The Sorrow of Parting

The next day, after Meng Li accompanied Na'er through a whole day of boring classes,

the two walked along the road. Na'er lowered her head, eating a lollipop, seemingly lost in thought.

Noticing that something was off with Na'er, Meng Li asked, "Na'er, did someone bully you?"

Na'er shook her head without saying anything.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Brother, can we take a walk by the sea?"

"Didn't we just go to the seaside last week?"

"But I want to go."

"Look up at me," Meng Li said.

Na'er raised her head. Meng Li stared into her eyes, and those beautiful, captivating eyes darted away for a moment.

"I can see from your eyes that something very sad happened to you. I've seen that look in other people's eyes."

It was a look of reluctance to part. When the person closest to you left this world, that was the kind of reluctance they had, tinged with sorrow, Meng Li silently added.

"Na'er, have you ever had alcohol?"

"Huh? Brother, why would I drink?"

"Haven't you heard of drowning your sorrows in drink?"

Of course I'm trying to trick you into telling the truth. Meng Li looked utterly serious.

"Didn't you say children couldn't drink?"

"A little alcohol is good for children."

The sea at night was not as beautiful as the morning glow. Instead, it carried a sense of an ending. A few people chatted quietly, while lights shone from the tents on the beach.

At the wooden huts by the shore, people grilled barbecue and sang familiar old songs in sweet voices.

Perhaps on a whim, Meng Li suddenly wanted to go onstage and sing "The Sea."

At that moment, he thought of his late grandfather. For certain reasons, he had not even been able to see his grandfather one last time. By the time he returned, it had already been a year later.

That grandfather of his had treated him just as he treated Na'er. Whatever he wanted, his grandfather bought it for him. If he wanted toys, he bought toys; if he wanted food, he bought food, fulfilling all his requests.

Yet he had never had the chance to repay him or show filial devotion. They said that what one thought of in the day appeared in one's dreams at night. They also said that a person would never have the same dream twice in a lifetime, and would not dream of the same person more than three times.

But he had dreamed of them more than twenty times—his grandparents, and even the girl he had secretly loved in his youth.

Every time he dreamed of them, he cherished them carefully, terrified of parting.

Meng Li handed the grilled barbecue to Na'er, then walked beneath the open-air stage by the sea. He quietly waited for the person onstage to finish singing, then politely asked, "Hello, could I borrow the stage to sing a song?"

The person onstage froze for a moment. Though he had been singing enthusiastically, as a basic courtesy among singers, he still granted Meng Li's request.

Meng Li took the guitar, tuned it, gently strummed it, and began singing "The Sea," a song from his previous life by a celebrity he had especially liked.

From that distant shore, you slowly vanished. Your once-blurry face gradually became clear. I want to say something... Please take it all away.

Meng Li had never been a bad singer, and now he was singing from the heart. When the song ended, the entire audience applauded.

So Brother knew all along. Na'er's eyes had already turned misty with tears, which streamed uncontrollably down her face. She had thought she had hidden it well.

Grandma, Grandpa, I'm sorry. Meng Li's tears also would not stop falling.

"Brother, is that your song? What's it called? It's quite heartfelt and moving," the person who had just lent Meng Li the microphone and guitar asked.

"This song was written by a celebrity I like very, very much. Even if I told you, you wouldn't know him."

"He's amazing. I have to get to know him someday." The man looked full of admiration.

"Thank you." Meng Li returned the guitar to him.

"Brother, sing another one. You're a pretty good singer too."

"No, I still have someone to keep company."

Meng Li declined the man's kind offer. When he returned, Na'er had already wiped away her tears. She restrained the urge to rush over and hug Meng Li, instead eating grilled fish.

The barbecue they usually loved so much tasted bland to them both.

"Come, drink up. Today, I'll make an exception and let you have some alcohol."

"Then I'll have a little."

"Brother, this tastes so bitter."

"That's how alcohol tastes. Just like some things in life—they're bitter, but if you savor them carefully, they also carry a sweet taste that people never forget."

"Mm." Na'er no longer had her usual dazed expression. Instead, she nodded as though she understood something.

"Brother, there are so many stars tonight."

"When there are lots of stars, it means the weather will definitely be good tomorrow."

Na'er shook her head with a blush. "That's not it." She fell silent for a moment, then turned around and looked into Meng Li's eyes. "Brother, if one day I leave, will you miss me?"

"You're leaving?"

Meng Li froze, his heart tightening. All the strange things about today had led to this sentence—Na'er was leaving.

"No, no, no, I mean if!" Na'er forced herself to remain calm, but she saw deep suspicion in Meng Li's eyes. Yes, she had been far too unusual today.

Meng Li suppressed the intense reluctance in his heart and smiled.

"If you leave, where will you go?"

"Brother, can we not talk about this?"

"I'll answer your earlier question. I would miss you. I'd miss you even in my dreams. In this world, you're the only person I'm attached to. If I don't miss you, who else would I miss?" Meng Li said with a serious expression.

"I would miss you too. Very, very much." I'm sorry. I'm your only one, but you aren't my only one. I still have my mission to fulfill. Na'er took a sip of alcohol, and a mist seemed to gather in her large purple eyes.

"Maybe one day, we'll become enemies because we stand on different sides!"

Meng Li smiled. "Silly girl, there will never be a day when we become enemies. What right or wrong is there in this world? It's nothing more than differing positions.

"If you ask which side I'd stand on, does that even need thinking? I'd definitely stand on your side. Let them say I'm wrong—I think I'm right, because you're there. What I care about is how you feel. Why should I care about irrelevant people? I'd follow you down one road until the end.

"Just like a game I used to play. I played with several friends there for more than ten seasons. Whether we lost or won, whether we joined others or lived under someone else's roof, as long as I was following him, that was enough. You're the same."

Brother really doesn't seem like someone his age. Sometimes his thoughts are childish, disregarding every position, yet he thinks it's only natural. Na'er was moved for a moment.

So Na'er really is leaving. Meng Li sighed inwardly and drank bottle after bottle of beer.

He did not choose to make her stay. Instead, he respected Na'er's choice. Girls grew up and could not be kept at home forever—perhaps that was what it meant.

Na'er silently breathed a sigh of relief. Her brother, who usually protected and cared for her, had long seen that she was leaving, yet pretended that nothing had happened. She had never seen such respect in anyone else.

She did not want to leave either, but for the Spirit Beast Clan, she had no choice. When faced with the greater cause, she chose righteousness, because she was the Lord of Spirit Beasts.