The day after the celestial banquet, Xiu Yun Yin was in the Hall of Fate arranging red threads.
He sat at the desk, running his fingers through the knots in the red thread, straightening each strand one by one.
The movements were much slower than usual. After sorting one bundle, I picked up another. When I got to the third bundle, my hands stopped.
The Marriage Register in front of him was open, with names neatly arranged. His gaze lingered on one name for a long while.
Last night, after returning from Jade Pool, Qiguan Yuan yawned, said "I'm sleepy," and turned to walk towards the Tree of Fate.
He completely ignored the gazes of others, including Xiu Yun Yin.
Xiu Yun Yin stood at the entrance of the Hall of Fate, watching the dark red figure disappear into the night.
Then I looked down and saw an oil paper package on the table.
It was the one that held candied fruit; it was half empty, Qiguan Yuan forgot to take it.
He picked up the oil paper package, folded it neatly, and put it in the drawer under the desk.
There were already seven or eight identical paper packages in the drawer, neatly folded.
These were all left casually by Qiguan Yuan when he occasionally visited the Hall of Fate in the past. Some were candied fruits, some were candies, and some were just ordinary oil paper used to wrap fruit.
Qiguan Yuan casually tossed it aside, Xiu Yun Yin casually picked it up. Qiguan Yuan probably didn't know that these paper packets were still there.
Xiu Yun Yin closed the drawer, stood up, took a bundle of red thread, and left the palace.
Over there on the Tree of Fate, Qiguan Yuan was lying on the highest horizontal branch.
One leg dangled down, her bare foot swaying in the wind, her silver hair spread out and covered the branches, and the hem of her dark red dress hung down, swaying back and forth in the wind.
He still had half a candy dangling from his mouth, his eyes closed, and his breathing steady; he was clearly asleep again.
Xiu Yun Yin stood under the tree, looking up at it for a long time.
A gust of wind blew by, causing the white ribbon around his waist to flutter and brush against his wrist.
He looked down at his wrist, then called out.
" Qiguan Yuan."
The person in the tree stirred, but didn't wake up.
" Qiguan Yuan." Xiu Yun Yin called again, his voice still not loud, but enough to wake Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan rolled over and peeked out groggily.
Silver hair drooped down from the edge of the branch, and there were still red marks on her face. Her eyes were only open a crack, clearly not fully awake yet.
"You can keep the red thread; there's no need to bring it over." Qiguan Yuan's voice was muffled as he finished speaking and tried to retreat back to sleep.
"It's on the way," Xiu Yun Yin said.
Qiguan Yuan didn't think much of it, waved his hand, and retreated into the depths of the branches and leaves.
Xiu Yun Yin placed the red thread on the stone table under the tree, stood there for a while, then turned and left.
Two days later, Xiu Yun Yin came again.
Qiguan Yuan was perched on a tree, engrossed in reading a storybook he had acquired from the mortal realm. A tail peeked out from behind him and swayed slowly.
Xiu Yun Yin stood under the tree, opened the Marriage Register in his hand, pointed to a line of text and said, "I can't see this name clearly."
Qiguan Yuan and glanced at it. "Who wrote this?"
Then, after thinking for a moment, he said, "Oh, I wrote it. Just let him tie the knot with that embroiderer."
After saying that, it continued reading the storybook, its tail wagging again.
Xiu Yun Yin closed the Marriage Register, said "okay," and then left.
Three days later, Xiu Yun Yin brought over a new bag of candied fruit.
He stood under the tree and held up the oil paper package for Qiguan Yuan to see.
Qiguan Yuan peeked out from the tree, smelled the sweetness, his eyes lit up, and he jumped down from the tree.
"I saw this in the mortal realm; I wonder if it tastes good." Xiu Yun Yin handed over the paper package.
Qiguan Yuan, picked out an amber-colored candied fruit, popped it into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and his eyes brightened even more.
"This tastes better than the last one." He stuffed the paper package into his pocket, accepted it as a matter of course, climbed back up the tree, and ate one fruit after another.
Qiguan Yuan really loves candied fruit.
Xiu Yun Yin stood under the tree, watching Qiguan Yuan's cheeks puff up and then deflate, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Later, Xiu Yun Yin visited more and more frequently.
It started once every three to five days, then once every two or three days, and later it started every other day.
Each time they come, they have a different name.
The newly arrived tea leaves, the documents from the Heavenly Emperor that need to be reviewed by the Old Man Under the Yue Lao, the missing color of the red thread, and a difficult problem in the Marriage Register that requires the Old Man Under the Yue Lao's judgment.
Qiguan Yuan never thought there was anything wrong with these reasons.
Xiu Yun Yin came to see him, he would respond occasionally; when Su Yunyin didn't come to see him, he would go to sleep.
Once, Xiu Yun Yin didn't come for three days.
Qiguan Yuan rolled over in the tree, then rolled over again, feeling like something was missing.
He glanced in the direction of the Hall of Fate, said nothing, and then closed his eyes again.
That afternoon, Xiu Yun Yin arrived, bringing a basket of freshly picked loquats.
