"Shisan, look, they recognize me now."
The waters of Little Mirror Lake were as clear as ever. Two mandarin ducks swam across the surface, one behind the other, trailing two slender ripples.
Zi Yuner crouched on the bank with a smile on her face, holding a willow twig and gently stirring the water.
She had completely let go of her hatred for the Purple Sky Dragon King.
The two mandarin ducks showed no fear at the sight of her. Instead, they swam a little closer and tilted their heads at her, as though waiting for her to feed them something.
"You really are a pair of little gluttons."
Zi Yuner glanced back at Lin Shisan, her lips curving in a faint smile.
Lin Shisan sat on a stone on the bank. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, forcing a smile.
Zi Yuner watched him for several breaths, then tossed the willow twig into the water, clapped her hands clean, and stood. She walked over and crouched before him, tilting her head as she asked softly, "Shisan, is something on your mind?"
"No."
"No? You can't fool me."
Zi Yuner lightly tapped between his brows with a fingertip. "You've been frowning here ever since we left Nine Yang Pavilion. You haven't relaxed once. It's almost tied itself into a knot. Shisan, I'm your wife. When you're ready to talk, I can listen. I mean it."
Lin Shisan opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed the words before they came out. Something really was weighing on him. The words on the Beastskin Scroll Gu Mengli had given him had turned over and over in his mind several times, and with each turn, another heavy layer pressed down on him.
At Netherworld Palace, especially when he saw Zi Yuner on