The moonlight was like silver, falling to the mortal realm like a layer of crushed silver powder, silently sprinkling over the lake's surface.
Yan Qingning sat on a smooth, giant boulder by the shore, her white clothes as pristine as snow, almost merging into one with the moonlight.
In her hand, she held a gourd of ancient design, its surface rubbed to a warm luster, having accompanied her for untold years.
She tilted her head back, the gourd's mouth to her lips, as the cool, clear liquor slid silently down her throat.
She took several sips in succession, though not quickly.
The icy chill of the wine rose up, staining her snow-white cheeks with two faint, almost transparent patches of crimson.
This touch of color seemed to abruptly add a hint of human charm and intimacy to the Moon Palace Fairy who otherwise appeared beyond the touch of the mortal world.
She herself could no longer remember.
When exactly she had started being unable to do without this thing.
It seemed... it was right after "he" had disappeared.
Everyone said he was dead, killed under the Heavenly Tribulation, his Divine Soul completely destroyed, leaving not even a trace for Reincarnation.
She didn't believe it.
She had searched many places, but over a thousand years, she had found nothing but deepening disappointment.
Sometimes when meditating late at night, her state of mind would be disturbed by ripples that appeared without warning.
She would wonder if she could have given him a bit more of a response back then, with a little less coldness and reservation.
Would he have been less obsessed with pursuing power, to the point where he eventually went astray and even fell into the Demonic Path?
But in this world, there are no "ifs."
A thousand years of time should have been enough to smooth everything over.
The deeper one's cultivation and the firmer one's Dao Heart, the more one's heart should be like an ancient well, still and without ripples.
Yet she found that some things were not diluted by time; instead, they were like aged wine.
Sealed by the years in the deepest part of her heart, the longer the time, the more intense and bone-deep the melancholy became.
Accumulated over a thousand years, it was already difficult to strip away, let alone forget.
The moonlight was reflected in the center of the lake, breaking into a shimmering patch of silver scales.
The gourd was not large.
Yet it never seemed to run dry.
She lowered her hand, and a few drops of wine that failed to enter her throat slid down her slender neck, gliding over her silken skin, finally falling silently into the lake without even causing a ripple.
The shuang hua sword hung quietly at her side, the light from its blade seeming to dim and soften slightly.
A small, ice-blue phantom separated from the sword and floated onto Yan Qingning's shoulder, like a kitten clinging to its master.
She didn't know how to comfort her master.
For a thousand years, every time her master came to the lakeside alone to drink, it was like this.
She could only accompany her like this, using her own spirituality to convey a silent sense of warmth.
Yan Qingning sensed the slightly cool touch on her shoulder. Without turning her head, she simply raised her other hand and gently brushed her fingertips over the silver-white hair of the Frost Bloom spirit body.
"Are you hungry?"
She suddenly spoke, her voice even fainter than the moonlight, yet somehow carrying a very subtle, almost tender breath. "I'll roast some fish for you."
"Yay, yay!"
Frost Radiance immediately became happy, wiggling her small body on Yan Qingning's shoulder.
She loved eating the fish her master roasted the most.
Although her master was always a bit distracted when roasting fish, and the cooking time was hit-or-miss, she loved it as long as it was roasted by her master.
She impatiently flew off into the distant woods, preparing to cut some branches to use for roasting the fish.
Yan Qingning looked at the calm lake surface and extended a slender, jade-like index finger, pointing toward the water from a distance.
She prepared to catch two of the plumpest fish.
The water at the center of the lake parted slightly, and two crystal-clear water spheres the size of clay pots, each containing a lively, jumping lake fish, floated over lightly and hovered in the air before her.
One was a common Green Fish, its scales shimmering with a green light under the moon.
The other was slightly larger, entirely pitch-black, with smooth lines along its back.
Looking at the fish struggling and wagging their tails in the water spheres, Yan Qingning's gaze became somewhat vacant.
Many, many years ago, when she traveled with him, by mountain streams and nameless lakesides, he was always like this, able to catch fresh fish from the water with a casual motion.
Then he would clumsily start a fire, roasting them until they were charred on the outside and tender on the inside, handing them to her with a grin, saying: "Qingning, try it. This skill of mine is a secret recipe!"
Even after so many years, she could always remember those words.
It was as if time were reversing.
He was still whispering in her ear, "I want to roast fish for you forever, okay?"
It was just that she had always avoided it back then.
With a slight movement of her fingertip, a small cluster of fierce, orange-red flames quietly ignited at her fingertip.
The firelight reflected in her cold eyes, dancing.
Just as she was about to flick the flame toward the already prepared pile of dry wood.
"F-Fairy! Fairy, have mercy! Don't kill me!"
A tiny voice, filled with terror and somewhat slurred, abruptly rang out!
The Black Fish really hadn't expected that it would be caught just because it swam over after smelling a strong, spiritual scent.
The flame at Yan Qingning's fingertip paused slightly.
Inside the water sphere containing the large Black Fish, the Black Fish was desperately wiggling its body, its mouth opening and closing, its bean-sized eyes full of human-like fear.
