Mortal: Traveling Between Two Realms with Mei Ning to Pick Up Trash

"Come, come, it's been over ten years. I thought you weren't planning on coming back."

Mei Feng pulled Zhou Yu into the cave with great excitement.

Zhou Yu couldn't hide his smile either. After entering the cave, he looked around.

"Brother Meifeng, where's Mei Ning?"

Mei Feng waved his hand, "Why would she want to stay on my run-down little island? She's on the main island now."

He looked at Zhou Yu again, "Come on, come on, I'll take you to see her. It's been so many years since we last met, we have to have a good meal together."

"Seriously, you're something else, kid. You've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. I can't sense your aura; you can't be in the mid-stage, can you?"

Zhou Yu smiled and nodded, "By sheer luck, I've reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

"Good lad, I knew I wasn't wrong about you, hahaha!" Mei Feng laughed loudly, hands on his hips.

Mei Feng pulled Zhou Yu out of the cave, and with a burst of light beneath their feet, the two flew towards the main island.

After flying for less than fifteen minutes, the outline of the main island came into view.

Zhou Yu saw a figure standing in the open space in front of the house from afar, wearing a light blue dress and with long hair tied up with a wooden hairpin.

Mei Feng withdrew his escape light and landed on the open ground, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Sister! Look who's back!"

The figure turned around.

Mei Ning, after fifteen years, her face has hardly changed.

"Hahaha, little sister, Zhou Yu is now in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, isn't that amazing?" Mei Feng looked at Mei Ning with a smug expression.

"I knew this kid was something else."

Upon hearing this, Mei Ning paused slightly.

He then looked at Zhou Yu, seemingly thinking about what to say, and finally only uttered three words.

"You're back?"

Zhou Yu nodded and stepped forward. "You're back."

"Come in and sit down, I've made dinner," Mei Ning said, turning and walking into the house.

Mei Feng followed behind casually, shouting as he walked, "Hurry up, hurry up, I'm starving! Zhou Yu, did you bring any alcohol? Yes? Okay, okay, let's drink until we drop tonight!"

There were four or five dishes on the table.

Mei Feng had already sat down casually and picked up his chopsticks.

Zhou Yu took out two jars of wine from his storage bag, broke the mud seal, and the aroma of the wine immediately wafted out.

"Spirit Peach Wine?" Mei Feng's eyes lit up. "Good lad, this stuff isn't cheap."

Zhou Yu smiled, poured a bowl for Mei Feng first, then filled his own bowl, and turned to look at Mei Ning.

"Mei Ning, would you like some?"

Mei Ning paused for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Zhou Yu then poured her a bowl of wine; the liquid was clear with a faint pink hue.

Mei Feng picked up the bowl and took a big gulp, smacking his lips: "That was refreshing! Zhou Yu, where have you been for the past fifteen years? We left back then, and you just disappeared without a trace."

Zhou Yu gave a wry smile. "I only went into hiding because of a series of coincidences. I was being hunted down by the Giant Shark Sect."

Mei Feng frowned. "That Elder Wan from back then?"

Zhou Yu nodded slightly.

Mei Feng shook his head and sighed softly, "Looks like you're not having such a good time either. I thought you were off having a good time somewhere, leaving me..."

Mei Feng glanced at Mei Ning, paused, and then continued, "You've all forgotten about us."

Zhou Yu took a sip of his drink before continuing, "How could that be? You are the most important friends I have in this world."

Zhou Yu glanced at Mei Ning, and the two exchanged a look. Mei Ning immediately looked away.

Mei Feng then clamored for more wine. After downing three bowls, his face was flushed, and he began to recount past events.

As Mei Ning listened, a slight smile finally appeared on her lips.

"You're still laughing?" Mei Feng slammed his hand on the table. "Back then, you even stole the spiritual fruits I grew and gave them to this kid. Do you think I didn't know?"

Mei Ning's ears turned slightly red, but she didn't refute it. She reached out and took the wine jar, pouring herself another bowl.

As Zhou Yu watched her pour the wine, he suddenly asked, "Mei Ning, that wooden hairpin of yours..."

"It was a gift from Tianxing City," Mei Ning replied quickly.

Mei Feng was already a little drunk, and could barely hold his chopsticks. He kept rambling on and on: "Let me tell you about Zhou Yu, my sister these past few years..."

"Brother," Mei Ning suddenly interrupted him.

Mei Feng was taken aback, then chuckled twice and picked up his wine bowl to cover his face.

The three chatted for a while longer.

Zhou Yu noticed that Mei Ning seemed somewhat silent.

Mei Feng mumbled that he could still drink, then tilted his head and fell completely asleep.

