Night fell quickly.
The wind ceased and the clouds stood still. The tranquil lake showed not a single ripple.
Just a moment after Qing Yu left, Ning Yuwang finished circulating the last bit of her spiritual energy.
She opened her eyes and stood up. Her sensitive ears caught the faint sound of stealthy footsteps.
She turned around and saw the helpless look on Qing Yu's face. "My Lady Yuwang, the barrier has closed."
Ning Yuwang's long eyelashes fluttered. Before Qing Yu could explain, a scene suddenly flashed through her mind.
"What if someone accidentally wanders into Winter Lake after we descend the mountain?"
The man gave a low, soft laugh. "Then, My Lady Yuwang, you can set up a barrier that allows entry but no exit."
"No, no. If it's a villain, it's okay for them to be trapped if they accidentally enter. But what if it's a good person? Won't they be trapped?"
The delicate young girl hopped on a huge pearl, her movements as lively as a flying butterfly. "It's better to set a time limit for the barrier. It will open at sunrise and close at sunset."
The man seemed not to understand her intention. His star - like eyes were full of doubts.
But he didn't ask because he knew the young girl would reveal her thoughts.
Sure enough, the young girl jumped off the pearl. Her toes lightly touched the lake surface, and she stood as steady as a mountain.
"If it's a villain, give them a night's worth of lesson. If it's a good person, give them a night's worth of hope."
The gentle breeze blew, making the young girl's golden dress even more dazzling.
The man quietly traced her figure in the void with his right hand and softly agreed, "My Lady Yuwang has profound intentions."
The cold and indifferent pupils of Ning Yuwang glinted. She met Qing Yu's eyes and realized that it was the sunset that had closed the barrier.
Qing Yu shifted his gaze slightly. He was as gentle and refined as he was a thousand years ago, but his smile was no longer as clear and pure as it used to be.
"My Lady Yuwang, since we can't get out of the barrier, how about we enjoy the view of Winter Lake together?"
On the Mid - Autumn night, he had long invited Ning Yuwang to visit Winter Lake again.
At that time, Ning Yuwang had agreed.
But Yan Zhao had suddenly inserted himself and insisted on joining.
Unexpectedly, by a strange twist of fate, in the end, only Ning Yuwang and Qing Yu had gone boating on the lake.
Ning Yuwang had lost her memories, so Qing Yu took the lead in guiding the way.
His mood seemed to improve slightly. He pointed to a small wooden house in the distance. "My Lady Yuwang, that's where we used to live."
Just looking at the small wooden house, it was exactly the same as the one in the poor alley.
It's just that one was in the dark while the other was in the light.
Ning Yuwang pushed open the door and entered. What greeted her was not only the light dust but also the memories from a thousand years ago.
"Now that I've transformed into a human form, I should live in a human house."
"Then I'll conjure up a house right away."
"No. I want to build one with my own hands. It won't disappear over time."
The young girl and the man had left Winter Lake many times just to learn the structure of houses from mortals. It had taken them a long time to finally build the small wooden house.
The first one was inevitably a bit crude.
The young girl had muttered many times that she wanted to rebuild a new one.
The man just smiled patiently, knowing her penchant for saying one thing and meaning another.
This was the result of their hard work. How could she bear to destroy it!
"My Lady Yuwang, do you still remember?"
Suddenly, Qing Yu pointed at a glowing night - pearl floating in mid - air and laughed softly. "This is the biggest night - pearl at the bottom of Winter Lake. You spent three days comparing and finally selected it."
Memories flowed back bit by bit.
The corner of Ning Yuwang's cold lips lifted slightly. "After so much selection, in the end, it was just used as a lamp."
Mortals had oil lamps in their houses.
She didn't like the smell of lamp oil, so she used the night - pearl instead.
A thousand years was an extremely long time. Even the dazzling night - pearl was covered with a thick layer of dust.
