The moment the light returned, it was as if time stood still. Just as Pangu created the world, a tiny crack was suddenly smashed open in the endless darkness, and light rushed in like a tidal wave.
This crack, though initially so small, was filled with endless hope, like a star suddenly appearing in the night sky, giving people endless anticipation.
As the light gradually penetrated, the darkness was pushed back step by step. Every ray of light was like the pulse of life, warm and passionate, gently caressing Li Mingke's eyes. In that instant, she seemed to hear the joy leap in her heart.
Light gradually filled the world, and her vision became clear and bright. She saw everything around her, those once familiar yet strange scenes, now so vivid.
She blinked, and before her stood her anxious mother and her aunt with a knowing look on her face.
“Mother…Auntie…” she reached out her hand.
Li Zengqing clenched one hand tightly and used the other to brush away the stray hairs blocking her eyes. "Mingke, can you see?"
Li Mingke nodded.
But she soon noticed something was wrong.
Unlike before, this time, she seemed to be able to distinguish each color more clearly, or rather, each color showed a greater difference from the others, and the internal color variations were more pronounced.
If a rainbow only has seven colors, then in her eyes it would be more than that.
Li Zengqing's eyes held a gentle joy, but Li Mingke noticed the fine lines at the corners of her mother's eyes, barely visible unless looked closely. A few strands of white hair had even sprouted at her temples, hidden beneath her thick black hair, yet so conspicuous in Li Mingke's eyes.
"Mother..." she called out again, her voice trembling slightly.
Cultivators have long lives, so what left a mark on a mother's life?
She then looked at her aunt, Long Yinshuangshuang. Unlike Li Zengqing, Long Yinshuangshuang was blank, her eyes unfocused, and her fingers unconsciously twisting her handkerchief.
Following Li Mingke's gaze, Li Zengqing nodded slightly and whispered to the person beside her, "Shuangshuang, you're tired, go and rest!"
The dragon's roar, like a dream awakening, echoed through the frost.
"Sister... okay... I'll go rest for a bit." She fled the room as if she were escaping.
"Mother... Auntie, she..."
"It's alright." Li Zengqing gently sat down by her bedside, letting Li Mingke lean against him.
Li Mingke lowered her head, staring at the pattern on the quilt. It was embroidered with a small flower that grew locally in Xizhou, with tiny petals clustered together. She unconsciously fiddled with the embroidery thread with her fingers.
The two were speechless for a moment.
“Mother… Zhao Yanmo…” she choked up.
“Him?” Li Zengqing quickly replied, “His master sent an urgent letter saying he needed to see him, so he didn’t have time to say goodbye to you. He went back to Shennong Valley first.”
Li Mingke listened, biting her lower lip.
"Really..." Her teeth clenched tightly.
"He went back and forth to Shennong Valley, that's great..."
He kept saying "okay," but the bedding in front of him was gradually getting wet, and the water dripped onto the little flower.
The small flowers on the quilt seemed to sway in the wind and rain, gradually being soaked by the rainwater, blending into a hazy color with the surroundings.
For the first time, those eyes shed tears in another body.
Li Mingke sniffed. She tried her best to hold back, but tears streamed down her face like a burst dam.
She wiped it with the back of her hand, but only wet her hand. She simply curled up her legs, buried her head in her knees, and wrapped the blanket around her uncontrollable sobs.
Li Zengqing tenderly stroked her back.
She held the person in her arms tightly, feeling their slight trembling.
At first, it was just soft sobbing, as if suppressed pain was searching for an outlet. Each faint breath carried endless sorrow, and tears silently slid down, soaking her clothes.
As time went on, the sobs grew louder and turned into uncontrollable wailing, like a broken heart crying out.
She stayed by his side silently, offering comfort with warm hugs. She also understood that some things cannot be healed immediately.
The cries echoed in the air, as if trying to express all the sorrow.
She could only listen quietly.
A sobbing voice said, "He was a very good person. He liked to play the piano and laugh, but his laughter seemed to contain a lot of sadness. His eyes were beautiful, but like a deep pool of water, I couldn't understand them."
"Although he always played the piano in a chaotic manner, he always tried his best, which made it hard to criticize him."
"He is my apprentice..."
Her voice sounded muffled, as if it had been covered up.
