When the pop-up warning that my phone battery was down to 8% appeared, I was busy teaching Dongfang Bubai how to play "Fruit Ninja." He was wearing the improved Hanfu I had designed for him—which was really just a T-shirt with the hem cut into tassels—sitting cross-legged in the pavilion at the highest point of Heimu Cliff, swiping his fingers across the screen with great delight.
"This game is quite interesting," he said without looking up, "much more fun than embroidery."
I was just about to crack a joke when I heard a "ding"—a calendar reminder on my phone. A prompt popped up on the screen: [60th day of time travel, space-time tunnel may open].
"What is it?" Dongfang Bubai keenly sensed my stiffness.
I forced a calm demeanor: "Nothing, just..." Before I could finish, the phone screen suddenly went black. The last battery level I saw before it died was 5%.
Dongfang Bubai frowned: "Out of power?"
"Yeah..." I rubbed the casing of the phone, "I might never be able to charge it again."
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and lifted my chin: "You're sad."
This wasn't a question. I forced a smile: "It's fine, all the photos are backed up in my head anyway."
"Lying." Dongfang Bubai's fingertips brushed across the corner of my eye, "This sect leader allows you to be sad for a moment."
At that single sentence, my defenses completely collapsed. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar cold fragrance, and mumbled, "I'm afraid that one day... I'll suddenly disappear."
Just as inexplicably as I had arrived.
Dongfang Bubai's body stiffened noticeably, and then he hugged me tighter: "This sect leader does not allow it."
"This kind of thing isn't up to you to allow or not..."
"Hush." He stopped my words with his lips, "This sect leader says it won't happen, so it won't."
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Lord Cult Master, this isn't something that can be solved with an Embroidery Needle."
"This sect leader has his own ways." He blinked mysteriously, "Tomorrow, I'll take you somewhere."
At dawn the next day, Dongfang Bubai dug me out from under the covers, flew all the way using Qinggong, and brought me to a hidden cave in the back mountain of Heimu Cliff. The cave was a world of its own—right in the center was an ancient stone platform, covered with strange runes.
"This is..." I widened my eyes.
"The forbidden ground of the Sun Moon Cult." Dongfang Bubai was rarely serious. "Legend has it that it can connect the netherworld and the mortal realm."
My heartbeat accelerated: "You mean..."
"Since you could come, you can stay." He took my hand and pressed it against the stone platform. "Using the power of the Sunflower Manual, I will reshape your meridians so you will forever be bound to this realm."
Before I even had time to feel touched, a thought occurred to me: "Wait! Won't this harm you?"
Dongfang Bubai gave a light hum: "Underestimating this sect leader?"
"No! I mean..."
"Shut up." He kissed me directly, and at the same time, I felt a warm current surge from my palms, instantly flowing through all my limbs and bones. The runes on the stone platform lit up one by one, finally forming a screen of light above our heads.
I don't know how much time passed, but the light dissipated. Dongfang Bubai looked pale, yet a hint of triumph lingered on his face: "Done."
I hurriedly went to support him: "How are you holding up?"
"No matter," he waved a hand, "it's just... I might need to nourish myself."
I instantly caught his meaning: "As soon as we get back, I'll stew up a ten-ingredient tonic soup for you!"
On the way back, Dongfang Bubai leaned on my shoulder for a nap. Looking at his quiet sleeping face, I suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, about your sister..."
His eyes snapped open: "You know where she is?"
"Uh, I saw her in a dream at Mount Heng, her name is Yilin..."
Dongfang Bubai's expression instantly grew complicated. I quickly added, "She's doing very well now, she's a kind little nun."
"A nun?" The Cult Master's mouth twitched. "My sister... became a Buddhist nun?"
I held back a laugh and nodded: "Want to go see her? Anyway, Ren Woxing's side has quieted down for now."
So three days later, we disguised ourselves and arrived at Mount Heng. From afar, we saw little nun Yilin sweeping the floor, a serene smile on her delicate face.
Dongfang Bubai gripped my hand tightly, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Like... truly like Mother."
I squeezed his fingers: "Do you want to go acknowledge her?"
He hesitated for a moment, then shook his feet—no, shook his head: "Knowing she is safe... is enough."
Right at that moment, a sharp pain pierced my temples, and countless images flashed before my eyes—a modern city, a laboratory, someone in a white lab coat... myself?
"Huanxi?" Dongfang Bubai called out to me anxiously.
I shook my head: "I'm fine, maybe..." Before I could finish, the world started spinning. In my last moments of consciousness, I saw Dongfang Bubai's terrified face and heard Yilin's gasp.
When I opened my eyes again, everything was blindingly white. The smell of disinfectant was pungent.
"She's awake!" A bespectacled man in a white lab coat rushed over. "Thank goodness! The space-time jump experiment was a success, you've been missing for two full months!"
I looked around blankly: Is this... a 21st-century laboratory?
"Dongfang..." I sat up abruptly, but yanked the IV line on the back of my hand.
"Don't move around!" The bespectacled man—my colleague Xiao Wang—held me down. "Where did you time travel to? Why are you still wearing ancient clothes?"
I looked down and found that I was still dressed in Ming dynasty attire, with the jade pendant given to me by Dongfang Bubai still hanging from my waist.
