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墨書 Inktalez
Outside the Taibai Pavilion, the night was as dark as ink. Liu Ying tightly clutched the bundle she received from Yan Lao, her heart pounding like a drum. The moonlight was perfect tonight, yet her heart could not find peace.
"Are you here?" A familiar voice emerged from the shadows. Xu Yuan stepped out, his blue robe slightly torn, likely from last night's struggle with pursuers.
"Are you hurt?" Liu Ying asked with concern.
"It’s nothing, just a few minor injuries," Xu Yuan replied with a smile. "But what about you? Have you opened that bundle?"
Liu Ying shook her head. "I wanted to wait for you."
She took out the bundle, and together they opened it. Inside was an old notebook and a piece of tattered cloth and silk. Xu Yuan picked up the cloth and silk, examining it closely in the moonlight, when suddenly his expression changed.
"This is..." His voice trembled slightly. "My father's relic."
The cloth and silk were covered in dense writing, with the last line particularly clear: "If my son Yuan'er sees this silk, he must know that Tian Ji has appeared; do not betray destiny. However, there are already movements in the south; one must quickly seek the celestial phenomena reflected in the mirror to break the confusion."
"So your father foresaw all of this?" Liu Ying exclaimed in surprise.
"Not just that." Xu Yuan pointed to a page in the notebook. "Look at this entry: 'On the seventh day of the seventh month at the Hour of the Rat, Tai Bai will be overhead, and Zi Wei will lose its brilliance. If this omen reappears, there will surely be bloodshed. Yet within disaster lies opportunity; survival hinges on this one act.'"
Just as Liu Ying was about to read further, hurried footsteps and voices suddenly echoed from afar.
"Search quickly! Lord Zhou said that madman must be nearby!"
Xu Yuan's expression changed. "This is bad; they’ve found us." He swiftly tucked away the notebook. "You go first; take the things with you."
"What about you?" Liu Ying refused to move.
"I’ll be fine," Xu Yuan said calmly with a smile. "After all these years of feigning madness, I’ve grown accustomed to escaping. But you..." He pulled something from his chest. "Take this."
In the moonlight, it was an Azure Jade Pendant, faintly inscribed with the character for "Yuan."
"This is a token my mother left for me," he said softly. "Keep it safe. On Qixi night, if we can find that last Lens, we’ll meet beneath The Purple Forbidden Enclosure."
Liu Ying took out an embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve. "Then you take this." She blushed as she spoke. "I embroidered it when I was fifteen; there’s a hidden mark on it that can be revealed in times of danger."
Just as Xu Yuan reached out to take it, footsteps suddenly drew near. He quickly pulled Liu Ying behind a thick pillar.
"Liu Ying," he whispered in her ear, "if I can escape safely this time, on Qixi night, I will propose to you beneath The Purple Forbidden Enclosure."
Liu Ying's heart raced; before she could respond, Xu Yuan leaped into action. In the moonlight, his figure stood tall and resolute like a pine tree, gradually merging with her memories of that boy who once handed her water.
"Remember," his voice echoed back to her, "no matter what happens, believe in the celestial phenomena. Trust me."
Before his words faded away, a cold arrow whistled through the air. Xu Yuan deftly dodged it and vanished into the night. The pursuers shouted as they rushed past Liu Ying's hiding spot, unaware that she remained concealed behind the pillar.
Once the surroundings fell silent again, Liu Ying dared to step out. She gazed in the direction Xu Yuan had disappeared, tightly clutching the jade pendant. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, carrying with it a faint sound of Dizi.
At that moment, she noticed that there seemed to be inscriptions on the back of the pendant. With the moonlight illuminating her view, she leaned in closer and read the words: "The moon will wax again, and people will eventually reunite. The heavens bear witness; do not betray this night."
What astonished her even more was that the handwriting looked remarkably familiar.
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