After the others had been gone for a while, the prison guards who had stepped aside finally came over.
The cell door closed. The migration to the Fifth Domain was drawing to its end, while preparations for the coronation ceremony in the new capital were in full swing.
A new world, a new age, seemed about to arrive. The whole realm was steeped in the air of a future without war—at least, that was what was being proclaimed to the people.
No more war was indeed heartening news for the people of the realm. Even those whose lives were presently hard, who could barely keep going, found the confidence to persevere, hoping to hold on until that beautiful day arrived.
People and events alike seemed to have suddenly taken on a new breath of life...
Peach Blossom Spring, beneath peach blossom trees blazing like rosy clouds.
As the wind rose, Shang Shuqing lifted her head to welcome the fluttering fallen blossoms. Her face shone with happiness as she reached out and caught a petal.
Niu Youdao had returned—to the place he had never come back to since leaving all those years ago, the place that had held five years of his life.
He now stood beside Shang Shuqing, keeping her company. Watching the happiness on her face, he smiled. "We first met here."
Shang Shuqing glanced at him, her cheeks tinged with shyness, ripples flowing through her bright eyes. She recalled the past—their first meeting, the first time she had seen him lazily turn over in his sleep beneath a peach tree strewn with fallen blossoms. Looking up at the peach flowers blazing like rosy clouds, she smiled as well and murmured dreamily, "So beautiful!"
As he looked at her face, Niu Youdao's gaze shifted away toward the distance. Then