Wuzu's eyes were lowered…
As if hiding something beneath the stillness of her calm gaze.
Even Lao Duan, usually mischievous and lighthearted,
seemed to be concealing more than he let on.
The room was quiet.....
but it was a soft, comforting silence.
One that whispered gently to the soul,
"Everything is okay now."
And yet…
deep within Wuzu's heart,
something stirred.
A quiet sorrow.
A hidden regret.
---
Flashback
....To the early days of their journey....
The moon hung above like a sacred lantern.
Crickets sang their eternal lullaby in the wilderness.
The river sparkled under the moonlight,
its flowing waters humming an endless tune.
Not far from the riverbank, a fire flickered.....
its golden glow barely reaching the edges of the surrounding forest.
There, by the riverside, sat Mo Yan,
gazing up at the star-strewn heavens....
the very sky under which, long ago,
he had once asked Yu Sui....
"Will you compose a melody for me?"
That memory…
was his only lifeline now.
The only thing keeping his heart beating.
The thought of Yu Sui's face
would always bring a tender smile to his lips—
a smile that existed only for him.
---
Deeper in the woods,
Duie and Su Nian searched for fruits for the next day's journey.
Their past lives had never allowed love to blossom.
But now…
now they had all the time in the world....
to share love, to heal,
to finally belong to each other.
Under a bamboo tree,
they sat close.....yet peaceful....
a gentle smile on their lips.
Their hearts understood each other
even in silence.
They never stayed too close to one another when Mo Yan was around.....
not because of shame,
but because they respected his grief.
They didn't want their love
to awaken the ache in Mo Yan's heart
for Yu Sui.
But now…
now things were different.
Now they could finally allow themselves
to exist fully in each other's presence.
Though pain still lived in their souls,
every time they were in each other's arms..
the world felt whole again.
In that soft embrace,
Su Nian, resting against Duie's chest,
looked up with a gentle smile and asked:
"Duie... do you remember your promise?"
Duie smiled with such warmth
it felt like medicine healing an old wound.
He pulled Su Nian even closer and whispered:
"How could I forget that promise?
No... I haven't forgotten a thing.
Su Nian, you don't have to worry.
This time, I'll protect you...
from everything."
But those words—
they shattered him.
His eyes welled up
like rain flooding a dry and barren land.
He was scared.
Scared of failing again.
Of losing Su Nian... again.
Su Nian, who knew all too well
that moments like this may never come again,
reached up and wiped Duie's tears—
even though his own face was wet with grief.
He pulled Duie into a deep embrace.
For a long time, they stayed that way,
until the weight of years.....
of pain, of silence, of survival...
poured out…
and finally quieted.
Su Nian's love...
was his only medicine.
And it worked.
It always did.
---
But then.....
there was a shadow.
Standing beneath a tree, hidden in darkness.
It was Wuzu.
Her hand covered her mouth,
tears streaming down her face.
The love story of Mo Yan and Yu Sui had always been revered.....
But this…
this was something else.
She had just heard the names Su Nian and Duie
from their very own lips.
And now…
she understood.
Their love.....too.....had once been betrayed.
Their love had been sacrificed on the altar of someone else's greed.
And fate…
had chosen for them the most tragic death of all.
Overwhelmed by this realization,
Wuzu ran.
Silently, barefoot, breathless.
She ran… and cried… alone.
She hadn't known.
Hadn't imagined…
that these were the same two sacred souls
foretold in prophecy.
That the names she'd once doubted.....
the people she'd once watched with suspicion.....
were angels in disguise.
---
Just then, Lao Duan, who had followed his sister,
saw her collapsed in tears beneath a tree.
The ground beneath him shifted.
He'd never seen Wuzu like this.
Broken. Trembling. Lost.
He ran to her.....
drew his sword, prepared to defend her from unseen danger.....
but all he found…
was grief.
He caught her in his arms.
She sobbed uncontrollably,
unable to even speak.
Lao Duan kept asking,
"What happened? What did you see? Who hurt you?"
But she couldn't answer.
Her sorrow drowned her breath.
And in that moment…
he felt a strange ache for everyone.
For Mo Yan.
For Su Nian.
For Duie.
For Yu Sui.
For lao duan.
No matter how calm someone looked on the outside...
inside, every soul was carrying a mountain of grief,
and an ocean of unshed tears.
---
A while later…
Wuzu's tears finally slowed.
They sat beneath a tree....
their hearts lighter now,
as if the storm had washed some of the pain away.
She had told him everything.
What she'd overheard.
What she'd misunderstood.
She had believed that Su Nian and Duie were traitors.....
pretending to win Mo Yan's sympathy,
only to hurt him.
She had seen them as enemies.
But now she knew.
They were sacred souls.
Two of the four prophesied spirits.
And her heart found peace…
But also guilt.
She had doubted them.
Had failed to recognize the purity before her eyes.
---
Flashback ends.