Chapter 712: with translation of chapter title

NO. 81: I've fallen for the trick.

【Far away, the Cowherd Star】

You have uncovered the Cowherd's origins: east of the Heavenly River lies the Weaver Girl, son of the Heavenly Emperor; west of the Heavenly River lies the Cowherd, who roams the eight wastes and falls by the riverbank.

【Acquisition condition: learn the Cowherd's background】

【Ox Temper】

You witnessed the Weaver Girl questioning the Cowherd. Can a giant beast, though not human, also learn from humans?

Ordinary people find it hard to understand the Weaver Girl's incomprehension, obstinacy, and jealous hatred, but you are different.

【Acquisition condition: understand the Cowherd's promise without disparaging the Weaver Girl's position】

【Cowherd and Weaver Girl】

You have completed collecting the main medals of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl storyline.

The Cowherd and Weaver Girl is the earliest story about 'stars' in the Great Yan, and also the earliest to derive meaning from 'stars', spawning countless versions—who would care about their truth?

【Acquisition condition: have collected all main medals of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl】

——

The Cowherd and Weaver Girl, just as countless stories say, reunite on Qixi.

The saying that the Milky Way is clear and shallow is a fallacy; the distance of the heavenly galaxy spans hundreds of millions of light‑years, but here on Terra, their distance is so close it's merely a matter of uphill and downhill—yet they have never met, nor sensed their ancient bond.

Were it not for the intervention of a group of outsiders, who knows when they would have met and realized this fact.

But such a pair, in the end, are not the lovers of those myths.

Even the female side brings obvious hostility that makes the male side panic, even resentment.

But it is not love; it is an incomprehensible feeling, even beyond that—envy.

The deity who busily works at the loom all day long has never thought of wandering the Nine Provinces, roaming the eight wastes.

Nor did they ever imagine staking their lives—and even all they possess—on a word from long ago.

Compared to love, it is more like an unknown gravity that pulls together two stars that otherwise have nothing to do with each other.

Indeed, one of them ultimately 'collapses', yet it resembles the explosive collapse of a true star, its radiance visible across countless light‑years; among them there may be beings like the Weaver Girl who know none of the details, yet they too feel a stirring in their hearts.

Only a single trigger is needed for that stir to become greater ripples, even a wave.

Just as that Weaver Girl would truly follow Aomo's advice and go ask the Cowherd, her emotions would grow more intense in the inquiry, finally asking, 'Is it really that important?!'

As the achievement says, ordinary people generally find her agitation hard to understand, like Xie Ni calling her a resentful woman at first sight when eating melons; but here the 'extraordinary' are not few—Qianming and Ludaofu Xiangzheng both look on thoughtfully.

"Even a deity busy all day at the loom still has their own worries..."

With this sigh, they too can, like Aomo, unlock the engraving seal called 'Ox Temper'.

But no matter what, this program has already reached its end.

The Weaver Girl received a response.

That former Cowherd Star can no longer be reproduced, but now, as a human Cowherd, he will respond without hesitation.

As the word 'important' fell, the crack in the stone he held expanded further, shattering completely into fragments.

It seems to answer his response.

It also gave Aomo pause, prompting him to call the others to prepare to go down.

"In that case, he wouldn't need to keep herding himself... is that what you mean?"

"Little Snake, what are you muttering?"

"Just a trivial sigh." He raised his hand and patted Xie Ni's shoulder, facing the other girls who heard clearly and cast various glances, revealing a faint smile; Aomo then slightly turned his head, able to see the changing blocks of characters in midair.

【Exactly as you said, this now counts as the heavens opening, the moon bright, the seas moving, the ice scattering】

Everything is clear.

But……

【There are still some side achievements and engraving seals from other lines not obtained; shall we go around again?】

Aomo silently traced a fleeting flame in midair with his fingertip: 【No】

【I have no pursuit of completing all achievements】

"Heavenly Book Scholar!"

When he had walked with the girls to the previously blocked entrance, which was also the exit down the mountain, such a vigorous shout came from behind.

Then came the Cowherd who ought to have lain long, running up with somewhat staggered, unsteady steps, causing Aomo's eyes for an instant to be replaced by dark red, then pitch black.

