Heyu/Story: Difference between revisions

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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Heyu Speak Not of Returning Come Spring Image 02|~~left~~}}

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Heyu Speak Not of Returning Come Spring Image 02|center}}

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Thankfully, Sister Jiu was still there, holding his hand with a gentle smile.

"Don't be afraid, Young Master. When spring comes, we will go home."

|s2_title = When Will the Bright Moon Guide Me Home?

|s2_text =

Even in the dead of winter, the courtyard remained a riot of blossoms. It was absurdly lavish, reeking of an unnatural wealth. Rumor had it that a true immortal from the heavens was housed here.

"Some immortal, huh? Won't eat this, won't eat that. Picky as hell. Hardest creature I've ever had to serve."

"Even if he's a handful, you'll serve him on your knees! He's the Boss's living elixir for 'borrowing years.' Watch your tongue, or you'll get us in trouble!"

"Come on, you really believe something so bizarre? Borrowing someone's lifespan? I don't buy it..."

"How else do you explain it? How else do you explain it? Eight years ago, the Boss's only son was swallowed by a giant serpent. Everyone thought he was a goner. But look at him now, alive and kicking! You have to believe it."

"By the gods... So this isn't just 'borrowing years.' It's... going against Heaven and changing your fate!"

One man's face was riddled with doubt, while the other's was filled with awe.

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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Heyu When Will the Bright Moon Guide Me Home? Image 01|left}}

"Exactly! They say the Boss invited an immortal down to the mortal realm. As the immortal grows sickly and their life shortens, the Boss grows healthy and long-lived."

"I heard the older female lady only lasted a couple of years here before she... Wait, was it really because of that?!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! You want to anger the one inside? We'll be doomed!"

"Oh, you're just being superstitious! What are you so scared of? It's been dead quiet in there. He must be asleep. He can't hear a thing..."

But were immortals not supposed to be omniscient? With a simple calculation on their fingers, they could see through an entire lifetime. The two men looked up at the sky in unison.

They say immortals are always watching from above. What if their careless words had already offended the one inside?

Uneasily, they pushed open the jade-inlaid window and looked toward the room bathed in moonlight—

Empty.

How could it be empty?!

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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Heyu When Will the Bright Moon Guide Me Home? Image 02|right}}

Immortal? How absurd.

The aloof young man watched as lights suddenly flooded the courtyard, as if setting the jade halls and golden towers ablaze.

He pulled his hood low, snapped off a sprig of red plum blossoms, and stepped silently into the mountain mist.

The red plum Sister Jiu had planted... He had to bring it home. She always used to say the winters here were far colder than in their homeland. And that no matter what, he had to make it through, just until it was time to go home.

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The young man stepped onto the edge of the mountain cliff, gazing at the moon hanging high in the void. Behind him, those pursuing him quickly gathered, their torches turning the night as bright as day.

The wind died down and the clouds scattered, leaving a solitary moon in the vast clear sky.

With a sprig of red plum blossom between his lips, the immortal leapt into the abyss, compassion in his eyes and his figure graceful as a crane. In an instant, he dissolved into a burst of blinding white light and vanished before their eyes.

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When spring came, a new tale took root in the courtyard: the immortal had ascended and returned to the heavens.

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