"Planting a phoenix?" the Wine Immortal murmured, the veins on his forehead throbbing with his heavy drinking.
He straightened up, putting some distance between himself and Zhao Xue, and couldn't help but ask, "What phoenix?"
"The pretty little phoenix that landed here yesterday," Zhao Xue replied, her eyes fixed on the wooden hairpin before her, her tone much lighter.
A phoenix that landed here yesterday?
The Wine Immortal pondered this internally, then shivered.
Wasn't that the Imperial Daughter who had mistakenly entered the peach forest yesterday?
"Why are you planting a phoenix?" The Wine Immortal's voice wavered at first, then gradually steadied.
"I want to be with her."
Be together? How odd the child's words sounded. The Wine Immortal frowned involuntarily.
At least it wasn't some world-shattering conspiracy. The Wine Immortal breathed a sigh of relief and finally saw clearly that the wooden hairpin was carved with a lifelike phoenix.
"No, why did you say 'little phoenix'?"
The Wine Immortal asked in confusion, thinking to himself that even if the Imperial Daughter was only a few hundred years old, her true form wasn't small.
"It is a little phoenix!" Zhao Xue insisted, her gaze falling upon the wooden hairpin, her eyes filled with a tenderness the Wine Immortal couldn't see.
"Alright, alright." The Wine Immortal didn't want to, and frankly didn't dare, discuss the Imperial Daughter with young Zhao Xue here. He turned and left, clutching his wine gourd.
The next morning, the Wine Immortal sneaked back to where young Zhao Xue was planting the phoenix. Seeing Zhao Xue still at it, he couldn't help but shatter Zhao Xue's dream by reaching into his Qiankun pouch.
"Hey, forget it. You can't plant a phoenix."
...
The wooden hairpin before young Zhao Xue gradually blurred, the heartache becoming even more vivid.
The scene shifted, and suddenly a swath of red appeared before Zhao Xue's eyes.
Zhao Xue tilted her head slightly, only to discover that the patch of red was a rose-lined path that stretched endlessly.
Almost instantly, Feng Huo and Yun Shuniàn, dressed in red wedding attire, walked towards Zhao Xue hand in hand from the opposite direction.
Zhao Xue stood rooted to the spot, watching, as if frozen.
It wasn't until Feng Huo and Yun Shuniàn reached Zhao Xue that Yun Shuniàn spoke, her voice laced with anger.
"Get out of the way."
At that moment, Zhao Xue's visibly stiff body seemed to stiffen even further.
"I... I like you. He's your brother. Will you be with me?" Perhaps dreams were inherently illogical, and Zhao Xue in the dream spoke particularly incoherently.
"We are not related by blood. Leave! Don't talk nonsense!"
Zhao Xue watched as Yun Shuniàn's face instantly contorted with rage. She placed a palm on Zhao Xue's chest and shoved Zhao Xue a dozen feet away.
Zhao Xue stared blankly as Yun Shuniàn gradually blurred before her, the surroundings turning black.
Zhao Xue suddenly ran towards Yun Shuniàn, forcefully severed Feng Huo's arm, then, scooping Yun Shuniàn into one arm, whisked them away.
The scene shifted again. Zhao Xue hid Yun Shuniàn in a cave. Unable to meet Yun Shuniàn's eyes, Zhao Xue eagerly inserted the Undying Pearl, fashioned into a hairpin, into Yun Shuniàn's hair.
"Xuxu, this is my betrothal gift."
"Your betrothal gift? Just a bead?" The Imperial Daughter Zhu Xu removed the hairpin Zhao Xue had placed in her hair and idly toyed with it between her fingers.
Zhao Xue froze for a moment, then placed her hands on the Imperial Daughter's shoulders, her gaze growing even more fervent. "Zhu Xu, what else do you want? I'll give you anything, as long as we can be together."
"I want the Dragon Pearl from the East Sea, the Wandering Immortal Pillow from Guizi, the rhinoceros horn from Jiaozhi..."
The Imperial Daughter Zhu Xu listed dozens of rare treasures. The grip Zhao Xue maintained on Zhu Xu's shoulders was as firm as ever.
After Zhu Xu finished speaking, Zhao Xue showed no hint of impatience. Her eyes seemed even more fervent than before, like effervescent bubbles rapidly rising.
"Alright, Zhu Xu, wait for me. I'll go find them now." With that, Zhao Xue mustered her courage, gave Zhu Xu's eyelashes a gentle kiss, and then left the cave to search for the dozens of treasures Zhu Xu had mentioned.
With a *chi* sound.
The not-so-sharp hairpin pierced Zhao Xue's heart. Zhao Xue slowly turned her head, finally seeing the cold, indifferent gaze in Zhu Xu's eyes.
"Oh, I haven't finished. More than those rare treasures, I want your soul to scatter." Zhu Xu's words were as cold as her gaze.
Zhao Xue said nothing, only tears falling one after another.
...
*Hoo~*
Yun Shuniàn, who had been sleeping with Mu Qi's clothes in the secret chamber, suddenly sat up. Recalling the scene of her piercing Zhao Xue's chest with a hairpin, she was filled with terror.
It wasn't until an hour had passed that Yun Shuniàn walked into the courtyard, gazing at the osmanthus trees filling the garden, that her heart slowly calmed.
Fortunately, it was just a dream.
Speaking of which, she was called Zhu Xu here.
Zhu Xu and Zhao Xue, one in spring, one in winter. They were neighbors. What a coincidence.
In the evening, it was time for Zhao Xue and the Wine Immortal to play chess. Zhu Xu once again skillfully slipped into the peach forest.
However, when she arrived at the stone bench where the Wine Immortal and Zhao Xue usually played chess, she found only the Wine Immortal there, with no sign of Zhao Xue.
Zhu Xu waited for a few moments, then couldn't help but approach the Wine Immortal.
"Where is Zhao Xue?" The Wine Immortal swallowed his drink and looked up. Seeing Zhu Xu's appearance, he was momentarily confused.
A few seconds later, the Wine Immortal seemed to recall.
"Oh, it's the little Imperial Daughter, isn't it?"
Hmm, a bit sober, but not entirely.
Zhu Xu frowned, and before she could speak, the Wine Immortal interrupted again.
"That brat, wasn't he going to the Infernal Burn Abyss to get the Undying Pearl as a betrothal gift for the little Imperial Daughter? How strange, I dreamt of him yesterday, and today I dream of this little Imperial Daughter."
"I wonder if little Zhao Xue is dead now..."
Before the Wine Immortal could finish, he reached for his wine. To his surprise, Zhu Xu snatched it from his hand.
"What did you say? You said Zhao Xue went to the Infernal Burn Abyss for me? Zhao Xue likes me?"
The Wine Immortal was stunned by Zhu Xu's excited, almost frenzied state. After a pause of a few seconds, he nodded.
Receiving the Wine Immortal's confirmation, Zhu Xu's face lit up with joy, and she ran off.
Along the way, the immortal servants carrying trays or sweeping, all bowed to Zhu Xu. Zhu Xu paid them no mind until she was too tired to continue and her reason gradually returned.
She wanted to see Zhao Xue. She wanted to be with Zhao Xue!