Fragrant locust blossoms bloomed once more.
Endless petals drifted down, carpeting the wild bridge, unable to tell the sorrow in one's heart.
Dong Yong had changed from a clean-cut young man into a bearded, drunken sot. Leaning against the ancient locust tree, he poured wine down his throat, half asleep and half awake as he muttered nonsense. Perhaps only the Old Scholar Tree could understand him clearly. The townsfolk had grown used to it; now and then, one could hear neighbors gossiping, some sympathetic, some mocking.
"Ziyi... Let Ziyi go..."
He mumbled incoherently, his upturned gaze toward the sky filled with hatred.
In his daze, he seemed to see his wife returning. He blinked and decided he must be dreaming. Ziyi was still as young as ever, crying until she looked like a person made of tears.
"Dong... Don't torment yourself like this, okay? Sob..."
Dong Yong smiled. A dream was fine. As long as he could be with his wife, nothing else mattered.
"My wife, they said you would never come back. I didn't believe them. Today, I finally waited for you. From now on, we'll never be separated again..."
"You fool..."
Ziyi cradled the haggard, disheveled Dong Yong and sobbed.
A pair of pitiful, star-crossed lovers.
At the same time.
Some white dragon in the Heavenly Court, having drunk her fill of spirit spring water and washed her tail, was practicing how to operate a certain mirror-type Magic Tool. This item was essential equipment for every Heavenly Army camp, used to observe enemy movements and patrol for danger. There was an even larger and stronger one at the South Heavenly Gate, though ordinary people had no authority to operate it. Its observation capabilities could be compared to the heavenly eye.
The mirror Magic Tool was enormous and had