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Swaying precariously, its delicate, doll-like face was about to touch the ground—

Qiqi instinctively closed her eyes.

But instead of touching the ground, she fell into a warm and gentle embrace. Her cheek was buried in the embrace, and she could smell the warm and clear scent, as warm as the sun shining on her cheek.

Be careful.

The man gently kneaded Qiqi's soft cheeks and said softly, "You're such a worry."

Qi Qi's shoulders trembled slightly. She raised her eyes, and her pale purple eyes reflected the person's face.

His long, pure white hair was intertwined with scattered sunlight. The man lowered his head, and stray hairs fell onto Qiqi's cheek, tickling her slightly. He gently embraced Qiqi.

Qiqi wanted to be hugged because she was a zombie and was always cold, so even when the sun was shining on her, she couldn't feel the warmth. But a hug was different; when he hugged Qiqi, she could feel warmth.

It's really...warm.

"Qiqi..." Qiqi paused, then hugged Qing Nuoyan tightly, as if afraid he would run away. Her fingers gripped his sleeve tightly. "Qiqi, it's a success."

"Seven Seven... has summoned... the strongest."

"Yes, Qiqi is the best." Qing Nuoyan comforted Qiqi and said to her earnestly, "Qiqi successfully summoned me."

"I kept my promise too." He paused, sunlight shining into the boy's eyes, and Qing Nuoyan said proudly, "This time, I kept my promise as well."

He raised his eyes and looked at Zhongli, who was also looking at him. Their eyes met.

After a long pause, Qing Nuoyan proudly told him, "I have become the [strongest]."

"friend."

Zhongli sensed the changes in Qing Nuoyan. He pondered for a moment, as if he understood something, and smiled, "You did it. You really became the strongest."

Morax is the God of War in the mortal world. To be recognized as the strongest by the God of War means that one is truly the strongest.

Zhong Li could sense what kind of trials Qing Nuoyan had gone through.

"I've come to have a drink with you." Qing Nuoyan looked at Morax and smiled in the twilight. "This autumn, on Narukami Island, under the largest cherry blossom tree, would you like to come?"

If the rocks disappear, then we await the return of the mountains.

-

I couldn't plant a mountain full of flowers, I only planted one tree...

【The cherry blossoms are like clouds, that's when I arrive】

Good morning, good afternoon, good night.

Miss Ying had finished reading the last letter; only a faint outline of dusk remained, scattered at the edge of the stars.

The sunlight had completely disappeared.

There is a saying in Inazuma that dusk is the time of encountering demons. Dusk is the boundary between day and night, and at this moment, even the boundary of time becomes blurred. Although this saying is just a rumor, it can symbolize the truth to some extent at this moment.

However, it is not the boundary between white clouds and night.

Rather, it is... the boundary between falsehood and reality.

Qingnuoyan tampered with and deceived history, and perpetuated this lie for a thousand years, completing a full cycle. After dusk, day turns into night, and falsehood turns into reality.

This is the moment when falsehood and reality intersect.

After dusk, the lie became the truth.

"Have you finished reading?" Lily asked softly, having been patiently waiting.

"I've finished reading it."

Ying said calmly. She sorted out the letters, carefully put them back into the mailbox, and locked it.

"Qingnuo Rock...has it been here for over a thousand years?" Ying asked softly.

She looked around the cave.

This cave is very old. Fine moss grows in the gaps between the brown rocks. It is dark and damp. The smoky light of dusk shines through the cave entrance and into the cave, giving the furnishings an old and worn look.

There wasn't much furniture inside: a homemade desk, a chair, a quill pen that was completely rusted, and a large mailbox full of letters.

For a thousand years, Qingnuoyan has lived in this narrow place.

I wake up in the cave every day and fall asleep in the cave every day. Spring comes and autumn goes, and this cycle repeats for a thousand years.

Ying could imagine it, or rather, Ying could clearly feel it...

That sense of loneliness.

And that feeling.

Ying gently clutched the fragment of the heart; the words etched upon her soul shimmered with light. As dusk deepened, the light grew ever brighter, and the words had never been so clear—

"Before dusk, I will go home and have dinner with Ying."

That's all.

She watched the twilight, watched the mountains swallow the last vestiges of color. Falsehood and reality overlapped and overlapped at that moment.

After dusk, it is not night.

Instead, it's a magnificent starry sky.

Under the starry sky, she saw him.

