The Gleaming Moonlight Dazzles the Eyes

The sky wasn't particularly late; it was sunset, with flickering yellowish light.

Chen Xia lay in a rocking chair by the door. Since being monitored by the will of the Immortal Realm, he hadn't left the sect, staying inside and waiting for cultivators to visit, deepening their karmic connections.

His approach was simple: don't initiate, don't refuse, don't take responsibility.

Today's dusk was especially pleasant. Before the sunlight had completely faded, the moon had already appeared early, hanging in the sky. The sun and moon shone together, creating a unique atmosphere.

Dim stars hung in the sky, unblinking, like quiet eyes also observing Chen Xia below.

However, these quiet eyes seemed unwilling to remain merely silent. A celestial star appeared to fall, transforming into a stream of light, descending like a meteor straight toward the Heaven Pill Gate.

"What's that?" Chen Xia frowned, rising from his rocking chair, puzzled as he watched this seemingly falling star.

He soon realized something was amiss. This wasn't a star but seemed to be a cultivator. However, they were still too far away, and he didn't want to directly extend his divine sense to investigate, fearing detection by the will of the Immortal Realm, so he could only wait for this starlight to descend.

Whoosh!

With a strange sound, the falling starlight suddenly vanished between heaven and earth.

What's going on?

Chen Xia was slightly puzzled, then seemed to sense something and raised an eyebrow.

"Guess who?" A crisp, coquettish voice came from behind him, carrying playful and joyful laughter.

Chen Xia paused briefly, then a smile tugged at his lips, his eyes softening unusually. Without turning around, he answered softly.

"It's been a long time indeed. Judging by that voice, it must be Bai Hun Ri?"

"Huh?!" The coquettish voice behind him rose, and the figure stepped forward, directly grabbing Chen Xia's shoulders, her voice becoming stern.

"Who's Bai Hun Ri? Why are you talking nonsense?"

"It's the Huang Qingyue in my heart," Chen Xia turned his head, his pure white eyes flickering as he showed a slight smile.

By now, the sunlight had completely set, and the moon hung high, casting pure white light below.

Huang Qingyue's pretty face froze for a moment, and she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, giggling, "You sure know how to talk."

"I'll definitely say more in the future," Chen Xia replied with a smile.

They gazed at each other again. After tens of thousands of years apart, they didn't know what to say. Though their hearts were pure, words were few.

Huang Qingyue clasped her hands behind her back, head lowered, kicking randomly at the ground with her small feet, not knowing which unfortunate pebble she might hit, and giggled again.

"The moonlight is beautiful."

"Is it? I haven't noticed," Chen Xia frowned as he looked up at the sky, thinking the moonlight was just ordinary, similar to what he saw every day.

"You're so silly. When someone talks about moonlight, they're never really talking about the moonlight," Huang Qingyue wrinkled her delicate brows as she explained to Chen Xia.

"How would I know? I don't understand moonlight," Chen Xia frowned in protest, then looked at Huang Qingyue's pretty face and sincerely said, "I only know that you're truly beautiful, much more beautiful than this moonlight."

Huang Qingyue's face reddened slightly, and she lowered her head shyly, giggling again, "Hehe."

It's always wonderful when a woman is praised by the one she loves, especially such straightforward praise. How to describe Huang Qingyue's feelings? Perhaps only one evaluation could express it - she wanted more.

After giggling, Huang Qingyue seemed to remember something and frowned at Chen Xia again, asking, "You've been in the Immortal Realm for so long, why didn't you come find me? Even if you didn't want to come find me, you could have at least let me know, and I would have come to find you."

"There are some things I didn't want you to get involved in," Chen Xia replied calmly.

According to his plan, the best time to meet with Huang Qingyue and Xu Zhen would be when he became the will of the Immortal Realm. Only then would he have the power to protect Huang Qingyue and Xu Zhen within the Immortal Realm.

He could protect them now, but not necessarily within the Immortal Realm. He could take Xu Zhen and Huang Qingyue to the realm boundary or the Great Death Domain, but that seemed unnecessary - leaving one's homeland wasn't a good thing.

