The moon in the sky looked like a shining pearl. Stars were twinkling. The lake water made soft sounds with the cool breeze, and on the surface of the water, the empty wine jug was floating, swaying gently with the ripples.

  "Wuang Shi! What are you doing? Let go of me!"

  Gu Zong was constantly trying to break free from Han Wuang Shi's grip and scolding him. But Han Wuang Shi held both his hands tightly. Then he let go of the collar of Gu Zong's robe and firmly wrapped his arm around his waist so he couldn't move. Gu Zong was completely and utterly surprised at what had happened to Han Wuang Shi. His eyes were wide with astonishment.

  Then Gu Zong started stopping Han Wuang Shi again.

  "Wuang Shi! You are drunk. Look how red your face has become. Look, this is not right. You know what you are doing, right? If there was someone else in my place, what would they think, huh! Now, get off me!"

  Hearing this, Han Wuang Shi replied, and leaning close, his eyes were truly filled with an extraordinary impatience, as if he was struggling with an emotion, trying to stop himself, but his eyes and body were betraying him. Han Wuang Shi said:

  "It can't be."

  Gu Zong asked him in surprise, "What!?"

  Han Wuang Shi replied, his breath sounding heavy:

  "It is not possible that there could be anyone else here besides you. There won't be, and I will never let it happen. That is my promise to you."

  Gu Zong was completely taken aback by this. His breath even stopped upon hearing this. His mind stopped working, and he just kept looking into Han Wuang Shi's eyes. This was the first time Han Wuang Shi had drunk wine, and he had come so close to him. They used to meet almost every day, but perhaps both of them were feeling this kind of intimacy for the first time.

  Then, suddenly, Han Wuang Shi said something to Gu Zong that made him turn into a statue.

  "Zao, call me Bai Yu!"

  Hearing this, Gu Zong first looked at him as if his soul had left his body. Then, he replied with a slight reprimand and scolding. He was just trying to divert the moment because he knew what could happen if Han Wuang Shi went a little further.

  "What!? Wuang Shi, this is too much! Bai Yu is not your name, it's the name of your Guqin, the Guqin I gave you. Do you remember anything? Look, Wuang, you are drunk, and I am also drunk, so it would be better if we return now. Anyway, it's about to be the third watch. Come on, now get up!"

  But Han Wuang Shi did not budge and repeated,

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  "Call me Bai Yu. I am the white fish, not that Guqin. Call me Bai Yu."

  Now Gu Zong was annoyed. "Wuang Shi, you have lost your mind. You are saying anything in your intoxication. And no, you are not a fish, understood?"

  Hearing this, Han Wuang Shi made a face like a child, stood up from over Gu Zong, and staggered towards the lake. Gu Zong was genuinely worried seeing this. He said with concern:

  "Huh! Where are you going, Wuang? The water will be very cold, Wuang, are you even listening?"

  Then Han Wuang Shi went slightly into the lake and sat down cross-legged in the shallow water. Gu Zong rubbed his forehead in frustration and went to him, saying, "From now on, I will never provoke him to drink wine again. He completely turns into a child after drinking. It's a good thing there is a ban on alcohol in his clan, otherwise, who knows what he would do there."

  Gu Zong took a deep breath and tried to lift Han Wuang Shi, who was sitting in the water, by his arm.

  "Come on, that's enough now. Now you go back. I have to leave on the cultivation path with my Master tomorrow morning, and you do too. So, forget all this and let's go."

  But Han Wuang Shi, ignoring Gu Zong's entire speech, said,

  "I am a fish, and my name is Bai Yu."

  Gu Zong did not react to this at first, then suddenly, he turned his face away and tried to suppress his laughter, because what Han Wuang Shi said did not match his character at all. He said, laughing, "Wuang Shi, who would have thought that a rude, stone-hearted, and rule-abiding strict Prince could do all this?"

  Gu Zong kept laughing, and Han Wuang Shi also smiled faintly seeing him laugh. Then, after stopping his laughter, Gu Zong leaned towards him and said:

  "Wuang Shi, perhaps you truly do not know what you are doing. Now, promise me that after this, you will never drink wine again. If you ever feel like it, only drink with me. Understood? I don't want you to do these absurd things in front of anyone else. Promise me."

  Gu Zong extended his hand. Then Han Wuang Shi quickly placed his wet hand on his palm and slowly said, "I promise Zao Gu Zong that I will never drink wine again."

  Then, after thinking a little, Han Wuang Shi also extended his other hand, saying:

  "You also promise me that you will never drink wine with anyone else besides me."

  Gu Zong found this demand from Han Wuang Shi very sweet, and in response, he placed his hand on his hand and nodded yes, promising him. But then Han Wuang Shi pulled Gu Zong's hands and threw him down, once again taking control of him as before, but this time, he had no intention of letting Gu Zong go. And by now, Gu Zong also understood this by looking at Han Wuang Shi's face. Han Wuang Shi was definitely holding himself back.

  Then Han Wuang Shi spoke in a loving tone, as lovingly as he could speak with his voice, and this was the first time he was doing this with anyone. He said, leaning over Gu Zong:

  "Zao, I know very well what I am doing and who you are. I am certainly drunk, but not so much that I cannot recognize you. And as for my preferences, I never liked anything. It is you who has made me realize who I am, what I like. Otherwise, the way I am being molded, perhaps I would never have known that I could like anything."

  Saying this, his eyes welled up. His tears started dripping onto Gu Zong's cheeks. Seeing him so emotional, Gu Zong's heart also melted. He had seen how Wuang's father treated him. His eyes also filled with tears. But Han Wuang Shi wanted to say something more:

  "Zao, thank you for making me human again."

  Saying this, Han Wuang Shi leaned forward and kept getting closer to Gu Zong until his lips met Gu Zong's lips. Gu Zong, who had been afraid of this moment for so long, finally saw his fear disappear, and he also kissed Han Wuang Shi unhesitatingly, as if his heart had been waiting for this, as if the entire universe had been waiting for this. Two hearts, becoming one, were completing each other.

  Away from the world, close to each other, they had lost themselves.

  The wind was the same. The lake was the same. But two souls, once bound by the threads of enmity, were now tied in one bond.

  Flashback Ends