Chapter 1847

The prosperous era of the forty provinces of Outer Shenzhou unfurled like an ink-washed landscape across heaven and earth. The flying eaves and upturned corners of House House Luolan Manor were gilded with a golden edge by the warm sunlight, and the copper bells hanging beneath the eaves chimed in the breeze, shattering the tranquility of the courtyard.

Dan Tai Lan sat beneath the wisteria arbor in front of the courtyard, her fingertips turning a smooth white jade chess piece. When it landed on the stone chessboard, it emitted a crisp collision sound. She lifted her gaze to look outside the courtyard; the daylight was just right, and slow-moving clouds drifted across the horizon. From afar came the laughter of children at play, mingling with the bustle of the Great Xia city streets, weaving together a most ordinary scene of human life.

"Still waiting?"

A familiar voice came from behind, carrying a hint of lazy amusement. Dan Tai Lan turned her head and saw Li Tai Xuan walking slowly toward her, his dark robe's edges dusted with a little dirt, as if he had just finished handling trifling affairs in the manor. His figure remained tall and straight; the sternness from his days on the Wang Hou battlefield had faded from his brows and eyes, replaced by a gentleness forged by time, yet those eyes that held the majesty of the heavenly dragon remained as deep as an abyss.

"Waiting for you to play chess, and also waiting for that jar of peach blossom wine buried for twenty years." Dan Tai Lan withdrew her gaze, her fingertips placing another chess piece, her tone light yet unable to conceal the tenderness in her brows and eyes. "Back when we fled to Great Xia, I casually buried it beneath this wisteria arbor; calculating the days, it should be just about time."

Li Tai Xuan sat on the stone bench opposite her, reached out to brush over the chessboard, and as his fingertips touched the cold stone surface, past scenes surged forth like a tide.

How many years ago was that? He could not recall the exact age, but he remembered that back then, he and Dan Tai Lan had just escaped the pursuit from the Heavenly Origin Divine Province, disheveled as they stepped into the borders of the Great Xia Kingdom in the Eastern Divine Province. The troops of the Qin Tianwang lineage pursued them like a bone-deep ulcer; they fought their way all along, with no chance to catch their breath, until they entered this relatively peaceful land of Great Xia, where their taut nerves finally eased slightly.

At that time, House House Luolan Manor was merely a barren patch of land, with only a few thatched huts barely keeping out wind and rain. At night, he watched Dan Tai Lan sit on the threshold of the thatched hut, wiping her blood-stained weapon by moonlight; the faint glow of the Golden-Winged Great Peng phase flowed at her fingertips, yet could not conceal the fatigue in her eyes.

"Li Tai Xuan," she suddenly spoke, her voice carrying a hint of hoarseness, "if we were to remain trapped in Great Xia forever, would you regret it?"

He walked to her side, sat cross-legged on the ground, raised his hand to brush away the grass chaff from her hair, and smiled: "With you here, what place is not a home?"

Dan Tai Lan glanced sideways at him; moonlight fell on his face, reflecting the seriousness in his eyes. At that time, he was still the unruly third son of the Li Tianwang lineage, destined to rise straight up in the prosperity of the Heavenly Origin Divine Province, yet because he refused the marriage alliance with Qin Lian and due to the contention over the legacy of the Wuxiang Holy Sect, he became a fleeing dog alongside her.

"It's just that I dragged you into this." She spoke softly. "Why say these things?" Li Tai Xuan reached out and tapped her forehead: "Back in the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven, you were protected by that old brat Yan Changsheng, too lazy to even take the water I handed you, and now you've learned to speak sweet words?"

Dan Tai Lan brushed off his hand, yet the corner of her mouth could not help but curl up: "That's because I found you displeasing to the eye."

"Displeasing to the eye, yet you followed me this far?"

"I couldn't let you die at the hands of the Qin family; after all, I owed Yan Changsheng and his wife a favor—you are the junior he values, so I had to protect you." She spoke stubbornly, yet did not notice her fingertips had already quietly hooked onto his sleeve.

That night, the wind was very light; they sat thus on the threshold of the thatched hut, chatting about trivial matters—from the myriad trees of the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven, to the marquis rankings of the Heavenly Origin Divine Province, to what kind of manor they would build in the future, and to what kind of affinity they should teach their child if they had one.

Later, they truly built House House Luolan Manor. Brick by brick, tile by tile, all tended by their own hands. Dan Tai Lan had a fiery temperament and established the household rule: "If there is a disagreement, settle it with a fight; the winner decides." Li Tai Xuan only smiled and agreed, never truly competing with her for victory or defeat. The manor gained Jiang Qinge, then Li Luo, and the empty courtyard gradually acquired the warmth of daily life.

He remembered when Jiang Qinge was ten years old; after drinking, he casually remarked, "Jiang Qinge has such talent, she would be a perfect match for my Li Luo," which actually prompted the little girl to earnestly write down a marriage pact. Upon learning this, Dan Tai Lan grabbed a rattan whip and chased after him, while Li Luo, still small, hid behind Jiang Qinge, his little face full of bewilderment.

"You're quite something, treating your child's lifelong matter as a joke." Dan Tai Lan's rattan whip struck his back, though she did not strike with much force: "If Luo Luo turns out unworthy of Qinge, see how I deal with you."