Qiguan Yuan jumped down from the tree, took the loquat, weighed it in his hand, and asked casually, "What have you been busy with these past few days?"
"Organize the Marriage Register," Xiu Yun Yin said.
Qiguan Yuan "Oh," peeled a loquat, popped it into his mouth, and didn't ask any more questions.
Xiu Yun Yin didn't say anything more.
That night, Xiu Yun Yin sat alone at the table in the Hall of Fate.
There were no lights in the hall, and the moonlight shone through the window lattice, turning the stack of oiled paper in front of him into a light silver color.
He held a piece of oiled paper in his hand, the very one Qiguan Yuan had first left in the hall. It still had dried sugar stains on it, which shimmered faintly in the moonlight.
He folded the oil paper neatly, opened the drawer, and put it back. The drawer already contained a thick stack of paper, each one pressed down neatly.
He's not one to make excuses for himself.
I knew from the beginning why I wanted to go to the Tree of Fate.
It's the line Qiguan Yuan said at Jade Pool, "He is mine."
He closed the drawer.
One morning, when Xiu Yun Yin the Tree of Fate, his hands were empty.
Qiguan Yuan was sitting in a tree eating loquats when he saw him coming. He looked down and glanced at his hand.
Seeing nothing, she was somewhat surprised. "Didn't you bring anything today?"
Xiu Yun Yin stood under the tree, silent for a while.
A mountain breeze blew from the valley, rustling the leaves of the Tree of Fate, and the red thread swayed gently among the branches.
Xiu Yun Yin spoke up, as if it were something trivial. " In the Hall of Fate, there are always female immortals who come to disturb us."
He said, "Ever since the celestial banquet, it's happened every day. Closing the temple doors doesn't help; they just stand guard at the entrance. Some have even asked other immortals to intercede on their behalf."
Qiguan Yuan paused for a moment while biting into the loquat.
He recalled the fairy in the pale yellow dress at Jade Pool, and the several fairy maidens who secretly glanced at Xiu Yun Yin as the banquet ended.
"While I was handling official business, they would stand outside the hall waiting. Sometimes they wouldn't leave for the entire day."
There was no hint of complaint in Xiu Yun Yin's voice; he was simply stating a fact.
After saying that, he stopped talking and stood quietly under the tree, watching Qiguan Yuan and waiting for Qiguan Yuan reaction.
Qiguan Yuan spat the loquat pit into his palm.
He frowned slightly.
It was a very subtle moment, fleeting, but Xiu Yun Yin saw it.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Qiguan Yuan jumped down from the tree and landed in front of Xiu Yun Yin.
He was a head shorter than Xiu Yun Yin, and when he looked up at people, there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his amber eyes.
He casually tossed the loquat pit onto the grass and brushed the crumbs off his hands.
"You are my Moon Official, why should they bother you?"
His tone was self-righteous, exactly the same as when he said "He is mine" at the immortal banquet.
Xiu Yun Yin looked at him without saying a word, a slight, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips.
Qiguan Yuan thought for a moment and quickly came up with an idea.
"Then just move here," Qiguan Yuan, pointing to the Tree of Fate behind him. "They can't find this place. My barrier isn't just for show."
Xiu Yun Yin did not answer immediately.
He looked at Qiguan Yuan and waited for two breaths to make sure the other party wasn't joking.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Qiguan Yuan assumed he hadn't heard her clearly and repeated, "Move in with me. The Tree of Fate is big enough; you can build a house under it or live in the tree, it's up to you. Anyway, those female immortals can't get in."
After saying that, he tilted his head and said, "What, you don't want to?"
"Okay," Xiu Yun Yin said.
Qiguan Yuan nodded, climbed back up the tree, took a piece of candy from his pocket, popped it into his mouth, and mumbled, "Then you go pack your things, I'm going to sleep for a while."
Xiu Yun Yin returned to the Hall of Fate that very day to pack his things.
He didn't take much with him.
Marriage Register, several bundles of red thread, writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and a stack of oiled paper in the drawer.
The rest were left in the hall.
Yuan Palace needs someone to take care of it; he simply no longer lives there.
When they returned to the Tree of Fate, Qiguan Yuan was already asleep on it.
Her silver hair was loose, and her dark red robes were spread out on the branches, tinged with a faint golden hue by the afternoon sunlight.
Xiu Yun Yin did not wake him. Instead, he found a flat spot under the tree and began to build a hut.
When Qiguan Yuan woke up, there was already a house under the tree.
It's not very big; it's probably modeled after houses in the mortal world.
The window frame still bore the marks of fresh planing, neatly and cleanly arranged, and the window faced directly onto the trunk of the Tree of Fate.
Qiguan Yuan peered out from the tree and said, "You built this house quite quickly."
Then he jumped down from the tree, pushed open the door without ceremony, and went inside for a quick look around.
I am very satisfied with this elegant house.
He reached into his sleeve and rummaged around, pulling out a red rope from who-knows-where.
