Chapter 4: A Miracle Happens

The lake water was freezing at night, and since the Spring Festival had just passed, the days in February were still icy cold, let alone the nights. Fortunately, An Mei could no longer feel anything else with his body; the only thing he could feel was the head currently cradled in her arms, and he could clearly sense a trace of warmth emanating from her chest.

It was so, so warm—a warmth so intense it seemed capable of dispelling the icy chill that had previously enveloped him.

Eight Little Sister flapped her wings and returned, unable to speak because she was clutching something in her beak. She could only stare with her tiny eyes at the naked man below and the woman he had finally set his sights on, weeping incessantly in her heart: *My Yun Xiaoling, why must you choose him and not me... Just where exactly is it that I am not good enough...*

The center of the lake was right before them, and the moon had slowly appeared between the fifth and sixth mountain peaks. Suddenly, the object in Eight Little Sister's beak fell into the water with a *plop*, followed by a sharp, piercing cry from her! Amidst this cry, Yun Ling gathered her strength and pushed An Mei into the center of the lake before the screaming could stop!

As the cry faded, a streak of dark red light poured down from between the fifth and sixth peaks like a net of light, densely enveloping the two humans and one bird. At that same moment, both Yun Ling and An Mei felt their consciousness suddenly ripped away, and they blacked out!

The two humans and one bird within the light net suddenly sank rapidly, deeper and deeper. In the center of the lake, the color of the light net shifted incessantly: dark red, red, cyan, blue, white, pink...

Finally, the light receded. The moon quickly dipped behind the sixth peak and vanished behind the seventh. The entire Seven Star Lake, the entire Seven Star Village, was plunged into darkness.

An eerie darkness.

The first rays of morning sunlight spilled over the tranquil little mountain village. In her sleep, Yun Ling felt a slight itchiness on her face, which was quite uncomfortable. "Eight Little Sister, stop messing around..."

Eight Little Sister didn't dare cry so early in the morning; she could only speak with a faint, resentful tone mixed with a hint of schadenfreude: "Poor Yun Xiaoling, having your body seen by someone, being hugged and held, only to be destined to never find someone to take responsibility..."

A jolt went through Yun Ling's mind. She immediately opened her eyes and sprang up, looking around, but she saw no third living creature besides herself and Eight Little Sister. Looking down, she realized her clothes were actually neatly put back on!

"Where is he?" Yun Ling searched around, but when she couldn't find him, she knew he had left without saying goodbye. "How unloyal!" To think he had even seen her naked!

Eight Little Sister tossed an object toward her with a sour, pitiful expression: "That man said this is a token of love! He told you to wait for him!" Eight Little Sister was extremely unwilling. "Why, why? Why can he give you a token of love after knowing you for only one night? Why can't I? Why, why?"

It was a jade-colored jade pendant, carved with three clusters of brilliant flames, as if representing some mysterious identity. Yun Ling took a glance, tucked the pendant into her bosom, and stood up to head home. The owner of this pendant was quickly cast to the back of her mind.

Mother Lin had just risen. Seeing that Yun Ling had returned amidst the morning dew, she couldn't help but chide, "Miss, you are up so early again!"

"The whole day's work depends on a good morning, Mother Lin!" Yun Ling walked over, hugged her wet nurse, and gave her a peck. "Mother Lin, I'm so hungry!"

Mother Lin gave her a playful swat and immediately went inside to prepare a simple breakfast. The two of them happily ate breakfast amidst the early spring morning light.

"By the way, Miss, news came from Chang'an last night, saying they will send someone to escort you back to the manor within the day." The smile on Mother Lin's face faded slightly. "This old servant knew that the Master and Madam would not ignore you. After all, you are their own flesh and blood; ignoring you for all these years has been quite enough."