Domain of Stillness
The moment the seed's roots touched the alien soil, they were enveloped in a layer of cool light. That light carried the "silent warmth" unique to the Domain of Stillness, as if someone were gently supporting it with an invisible hand. It heard the soft rustling of fallen leaves beneath its feet—not a sound, yet clearer than any sound—as if saying, "Welcome, little one who brings the winds of Myriad Domains."
The shadow of the Twin-Leaf Tree fell on the path, its verdant side shimmering, while its silvery-white side rippled, carrying the scent of the Xinye and Yanche's presence. The seed suddenly noticed that its roots were covered with a few grains of soil from the Myriad Domains, and within the soil were fragments of dew from the "Memory Grass." These fragments reflected the image of the Blank Space Square: the Light and Darkness Flower was tilting its head, looking at Luoyu's sketchbook; Yanche was refilling Qingxian's teacup; and the bird carrying a feather was burying the seed of the Two-World Fruit in the soil, with the words "Next year, a singing tree will grow!" written beside it.
"No matter how far you go, you always have a string trailing behind you," the seed murmured to itself, its roots reaching back to touch the thread woven from longing and yearning. Just then, "Shadow Leaf" from the Domain of Stillness drifted over. The leaf had no veins, only countless tiny spots of light, each containing a small scene: Qingxian tuning her zither in the morning light, the sound of her strings shaking down dewdrops; Yanche frowning at the star map, his pen tracing Star Orbit on the paper; and Luoyu squatting under the Twin-Leaf Tree, tying red ribbons to the newly sprouting buds.
A breeze from another world swept over the tender seedling, carrying the sweet scent of the Two-World Fruit. It suddenly remembered the "petal that would never wither" that Luoyu had given it before its departure, which was now slipping from the tip of the bud and falling to the ground in the Domain of Stillness. The moment the petal touched the ground, delicate vines sprouted, adorned not with flowers, but with countless tiny "doors"—pushing open the door, one could see the rising sun of Myriad Domains spilling over the railings of the Blank Space Square, and the moonlight from another world flowing along the Common Path towards the roots of the Twin-Leaf Tree.
"These doors are..." The seed's sprout trembled, and one of the "doors" suddenly opened, revealing Yanche's voice, as gentle as ever. "Remember to carve the story of the other world onto the fallen leaves; the wind will carry it back."
From another "door" drifted the Qingxian strains of a zither, a newly composed tune mingled with the winds of Myriad Domains and the light of another world, making the tender seed sprout sway gently. From the outermost "door," Luoyu smiled at it, holding up a sketchbook. On the sketchbook was a crooked little figure carrying a large backpack, on which was written "Stories of the Whole World."
The "Shadow Leaf" from the Domain of Stillness gently landed on the vine, and the scene in the dappled light changed: the seed of the bird-like creature carrying feathers sprouted, with a tiny feather at the tip of the sprout; on the silvery-white leaves of the Twin-Leaf Tree, the image of the seed in another world began to emerge—standing on tiptoe to reach the dappled light on the Shadow Leaf.
"So, someone was watching from the other end of the line all along." The seed pushed its roots deeper, letting the soil of the Myriad Domains mix with the light of the otherworld, and a new root with golden veins sprouted. It cried out to the nearest "door," "I see a glowing stone! Brighter than the petals of the Light and Darkness Flower!"
A Qingxian laugh came from the other side of the door, "That's a ' Memory Light Stone,' it can store sound."
The seed quickly wrapped its roots around a Memory Light Stone and shouted at it, "The fallen leaves here dance in circles!" Then, as if that wasn't enough, it added, "I missed you all!"
The Memory Light Stone emitted a soft light, enveloping the words, and floated back along the "door" on the vine. The seed watched the light disappear behind the door and suddenly realized that the so-called "distant place" was nothing more than a few more doors through which whispers could be exchanged; the so-called "strangers" were nothing more than new friends who hadn't yet had time to exchange fallen leaves.
It shook its tender bud, letting the light from another world and the winds from Myriad Domains swirl around its tip, before continuing to take root deeper. The vines behind it continued to grow, and new "doors" kept emerging. Behind each door, there were smiling eyes, like stars, adorning the path home.
Meanwhile, in the Blank Space Square, Qingxian others were gathered around the Memory Light Stone that had floated out of the "gate." Hearing the seed's childlike voice saying, "I missed you all," they couldn't help but smile. Yanche reached out and touched the stone, whispering, "We know, we missed you too."
The light stone shook, carefully storing the sentence, waiting for the next gust of wind to carry it to the little fellow exploring in another world. The leaves of the Twin-Leaf Tree rustled, as if saying, "This journey, if written down, would surely be a very, very long poem."
Yes, it's a very long poem, filled with the fragrance of ink from Myriad Domains, the light of another realm, and footnotes about "longing" written by roots in the soil, line after line.
The warmth of "I miss you all" from the Memory Light Stone hadn't even faded when the seed discovered something new—the "Shadow Leaf" from the Domain of Stillness, upon landing on the Memory Light Stone, could transform its voice into "flowing patterns of light." It tried to describe the "appearance of the glowing stone" to the stone, and the light patterns outlined "arcs with starlight" on the Shadow Leaf, like someone embroidering a small picture on the leaf with silver thread.
