Jiu Jue did not take them back to the Purple Bamboo Forest, nor did he fly to some distant, secluded pce to hide. Instead, they settled in a humble residence in Water Barrel Alley in Chang'an. The more people there were, the easier it was to conceal their traces. The closer they were to the enemy, the easier it was to be overlooked.

  This is what Jiu Jue said.

  Su Qiuchi was still worried about what Li Zhun had said, fearing it might bring trouble to his family. He didn't dare return to the Su residence immediately, pnning to wait for a few days to ensure there were no signs of trouble before going back. Lan Ting also followed them and took great care of their daily needs.

  On the third day of their stay in Water Barrel Alley, Li Zhun, disguised as a commoner, and Su Qiuchi went out for some fresh air. They noticed that many refugees from the border had returned to Chang'an, all exhausted, wounded, and battered. The women held their children, who were all emaciated, some with broken limbs, crying in despair. Li Zhun and Su Qiuchi, overwhelmed by the sight, gave them all the sympathy they could, but the two remained silent as they made their way back, their hearts heavy with sorrow.

  Soon, the news of the rebellion by the twenty-four chieftains of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate spread throughout Chang'an, and battles erupted along the border. The next reports that came in told of the repeated defeats of the Tang army. The situation became dire, and the court called for reinforcements. The emperor, following the advice of Empress Wu, led an army of 300,000 troops to unch a counterattack against the Eastern Turkic forces.

  Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Despite the raging battles at the borders, Chang'an was still decorated with nterns, filled with festive cheer. That evening, they received two pieces of news—first, that the army of Pei Xingjian would march to the Turkic nds the next day; second, that the emperor had dispatched a rge force to surround the Su residence and the Prime Minister′s residence, where Su Qiuchi′s grandfather resided, ciming they had discovered Turkic spies at both locations.

  Lan Ting prepared a rge feast, and Jiu Jue poured wine for Li Zhun and Su Qiuchi. The two adversaries, however, ate in an unusually silent manner, not exchanging a word.

  Jiu Jue was also quiet. After hastily drinking a few cups, he said, "It's the Mid-Autumn Festival; there should be some celebration. I′ve prepared a shadow py for you; come and watch. Afterward, you may do as you wish."

  Su Qiuchi and Li Zhun put down their chopsticks and stared bnkly at him.

  Outside in the courtyard, the curtains had already been set up. Two shadow puppeteers were arranging the delicate, cicada-wing-like puppets and props from their boxes. Meanwhile, two musicians responsible for pying the instruments were tuning their erhu and vertical flute.

  The py that Su Qiuchi and Li Zhun were watching was an entirely new tale to both of them, one they had never seen before. The story was quite unusual—it recounted the tale of a celestial child responsible for brewing wine in the heavenly realm. Unfortunately, he accidentally killed a snow lynx that had stolen some of the celestial wine, angering the lynx′s owner, the Gatekeeper Star Lord, who managed the four gates of the heavenly realm.

  This Gatekeeper Star Lord was the brother of the Empress of Heaven, a man who lived a life of leisure, eccentric in nature, and morally corrupt. Seeking revenge for his beloved lynx, he secretly struck down the celestial child, reverting him back to his original form as a mere mortal. To make matters worse, he attempted to throw him into a pill furnace to destroy him completely. Luckily, the gold-armored deity, who guarded the Northern Gate of Heaven, intervened.

  Though the Gold-armored Deity was of low rank and had few friends, he was known for his loyalty and upright character. The celestial child, despite being reckless, recognized this and often shared some of the celestial wine with the gold-armored deity to appease his cravings. Over time, a deep friendship formed between the two. The Gold-armored Deity reported the Gatekeeper Star Lord′s actions to the Heavenly Emperor, who became furious. However, due to the Empress′s influence, he only punished the Gatekeeper by ordering him to reflect in isotion.

  Although the celestial child was spared, the gold-armored deity did not have the same luck. On a Mid-Autumn night, drunk as usual, he fell asleep beneath the heavenly gates. The Gatekeeper Star Lord took this opportunity to push him down to the mortal realm, casting him into the cycle of reincarnation. To make sure the gold-armored deity could never return to heaven, he split the deity′s soul into two halves, ensuring his eternal separation from the celestial realm.

  Eventually, the gatekeeper′s misdeeds were exposed. The Heavenly Emperor, ignoring the Empress′s pleas, cast the Gatekeeper Star Lord into the cycle of reincarnation, never to step foot in the heavenly realm again. As for the Gold-armored Deity, his split soul was reincarnated into two separate lives, one male and one female, and they wandered the mortal world in endless cycles of reincarnation.

