As the moon meets the ocean for the first time

While the other disciples were busy searching for the dangerous snake around the lotus pond, Duie and Su Nian sat quietly beneath the bamboo trees. Duie pretended to have a headache, while Su Nian claimed an injury in his leg. They exchanged glances, their fingers brushing lightly as they held hands in secret. That day, when Su Nian had asked Bao Fang for advice on how to confess love.....not to a girl, but for Duie...it had all led to this quiet moment.

Meanwhile, Yu Sui had finished tending to Mo Yan's wounds and brought him some tea. Sitting beside him, Yu Sui watched as Mo Yan wrote something on paper. The same melody Mo Yan had once sent from Black Heaven played softly again. When Yu Sui read the verses, his face turned red with embarrassment.

Though he had read this melody before.....many times, even at the academy....this time Mo Yan had added something more. Something meant only for him. Yu Sui glanced at Mo Yan with a mix of surprise and affection, only to realize Mo Yan was already gazing at him. There was a calm, enchanting smile on Mo Yan's face, the kind that pulled Yu Sui closer...not with lust, but with a silent seal of love.

That smile said, "I belong to you, only you."

Without realizing when or how, their lips met. In each other's embrace, the world melted away. It wasn't lust....because lust always takes, regardless of the other's will. This wasn't that. This was a love so deep, so sacred, that their souls had already been surrendered to each other....not just in this life, but across lifetimes.

Their physical union was not a desire of the flesh, but a sacred language between souls that whispered:

"The love I carry for you... belongs to you alone."

That night, two bound souls became one again.

A soft breeze swept across the room, knocking the paper off the table. It fluttered down to the floor. On it, written in an ancient script, were the words:

"Vixion taun du jo zhaio sko."

Only a few in the entire academy could understand what that meant.

And among them... were Duie and Su Nian.