Chapter 19 Chapter 19 "The two branches are intertwined, accompanying each other for life." ...
“…Actually, it’s nothing special. I was just mistaking it for something else.
"As long as you go back with me, I will explain everything to Aunt Danxuan."
Jiu Zhao noticed that Lan Qi subtly paused for a few seconds between these two sentences.
The more considerate he was, the more uneasy Jiu Zhao's conscience became.
He simply took the initiative, reached into the gap between his fingers and interlocked his fingers with Lan Qi's, forcing him to stop.
"Isn't today your birthday? Why are you hiding this? Why are you unwilling to tell me..."
Jiu Zhao started with his usual rhetorical question, which gradually became lighter, revealing a hint of embarrassed tenderness.
The young man whose secret she guessed also turned around, and the sunset glow on the horizon seemed to dye his face a light red.
"I, I'm not trying to express how special my birthday is... I just want you to eat a bowl of longevity noodles with me."
In the classroom, in the crowd, and before the God Emperor, the young man who never loses his composure and has a calm demeanor will also become tongue-tied when he speaks out his long-buried concerns.
Lan Qi swallowed his dry saliva and lowered his head sheepishly under Jiu Zhao's scorching gaze. "...Aunt Danxuan said that after we've shared the longevity noodles, I'll share my good fortune for the coming year with you."
Good luck...?
She was born as the only daughter of the Three Pure Ones God Emperor. There should be no one in this world who is luckier than her.
Hearing this, Jiu Zhao was a little confused, and several thoughts flashed through his mind.
In the dim twilight of the sun, she suddenly felt the warmth coming from Lan Qi's palm.
On both sides of the palace road stood towering walls, and the air wafted the fragrance of grass and flowers from farther away.
An unknown spirit bird was flying through the clouds, its melodious chirping suddenly penetrated into her heart.
Jiu Zhao's heart also followed the bird's chirping and lost its regular beating rhythm. Seeing that Lan Qi lowered his head and didn't look at her, she bit her lower lip. Guilt, emotion, panic, shyness... all intertwined into a strange throbbing.
She didn't know what this throbbing sensation was called.
I just suddenly wanted to do something for Lan Qi.
"...It's your fault. You didn't tell me earlier that your birthday was approaching. I didn't have time to prepare a gift."
After a long while, Jiu Zhao muttered something with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Lan Qi subconsciously raised his eyes and was about to apologize again, but she dragged him to change direction and ran towards an unknown narrow road between high walls.
"Hey, Jiu Zhao——"
"Forget it, just follow me first, and don't be disgusted after you receive it!"
There were no ceremonial guards of goddesses and gods following them, and no fairy maids with frowns and breaths held to accompany them. The two of them let go of their pace and ran on the blue rock bricks of Changye Academy like a herd of deer heading into the forest. The light gauze shawl on Jiu Zhao's arm also scattered in the night wind.
After twists and turns, they ran until their breathing became heavier. Jiu Zhao gasped for breath and finally let go of their clasped hands.
In front of them was an ancient tree that grabbed hold of clouds and rocks, and whose crown was like a cloud.
It is surrounded by a circle of half-person-high wooden carved railings, and countless fiery red prayer ribbons are hung between the branches.
"You should know the origin of the name of Changye Academy, right?"
Jiu Zhao supported his knees, rested for a moment, and looked up to admire the magnificent scene created by the glow emitted by the ribbons.
Lan Qi seemed to sense something and replied softly, "Chang is Chang Tang, and Ye is Ming Ye. The two gods formed a loving couple and founded a school in Erqingtian. Regardless of their status and qualifications, they were welcome to attend. For tens of thousands of years, many students were born there. Later, they tragically perished in the battle between immortals and demons. To commemorate them, the God Emperor inscribed the school officially founded in Erqingtian with the name 'Chang Ye' - meaning 'Eternal benevolence, enlightening the world'."
Lan Qi possessed a photographic memory, even more so than simply reciting a well-known passage from the Three Pure Ones. Having studied at Changye Academy for over ten thousand years, he was also well aware of the immense efficacy of the prayer tree before him, with students always hanging ribbons to pray for them during festivals and before exams.