"Zhao Yanmo is Li Mingke's apprentice..."
Li Zengqing sighed and said nothing.
A petal fell outside the window.
The person in his arms gradually calmed down.
"Yes, he's a very good person."
Li Zengqing only said this one sentence.
When Li Mingke saw Long Yinshuangshuang again, he was following his mother out of the door, and the three of them almost bumped into each other.
"Auntie..."
"Keke, you...can you see?"
"Um."
Li Mingke noticed that Long Yinshuangshuang's eyes were a little red.
She slowly lowered her head.
Long Yinshuangshuang grabbed her arm.
"Come on, let's have something good to eat today. I've specially booked a table of delicious food at a fancy restaurant!"
"Huh?"
“Keke, you couldn’t see before, so you had to stay at home. Now that your eyesight is better, you have to go explore the whole area!”
She grabbed the person and rushed them out.
Li Mingke watched Long Yinshuangshuang's retreating figure.
A string of blue beads hung from the back of Long Yinshuangshuang's head, somewhat similar to the disguise beads that Li Mingke used to wear, and was embedded in her braided hair.
Her hair swayed with each step, the beads clinking and jingling.
Xizhou only has one large restaurant, and they sat in the most upscale room.
The dishes were already served on the table, and it was clear that the fishing industry in Xizhou was thriving, as several of the dishes were fresh river delicacies.
Long Yinshuangshuang placed a piece of fish into Li Mingke's bowl.
"Keke, try it, it's very fresh."
Li Mingke put the fish in his mouth and found it to be soft, tender, and sweet.
At the dinner table, Li Mingke finally couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, where did you buy the beads in your hair?"
Long Yinshuang touched her head and said, "This is a specialty of Yingzhou Immortal Island. It can't be found anywhere else. Because it's blue, we call it Blue Pearl. These pearls are very common on Yingzhou Immortal Island. Children use them as toys, and women make them into jewelry."
"Very common?" Li Mingke asked again, "The Suihou Pearl of the Empress Longyin, a national treasure, is also like this."
"Oh, that thing, the Suihou Pearl, it was actually just an earring of Empress Longyin. She woke up one day and found it missing. Little did she know that the First Emperor had picked it up." Longyin Shuangshuang shrugged. "Who knew it would become a national treasure and be shrouded in such mystery."
Li Mingke was dumbfounded.
Long Yin Shuangshuang asked her, "Do you want some? There are tons of the same ones on Yingzhou Immortal Island. How about I make them into earrings for you to wear and play with?"
Li Mingke rubbed his forehead.
So all those people in Daye were fighting over was just an earring? Or the kind that's commonplace on Yingzhou Immortal Island?
"The imperial family used the Suihou Pearl to select the emperor..."
Long Yinshuangshuang rolled her eyes. "Those people are out of their minds!"
Li Mingke nodded emphatically.
After finishing their meal, the group stood quietly by the island, gazing at the shimmering water under the sunlight.
Several fishing boats still bobbed on the waves, drifting alone as if they were guardians. The owners of these boats, the fishermen, were busy making a living.
The fishing nets wielded in their hands as if they were tools for communicating with the sea. Each haul in of the net embodied their desire for a harvest, and each fish represented their hope for survival.
A gentle breeze caressed the three people's faces, stirring ripples in their hearts.
The distant landmass appeared and disappeared, hidden behind the azure waves.
"Shuangshuang, we're going back now," Li Zengqing said.
"Mmm," Long Yin Shuangshuang murmured softly.
She faced the mother and daughter, sunlight streaming behind her.
"I don't know when we'll see each other again."
Li Zengqing: "We can come to you anytime you want. The Li family of Pengzhou will always keep its doors open for you. Or, if you ever have an idea, our Li family has good young men!"
The two sisters laughed at the same time, and Li Mingke also covered her mouth and chuckled.
As the three chatted and laughed, a luxury ship sailed in from afar.
Li Zengqing took his sister's hand this time, "Shuangshuang, let's go."
Finally, Long Yin Shuangshuang waved to the two people on the boat, and the boat gradually sailed away until it disappeared on the distant horizon.
A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, and she remembered what Li Zengqing had said to her before she left:
"Believe that a hundred years is but a dream; the world is vast, so let us wander freely."
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