The dust has settled on the trip to the East China Sea.
On the way home, above the clouds, there was an indescribable weirdness in the atmosphere.
Nezha is sitting cross-legged in the middle of a pile of glittering treasures, grinning from ear to ear.
In his left hand, he held a Water-Repelling Pearl, a specialty of the East China Sea, shining it up and down in the sun. In his right hand, he was playing with a Coral Jade Ruyi that came from an unknown Dragon King private vault, and his mouth was almost watering.
Although the quality of these gadgets collected from the Dragon Palace is not as good as the reward from his master Yuanshi Tianzun, they are superior in quantity and novel shape, which is enough for him to brag about with Jin Zha Mu Zha for hundreds of years.
"Hey, it's happening now, it's really happening!"
Nezha was holding a halberd refined by Ten-Thousand Year Black Iron, rubbing it fondly and mumbling it incessantly.
On the other side, Qin Feng seems much calmer.
He was playing with the cracked Ancestral Dragon Pearl in his hand, and Spiritual Sense sank into it, carefully comprehending the vast ancient aura from before Dragon-Han Calamity, and the trace of broken original laws contained in it.
This thing is a family treasure to the Dragon Clan now, but to him, it is just a good collection that may provide some trivial reference when deducing the laws of water system in the future.
At the two ends of the cloud, one is noisy and the other is quiet, clearly distinguishable.
Only Shi Ji, sandwiched in the middle, looks out of place.
She did not look at the dazzling array of magic weapons, nor did she disturb Qin Feng who was studying Ancestral Dragon Pearl. She just sat quietly, looking at the sea of clouds in the distance that were rapidly retreating.
Ever since she came out of Donghai Crystal Palace, she has always looked like this, uncharacteristically silent.
That cold face that had been frozen for thousands of years was now covered with complex emotions that even she herself had not noticed.
In her mind, the scenes in the Crystal Palace were replayed uncontrollably.
First, Heavenly Court messenger Taibai Jinxing groveled, not even daring to take a breath in front of Qin Feng.
Immediately afterwards, Four Dragon Kings paid homage and surrendered, leaving the entire fate of the Dragon Clan in the hands of this man.
Then, the four charming dragon princesses with different styles plucked up the courage to express their love to him in the purest and boldest way.
In the end, it was Qin Feng's calm words "Establish Divine Court" that made the whole Dragon Clan go crazy.
All of this was like a magnificent picture scroll, slowly unfolding before her eyes.
In the center of the picture, there is always the man dressed in white and with an indifferent expression.
He always seems to have that calm look, as if whether it is the decree of the saint, Heavenly Court Jade Emperor, or returning home from all over the world, they are just scenery that can be seen everywhere on the roadside, not worthy of him taking a second look.
Shi Ji's gaze involuntarily fell on Qin Feng's side face again.
His sharp outlines, calm eyes, and every gesture exuded a calmness and dominance that made the world eclipse him.
This is a man who is brilliant and destined to stand at the top of Primordial World.
But what about yourself?
Shi Ji subconsciously looked down at himself.
I am just a stubborn stone on Skeleton Mountain that took thousands of years to transform into shape by luck. Except for my feet, I am pretty good. However, my cultivation level cannot be ranked among the huge Primordial World.
If it hadn't been for his appearance, I might have turned into ashes under Taiyi Zhenren's Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover, and even the true spirit wouldn't be able to reach Investiture of the Gods.
Once upon a time, she thought that being by his side, serving him tea and water, and taking care of his cave was the greatest happiness.
But now, she found that the distance between herself and him was being infinitely widened at an unimaginable speed.
His world is Saintly Gambit, Heavenly Court bows its head, and establishes the supreme hegemony of Divine Court.
And it seems that I can always stand behind him, looking up at his back.
Even those dragon girls are more useful than myself.
What they represent behind them is the entire Dragon Clan, the power of the world, and the ministers of the future Divine Court.
And I... besides making him a cup of tea, there seems to be nothing I can do.
An unprecedented thing called "insecurity", like a wildly growing vine, silently wrapped around her heart, tightening tighter and tighter, making her feel suffocated.
She looked at Qin Feng, looked at Nezha beside him who was dancing with excitement, and suddenly felt like an outsider.
Subconsciously, she quietly moved her body towards the edge of the clouds, a little further away from the radiant figure.
Back to Skeleton Mountain Azure Stone Palace.
The cave is still the same cave, not a single plant or tree has changed.
