Ri Guang swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Beautiful... very beautiful..."
LanYue stood up and slowly walked to him. When the two of them were close enough to feel each other's breath and the scent on their bodies, she stopped.
She reached out, holding a blue ribbon in her hand, embroidered with tiny, adorable little flowers.
"That is..." The moment Ri Guang saw that ribbon, memories surged back, dragging him two years into the past, to the first time he met LanYue.
Back then, he was sixteen, but his soul belonged to a thirty-year-old man.
From afar, he had seen LanYue sitting amid a bamboo grove, eyes tightly closed, focusing on cultivation. Cool breezes blew through, gently swaying the bamboo branches and LanYue's black strands of hair.
Ri Guang had stared at her so long that he forgot time itself.
LanYue was like an ink-wash painting, quiet, sorrowful, yet unbelievably beautiful.
He saw stray locks drifting across that lovely face, and suddenly he wanted to do something for her.
That night, he stayed up all night to search for materials and sew her a ribbon to tie her hair.
He knew it was something very ordinary. He didn't know whether she would accept it, so he wrapped it carefully, then placed it where she often sat to cultivate.
However, he never once saw her use it, not even a single time, which made him think she didn't like that cheap thing.
After all, she was a Tu sĩ who had reached Qi Refining, Stage 9, while that ribbon was nothing but something utterly ordinary.
Now, LanYue suddenly took it out. After two years, it was still as new as the first day, making Ri Guang somewhat surprised.
Seeing his startled expression, LanYue smiled and said, "Some fool left this where I often cultivate, but he didn't dare say a word."
Ri Guang swallowed, his heart trembling a little, not understanding why she would bring that up.
She looked at him, lifting the ribbon with both hands as if she were holding an invaluable treasure. "A Tu sĩ's life is very unstable, full of frequent battles, so... I was afraid I'd damage the gift from that fool. That's why I didn't dare use it. I always kept it in my storage ring."
"But now it's different..."
LanYue met his eyes. Those eyes like an icy lake now seemed to melt, overflowing with love and gentleness as she looked at him.
"Ri Guang, can you help me use it?" LanYue said.
Ri Guang's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Under the flickering candlelight, he used the ribbon he had sewn when he was sixteen to tie up LanYue's long black hair, the first person he had loved after coming to this world.
Her hair was very smooth, carrying a fragrance like orchids, elegant and mature.
The ribbon wrapped around her hair, revealing her nape, white as snow, and the small strands of hair around it seemed to invite him to touch them.
Ri Guang took a deep breath and tied LanYue's hair, but he was a little flustered. Along with that, the scent from her body made his heart pound harder and faster, leaving him unable to focus.
A simple task took him a full five minutes to finish.
Now her hair was neatly gathered high atop her head. She reached up and touched the bun.
"Thank you," LanYue said softly.
Ri Guang took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, then asked, "Senior Sister, this room..."
LanYue took his hand and smiled. "You still haven't realized? This is the bridal chamber I prepared. Is it beautiful?"
Hearing that, Ri Guang felt even warmer inside, feeling that LanYue truly valued him, rather than only thinking of him as an object for Dual Cultivation.
However, he still felt strange and asked softly, "Senior Sister, do you really want to become my Cultivation Partner? I'm just an ordinary person, my lifespan is very short. In the future, I will..."
Before he could finish, a slender finger carrying warmth touched his lips.
LanYue placed her index finger on his mouth, stopping him from continuing. A faint smile rested on her face. "Today is our happy day. Don't say such unlucky things."
Ri Guang still wanted to say something, but seeing her expression, those words seemed to get stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
Her index finger left his lips, then moved upward, lightly tapping the tip of his nose.
LanYue smiled and said, "I'll help you step onto the path of cultivation. Then, we can be together forever."
After hearing that, Ri Guang felt even more confused. He was just an ordinary person. Why would LanYue spend so much effort to help him like this?
LanYue walked to the bed and sat down, patting the spot beside her. He knew exactly what he needed to do, and he also walked over and sat down next to her.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and said softly, "Perhaps you don't know, but I was not originally a disciple of the Hehuan Sect. I was a disciple of the Jade Moon Sect."
Ri Guang was somewhat surprised. "Jade Moon Sect... could it be the sect that only accepts women?"
Although the Jade Moon Sect was very far from the Hehuan Sect, several thousand li away, it was an extremely large sect. What was special was that it had only female disciples, with no men at all.
Ri Guang had also heard people mention the Jade Moon Sect in conversation, even saying that it was paradise, a Kingdom of Women.
"That's right," LanYue replied. "I was originally a disciple of the Jade Moon Sect, but I was framed by fellow disciples and severely injured, so I had to leave that place and flee to this remote region."
"After I came here, my Cultivation was completely gone. The Second Elder of the Hehuan Sect pitied my fate, so he accepted me as an Inner Disciple, so that I could cultivate again from the beginning."
After hearing that, a huge question rose in Ri Guang's heart, and he immediately asked, "Wait! Then the matter of you and Senior Brother Lee being Cultivation Partners is..."
"That's right," LanYue admitted at once. "It was only false news. I'm not stupid to the point that I couldn't see the strangeness in his personality. I also knew long ago that he only liked men."
Ri Guang was even more surprised, but he stayed silent and continued listening.
LanYue continued, "He and I were just a childish act. He needed me to hide the fact that he liked men. I needed him so that I wouldn't be harassed by other men in the sect, so I could keep focusing on cultivation."
"Then..." Ri Guang spoke up. "Why were you crying back then? When you killed Senior Brother Lee."
LanYue suddenly laughed. She laughed gently. Her hand rested on Ri Guang's hand as she said softly, "Because he dared to harbor ill intentions toward you, so I had to kill him. But killing him meant violating the Hehuan Sect's rules. We would no longer be able to be together."
Ri Guang caught something in her words. His eyes widened, his body trembling slightly as he stammered, "We?"
LanYue lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes sparkled, moist as if they wanted to draw his soul inside, to drown forever within her gaze.
"That's right," LanYue admitted directly. "When I came here, I was disappointed in everything, disappointed even in myself. But there was a fool, who every day would watch me from afar."
"That fool cared about me. When I was tired, he would cook a bowl of hot porridge. When the wind messed up my hair, he would leave a cute ribbon and then leave. He would gather many fragrant flowers for me to make a sachet. He would cook delicious dishes for me."
The more LanYue spoke, the harder Ri Guang's heart pounded, and the more tightly their hands clasped together.
"That fool truly cared about me, but he always only stood far away to look at me. Very pitiful, and very foolish. In this world that only has Cultivation and coldness, only that foolish person let me feel a bit of warmth."
"Ri Guang, tell me, how should I treat that fool?"
She raised her hand and caressed his face. Her warm, soft palm made him dazed.
Ri Guang grabbed the hand caressing his face. Unable to restrain his emotions anymore, he said, "Senior Sister, those tears..."
"Mhm!" LanYue nodded slightly and smiled. "Those tears were for you. Because I was afraid... I was afraid I would die. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stay by your side anymore."
"But when I saw you decide to stay beside me, I also decided that... if... if I had to face death, I still wanted to be with you."
Ri Guang's heart melted at this moment. He caressed her face and said softly, "Senior Sis..."
"Don't!" LanYue hurriedly covered his mouth and smiled. "Call my name."
Ri Guang swallowed and then said, "LanYue."
"Ri Guang..."
Ri Guang lowered his head and kissed her lips, and then...