The stars and moon were hazy; tonight’s moonlight was especially bleak.

In the antique, elegant Bamboo Green Court, Ye Zhuyin had been sitting in her room for a very, very long time.

Every now and then she gazed toward where Hong Yuan was, and then toward where Shang Yaoqin was, deeply torn.

She had to make a choice!

Was she to hide together with Hong Yuan outside the Martial Chaos, or go to the Outer Heavens world in order to look after Shang Yaoqin.

Night had fully fallen, all around was silent, and in the room Phoenix Red Candles burned bright one after another.

A sliver of moonlight spilled in through a gap in the cyan curtains, falling upon Ye Zhuyin by the bed.

"Am I going to pair with Yuan and fly side by side with him?"

Ye Zhuyin stood before the red-candled table, cupping her cheeks as she stared at the peerlessly beautiful face in the bronze mirror, heavy-hearted. "But Yaoqin needs my help more. Without me at her side, she’s very likely to go astray..."

Creak...

Outside the window, peach blossoms were in full bloom, bright to the extreme, bringing with them the breath of spring.

After a long while.

A hint of resolve flashed across Ye Zhuyin’s delicate, charming face.

Yuan could live without her, but Yaoqin could not.

She drew a deep breath, then once more faced the mirror to press on her yellow flower makeup.

After a bit, having finally mustered her courage, she turned into a streak of azure rainbow and decisively flew outward.

Her direction pointed straight at Hong Yuan!

"Ai~"

Below, hidden in the darkness, Shang Yaoqin saw this scene and couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh.

Though she and Ye Zhuyin were senior and junior sisters, in truth their feelings were like mother and daughter—deep as could be.

She had already understood Senior Sister Ye Zhuyin’s final decision; only, while secretly rejoicing, she also felt herself somewhat despicable.

"If I had been able to turn the tide back then, Zhu Yin wouldn’t be so troubled now, would she..."

Shang Yaoqin lowered her lids, her jade-pale, pretty face a little dimmed.

She very much wanted Ye Zhuyin to bravely stay by Hong Yuan’s side and pursue her own happiness, yet she was even more afraid that she would never see Ye Zhuyin again.

On the other side.

Ye Zhuyin, speeding through the firmament, only felt her heart beating faster, her breathing growing rapid; even her cheeks were faintly hot and flushed.

Her feelings were a bit chaotic; she very much wanted to shrink back.

But she did not want, because of her own weakness, to miss this farewell.

For once they fled far away and escaped to the Outer Heavens world, who knew if in this lifetime there would be any chance to return to the Martial World. Eight or nine out of ten, this farewell would be a parting for life, never to meet again!

"Yuan, wait for me." In Ye Zhuyin’s long, autumn-water eyes, light glittered—resolute to the utmost.

She, who was not good at expressing her feelings, had finally decided to be brave once for herself!

In the night sky, a veil of thin cloud that had been covering the bright moon was blown away by the wind.

By Phoenix Creek, Hong Yuan stood alone atop Rainbow Fire Peak. One hand was clasped behind his back; he looked as though he were riding the void on the returning wind, his bearing proper and upright, the very image of a promising gentleman.

Yet at this moment, he was staring in stunned disbelief at the dazzlingly bright Ye Zhuyin in front of him.

He could sense it: Ye Zhuyin seemed to have... fallen in love?!

"Yuan, will we still be able to... meet again?" After a bit of small talk, Ye Zhuyin couldn’t help but speak.

Her breath was like orchids, and her pair of long, autumn-water eyes were filled with tenderness, sending shivers of electric current rising in wisps through Hong Yuan’s heart.

Hong Yuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head helplessly. "I fear we will not."

In that instant, a trace of desolation appeared in Ye Zhuyin’s autumn-water eyes. She forced out a smile. "Then... then I wish you to take care."

"And I wish you to take care as well."

Silence.

Under the moonlight, both their hearts rose and fell restlessly.

And in this process, the woman’s fragrance and the man’s breath kept teasing each other’s senses and heartstrings; their bodies drew ever closer...

As grown man and woman—especially Saints whose cultivation had borne fruit—they both understood what this signified.

In this moment, Ye Zhuyin lifted her delicate head, looking straight into Hong Yuan’s eyes, stubbornly, no longer fleeing.

The cool, clear moonlight poured down, casting her in a single robe of blue that seemed hazy and dreamlike.

As for Hong Yuan...

Hong Yuan sighed inwardly, yet he no longer dodged as he had in the past.

After all, when the debts are many, there’s no need to fret!

Then, Hong Yuan moved his steps; under Ye Zhuyin’s incredulous gaze, he took the initiative to come to her side and gently took her fair, small hand.

The blockhead has finally gotten a clue?

"Whoosh..."

A Cave Heaven opened, and the figures of the two vanished.

They arrived together at the Zhu Yin Cave Heaven, at a crimson-embroidered chamber.

Under Hong Yuan’s feet was a bright red carpet exquisitely embroidered with dragons and phoenixes amid auspicious clouds.

Red silk covered all the walls; upon a luxurious golden stand two great red wedding candles shimmered brilliantly, their bodies painted with gold-lacquered soaring dragons and phoenixes. The wavering candle flames reflected off the Flowing Gold Glass Curtain that nearly swept the floor, filling the room with a hazy, dreamlike hue.

Yet even the most splendid of these lights could not compare to the beauty who had waited steadfastly for him for so long.

He stopped at the doorway, bathed in the ambiguous, gentle warmth of the light, looking at the extraordinarily brave beauty before him.

At once, Ye Zhuyin’s shy, bashful face was reflected in his eyes; her crystalline, jade-like features were veiled in the glow of the red candles, so exquisitely gorgeous as to defy description.

Feeling Hong Yuan’s gaze, a light flush spread over Ye Zhuyin’s fragrant cheeks, and she was moved even more deeply.

Hong Yuan drew her along, bringing her to the bedside. Gently holding her slender, pale hand, he said softly, "Zhu Yin, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long."

"N-no, no." Ye Zhuyin’s face was crimson; her hands twined together all the more tightly in her nervousness. She spoke in a soft, milky voice,

Even though all of this was a scene she had imagined would one day come to pass.

Now that it was truly, tangibly happening before her eyes, now that the beautiful dream of so many years was about to come true at last, her heart still fluttered wildly.