The voice was coming from it!
"I know a place! There are many treasures!
Really! I'll tell you everything! I only beg the Fairy to spare my life!"
Seeing the small flame that could instantly roast it, the Black Fish was terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, spinning frantically inside the water sphere.
It used its head and tail to desperately strike the water walls, splashing tiny droplets of water.
The phantom of Frost Radiance flew in front of the Black Fish with a "whoosh."
Her large ice-blue eyes stared straight at this talking fish, and it seemed as if glistening saliva was about to flow from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing this small figure with a terrifying aura approach, the Black Fish was so scared it directly blew out a string of desperate bubbles:
"Gurgle..."
A very faint trace of surprise flashed in Yan Qingning's eyes.
A fish she had caught at random had actually developed spiritual intelligence?
Although it hadn't taken human form, it could speak human words, so its spirituality was already quite high.
Interesting!
"Frost Radiance, come back," she called softly.
She had suddenly become interested.
Frost Radiance floated back to her shoulder somewhat reluctantly, but her eyes were still fixed on the Black Fish.
The flame on Yan Qingning's fingertip went out, and her gaze landed on the shivering Black Fish, carrying a slight smile:
"Tell me, where is this place with treasures?"
Seeing the killing intent temporarily fade, the Black Fish acted as if it had caught a life-saving straw and spoke hurriedly, its words coming out fast:
"Right at the bottom of this lake! Right under this big lake! There's a place where the Spiritual Qi is different from everywhere else; there are definitely treasures inside!"
The bottom of the lake?
Yan Qingning's brow twitched slightly.
She was all too familiar with this lake.
Over the past thousand years, she didn't know how many times she had scanned it with her Divine Sense, and aside from water weeds, fish, shrimp, and ordinary water veins, there was nothing unusual.
After she had slain the Blood Prison Nether Spider back then, the blood-fiend energy of this place had long since been purified.
She looked at the Black Fish. "Lead the way."
The Black Fish spun around in the water sphere, then timidly looked at the much quieter Green Fish in the other water sphere, and plucked up its courage to say:
"Then... then the Fairy must promise to release my wife as well! The two of us will take you there together!"
The Green Fish in the other water sphere seemed to understand; its tail swayed gently, and it blew a few bubbles toward the Black Fish. Although its spirituality was insufficient, one could feel its attachment.
Yan Qingning looked at these two fish, and a very faint ripple passed through her cold eyes.
"Quite a sentimental pair."
Her tone remained flat. "I do not eat sentient beings anyway. Lead the way."
As her voice fell, the two water spheres shattered silently, and the two large fish fell into the lake with a "plop," splashing small amounts of water.
The Black Fish swam around flexibly in the water a few times, confirming that both it and its mate were safe and sound, before flicking its tail toward a certain direction in the center of the lake.
"Fairy, please follow me!"
Yan Qingning stood up, her white clothes unstained.
She took a step forward, and her figure was like a light snowflake, drifting down toward the lake surface.
The moment her toes touched the water, the surrounding lake water seemed to take on a life of its own, naturally parting outward,
forming a transparent cavity about ten feet in diameter that let no water in, enveloping her and Frost Radiance on her shoulder as they slowly sank beneath the water.
The two fish led the way in front, and Yan Qingning followed at a leisurely pace.
The lake water was clear, and the moonlight through the surface cast blurred, swaying patches of light underwater.
The deeper they went, the darker the light became, but for her, it was no different from daylight.
Soon, the Black Fish stopped before a giant lake stone near the bottom, covered in dark green water moss.
"It's right here! Go in from here, and at the end of the passage inside is that different place!" the Black Fish said.
Yan Qingning's Divine Sense was like mercury spreading over the ground, quietly probing into the passage behind the crack.
The passage was deep and wound upward, and at the end, she indeed sensed a rather open space.
This finally caused a real ripple to appear in her calm eyes.
There was something there.
And it could shield her Divine Sense from investigation.
"Continue leading the way," her voice remained calm.
The Black Fish was the first to dive into the crack passage, with the Green Fish following closely behind.
The waterless cavity around Yan Qingning deformed accordingly, sliding into the narrow entrance as easily as flowing water.
The passage first went downward, then immediately turned upward.
In just a moment, the water pressure ahead lightened, and the light brightened slightly.
"Splash."
She had already risen from a small pool of water, stepping onto the solid, cold rock floor.
The waterless cavity quietly dissipated, and not a single drop of water remained on the hem of her clothes.
Frost Radiance hovered at her side, her blade-body shimmering.
This was a massive cave space that had been silent for untold ages.
The ceiling was high and distant, with jagged, strange rocks.
Glowing Ores embedded in the rock crevices flickered with a faint fluorescence.
Like stars, it was exquisitely beautiful.
The Black Fish popped its head out of the pool and blew a bubble: "Fairy, this is the place."
Yan Qingning stood silently, her gaze slowly sweeping over this unfamiliar yet vaguely familiar giant cave that brought her a strange sense of recognition.
A trace of bewilderment actually arose in her heart.