Prologue. Innate

• This is the second time that tragedy is waging a war against the gods.
• "No parents, no origin, like you and I, just like the great god Pangu — gods and the evil, both are ‘innate’."
• "Kunlun, the creation is yet to be finished, but the time for us to leave has come." "......it’s too late."

4 Bright Avenue ▸ 01

• Guo Changcheng looked up and saw the four words "Department of Human Resources" written on top of the door. White background, red words. The red was kind of off, where exactly it was off he couldn't put a finger on it. After staring at the words for a long time, he suddenly realized - it was the kind of rusty red... of dried blood!
• Just before he had stupidly thought that meeting his chief was worse than meeting a ghost. Now he was suffering retribution, clearly, on this night Guo Changcheng received a lot - not only did he meet his chief, but he also met a ghost.

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 02

• "This is our cat deputy, he's very hard-working, so he doesn't like it when we chitchat during work."
• Zhao Yunlan gets the message and reaches for the little badge around the cat's neck. With some effort, he digs it out of the long fur and shows it to Old Yang. "This is a special permit of the SIU, equivalent to our staff badges. Don't worry, he’s an experienced cat, he knows what he’s doing."

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 03

• Although Shen Wei quickly looks away, Zhao Yunlan finds his expression rather unusual. In an odd way, it doesn’t feel like looking at a stranger.

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 04

• Zhao Yunlan stays silent for a while and studies Shen Wei. There’s something unusual about the Professor: he has been avoiding eye contact ever since they locked eyes with each other earlier.
• But Professor Shen... when he listens to Zhao Yunlan, his expression is so filled with attentiveness and interest that Zhao Yunlan gets the impression what he's saying isn't small talk, but some highly complex and important issue to which Shen Wei must dedicate all his attention.

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 05

• That gaze was very deep, far and dark. His expression was like yearning, like restraint, and included a kind of deep affection that was almost palpable... but also seemed to include some kind of deep, heavy pain.
• Shen Wei’s shadow trails long behind him in the dimly lit hallway, looking lonely and bleak. Guo Changcheng has a strange feeling that Shen Wei must have waited like that for millennia.
• "I hate going around this corridor in circles," Zhao Yunlan says softly. "I hate anything that's circular, like an infinite cycle of life and death."

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 07 and 08

• Shen Wei has long eyelashes, when he looks down he has a certain charm, like a well-crafted character straight from an oil painting. His glasses obscure part of his face, but if one looks closely, his beauty is glaringly appealing. Zhao Yunlan's wayward heart tingles.
• "Have we met before, professor Shen?" Caught off guard, Shen Wei locks eyes with Zhao Yunlan, and his mind goes blank instantly. For a few seconds, he stares vacantly at Zhao Yunlan. He can’t tear his gaze away. [...] Shen Wei stares intently at his handsome face and his piercing gaze; he really wants to touch him, to feel his warmth just once more... After god knows how long, he clears his throat and says bitterly, "I've met you before..." Zhao Yunlan awaits his explanation. A million times in my heart. I never had the courage to find you, but I know everything about you... Shen Wei almost says this out loud, but he restrains himself, and stutters with difficulty, "In a case you worked on."
• "But there's also another saying, that reincarnation is a process of 'slaughtering': the past is lost, and there is no turning back; when someone reincarnates, the old life is destroyed, and there is no option but to move forward to a new life." Zhao Yunlan doesn't realise it, but Shen Wei behind him is trembling.

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 10

• Shen Wei takes out his phone, but Zhao Yunlan doesn't take it; he holds Shen Wei's hand, enters his phone number and name in the contacts list, calls himself, and then hangs up. [...] In his contacts list is a new entry: an amorous Ah Lan, silently staring from the screen. He mutters the name and feels as though a knife has pierced through the softest part of his heart, ripping and tearing it apart.
• In this half-hour of waiting, Guo Changcheng has thoroughly reconsidered the series of events within his first twelve hours of working for the SIU... How could he have passed out more than once?

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 11

• Guo Changcheng begins to realise something about this mission: he's incompetent, but he's not actually stupid; following this girl around isn't some challenging mission, the Chief just wanted to get rid of an annoyance. [...] "Your Chief Zhao doesn't think like that," Shen Wei tries to reassure him, though he's certain that Zhao Yunlan absolutely thinks like that. "Don't think too much about this."

