Leaving

It was late at night.

The living room lights had long since been turned off. Only the hallway lamp remained, casting a faint warm yellow glow through the crack beneath the door and leaving a slender strip of light across the bedroom floor.

Huang Feng'er stood at the doorway holding two cups of warm milk. Her fingertips rested against the door as she knocked softly twice.

Without waiting for an answer from inside, she pushed the door open.

She had expected Na'er to be as usual, lying on the bed and kicking her legs as she told Tang Wulin stories, or for the two of them to be sitting together playing cat's cradle.

But when she opened the door, she found that Tang Wulin was the only one sitting at the edge of the bed in the spacious bedroom.

The small nightlight beside the bed emitted a dim orange glow, stretching his shadow long across the opposite wall, lonely and alone.

He had his head lowered, his fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of the bedsheet. His shoulders sagged slightly, and he did not even look up when someone entered. Na'er's little bed beside him had been neatly made, the rabbit plush sitting properly against the pillow, and the pink ceramic cup turned upside down on its coaster. Everything looked as though its owner had only stepped out temporarily and would soon return.

"Wulin, where's Na'er?"

Huang Feng'er placed the two cups of warm milk on the bedside table, her voice softer than usual.

Her gaze swept over the empty bedside, and a trace of barely noticeable confusion flashed through her golden eyes.

Tang Wulin's shoulders trembled as he slowly raised his head.

He opened his mouth, his voice terribly hoarse, like sandpaper lightly scraping over paper.

"Na'er... was taken away by her family."

Huang Feng'er froze for a moment.

The hand she had extended toward a cup stopped halfway. The warm rim of the milk cup pressed against her fingertips, yet she seemed unable to feel its warmth.

Only after two seconds did she withdraw her hand and take half a step closer, asking, "Do you know where Na'er went? Will we be able to find her in the future?"

Her tone remained calm, without much emotional fluctuation. Only her fingers unconsciously tightened around the cup, her knuckles turning slightly pale.

Tang Wulin merely shook his head gently, his gaze dimming. Although Jin Qiu had assured him that they would meet again sooner or later, he had no idea when that would be.

"I don't know. I was just about to ask where they lived and how to contact them, but in the blink of an eye, all three of them disappeared. Not even their footprints remained on the beach."

Huang Feng'er said nothing further.

She walked to the window and looked out into the heavy night.

Sparse stars hung in the ink-blue sky. The distant lighthouse flashed on and off, while the sea breeze carried damp salty air into the room, stirring the loose strands of hair before her forehead.

She remained silent for a long while before letting out a heavy sigh. Steam rose from the milk cup, blurring her features.

Deep down, she had long sensed that Na'er was no ordinary child. She had already guessed that they would part someday, but she had never expected it to happen so soon, so abruptly, without even a proper goodbye.

Rationally, she knew that being found by her family was ultimately a good thing for Na'er.

But when she thought of how she would never again wake up to that soft little voice calling her "Sister," never again find strawberry candies secretly slipped into her pocket, never again have someone stand on tiptoe behind her and pester her to teach her how to fold paper phoenixes, it felt as if something inside her had been hollowed out, leaving her stifled and heavy-hearted.

"Sister, this is the last letter Na'er left behind."

Tang Wulin's voice interrupted her thoughts.

He carefully pulled a pink envelope from the pocket close to his chest and handed it to her.

The envelope bore Na'er's favorite strawberry pattern. Its corners had become slightly wrinkled from being touched so often. Three little rabbits had been clumsily drawn on the front in crayon, with the words "For Brother and Sister" written beside them. The handwriting was round and adorable, just like her. The envelope also carried a faint strawberry sweetness, the scent of the lollipops she always kept in her mouth.

Huang Feng'er accepted the envelope. When her fingertips touched the paper, it still carried Tang Wulin's warmth.

She opened the envelope and drew out the thin sheet of letter paper inside.

Huang Feng'er's fingertips tightened slightly around the paper, and her eyelashes trembled softly.