Then he took out a copper bell that Xiu Yun Yin had given him a few days ago and hung it in front of the door.
Qiguan Yuan reached out and dialed the number, nodding in satisfaction. "From now on, if I come home, I'll dial this number, and you'll know I'm back. You'll dial it when you come back too, and I'll know you brought me candied fruit."
Xiu Yun Yin looked at him gently. "Okay."
"From now on, I will go there to handle matters at the Hall of Fate for one hour each day and then return," Xiu Yun Yin continued.
Qiguan Yuan had already gone out, climbed back up the tree, and took a piece of candy out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.
Hearing Xiu Yun Yin's words, he waved his hand. "Whatever you say."
Xiu Yun Yin stood under the tree, looking up at Qiguan Yuan's robes hanging down from the branches, swaying gently.
A mountain breeze blew by, stirring the red ribbon on the window frame and the hem of Qiguan Yuan's dress among the branches. One red, one dark red, swayed gently in the same gust of wind, separated by a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
On the third day after they moved in, Qiguan Yuan suddenly poked his head out of the tree.
" Yun Yin, where's your scythe?"
Xiu Yun Yin was flipping through the Marriage Register under the tree when he heard this and raised his hand.
A moon-white light emanated from his palm, Plain Radiance Punishment Scythe appeared in the sunlight. The silver threads on its long handle shimmered and flickered, and the two characters "Suyao" on the official seal were faintly illuminated by the sunlight.
Qiguan Yuan jumped down from the tree and took the long sickle.
Last time at Jade Pool, he only touched the blade of the sickle; this time, he simply hugged the entire sickle to his chest.
The long sickle was much taller than him, and he looked rather clumsy as he held the long handle, as if he were holding an overly long stick.
Xiu Yun Yin watched as Qiguan Yuan, clutching his sickle, climbed back up the tree.
He found a comfortable spot on the branch, placed the long sickle across his lap, lowered his head, and carefully examined the ancient seal script on the official seal.
The finger traced the words.
Xiu Yun Yin did not stop him.
Qiguan Yuan examined the Plain Radiance Punishment Scythe from all angles for a long time.
Then he raised the long scythe and looked at the silver threads inside in the sunlight. The sunlight penetrated the moonstone blade, and the silver threads seemed to come alive, flowing slowly beneath his fingertips.
" Yun Yin," Qiguan Yuan suddenly spoke.
"Um."
"You're not allowed to show this sickle to anyone else from now on." Qiguan Yuan's eyes were still fixed on the silver threads in the sickle blade.
He paused, then added, "I mean, aside from me. You're only allowed to take it out when you're in mortal danger, when you're about to lose your life."
Xiu Yun Yin looked up at him.
Qiguan Yuan sat on a tree, holding a long sickle, his silver hair hanging down, and the moon-white sickle blade reflected in his light-colored eyes.
He noticed Xiu Yun Yin's gaze, turned his head away, and continued muttering, "This is mine, I can't let anyone else see it."
Xiu Yun Yin said, "Okay."
From the day he agreed, Plain Radiance Punishment Scythe never appeared in front of anyone again.
Once, a celestial being came to the Hall of Fate, saying that he had heard about what happened at the Jade Pool and wanted to see the Moon Official's natal weapon.
Xiu Yun Yin said, "It's inconvenient." The immortal lord wanted to say something more, Xiu Yun Yin had already turned and entered the hall, closing the door behind him.
Qiguan Yuan knew nothing of this. He only knew that whenever he wanted to see the long sickle, Xiu Yun Yin would summon it as instructed.
Sometimes Qiguan Yuan would hold the sickle in his arms and play with it for an entire afternoon, poking at the hollowed-out patterns on the official seal with his fingers, or holding the sickle blade up to the sunlight to look at the silver threads inside, and then looking at it again from the beginning.
Xiu Yun Yin sat under the tree doing his own thing, occasionally glancing up to make sure Qiguan Yuan was still in the tree, before continuing to flip through the Marriage Register.
The Plain Radiance Punishment Scythe, which once crushed a war god's Primordial God divine weapon twice at the Jade Pool Immortal Banquet, has now become Qiguan Yuan's personal toy.
Since we can't use the long scythe, we need to find a new weapon.
Xiu Yun Yin to the mortal realm and bought a very ordinary sword from an inconspicuous blacksmith shop.
The iron sword had no Spiritual Power enhancement; the hilt was wrapped with worn-out hemp rope, and the scabbard was plain, without even a pattern.
He began practicing swordsmanship.
Every day before dawn, while Qiguan Yuan was still sleeping in the tree, Xiu Yun Yin would already be up, stand in the Tree of Fate, and draw his sword.
At first, the movements were a bit clumsy. The iron sword was very heavy, completely different from the light and agile scythe. It required wrist and arm strength to control. When turning the wrist, the blade would wobble, and the accuracy of the slashing and thrusting was not enough.
After practicing for a few days, his swordplay gradually became smoother. The iron sword pierced through the morning mist, emitting a deep hum, and the trajectory of the sword tip was clean and crisp.