Chapter 61: Who is the person the prophecy foretold?
When Hua Xun arrived at the peach grove, it was not yet 9 AM, and Xiao Yunxi had not yet arrived either.
Hua Xun was bored in the peach grove, so he started to admire the scenery around him. His gaze was then drawn to a snow-white peach tree.
A peach tree with white petals had appeared in the woods sometime during the day, its heart of the flower a pale gold, swaying gently in the thin mist.
Hua Xun was delighted. Seeing that the end of one of the branches had broken off, she leaped forward, carefully picked it, and put it into her purse.
Just as I finished setting it down, I heard a voice from under the tree: "What are you doing?"
Hua Xun looked down at the tree and saw a young man in a bright red robe appear below. He was looking up, his eyebrows slightly raised, exuding a handsome and arrogant air. His ponytail hung down behind him, flamboyant and ostentatious.
Aside from their brief encounter a few days ago, this was the first time Hua Xun had met Xiao Yunxi since leaving the Immortal Clan.
She thought for a moment and then took the initiative to greet him: "Immortal Lord Yunxi".
Xiao Yunxi stared at her for a while, then her gaze fell on the peach tree branch behind her: "Are you moving to White Mist Cliff again?"
Hua Xun nodded and readily admitted, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunxi pursed her thin lips and remained silent for a long while: "Didn't you already leave? Why did you come back?"
Upon hearing this, Hua Xun's face clearly showed "I knew it": "I'm back again. Immortal Lord Yunxi must be very disappointed, right?"
"I..." Xiao Yunxi moved her lips, about to speak, but the moment she looked up and met the girl's eyes, she stopped talking.
On the day she was to marry Baili Sheng, he did not appear. He stood alone by the divine tree Jianmu to prevent the demons from launching a sneak attack.
When he heard the sound of hundreds of birds singing, he became distracted and, for some reason, he recalled the scene when Hua Xun carried him to safety.
Later, he heard that the black demon who was supposed to marry Baili Sheng had escaped from the immortal realm and disappeared without a trace.
In that instant, he felt a sense of relief, but also a sense of emptiness, as if he had lost something important.
Until the day before yesterday, when he saw her again on White Mist Cliff, the shock and joy that surged up in an instant made him understand something.
“Immortal Lord Yunxi…” Hua Xun looked at the silent Xiao Yunxi with confusion, and was about to jump off the peach branch.
"Don't come down!" Xiao Yunxi suddenly said.
Hua Xun was taken aback, but did not force herself to jump down from the tree branch. She asked, puzzled, "What important matter do you have that you came to see me about?"
Before Xiao Yunxi could respond, she added, "If you want me to move away from White Mist Cliff, then you should go and talk to the Divine Lord yourself."
“When did I…” Xiao Yunxi instinctively retorted, but then, remembering her past words and actions, she fell silent, feeling guilty. After a long while, she said, “I’m sorry.”
Hua Xun's pupils dilated in shock, and she asked incredulously, "Are you apologizing to me?"
Is this person really Xiao Yunxi?
Xiao Yunxi glared at her irritably and said in a low voice, "In the past, I treated you badly and even tried to expel you from the Immortal Sect many times. It was indeed my fault."
Hua Xun could hardly believe his ears: "So, the 'important thing' that Immortal Lord Yunxi was talking about was actually an apology to me in person?"
No wonder he said "no one else is allowed to know," after all, with his pride, how could he let others know that he, a dignified immortal, was apologizing to a demon?
Xiao Yunxi lowered her eyes: "...No."
Hua Xun blinked blankly: "You have other important things to do?"
Thinking of the purpose of her trip, Xiao Yunxi's eyelashes trembled slightly with nervousness, and her beautiful face was flushed. She pressed her lips tightly together, and after a long while, she moved her lips slightly and whispered something.
The boy's head was slightly lowered, and Hua Xun, standing on a tree branch as tall as a person, couldn't hear him at all. She asked in return, "What did you say?"
Xiao Yunxi suddenly raised her head: "I..." She stopped again when she saw the pretty face among the peach blossoms.
Hua Xun grew impatient this time: "Are you going to say no or no...?"
"I like you." Xiao Yunxi suddenly spoke, her eyes frighteningly serious.
The swaying peach grove around them suddenly came to a standstill and quickly returned to normal.
Startled, Hua Xun slipped and fell straight down.
Xiao Yunxi hurriedly stepped forward, supported her arm, and looked at the disheveled hairband on her head, her fingertips twitching.
But upon noticing Hua Xun's visibly startled and stunned expression, his face darkened: "Are my words really that frightening?"
“It was indeed frightening,” Hua Xun nodded frankly. “I wasn’t hallucinating just now, was I? You said you liked…” She pointed to herself.
“…Yes.” Xiao Yunxi nodded.
"Why?" Hua Xun asked, puzzled.