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 14

• Shen Wei isn’t afraid at all, but he takes the time to consider the question anyway. He nods. "Yes. There is this person... we met by chance. I'm just a stranger to him, he doesn't know anything about me, nor is there anything between us," he says softly amidst the screeching fingernails, "but I want to see him again."

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 16

• The small storage room is in chaos: a hissing girl, a ghost child hugging the leg of a crying policeman, a swearing cat, and horrifying fingernails scratching at the door from outside.

Sundial of Reincarnation ▸ 17

• Zhao Yunlan takes the Professor's right hand and draws an invisible soothing talisman on the back of it. Zhao Yunlan smirks and kisses his hand softly. "Good night, Sleeping Beauty."
• Shen Wei lowers his voice and murmurs something; the golden talisman leaves his skin and solidifies into a small piece of paper. He takes the talisman and keeps it safe like a cherished treasure.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 21

• Zhao Yunlan has enough of the eager and desperate type: the more reserved, subtle and hesitant Shen Wei is, the harder he tries.
• Shen Wei carries the heavy box Zhao Yunlan forcefully shoved into his arms and watches the car disappear, a million emotions rushing through his veins. On the one hand, his heart is softening and he really wants to give in and indulge himself just this once; on the other hand, he thinks of what a playboy Zhao Yunlan is, and imagines that he must have done the same things for countless others.
• Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan conceitedly checks himself out in the rear-view mirror. He repeats the name and lets it settle in his heart.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 22

• Zhao Yunlan's attention falls on the pendant around Shen Wei’s neck. At a closer look, he can see that it's a small transparent sphere, and some substance inside is gleaming brightly. [...] Zhao Yunlan has the impression that the sphere contains an otherworldly burning flame... almost as if it's alive. As he looks at the shiny little thing, it feels strangely familiar and intimate.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 23

• Zhao Yunlan is about to speak when, abruptly, he's filled with an inexplicable dread as if startling awake from falling a thousand miles in a nightmare. Something... something is coming out.
• These courting tricks... Shen Wei glares at Zhao Yunlan and thinks: ‘you deserve to die of this stomachache.’ Zhao Yunlan looks down at his shoes and smiles sleazily.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 25

• Shen Wei doesn't know how he managed to leave Zhao Yunlan's apartment last night. He wandered through the streets aimlessly until he realised that his limbs were going numb. He's like a moth that has suddenly understood its fate, desperately trying to resist the temptation of the flame and caught in an agonizing struggle between reason and instinct; he feels he'll soon die from the pain. And still, with all this suffering, he has only managed to resist for one night.
• He sees Shen Wei sitting on the small couch nearby, quietly reading an old ghost novel. His head is lowered in concentration and his eyes look as though they come from a painting, unspeakably beautiful. Zhao Yunlan is lost for words, just stares at him dumbly.
• It's as if there were a string in his heart, and someone casually plucked it — gently, but the resonance seems to echo for days.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 26

• The television is showing the morning news, and it's about last night’s earthquake. A few areas were affected, but it was a mild quake, so no major casualties have been reported. Zhao Yunlan mumbles, "Why wasn't it stronger, I could have offered him a hug to calm him down." Lin Jing knows what happened and smiles mysteriously. Zhu Hong looks at him, and asks Zhao Yunlan, "Who did you hook up with this time?" "Don't use such a nasty term; this marvellous world needs love. You filthy people shouldn't insult pure love." Lin Jing says, "May Buddha have mercy on your soul."
• As he looks down he sees a golden line in the air, connecting to the pendant around his neck. Shen Wei wants to snatch the line away, but his fingers pass right through it. The line moves as though it were alive. Then it splits into many lines, wrapping around his fingers, body and neck. Shen Wei shuts his eyes; when he opens them again, the lines are gone.
• He can't help but hold the glittering sphere in his hand; he knows, now that he has met him, he won't be able to avoid him anymore.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 27

