"Fellow Daoist Yun, you really are..." For a moment, Feng Ling'er could not find the words to describe him.
Yun Qing merely gave a carefree smile and lightly brushed the subject aside. "Just a passing sentiment, a little joke. Surely I'm not so reckless as to court death by passing judgment on the Heavenly Dao?"
He had neatly talked his way out of everything himself. Little Radiant Chick, who had been nestled quietly in his arms, stroked nearly to sleep, lifted his eyelids and cast a helpless glance at his naive elder brother.
Yun Qing lowered his head to look at the little fellow snuggled in his arms. That warm golden down looked especially soft beneath the daylight, and his gaze softened without his realizing it.
That fleeting moment of distraction and nostalgia had been like a stone tossed into a deep pool. Once the ripples faded, stillness returned.
The past was like flowers in a mirror, the moon upon water-clear, yet beyond reach. The peace and warmth belonging to that "past," and the hint of weakness they brought, gradually dissipated as he spoke. Resolve once more filled his eyes.
He looked up at Feng Ling'er, his gaze falling on the hairpin shimmering with moonlight in her hair, then on the jade ring at her fingertip, its Dao resonance held within. A teasing smile tugged at his lips. "If we're talking about a pampered upbringing, wouldn't you fit the bill better, Fellow Daoist Feng? Even if your memories are clouded, that outfit of yours doesn't lie.
"Spiritual radiance glimmers around you, and your treasures have a splendor all their own. Then there's that Purple-Gold Immortal Seal on your forehead, just like mine... tsk, tsk. Surely you're the cherished young lady of some supreme aristocratic clan, or a divine maiden of