On the day my phone battery dropped to 10 percent, I was teaching Dongfang Bubai how to play Angry Birds. The peerless martial arts master sat cross-legged on the highest flying eaves of Heimu Cliff, his fingers leaving trails of afterimages across the screen.
"This red bird lacks force," he frowned, evaluating it. "If it were this seat's Embroidery Needle..."
"Master Cult Leader," I chuckled, poking his cheek, "you have to follow the rules of the game."
Dongfang Bubai let out a soft huff, then suddenly pointed at the battery indicator. "What does this red mark mean?"
My heart tightened. "Uh... just like people need to eat when they're hungry, when a phone runs out of power, it also needs—"
Before I could finish, the phone was snatched away. Dongfang Bubai stared at the screen, his gaze growing increasingly dangerous. "Only ten percent left?"
"Actually—"
"You will vanish." This wasn't a question. His fingertips turned pale, and a crack appeared on the phone screen.
I hurriedly rushed to save my modern device. "Not necessarily! It might just be..."
"You said the exact same thing two months ago," Dongfang Bubai's voice was as cold as ice. "And then you disappeared for a full sixty days."
I was struck speechless. He suddenly grabbed me, leaping down and heading straight for the back mountain's forbidden grounds. The runes on the stone platform cast an eerie glow in the moonlight.
"Once more." He took my hand and pressed it against the stone platform. "This seat will have you thoroughly and permanently bound to this realm."
I hurriedly pulled my hand back. "No! Last time it drained thirty percent of your internal energy, and now Ren Woxing is eyeing you like a tiger waiting for its prey..."
"Shut up!" Bloodshot veins appeared in Dongfang Bubai's eyes. "Did you think this seat would care about such things?"
I had never seen him so out of control. Just as I was about to reason with him, I suddenly heard a "ding" — it was the phone calendar reminder: [Spacetime portal opens in 72 hours.]
We froze simultaneously. Dongfang Bubai spoke, word by word, "Explain."
"It's just..." I swallowed hard. "In three days, I might be forcibly recalled back to my original world."
The air instantly froze. Dongfang Bubai's Embroidery Needle pressed against my throat before I knew it. "This seat does not permit it."
"This isn't up to—"
"Then I'll kill you." His voice was terrifyingly gentle. "And keep your soul by this seat's side forever."
A chill ran down my spine — he was serious. In a flash of inspiration, born of pure panic: "How about... you come with me?"
The Embroidery Needle paused. "What?"
"To my world!" The more I said, the more excited I became. "There is no Ren Woxing, no martial arts world grudges, and we can—"
"Live as ordinary people?" Dongfang Bubai sneered. "This seat is the Cult Leader of the Sun Moon Cult."
"But you are my Dongfang." I cupped his face. "Over there, we can hold hands and stroll down the street in broad daylight, we can get a marriage certificate, and we can—"
He suddenly kissed me, with a force bordering on desperation. When we finally parted, our foreheads rested against each other.
"Three days," he said in a hoarse voice. "This seat gives you three days to consider. If you choose to leave..." The Embroidery Needle brushed lightly across my chest, "...never come back."
Back in the bedchamber, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Suddenly, my phone vibrated — it was an auto-generated "Memories" video from the photo gallery. On the screen, Dongfang Bubai was awkwardly trying on the modern clothes I had bought him, smiling in the sunlight like a youth.
My nose stung. At that moment, a rustling sound came from outside the window.
"Come out." It was Yang Lian Ting's voice. "The Cult Leader has an order."
Following him to the dungeon, I was shocked to discover — Xiao Wang?! My researcher colleague was chained to the wall, bruised and battered.
"Huanxi!" he cried out. "Make them let me go!"
Dongfang Bubai stepped out from the shadows. "You know him?"
My scalp tingled. "He's my... fellow townsman."
"He says he can take you back." Dongfang Bubai toyed with Xiao Wang's glasses. "And he also says... you were a test subject all along?"
What a pig-headed teammate Xiao Wang turned out to be! I glared at him fiercely and hurriedly explained, "It's not what you think..."
"Then what is it?" Dongfang Bubai suddenly flew into a rage, smashing the stone table to pieces with a single palm strike. "You approached this seat just to research some bullshit spacetime theory?!"
The dungeon shook violently, and rubble rained down. Xiao Wang shrieked, "I'll talk! It was all the research institute's arrangement! Huanxi's mission was to record the ancient martial arts masters'—"
"Shut up!" I wanted to cover his mouth, but it was too late.
Dongfang Bubai's expression froze. The next second, Xiao Wang and I were thrown out of Heimu Cliff together.
"Get lost," a cold voice came from the top of the cliff. "Or die."