So the gift Jiu Zhao gave him was to pray with him?
As he thought this, the young man's expression changed, and he was about to show his emotion. However, in the blink of an eye, he saw Jiu Zhao climbing up with her hands and feet, her figure disappearing among the lush leaves. As she moved, the tree trunk shook, and it was unclear what she was doing.
“…”
Lan Qi couldn't help but feel a headache.
He held his forehead and quickly looked around to make sure that no one had noticed what Jiu Zhao had done. Then he lowered his voice and reluctantly advised, "Jiu Zhao, please come down quickly. If anyone sees you treating the prayer tree like this, I'm afraid the Emperor will receive countless anonymous letters of complaint tomorrow."
"Don't worry, you keep watch for me."
Jiu Zhao naturally dragged him into the camp of accomplices.
She was slender, not yet fully grown, and she moved busily among the branches. Finally, she clapped her hands and laughed out loud, "Found it!"
As she spoke, she reached out to the top of the tree, untied two inconspicuous red ribbons, and broke off a pair of tender branches.
"Lan Qi, I'm coming down, please catch me!"
Laughing, Jiu Zhao suddenly jumped down from the top of a tree that was more than ten meters high.
Lan Qi's actions were faster than his brain, and he rushed forward to act as a cushion.
Jiu Zhao's falling body crashed into his arms. They both cried out in unison and rolled on the brick floor in each other's arms for several rounds before they stopped.
"Are you okay?"
Without bothering to brush off the dust from fallen leaves on his long clothes, Lan Qi pulled Jiu Zhao, who was lying in his arms, and kept watching.
"It's okay. I have the hardest phoenix bones in the world. What's this little pain?"
Jiu Zhao wiped his face, not caring at all.
She pulled Lan Qi to sit against the fence together, and spread out her palms as if offering a treasure, "Look, this is my gift for you!"
Flowing ribbons and tender branches.
Lan Qi couldn't figure out the functions of these two things, or how they could be related to the gift.
Jiu Zhao kept it a secret, put the thing on his knees, then picked up a ribbon and a branch and quickly weaved them together.
In no time, a red and green bracelet appeared in her palm.
Jiu Zhao grabbed Lan Qi's wrist and carefully put the bracelet through, which was exactly the right size for him.
She followed suit and braided a smaller one, half acting coquettishly and half ordering Lan Qi to put it on her.
The moment the two bracelets took root on their respective wrists, a wandering white light suddenly appeared, and the ribbons and branches became tighter and tighter, and the gap between them and the skin became smaller and smaller. Finally, Lan Qi tried it, and it became impossible to take it off.
"The true name of this tree is Acacia Tree. It was told to me by the oldest teacher in the academy.
"The Acacia tree has intertwined branches. Two gods planted it together, hoping that they would love each other and spend their lives together.
"After the acacia tree grew, they also hung the first prayer ribbon. However, the wish was in the heart, not in the pen. The original ribbon was empty, unlike the ones now filled with wishes, which are attached with a layer of prohibition that cannot be seen."
Jiu Zhao fiddled with his bracelet as he spoke, his eyes brighter than the stars that quietly filled the sky.
After listening to the story, Lan Qi also had an idea of the origin of the ribbon on his wrist.
"Are these the two that the two Supreme Gods Changtang and Mingye hung back then?"
He raised his left hand, and the bright light made his wrist look thin and his knuckles look like jade, without a single flaw.
Jiu Zhao nodded slightly.
She moved her right hand, which was also wearing a bracelet, closer and placed it next to Lan Qi's bracelet.
"Brother Lan Qi, this is my gift to you for your 26,000th birthday.
"Love in the same ring, they will accompany each other for life."
…
Love is love, hate is hate.
The girl, who was honored as a goddess, lived for over 20,000 years, but her emotions were always passionate and straightforward.
Her eyes were sparkling, her face was rosy, and her lips were more graceful than the roses blooming in the garden of Changxi Palace.
When words containing strong emotions came out, the calmest lake in Lan Qi's eyes inevitably began to surge.