"I'm going back." I ripped out the needle, "Right now!"
Xiao Wang looked troubled: "The space-time tunnel is unstable, it will take at least three months to open again..."
Three months? Dongfang Bubai would go crazy with worry!
Just then, a nurse pushed the door open: "The patient has a personal item..." She handed over my phone.
I trembling pushed the power button—battery 100%, the date showed I had only been gone for 60 days. In the photo gallery, not a single photo with Dongfang Bubai was missing.
"Wait..." I widened my eyes, "The passage of time is different?"
Xiao Wang pushed up his glasses: "Theoretically, the timelines of different space-times can indeed..."
I didn't wait for him to finish and jumped out of bed: "Take me to the lab! Right now!"
After two weeks of wheedling and whining (and threatening them with my time-travel experience), the research institute finally agreed to restart the experiment ahead of schedule. Standing before the familiar space-time apparatus, I clenched the jade pendant tightly.
"It has to succeed..."
A white flash passed. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a bamboo grove, and the sounds of fighting drifted from afar.
Running toward the sounds, I saw Dongfang Bubai single-handedly fighting three people—Linghu Chong, Ren Woxing, and Xiang Wentian! Had the plot actually looped back to the starting point?
"Stop!" I charged into the fray.
Everyone froze. Dongfang Bubai's Embroidery Needle stopped mid-air, his pupils shrinking: "Huan... xi?"
I grinned: "Lord Cult Master, missed me?"
The next second, I was pulled into a trembling embrace. Dongfang Bubai's voice carried a rare trace of a sob: "Two months... you disappeared for two whole months!"
I affectionately stroked his emaciated cheeks: "Only two weeks passed on my end. Look, I brought you a gift."
I pulled a new smartphone and a solar power bank from my jacket: "This one will last even longer!"
Ren Woxing raged furiously nearby: "Do you take this old man for nothing?!"
I turned around and made a funny face: "Senior Ren, you've practiced the Stars Absorption Greater Technique up to the seventh level, right? I suggest you get your lumbar spine checked, that martial art is really hard on the lower back."
The old man was stunned: "How did you know..."
"I also know you've been getting up frequently at night." I blinked, "Have you tried Liuwei Dihuang Pills?"
Taking advantage of Ren Woxing's dumbfounded state, I quickly leaned over to Dongfang Bubai's ear: "Quick, use that move I taught you!"
The Cult Master understood immediately, suddenly wrapping an arm around my waist and planting a deep French kiss right in front of everyone. Linghu Chong's sword clattered to the ground with a "clang."
When the kiss ended, I flushed and waved at the dumbfounded trio: "Sorry, our Cult Master gets jealous easily. Shall we resume our fight another day?"
Ren Woxing's beard bristled with rage: "Utterly lacking in decorum!"
"You ain't seen nothing yet." I pulled out my phone, played "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style," and pulled Dongfang Bubai into a square dance. "Come on, let's get high!"
Linghu Chong bit back his laughter until his face was red, and Xiang Wentian simply turned his back. Ren Woxing... well, the old man was so angry he had a stroke and was hastily carried away.
That night, in the sleeping quarters of Heimu Cliff.
Dongfang Bubai pinned me down on the couch and said fiercely, "If you ever dare to suddenly disappear again..."
"I won't, I won't, I yield!" I raised my hands in surrender. "Right, let me show you something good."
I opened the photo gallery on my phone: "This is a 21st-century hospital, this is my colleague, and this is..."
Dongfang Bubai suddenly pointed at a certain photo: "What is this object?"
That was a photo I had secretly taken of a bridal shop window. I smiled mischievously: "Wedding dress. Where I'm from, people who love each other wear these to hold a ceremony."
He looked thoughtful: "You like it?"
"It's alright, mainly..." Before I could finish, Dongfang Bubai had already used his Embroidery Needle to cut through silk mid-air, stitching together two sets of "wedding garments" that blended ancient and modern styles in the blink of an eye.
"We will hold the ceremony tomorrow," he declared overbearingly. "This sect leader wants the entire martial arts world to know that you are mine."
My eyes grew hot with tears: "Okay."
The next day, the entirety of Heimu Cliff was decked out in festive decorations. Little nun Yilin was also invited, and the scene of the siblings recognizing each other brought tears to the eyes of quite a few tough-guy cult members.
When Dongfang Bubai and I, dressed in our "wedding garments," exchanged jade pendants under the witness of everyone, Sang Sanniang suddenly raised her hand: "Cult Master, this subordinate has a question."
"Speak."
"Our textile factory... is it still opening?"
The entire courtyard burst into laughter. Dongfang Bubai's lips curled upward: "It's opening, and we're going to open it all the way into the twenty-first century."
I looked at him in surprise. The Cult Master whispered softly in my ear: "Did you really think this sect leader spent these past two months just daydreaming?" He pointed down the cliff—where several modified hydraulic looms stood proudly.
"I studied your notes," he wore a rare, crafty smile. "Since you're staying, we might as well make a grand spectacle of it."
My heart burned with warmth, and amidst the cheering, I kissed my Cult Master. My phone rang right on cue with the song "Marry Me Today," providing the most perfect accompaniment to this cross-space-time wedding.