January 1st.
ChanâEr sat on the windowsill of her room, her feet dangling outside, gently swinging back and forth. She looked up, gazing at the blood-red phenomenon in the sky resembling a giant eye, her eyes trembling slightly, and her eyelashes fluttering with the wind. The sounds of the waves and the singing and dancing of the crew drifted past her ears.
Today is the New Yearâs festival. Celebrating the New Year is a joy even among cultivators.
Luo Qingyao walked in from outside the room, stood behind ChanâEr, covered her eyes with both hands, and asked in a playful voice:
"Guess who I am?"
Then, she saw a small hand slowly raise up from the front, with the index finger and thumb forming a heart.
Luo Qingyao released ChanâEr and flipped over to sit on the windowsill. Her high ponytail was instantly lifted by the wind, "Which familyâs little girl is so glum?"
ChanâEr had been low-spirited lately.
She wasnât even eating her favorite snacks. When Luo Qingyao asked her about it, she only responded with a sweet smile, saying nothing was wrong. But whether something was wrong or not was evident to see.
ChanâEr slightly opened her mouth, then closed it again after a moment.
Luo Qingyao felt a bit regretful. She had noticed that lately, the frequency of ChanâEr making gestures to speak had been increasing, and perhaps one day she might suddenly speak.
The blood-red eye in the sky slowly rotated, and the azure waves of the sea were tinged with a hint of blood-red.
"Youâve been watching that phenomenon. Are you worried about something?" Luo Qingyao asked.
ChanâEr lowered her head, her lips pressed slightly together.
"Canât you tell me using a picture story?"
ChanâEr continued to remain silent.
Luo Qingyao sighed lightly, "Alright, if you donât want to say, then never mind."
Suddenly, ChanâEr grabbed her hand, her long eyelashes trembling, and in her bright eyes, a strange light flickered. Then, blood patterns slowly emerged on her face, as if dividing it into hundreds of pieces. Luo Qingyao quickly took out a blood-colored pastry to feed her, but she kept her mouth tightly closed, refusing to eat.
"ChanâEr, whatâs wrong?" Luo Qingyao was very worried.
ChanâEr took a deep breath, and the blood patterns suddenly crawled into her pupils, as if stained by the flower filaments of the Other Shore Flower.
Luo Qingyao embraced ChanâEr tightly in her arms until the blood patterns in her eyes and on her face gradually receded.
"ChanâEr, no matter what, I will be with you," Luo Qingyao said with a slight tremor in her voice. She knew something bad was about to happen, but she couldnât show it. After all, she was an adult.
ChanâEr, feeling a bit sleepy, nestled in Luo Qingyaoâs arms and fell into a deep sleep.
Luo Qingyao also closed her eyes, quietly sensing her senior brotherâs vitality through that Dao Marriage Shackles.
Like the scorching sun, like the starry sky.
...
January 7th.
Late night.
Ye Yixian, Wei Changkong, and Chengming stood on the Qi Observation Platform, quietly gazing northward. On this night, the blood-red eye-like phenomenon was exceptionally clear, almost covering half the sky. During this time, everyone in Celestial Balance Imperial City was talking about this event.
What kind of anomaly can be seen so clearly from such a distance?
After Ye Yixian became emperor, he aged quickly, seemingly transforming in an instant from a young man in his twenties to someone in his thirties. His temperament and demeanor changed, exuding a sort of imperial majesty.
Even though he did not consider himself an emperor in front of Wei Changkong and Chengming, this temperament inadvertently manifested.
"What kind of spring is it this year?" Ye Yixian murmured, as if talking to himself, or perhaps asking the two.
Wei Changkong answered softly, "This year is a minor spring."
"Letâs hope itâs not even less than a minor spring," Ye Yixian adjusted his Profound Dragon Robe.
Wei Changkong said, "Your Majesty doesnât need to worry. Great Li is currently thriving."
Ye Yixian shook his head, "Iâm not worried about Great Li. Itâs just that I canât find peace within myself, a heaviness weighing on my heart thatâs hard to relieve."
Wei Changkong and Chengming shared this sentiment but found it difficult to articulate. The cultivation realm is like this, where all things are interconnected. The three of them had suspicions but chose not to voice them.
Chengming proposed, "How about having a drink?"
Wei Changkong and Ye Yixian exchanged a glance, smiling knowingly.
Chengming casually set up a small table, added three cushions, brought out a few jars of wine, and laid out some snacks, engaging in a round of toasts.
This wasnât their first time doing so.
With nothing to do, sipping a little, easing the burden on their hearts with a few jars.
Until the latter part of the night,
an intoxicated Ye Yixian suddenly said, "I really hope he can come back."
"Mm." Chengming and Wei Changkong responded in unison.
They did not specify who "he" was, but they all knew exactly whom they were referring to.
...
January 12th.
Wild Horse Academy.
He Youyi sat before his desk, staring blankly at the planning map formed by literatiâs energy. The map was proposed for the Fallen Immortal Land near Profound Fire Mountain, focusing on how to mobilize forces across Changsheng Continent to assemble a demon-slaying team. He had overseen such mobilizations before, more than once, finding them straightforward.
But at this moment, his mind was a blank. It wasnât because the Fallen Immortal Land at Profound Fire Mountain was more special, but rather his thoughts were unsettled, constantly drifting to that red eye phenomenon in the sky. Unlike others who speculated about what exactly the phenomenon was or its purpose, he wondered if it was brought about by Fan Wubing.
Earlier, there had been mention from Wangxian Pavilion about whether Fan Wubing was a demon cultivator.
The final conclusion was that there was no evidence to show he was a demon cultivator.
But if that phenomenon was brought by Fan Wubing, why would it be like this?