selfish.”

Lan Wu was silent for a moment before asking, “When you formed the contract, did you think about what would happen if I died? You would die too.”

She hummed. “But compared to you leaving again, dying with you didn’t seem so scary.”

“You,” Lan Wu pursed her lips, unable to help but sigh. “You… don’t put me above yourself. At the very least, don’t value me more than your own life.”

She shook her head and whispered, “I met you when I was eighteen. I fell in love with you when I was nineteen. You appeared in my life too early, and I never had the chance to notice anyone else.”

Lan Wu chuckled. “So, in the end, this is all my fault?”

Ji Lingyue pouted. “It’s your fault.”

She coughed and poked Ji Lingyue’s chest. “Stop changing the subject. Tell me, can you promise me now that you won’t lie to me again, that you won’t hide things from me, and that we’ll discuss things together?”

The woman nodded eagerly. “I promise.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Good,” Lan Wu nodded, suddenly asking, “Then tell me, whose white hair is on the bed in Danqing’s room?”

“…”

So, that’s what she was waiting for.

Ji Lingyue was momentarily speechless. “That… that’s…”

“Hmm?”

“It’s from a guest.”

“Which guest?”

“You wouldn’t know them even if I told you.”

“How would I know if you don’t tell me?”

Ji Lingyue blinked, stammering. “Anyway… it’s just a guest.”

Lan Wu clicked her tongue, crossing her arms. “What did you just promise me? Does the Moon Lord break her promises?”

Hearing her called Moon Lord made Ji Lingyue even more embarrassed. After much hesitation, she stammered, “It’s… it’s a demon. She’s not very old, but she’s a well-known physician in the demon realm. She’s treated my injuries many times.”

Lan Wu frowned. “So what’s the big deal? Or did she see you naked while treating you…”

“No!”

Ji Lingyue’s eyes widened, her face flushing with anger. “I always treated my own injuries!”

Lan Wu was startled. “Why are you so nervous?”

Seeing Lan Wu’s suspicious look, Ji Lingyue bit her lip. After much struggle, she finally confessed. “Ten years ago, after I left your side and returned to the Flame Lands, I found a piece of white jade in the Unreturning Abyss.”

Lan Wu raised an eyebrow. “And then?”

“Then… I used that jade to carve a likeness of you. I wanted someone to talk to, no, not to talk to, just to listen to me.” At this point, Ji Lingyue’s lips curled into a faint smile. “But even though my painting skills have improved, I’m not very good at carving. The jade figure only resembled you by about thirty percent.”

“Still, I kept it here, and it would accompany me when I returned from the Unreturning Abyss, eating, training, and healing with me. But one day, when I returned here, I found that… that it had become human.”

Lan Wu was stunned, staring at her in disbelief. Ji Lingyue clenched her fists, almost unable to speak. “She called me… Mother.”

Lan Wu’s mouth dropped open. “Mo…”

Ji Lingyue quickly interrupted. “It was only the first time she called me that. After that, she just called me sister. I asked many of the older demons, and they told me that the jade was an extremely rare kind, formed over centuries and imbued with spiritual energy. After I dug it up, it absorbed the dense demonic energy outside and transformed into a human much faster.”

“At first, she had the mind of a ten-year-old child, but after a month, she became much smarter. I gave her a name. When her mind was fully developed, I sent her to a friend to learn medicine. But she really does treat me like family. She comes back to stay with me from time to time. When I’m injured, she’s the one who heals me.”

Lan Wu sat motionless, unable to process the information. “So… what does she call you now?”

Ji Lingyue took a breath, embarrassed. “Sister!”

“Oh.”

“?” She didn’t react at first, but when she realized Lan Wu was teasing her again, her face flushed red. “Are you even listening to me!”

Lan Wu nodded. “I understand. It’s just like the stories in human books, a spirit popping out of a stone.”

“You… you’re not angry?” Ji Lingyue asked anxiously. “I carved her to look like you, and then she became human.”

“You said she only resembles me by thirty percent, right?” Lan Wu pulled Ji Lingyue onto her lap. “I’m more curious about what name you gave her.”

Ji Lingyue paused, and after a long moment, she whispered, “Ji Yun.”

“Ji Yun?” Lan Wu asked gently. “Yun as in ‘cloud’?”

Ji Lingyue nodded, her throat suddenly dry. “Yes… It’s… my younger sister’s name.”