Into The Sea

When Lan Wu, fully dressed, walked out, the two seemed to have finished their conversation. Ji Yun turned around, offering a slight bow. “I’ve heard much about you. I’m Ji Yun.”

Lan Wu paused, hesitating whether to return the gesture, but Ji Lingyue said, “No need to be so formal. We’re all family.”

As she spoke, her eyes lit up, a rare hint of joy appearing. Ji Yun glanced at her, then pursed her lips, adding, “You can call me Ah Yun, too.”

Lan Wu complied, “Ah Yun.”

Ji Lingyue looked between them and added, “Why so formal? Just call her Yun’er, like I do.”

Lan Wu smiled helplessly, wondering if Ji Lingyue was too happy to notice Ji Yun’s subtle change in expression. She clearly didn’t want Lan Wu calling her Yun’er.

Lan Wu interjected, “Ah Yun is fine. It’s just a name, they’re all the same.”

Ji Yun released a breath, almost imperceptibly. “My sister told me that you’re planning to go back together. If that’s the case, I’ll come with you.”

Lan Wu was taken aback. “Come with us? But you’re a demon. The place we’re going isn’t very friendly to demons.”

“Not very friendly, but my sister is still going with you, isn’t she?” Ji Yun said. “If I go with her, I can keep her company. At least she won’t be alone and vulnerable.”

The more Lan Wu heard, the more uneasy she felt. She frowned, staring at Ji Yun, who met her gaze calmly, her expression unreadable.

“What vulnerability?” Ji Lingyue broke the silence, her voice cool. “Who could possibly harm me? I’m going back because there’s something I must do. You’re different. You should stay here.”

Ji Yun was stunned. She turned to Ji Lingyue, her voice suddenly soft. “Are you abandoning me?”

Ji Lingyue shook her head. “You’ve long been an independent being, not some object that belongs to me. It’s not a matter of abandonment.”

Ji Yun stubbornly insisted, “But from the moment I gained consciousness, it was always you by my side. These past ten years, it’s always been us relying on each other. Now that you’re suddenly leaving me behind, isn’t that the same as abandoning me? Anyway, wherever you go, I go. I won’t stay behind alone.”

“You…” Ji Lingyue sighed, instinctively looking to Lan Wu for support. Lan Wu, standing to the side with her arms crossed, met her gaze and nodded, “Then let’s go together. I’ve heard Ah Yun is a skilled healer, it’s good to have her along with Ah Yue.”

Ji Lingyue hesitated, then reluctantly agreed, “Fine, you can come with me. But once we’re back, you must listen to me.”

Ji Yun nodded, “Of course, I’ve always listened to you.”

Ji Lingyue gave her a sidelong glance, clearly unconvinced.

After the decision was made, Ji Yun went to pack her things. As she hurried towards her room, Lan Wu suddenly remembered something. “Wait, hold on…”

Before she could finish, a scream came from the room. The snow-white gyrfalcon fluttered out, crashing into Lan Wu in its panic. Lan Wu quickly caught her and smoothed her ruffled feathers. “A Ghost, there’s a ghost!” the bird cried.

Ji Lingyue frowned. “It’s not a ghost, it’s my sister.”

Ji Yun poked her head out of the room at that moment, white hair, pale skin, and white eyes, she said, “I’m Ji Yun.”

Danqing shivered and burrowed further into Lan Wu’s arms. Lan Wu chuckled. “You weren’t afraid of those strange demons before, why are you so scared of Ah Yun?”

Danqing said, “She doesn’t feel human!”

“Neither do you,” Ji Yun retorted from afar.

Danqing fell silent for a moment before slowly emerging from Lan Wu’s arms, as if pondering. “I guess that’s true.”

Lan Wu ruffled her head and placed her on the windowsill before turning to Ji Lingyue. “I won’t be going to the farewell banquet tonight. You should spend time with them and say goodbye.”

Ji Lingyue was surprised. “Why not?”

Lan Wu patiently explained, “I’m not familiar with them. If a stranger suddenly joins their banquet, they’ll probably feel awkward.”

“They wouldn’t mind,” Ji Lingyue took her hand. “If you don’t come with me, I’ll drink a lot and get too drunk to find my way back. Then you’d have to come pick me up.”

Lan Wu couldn’t help but smile. “But you just told me your tolerance for alcohol is exceptionally good now. You said you could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. Why would I need to come get you?”

Ji Lingyue was silent for a moment, then said, annoyed, “Can’t you just humor me?”

“Haven’t I humored you enough?” Lan Wu leaned in, smoothing the furrow between Ji Lingyue’s brows. “It’s not far. You can come back anytime. This is your farewell banquet. They’ll want to spend more time with you. I can’t keep you all to myself.”

Ji Lingyue muttered under her breath, “I don’t mind.”

Lan Wu didn’t hear her, tilting her head in confusion. Ji Lingyue reluctantly looked up, giving in. “Fine, then… I’ll be back early.”

Lan Wu nodded with a smile. “Okay.”

As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Ji Lingyue left with a few final instructions, heading off to the banquet alone. Lan Wu sat on the terrace with Danqing in her arms, gazing at the fiery sunset. Hearing footsteps behind her, she asked without turning, “Aren’t you going with Ah Yue?”

“I’m a jade spirit, I don’t eat mortal food. I’m not suited for such banquets.”

Ji Yun said, sitting cross-legged not far from Lan Wu.

Lan Wu glanced at her, surprised. Her hands paused, and Danqing, half-asleep, rolled over, snuggling into her palm. Lan Wu continued to groom her feathers, her eyes lowered, even the evening breeze seemed gentler.