Shi Ji, as usual, quickly tidied up the living room for Qin Feng and Nezha.
She arranged all kinds of Spiritual Fruit brought back from the East China Sea into categories, and soaked a pot of fine cloud and mist Immortal Tea from the clear spring on the top of the mountain.
Everything was done in perfect order and impeccably.
However, Qin Feng was keenly aware of a slight difference.
In the past, when Shi Ji was doing these things, he would always be like a cheerful bird, chirping and telling him some interesting things in the mountains, with an uncontrollable smile on his brows and eyes.
But today, she was terribly silent.
In the entire cave, there was only the noise made by Nezha tinkling with his trophies.
"Sister Shi Ji, look at this magic conch of mine. Ao Guang That old Dragon King said that with just one blow, I can make all Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals within a thousand miles obey my orders. Isn't it very majestic!"
Nezha held up a golden conch the size of a sea bowl and approached it like a treasure to Shi Ji.
"Yeah, very majestic."
A slightly stiff smile appeared on Shi Ji's face, but his eyes were not focused on Nezha's conch, and he seemed a little absent-minded.
"Then look at this again!" Nezha picked up another string of pearls, "This is a gift from the Dragon Girl of the South China Sea. It's called 'Mermaid's Tear'. Wearing it can ward off fire and dust. It's much better than the broken Daoist robe my master gave me!"
Nezha couldn't hold back his chatterbox as soon as he opened it, and kept introducing his new toy.
Shi Ji only occasionally said "hmm" in response, but his mind had already drifted to the sky.
Qin Feng picked up the tea that Shi Ji had just brewed, took a sip, and looked at her seemingly casually.
He found that where she was standing today was three feet away from him.
When she was refilling her tea, she stretched her arms very straight and kept a distance deliberately, unlike before, where she would always get closer inadvertently.
Even when she looked at him, her eyes would quickly dodge away like a frightened rabbit, not daring to look at him.
The intimacy and dependence that once belonged only to him were quietly dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye, replaced by a polite and distant respect.
Qin Feng didn't speak, just watched quietly.
With such a level of cultivation, he can penetrate Nine Heavens and Ten Lands with just one sweep of Spiritual Sense. How could he not be able to see through a person's thoughts?
He knew that during his trip to the East China Sea, his light was too dazzling, causing this stone beauty, who looked cold on the outside but was as sensitive as crystal on the inside, to have some thoughts that he shouldn't have.
Heart knot.
This kind of thing is more troublesome than any powerful enemy.
External forces cannot interfere, and elixirs cannot cure it. You can only solve it yourself.
In other words, the person who tied the knot would untie it for her with his own hands.
Qin Feng did not choose to break it on the spot.
Some words, if said in public, will have a greatly reduced effect.
He needs a suitable time and an environment where there are only the two of them.
In the next few days, the atmosphere in the cave remained the same.
Shi Ji turned himself into a perfect housekeeper, taking care of the inside and outside of the cave meticulously, but he was also like an emotionless puppet, and the smile from the heart of the past could no longer be seen on his face.
Nezha Chaos Demon King, I also felt something was wrong belatedly.
He scratched his head and asked Qin Feng more than once, "Brother Qin Feng, is sister Shi Ji angry with me? Why doesn't she like to talk to me lately?"
Qin Feng just smiled and touched his head without answering.
Until the bright moonlit night.
Qin Feng was meditating with his eyes closed in the cave, but Spiritual Sense was like a large invisible net covering the entire Skeleton Mountain.
He "saw" that Shi Ji, after covering Nezha with the quilt, quietly walked out of the Azure Stone Palace.
She didn't go anywhere else, she just followed the mountain road, step by step, to the highest peak of Skeleton Mountain.
The night breeze was slightly cool, blowing her green palace dress, and her skirts fluttering, like a Guanghan fairy who would ride the wind back at any time.
She found a clean bluestone and sat down, hugging her knees with her arms, resting her chin gently on it, and stared blankly at the cold Ming Yue in the sky, motionless.
The moonlight was like water, shining on her body, making her already beautiful face look even paler, and also coating her lonely back with a layer of inextricable loneliness.
In her heart, perhaps, she is like the wheel Ming Yue in the sky.
It looks beautiful, but is out of reach, exuding a cold light that could repel people thousands of miles away.
Within the Azure Stone Palace, Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes.
He knew that the time had come.
Some knots in your heart will become deeper the longer you drag them on.
He stood up from the futon without disturbing anyone. He swayed and disappeared silently.