She said nothing. She simply read through it slowly, page by page, then carefully folded it back along its original creases, returned it to the envelope, and placed it securely in the top drawer of the bedside table.

"Sister, there's this too."

Tang Wulin pulled a necklace from his chest again. He held the thin silver chain lightly between his fingers, as though cradling some Rare Treasure, and slowly offered it to Huang Feng'er.

It was a delicate silver teardrop pendant, its casing polished smooth and bright, with a silver gemstone the size of a pigeon egg set inside.

Under the warm glow of the nightlight, faint seven-colored radiance could clearly be seen flowing within the gemstone, as though an entire scattering of tiny rainbows had been sealed inside. It was gentle and beautiful.

The chain still carried a trace of body warmth. Tang Wulin had clearly kept it close to him for a long time.

"Na'er left this behind too. She said... her mother had left it for her, and asked me to keep it safe for her."

The room suddenly fell quiet.

Neither of them spoke. They merely watched the pendant, its faint glow flowing beneath the light.

The evening breeze drifted through the half-open window, carrying the night's chill. It stirred the curtains and the gauzy canopy hanging beside Na'er's bed.

The rabbit plush swayed gently in the wind, as though that soft little girl were still sitting there, hugging it and smiling at them.

Scenes from the past three years surfaced in both their minds at the same time, like a film playing before their eyes.

It was when they had first brought Na'er home. She had timidly hidden behind Tang Wulin, only half of her little silver-haired head peeking out as she softly called, "Brother."

It was during the New Year, when Na'er wore a newly made red cotton jacket, clutched candy in her hands, and ran around offering New Year greetings to everyone without caring that flour had gotten on her face.

It was when Huang Feng'er received her first paycheck and bought Na'er that rabbit plush. Na'er had hugged it and spun around in place several times with joy.

It was every time Tang Wulin returned from forging, when Na'er would wait at the door with warm water, standing on tiptoe to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Those fragmented yet warm moments of everyday life had clearly happened only yesterday, yet now, when they remembered them, they already seemed separated by an invisible distance.

The pendant's seven-colored light flowed softly through the dim room, like the scattered, glittering brightness in Na'er's eyes whenever she smiled.

One year later.

Early in the morning, Aolai City's soul train station was already packed with people.

A silver-white soul train sat quietly beside the platform, intricate soul device patterns carved into its front as pale steam rose from it. A sweet female voice repeatedly announced ticket-checking information over the broadcast, mingling with the chatter of the crowd, the rumble of suitcase wheels over the floor, and vendors calling out to sell tea eggs. The station was bustling with life.

"Dad, Mom, we're leaving!"

Tang Wulin stood at the ticket gate with two bulging cloth bags in his hands. He turned around and waved at the two people behind him. His face was full of barely concealed excitement, his eyes sparkling like a little bird about to fly out of its cage. This was his first time leaving Aolai City to study in the legendary Eastsea City, and his heart was already filled with anticipation.

Standing beside him, Huang Feng'er also nodded slightly, her tone gentler than usual.

"Dad, Mom, we'll call home once we get to school. Whenever we have time, we'll definitely call you too."

"Ah, all right." Lang Yue stood outside the railing, her eyes already red. She kept raising her hand to wipe at the corners of her eyes, but afraid that the children would worry if they saw, she wiped them away quickly each time and forced herself to smile as she reminded them, "Tangtang, Feng'er, make sure you eat well at school. Don't be reluctant to spend money. Remember to put on more clothes when it gets cold, and don't catch a chill. You must come home to see Dad and Mom during the holidays, all right?"

Ever since Na'er had been taken away by her family a year ago and vanished without a trace, Lang Yue had often had nightmares. She dreamed that the children around her would disappear one after another, and every time she woke up, her pillow would be soaked. So during that year, she had constantly found new ways to cook delicious food for the two children. At night, she loved sitting in the living room and watching them study and forge beneath the lights, simply wanting to spend more time with them.

Though none of the three children were her biological children, she had regarded them as her own from the very first day she brought them home. Now that she was sending two of them away at once, her heart felt empty, as though a great piece had been torn from it.

