The night in Qingqiu arrived more gently than anywhere else in the primordial wilderness.
There was no scorching heat of ten suns blazing in the sky, nor the clamor of the lich war drums. Only the rustling of the wind through the peach grove, like whispers between lovers.
Outside the Cave of Rebirth, the land scorched by the three-legged golden crow had been restored by the Fox Emperor's great magic.
New peach trees sprouted tender buds, and deep within the oldest forest, a **"Drunken Flower Pavilion"**, naturally carved from white jade, was hidden amidst a shower of pink blossoms.
Shen Qingqiu knelt in the pavilion, before her a holographic extraction device (disguised as a crystal alchemy furnace) brought from the cyber world, now exuding an ancient charm.
She was brewing wine.
Or rather, she was conducting a precise alchemy concerning "time" and "matter."
"Seventeen, hand me that bottle of 'Dawn Dew'." Shen Qingqiu stretched out her hand without turning her head.
Her fingers were slender and long, the tips glistening with peach blossom juice, a faint pink hue.
A large hand steadily placed the jade bottle in hers.
Seventeen sat cross-legged beside her, having changed out of his blood-stained battle robes and into a loose, moon-white silk robe, the collar slightly open, revealing the faint, dark red demonic markings on his collarbone.
He held a palm-leaf fan, diligently fanning her small stove.
"The fox clan's brewing technique is too crude," Shen Qingqiu said softly, adjusting the temperature of the fire (actually, she was adjusting the molecular resonance frequency).
"They only know how to pile up spiritual fruits and wait for fermentation. They don't know that true wine is brewed from emotions."
She poured the bottle of morning dew collected from the highest peak of Qingqiu into the stove.
Sizzle— White smoke rose, the aroma instantly becoming ten times stronger.
[Civilization Library · Alchemy]
[Target: Molecular Recombination] [Recipe: Peach Blossom (Essence of Wood) + Morning Dew (Rootless Water) + Starlight (Gravity of the Nine Heavens).]
[Finished Product: Nine-Turn Peach Blossom Wine (Liquid Golden Elixir).]
In the primordial world, Laozi's Nine-Turn Golden Elixir was solid; it was medicine, used to prolong life.
But what Shen Qingqiu refined was liquid, wine, used to… intoxicate.
"Alright." Shen Qingqiu extinguished the fire.
She picked up a transparent luminous cup and poured a stream of amber liquid from the furnace.
The wine was viscous like honey, rippling in the cup, reflecting the dazzling Milky Way overhead.
"This cup is called **'Flowing Clouds'**."
Shen Qingqiu picked up the cup and turned to hand it to Seventeen.
Her eyes, more captivating than the wine itself, sparkled.
"Try it? My…guinea pig."
Seventeen looked at her.
Her fiery red dress was reflected in those deep purple eyes.
He took the wine glass.
Without hesitation, he tilted his head back and drank it all.
Boom!
The wine didn't burn his throat.
Instead, it was an extremely long, extremely gentle flow of heat that slid down his esophagus into his stomach, then exploded instantly, transforming into billions of tiny spiritual energy particles that seeped into his limbs and bones.
Those meridians dormant within him, aching from absorbing too much malevolent energy, received unprecedented comfort at this moment.
It was like a pair of gentle hands smoothing the wrinkles on his soul.
"Delicious." Seventeen put down the glass.
A blush quickly spread across his cheeks.
His eyes began to glaze over; the usual meticulous calm was fading, replaced by a languid, almost infatuated… "human presence."
"Data monitoring…" Seventeen shook his head, trying to maintain his composure.
"Alcohol content 45%... Spiritual energy concentration 99%... Central nervous system... Suppression lifted..."
"Don't resist." Shen Qingqiu pressed her index finger to his lips.
She leaned closer, their breaths mingling.
"Seventeen, here, you don't need to be sober all the time."
"You can be drunk."
"Even... you can make mistakes."
Seventeen looked at her so close.
The emotions amplified by alcohol made him want to do only one thing at that moment.
He suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
"Qingqiu..."
His voice was hoarse, filled with a deep intoxication and dependence.
"I don't want to wake up."
Shen Qingqiu leaned into his arms, her fingers playing with his loose silver hair.
"Then don't wake up."
"Tonight, this ten-mile peach blossom forest belongs only to us."
...The moon was high in the sky.
The wind rose, the petals fell.
Seventeen seemed truly drunk.
He swayed as he stood up, his wide white robe billowing in the wind, appearing exceptionally elegant.
He didn't reach for the menacing **[Slaying Evil]] longsword.
Instead, he casually broke off a peach branch.
"Qingqiu."
He stood in the rain of petals, turning to look at her.
That one glance contained a thousand years of deep affection.
