AM 11:20
Firefly's Pup:
"Xuan'er, Xuan'er, Xuan'er."
"You there?"
"Miss you."
[Belobog Mega-Popsicle.jpg]
"This isn't as good as tanghulu. When we get to the Luofu, I'll treat you to hawthorn candies."
PM 3:41
"Xuan'er, where are you?"
"Did you ditch me for a Jade Tile game?"
"Answer me, wifey."
PM 6:03
"Xuan'er, I've had enough."
"Texting you is as hopeless as Qingque becoming Sword Champion."
"Fine. I'm done talking to you!"
AM 0:21
"Wifey, you up?"
"Miss youuuu~"
...
Fu Xuan blinked groggily at her phone, greeted by 99+ unread messages. She'd spent the day stabilizing her mind via the Qiong Guan Matrix, suppressing her Mara-struck flares, and collapsed into bed without checking notifications. Of course Anming had bombarded her all night—her ears still rang from the nonstop "special alert" chimes.
She stifled her morning grumpiness—until spotting his username, Firefly's Pup. Crack. Her grip nearly shattered the phone. Two replacements this month… The Divination Commission's budget isn't for this!
Smirking, she typed back:
Anming's Master:
"Well, look who's gracing me with his presence."
Firefly's Pup:
"Xuan'er, that username… Isn't it unprofessional for a work account?"
Fu Xuan's lips curled. If he's Firefly's pup, I'll be his master.
Anming's Master:
"Problem? Or do you disagree?"
Firefly's Pup:
"Wha—? Of course not! Xuan'er was born to be my—" [Message Recalled]
Firefly's Pup:
"Xuan'er was born to be my master!"
Anming's frantic typing drew stares from the miners. They watched, baffled, as their "hero" furiously texted mid-standoff—was he casting some lightning king ritual via smartphone?
"Yikes… Firefly, I messed up."
"Oh? How?" Firefly smiled sweetly, her transformation device sparking dangerously.
Stelle whispered, "March… This is terrifying."
March shot her a death glare. "Why? Got a thing for him too?"
"N-No! You know I only love cultivation!" Stelle sweatdropped under March's subzero aura. Step wrong, and March's "Hunt" will chase me to the stars' end…
Firefly pocketed Anming's phone. "Work first, play later~"
"R-Right!" Anming laughed nervously, unsheathing Wuye another inch. Sword aura crackled overhead.
"Fear not! We Trailblazers never resort to brute force!" He shoved March forward. "Speech time!"
March grumbled, "Why me? Dan Heng, you're up!"
Dan Heng: "…"
Divination Commission
Huohuo sipped her tea, ears twitching happily. "Lady Fu, this is delicious! Sweet, then… bittersweet?"
"Just ordinary sweet tea." Fu Xuan stirred her cup, watching her reflection ripple.
Huohuo swung her legs, relieved Fu Xuan seemed calmer lately—no trace of the Mara-struck turmoil. Yet the reports on Fu Xuan's desk told another story: case files on immortality's curse.
The tea recipe was Anming's—one she'd sworn never to use again. But she'd added a final ingredient: peach blossoms from that tree. Every spring, she visited their old courtyard on the Yaoqing. The tree still bloomed, but she avoided its shade. Memories were ghosts she'd rather not feed.
Her finger hovered over her phone.
Anming's Master:
"I miss you too."
But this Anming… Could he truly escape repeating the past?
Fu Xuan's grip tightened. To be together "forever," he must become forever.