The three-day deadline had arrived. I squatted in a small tavern at the foot of Mount Hua, watching my phone battery drop to 5%. Xiao Wang chattered endlessly beside me:
"The director said this discovery is priceless! The internal energy techniques you recorded..."
"Shut up." I gulped down a mouthful of wine. "I'm going back."
"Back to the modern world? The portal is in two hours—"
"Back to Heimu Cliff."
Xiao Wang's glasses were so startled they crooked. "Are you insane? The institute will—"
"Listen to me." I grabbed him by the collar. "Either help me, or I'll disable your spacetime bracelet right now."
In the end, we reached an agreement. I brought Xiao Wang back up Heimu Cliff — using the tranquilizer gun he had smuggled in to knock out the guards, and relying on the patrol routes I had memorized to bypass hidden sentries.
Outside the bedchamber, I heard the sound of shattering porcelain.
"...All of you, withdraw!" It was Dongfang Bubai's roar, followed by a suppressed cough.
Pushing the door open, the room was in utter disarray. Dongfang Bubai leaned against the bedside, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Seeing me, his pupils shrank sharply. "You..."
"I'm back," I said softly, holding up what was in my hand. "And I brought a bride price."
It was Xiao Wang's spacetime bracelet — the only device capable of transporting someone across time.
Dongfang Bubai was stunned. "This is..."
"A one-way ticket." I dropped to one knee. "Come with me, Cult Leader. Go to my era and be my bride."
His fingertips trembled as they touched the bracelet. "The Sun Moon Cult..."
"Sang Sanniang will take care of it," I said, fully prepared. "Besides, we can come back to visit Yilin anytime."
"This seat's martial arts..."
"Will be more than enough to open a martial arts school in the twenty-first century and make a fortune." I blinked. "Or we could become internet celebrities. Videos of you dancing in Hanfu will definitely go viral."
Dongfang Bubai suddenly smiled, a smile so breathtakingly beautiful it caught in my chest. "Do you truly... want this seat to give up all of this?"
"I want you to be reborn." I said earnestly. "Over there, no one will fear or scheme against you because of your identity. You can... just be Dongfang."
After a long silence, he reached out and pulled me to my feet. "If you dare to trick this seat..."
"Punish me by never letting me eat hot pot again for the rest of my life."
That night, atop Heimu Cliff. Dongfang Bubai wore a gown of pure white, taking one last look at the realm he had ruled for so long.
"Ready?" I gripped his hand tightly, using my other hand to activate the bracelet. Xiao Wang operated the equipment nearby: "Portal is stable, countdown ten seconds..."
Suddenly, Yang Lian Ting rushed up with a group of men. "Stop the Cult Leader!"
"Five, four..."
Dozens of Embroidery Needles flew from Dongfang Bubai's sleeves, freezing everyone in their tracks.
"Three, two..."
He suddenly pulled me in for a deep, lingering kiss.
"One."
A blinding white light swallowed everything. When I opened my eyes again, the familiar laboratory greeted me — along with a circle of security guards holding anti-riot shields.
"Don't move!" The director shouted through a megaphone. "Hand over the dangerous ancient individual!"
Dongfang Bubai narrowed his eyes. I hurriedly pressed him down. "Leave this to me."
Pulling out my phone, I opened the livestreaming app. "Folks, take a good look! This is the legendary Dongfang Bubai. If we get a million likes, I'll have him demonstrate the Sunflower Manual!"
The director's face turned livid. "You—"
"Old Liu," I wrapped my arm around Dongfang Bubai's waist, "how much research funding do you suppose this video is worth?"
Three hours later, we walked out the front gate clutching the institute's hefty "hush money." Dongfang Bubai curiously touched the glass of the high-rise buildings. "These crystal palaces..."
"Office buildings," I flagged down a taxi. "Driver, take us to the Civil Affairs Bureau."
The driver glanced back through the rearview mirror, stealing a peek. "You two are..."
"Getting married," Dongfang Bubai answered naturally, nearly causing the driver to run a red light.
That night, we lay on the large bed in our apartment, watching the television adaptation of *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*. When a certain version of Dongfang Bubai appeared on screen, the real deal directly crushed the remote control into pieces:
"That ugly wretch is worthy of playing this seat?!"
Suppressing my laughter, I changed the channel. "Watch this one, *My Own Swordsman*."
As the opening theme song played, Dongfang Bubai suddenly turned his head. "Huanxi."
"Hmm?"
"Here... it's wonderful." He leaned against my shoulder. "No scheming, no bloodshed."
I kissed the top of his head. "It will only get better from here."
Outside the window, twenty-first-century neon lights illuminated the night sky. On the bedside table, two red marriage certificates lay side by side, right next to a phone whose battery was permanently frozen at 1% — and on its screen, the morning sun over Heimu Cliff was slowly rising.