• Zhu Hong turns to Guo Changcheng. "You pissed him off so much that he’s unable to speak? Good job."
• Eventually, the whole criminal investigations team of No. 4 Bright Avenue has shamelessly come along on the trip. They're bored to death with no work to do, after all; and they're determined to find out what made Zhao Yunlan's lazy ass leave his office.
• Shen Wei gives him a slightly helpless smile, and the cunning Chief Zhao is instantly stunned by it.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 29

• Zhao Yunlan's freezing face wears an exaggerated but warm smile. "You came for me?" "Don't answer him, don't answer him!" a voice frantically screams in Shen Wei's mind, but he seems to be intoxicated, and inadvertently nods. Zhao Yunlan smirks and wraps his arm around Shen Wei's shoulders, almost like a firm embrace.
• Zhao Yunlan lowers his voice and says tenderly, "Come on, don't make me worry about you." Shen Wei really cannot stand his tone and his gaze; it makes him want to run away.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 31

• Now he is so close to Zhao Yunlan, his thoughts are out of control. He wants to reach out and embrace that warm body; kiss his eyes, hair and lips, taste and devour him whole, and possess his everything.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 35

• "Did you pass the firearms test?" Guo Changcheng lowers his head in shame. "The examiner said unless he dies and comes back to life, he won’t let me pass."
• "In fact, it contains the shattered souls of a few hundred executed ghosts. Most of them I got from the Ghost Slayer, and some I exchanged with Underworld Retainers for spirit money. Then I mixed the souls with Samadhi True Fire..." Chu Shuzhi is having a nervous breakdown. "And where the hell did you get the fire?" "Last year I captured an escaped Bifang bird, and I borrowed its flames to light a cigarette. And then I preserved the spark." Chu Shuzhi is speechless. He extends an arm to help Guo Changcheng get up, and says feebly, "Never mind, let's keep going." He has a gangster Chief who makes friends with good and evil and all sorts of beings from the three realms.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 39

• "There are some things that outsiders can easily guess the whole truth about; do you know why?" Wang Zheng looks up silently. Zhao Yunlan sighs. "Because it's gonna happen no matter what; it's fate. You cannot stop fate."
• How did he feel when he was washing her face, when his fingers ran across her dead and pale profile, and when he had to sew her head and body together?
• How preposterous and ruthless time is; just a slight hesitation, and what you have is gone. You'll be left heartbroken, and there will be no turning back.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 41

• The Ghost Slayer hurries forward and pulls Zhao Yunlan behind him, his blade blocking in front. The gesture is so openly protective that Zhao Yunlan looks at him in confusion.
• The Ghost Slayer says, in a terrifying voice, "If you dare touch one hair on his head, I will make you regret you ever crawled out of 'that place'." Ghost Face cackles. "You?" The Ghost Slayer waits for the laughter to end, and calmly says, "Try me."

Pillar of Nature ▸ 43

• Moments later, a line of writing emerges on a page in the notebook: Great Menace, a soulless person. Zhao Yunlan's expression suddenly turns sombre. He presses one hand to the page and asks, "Where does this person come from?" The writing on the page flashes and disappears. After a long wait, another line of words emerges. "From the depths of Hell, an unspeakable place."

Pillar of Nature ▸ 44

• Zhao Yunlan stays silent for a while before he says, "If you assumed this human form to stay here, it's probably not for a usual errand. Is it for something very important, Your Honour?". "No," Shen Wei says, "it's just for personal reasons. It's just... because of someone." Zhao Yunlan doesn't have to ask who that someone is at this point.

Pillar of Nature ▸ 45

• He has known the Ghost Slayer for many years, they aren't close, but always on good terms. And yet they could never develop their relationship any further. Any sane person would treat a formidable figure like the Ghost Slayer with due respect.
• At this point, Zhao Yunlan has been listening in silence, which makes Shen Wei rather uncomfortable... he isn't afraid of Zhao Yunlan's questioning, he's afraid of him not asking. This man knows his boundaries, he never says what he's not supposed to, and he never asks what he's not supposed to. And yet he has a lot of speculations in his mind. What Shen Wei is most afraid of is not knowing what he has figured out in that brain of his.
• It's like he has been seeing him off from behind forever.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 47

• The big guys even ordered him to secretly find out what the Ghost Slayer thinks, which side he is on and if he can be swayed from his position. Although the Ghost Slayer rarely speaks, and his unfailingly gentle and polite manner makes him seem like a pushover, things are crystal clear in his mind. Nobody is stupid here. The old Judge really doesn't want to try how fast the Ghost Slayer's blade is. Besides, if that big god were really awakened, would he then agree to be on their side? When he was banished all those years ago, wasn't it because he rebelled against the order of things?

