A Brief Respite

Yun Jingheng sat behind his desk for three days.

It's the same outfit every day.

In the morning, I sat on the east side of the lake for three hours, then came back to shower and change clothes, went into the Sea God Pavilion, and sat there until dark.

Ye Xinglan and Gu Yuena visited him several times, and they no longer asked, "How much longer will it take for the approval?"

She simply placed the tea beside him and then left. Ya Li would occasionally come in to replace the cold food, but Yun Ming never came.

On the morning of the fourth day, Yun Jingheng finally reduced the backlog of files to just a small stack.

He stretched, and a cracking sound came from the back of his neck.

Half-Sweet Coffee said softly, "Master, you have been working continuously for three hours. It is now 12:45 PM."

Yun Jingheng hummed in agreement, stood up, and walked to the window.

The sunlight outside the window was bright, and the trees in the Inner Court had grown quite a bit taller, their leaves fluttering lightly in the wind.

Yun Jingheng looked at it for a while, then suddenly said, "Half-Sweet Coffee, shouldn't I go to Hudong?"

"It's not time yet. Evening class is before sunset, so there are still more than two hours to go," said Half-Sweet Coffee.

Yun Jingheng said "Oh," stood there for a while, then turned and walked back to the table.

There were still a few documents to sign. He picked up his pen. The top one was a proposal for expanding the college's enrollment, written by Tang Yinmeng. The handwriting was very neat. Yun Jingheng read it and signed it.

The next document was handed to him by Lan Muzi, concerning the site selection for the new animal training ground. He read it twice, signed it, and then the next document was about Wu Zhangkong's western patrol adjustments, which he also signed.

When he was signing off on the last document, his hand paused for a moment. It was a transfer order application to reinstate senior courses in the Combat Department of the Outer Court, and it was signed "Shen Yi".

Yun Jingheng paused on the paper with his pen for a moment before signing it.

"This is the last one for today," said the Half-Sweet Coffee. Yun Jingheng put down his pen.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. After a few breaths, he asked, "Any news lately?"

Half-Sweet Coffee was silent for a moment, then said, "There are two. Both are shared lines between the Tang Sect and the Spirit Pagoda. Would you like to hear them, Master?"

"Speak," Yun Jingheng without opening his eyes.

"There are a lot of refugees heading south from the western border. Some people along the way pointed them in the right direction, saying that Shrek City could take people in. The Tang Sect's spies went to investigate, but they couldn't find that person. They only saw a few campfires and words written on the ground with sticks that said ' Shrek '," said Half-Sweet Coffee.

Yun Jingheng didn't speak, but his fingers, which were resting on his knees, twitched very slightly.

"Another one."

Half-Sweet Coffee paused, "The Blood God Legion came from the Far North. The Abyss Rift has contracted abnormally twice in the past month. General Zhang Huanyun said it's not a natural phenomenon; something is moving on the other side of the rift, but all detection has failed to find any trace of intrusion."

Yun Jingheng still didn't open his eyes. He slowly took a breath and then exhaled.

After a long while, he finally said, "I understand."

He didn't ask any more questions, Half-Sweet Coffee went silent. There was a breeze outside the window, and the sunlight was beautiful. Yun Jingheng sat for a while, then stood up, picked up his coat from the back of the chair, and said, "I'm going for a walk."

He left the Sea God Pavilion and slowly walked towards the lake. He stopped only when he reached the open space on the east bank of the lake.

Ye Xinglan and Gu Yuena were already there. Ye Xinglan was sitting on the old embankment practicing swordplay, while Gu Yuena was standing by the lake, her silver hair swaying gently in the wind. When they saw Yun Jingheng, they both turned to look at him.

Yun Jingheng walked over, and Ye Xinglan glanced at him. "Finished approving?"

Yun Jingheng said, "It's all approved."

Gu Yuena asked, "Are you in a bad mood?"

Yun Jingheng said, "No, I'm just a little tired."

