(no subject)

[shangba]

Pledge you do not sleep in the vanquished cave.

Comments

[emperorssmile]

Haven’t I already been doing that? I practice my forms nearly every day. I put a lot of effort into exercising this golden core, but the only time I feel strong is after dual cultivation.

[shangba]

Why is it insufficient?

[emperorssmile]

It’s not.

When I think of my face, this is the first one I think about.

I should burn some incense.

[shangba]

Do so. Set your mind at ease.

[emperorssmile]

Yeah, I will. I’ll invite Wen Ning. I forgot I was going to go find him.

[shangba]

Is your mind troubled?

[emperorssmile]

Less now. I think I just need to make peace with a few things.

[shangba]

May I assist in any way?

[emperorssmile]

You already have.

I’ll mourn myself. I’ll never be him again, but I’m still me.

[shangba]

Perhaps, sooner than mourn — celebrate yourself.

[emperorssmile]

Right. Yeah, I can do both.

Will you celebrate me, too?

[shangba]

How do you wish me to?

[emperorssmile]

Hmm, I was going to have some wine and talk about myself.

What’s your favorite memory of me?

[shangba]

Wei Ying's exclamation in Guanyin temple.

[emperorssmile]

I was so happy to be held by you that time! I didn’t know about your feelings about me until Zewu-Jun told me what happened in my last few days.

[shangba]

To know Wei Ying shared my affection fulfilled me.

[emperorssmile]

Does it still fulfill you?

[shangba]

Your love alone compels me to wakefulness each day.

[emperorssmile]

Lan Zhan! I’ll be your inspiration to wake up for the rest of our lives! And you can be my reason to keep moving forward.

[shangba]

How will you celebrate yourself?

[emperorssmile]

By tricking everyone around into saying something nice about me?

I guess that means me, too, doesn’t it?

[shangba]

It does. Please proceed.

[emperorssmile]

I’m a good father and a good husband most of the time. I’m good at creating new things to solve old problems. I’m older now, and wiser, than I used to be.

[shangba]

Now speak kindly of your body.

[emperorssmile]

You mean this one, don’t you?

I like that it has a golden core, even if it’s not the strongest. Because of that and dual cultivation, I know how to extend my life indefinitely. But I’m not going to do it unless we find a way for you to stay with me. I used to be handsome, but now I’m pretty so I’m still good-looking.

I’m alive because of it. I’m beyond thankful to get a second chance. This body can do what I need it to do and I’ll keep working on getting stronger so I can protect my family from any threat that might occur.