"The winter moon was cool, and though there was no wind in the hall, the small wooden donkey beneath Long Yi’s feet began to tremble. Its round, frightened eyes darted about nervously, but it dared not move a single inch under Long Yi's sharp gaze, shaking like a sieve.
Long Yi raised his eyebrows in disbelief, his eyes shifting to Fan Yue, sobering up quickly as he exclaimed, “Seriously! It’s bad enough that you wouldn’t eat it, but now you’ve granted it soul power? Little Wooden Head, has your brain rusted?” Suddenly, he perked up his large ears and asked in an almost mocking tone, “Is it… because of that girl?”
Fan Yue cast a cold glance at him, and Long Yi immediately sat upright, coughing in a serious manner. “Don’t forget, Little Wooden Head, that your true form is an ancient Bodhi tree. If you don’t gather the scattered sacred woods from the Three Realms, when the fire inside you reaches your heartline, you’ll turn to ashes, beyond the salvation of gods or Buddhas.”
Fan Yue’s brow furrowed as he drank the wine in his palm in one gulp, letting his sleeve drop, exposing seven star-like markings on his chest, one of which glowed faintly while the other six remained dim. These seven stars formed a pattern, like a celestial array, etched upon his chest, with the final star resting directly above his heart.
Perhaps triggered by Long Yi’s words, a scene flashed before Fan Yue’s eyes.
In the extreme north, amidst an endless expanse of snow and ice, a boy in red opened his eyes, seeing only wind and snow filling the world. He lay within a Seven-Star Array, while outside, a gluttonous tiger watched him, eyes gleaming.
Long Yi flapped his wings, fluttering in front of Fan Yue, feeling slightly aggrieved, “Back then, I rescued you from the beast at the cost of my slumber! We had an agreement—I help you find the seven scattered sacred woods, and you, in turn, regain your divine power and memory, and release me from this pig’s body! If not for the fact that the Bodhi tree is the ancestor of all woods and I was sealed inside this piece of wood by chance, I’d never have stooped to be your divine beast, driven by you and working tirelessly! Don’t go back on your word!”
“I never break a promise,” Fan Yue finally spoke.
“Then why didn’t you absorb its power? Instead, you allowed it to awaken its own soul force. I’ve warned you that since you both share a connection to the ancient Bodhi tree, awakening its soul power means that if it grows stronger than you, it could devour you to become a god! Although, truth be told, it doesn’t matter which of you becomes a god; I just need my seal lifted.”
Long Yi shrugged, yawning with a relaxed attitude. Fan Yue raised his brow, glancing at Long Yi and then letting his gaze settle on the trembling donkey. “Do you think it’s capable?”
Long Er the donkey blinked frantically, wishing it could turn to ashes and disappear. Long Yi looked at the nervous, helpless donkey, then at Fan Yue, the majestic lord of Hao Yue Hall, and said sincerely, “Unlikely.”
“Then why keep it… for meals?” Fan Yue’s tone was indifferent.
“Nothing much. It’s just… amusing,” Fan Yue replied, rising to his feet and walking barefoot on the icy hall floor toward the exit. “Since it shares the same essence as mine, what harm in letting it live a few more years?”
“Hey! And that strange girl… are you really going to leave her among the mortals?” Long Yi hesitated before blurting out, “Maybe with her around, you could find the other sacred—”
Before Long Yi could finish, Fan Yue vanished from the hall.
Long Yi sighed, looking at the dejected Long Er the donkey, then rested his piggy chin on his hoof, glancing in the direction where Fan Yue had disappeared.
In the extreme north, surrounded by snow, Fan Yue stood alone, his eyes on the full moon above. Closing his eyes, memories he had seen a thousand times appeared in his mind.
An endless peach forest and a celestial pavilion, where a figure dressed in white leaned against the pavilion railing, a wine jug in hand, turning back with a distant gaze.
A flash of light crossed his mind, and his chest seared with pain, causing him to fall to one knee.
It was always the same. Every time he recalled those mysterious eyes in the star pavilion, his heart felt as if it were being torn apart.
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