I found a rock by the old embankment and sat down.

He had brought this stone out of the water when he came a few days earlier.

After he sat down, he stretched his legs forward, his heels lightly stepping on a few blades of grass. A breeze had already stirred the lake, and the water rippled gently towards the shore.

Ye Xinglan sheathed her sword, walked over, and sat down to his left. She didn't speak and looked at the lake. Gu Yuena went around behind him but didn't sit down.

She raised her hand, pressed her thumb and forefinger onto his temples, and slowly began to massage them.

Her fingers were cool, and her touch was neither too strong nor too weak. Yun Jingheng was startled at first, then his whole body went limp, and the back of his head unconsciously leaned into her arms.

He hummed softly. Ye Xinglan glanced at him, pulled his hand over, and placed it on her knee. She didn't say anything, just kept massaging it while Gu Yuena continued to rub it.

A lake breeze blew from the front, slowly lengthening the shadows of the three of them.

Yun Jingheng, with his eyes closed, suddenly said, "Do you think I'll still be able to sit here after I become a god?"

Ye Xinglan said, "Why not?"

Gu Yuena said, "Wherever you are, we will be there."

Yun Jingheng didn't open his eyes. He smiled and said, "What if the Divine Realm doesn't allow it?"

Gu Yuena said calmly, "Tear it down."

Ye Xinglan hummed in agreement.

Yun Jingheng laughed out loud. He looked up and saw the clouds overhead slowly moving westward. The sky was still bright. The God Trial, the Divine Realm, and the Three Corpses were not as important as this moment.

He was right there, accompanied by two people, like the most ordinary family by this lake.

He asked, "What are we having for dinner?"

Ye Xinglan said, "Aunt Ya Li said she left some soup."

Gu Yuena continued, "And there's also your favorite candied lotus root."

Yun Jingheng clicked his tongue. "Then we need to hurry back. It won't taste good if it gets cold." He started to get up.

Gu Yuena patted his shoulder. "Sit a little longer." Yun Jingheng sat back down and didn't say anything more.

Gu Yuena held Ye Xinglan's hand even tighter, her hand still gently rubbing his forehead. The wind was light, and the lake was still.

When Tang Wulin walked from the edge of the woods, the sky was already beginning to set in the west.

He was wearing a new outfit today, and he walked very lightly as he stood by the lake, looking at Yun Jingheng.

Yun Jingheng was still sitting on the rock, Gu Yuena was massaging his temples, and Ye Xinglan's hand was still on the back of his hand.

All three of them saw him.

"They've arrived," Yun Jingheng said.

Tang Wulin hummed in agreement. He said, "I need to leave for a while."

Yun Jingheng didn't speak. He didn't ask where they were going or how long they would be gone.

The two were a few steps apart.

A breeze blew across the lake, gently lifting the hem of Tang Wulin's robes. After a few moments, Yun Jingheng nodded and said, "Alright."

Tang Wulin slowly walked up and stood next to Yun Jingheng, looking at the lake for a while.

He said, "I always feel like I'm lacking something, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's not cultivation level, nor is it Godhood."

Yun Jingheng said, "I know." Tang Wulin turned to look at him.

Yun Jingheng smiled and said, "The fact that you can talk to me about these things now is already a step forward compared to before." Tang Wulin also smiled.

He didn't say anything more, but took something out of his pocket and put it in Yun Jingheng's palm. It was a small, round blue pebble.

Yun Jingheng glanced down at it, and Tang Wulin said, "I found it in the East Sea. I think it's quite pretty, you can keep it for now." Yun Jingheng didn't ask why.

He clasped the pebble in his palm, Tang Wulin took a step back, saying, "I'll come back when I feel I can."

Yun Jingheng said, "Okay. We're all here."

Ye Xinglan nodded at him, while Gu Yuena only glanced at him once, and that one glance was enough.

Tang Wulin turned and left without looking back. His footsteps went down the old embankment, past the edge of the woods, and gradually faded from view.