Chapter 114: Asleep

Floating lanterns hovered in the starry sky all night long. After the wedding ceremony, Ji Yunhe and Changyi hosted a simple "feast", drank some tea, then waved the guests off. They were all very busy, no one had time to stay and chat.

Inside their room, Ji Yunhe freshened up and turned around to see Changyi sitting by the bed. He gently stroked the fish tail embroidery on his robe, his fingertips were soft and his gaze was warm. She walked to his side and pulled him into her arms.

"Hug," she said while caressing his hair.

Changyi released the corner of his robe and hugged Ji Yunhe's waist, pressing his face against her belly. It was the softest part of her body, and also the warmest. It warmed up the cold surrounding him.

They embraced each other without saying anything, the silence was already better than a thousand words. After a long time, Changyi said,

"I didn't lose my tail."

"Hmm?"

"It's here with you. You are my tail." His face gently rubbed against her and Ji Yunhe held him tighter.

"You are also a part of me," she said. Changyi closed his eyes.

"Mhm."

This was perhaps the warmest night the north had ever seen.

Because Ji Yunhe had some difficulty sleeping, Changyi hummed a song in her ear. His whispering voice first sounded like the waves from the sea, then like a clear mountain spring, soothing her. She slowly closed her eyes.

She drifted further away from reality and closer to the dream world under his lullaby. In the dream, Ji Yunhe saw herself standing next to the eye of the Ten Square Formation again. She pulled Changyi into a dark pool of water with a heart full of hope, as if what awaited them at the end of the darkness was a world of sunshine.

Ji Yunhe fell asleep to his song with a smile on her face. Changyi's voice gradually faded, and the room fell silent.

He looked at Ji Yunhe's smile under the light of the moon. It felt contagious and made him smile too. He raised his hand to touch her face, but then he saw his fingertips...

The frost had solidified into icicles on his nails, sharp enough to pierce her skin.

Changyi withdrew his hand. He did not feel how cold his body had become over the past few days. In order to keep Ji Yunhe from seeing his abnormalities, he acquired some herbs from Kongming that took away his senses so he no longer felt pain.

If they could not be together for long, then might as well give her the best he could in the time they have left. Just like the beautiful sky tonight. It was the best gift his people could give them.

Changyi curled up next to Ji Yunhe and tried his best to not touch her, afraid of the coldness waking her from the dream. He wanted to watch her smile until the last moment...

The next day, Ji Yunhe opened her eyes before sunrise.

Although it was the first day after their wedding, she still had a lot of work to do. Ji Yunhe was determined to never be late again after last time, so she quickly sat up to say goodbye to Changyi. But when she turned her head, she froze.

Their whole bed was now covered in ice, including him. Only the part she laid on was not. Her demon body was too warm to freeze. Ji Yunhe went numb and murmured to herself, "Why did it happen so fast..."

Nine black tails unfolded and black flames burned out from her body. She melted away the ice from his face and leaned down.

"Changyi..." she called him while she pressed herself onto his body.

"It's okay, it's okay..." she continued to murmur unintelligibly. Her fox fire swirled and wrapped around him.

But she could only melt away the outer layer of ice. His skin would not warm up no matter how much she tried. His eyes were closed and his face was content, as if he was inside a dream so beautiful that he simply did not want to wake up.

"Changyi, Changyi..." Ji Yunhe picked him up.

"The sun is coming up. Let's go see the sunrise, don't sleep anymore." Her voice was raspy and her thoughts were scattered. His body had softened enough for her to carry him on her back.

"Let's go, I'll carry you. When you see the sun come out, you will wake up..."

Changyi's hands hung loosely down her shoulders, crusted over by a thick layer of ice. Ji Yunhe's eyes turned red while she desperately tried to hold back her tears.

"It's okay if you don't hold me, I'm strong, I can carry you no problem," she said while walking step by step to the door. But she did not feel very strong at all. Her whole body trembled and shook from head to toe.

Changyi slipped off of Ji Yunhe's back as soon as she raised a hand to push the door. She immediately turned around and pulled him into her arms. She sat against the door and rested his head on her legs.

Tears finally flowed out of her eyes as she looked at him, landing drop by drop onto his face. They solidified on contact and turned into little ice spikes against his skin. Ji Yunhe reached out to wipe away the ice while more fell one after another.

She now realized she was not as strong as she thought. Losing Changyi and living on with only an identity and memories of him was a thousand times more difficult than she had imagined.

The morning sun lit up the door behind her and shadows began to recede. She watched as the light slowly moved onto Changyi's face.

"The sun is out..."

Ji Yunhe's voice was broken. But Changyi did not wake up. His ice blue eyes would never open again.