"Now you can see it, right?" The seed gently pushed the Shadow Leaf onto the Common Path, watching it drift towards the Myriad Domains through the vine's "door." Just as the Shadow Leaf was gone, it felt its roots being gently tugged by something—looking down, it saw a "semi-transparent root," with a "withered leaf from the Myriad Domains" wrapped around it, the edges of which still bore the teeth marks of "Memory Grass."
"It's the root of 'Remember' Leaf!" The seed was both surprised and delighted. The withered leaf on the root suddenly unfurled, revealing words hidden within. "A new ' Twin-Realm Flower ' has bloomed in the square, half star purple and half silver white. Luoyu said it looks like you now."
It looked down at its tender sprout—and sure enough, the tip of the sprout shimmered with an otherworldly silvery-white, while the veins of the leaves carried the emerald green of Myriad Domains, like an unopened Twin-Realm Flower. The roots followed the translucent root back and actually touched the light flow of the "Root Language Network" deep in the soil. The light flow was mixed with the metallic smell of the Yanche Harmonizing Instrument, the pine resin in the Qingxian Qin case, and the ink fragrance of the Luoyu Sketchbook, like a warm embrace.
At this moment, the "River of Light" in the Domain of Stillness began to rise, and countless "glowing letters" floated on its surface. The seed scooped one up, opened it, and found a petal of a "Light and Darkness Flower." Written in Root Language on the petal were the words: "Qingxian says, your timidity has transformed into the patterns of courage."
It suddenly remembered that before it left, it always hid behind the Xinye, and would curl up into a ball even when the wind was strong. But now, it dared to ride the waves of the River of Light to retrieve the glowing letter, dared to say to the "Shadow Beast" from another world "I come from Myriad Domains", and dared to put its roots into soil it had never seen before - it realized that growth is not about suddenly becoming stronger, but about daring to take half a step forward even while being afraid.
A tiny raft drifted ashore in the River of Light, carrying a miniature feather-bearing bird—a creature from another world crafted from Shadow Leaf and light patterns. The bird carried a feather from the Myriad Domains in its beak, which landed on a seed's tender shoot. The feather transformed into words. "Yanche made you a 'translator,' hang it on your roots, and it can understand the whispers of Shadow Beast."
The seed touched its roots and, sure enough, found a small bell woven from silver thread. As soon as the bell rang, the low growls of the surrounding Shadow Beast turned into clear words. "In the pile of light stones to the east, there is a 'mirror that can see the past'."
Following the guidance, it found the pile of light stones and indeed discovered a "water mirror" in the crevice. The mirror did not reflect its current appearance, but it reflected the morning scene of the Blank Space Square: the Xinye were tiptoeing to water the Twin-Leaf Tree, the dew on the Memory Grass reflected its shadow when it set off, Qingxian, Yanche, Luoyu sat by the wordless stone tablet, looking in the direction of the Common Path, the tea in their hands still steaming.
"So you were still waiting after I left." A tear of light rolled down from the seed's tender shoot and fell into the water mirror. The mirror suddenly swayed, reflecting its future appearance—a Twin-Realm Tree, half silver and half green, with roots embedded in the soil of Myriad Domains and other worlds, and branches bearing "singing fruits," each fruit holding a story of an encounter.
Shadow Leaf drifted in again, this time with light patterns in the handwriting of Luoyu: "No need to rush to grow up, take your time, we'll wait for you to return with stories."
The seed carefully tucked the Shadow Leaf into the folds of its roots and cried out to the River of Light, "I will! I will weave the light stones, Shadow Leaf, and glowing letters from the other world into stories and bring them back!"
After shouting, it shook its tender buds and drifted downstream along the River of Light. The little bells on its roots rang softly, translating the Shadow Beast's guiding voice; behind it, within the vine "gate," the light of the Myriad Domains remained ever-burning, like a string of lanterns that would never go out.
Meanwhile, in the Blank Space Square, Qingxian others were watching the newly drifting Shadow Leaf, the light patterns on their surfaces outlining the shape of glowing stones. Yanche smiled and added a new mark to the star map, "Looks like the little guy has found the ' Star Core Stone,' the key that allows the Root Language Network to extend to another world."
Luoyu sketched the light patterns on the Shadow Leaf in her sketchbook, and wrote next to it, "Next letter, it's time to teach it how to use the Star Core Stone to transmit the Root Language."
The leaves of the Twin-Leaf Tree rustled softly, their emerald green and silvery white sides gently touching, as if saying, "The journey is still long, take your time, and our connection will grow along our roots, reaching deep into each other's hearts."
Yes, the journey is long, and there are many stories to tell. But as long as roots are connected and concerns are intertwined, even the farthest place is just "the next place where we can say goodnight." And those thoughts hidden in the Root Language of the roots will flow slowly like the waters of the River of Light, weaving the two worlds into the same warm soil.