To confirm whether the other's body had been tampered with.

What was seen were only familiar signs, like the shattered stone fragments—basically the Cowherd's self‑completion and reinforcement.

"You..."

"Be careful." He reached out to steady the Cowherd who was about to collapse as he ran up; Aomo glanced at the Weaver Girl slowly walking out in the distance, standing before the gate.

She still instinctively tensed her body, giving him a distant salute.

And the person before Aomo, when looking at Xie Ni and the others, hastily withdrew his gaze: "You found your husband..." "I found my companion, the Cowherd."

Facing the 'alien's' habit that always needs extra attention, Aomo cut off the other's impending slip: "Then we should also leave this place."

"If you want us to escort you down, we can do so along the way."

"No, it's fine; I still want to learn more about my past life from the Weaver… the celestial maiden."

"Perhaps she doesn't know much either..." Aomo, feeling it necessary to remind him of this, also noticed that the other's gaze resembled Bi Ze's.

Indeed, someone clearly absent yet seemingly everywhere made his expression half‑smile: "Perhaps there is a chance to pass on the Cowherd and Weaver Girl's story."

"Ha, ha ha, not that fast, I don't know if there's a chance," the Cowherd chuckled dryly; though he didn't know why his courage had grown a bit, it was still limited: "But I came to thank you, thank you for bringing me up."

"To meet at the mountain's base is already fate," Aomo said calmly, "just a pity I haven't yet eaten that six‑catty‑weight scale."

"Then take it with you when you go down, consider it an offering to you." the Cowherd laughed.

"That's really full of sincerity, then..." Aomo turned his head, glanced at the mostly cheerful girls interacting over here, then turned back, "Let's part ways here."

"Wait, actually the Immortal Lady also asked me to ask you a question!"

"..." Aomo slightly raised his gaze and looked far at the half-bodied Zhinü hiding behind the door, then turned his head to look, "Please speak."

"You are years old?"

"..." Not.

"All right, then there's nothing else," Niulang, still not knowing what he meant and merely relaying, happily stepped forward; when Aomo thought he wanted to shake hands, he instead raised both arms and hugged him, "Heavenly Book Student, see you again!"

In a strange place, he was actually this generous……

"... if there's a chance." Suppressing the urge to push him away, Aomo helplessly nodded.

Then, in the other's waving from bottom to top, together with the other girls, they turned into disappearing blocks.

But just as his transmission finished and he disappeared at the spot, he did not see the girls who should have been beside him.

It even seemed as if the coordinates were miscalculated, not reaching the mountain foot, but instead still standing on the mountain peak.

And it was still the mountain peak he had created single-handedly, resembling a horizontally placed moon-ring shape.

The moon-ring lay horizontally, height two heads; he stood on the slightly higher scorched stone, and by lowering his head he could see Niulang and Zhinü reuniting a hundred meters away.

That atmosphere, which seemed relatively peaceful, was unlikely to develop into anything like Zhinü's sheer veil and Niulang; through the still-empty ceiling, one could even see the two sitting opposite each other indoors, seemingly discussing something.

By ancient etiquette standards, this sense of distance was also rather unusual.

"Why not consider scooping up that fish?" a voice suddenly asked from the side.

Having experienced that previous daze, although the voice was still unfamiliar, it did not surprise him.

"Things from a dream, even if scooped out, would be useless, right?"

Aomo said softly, turning his head to look at the blue-haired woman beside him.

It was that familiar blue hair tip, also those faintly swaying azure dragon tails; she looked like a young woman in her early twenties, and moreover matched the appearance he had seen in the data.

"It's somewhat unexpected, Miss Xi's project originally also had..." he said, trailing off, then got stuck.

"How come there's no continuation?"

"Logically, one should follow the words of that East Blaze's mother and elder brother, but as for you, it seems somewhat unsuitable."

"Ha, seems to be the case," the girl said, lifting the wine gourd hanging from the metal staff she was holding, "but it doesn't matter; titles aren't really important, right?"

"If you like, you can just call me by my name; correspondingly, I'll also address you the same way, what do you think?"

"Miss Ling, how about that?"

"Ha, feel free, Mr. Aomo."

"... turns out this is such an unfair conversation."