"I'll dance for you...."
He moved.
No longer the precise, millimeter-scale tactical movements meant for killing.
But a free and spontaneous rhythm, as if one with the heavens and earth.
The peach branch in his hand wasn't a blade, yet it was sharper than any blade.
He swung his sword.
*Whoosh—* The falling petals weren't shattered.
But rather, drawn by the gentle sword energy, they gathered around him, forming a long pink dragon.
He was dancing with his sword.
He was also composing poetry.
Shen Qingqiu sat in the pavilion, taking out a replica of the Fuxi Qin borrowed from the Fox Emperor.
*Zheng—* The qin music began.
Clear and melodious, like a mountain stream, like a secluded orchid in a valley.
Seventeen's swordplay changed with the music.
Sometimes like a raging storm, sweeping and powerful, carrying the domineering aura of someone emerging from a sea of blood.
Sometimes like a gentle rain, tender and lingering, carrying the gentle affection for the person before him.
The countless peach blossoms became his dance partners.
The bright moonlight became his spotlight.
Shen Qingqiu watched the man dancing in the rain of blossoms.
In a daze, she seemed to see the boy who held an umbrella for her in the cyberpunk rain, the mecha that shielded her from gunfire on the interstellar battlefield, the groom in red welcoming his bride in the ghost village.
Countless figures overlapped.
becoming the... drunken, sword-wielding immortal before her.
"Seventeen..." Shen Qingqiu stopped playing the zither.
Her eyes slightly moist.
Just then.
Seventeen's swordplay ceased. The long dragon formed from countless flower petals didn't dissipate.
Instead, guided by the peach branch in his hand, it roared towards Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu didn't dodge.
Because she knew he would never harm her.
Whoosh— The flower dragon shattered before her.
It transformed into a grand, gentle, fragrant rain of petals, engulfing her completely.
Seventeen discarded the peach branch.
He trudged through the fallen petals, step by step, to her.
Then, he knelt on one knee.
His white robe was already soaked with the fragrance of flowers.
His purple eyes shone brilliantly in the moonlight.
He took something out of his robes (actually, his storage space).
It wasn't a magical artifact, nor a divine weapon.
It was a… peach wood hairpin, carved with the energy of his sword while he was practicing his swordplay.
At the tip of the hairpin was carved a lifelike blue lotus.
"This is for you." Seventeen's voice trembled slightly, a mixture of drunkenness and nervousness.
"I see those gods fighting, all vying for some kind of destiny, some kind of innate treasure."
He raised his head and gently inserted the wooden hairpin into Shen Qingqiu's hair.
The movement was as gentle as touching a fragile dream.
"But I don't want to fight for those things."
"All these gods and Buddhas are fighting for the Great Dao..."
"But I only want you... your smile."
Shen Qingqiu stroked the wooden hairpin in her hair.
Although it was just ordinary peach wood, in her heart, it was more precious than the Eastern Emperor Bell.
"Fool."
Tears fell from Shen Qingqiu's eyes.
She leaned down, cupped his face, and kissed away the slight redness at the corner of his eyes.
"You won."
"A long, long time ago... you won."
... Night deepened.
In the Drunken Flower Pavilion, the aroma of wine filled the air.
Seventeen rested her head on Shen Qingqiu's lap and fell into a deep sleep.
His breathing was steady, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
His right arm, adorned with black and gold starlight, now hung quietly at his side, its demonic runes softening and dimming.
Shen Qingqiu gently patted his back, as if soothing a child.
She looked up at the stars in the sky.
This primordial world was vast and cruel.
Every day, gods and demons fell, every day, races perished.
But at this moment, in this small corner of Qingqiu.
Peace and tranquility prevailed.
"Seventeen," Shen Qingqiu murmured softly.
"If only time could stop at this moment."
Buzz—
Just then.
The **[Bronze Fragment]** in Shen Qingqiu's arms suddenly vibrated.
A scorching heat emanated from the fabric.
Shen Qingqiu's expression changed slightly.
She sensed it.
Deep underground in Qingqiu, a wave originating from the same source as this fragment was awakening.
That was… the second fragment of the Eastern Emperor Bell. This was also the clarion call that shattered this beautiful dream…
Shen Qingqiu lowered her head and glanced at the sleeping Seventeen.
She didn't wake him.
She simply clutched the burning fragment tightly in her hand, a resolute glint in her eyes.
"Sleep, my love."
"When you wake up…"
"We'll go and reclaim what belongs to us… the scepter."
The wind continued to blow.
The peach blossoms continued to fall.
The wine of this night was called "Drunken Red Dust."
It was the heart that was drunk, but what awoke… was the sword that was about to rewrite this primordial destiny.