Ning Yuwang gently pinched her fingertips, and all the dust in the house disappeared.
The night - pearl shone brightly in the night, as if welcoming the return of its owner.
The scene inside the house became even cleaner and tidier.
Ning Yuwang's gaze swept over the wooden bed, the wooden table, and the wooden stool. Her ears were filled with the laughter and joy of the past.
Her brows first relaxed and then frowned slightly. "Qing Yu, have you ever resented me?"
Resented her for forgetting the memories of a thousand years ago.
The depth of Qing Yu's eyes was obscure. "No. I just remembered the past a bit earlier than My Lady Yuwang."
Where was there any resentment?
It was only the evil path a thousand years ago that was to blame, which had separated them and made them estranged.
It was a pity that he had appeared too late. Now, there was already someone by Ning Yuwang's side.
"If only I could remember everything that happened a thousand years ago."
Ning Yuwang suddenly sighed. She had never been so eager before, not even when she was searching for the memories of a thousand years ago.
But every time she saw Qing Yu again and felt his deep affection, a faint sense of guilt would well up in her heart.
Coupled with the occasional fleeting sense of defensiveness, her feelings towards Qing Yu were complex and hard to distinguish.
Qing Yu followed her out of the wooden house. Standing on the lake surface as well, he softly replied, "If I had never appeared, My Lady Yuwang would have lived a more straightforward life a thousand years later."
Qing Yu was just too kind!
A faint feeling of gratitude welled up in Ning Yuwang's heart. If he had been as jealous and coquettish as Yan Zhao, she could have avoided him.
But Qing Yu always retreated instead of advancing. His black eyes were full of sadness, which made her feel guilty while being on guard.
That night, neither of them slept.
Ning Yuwang had a dragon's body and didn't need sleep.
But Qing Yu, now in a human body, stubbornly stayed up with Ning Yuwang.
He seemed to know that after this night, if they met again, it would no longer be as peaceful and quiet as it was now.
Ning Yuwang was clearly not far from him, her beautiful eyes lost in thought.
Qing Yu looked at the intertwined shadows of the two on the ground, a faint smile on his lips.
He tried to reach out and touch Ning Yuwang, even if it was just a corner of her sleeve.
But black smoke quickly rose from his palm, thick and painful, burning away all of Qing Yu's lingering thoughts.
He clasped his palm behind his back, not wanting Ning Yuwang to notice. But the deep affection in his eyes faded completely at this moment.
When the sun rose, the barrier of Winter Lake was lifted.
Qing Yu stood quietly by the lake, watching Ning Yuwang's receding back. His obscure black eyes were full of melancholy.
The black smoke in his palm had long since disappeared, but it had left an indelible mark.
He gently rubbed the black mark, his brows furrowed as he guessed the origin of the mark.
After a long time, his brows relaxed, and he cursed himself softly, "Fool!"
As soon as Ning Yuwang left Winter Lake, her first thought was to return to Fang Mountain.
When she fought the Slaying Dragon Sword, she didn't want Yan Zhao to get involved and get hurt, so she used a spell to put Yan Zhao into a coma.
Calculating the time, Yan Zhao should have woken up last night.
But she had been trapped in the barrier of Winter Lake and didn't have enough spiritual energy to break it.
So, as soon as the barrier of Winter Lake was opened, she rushed back immediately.
However, at this moment, Yan Zhao, who was still on Fang Mountain, had no intention of thinking about Ning Yuwang.
Because there was a more difficult person sitting in front of him.
In the South Courtyard, a man sat at the stone table. He lowered his head to blow the foam on the tea in his cup and then took a small sip.
Yan Zhao leaned against the side, hiding the sharpness in his cold eyes. In front of the man, he seemed like a docile kitten.
"Sir National Teacher, what brings you here?"
After a long while, the man still didn't say a word. Yan Zhao took the initiative to break the silence.
"Does the young master know that your wife is not a kind person?"