Before he said he "liked" her, and even when she came to meet him today, she thought he disliked her.
"How would I know?" Xiao Yunxi said angrily. "If I knew, I wouldn't have..." His voice trailed off, and after a moment he said in a muffled voice, "Anyway, this immortal lord has finished speaking, so I'm leaving now."
"Xiao Yunxi!" Hua Xun called out to the young man who was about to transform into light and leave.
Xiao Yunxi paused, then turned around after a moment.
The girl stood behind him, her expression no longer showing the confrontation and perfunctory attitude she usually displayed when arguing with him; instead, she was unusually serious.
She pursed her red lips, took a deep breath after a while, and raised her head: "Xiao Yunxi, I am very grateful that you like me."
Xiao Yunxi paused slightly, lowered her eyes, and said irritably, "Are you going to say 'but' next?"
Hua Xun paused for a moment: "However, as you know, I already have someone I like."
The gentle breeze suddenly stopped, and the place seemed so quiet that even breathing was deafening.
Xiao Yunxi looked at the serious-looking girl.
Yes, he had known all along that she already had a supreme god in her heart.
When he realized his own feelings, he already knew he was destined not to have it.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Xiao Yunxi asked in a low voice.
She should have just let him leave.
Hua Xun paused for a moment: "Because you said that 'liking me' is a very important thing, I will also treat it very seriously."
"I know what it feels like to like someone, Xiao Yunxi, and I also know that if you don't like someone, you should reject them seriously."
Xiao Yunxi stared at her without moving for a long time before laughing: "I knew this would be the result."
"You crow, so dull and stubborn, how could you possibly see the good in me, the immortal lord?"
Hua Xun looked at his reddened eyes and, unusually, did not refute him, only softly humming in agreement.
Xiao Yunxi's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she added softly, "She's not that dull."
Hua Xun pursed her lips and remained silent.
Xiao Yunxi gradually fell silent: "...I'm leaving now."
Hua Xun nodded: "Okay."
After pausing for a few moments, Xiao Yunxi was about to fly away, but just as she was about to leave, she turned around and looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Hua Xun asked, puzzled.
Xiao Yunxi strode up to her, gently exhaled, and for the first time followed her heart, reaching out to straighten her disheveled hair ribbon that had come loose from falling from the tree, her movements gentle.
Hua Xun was slightly taken aback.
"The hair ribbon is messed up," the soft ribbon slipped from her fingertips. Xiao Yunxi stared blankly at her empty palm, then curled her lips into a smile. "I'm gone." With that, she transformed into a ball of fire and vanished.
Hua Xun remained standing there, watching the fiery red figure disappear without a trace. After a long while, he sighed silently and turned to fly back to White Mist Cliff.
Then, she stopped in her tracks.
The Divine Lord had left White Mist Cliff at some point and was standing quietly not far away, his body seemingly frozen in time, radiating a holy glow.
A faint smile graced his flawless face as he gazed at her quietly.
Hua Xun felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.
When did the deity arrive? What did he see and hear just now?
A multitude of thoughts flashed through her mind, and Hua Xun asked blankly, "Does the Divine Lord have something to do and need to go out?"
“No,” the deity denied with a smile, his gaze sweeping over her hair ribbon fluttering in the wind. He stepped forward, took her hand, and said, “I’ve come to take you back.”
Hua Xun was slightly taken aback when she saw the Divine Lord naturally take her hand. After hearing his words, she was even more surprised.
She had only been out for less than an hour...
"I'll be back soon, so there's no need for you to come and pick me up, Divine Lord." As she spoke, Hua Xun felt a tingling sensation in the hand that the Divine Lord was holding, and her heart trembled slightly. She struggled a little without realizing it.
The deity held her hand without moving, his smile undiminished: "It's alright."
The moment he finished speaking, golden starlight enveloped him, and the two of them vanished from the spot.
When Hua Xun opened her eyes again, she found herself back at White Mist Cliff.
The deity was holding her hand as they walked towards the palace.
Hua Xun looked at the God's profile. He was still smiling, but she inexplicably felt that the God seemed to be... displeased.
Hua Xun pondered what had just happened: "My Lord, did you... hear everything just now?"
The deity responded gently, "Mm."
Hua Xun's heart skipped a beat: "You heard everything from beginning to end?"
"Um."
Hua Xun chuckled awkwardly, "I never expected that Immortal Lord Yunxi would say 'I like you,' it's completely inexplicable..."
“It’s not inexplicable,” the Divine Lord said with a smile. “Ah Xun is pleasing to people, and Yunxi’s words are quite ordinary.”
Hua Xun's heart pounded a few times, and she turned to look at the God Lord with a puzzled expression: "God Lord, what's wrong?"
"Hmm?" the deity said gently and calmly, "I am unharmed."
