Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The wind at Luofengpo is cold.

It exuded a chilling aura that seemed to seep from the ground, and when it scraped against my face, it felt like a dull knife cutting into my flesh.

Gu Xiang walked very slowly.

With each step, the withered leaves beneath his feet made a soft, rustling sound, a sound that sent a chill down his spine in the deathly silence of the forest.

His hands were clenched tightly inside his sleeves, his nails digging into his flesh and drawing blood, but he didn't seem to feel any pain.

Reason was arguing in his head.

He said, "Gu Xiang, you're a fool. Su Qing is dead, completely dead, even her soul has scattered. Her heart has been beating in your chest for three years, how could she still be alive? This is all a trap, a snare set by those ignorant bandits, or some demon wants to use your clever mind to practice his skills."

On the other side, someone was shouting: What if?

What if she's not completely dead? What if she left a backup plan? What if that vixen tricked you again, and she's actually still alive, just hiding to laugh at you?

Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance.

Even if what lies ahead is a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire, a hellish realm.

He has to go and take a look too.

If it's fake, then kill all the living creatures in this forest as a sacrifice to her.

If it's true...

Gu Xiang dared not think any further.

The heart in my chest was beating faster and faster, heavier and heavier.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

With each pulse, scalding hot blood was pumped out, making him tremble all over.

That's the Phoenix True Fire stirring.

The deeper you go, the stronger that familiar feeling becomes.

It's not demonic energy, it's not evil energy.

It is a kind of kinship, an attraction etched into our very bones.

It's like a traveler far from home smelling the aroma of their mother's cooking, or a lost boat seeing the lights on the shore.

Gu Xiang stopped in his tracks.

There's no road ahead.

There were only clumps of thorns, about half a person's height, covered with black and red barbs, resembling hideous ghost faces.

He didn't use spiritual power to protect himself, nor did he draw his sword.

And so I stepped inside.

Thorns tore through the blue robe and scratched the skin.

Blood droplets rolled down and dripped into the black soil.

He couldn't feel any pain.

He only felt cold.

The cold that seeped into his bones made him want to shiver.

Nearly.

closer.

After passing through the thicket of thorns, the view suddenly opened up.

The enormous canopy of the tree blocked out the sky, like a giant umbrella, isolating this place from the world.

The Chinese parasol tree (梧桐).

That is the sacred tree where the phoenix is ​​said to have perched.

The trunk is as thick as a wall, and the bark is mottled, marked by the passage of time.

Gu Xiang stood in the shadow of the trees, her breath catching in her throat.

His gaze pierced through the drooping branches and the fluttering leaves, fixing fixedly on the tree beneath it.

There was a person sitting there.

Dressed in red, as vibrant as fire, as blood, as potent as the most potent poison in the world.

She was barefoot, with a red string tied around her ankle, so white it was dazzling.

She leaned against the tree trunk, idly playing with a withered sycamore leaf in her hand, her posture lazy and nonchalant.

Just like three years ago, in the Drunken Immortal Inn in the capital, she leaned against the window, watching the bustling traffic below, and asked him with a smile, "Gu the Fool, are we having roast chicken tonight?"

The wind stopped.

The chirping of insects in the woods has also disappeared.

At that moment, the entire world was reduced to a single splash of red.

Gu Xiang's legs felt a little weak.

He wanted to move forward, but he couldn't take a step.

He wanted to call her name, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't make a sound.

Was it a dream?

If it's a dream, don't wake up.

If it's a hallucination, then let him die in that hallucination.

The people under the tree seemed to have sensed something.

Her hand paused, and the withered leaf slipped from her fingertips, fluttering down to the ground.

She slowly turned her head.

That face.

That face that had appeared countless times in his dreams, haunting him and causing him unbearable pain.

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, and her eyes were like autumn waters.

The slight upturn at the corner of her eyes carried an innate allure, yet also revealed a cold indifference born from a deep understanding of the world.

Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, Su Qing.

Eyes facing each other.

Three years have passed, and the distance between life and death has been separated by them.

Gu Xiang looked at her.

She also looked at Gu Xiang.

There were no earth-shattering cries, no heart-wrenching questions.

There was only deathly silence.

Gu Xiang's eyes reddened.

Tears rolled down his cheeks without warning, landing on his dusty boots.

He was a scholar who believed in remaining calm even in the face of a collapsing mountain.

He was a prime minister, and he was used to keeping his emotions hidden.

But at this moment, he was just a man who had lost his wife and then found her again.

He was shaking all over, shaking like a leaf.

It was an extreme joy, but also an extreme fear.

I fear this is all for naught.

I fear that the person in front of me might turn into smoke and vanish in the next moment.

Su Qing looked at the man in the blue robe standing in the shadows.

Thin.

I'm getting old.

