Reading into things is wonderful

"Then whose do you like better, brother?"

"Then whose do you like better, little brother?"

The Sun God and the Star God showed astonishing synchronicity on this point, their voices nearly overlapping.

Two faces leaned in toward Wuma Xiu at once, one golden and expectant, the other violet and unwavering.

Four bright eyes stared intently at him.

Faced with those two faces, Wuma Xiu felt most of the haze the sweet wine had conjured in his head vanish in an instant.

Oof, here we go again.

The deadly question had finally arrived.

He was almost traumatized by it.

Fortunately, Wuma Xiu had come prepared this time.

"I have gifts for you too."

Activate the ultimate topic-changing technique.

Wuma Xiu opened his hands, and a soft glow streamed from his palms.

When the light faded.

A bow and an arrow had appeared in his hands.

The bow was nearly black, while the arrow was silver-white.

The Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow.

It's time for you to be useful, Wuma Xiu thought.

"This bow is called the Star-Moon Bow. It was formed from starlight."

He held the bow out to the Star God, the starlight on its frame shining in concert with the silver glow around his younger brother.

The Star God took the bow and stroked it lovingly. Wherever his fingertips touched, the starlight leaped with joy.

Wuma Xiu picked up the arrow and turned to the Sun God.

He looked calm and composed, but inwardly he hesitated for a moment: the Star-Moon Arrow had been formed from his own power, condensed from pure moonlight. Giving it to his older brother, the Sun God, seemed a little mismatched in terms of attributes. One was a sun blazing with light and flame, the other moonlight as cool as frost. Somehow, it felt awkward.

But then he reconsidered. Even if he gave his older brother a blade of grass, he could be happy about it for quite a while.

There was nothing wrong with giving him this.

Besides, neither his older brother nor his younger brother used a bow and arrow, so these would just be decorations to them.

As for why he was giving the bow and arrow away separately?

The reason was simple: he had forgotten.

When he created the Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow, he had also been trying to figure out what to give his older brother, the Sun God.

He hadn't come up with anything then, and afterward he had simply forgotten.

Surely he couldn't create something on the spot?

Everyone present was a god. Once his divine power stirred, it would be hard for them not to notice.

"I like it. I like it very much."

The Sun God couldn't bear to put the Star-Moon Arrow down. He ran his hands over the silver-white patterns on its shaft again and again, tracing each stream of moonlight with his fingertips. Suddenly, he looked up and asked, "Is it called the Sun-Moon Arrow?"

Wuma Xiu blinked a couple of times more quickly, then nodded without a change in expression.

"Yes, it's called the Sun-Moon Arrow."

The Star-Moon Bow and the Star-Moon Arrow woke up to find their world had collapsed.

The Star-Moon Bow was utterly heartbroken.

Lord Moon God had personally placed it in the Star God's hands, though its new master was also one of the family.

But Lord Moon God was the first person it had ever seen.

Lord Moon God, don't you like me anymore? Why are you giving me away?

The Star-Moon Arrow was even more heartbroken.

When it woke up, it found that its beloved Lord Moon God had personally given it to the Sun God.

An arrow condensed from moonlight had landed in the arms of the Sun God, who was covered in true solar fire.

It was bad enough that their attributes clashed.

It had even been forced to change its name on the spot!

It was called the Star-Moon Arrow, not the Sun-Moon Arrow.

Yet Lord Moon God hadn't even corrected him. He had simply nodded along with the Sun God.

But none of that was the most important thing.

Most importantly, Lord Moon God, I don't want to leave you.

The Sun God and the Star God each held their gifts, turning them over and playing with them for quite a while.

The more they looked, the more they liked them; the more they touched them, the more pleased they were.

But before long,

their gazes shifted from the gifts in their own hands to the one in the other's, as if by agreement.

The Star God looked down at the Star-Moon Bow in his palm, his fingertips brushing over the starlight that flowed endlessly along its frame.

He began to weigh the matter inwardly:

This bow is made entirely of condensed starlight. And I'm the Star God, so brother put thought into making a bow especially for me from starlight. As for the one in eldest brother's hands, it's obviously something brother casually made with his own power.

Clearly, brother put far more thought into my gift than eldest brother's.

The Sun God held the Sun-Moon Arrow up before his eyes. The longer he looked at it, the deeper his smile grew.

This arrow is made entirely from my younger brother the Moon God's power.

Moonlight for its bones, divine power for its edge.

What does it mean to hold someone dear?

This is what it means.

He specifically condensed it from his own power.

Clearly, my younger brother is using this to show that he likes me better.

The two gods each pondered the matter and each reached a satisfying conclusion.

Without consulting each other, they both stamped it with their approval in their hearts.

Sure enough, I'm the most important person in my younger brother's/older brother's heart.

Wuma Xiu knew nothing of the twists and turns in their thoughts.

All he knew was that the two before him had finally settled down with their gifts and stopped pressing him with the deadly question of "who do you like best?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his cup, and took another sip of sweet wine, thinking the crisis had passed.

If Wuma Xiu had known what the two of them were each reading into it, he probably would only have fallen silent for a moment before offering a heartfelt remark.

Reading into things really is wonderful.

The Sun God and the Star God had finally been appeased.

Wuma Xiu breathed an inward sigh of relief and picked up his cup, about to take another sip of sweet wine, when he suddenly paused.

Wait.

Where's my best friend?

He put down his cup and looked past the Sun God and the Star God, searching all around.

The hall was dim, and only after looking around did he finally find the Night God in a corner.

At some point, the Night God had returned to his original form and pulled his hood back over his head.

He had drawn himself into the corner, crouching there like a huddled, silent shadow.

He neither spoke nor moved, so quiet that he seemed ready to melt into the darkness behind him.

From a distance,

he looked exactly like a giant gloomy mushroom growing in the corner.

But his hood didn't cover his eyes, and those ink-black pupils were fixed unblinkingly on Wuma Xiu.

That gaze weighed heavily on Wuma Xiu's conscience.