"Lanlan... That day when we saw the Purple Star in the sky, it wasn't a sign of an emperor's demise. Instead, it meant I was fated to face a great calamity. I promise you that if I can overcome it, I'll roam the world with you, exorcise demons together. But if I can't..."
Gu Yuan seemed to fall into a long silence as he wrote up to this point. The tip of his pen tapped on the lantern repeatedly, leaving several ink stains. Finally, he wrote another passage: "Lanlan, being your husband for two lifetimes is the greatest honor of my life. In this life, I failed to protect you. If there's an afterlife, I want to be a bit selfish. Can you protect me instead..."
"Lanlan... I love you, and I can't bear to part with you."
I hugged the sky lantern and cried for I don't know how long. My throat was so choked that I could hardly breathe.
My words came out in broken fragments: "Gu Yuan... I love you too, so much..."
I cried so much that even the white - haired ferryman got annoyed, complaining that my wailing was too noisy.
"Miss, your cries are more mournful than those of the lonely ghosts in the River of Forgetfulness."
"Mind your own business! I'm a widow now. What's wrong with me crying?" I wiped my tears, still clutching the lantern and wanting to cry more.
"If one is gone, just find another. As the saying goes, there are always suitors around a widow. When one dies, find another one."
I used to find this old man quite amiable, but now I took back that thought.
"If you don't say a word, no one will think you're mute." I pouted and said fiercely.
"Alas, fine. Seeing you cry so sorrowfully, you must have a wish. Tell it, and let's all have some fun." The old man frowned and leaned in front of me. Looking at my tear - streaked face, he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
I glared at him angrily and sobbed:
"What? If I tell you, can you make it come true?"
"One should always have a wish. Maybe it'll come true." The old man stroked his beard and said with a kind smile when he saw I stopped crying.
"I wish my husband could come back to life. Can you do that?"
I was not nice to him because he interrupted my mourning.
"Well... let me think..."
I was too lazy to care about him anymore. I turned my back to him and kissed the lantern deeply with tears in my eyes.
After I let go, the lantern flew back into the night sky.
"If you do a good deed every day, maybe he'll come back soon."
Such words were only good enough to deceive children.
Seeing that I didn't believe him, the old man hooked his finger slightly. A firefly flew onto the back of his hand. He unscrewed the lid of the bottle of the eight tears and dropped the last drop of tear onto the firefly.
The light on the firefly became a bit brighter. Then it flapped its wings and flew back to my palm.
I remembered Gu Yuan once said that fireflies could light up his way home.
Could it be... Before I could think further, the white - haired old man had already turned around and walked back into the cabin.
"Miss, it's windy at night. Do you want to go back?"
I didn't ask any more questions. I gently held out my palm, and the firefly always stayed close.
"Old man, take me back."
"Sure thing!"
As he spoke, the old man rowed the oars and took me back to the shore of the Underworld.
...
Five years later.
I had graduated from college for a year. Now my spiritual shrine had grown to include more than a dozen mediums. All five types of spiritual beings were there, along with ghosts.
The shrine was doing quite well and had a good reputation.
Don't be fooled by its small size. It was well - known far and wide. The Heavenly Emperor's Dragon Scale used to be one of the spirits in my shrine. Although he had left, he still came to visit us old friends from time to time. His prestige was truly remarkable.
Moreover, I had connections in both the underworld and the mortal world. No one would dare to provoke me when I took action.
One day, Ji Xiang and I had just dealt with a strange case of an old woman possessed by a ghost. We were on our way home.
"Little Medium, I want to ask you something. This question has bothered me for five years."
He looked at me seriously, but with his naturally comical face, he still didn't look very serious even when he tried.
"If it's been in your mind for five years, it must be stinky. Better not let it out."
Hearing this, Ji Xiang was so angry that his nose almost turned crooked.
"Humph, you don't want me to say it, but I will. How did the Heavenly Emperor die five years ago? You may let him take the secret to the grave, but you can't make me do the same!"
Goodness, he had held this question for five years. He really had patience.
I gave him a faint smile and said, "It's nothing. Just a drop of blood."
Ji Xiang was confused and didn't understand.
"Back then, I once scratched the Heavenly Emperor's hand and took a drop of his blood with a handkerchief. His blood did have a powerful self - healing ability. So I mixed all kinds of things into that drop of blood. By accident, I found that the white snake in the hands of the Twelve Demon Concubines could destroy the Heavenly Emperor's powerful self - healing ability and even cause a backlash."
"So there was snake venom on the Red Sky Sword?"
"What else?"
Ji Xiang looked at me in surprise, looking as happy as if he had won the lottery.
"I knew it! It must be snake venom. I guessed it five years ago, but you were still sad about Lord Third back then, so I didn't dare to ask."
I shook my head at Ji Xiang helplessly and urged, "Hurry up. We need to burn the old woman's talisman papers as soon as we get home. Otherwise, it'll be too late."
Ji Xiang replied, "I'll go back and burn them first. You walk too slowly. By the time you get back, everything will be cold."
After saying that, Ji Xiang snatched the backpack from my hand and quickly disappeared from my sight.
Without his chatter, I finally had some peace. I took a walk by the river and enjoyed the cool breeze.
I had just enjoyed the quiet for a while when Ji Xiang came back, making noise like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on.
"Little Medium, Little Medium! Guess who I saw?"
I was so annoyed by his noise that I turned around to scold him: "Oh, can't you just let me be quiet for a while..."
I stopped halfway through my words. Suddenly, I forgot to breathe. It was not until he called my name that I gasped for air.
"Lanlan..." There stood a boy about 1.88 meters tall, wearing a lazy - style tracksuit. His blue eyes, as deep as the star - filled sea, were full of innocence.
Those furry ears... I used to stroke them a lot.
"Bai Qi?" I called out his name in disbelief.
Bai Qi smiled with curved eyebrows. Holding soy milk and steamed buns in his hand, he waved at me.
I almost burst into tears at this sight. Just as I was about to rush towards him, I heard another call from behind.
"Lanlan..." As soon as this voice came out, my head buzzed, and my whole body went stiff.
This time, it wasn't just forgetting to breathe. I felt my heart skip a few beats.
My surprised eyes instantly turned excited. I could hardly believe my ears.
As the unique sandalwood scent filled my nostrils, I was sure. It was him. It was really him.
I couldn't wait to turn around. Sure enough, there was my handsome and elegant husband.
His chiseled face was cold and handsome when he wasn't smiling, but gentle and kind when he did.
I was still in disbelief and needed to confirm again.
"Gu Yuan... Is it really you who's back?"
Gu Yuan showed a doting smile and joked, "If I don't come back soon, I'm afraid your little lover will steal you away."
That's right. This was Gu Yuan, the man I had been longing for day and night.
At this moment, I was so excited that I almost flew. I lifted my leg to run towards Gu Yuan, but then I thought of Bai Qi.
I looked back at Bai Qi. He was still smiling at me. His beautiful thin lips moved slightly. Although he didn't make a sound, I understood what he meant.
"Go!"
I gave Bai Qi a long - lost sweet smile, nodded vigorously, and then turned around and rushed into Gu Yuan's arms...
I rushed so hard that I almost knocked Gu Yuan down. When we hugged each other, a firefly circled around us.
All the chaos in the world disappeared at this moment. We were back in the cave where we had fallen in love.
For the rest of our lives, we only saw each other in our eyes. We would just be an ordinary couple in the world...
The End