“Then you…” Hua Xun was about to say something, but seeing the God’s calm and unwavering expression, she responded in a muffled voice, “Oh.”
The deity turned to look at her: "Yesterday we agreed to continue the story today, would you like to continue?"
Hua Xun was in a state of confusion when she first rejected someone's advances. She was about to postpone it, but when she saw the expression on the God-King's face, she silently changed her mind and nodded.
—She actually saw a hint of hidden expectation in the god's eyes.
The deity smiled gently and walked into the temple with her.
It was still the high platform behind the fairy curtain. The mirror that recorded the story was already floating in mid-air. Hua Xun sat beside the god, watching the storyteller's figure gradually appear in the mirror.
But she couldn't calm her mind no matter what.
What does the deity mean by this?
Did he leave the divine realm in his true form just to bring her back?
According to what he said, the deity must have followed her after she left.
Why did the deity do this?
When the deity hears her say that she "already has someone she likes," will he be suspicious?
And that Xiao Yunxi actually likes her...
The storyteller's voice came to an abrupt end.
Hua Xun was suddenly pulled out of her reverie, glanced at the mirror, and saw that the storyteller was gesturing with a folding fan, the story not yet finished.
She looked up in confusion: "God?"
The deity met her gaze: "If A-Xun is not in the mood today, then let's look at it another day."
Hua Xun looked ashamed: "I'm sorry, Lord God, I was lost in thought just now..."
The deity smiled faintly and shook his head.
Hua Xun was indeed not in the mood to listen to the story at the moment. After thanking the deity, and seeing that the deity was indeed as gentle as ever, she jumped down from the high platform, walked out of the temple, and headed towards the peach grove not far away.
Jiuqing sat on the lotus platform, looking through the shimmering fairy curtain at the girl who had walked to the jade table under the peach tree.
She was troubled by something, let out a long, muffled sigh, and then slumped onto the jade table.
A gentle breeze ruffled the girl's black hair, causing the hem of her turquoise dress and her emerald hair ribbon to flutter in the wind.
Shen Hao's vast and boundless gaze was trapped in one corner, falling on that tiny hair ribbon.
A sudden gust of wind blew, scattering the light hair ribbon from her hair...
Outside the palace.
"Hey!" Hua Xun felt her hair loosen and instinctively straightened up.
Turning her head, she saw her hair ribbon being blown away by the wind, but fortunately it was blocked by a peach branch and was now hanging loosely on it.
Hua Xun hurriedly caught up, jumped onto a tree branch, took off the hair ribbon, and simply tied her slightly messy hair up with the branch.
However, her hair was too loose, and Hua Xun could not fix it no matter what she did. The more anxious she was, the more disheveled her hair became.
Just as she was feeling annoyed, her hand, which was combing her long hair, suddenly bumped into a large, cool hand.
Hua Xun was startled and turned her head to look.
The deity who was just inside the temple has appeared under the tree branch at some point.
That slender, jade-like hand replaced hers, weaving through her hair and patiently and gently combing her long locks.
Hua Xun was stunned, unable to recover for a long time. After a while, she finally came to her senses and hurriedly said, "I can do it myself, no need to trouble yourself..."
“Others can fix A-Xun’s hair ribbon,” the deity said with a sigh, “but can’t I?”
Upon hearing this, Hua Xun could no longer utter a word of refusal. She could only sit stiffly on the tree branch, letting the deity arrange her hair.
The dense aura of the divine lord completely enveloped her.
After an unknown period of time, a perfectly intact flower bud bun appeared vividly in her hair, and the hair ribbon was carefully brushed to her front by the deity.
But the hand in her hair never left; instead, it gently stroked the hairband, its fingertips occasionally brushing against the back of her neck.
Hua Xun's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she smiled: "My Lord, is everything ready?"
"Never," the deity said softly.
Hua Xun looked down in confusion, and the hand that had been caressing her hair ribbon fell onto the skin of the back of her neck.
The soft, slightly cool touch stunned them both.
Hua Xun's body trembled, and she hurriedly tried to move aside, but an invisible yet inescapable hand pressed against the back of her neck, preventing her from escaping.
Hua Xun froze, his voice strained: "My Lord..."
The deity looked up at her, his gaze as intense as gold foil scattered in a clear spring, intently watching her: "Who is the person A-Xun mentioned not long ago, the one she admired?" he asked softly.
Hua Xun's eyes widened suddenly, and she pressed her lips tightly together, afraid that she might unconsciously reveal her true feelings under the temptation.
"Unwilling to speak?" the deity murmured.
The hand pressing against the back of the girl's neck exerted a slight force.
Hua Xun lowered her head following the force. The deity standing under the tree branch looked up and gazed at her intently. Then he slowly stepped forward and gently kissed the girl's lips.
The moment she touched him, Jiuqing thought of the brief dream she had during her meditation.
It turns out that it wasn't witchcraft.
It was a prophecy.
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