Zhou Yu smiled, helped him onto the bed, and turned to look at Mei Ning.

"Mei Ning, you..."

Mei Ning interrupted him directly, "I'll clean up the dishes." Then she hurriedly went out.

Zhou Yu was stunned.

He seemed to suddenly remember something, and then smiled helplessly.

outside.

Mei Ning did indeed appear to be washing dishes. She was standing by the basin, holding a bowl in her hand, slowly washing it. The bowl was already quite clean, but she kept washing it, over and over again.

Zhou Yu quietly walked over, stood behind her, suddenly peeked out, and softly exclaimed, "Wow!"

Mei Ning's shoulders trembled suddenly, and she almost dropped the bowl.

She turned around and saw Zhou Yu's smiling face. She was startled at first, then her gaze slowly turned to helplessness. She shook her head, the corners of her mouth curved slightly, and then turned back to pick up the bowl and continue washing.

"Don't scare me, I still have to wash the dishes."

Zhou Yu leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and said, "Does a cultivator really need to go through all this trouble to wash dishes?"

Mei Ning paused for a moment, but continued.

Zhou Yu stared at Mei Ning's profile for a while.

He stood up, hesitated for a moment, and said.

"Fellow Daoist Mei Ning."

Mei Ning stopped. She rarely heard Zhou Yu call her that. The two words "fellow Daoist" were polite and carried a formal sense of distance, which didn't seem like something he would say.

He turned to look at Zhou Yu, somewhat puzzled.

Zhou Yu stood at the door, backlit, so his expression was hard to see. He looked at her intently.

"Would you be my Daoist partner?"

Suddenly, the kitchen fell silent. The water stopped flowing, the bowls stopped spinning, and even the wind outside the window seemed to have been held back. Only the frogs continued to croak.

Upon hearing this, Mei Ning paused in her movements. She looked at Zhou Yu, wanting to say something, but as she opened her mouth, her eyes reddened and tears welled up in them.

"I……"

"I……"

Zhou Yu looked at Mei Ning, stepped forward, took her hand, and gently hugged her. "I know what you're worried about: your cultivation, the gap between you, and not being able to catch up with me."

Mei Ning's tears flowed silently, each drop landing on Zhou Yu's shoulder, tinged with unease. "I... I'm just afraid I can't keep up with you. You have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, destined to pursue the Great Dao. I... I'm just an ordinary person."

Zhou Yu closed his eyes and hugged the person in his arms tighter.

"Mei Ning, listen to me," Zhou Yu's voice was not calm, "My luckiest thing is not the Heavenly Spiritual Root, nor the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but that I met you on the first day I came into this world."

Mei Ning's shoulders trembled slightly.

"You taught me to speak, taught me how to cultivate immortality, gave me a place to live, gave me food, and stood in front of me when I was in danger. When I was injured, you took me to Brother Meifeng to ask for medicine. The day you left, you stood on the side of the ship and said to come back soon. Fifteen years have passed, and I just came back to tell you—"

Zhou Yu loosened his grip on her slightly, lowered his head, and looked into her eyes.

He reached out and gently wiped away the tear stains on her face with his thumb.

"Mei Ning, I have my own path to walk. I will not stop on the path of cultivation, nor will I turn back."

Mei Ning's eyelashes trembled, but she did not avoid his gaze.

"But I don't want to walk this path alone," Zhou Yu said. "If you can't catch up, I'll wait for you. If you walk slowly, I'll accompany you. Whether it's the Heavenly Spiritual Root or the Great Dao of Immortality, those are things I want to pursue. But you are the person I want to stay by my side."

He paused, then his voice softened.

"I am willing to pursue the Great Way with you."

Mei Ning looked at him, tears still streaming down her face, but the corners of her mouth slowly, slowly curved upwards.

"You...when did you become so eloquent?"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said seriously, "It's probably something you learn naturally if you think about it for a long time."

Although Mei Ning still had tears on her face, she could no longer hide her smile.

She lowered her head and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder.

"You haven't answered me yet," Zhou Yu said.

"What should I answer?"

"Would you be willing to become my Daoist partner?"

Mei Ning did not answer immediately.

She stayed quietly in Zhou Yu's arms for a while, as if she was thinking about something, or as if she wasn't thinking about anything at all, just enjoying the peace of the moment.

It took her a long time to speak.

"I do."

The three words, falling in the quiet kitchen, were like three pieces of warm jade falling into deep water, rippling out in circles that lingered for a long time.

Zhou Yu smiled, hugged her even tighter, and looked out the window at the bamboo forest illuminated by the moonlight.

The bamboo shadows sway gently, the wind whispers through the air, everything is so quiet, so peaceful.