Embers of Love

Chapter 23

    Juying drained the remaining wine in the flask and cradled her cheek in her hand with a satisfied smile. While Supreme Lord Lao's birthday celebration had been grand and enjoyable, the Light Immortal finally succumbed to the temptation of sneaking off from the festivities early, enticed by the peaceful, ethereal night sky. But not before swiping a flask or two of the delightful wine that had been served.

    She walked about aimlessly until she reached the shimmering pond that the Heavenly Emperor had taken her to once. It was perfect, no one would find her there. Taking a seat beneath the enchanted tree, Juying staring up at the gleaming moon admiringly.

    An indefinite amount of time passed before the contented Light Immortal felt her eyelids getting heavy. With her head resting on her folded arms, she fought the urge to go to sleep.

    "There you are. Did you really think that you could sneak out and get away with it?" a cold voice cut through the serenity of night, startling a tipsy Juying upright.

    Upon seeing the Heavenly Emperor's displeased face staring down at her, she released a defeated groan and buried her flushed face into her arms again. "I didn't think anyone would notice," she said, voice slightly muffled.

    Runyu released a sigh. "Juying, what are you doing here? It's cold at night and you just recovered, you shouldn't be out at this hour," he scolded.

    "I just wanted to admire your star arrangement for a while," she replied meekly.

    The dragon spirit glanced up at the sky, then back down at her, unimpressed. "Today's arrangement is nothing special. Come with me, I'm taking you back to Yongxia Palace."

    "I don't want to leave yet," the fire qilin whined. "Stay and look at the skies with me."

    "I've arranged the stars all year round for thousands of years. There's nothing to admire. Sooner or later you'll realize that they're merely orbs of light against a dark space-" The Heavenly Emperor didn't get to finish his sentence before he felt slender fingers clasp firmly around his wrist. Before he could react, Juying pulled him down onto one of the stools.

    If he hadn't caught and steadied himself in time, he probably would have lost his balance and collapsed on top of her. Incredulously, he glared at her triumphant face. "You're drunk, so I will forgive your lack of propriety this time," Runyu huffed. Her only response was a giggle.

    "Will you even be well enough to bring dawn in a few hours-" he asked disgruntledly.

    "If you don't stop talking," Juying interrupted, leaning in intimidatingly, "I'll have to kiss you."

    The silver dragon stared at her, aghast. A rush of heat shot to his face and neck. "Y-you can't say things like that- How much did you drink?" he sputtered, grabbing the flasks from the table.

    "Shh!" Juying hushed.

    "Alright," he grumbled, then fell silent.

    As the pair of immortals stared up at the glittering stars together, Runyu was gradually hit with awe-struck wonder towards their magnificence. He deliberated just how much time had passed since he started taking his duties for granted, to the point where he stopped appreciating the matchless beauty of the stars. He turned to Juying, about to point out one of his favorite constellations, but words got stuck in the dragon spirit's throat.

    She was staring at the sky dreamily, enraptured by his handiwork. The moonlight illuminated her face in a natural, ethereal glow. It was a different kind of beauty from the one that faced the world during the day. It was like getting to see Ophiuchus* - how incredibly privileged he was to even catch a glimpse of such a heavenly sight.