"Biqiong?"
"Biqiong, how are you?"
It was as if she heard such voices in her ears.
They were very familiar, and full of concern.
Zhu Biqiong still remembered the sea wind that day, keening like a flute. Of course, she also remembered someone's breathing in that wind—so tense, so unsteady.
Her body, gradually losing its life force, could no longer feel itself, yet she could somehow feel another person's heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump.
She heard every beat with perfect clarity.
That lonely heartbeat—at least along that stretch of road—had beaten for her.
How far was it from End of the World Terrace on Huai Island to Heavenly Mansion City in Qi State?
Back then, because her elder sister had tragically fallen within the Heavenly Mansion Secret Realm, she had left Huai Island alone, intending to investigate Hu Shaomeng in Yang Land. Nervous and apprehensive every step of the way, she had traveled for nearly a month before reaching Heavenly Mansion City.
At that time, she had stood outside Full Moon Pool, surrounded by towering walls, only to be told that no one was permitted to approach while the Heavenly Mansion Secret Realm was closed. Before those heavy, indifferent walls, she had truly realized for the first time that her elder sister had left forever.
She had lost her umbrella. She could no longer hide beneath anyone's wings; from then on, she could only face this world alone.
This world was far too unfamiliar.
Every part of it was different from when her elder sister had still been alive.
The second time she came to Heavenly Mansion City, she did not even remember how long the journey had taken. At that moment when her lamp was running dry and her oil exhausted, every breath had been torment. Yet in that embrace