Drunken Butterfly

"Phew—"

Bibi Dong took a deep breath, steeling herself.

After "working up to it" for a moment, she gently lifted her nightdress and used a finger to hook open a purple "sleeping bag," letting out a "Light Goddess Butterfly."

Then Bibi Dong bit her lip and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to "make her move," Zhao Linchuan suddenly opened his eyes!

He raised his right hand and, with lightning speed, jabbed toward the "brow" of the "Light Goddess Butterfly"!

"Wait—!"

At the instant his fingertip was about to touch it, Zhao Linchuan finally saw what was happening.

His pupils abruptly contracted. He hastily pulled back, but his hand was moving too fast to stop completely. His fingertip touched the "brow" of the "Light Goddess Butterfly"!

"Ah—!!"

A cry of pain burst from Bibi Dong.

The shrill, anguished scream exploded through the silent night, startling the birds in the courtyard into flapping up into the air.

She dropped her nightdress as if burned, leaped off the bed, covered her "sleeping bag" with both hands, and ran for the door, her face flushed and tears welling in her eyes.

Her steps were hurried and frantic. Her bare feet slapped against the cold floor.

The scream woke Yan Lingji. She propped herself up and glanced at Bibi Dong's fleeing figure, still bleary-eyed with sleep.

"What did you do to her?"

Zhao Linchuan withdrew his hand and stared at his fingertip, falling silent for a moment.

At length, he slowly began to recount exactly what had just happened.

"Well..."

"Here's what happened..."

"...That's more or less the whole story."

"Ah—?!"

After hearing him out, Yan Lingji couldn't help letting out a shriek. Her expression was caught somewhere between laughter and tears.

"She really went through with it?"

She hurriedly grabbed Zhao Linchuan's hand and examined it from every angle.

"Good, there's no blood, and everything's still there..." Yan Lingji let out a long breath and patted her chest. "Otherwise, you really would've ruined her."

She let go of Zhao Linchuan's hand, threw off the covers, sat up, and began getting dressed.

"I'll go check on her and comfort her. I'll make sure nothing's wrong."

She finished tying her sash, picked up her coat, and turned to Zhao Linchuan.

"Get some rest. I might not come back tonight."

"Should I come with you?" Zhao Linchuan pushed himself up, as though about to get out of bed.

"Absolutely not." Yan Lingji hurriedly waved him off. "If you go too, I reckon Dong'er will run straight into a wall."

She walked over to the bedroom door and stepped outside, glancing back.

"Go to sleep. Don't overthink it. I'll check on her."

"Sorry for the trouble, my dear," Zhao Linchuan said with concern. "Please make sure she doesn't do anything rash."

"Don't worry. Leave it to your wife..."

A long while later.

Yan Lingji followed Bibi Dong all the way to the Saintess Hall.

Bibi Dong rushed into her bedroom and flung herself onto the bed, burying her face in the bedding. Her shoulders shook as she curled up like a startled rabbit.

About a quarter of an hour later.

The Soul Guidance Lamp in the bedroom was lit again, its warm glow driving away the darkness.

Bibi Dong sat on the edge of the bed with her head buried against Yan Lingji's chest. She clutched Yan Lingji's clothes tightly, tears soaking the fabric, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Sister Ling Ji..." she sobbed, her voice muffled. "I really had no idea what I was doing."

"I got that idea while I was all muddled... I really didn't do it on purpose."

"All right, all right."

Yan Lingji gently stroked Bibi Dong's back, her palm passing over it again and again as she spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

"He doesn't blame you, does he?"

"Boohoo..."

At Yan Lingji's words, Bibi Dong cried even harder.

Her tears fell like beads from a broken string, pattering down as her whole body trembled.

It was true, Zhao Linchuan didn't blame her.

But!

But—!!

Even in her own thoughts, Bibi Dong couldn't bear to dwell on it any further.

That scene had been utterly mortifying!

She was the dignified Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, the future Pope, and she'd done something like that—only to be caught red-handed.

She wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it, never to emerge.

"Dong'er..."

Yan Lingji sighed. She really didn't know how to comfort Bibi Dong.

She fell silent for a moment, gently combing through Bibi Dong's hair with her fingers, again and again, her movements tender and slow.

"How about this?" she said at last, her voice tinged with helplessness. "You can be with him from now on."

"Ah...?" Bibi Dong's sobs faltered.

Yan Lingji continued:

"I can tell that you like him, and he cares about you too."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have given you such precious Immortal Herbs, Soul Rings, and Soul Bones."

"And you wouldn't have avoided him when he asked you to bear his children."

"Boohoo... Sister Ling Ji..."

At that, Bibi Dong cried even harder, her tears pouring down like a flood bursting its banks, impossible to stop.

Her head hung low. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, making her look both pitiable and adorable.

"You and Linchuan make such a lovely couple. Are you really willing to share him?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yan Lingji smiled faintly. She raised a hand and gently wiped the tears from Bibi Dong's cheek with her thumb.

"How could a man like him not have a few women around to look after him?"

"If I tied him down and wouldn't let any other women stay by his side, how would that make me any different from a jealous shrew?"

"Besides, I can't have a hundred children, even if it kills me."

"Wouldn't I need someone else to help share the burden?"

"Huh?"

Bibi Dong abruptly lifted her head, eyes wide as saucers. Tears quivered on her lashes, and she looked shocked and bewildered.

"Sister Ling Ji, you really plan to have a hundred children for him?"

"Of course."

Yan Lingji spoke with shining eyes, a bright light in them as if she were already dreaming of that bustling future.

"A big family needs lots of children."

"Which of those princes and nobles doesn't have wives and concubines galore, with descendants spread far and wide?"

"My husband is so outstanding. What's wrong with him taking a few more wives and having a hundred children?"

"You're really generous."

Bibi Dong rubbed her reddened eyes, her voice carrying a complicated emotion she couldn't quite put into words.

She gazed at Yan Lingji for a long time, as though seeing this gentle, magnanimous woman anew.

"If I were you, I'd never share him."

Yan Lingji only smiled at that and said nothing.

She raised her right hand and gently wiped the lingering tear tracks from Bibi Dong's cheek with her thumb.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked softly.

At that, Bibi Dong's face instantly flushed.

The red spread from her cheeks to her ears, then down her neck and to her chest. She looked as if she'd been tossed into a dye vat.

She lowered her head, unable to meet Yan Lingji's eyes, and twisted the hem of her clothes between her fingers as she murmured:

"It hurts... The wings have even turned purple..."