When he decided to transform all his essence into sweet dew to nourish the world, he came to me and entrusted the safety and future of a person to me. He said, "Sha Luo, that little girl whose love, hatred, joy, and anger are all written on her face, is the most important family member in my life."

  I know that the word "family" is like a dagger piercing the heart for a tree yaokai.

  Zi Miao has always been everything she believed in. He treated her so well.

  She naturally believed that the pce the other person held in her heart was exactly the same as the pce she held in the other person's heart.

  Until she realized that her appearance was given to her by him based on the woman he loved most in his heart, she was stunned, silent, and then burst out.

  She considered it a humiliation. She thought the days spent together were the most genuine happiness between him and her, but it turned out to be just a stand-in who didn't even belong to her own face.

  When she saw the woman with the same appearance as hers, nestled in Zi Miao's arms, she couldn't even breathe. The st meeting with Zi Miao ended with his faint sigh and her desperate departure.

  The forest she walked through instantly turned from lush green to withered and decayed, and her heart was in the same state.

  On that day, I stood at the summit of Fulong Mountain with her, and I had to tell her the truth: the rain falling before us was Zi Miao's essence. Although the decree had been lifted, he could never return.

  It was the first time I saw her in tears.

  Zi Miao, as the god of water, governed all the waters of the world, yet her tears were the one exception he could never control.

  With Zi Miao's disappearance, her world was on the brink of colpse, and yet I quietly left, for I knew there was someone better suited to care for her than me.

  When Zi Miao was cast out of her world, the one who stayed by her side was that imposing yet tender-hearted dragon, whose fierce exterior hid a softer nature.

  This dragon, named Ao Chi, was no mere fiendish creature. He was a noble descendant of the Dragon Cn from the Eastern Sea, none other than the Dragon King's own grandson. The Eastern Sea Dragon Cn, renowned for their lofty status, rivaled even the deities and Buddhas, destined to guard the world by vanquishing evil spirits and yaokais. Yet, it was Ao Chi's pyful mischief that led him astray; while toying in a ke, he unleashed a storm that flooded a nearby city.

  Countless lives were lost in the flood, and Zi Miao intervened to subdue Ao Chi, leaving them both severely injured. It was in this battle of opposites, bck and white, fire and water, that the little tree spirit first encountered this fierce dragon.

  Wounded and enraged, Ao Chi snatched Zi Miao's companion, Sha Luo, right in front of her eyes and imprisoned her in the Sea of Despair, a pce isoted from the outside world. There, he assailed her daily with cruel words and actions, attempting to break the spirit of this defiant young woman who had even dared to sp him. Yet she refused to yield, meeting his “malice” with her own form of resilience, refusing to take a single step back.

  Simir people often repel each other, yet they are just as likely to find harmony. Such was the case between Ao Chi and Sha Luo—true "fated enemies."

  Their time together in the Sea of Despair became another turning point bestowed by fate.

  If it weren't for Ao Chi's constant presence, forcing her to return to her true form at regur intervals, there would no longer be a tree yaokai named Sha Luo in this world.

  She spent over thirty years with Zi Miao, only to face endless pain that stretched across countless years. It was Ao Chi's unwavering presence that slowly pulled her out of the sorrowful memories that once felt like her final resting pce.

  One was naturally proud and used to commanding others with an air of authority; the other was stubborn at heart, refusing to bow to any form of oppression. Over the years, I witnessed their numerous arguments and cshes. I also saw Ao Chi repeatedly teaching her various spells, scolding her for being foolish and annoying, yet doing everything he could to make her happy.

  Over the course of a thousand years, they unknowingly learned to grow together, even though the process was not easy.

  Everyone thought they were destined to be together, a perfect match created by the heavens, and that they should become lovers.

  But even after a millennium, Sha Luo remained Sha Luo, and Ao Chi remained Ao Chi—the two still at odds, constantly challenging one another.

  Would it be so hard for them to soften, to compromise, to honestly face their feelings for just once?

  Then, on that day, Ao Chi disappeared.

  No one knew the reason, nor did anyone know where he had gone.

  Sha Luo told me, with a dismissive tone, that he could go as far away as he wished.

  Yet in her eyes, I saw genuine anxiety and confusion.

  After all those centuries of depending on each other, only in separation was the depth of their bond truly revealed.

  When I learned the news of Ao Chi's disappearance, I was brewing the second pot of wine. I didn't want to give it any other name besides "Thorny Path."

  ′ENDLESS′

  In the twenty years following Ao Chi's disappearance, Sha Luo wandered endlessly, traveling across the world as if she could never stay still. Whenever I asked if she was searching for Ao Chi, she would always deny it.

  I must admit, time and experience had helped the once-little tree yaokai mature, yet some things about her remained unchanged.

  A year ago, she visited a small city.

  At this point, he didn′t continue his story but turned to the eager guest and said, “Actually, the third pot of wine isn′t finished brewing yet. It requires much more time to complete than the first two.”

  `Then why do you call it `Endless′?” the guest asked, puzzled.

  He grinned slyly and replied, "Because the tree yaokai opened a little tea house in a certain alley of that city, and she named it `Endless.”

  “Such a strange name!” the guest excimed.

  “Yes, the stories that happen in that tea house might be even stranger. I′ve said before that she′s a woman whose life is intertwined with stories. And this time, even more story-filled characters joined her narrative, including me. Haha.” He chuckled as he looked up at the three pots of wine and added, “These three pots are all products from the same series.”

  He extended a finger and wrote two shimmering characters in the air, saying, “This series is called…”

  The guest focused intently, and the characters floating before them were—`浮生′

  (Fu Sheng; Floating Life).