"All right, all right, it's not as though they won't come back." Tang Ziran stood beside her and gently patted her shoulder, his tone steady and mild. "Don't worry. They've grown up. They're no longer little children who need someone to hold their hands while they walk. Eastsea City isn't far from Aolai City either. The soul train only takes two hours. They can come back anytime they want."

Although he said that, his eyes were also full of reluctance and worry as he watched the two children's backs. Quietly, he slipped an envelope filled with money into the outermost compartment of Tang Wulin's backpack. He thought that having a little extra money on hand could never be a bad thing for children away from home.

The line at the ticket gate slowly moved forward.

Tang Wulin waved again before turning around and pulling his suitcase along with the line. Huang Feng'er walked beside him with only a simple black backpack on her back, her belongings packed neatly and efficiently.

"Sister, what do you think Eastsea City is like?"

As they walked through the passage leading to the platform, Tang Wulin moved closer to Huang Feng'er and asked excitedly. Teacher Mang Tian had told him that Eastsea City was a major coastal city, more than ten times larger than Aolai City. It had the tallest Spirit Pagoda, the most professional Forging Masters Association, and many powerful soul masters.

"Wulin, stay a little farther away from me."

Huang Feng'er shifted to the side, putting half a step between them as she spoke in an even tone.

"Huh? Sister, why?"

Tang Wulin froze, even stopping in his tracks. His face was full of confusion. He looked himself over, but he did not feel that anything was wrong.

"You're dressed too ugly."

Huang Feng'er glanced at him, the corners of her mouth dipping slightly. Her tone carried a trace of undisguised disdain.

The passing travelers around them truly could not help looking over a few times.

It was not for any other reason. Tang Wulin's outfit was simply too eye-catching.

He wore a bright yellow shirt with highly saturated colors, covered in crooked dark-purple dragon patterns, with a small forger's badge pinned to the collar. His lower half was clad in dark-purple trousers with two wide bright-yellow stripes running along the sides. The yellow and purple clashed so violently that he looked like a dazzling block of color from far away.

On each wrist, he wore a silver storage soul device bracelet. They were rewards Mang Tian had given him after he passed the Thousandfold Tempering assessment, specially meant for storing forging hammers and tools. They were heavy and especially conspicuous at a glance.

A section of silver chain also showed at his neck. The seven-colored gemstone pendant Na'er had left behind rested against his collar, gently swaying with every step.

From head to toe, he looked like a gaudy walking paint palette.

"Yellow and purple actually go pretty well together. I suddenly understand why Bai E likes pairing yellow with purple so much.

Seeing Tang Wulin's outfit, Jin Qiu could not help praising it. After all, he genuinely thought Tang Wulin looked quite good in it.

Tang San, standing beside him, shared Huang Feng'er's taste and could not understand this beautiful color combination.

Over the past year, he had tried several times to correct Tang Wulin's sense of fashion, but all had failed. In the end, he simply gave up."

"Huh? I think it looks pretty good."

Tang Wulin lowered his head and tugged at his shirt, then pulled at his pant legs. He looked himself over from left to right and still thought the outfit looked quite spirited.

Lang Yue had specially made these new clothes for him. The fabric was sturdy and resistant to dirt, while yellow and purple were both colors he liked. They were comfortable and eye-catching, and he had stared at himself in the mirror for a long time the night before.

"Until we get on the train, let's keep our distance." Huang Feng'er expressionlessly moved two steps forward and silently quickened her pace.

"I can't afford to lose this much face."

With that, she carried her backpack and strode toward the platform. Her short red hair swayed behind her as she walked away cleanly and decisively, as though standing beside Tang Wulin for one more second would make her a target of the passersby's laughter as well.

"Huh? Sister! Wait for me!"

Tang Wulin hurried after her, carrying the two cloth bags.

He still could not understand how she had suddenly decided he was ugly.

The wind in the passage swept over him with the train's steam, puffing up his bright-yellow shirt and making him stand out especially clearly among the crowd.