Breaking through his usual self-restraint, he suddenly pulled Jiu Zhao into his arms without saying a word.
The young man's embrace was so hot, and the arms crossed from behind seemed to melt Jiu Zhao into his bones and blood.
Jiu Zhao endured the pain from his shoulder blades and responded to Lan Qi's enthusiasm, urging him joyfully, "Wishes are most effective under the blessing tree... Make a wish, Brother Lan Qi, I want to know what you want."
"...Zhao Zhao, only you can give me what I want."
At some point, the boy's voice transformed into the magnetic and deep voice of a young man.
Lan Qi's slightly cool lips approached Jiu Zhao's hot earlobe, the touch of ice and fire, love and obsession, aroused the most primitive impulse.
Jiu Zhao trembled for a moment, his lips opening and closing unconsciously: "...What do you want?"
It wasn't Lan Qi's voice that answered her.
The boy's fingers slowly stroked her back through the fabric, again and again.
Then the itchiness penetrated into my heart like a swarm of ants.
Jiu Zhao's waist completely softened.
At this moment, she is like a vine wrapped around a tree trunk, a flower blooming with the blessing of rain and dew.
It was difficult to express in words, so she simply used her voice as soft as spring water to call out to Lan Qi over and over again.
"Lan Qi, Lan Qi, Lan Qi..."
After an unknown number of sounds, the sharp blade pierced through the clothes and stabbed into the skin, making a "swish" sound in my ears.
A sharp pain suddenly burst out from the back of my heart.
Lan Qi pinched Jiu Zhao's neck, forcing her arched body away from him.
With her other hand, she slowly and methodically smeared the blood stained on her fingertips onto the bright and colorful dress that looked like a blooming red lotus.
His heart was pierced and blood gushed out of his throat.
In severe pain, Jiu Zhao tried to ask why, but his throat was blocked by the hot liquid and he could only make choking sounds.
Lan Qi lowered his eyes and looked down at her, smiling faintly, his eyebrows and eyes were elegant and incomparable.
"You've humiliated me for years, so of course I want you dead."
…
All the scenes were turned upside down, and the green trees, blood, and moon-white clothes quickly faded into black and white.
“Hehe——”
Jiu Zhao covered her heart and gasped for breath. She could no longer maintain her meditation posture and curled up on the cushion, her body trembling and cold sweat dripping - the pain of having her flesh pierced was still frightening.
It was unknown how long it took before Jiu Zhao opened her eyes again. Her pale face made her look like a dead female corpse.
On the long table, in the flowerpot, the Mind-Captivating Flower, which had grown luxuriantly by absorbing the power of the inner demon, was ignited by the red light and was turning into ashes.
Jiu Zhao narrowed the corners of her wet eyes and thought hard for a moment before she realized that the red light was the phoenix fire released from her body when her life was in danger.
"Congratulations! You've escaped from the demonic realm in less than an incense stick of time."
Fuxu withdrew his gaze from the charred soil. He said congratulations, but his expression did not show joy.
Jiu Zhao followed the direction of his gaze and saw a net formed in the air.
The translucent sticky silk floats in the air without any support. The purple spider, the size of a grain of rice, works hard on the web.
However, the Internet is not just the Internet.
Except for the spider silk on the outermost edge, the remaining connecting veins have all disappeared, and the spider web has become a medium for broadcasting scenes.
The scene that was happening on it was what happened between her and Lan Qi in the illusion.
Arguing, waiting for reconciliation, breaking off gifts... and then accidental death.
Fuxu didn't say anything, so Jiuzhao could only stand stiffly and watch it with him from beginning to end.
The scene finally freezes on Lan Qi's face as he says nonchalantly, "I want you dead."
Taking a deep breath, Jiu Zhao couldn't decide whether it was embarrassing for her to continue to be sentimental in the illusion after being abandoned by Lan Qi, or it was more embarrassing to accompany her current husband and watch her and her "ex-husband" fall in love for the first time.
She tensed her limbs and refused to move, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
After a while, Fuxu spoke calmly, "However, being killed by the inner demon in the illusion and escaping cannot be considered a success."
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