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 48

• He snatches Zhao Yunlan's phone from his pocket like a thief. "Professor Shen is probably on holiday, let me call him to pick you up." [...] Zhao Yunlan reaches up to grab his phone back, but Chu Shuzhi easily steps aside and tells Guo Changcheng, "Hey, go hold him in place, look at how drunk he is... Trust me, when he sees you in this condition, I don't believe Professor Shen will be able to resist you for much longer." Zhao Yunlan is held in place by Guo Changcheng and Da Qing the cat who just likes causing trouble... it even diligently sits on his stomach, almost suffocating their Chief. Zhao Yunlan pleads, "Don’t! I’m begging you, I won’t cause any trouble!"
• Chu Shuzhi coughs. "Oh, Professor Shen, it's me. Our Chief drank a lot tonight, he is hugging everyone he sees. The office is in chaos, you see, could I trouble you to come and pick him up?" Zhao Yunlan grabs a pencil holder and hurls it at Chu Shuzhi's head.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 49

• Zhao Yunlan opens his eyes a little. In the pitch black of the car, it seems that the only light is coming from Shen Wei's eyes. They are just perfect, neither too dark nor too bright. Zhao Yunlan's heart suddenly skips a beat.
• He can't help but feel that if he ended things just like that, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
• Zhao Yunlan listens to the rustling noise of the man tiptoeing around, tidying up the room, and not only does the knot in his heart not loosen up, but it also gets even more tangled. Shen Wei has him in his heart, and Zhao Yunlan can feel it.
• ‘Ghost Slayer? So what if he's the Ghost Slayer? If I like him he's mine, to hell with everyone else!’
• Shen Wei is being split into halves: one half is over the moon with ecstasy, the other is sinking deep down into the abyssal depths of Hell. In just one moment, he finds himself on the verge of insanity. Several thousand years of solitude, and yet he always remained sane. Just a few careless words from that man cause upheaval, havoc, and tempest: unruly passion engulfs him.
• For love, the living can die and the dead can once again live.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 50

• "I have other things, but you probably wouldn't want any of them. There is only one small thing: my heart... if you don't want to catch it, then forget about it." [...] "I caught it," Zhao Yunlan hears Shen Wei say, very softly.
• As he is saying, he catches a glimpse of Shen Wei, and he just so happens to think of something, and says, all smiles, "A gold digger, and a bed warmer." Shen Wei gags on a mouthful of spicy soup, and coughs vigorously, turning his head away.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 51

• Shen Wei sees it and says patiently, "Good morning. Have you had breakfast?" Guo Changcheng nods, and at the same time thinks, his brain in disarray: ‘Why is Chief Zhao bringing "family" to work?’

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 53

• Zhao Yunlan grabs him and shows his true nature, that of a sticky candy: "I'm not letting you go. What if you change your mind, and I can't find you anymore after you're gone?"
• The fake monk suddenly turns around and pounces towards Shen Wei, who has been quietly standing against the wall, "The King wants to use me as a sacrifice, please save me, Queen!" Shen Wei is speechless.
• "Then how about I go?" Even before Shen Wei finishes speaking, Lin Jing realises what will go wrong. Of course, he instantly feels two glaring eyes piercing straight through his spine from behind. The gaze comes with a force that seems to pin him to the wall and slash him with a thousand daggers. Lin Jing laughs dryly and snatches the bottle back. He walks away, hastily pronouncing, "Amitabha. Battling evil and protecting the lives and property of the people is our responsibility. It's a glorious and daunting mission, how can I abandon it? I'm going."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 54

• "Depths of Hell, heed my call." The voice doesn't seem to be Zhao Yunlan's either; deep and inexplicably hoarse, it cuts one’s ears like a blunt saw. "Blood as an oath, cold iron as proof, lend thy three thousand soldiers. Men and gods, none shall survive..."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 55

• "I'm not kidding! Do you know gathering the Shadow Troops is absolutely forbidden dark magic? Do you understand what dark magic is? Can the three worlds tolerate this? You have no regard for the laws of nature, do you? How big of a mess do you need to make before you learn!? You... you..." His voice stops abruptly. After a long time, he asks with a quivering voice, "What will I do if that happens?"