  The celestial child, now a seasoned wine-making official, spent countless years searching for the reincarnations of the gold-armored deity. He knew that the key to bringing the gold-armored deity back to the heavenly realm y in the pair of reincarnated souls. Only on the Mid-Autumn night of the 990th year could the celestial child combine their souls and return the gold-armored deity to his rightful pce in heaven. However, since the gold-armored deity had fallen to earth by accident, he carried no heavenly marks, making him difficult to find. For hundreds of years, the celestial child traveled through the mortal world, hoping to find the right pair.

  The shadow py ended when the immortal official encountered a man and a woman in a mountain called "Cuiwei."

  After dismissing the shadow puppet troupe, only Jiu Jue, Su Qiuchi, and Li Zhun remained in the courtyard, along with the crescent moon in the sky, sharp as a sickle. Su Qiuchi and Li Zhun stared bnkly at the spot where the curtain had just been, as if the shadow py was still continuing.

  "Is it true?" The two of them spoke in unison once again.

  "I spent nearly a thousand years, betting that I would find you," Jiu Jue's blue hair shimmered with strange light in the night. "It seems I won."

  "This... how could such a thing happen?" Li Zhun spped his face hard, looking at Su Qiuchi. "You and I, are we each half of a divine spirit?"

  Jiu Jue nodded and said, "Come back to the Heavenly Court with me and resume your position, Great Strength Golden Armor God." With that, he extended his hand toward them.

  "Wait!" Su Qiuchi suddenly blocked his hand and jumped to the side as if he had stepped on a venomous snake. "I never intended to go to any Heavenly Court with you."

  Jiu Jue was stunned.

  "I don't know what Golden Armor God is. I only know that my name is Su Qiuchi. My father, my grandfather, and the hundreds of people in my Su family are now being held at knifepoint. This must be the work of Empress Wu. I can't ignore their lives and go with you to some broken Heavenly Court to become some broken immortal!" Su Qiuchi spoke with a serious and solemn tone, one he had never used before. "The only thing I've been thinking about tonight is how to save my family from water and fire. Nothing else interests me."

  For the first time, Li Zhun looked at Su Qiuchi with admiration and said, "No matter if the story in the py is true or not, what I know is that the past and the future don′t matter to me. The past has already been set; thinking about it is futile. The future hasn't happened yet; thinking about it is also futile. What matters to me is only my present. The only thing I can grasp is the present. The past me and future me are not as important as the present me. Jiu Jue, I appreciate your good intentions." She smiled brightly at him. "I've never been as certain about what I want to do as I am now. If possible, can we just consider that shadow py as just a shadow py?"

  "The past me, the future me, are not as important as the present me." Jiu Jue murmured, repeating Li Zhun's words.

  Li Zhun and Su Qiuchi, finally in true harmony, exchanged a gnce and without hesitation walked toward the main gate. At that moment, Lan Ting suddenly appeared, holding two cups of wine and standing in front of them.

  "Little yaokai, farewell wine?" Su Qiuchi raised an eyebrow.

  "Serve your master well from now on. He is a good man. Or perhaps a good immortal," Li Zhun whispered to Lan Ting, and with that, they both raised the two cups filled with wine reflecting the night. However, Jiu Jue took a quick step forward, knocked over their cups, and as the two were still in shock, he turned his back and walked toward the house, throwing a single word over his shoulder: "Go!"

  As the sky began to lighten, Lan Ting stood in the room, where the candlelight had gone out, staring at the tall figure standing by the window. He asked, "As long as the two of them die, the Golden Armor God's soul will be freed, and you can bring him back to the Heavenly Court. Why not let them drink the poisoned wine? It′s the only way for the Golden Armor God to return. Now that this chance is missed, there will be no more... Sigh, you've waited for nine hundred and ninety years! I was worried when I saw how close you were to them, and I feared you wouldn't be able to act. Sure enough..."

  "Lan Ting..." he murmured softly, his voice hoarse and deep. "What they said just now reminded me. I seem to have made a mistake."

  "What mistake?"

  "He is Su Qiuchi now, and she is Li Zhun. Whether they are the Golden Armor God or not, what does it matter?" The first light of dawn gently touched Jiu Jue's handsome but slightly pale face. "What matters is the present, not the past, nor the future. Such a simple truth, and I only now understand."

  Before he finished speaking, a wave of dizziness suddenly hit him. His body swayed, and everything in front of him blurred into a haze of smoke and dust.

  "Master!" Lan Ting cried out in shock, rushing forward.