Chapter 153: The Secret That Cannot Be Told

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: The Secret That Cannot Be Told

"Flowers Bloom in an Instant, A Gaze of Ten Thousand Years?"

Rong blinked, looking at Su Han in confusion.

Su Han nodded. "The little trick to make the flowers bloom is called Flowers Bloom in an Instant. Let’s call this bracelet A Gaze of Ten Thousand Years!"

Rong looked at him with puzzlement, seemingly unable to grasp the connection between the two. However, considering that this Brother was even more amazing than her own father—since her father couldn’t even turn seeds into Hua—she thought about it for a moment and agreed with a nod.

"Okay, then we’ll call it... A Gaze of Ten Thousand Years."

Su Han nodded. Just as he was about to speak, the little girl at his feet suddenly covered her mouth, staring at him in sheer astonishment.

"Hmm? What’s wrong?" Su Han asked, bewildered.

Rong pointed at his lower half. "Brother, your legs... where did they go?"

"My legs are gone?" Su Han looked down, discovering that everything below his waist had vanished. The disappearance was slowly creeping upward bit by bit. Startled at first, he then remembered he was dreaming and quickly regained his composure. "Oh, it’s because I’m about to wake up."

"Wake up?" Rong didn’t understand. "Brother, were you asleep?"

Su Han nodded. "I got drunk."

"Drunk?"

"Yeah. Eighteen-thousand-year-old aged Huadiao wine packs quite a punch!"

Rong tilted her head. "What’s Huadiao?"

"Um..." Su Han scratched his head. "It’s... do you know what Daughter’s Red is?"

Not expecting much, Su Han was surprised when Rong nodded eagerly. "I know! I know! Rong knows! Father said that on the day I was born, he buried newly brewed Daughter’s Red right here. He said we would dig it up and drink it when I get married."

"Yeah," Su Han nodded. "Huadiao is just another name for Daughter’s Red."

"Huh?" Rong blinked, holding up two little fingers. "Then why does it have two names?"

"Well..." Su Han thought about it. In truth, his memory on the matter was a bit hazy too.

"I can’t remember where the custom originated from, but whenever a family had a daughter, they would bury newly brewed wine under a tree in their courtyard.

"When the daughter grew up and got married, they would unearth the wine to entertain the guests. Because a wedding involves a bride in red, the wine was called Daughter’s Red.

"However, if the daughter didn’t live to adulthood, or if she passed away before she could marry, the wine would still be unearthed. It would be served to guests at her funeral.

"Because she never reached her wedding day, it was as tragic as a newly bloomed flower withering prematurely. Therefore, in those unfortunate cases, the wine was called Huadiao, which means ’withered flower’."

"Oh, I see..." Rong tilted her head and thought for a moment, nodding as if she vaguely understood. "Then, will you leave after you wake up?"

Su Han looked down. His body had already vanished up to his shoulders. He nodded. "Yes, I’m about to wake up."

"Aw... Then Rong will treat you to some wine. Don’t wake up. Keep playing with Rong, okay?"

Su Han chuckled and shook his head, manipulating his Divine Thought to gently pinch the little girl’s nose. "Haha, you’re too cute, Rong. But I can’t stay drunk forever. I have to wake up eventually."

"Hmm..." Looking at Su Han, whose shoulders had now disappeared, Rong nodded in partial understanding. "Then... will you come back to see Rong?"

Seeing the anticipation in the dream girl’s eyes, Su Han thought for a moment and coaxed her. "I will! I will! If Rong misses me, just activate this bracelet using the method I taught you. Say the magic words, and you might just see me again."

"Oh, okay. What are the magic words?" Rong looked down at the bracelet on her wrist, using her left hand to tightly clasp the jewelry on her right arm.

However, this time, her question went unanswered.

When she looked up, the space before her was completely empty. There was nothing but an endless expanse of white snow. Her Brother was long gone. Only the few Hua resting on the nearby rock proved that he had ever been there.

"Brother?" Realizing he still hadn’t told her the magic words, Rong called out anxiously. Yet, her cry received no response.

Lowering her head to look at the bracelet she wore, Rong pouted. "Hmph... Liar! Father is a liar, and you’re a liar too! You’re all liars! You promised I could see you if I said the magic words, but you never told me what they were."

Touching the bracelet on her wrist, Rong tilted her head and muttered to herself for a moment before a sly, fox-like smile suddenly spread across her face. "Flowers Bloom in an Instant, A Gaze of Ten Thousand Years? Hehe, Rong is so smart!"

CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH.

The sound of footsteps crunching against the snow came from behind her. Hearing the noise, Rong’s eyes lit up. She spun around, a cheerful cry escaping her lips. "Brother, it’s you..."

Before she could finish, she clearly saw the person standing behind her. "Oh... it’s just Eldest Senior Brother."

A look of disappointment subconsciously flashed across her face.

"Junior Sister, were you just talking to someone?"

"Huh?" A hint of panic flashed across Rong’s small face. Her large eyes darted around nervously as she stood on her left foot, incessantly kicking the snow with the tip of her right toe. "N-no I wasn’t! Rong was just playing here by herself!"

Her Eldest Senior Brother cast her a suspicious glance. "Really?"

Rong offered a sweet smile. "Really!"

"Then..." Her Eldest Senior Brother pointed at the bracelet on her wrist. "Care to explain to me where that bracelet came from? And also..." He shifted his finger to point at the blossoms on the rock. "Did these Hua somehow bloom out of the snow?"

"Eek!" Rong immediately clapped a hand over her right wrist. Seeing him point at the rock, she hastily lunged forward, scrambling to scoop up the Hua with both hands. Her frantic attempt to cover things up only exposed her guilt completely.

It took her quite a bit of fumbling to safely stash the Hua into her Storage Ring. Still clutching her bracelet, Rong bared her teeth and glared at her Eldest Senior Brother, trying her absolute hardest to look exceptionally fierce.

"Eldest Senior Brother, you’re not allowed... not allowed to tell Father! Otherwise, Rong will ignore you for one day... no, three days... no, I won’t talk to you for half a month!"

"Alright, alright!" Seeing his junior sister’s adorably fierce expression, he affectionately pinched her chubby, pink cheeks. "Eldest Senior Brother promises he won’t tell Master. Does that work for you?"

"Mhm!" Rong nodded continuously like a little chick pecking at rice. "You can’t tell Mother either!"

Her Eldest Senior Brother was rendered speechless. When did his little junior sister suddenly become so sharp? Feeling a touch of melancholy, he raised his head to look up at the sky.

"Then... you have to tell me who you were just talking to. I need to make sure the other party isn’t dangerous and doesn’t harbor any bad intentions."

"Mmm..." Rong looked at him suspiciously. After a long moment of deliberation, she nodded. "Okay."

***

"Ugh..."

The gentle morning breeze swept across the summit of Zuowang Peak, awakening the figure lying motionless near the edge of the cliff.

He rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the dizzying, throbbing headache left behind by his hangover. Just as Su Han propped himself up, Qiye Demon Monarch, who was also opening his blurry, sleep-filled eyes beside him, cast him a glance. With a hazy gaze and a slurred voice, Qiye mumbled a question.

"Old man... tell me. Does an existence that wanders outside the Three Realms and Six Paths, standing above Space-Time, truly exist in this world?"

Su Han froze. His body violently jolted as he instantly whipped his head around, his eyes locking dead onto Qiye Demon Monarch.

"What... did you just say?"