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 57

• Now that its owner is ridiculously happy, looking just like a jolly and naive youngster all day, Da Qing is rather pleased, and it really doesn't want any... complications to crop up. And yet complications have indeed cropped up. The biggest complication, Shen Wei, closes his eyes, passing through Hell.
• Here is the land of nothingness: nothing can be seen, nothing can be heard, nothing can be smelled, nothing can be tasted, nothing can be felt.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 58

• "There are only two people I can't afford to mess with: my mum, and my wife; look at your face, do you think you meet the aesthetic standards of either of them?"
• "And what kind of person are you? Whom wouldn’t you be able to have, if you wanted them? Even if so... is there really a need for you to fret over your gains and losses, and desire something you'll never get? Even I pity you."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 61

• It’s as if a section of ancient memories that have been buried deep for hundreds and thousands of years is finally unearthed, a violent wind blowing away a hundred feet of settled dust, revealing the naked truth below it, stabbing into the heart, eliciting wave upon wave of misery.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 62

• "Can office romance ever amount to anything? Besides, I'm human and she's a fairy, we don't belong together." Zhao Yunlan says that unintentionally, but Shen Wei has every intention to read into it. After a moment of silence, he says, "Then you and me... I'm a ghost and you're human, do we belong together?". "Eh?" Zhao Yunlan dips into the cinnabar powder. Stunned, he realises he said something wrong, and immediately corrects himself. "How are you the same? I like you so much."
• "Uh, that kid looks like a jerk most of the time, but he's actually quite nice. He really likes you, don't hurt him." Shen Wei replies with an incredibly soft and stately tone, enunciating one word after another, "As long as he still wants me, I will never let him down, whether in life or in death."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 66

• "In my heart, he is a perfectly crafted piece of jade, one of a kind in this whole wide world."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 67

• Shen Wei stutters, "You... you told your mother...". "I told my mum that I love you till the sky crumbles and the earth shatters into splinters. If she agrees, she’ll have another son, so two in total, but if she doesn't, she’ll lose a son, and then she won't have any left," Zhao Yunlan says forcefully. "My mum is not stupid, she can do the math, don't you worry."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 68

• Did Pangu really put an end to Chaos? Or did it merely assume another form?
• Following that mournful call, countless crows soar into the sky. All the crows in the city are flapping their wings, almost covering the entire sky. Crows foretell calamities.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 69

• "Too late." Zhao Yunlan puts out the cigarette and flicks it to the floor among the debris. "You're telling me this way too late." Da Qing says grumpily, "That's because you didn't tell me who he was when you first started seducing him! Otherwise, I would have stopped you no matter what it took...". "No, when I say you're too late," Zhao Yunlan interrupts, "I mean you're late by a few thousand years."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 69

• Stone, not yet old but ravaged; water, not yet cold but frozen; body, not yet lived but dead; soul, not yet burnt but dispersed.

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 74

• He jumps into the holy tree. When half of his body is already submerged, he thinks of something. Turning his head towards Shen Wei, he says, "Whoever gets back home first leaves the lights on and the door unlocked. Love you."

Ink Brush of Virtue ▸ 75

• "People have found love is worth dying for, ever since the beginning of time. If I can die for you, then, of course, I can live for you. I have no regrets."

Primordial Past ▸ 78

• "You were born of the mountains of the Earth; naturally, you were connected with the chaos and menace of the Underworld. And you carry within you the spirit of Pangu's axe. I always said that you were born of violence and that you’d, one day, become the bringer of destruction; the never-ending snow atop Mount Kunlun was one such omen. And now here we are. You fail to consider the long term. You fail to tell right from wrong, good from evil, life from death. How dare you defy the Heavens?"
• "Stone, not yet old but ravaged; water, not yet cold but frozen; body, not yet lived but dead... Since Shennong was willing to give up godhood and become a human, I'll give him one last thing to complete his dying wish..." [...] Soul, not yet burnt but transformed. The Lantern of the Guardian.