-

P.S.: Phew, finally finished writing!

I want a happy ending.

Next comes the final chapter, and then the subsequent side stories.

Great!

Chapter 152 A Promise Made (The End)

The Milky Way shines brightly, heralding the approaching dawn.

The late autumn sky is clean, open, and clear, with occasional wisps of pale silver clouds floating in the night.

But what filled the entire sky was starlight, making the night seem like early morning. Stars hung low over the fields, and even the mountains reflected in the light became a corner of the Milky Way.

Qingnuo Rock is right there.

He didn't seem to have changed much; he looked exactly the same as when he left.

He wore a pure white kimono, natural wood sandals, and long, silvery-white hair that fell to his ankles. He looked exactly the same when he returned as when he left, even though he was 1,500 years old.

The stars also fell into his dark blue eyes, which held the entire Milky Way and reflected Ying's face.

In terms of the times, Qingnuoyan has only left at dusk, but for Qingnuoyan, 1,500 years have passed in the world.

What will he say when they meet again?

Qing Nuoyan originally thought she had a lot to say and a lot of stories to share, but when they actually reunited, when she returned to this era, and when she saw Miss Ying again and looked into her bright golden eyes, Qing Nuoyan found that she had forgotten what to say again.

All the words he wanted to say, all the longing and stories, were written in those more than a thousand letters. But now, when he reunited with Ying, he had forgotten how to speak.

"fluorescent..."

Qing Nuoyan's thin lips moved, many emotions and words welling up in his chest and stuck in his throat, but in the end, he only said:

"I am back."

Ying stared at Qing Nuoyan, her golden eyes fixed on him.

She pursed her lips gently, but said nothing. She simply lowered her head, walked up to Qing Nuoyan, and pressed her delicate cheek against his chest.

She remained silent for a long, long time.

She raised her delicate white hand, clenched it into a fist, and held it high. But after hesitating for a moment, she gently brought it down and struck Qing Nuoyan's shoulder once, twice... The force was very light, like a cat stepping on him.

"Idiot." She lowered her eyes. "Coming back so late... the food's all cold."

"...Feel sorry."

Qing Nuoyan lowered his head, close to Ying's profile. They were so close that their breaths almost mingled. Qing Nuoyan said to her earnestly, "I will never leave again."

"The apology lacked sincerity."

Miss Ying pretended to be indignant and pushed Qing Nuoyan away, but despite this, her fingers still gripped the latter's sleeve tightly, and because of the force, faint blue veins appeared on her almost transparent white skin.

“The apology wasn’t sincere,” she said. “…Something more sincere would do.”

Qingnuoyan gazed at Ying, who looked beautiful as she spoke, her eyes filled with silvery starlight. The swaying shadows cast by the cherry blossoms enveloped the two of them, and starlight and cherry blossoms scattered together, falling like rain.

"Sincerity...how do you know if someone is sincere...?"

"Fool."

Ying grabbed Qing Nuoyan's sleeve and pulled him back.

Their cheeks then pressed even closer together.

Qingnuoyan could feel Ying's presence, so vibrant and so gentle, and could hear each other's heartbeats. They embraced each other under the starry sky, and time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Your heart is beating so fast.

Ying whispered in Qingnuoyan's ear, as if they were intimately entwined.

“I originally had no heart in my chest,” Qing Nuoyan said softly. “After being pierced by the rock spear, I no longer have a heart in my chest.”

“I was originally a carefree and unrestrained person with no heart,” Qing Nuoyan gazed at Ying, “but after seeing you again, I can hear my heartbeat again.”

"...That's not sincere enough." Ying smiled, but said, "I'm not a girl who's so easy to please."

Qing Nuoyan turned his face to the side and kissed Miss Ying's cheek. Pure white starlight draped over their shoulders, and cherry blossoms fell to the ground, covering them with a thin layer.

"Idiot." Ying's earlobes turned slightly red, and her cheeks were flushed, as beautiful and bright as the sunset.

“I have read all the letters you wrote,” she said. “I want you to say to me in person everything you wrote in those letters.”

“But it’s a letter from 1,500 years ago,” Qing Nuoyan said softly. “I can’t finish telling you about it now.”

—"Then whisper it in my ear for fifteen hundred years."

Miss Ying also turned her face to the side, stood on tiptoe, placed her soft hand on Qing Nuoyan's shoulder, and kissed him upwards.