The scholarly air between his brows was still there, but now there was a hint of sharp, ruthless intent.

Those are the marks sculpted by power and time.

That fool who once wouldn't even dare to watch a chicken being killed now carries the murderous aura of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Was it for her?

Su Qing's heart skipped a beat.

pain.

Even though she was an incarnation reborn from blood, and even though she didn't have that exquisitely intelligent heart, she still felt pain.

She wanted to laugh, tease him a bit, and ask him how he'd been doing these past few years.

He tried to force a smile, but couldn't manage to.

It feels like there's a fishbone stuck in my throat; I can't swallow it or spit it out.

a long time.

Gu Xiang finally made a move.

He took a step forward.

This step crossed three years of life and death, and the boundary between yin and yang.

He walked quickly, yet cautiously.

It was as if they were afraid of disturbing something.

Until he walked to the tree, to her, within reach.

He reached out, his fingertips trembling, wanting to touch her face, but then stopped in mid-air.

dare not.

I really don't dare.

What if it's fake?

What if your finger goes through it?

Su Qing looked at his hand, which was hanging in mid-air, and at his eyes, which were brimming with tears.

She sighed.

The sigh was as light as a feather falling to the ground, yet it struck Gu Xiang's heart with tremendous force.

"fool."

She spoke up.

His voice was a little hoarse, with that familiar, teasing quality that he both hated and loved to the core.

"Why are you crying?"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think I took advantage of you and then abandoned you."

boom.

The string that had been taut in Gu Xiang's mind for three years snapped.

is her.

It's really her.

No one in this world would call him an idiot except her.

No one would talk to him in that tone.

No one could make him lose his composure like that.

Gu Xiang could no longer hold back.

He lunged forward and pulled the person into a tight embrace.

He used such force that it was as if he wanted to knead her into his very bones and never separate them again.

A realistic tactile experience.

Warm body temperature.

And there was that faint, familiar fragrance.

Not a dream.

It's not a hallucination.

She is alive.

"Su Qing..."

Gu Xiang buried his head in the crook of her neck, his voice hoarse and broken, tinged with sobs.

"You're not dead...you're not dead..."

"You liar...you big liar..."

He was incoherent, like a wronged child who had finally found a comforting embrace.

Su Qing was struggling to breathe because of his tight grip.

My bones are about to break.

But this fool's embrace is so warm.

It's warmer than the cold wind of Luofeng Slope, and warmer than the icy bronze chains.

She raised her hand and gently patted Gu Xiang's back.

Just like back in the capital, when he was awakened by a nightmare, she coaxed him back to sleep.

"Yes, I'm a liar."

Su Qing said softly, her eyes also a little moist.

"I'm a fox spirit, and what fox spirit doesn't lie?"

"But it's you, Lord Gu."

"The dignified prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty is not afraid of being laughed at for crying."

Gu Xiang ignored her teasing.

He just held her tightly, holding her close.

It was as if she would disappear again if he let go of her hand.

The heart in my chest was beating so happily.

It has finally found its owner.

It was finally no longer a lonely, beating stone.

The wind picked up.

The leaves of the sycamore tree rustled.

It's as if it's providing accompaniment for this reunion.

Gu Xiang raised her head and looked at the face so close to hers.

He reached out, his rough fingertips gently caressing her cheek, wiping away the trace of a tear that hadn't yet dried at the corner of her eye.

Don't leave me.

He said.

The voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable air of obsession.

Su Qing looked into his eyes.

Those once crystal-clear eyes are now as deep as an ancient well, hiding too many emotions she can't understand.

But that love was even more intense and passionate than it had been three years ago.

The burning sensation made her anxious.

"it is good."

Su Qing smiled.

This smile was like a hundred flowers blooming, like a spring breeze caressing the face.

"I'm not leaving."

"I'll stay right here and reason with you."

Gu Xiang smiled too.

This was the first time in three years that he had laughed from the bottom of his heart.

Although tears still clung to the corners of her eyes, and she looked somewhat disheveled.

But that smile was more radiant than the myriad lights of the capital city.

He lowered his head and kissed her forehead.

With utmost care and consideration.

It's like kissing a lost treasure that has been found again.

This moment.

Luofengpo is no longer a dead zone.

The sycamore tree is no longer a prison.

This is the human world.

This is their world.

"Green Jade Table - Reunion"

The wind howls fiercely along the desolate forest path; every step is stained with blood, my heart remains as it was yesterday.

Who will paint the red makeup in my dream?

Beneath the sycamore tree, the old promise remains, only the affection remains.

A fleeting glance, and my soul is captivated; we gaze at each other through tear-filled eyes, speechless with emotion.

Even though Yin and Yang were once separated.

Today we hold hands, bound by life and death, let us not question whether it is a mistake or not.