Yao Zuizui let out her final cry, transforming into a solid little droplet of water, firmly pressed into the wine glass.
The transparent glass shimmered with radiant light, illuminating her entire body, making her glitter and shine brilliantly.
Yao Zuizui tried to climb out of the glass, but her body was far too slippery. Every time she stepped onto the side of the cup, she slid right back down.
Fortunately, Suhei no longer had the time to pay attention to her.
Ever since Yao Zuizui had shouted Suhei’s name, Suhei’s expression had drastically changed. He crouched on the ground, clutching his head.
This was completely unlike his usual composed demeanor—instead, he looked utterly disheveled.
It seemed that this time, serious trouble had arrived.
But Yao Zuizui had no time to worry about Suhei’s condition. All her focus was on escaping this impossibly slippery wine glass.
Every time she tried to climb up a few centimeters, she slid right back down due to the glass’s smooth surface.
The little droplet she had become was perfectly round, smooth, and transparent.
When she stretched out her arms or legs, tiny, adorable little paws would appear on the surface of the sphere—but they were utterly useless.
She couldn’t grip the smooth glass no matter how hard she tried.
All she could do was keep making futile efforts.
Yet she persisted, determined to escape this cursed place as quickly as possible, to flee this celestial palace that concealed so much evil.
She wanted to get out, to expose Suhei’s ugly true nature before all the gods, to show everyone just what kind of wicked being he truly was!
So, no matter how many times she failed, her resolve remained unshaken.
Engrossed in her battle against gravity, Yao Zuizui didn’t notice the changes happening to Suhei at that moment.
He was nearly lying flat on the floor now, limbs curled slightly, his lips pale. Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his temples, dripping onto the floor and forming small puddles.
And his eyes—they flickered with shifting illusions.
From a clear silver to a deep black, the colors alternated endlessly, while at the center of his pupils, there seemed to be a faint sign of fusion.
Pain spilled from his gaze, and his teeth left marks on his lips.
********
Yao Zuizui continued her relentless struggle, silently praying that Suhei would be too preoccupied with his own troubles to bother with her.
Perhaps fate heard her plea.
The moment after she made her wish, the wine glass she was in was flipped over by a slender, well-defined hand.
Then, she tumbled out of the glass’s rim and landed on a warm, dry palm, pressed against her cold, spherical surface.
Yao Zuizui looked up.
Features so perfect they seemed carved, eyes so cold they were almost transparent.
Every line of his face exuded an icy detachment, a feeling of being both close yet impossibly distant.
Suhei.
But not the frenzied Suhei from before.
Yao Zuizui noticed that the color of Suhei’s eyes was no longer silver—instead, it had returned to the clear, glass-like hue from ten thousand years ago, so illusory at first glance.
“You… you completely fused with Suhei?” Yao Zuizui lay in his palm, her voice trembling slightly.
“Of course,” Suhei replied indifferently, his expression blank, cold, and distant.
Yao Zuizui pouted. Even though she was just a tiny droplet now, without a heart, she still felt an ache.
An ache so deep it made her deform, flattening limply in Suhei’s palm, transforming from a round little droplet into a puddle of spilled wine.
She resigned herself and closed her eyes.
Her mother was dead. Suhei was dead. And now she was in Suhei’s hands.
After struggling for so long, she still couldn’t escape. Maybe it was time to accept her fate.
Yao Zuizui kept her eyes shut for a long time, but nothing happened.
Unable to resist, she cracked one eye open just a sliver, peeking to see what Suhei was doing.
Suhei still held her in his palm, staring intently at her without moving.
He hadn’t changed his position at all.
Yao Zuizui grew uneasy.
Why did Suhei’s gaze seem… off?
“What… what do you want?” She spun in a circle in his palm—though, as a sphere, turning made no difference.
“Can’t get enough of looking at you,” Suhei suddenly chuckled, his voice light and intoxicating, sending a shiver through every molecule of Yao Zuizui’s being.
“Suhei!” she blurted out.
“It’s me.” Suhei extended another finger and gently tapped her little droplet.
Yao Zuizui rolled in his hand, wedging herself between his index and middle fingers. “Stop touching me! Why did you pretend to be that bastard earlier to scare me?”
Suhei continued stroking her, completely ignoring her protests.
“I just wanted to test whether I could disguise myself as him and continue living in the celestial realm.”
“You want to stay in the celestial realm?” Yao Zuizui was startled. She remembered Suhei once saying how much he despised the hypocritical gods and the suffocatingly divine atmosphere.
“Because you’re here,” Suhei curled his finger slightly, as if amused by her current form.
“……” Yao Zuizui recalled Suhei’s past desire to destroy the celestial realm and suddenly felt he was dangerous.
But then she remembered he had wanted to destroy it to be with her, and the idea of him staying didn’t seem so bad.
She sighed. “What did you do to Suhei?”
“Let him taste the suffering I endured for ten thousand years first,” Suhei said casually, as if those hardships were nothing more than dust to be brushed away.