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 79

• Smitten, he stares at Shen Wei for a long time; then he stretches out a grabby paw and starts softly caressing Shen Wei's hair. His heart in his hands, he murmurs, "Super, super, super, super beautiful. This life is definitely worth living."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 80

• Zhao Yunlan contrarily says, "I’ll buy you thousands of flowers! I’ll cover the entire car with them, and then I’ll marry you!" [...] "And here I thought you wanted to become a flower merchant. I’d have married you anyway. Yesterday you said you’d take my last name."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 81

• "Thousands of years ago, Shennong said that I am destined to an end just as miserable as my beginning. I was born Ghost King, and will always be, and if you insist on protecting me and staying with me, one day I will kill you."
• If Shen Wei didn’t love him, or was indifferent to him, Zhao Yunlan would be free to choose: continue their relationship, or leave at his leisure. Both would be reasonable. If Shen Wei lied to him, harmed him, or let him down, again Zhao Yunlan would be free to choose: forgive him, or never see him again. Both would be reasonable. But Shen Wei is like a spider that has trapped him in a most ambivalent place—a place where he can’t say anything, can’t scold him, can’t hate him, but can’t accept him either.

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 83

• "Guard the souls of the living, pacify the hearts of the dead, pardon the crimes of those who are trapped, turn the wheel for those who are reincarnating."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 86

• "I like you." [...] "Rude." The young Ghost King looks at him, bewildered. He has no idea how he's supposed to have been rude. [...] "What do you like about me?" [...] "You're good-looking. I want to hug you."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 87

• "I'm rich in mountains and rivers of the world, but it's just a pile of damp rocks and wild rivers, nothing special. Out of all I have, the only thing worth anything is probably my sincere heart. Do you want it? Take it."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 90

• "You've run rings around me with all your lies; can you tell me the truth now?" Shen Wei asks softly, "Do you really want to hear it?" Zhao Yunlan looks straight into his eyes. "You said it yourself: no matter what, I will never hate you."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 99

• Zhu Hong is seething. "Little snake? I’m a little snake? Then what are you? Those of your age in our tribe would still be gnawing on their own eggshells! You mortal, you!" Zhao Yunlan doesn't even turn his head, only the corners draw up silently in a cold smile. So quietly that his words are barely audible, he replies, "There’s no rush; soon I won’t be."

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 105

• "Live well. Live like ‘Zhao Yunlan’, the things you should enjoy, enjoy them well. The things you should take care of, also do them well. I thank you."
• "With the stone of three lifetimes, seal the white mountains of the west." Stone, not yet old but ravaged. "With the essence of mountains and rivers, seal the black waters of the north." Water, not yet cold but frozen. "With the root of good and evil, seal the jade expanse of the east." Body, not yet lived but dead. "With the soul of the god, seal the great fire of the south."
• So it turned out that the promise to live and die together, which he had schemed so hard to gain, was a promise first broken by himself in the end.
• Shen Wei didn’t know why, but his heart was unexpectedly at ease; all of a sudden, he had the feeling that he "could now be worthy of him," but... It was a pity he’d never see him again.

Lantern of the Guardian ▸ 106

• "What… is that sound?" [...] "The sound of ten thousand mountains crying together. [...] Not even when Kunlun Jun’s body became the Guardian Lamp was there a sound like this, probably because at that time it wasn’t truly the complete extinguishment of body and soul."
• One of Shen Wei’s hands was still tightly closed and seemed to hold something in his palm. Kunlun Jun softly took hold of his right hand; and, as if he’d felt a familiar breath, Shen Wei slowly loosened his hand’s grip. A golden spirit-calming talisman flew out from his palm and leapt before Kunlun Jun’s eyes. All of a sudden, Kunlun Jun laughed—this was the exact talisman that he had personally drawn on the back of Shen Wei’s hand when they’d seen each other for the first time.
• The mortals on earth would not remember that there once had passed this sunless calamity. Just then, the first ray of daylight pierced the black clouds — for dawn had come.