"This is where I practiced from the time I was little."
Lu Xueqi stood at the edge of Moon-Watching Terrace, gazing at the distant Sea of Clouds as she spoke softly.
"Before, I always practiced my sword here alone and watched the moon."
"Back then, I thought that in my world, there was nothing but my sword and this cold, lonely moon."
Loneliness tinged her voice.
"But now, things are different."
Lu Xueqi turned to look at Li Xiaoyu, tenderness filling those usually cool eyes.
"Now, there's you in my world."
Her words warmed Li Xiaoyu's heart.
He stepped forward, wanting to gather her into his arms.
But Lu Xueqi took a step back and shook her head.
She gave him a smile of breathtaking beauty.
"Tonight, I want to perform a sword dance for you."
The Tianya Divine Sword in her hand rang as it left its sheath.
Moonlight poured like water over Moon-Watching Terrace, turning the vast flagstones a silvery white.
Lu Xueqi held Tianya beneath the moonlight.
Dressed in white as pure as snow, she was peerlessly graceful, like a celestial maiden who did not belong to the mortal world.
The usual chill and distance had vanished from her eyes.
In their place was tenderness as soft as water and passion as fierce as fire.
Her gaze lingered only on the one spectator below the terrace.
Li Xiaoyu stood quietly beneath her, watching.
His heart brimmed with anticipation and emotion.
Li Xiaoyu knew that tonight's sword dance would be her most heartfelt confession of love.
"Clang!"
A clear, ringing sword cry broke the stillness of the night.
Lu Xueqi moved.
Her figure spun lightly beneath the moon like a butterfly dancing on the breeze.
The Tianya Divine Sword in her hand was no longer a weapon of