Huang Qingyue frowned and said indignantly, "What's there to be afraid of getting involved in? I'm the sole successor of the Ninth Mountain in the Immortal Realm, the future Mountain Lord of the Ninth Mountain for sure, and might even become the Lord of Nine Mountains later. Then I'll protect you, and see who dares to mess with you. I'll give them such a beating that they'll behave themselves."

These were Huang Qingyue's heartfelt words.

Chen Xia chuckled and sighed, "Then I'll have to rely on your influence."

"Hehe, our relationship doesn't need words like 'influence,'" Huang Qingyue winked at Chen Xia, very coquettishly.

"That's true indeed," Chen Xia nodded in agreement, finding it hard to disagree.

Suddenly, Huang Qingyue asked worriedly, "By the way, Brother Xia, why are you selling your pills so cheaply? You should raise the prices a bit, don't lose money!"

"I'm not losing money. In fact, I'm thinking of lowering the prices further, otherwise I'd feel guilty," Chen Xia shook his head in response.

This completely confused Huang Qingyue, who frowned, "What's going on? Brother Chen, can you conjure pills out of thin air?"

Explanations would be futile, so Chen Xia directly took Huang Qingyue inside the Heaven Pill Gate, where she saw numerous pill furnaces in operation.

"The herbs come from the Ten Thousand Mountains, the furnaces I forged myself. It's not exactly a business without capital - I still need to light some fires at least."

Huang Qingyue stared blankly at these pill furnaces, never imagining there could be such a method of pill refinement. After marveling, she thought that this was indeed typical of her Brother Chen, truly extraordinary. No wonder he could single-handedly dominate the pill industry in the entire East Jia State.

The moonlight gently descended, falling upon the two of them, as if they were carrying the moon on their shoulders, making their faces appear pure and bright.

"How long... has it been since we last met?" Chen Xia glanced sideways at the moonlight and suddenly asked.

"I can't remember clearly, I only know it's been a very, very long time. Who keeps track of such things? If one were to count every moment, the longing would become too heavy, making it hard to breathe, right?"

Huang Qingyue showed a sweet smile as she asked Chen Xia.

"That's indeed true," Chen Xia nodded in agreement, then rubbed his head, wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin. Somehow, as if possessed, he asked:

"Have you seen Xu Zhen?"

...

Silence, a long silence.

Huang Qingyue narrowed her eyes, glancing at Chen Xia, and asked with pursed lips, "Where are your manners?"

Asking about another woman, especially Xu Zhen, in front of her was quite impolite, quite lacking in quality.

Chen Xia also knew he might have asked the wrong thing, so he rubbed his nose and laughed dryly.

"Haha."

They stared at each other.

Huang Qingyue rolled her eyes, clasped her hands behind her back, and said helplessly.

"Of course I know. Xu Zhen just received the Emperor's opportunity from me at the Ninth Mountain. She's probably still in seclusion for a while. She even admitted herself that I'm the boss from now on."

"You are indeed big," Chen Xia gave a thumbs up in praise.

"How improper," Huang Qingyue's cheeks reddened as she complained coquettishly, though without any hint of real blame, more like lovers' playful banter.

"What are you thinking? I was talking about your mouth," Chen Xia protested in explanation.

"That's still improper," Huang Qingyue mumbled with red cheeks.

The moonlight grew dimmer, like an unlit candle, yet it made the woman's cheeks appear increasingly rosy.

Long yearning and brief meetings are most tormenting for women.

Huang Qingyue blinked her bright eyes and suddenly asked again.

"It's been sixty-three thousand years since we met, I'm an old, old, old lady now... do you... still care about me like before?"

"Didn't you say earlier you couldn't remember how many years it had been?" Chen Xia curiously asked back.

The woman tilted her head slightly, her eyes rippling like autumn water in the moonlight, her pretty face tinged with rosiness, appearing so striking in the dim moonlight as if gathering all the colors of heaven and earth, and said softly.

"I lied to you, silly."