He spoke, his eyes unconsciously sweeping over Zi Linling's still undeveloped, flat chest.
Zi Linling's pretty face flushed. She shifted her body to avoid Ye Lingyuan's gaze and shyly said, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
"Didn't you say so yourself!"
Ye Lingyuan muttered inwardly and quickly added, "Alright, alright! This prince misunderstood your meaning. Princess, please don't be angry! May I ask the Princess to state the second answer? This prince will humbly accept!"
After his teasing, Zi Linling couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I'll tell you, but if you dare to misinterpret me again, I'll... I'll..."
Ye Lingyuan quickly said, "You won't let this prince into your room, will you?"
Zi Linling was about to nod but suddenly caught his drift. She said angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting again!"
Ye Lingyuan feigned a wronged look, "When has this prince ever spouted nonsense?"
Suddenly, he seemed to have an epiphany. "So, does the Princess mean that you allow this prince to stay in your room tonight?"
Before Zi Linling could reply, he quickly offered his thanks, "In that case, this prince thanks the Princess for her favor!"
Saying this, he bowed formally.
Zi Linling's face turned even redder. She angrily stomped on Ye Lingyuan's foot and said, "Dream on!"
With that, she broke free from Ye Lingyuan's hand and fled forward.
Ye Lingyuan raised his hand, sniffed the lingering scent of Zi Linling, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face.
He took a step and was beside Zi Linling again, saying, "Princess, you still haven't told this prince the remaining nine answers!"
Zi Linling glared at him, "Spring breezes wither, butterflies fly towards the empty sky!"
"Silent and unmoving, only two insects remain among a hundred flowers!"
"Beautiful scenery, butterflies come in pairs!"
"One day, two people catch a pair of butterflies!"
"Winter passes, bees and butterflies arrive!"
"Reunion in Minzhong, welcoming spring!"
"Qin Ming first meets two-headed snakes!"
"Cold winter..."
"Wait!" Ye Lingyuan interrupted, "Who is Qin Ming?"
His brows furrowed, and the smile on his face vanished.
Zi Linling asked, bewildered, "Who is Qin Ming?"
Ye Lingyuan frowned, "Qin Ming first meets two-headed snakes! Qin Ming!"
Zi Linling studied him carefully for a long time, then finally understood.
This Ye Lingyuan was actually jealous! And he was jealous of someone completely unrelated!
"Hahaha..."
Zi Linling laughed so hard her waist was bent.
She finally stopped laughing and said, "Ye Lingyuan, you are truly a vinegar jar! You can even get jealous over this. I'm impressed! Fine! I don't know who this Qin Ming is. You can investigate yourself!"
"Hahaha..."
After speaking, Zi Linling walked towards the depths of the courtyard, still laughing.
Ye Lingyuan looked at Zi Linling's retreating figure, shaking with laughter, and embarrassedly touched his nose before chasing after her.
As night deepened, Zi Linling washed up and sat on the flower trellis in the courtyard, gazing at the starry sky.
At this moment, she knew that this starry sky was merely a copy from the other side of the Void Star Mirror, but it didn't hinder her from entrusting her longing.
"Dad, Mom, Qianji, are you all well?"
Her murmured voice echoed, and her eyes were already moist.
Suddenly, a jar of wine appeared before her, and then Ye Lingyuan's gentle voice sounded.
"Lin'er, are you missing home?"
He asked, but his tone was certain.
Zi Linling nodded, took a sip from the wine jar, and said, "Ye Lingyuan, it's been three years! I've been on Planet Azure for three years. My longing for my homeland is as strong as this wine! No, it's stronger than this wine!"
"Do you know? In the seventh level of the Ghost Altar, in the Nightmare's dream, I saw my parents. Their hair had turned much whiter, and they looked much more haggard.
"But when I tried to embrace them, my soul actually passed through their bodies. I wanted to tell them I was still alive, but they couldn't hear me. I could only watch them weep tears."
"Now, I've finally found a way back, but I'm told that the path is too long and full of dangers. Of course, I'm not afraid of danger. What I fear is that even if I overcome all the hardships to return, I still won't be able to see them."
She took another large gulp of wine as she spoke.
Ye Lingyuan empathized with her sorrow and grief but didn't know how to comfort her.
In the end, all his comfort turned into one sentence, "Lin'er, you still have this prince. This prince will accompany you all the way!"
After speaking, he took out a zither.
"Ding!"
The zither's melody broke the silence of the night.
"The moon shines brighter on my homeland, my longing travels across the nine continents. With one string, a long song begins, and the world knows no sorrow. The second string transforms into wine, a drunken solace for a thousand woes. The third string, a journey through wind and rain, a youth who knew no sorrow. The fourth string, the dream has awakened, but still no sign of an old friend. The fifth string, upon returning, the graves have sorrow anew. The sixth string, weeping without tears, I ask you, what is sorrow? The seventh string, a turning back into emptiness, a smile that dismisses worldly cares. Henceforth, the green mountains will age, and I will alone watch the eternal sorrow."
Ye Lingyuan's deep voice, coupled with the zither music that encompassed sorrow, freedom, transcendence, and enlightenment, produced a unique sound of the Great Dao.
Zi Linling's sorrow gradually faded, and she entered a peculiar state.
She returned to the beginning of her life, from her first cry at birth to babbling, from toddling to walking steadily, from ignorant innocence to wise maturity, from childlike innocence to cautious planning, from a child to a formidable ghost-hand poison doctor.
The difference was that this time, she was a bystander, witnessing the entire process of transformation.
Zi Linling's mind alternated between clarity and haziness. Her face alternately showed a happy smile and tears of regret.
Her understanding of life deepened continuously, and two extreme and opposite laws, life and death, began to fluctuate within her.
As the fluctuations of the laws of life and death intensified, a Taijitu representing life and death appeared above Zi Linling's head.
It was called the Taijitu of Life and Death because one half of the Yin-Yang fish was filled with vibrant life, representing the law of life, while the other half was filled with endless death energy, representing the law of death.
The laws of life and death continuously flowed, and at their intersection, a large area of space collapsed, and an aura that could annihilate all things radiated from the collapsed area.
Fortunately, after the transformation of the laws of life and death was complete, everything returned to its original state.
As time passed, the Taijitu of Life and Death rapidly shattered, and six dark dots emerged from it.
Then, the six dots slowly enlarged, forming a circle, and began to rotate, once again triggering the collapse of space.