He dodged while laughing: "My Luo Luo will surely become a great talent in the future; with Qinge by his side, he will suffer no loss."

Now, thinking back, it truly was a self-fulfilling prophecy. That boy who once could not even condense a phase in the Spirit Palace is now the world sovereign ruling over the forty provinces of Outer Shenzhou, becoming the most dazzling legend in all of Divine Province.

"What are you thinking about?" Dan Tai Lan's voice pulled Li Tai Xuan back from his reverie; she had already placed several chess pieces, and the situation on the board was gradually becoming clear, "The game is about to be lost, yet you're still woolgathering."

Li Tai Xuan came back to himself, raised his hand to place a piece, and smiled: "I was thinking about when we buried this jar of peach blossom wine back then; you said we would take it out to drink on Luo Luo's wedding day. Now it's quite a coincidence—his wedding with Qinge just passed not long ago, so this wine should be opened."

Dan Tai Lan's fingertips paused, her gaze falling on the empty space beside the chessboard. She rose, brushed off her robe, walked to beneath the wisteria arbor, bent down, and pushed aside the soil covering the ground. Not long after, an ancient-looking clay jar emerged, its mouth sealed with red cloth; though buried for twenty years, it remained intact.

Li Tai Xuan also rose and walked over, reached out to take the clay jar, and stroked its patterns with his fingertips: "When we buried it back then, we still feared Luo Luo that brat might dig it up, so we deliberately chose the most secluded corner."

"He was only that old back then, how would he understand these things?" Dan Tai Lan chuckled, "It's you, always worrying he'll cause trouble, yet you let him follow his nature."

"Boys should be allowed to stir up trouble." Li Tai Xuan raised his hand to brush off the dirt on the clay jar, then pulled open the red cloth sealing its mouth; a clear, cool wine fragrance drifted out, mingling with the wisteria's scent, spreading through the air.

He took two white porcelain cups, poured the peach blossom wine full; the liquor was clear and transparent, with a faint pink hue, smooth on the throat yet carrying a hint of aftertaste.

Dan Tai Lan lifted her wine cup, took a sip, and her brows and eyes curved slightly: "Still the same taste as before."

"Naturally." Li Tai Xuan also took a sip, his gaze turning toward the courtyard outside: "Do you still remember that day on the Wang Hou battlefield? We assassinated the three-crowned alien king, pursued by that great demon king, you used your spatial phase to escape first, and I thought I might never see you again in this lifetime."

Upon mentioning this, Dan Tai Lan's expression darkened slightly, her fingertips tightening faintly. That was the most frightened moment of her life; the power of her spatial phase was exhausted to the extreme, and as she traversed the void, she could even feel the breath of the great demon king behind her. When she fled to the Boundary River Region, she was already at the end of her strength; only upon seeing Li Luo and Jiang Qinge did her hanging heart ease slightly, yet whenever she thought of Li Tai Xuan still trapped in the void's abyss, she could not sleep at night.

"Back then I thought, if you really met with misfortune, I would take Luo Luo and Qinge and charge back into the void's abyss, even if I had to expend everything, just to find your remains." She spoke softly, her tone calm yet harboring resolve.

Li Tai Xuan reached out and covered the back of her hand; the warmth from his palm transmitted through the porcelain cup, heating her fingertips: "How could I bear to let you do such a thing? Back then in the abyss, relying on the heavenly dragon phase's body-protection power, I contended with that great demon king, thinking of Luo Luo still being small, you still waiting for me—I simply could not die."

He paused, then added: "Later, in the Withering and Glory Campaign, seeing Luo Luo fighting on the Tian Yuan battlefield, I knew this child had grown up. He is far more formidable than we were back then."

"It's thanks to Qinge's good teaching, and also his own efforts." Dan Tai Lan spoke of her son, her brows and eyes full of pride: "Back then, the myriad phase seeds hidden in his body left us helpless; we could only go to the Wang Hou battlefield to forge the path of invincibility, thinking that if we succeeded, perhaps we could find a solution. Now, looking back, it seems we worried needlessly—he has his own opportunities." The two sat beneath the wisteria arbor, cup after cup of peach blossom wine, chatting about all sorts of past events—from their first encounter in the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven, to the pursuit in the Heavenly Origin Divine Province, to the founding of House House Luolan Manor, to their children's growth, to the near-death experience in the Unification War, to today's prosperous peace.

After three rounds of wine, Li Tai Xuan grew slightly tipsy, raised his arm to draw Dan Tai Lan into his embrace, letting her lean against his shoulder. Wisteria petals fell into her hair; he reached out to brush them away, his movements gentle.

"Lan'er," he whispered, "to be able to grow old with you in this lifetime is my greatest fortune."

Dan Tai Lan did not speak, only leaned into his embrace a little more, listening to his steady heartbeat, the familiar scent on his body lingering at her nose—that was the warmth of the blazing sun phase, mixed with a faint wine fragrance, making her feel utterly at ease.

【39】 Over these years, they have walked shoulder to shoulder through countless storms. She is the first-ranked marquis on the Marquis Rankings, Lan Hou, the decisive Lan Tianwang in slaughter; yet before him, she is forever the Dan Tai Lan who can lay down all her defenses. He is the heavenly pride of the Li Tianwang lineage, the震天王 who shakes the four directions; yet only toward her does he forever hold boundless tolerance and tenderness.