Ji Yun watched her for a while, then suddenly said, “Sister is very powerful.”

Lan Wu paused, looking at her, confused.

“She’s not very old, but she’s already famous, feared by other demons. Especially three years ago, when she fought for that demon core, she devoured nearly a hundred demons to get it.”

“When she crawled out, there wasn’t a single patch of unbroken skin on her body, it was as if she had even stopped breathing. I thought… she was going to die.” Ji Yun took a breath, continuing, “But she pulled through. No matter how severe the injury, she always woke up. It was like she could never die.”

Lan Wu stared at her, still silent.

“She cut away the rotting flesh, and new flesh grew. She absorbed the demon core, forging her bones and expanding her meridians.”

“Pain you can’t even imagine—she endured it all without shedding a single tear. But when I first gained consciousness and couldn’t yet take human form, she would talk to me, crying as she spoke.” Ji Yun looked at Lan Wu. “Later, I realized she was crying because of you.”

Lan Wu blinked, understanding. “So that’s why you don’t like me.”

Ji Yun was slightly surprised. “How did you know?”

“I’m not stupid, I can see it.”

“I really don’t like you,” Ji Yun admitted. “You and my sister have spent so little time together. If you count it, I’ve been with her longer than you have. Yet those few years of love caused her decades of pain. I really don’t understand why she’s so fixated on you.”

“So what?” Lan Wu asked calmly. “Are you telling me this because you want me to leave her?”

“No,” Ji Yun shook her head. “These past few years, it’s just been the two of us. I’m the closest person to her, and she treats me like a younger sister.”

“I like this life, I even hoped it would continue forever, that you’d never wake up. But seeing my sister today, I feel like she’s different. I don’t know how to describe it, but with you here, she’s genuinely happy. So I’ve changed my mind.”

Ji Yun said seriously, “I won’t ask you to leave her, but I want you to always be with her and never leave her side. I want her to be this happy forever.”

Lan Wu replied, “Of course I will—”

“Then why aren’t you going with her?”

Lan Wu was caught off guard, stammering, “This is her… her farewell banquet.”

“But my sister wants you there.” Ji Yun frowned. “I’ve heard people say that when you fall in love with someone, you develop desires. I can see my sister’s desire for you, but I don’t see yours.”

Lan Wu was stunned, staring at Ji Yun, who continued, “Maybe you do love my sister. Maybe you’re used to being restrained and generous. But… if she can’t feel your intense love, if she can’t see any possessiveness, isn’t it normal for her to feel insecure?”

***

“What are you looking at?”

Yuan Qing walked to the railing, clinking her wine glass against the lonely figure standing there. Ji Lingyue snapped out of her thoughts, reluctantly pulling her gaze from the distance, shaking her head. “Nothing.”

“I know you too well,” Yuan Qing teased. “If you can’t bear to part, why didn’t you bring her along?”

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips, whispering, “She didn’t want to.”

Yuan Qing chuckled. “But it’s your farewell banquet. It’s not right for the host to stand out here all night.”

Ji Lingyue smiled apologetically. “I’ll go back now.”

With that, she turned back, but Yuan Qing leaned against the railing, swirling her wine glass, suddenly asking, “Have you really thought it through? Are you really going back?”

Ji Lingyue paused. “Yes.”

Her smile was faint. “It’s good that you can go back.”

Ji Lingyue paused, turning to look at her. Yuan Qing pulled out a smooth, round jade pendant from her robes. “Since you’re going back, do me a favor, return this… to Master Lin Zui of Qingyuan Mountain in Jinzhou.”

Ji Lingyue frowned, taking it after a moment. “You never told me you were from the Xuan Yuan Continent.”

“What’s there to say?” Yuan Qing sighed. “My sect is just a small, independent sect. From the sect leader down, there were only six of us. It’s not worth mentioning.”

“And Master Lin Zui…”

“She was my master. I was an orphan, begging on the streets by the time I was four or five. She took me in and raised me.”

“She was like a mother to me. But even so, after I fell into the demonic path, she immediately severed ties with me, saying she never wanted to see me again.” Yuan Qing smiled faintly. “I left in such a hurry that I forgot to return this pendant.”

Ji Lingyue was silent for a long while. “I will help you.”

Yuan Qing smiled. “Thank you. I don’t know what you’re going back to do, but I wish you success and happiness.”

Ji Lingyue smiled slightly, shaking her head. “Right now, I only have one wish.”

“What is it?”

“To get drunk.”

Yuan Qing was puzzled, but Ji Lingyue didn’t explain. She tucked the pendant away and headed back into the lively hall.

The moon was bright, the wind chilly. Gradually, the last demon succumbed to the alcohol, collapsing onto the table. Ji Lingyue sat among them, surveying the scene before quietly sighing. She stood, closing the doors and windows for her guests, then picked up a bottle of wine and headed downstairs.

She gave the wine to her subordinates guarding the entrance. Her eyes drifted upwards, catching a glimpse of a slender figure sitting on a stone chair in the distance.

The figure was so familiar that Ji Lingyue froze, instinctively moving closer. She saw the moonlight shimmering on the silver hair, ethereal like a dream.

She stopped, calling softly, “Lan Wu.”

The woman stirred, turning to look at her. “Is it over?”

She stretched, standing up, naturally taking Ji Lingyue’s hand. “Now that it’s over, let’s go home together.”

Ji Lingyue was still in a daze. “When did you get here? How long have you been waiting? I thought you weren’t coming.”

Lan Wu chuckled. “If I didn’t come, I was afraid you’d get drunk and lose your way home.”

“But you said… I could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.”

“Did I?” Lan Wu squeezed her hand, swinging it playfully. “I must have forgotten.”