The days after the thread ritual were calmer..finally there was no darkness.. no Pavilion to lock away..no guilt for not being perfect...
because now they understood that they don't need to be perfect.. they don't need the light to be legends..they just have to be true..and the can still be thwir own legends while staying besides heroes like wei and wangji quietly....
Yujin was no longer plagued by whispers from his imperfections... Xiao no longer woke from dreams where he lost Yujin over and over again. There was peace. Even the wind respected it.
One morning, under a tree blooming with red-tipped white flowers, they sat together in quiet.
"Remember," Xiao said, tracing a scar near Yujin's eye, "when you refused to look me in the eye?"
Yujin smiled. "I was scared. That you'd see everything."
"I did," Xiao whispered. "And I still wanted all of it."
Later that afternoon, they walked into the heart of the last spirit forest together — where Yujin had once flown endlessly as a bird, avoiding humans, love, and fate.
There, an old spirit greeted them, one who had known Yujin in both wing and skin.
"Is it time?" she asked, voice like water.
Yujin nodded, gripping Xiao's hand. "I came to say goodbye."
The spirit offered them a crystal feather — the last seal to break.
Yujin took it, held it to his chest… and closed his eyes.
The wind turned.
His body began to glow.
Feathers spiraled upward, but they didn't burn this time. They shimmered, then dissolved into threads of music. Xiao clutched Yujin tighter, heart racing.
But Yujin didn't disappear.
Instead, the bird inside him flew out — a final shedding of the cage, leaving only the human soul behind, steady and breathing.
He looked at Xiao with wet eyes. "I'm free."
"You always were," Xiao answered, trembling.
Final Scene: One Step Behind Heaven
Years passed.
In a quiet village surrounded by spirit-touched woods, a pair of cultivators lived in a simple house with red threads tied around their wrists. One taught children swordplay in the morning. The other sang lullabies to wild birds in the evening.
Sometimes they still fought.
Sometimes they cried.
But no one who saw them ever doubted: these two had once crossed heavens just to hold hands.
And when one of them died peacefully, old and smiling, the other followed not long after — because love that chooses peace, after war, will always find its way home.
"If I ever fly again," Yujin once whispered, "let it be next to you."
Xiao had replied, "Then let's stay on the ground, so you never have to leave."
Yujin smiled slowly..soft and loving..." of course..because you and me..Xiao and yujin..is xiaojin together...."
Xio chuckled lightly then gave a quick kiss..but yujin waped his arms around his waist , didn't let him move away...
Their face close..eyes closed and forehead pressed together.. as xio whispered
" Then we are xiaojin..forever together.."
" forever together " Yujin whispered after him..their words faded..but not love..which made them whole again..
Author thoughts : And that's how borrowed night ends..hope you all loved it..thank you for staying with me the whole time..and also hope you all WILL stay beside me always..and if you all love this half ff too a lot..and I get the time someday then I'll rewrite it , expend it into a independent novel instead of a fanfiction♡
storytelling isn't my hobby but my dream I want to continue..so I want you all to keep me alive in this hard journey..and I would also like to invite at my first , biggest and totally original mixed culture ( mostly Chinese ) novel " Candle-Eyed Long Night " which was known as " Eyes of broken lilies " before..
..I believe you all will love it too once you start to catch up everything.. that's the only novel I'll find another way to start again even of it ends..it'll be rich , twisted , bigger and deeper..love you all..don't leave me..and I won't leave you nether ♡♡