New Year's Day extra-1
*The timeline is based on Ji Wang's first life.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated when Bu Jiu, having just dealt with a minor dispute within his own clan, realized that three days had passed without his return.
He took the document handed to him by a member of his clan, but before he could open it, a spirit bird fluttered down, carrying a crumpled letter in its beak.
When the three large characters “Letter to My Wife” caught his eye, Bu Jiu’s eyebrows twitched. He brushed away the crumbs of pastry stuck to the letter and slowly unfolded it.
Letter to my wife:
My dear, the family matters are settled.
The disciples were slacking off in the spiritual fields behind the mountain, where the weeds were growing vigorously.
Those few rows of Jade Dew Cabbage practiced a set of sword techniques on their own in the yard this morning, and the moves had a touch of your spirit.
Ah Huang has been barking at the mountain gate for half a day, probably because I forgot to feed him.
Everything is peaceful, and all things are fulfilling their functions.
I'm the only one who's not good enough; I'm crying.
My dearest, return quickly. — Written with tears in my eyes, on a cold stove and in a chilly quilt, by Ji Wang.
At the very bottom of the letter was a line of tiny, crooked words, as if added in a last struggle: You don't have to reply... Take care of yourself.
Bu Jiu's gaze swept over the first few lines, remaining relatively calm.
"Family matters are settled"—well, that's reliable enough.
"The disciples were slacking off in the spirit field"—Bu Jiu could almost imagine Ji Wang feeling guilty when he wrote "slacking off," his lips curving slightly before quickly smoothing out the rest.
"Jade Dew Cabbage...practiced a set of sword techniques on his own."
Bu Jiu's fingertips paused.
He stared at the line of text, a clear hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, as if confirming whether he had misread it. Then, that doubt turned into helplessness.
What kind of cabbage sword practice is this... This guy must have randomly infused the spiritual plants with all sorts of spiritual power again, or researched some strange formation and placed it in the vegetable patch.
Last time they made carrots sing in the middle of the night, but this time they've gone too far and started wielding swords. What a joke.
He could almost see the pitiful cabbages in the yard dancing in strange poses, while a certain culprit stood by, looking pitiful and longing for someone. His forehead throbbed with pain.
Further down, it says, "Ah Huang barked for half a day," and Bu Jiu could almost hear the stupid dog's loud yet meaningless barking.
Very well, even the dogs can't have peace.
Then there's the phrase, "All is well, and all things are fulfilling their duties."
Bu Jiu's gaze lingered on this sentence for a moment. How calm and restrained it was, how much it considered the big picture, as if all the chaos and turmoil before it were insignificant.
But beneath this carefully crafted facade of normalcy, the familiar air of cheating, almost bursting off the page, is already palpable.
Sure enough, the gaze shifted downwards to the line, "I'm the only one who's bad. I'm crying."
These seven characters, with ink seemingly deeper and heavier than elsewhere, seem to penetrate the paper, carrying a childlike sense of grievance.
Bu Jiu's fingers tightened slightly as he held the letter.
He could imagine Ji Wang writing those words. Perhaps he had been staring blankly at the empty room for a while, struck by the loneliness of the past few days; perhaps it was just a sudden inspiration, a feeling that this was the most touching way to write it; or perhaps it was a combination of all of the above.
But regardless of which one it was, the desired effect was achieved.
Bu Jiu sighed. When he saw the final signature, even though he knew it was a lie, his heart still clenched a little.
He closed his eyes and sighed again. The sigh was heavy, as if exhaling all the dust and fatigue from the journey, startling the tribesmen around him who thought the plan had gone wrong. They twitched their ears but dared not speak.
Bu Jiu carefully folded the letter and put it into the hidden pocket closest to his heart.
He then turned around and gave a brief instruction to the clansmen standing by: "The rest of the matters shall be handled as previously agreed. I have urgent business to attend to."
His face remained expressionless, but upon closer inspection, the tribespeople noticed a slight curve to his usually tightly pursed lips.
Before Bu Jiu could finish speaking, his figure had already transformed into a gentle breeze, sweeping past the lingering morning mist, and sped off in the direction he had come from, towards that home where "the stove was cold and the quilt was chilly," "cabbage was used for sword practice," and "dogs barked and people cried."
Bu Jiu landed silently in the center of the courtyard. Before he could even wipe the dew off his shoulders, he saw that the few rows of Jade Dew Cabbage in the yard were indeed trembling slightly with a strange yet regular rhythm. When Ah Huang saw him return, it wagged its tail like a windmill, but wisely stopped barking.
He was about to restore the cabbages to their original state when he heard a soft creak as the door to the main room was pushed open.
Ji Wang leaned against the door, a thin blanket loosely draped over him. Warm yellow light flowed from behind him, enveloping him in a soft glow.
He looked at Bujiu in the courtyard and said in a low voice, "You still know how to come back."
Before he finished speaking, he had already come to Bujiu, opened his arms, and embraced him.
His arms slowly closed, finally encircling Bu Jiu's waist tightly, pulling the person in front of him into his warm embrace. His chin gently rested on Bu Jiu's shoulder, his breath nestled in the other's neck, and after a long while, he let out a soft, satisfied sigh.
The breath brushed against Bu Jiu's ear: "...Why did you take so long?"
This was a question tinged with concern.
Bu Jiu raised his hand and patted Ji Wang's back twice: "It's only been a few days." He said.
Upon hearing his words, Ji Wang responded with dissatisfaction: "Several days is a long time, and I haven't even received a reply to my letter."
Bu Jiu's gaze passed over Ji Wang's shoulder, looked at the few cabbages that had finally quieted down, as if they were peeking out, and then swept over Ah Huang, who was sitting on the side with its tail swaying gently.
"I returned immediately after everything was settled," he explained simply, then paused before adding, seemingly somewhat helplessly, "I saw the letter; it's well-written. I'll save it later."
Ji Wang agreed, but did not let go immediately. He hugged her quietly for a while before turning his face away slightly. "Next time you go, take me with you. It'll be good to have someone to look after you. Otherwise, I'll leave a telepathic message. If you hear some inappropriate ramblings in a proper setting... don't blame me."
Bu Jiu was taken aback by his words, then felt the unmistakable clinginess beneath his calm exterior: "If you have nothing else to do... let's go together next time."
Whether the "telepathic" threat was real, or just another form of someone's coquettishness, is no longer important at this moment.
The important thing is that the person is back, right in my arms, and in the years to come, we will probably be entangled in this cycle of one person being unreasonable and the other indulging.
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