Little Girl stared blankly at the flowers of the other shore blooming all across the far bank of the stream, at the white-clad figure among them.
He looked just as he had when he left, graceful as jade, scholarly and at ease in the breeze.
She, too, looked just as she had back then, unchanged. So that he would not find her unfamiliar when they met again, she had kept herself from growing up for a thousand years!
A gentle breeze blew past White-Clad One, carrying the fragrance of the flowers of the other shore to Little Girl.
"Older... Brother..." Little Girl opened her mouth and murmured softly.
Then, unable to hold back any longer, she sprang into the air and flung herself hard into the white-clad figure's arms.
"Older Brother... Older Brother..."
"Older Brother..."
"Older Brother..."
Little Girl clung tightly to Su Jingyan, her eyes brimming with tears.
Her ceaseless cries of "Older Brother" lingered among the mountains and rivers, stirring boundless tenderness.
Su Jingyan held Little Girl close as well, his expression filled with utter contentment.
The flowers of the other shore covering the mountains and fields bloomed beneath the brilliant sun, looking bewitching and vivid amid the mist thrown up by the waterfall.
When flowers of the other shore bloom all over the mountains, we will meet again!
For this moment, White-Clad One had given far, far too much...
Among the flowers of the other shore, Su Jingyan did not speak. He only held Little Girl, listening to her choked, tender calls.
"Older Brother... Older Brother..."
Su Jingyan raised a hand and gently stroked the top of Little Girl's head, smiling, yet seemingly at a loss for words.
He simply held Little Girl with one arm and stroked the top of her head with his other hand.