They tore through the planar barrier surrounding Douluo Planet, and the vast, fathomless tapestry of the universe unfurled before them.
Free of the Star Alliance's tangled affairs of state, their long-delayed honeymoon became a romantic adventure for two the moment they entered the sea of stars.
In the third month after leaving their home planet, Tang Linyuan took Na'er's hand and landed on a strange planet that shimmered translucent purple.
Not a speck of soil or vegetation could be seen on its surface. Everywhere they looked, six-sided amethyst crystals rose higher than skyscrapers.
Light from the star overhead poured down and refracted through billions of crystalline forests, setting the whole world ablaze with color. Its inhabitants were not creatures of flesh and blood, but silicon-based life-forms made entirely of crystal: the Crystal Song Tribe.
They had no mouths and could not form human syllables. To communicate, they struck the crystalline edges of their bodies, sending messages through clear, ringing vibrations.
In a crystal valley, Na'er crouched with keen interest beside a cluster of glowing stones. Before her stood a little crystal person, barely half as tall as a human and transparent from head to toe.
Na'er tentatively extended a slender finger and copied the rhythm she had just observed, tapping the little crystal person's shoulder three times. A string of crisp chimes rang out.
At the sound of her message, light flared wildly through the little crystal person's body. The prisms that formed its face rattled and shook. It stumbled back several steps, plunged headfirst into a nearby pile of rubble, and trembled.
Na'er froze. Still holding up her finger, she turned helplessly toward Tang Linyuan.
"Brother Linyuan, didn't I tap out the rhythm they used to say hello? Why did I scare him so badly?"
Tang Linyuan walked over