But the fleeting struggle in his eyes told Yao Zuizui that even recalling them was unbearable.
Sensing this, Yao Zuizui wisely changed the subject, deciding to be gentler with Suhei from now on—to make him happier.
That was the least she could do for him.
So she asked a different question.
“Why did you…” She trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
Suhei, as if reading her mind, tapped her little droplet softly and asked tenderly, “Why do I love you so much?”
“Mm…” Yao Zuizui blushed—though as a droplet, her blush remained transparent.
But she still felt flustered by such a direct question.
After tens of thousands of years of being single by sheer force of will, suddenly having someone who reciprocated her feelings was… novel.
Suhei’s lips curved slightly, his glass-like eyes overflowing with tenderness.
“Do you remember the black stone in the Breezehaven Paradise you used to visit as a child?”
Of course Yao Zuizui remembered.
As a child, Breezehaven Paradise had been her favorite place.
It had the most beautiful scenery in the entire celestial realm. Though the spiritual energy was thin, the things that grew there were strange and wondrous—fruits and flowers so sweet and delicious.
She had even found a secluded spot there.
A smooth, flat black stone, just big enough for her to lie on. Resting on it made her whole body relax, her mind clear and at ease. Above her, the ever-shifting clouds drifted by, while the scent of fruit filled the air, refreshing and enchanting.
She hated cultivation, so she often spent entire days there.
But being alone was lonely, so she often talked to the black stone.
She told it everything—what fun things she’d done, what delicious food she’d eaten, which gods she’d teased, which gods had made fools of themselves.
She shared every little detail, as if the black stone were her closest friend, someone who could understand her and share her joys and sorrows.
Yao Zuizui had never understood why she’d been so melodramatic as a child.
Later, when she grew up, she discovered the black stone had been moved by someone. She’d been heartbroken for a while and gradually stopped visiting Breezehaven Paradise.
Yao Zuizui didn’t understand why Suhei was bringing up the black stone now.
She looked at him questioningly.
Suhei poked her little droplet, enjoying its soft, bouncy texture.
He said softly, “I was that black stone. When Suhei manifested me, he needed a vessel for my soul. So he spent tens of thousands of years refining that stone to serve as my anchor.”
“So we’ve known each other for that long…” Yao Zuizui murmured, dazed. “The black stone had consciousness?”
“Guess,” Suhei replied absentmindedly, too engrossed in playing with her.
His fingers kept teasing her, squishing her flat one moment, rolling her round the next.
Despite being just a droplet, Yao Zuizui was surprisingly resilient—no matter how much he played with her, she remained smooth and unbroken.
But she had her limits!
She extended a tiny paw and smacked Suhei’s fingertip. “Stop touching me!”
“It’s too fun not to,” Suhei chuckled, rolling her between his palms.
“Ugh, fine. Then tell me—how did you defeat Suhei and take over his body?” Yao Zuizui hadn’t planned to ask, but since Suhei was being so smug, she might as well poke at his sore spot.
Sure enough, Suhei fell silent. After a pause, he spoke.
“I was only a wisp of a soul left, driven solely by the instinct to resist death. I refused to surrender, but I remembered nothing else.”
“But then, faintly, I heard your voice.”
“You kept calling my name, begging me to save you.”
“I didn’t want to die. And I couldn’t bear the thought of you dying. I wanted us both to live.”
……
Tears welled in Yao Zuizui’s eyes as she nuzzled Suhei’s palm with her droplet face. “Me too.”
“Suhei was strong. His soul was powerful. But he could never extinguish mine. Now, I could destroy him with ease.” Suhei sounded both proud and relieved.
Suhei would never defeat him.
No matter how formidable Suhei’s cultivation was, no matter how vast his immortal energy, he could never fully consume Suhei’s soul.
Instead, Suhei had the chance to devour his.
Because Suhei lacked the one thing that mattered most in a soul.
Something that existed in every corner of the soul, filling every gap, forming an impenetrable armor and an unbreakable blade.
And that was—
Love.
Suhei didn’t have love. He didn’t know how to love.
So he lost.
Suhei gazed fondly at the little droplet in his palm.
She was so small now, so soft, so adorable—he wanted to hold her like this forever.
“I want to grow bigger!” Yao Zuizui, thoroughly annoyed by Suhei’s teasing, desperately wanted to return to her original form.
But Suhei had drained all her immortal energy, reducing her to an ordinary droplet. If Suhei forcibly transferred energy to her now, she’d explode from the excess.
She’d have to start from scratch, slowly cultivating again, transforming from a droplet back into an immortal.
It would be a long process.
Yao Zuizui swatted Suhei’s palm with her tiny paw, huffing, “I need to eat lots and lots of delicious food to grow!”
Suhei’s eyes softened, brimming with patience.
“Alright, alright. I’ll help you grow.”
[Main Story Complete]
[Side Stories Ongoing]
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage