T/W: slight mention of self-harm.
"What are you doing here?" Li Susu asked Cang Jiumin as soon as he approached her.
"I am following my master's orders, and am instructed to accompany the Goddess Yuling in the mortal world," Cang Jiumin replied, gesturing respectfully towards his senior sister. He had decided to treat Li Susu the same way as she was treating him, the way she wanted to treat him, as a fellow disciple of an immortal sect. For now, at least.
"I told Uncle Zhaoyou I can do it alone," Li Susu mumbled grumpily.
"Master thought you needed assistance," Cang Jiumin replied calmly.
Li Susu scowled. "Go back to Xiaoyao and tell him I don't need help," she said dismissively, and proceeded to walk past him. Cang Jiumin followed her. He knew she noticed and followed her every attempt to lose him in the crowd. He smiled slightly. How could she ever think of disappearing into this crowd when she stands out so much? She could never hide her beauty that transcends time, her lightness of step, her swaying figure, her alluring eyes…
"Cang Jiumin!" He almost walked into Li Susu when she abruptly stopped and faced him.
"Sect Sister." Cang Jiumin smiled at her politely.
"Will you stop following me around?" Li Susu asked, irritation evident in her voice. Her lips were curled in a frown, but she doesn't know that she looked adorable that way.
"Sect Sister, I am not following you around," Cang Jiumin replied, feigning innocence. "I'm just taking in the sights and sounds of the mortal world, particularly now that the people are preparing for a festival. As you know, it's been a few hundred years since I visited. For all I know, you're the one following me."
Li Susu opened her mouth in astonishment at his audacity. Cang Jiumin walked past her.
"Where are you going?" Cang Jiumin heard Li Susu ask. He tilted his head towards her.
"Oh? Sect Sister is talking to me?"
Li Susu narrowed her eyes. "Very funny," she said.
"I am going to the Emperor's palace," Cang Jiumin said. "Master mentioned you're looking for Ming Ye's Heart Guarding Scale. The palace is a good place to start."
Li Susu walked up to him. "You must be curious about your descendants."
Cang Jiumin turned to her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, every Jing emperor is said to be descended from Emperor Jin, the emperor who united the two kingdoms," Li Susu said. She smiled playfully at him. "You must have had some rowdy few years after…"
Cang Jiumin stopped and looked at her forlornly. "How could I?" he said in a bleak tone. "After you… left me, I tried to follow after you soon after." He unconsciously tugged at his sleeves, but Li Susu caught the movement, and took hold of his arm. Pushing his sleeve up, a scar showed up at his wrist. It was a deep cut.
Li Susu looked at him hard. Cang Jiumin pulled his hand away from her, and walked past her.
"Cang Jiumin," he heard her call him. He didn't turn to her, but he stopped to let her catch up with him. "Let's go to the palace."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"The emperor enters!"
Cang Jiumin and Li Susu turned to look at the Jing emperor enter the royal audience hall. He walked briskly towards the throne, steps measured and even, and his bearing had a military aspect. He wore a golden mask on his face, but the eyes that peeked out of the mask was slightly familiar…
The emperor stood in front of the throne and turned towards them. "I am grateful that the immortal sects have…" He was not able to finish the sentence when he finally looked at Cang Jiumin and Li Susu standing in the middle of the hall. His mouth opened in astonishment. Cang Jiumin narrowed his eyes at the emperor's unusual reaction, and beside him, he saw Li Susu have the same reaction.
"Leave us," the emperor commanded his servants, and they bowed and quickly left the room. Cang Jiumin and Li Susu looked around them as servants exited on all sides of the hall, leaving them and the emperor alone in the hall.
"Your Majesty, we-" Cang Jiumin started to say, but the emperor quickly crossed the distance between them and stood directly in front of them.
"Your Majesty," the emperor said to him, and bowed to him. Cang Jiumin and Li Susu were startled, but the emperor took off his mask and revealed his face.
"Ye Qingyu!" Cang Jiumin and Li Susu both cried out at the same time.
Ye Qingyu, in the emperor's robes and trappings, smiled at them. "It has been too long, Your Majesty," he said, smiling at Cang Jiumin. He turned to Li Susu. "Lady Immortal," he said, bowing to her, "I'm afraid I-"
Li Susu threw her arms around Ye Qingyu, startling him. "Brother!" she said, tears falling down her face.
"Brother?" Ye Qingyu wondered, then he looked at Cang Jiumin, who smiled sadly. Understanding dawned on him, and he said, "Third Sister?" He pulled Li Susu away from him to look into her teary face, and saw in it the essence of Ye Xiwu. "H-how is this possible…?"
Li Susu laughed despite her tears. "I'm asking that myself," she said, smiling up at Ye Qingyu. She looked over at Cang Jiumin, who simply had a smile on his face. "Why aren't you surprised he is here?" she asked Cang Jiumin.
Cang Jiumin opened his mouth to answer, but Ye Qingyu held his arm. "It might be best if we take this in a more comfortable setting," he said, smiling happily as if this was the first time he had actually smiled in a while.
Ye Qingyu led them to an open pavilion near the palace pond. They settled into the seats around a small table in the pavilion, and Ye Qingyu, his mask now off, had servants bring tea and other refreshments to the table.
Cang Jiumin caught Li Susu looking around and smiling fondly at the swing set on the broken column. She in turn caught him looking at her, and quickly schooled her expression into politeness again. His lips curled in a slight smile, and steadily watched her in all her attempts to avoid his gaze.
"I didn't expect to reunite like this again, sister," Ye Qingyu said, smiling at Li Susu, reaching out for her hand.
"Me too, brother," Li Susu said, squeezing his hand. "How is this possible?"
Ye Qingyu answered by summoning a fireball from his hands. Li Susu started, feeling the familiar power coming from the fireball…
"During Tantai Minglang's invasion, I was saved by Pian Ran, who gave me all her essence just so I can live," Ye Qingyu answered sadly, looking down at the teacup in his hands. Li Susu looked at him in pity. Ye Qingyu looked up and met her eyes, then smiled slightly. "I've been living on as Jing emperor ever since, for the past 500 years."
A troubled thought passed by Li Susu's eyes, and she hesitated. "I… am not actually Ye Xiwu, but Li Susu, a disciple of—"
Ye Qingyu shook his head. "Li Susu, Ye Xiwu, it doesn't matter," he said, placing another hand on hers. "You are my sister, and that's what matters."
Li Susu smiled gratefully. "I am happy to see you again, brother," she repeated.
Ye Qingyu turned to Cang Jiumin. "It's been a long time, Your Majesty," he said. "I am glad you've returned safe and sound from where Nian Baiyu took you." At that, Li Susu glanced at Cang Jiumin with an unfathomable gaze.
Cang Jiumin shook his head. "I am no longer the emperor, Ye Qingyu," he said. "You are. I'm glad you've taken on the responsibility for me."
Ye Qingyu smiled briefly. "It wasn't just for you, Your Majesty," he said, unconsiously still calling Cang Jiumin as the emperor, "but for all the people who remained then, and who are flourishing now."
"You've been a better emperor than I could have ever been," Cang Jiumin said, pride seeping through his voice. Then he lowered his eyes. "Did you… blame me when I left?" He felt Li Susu look at him, but this time it was he who avoided her gaze.
Ye Qingyu briefly glanced at Li Susu, then at the apologetic expression on Cang Jiumin's face. "I didn't blame you, and I don't blame you now," he answered slowly. "You did leave enough instructions to ensure that my take over will be as smooth as possible, and the ministers were appeased. You did what you could do, after having lost the one you loved the most."
"But I almost…" Cang Jiumin looked up at Li Susu, and quickly withdrew his gaze.
Ye Qingyu looked at Cang Jiumin in pity. "Nian Baiyu was right in saving you from the fire," he said, noticing Li Susu make a start at that. "He was also right in suggesting I should take on the mantle of emperor. We've both lost the people we loved, but we both had reasons to carry on. You, to seek my sister's soul from the netherworld, and me, to take care of the people that Pian Ran, my father, and my brother died to save."
Cang Jiumin saw Li Susu shed a tear at the mention of her father, General Ye, and her elder brother, Ye Zeyu. He didn't realize she never knew what happened to her family after she died… that almost all of them followed her to the grave. He raised his cup and drank to Grandmother Ye, General Ye, Ye Zeyu, Pian Ran, and Nian Baiyu, who by this time must be diminished into dust already.
The three of them fell silent as they remembered those who they have lost five hundred years ago. But the cool breeze blew around them, reminding them that though their family and friends were gone, they were still here, remembering them, because by remembering, they will never be gone.