When Weiluoya leaned in Xialvdi’s arms, she no longer had the strength to even raise a hand to touch a fallen leaf.
The woods were very quiet.
The evening wind passed through the treetops, carrying the damp smell of grass and trees. In the distance, a thin stream flowed, its water sound so soft it sounded like someone whispering.
Their carriage was parked not far away. The steam horse tied to the shaft had long since shut down and lay quietly.
It had been exactly one month since they left the Golden City.
Not very long.
But it was already longer than Weiluoya had expected.
She originally thought she’d last at most three to five more days before kicking the bucket.
But she’d earned a whole extra month for free.
Thinking about it that way, it seemed pretty worth it.
She’d seen the sea, climbed a mountain. Although she hadn’t seen snow, they had seen a layer of white frost on the windowsill in a Northern Town early one morning.
She’d also eaten a lot of things: piping hot grilled fish, apples coated in a sugar shell, and the sickeningly sweet cream pie from the little shop at the foot of the mountain.
And all kinds of strange snacks that Xialvdi kept stuffing in her mouth along the way.
Things she’d never seen before—she’d seen almost all of them this month.
She was quite satisfied.
But right now, her whole body was cold, her chest ached in waves, and the light before her eyes was slowly dissipating. It really wasn’t a very pleasant experience.
Weiluoya shifted slightly, her forehead brushing against Xialvdi’s chin.
Xialvdi immediately looked down at her and tightened her arms.
“You need to conserve your strength now.”
“Don’t move around.”
Her voice was very low, as if afraid of startling her.
Weiluoya lifted her eyes and looked at her.
This woman had been playing it cool the whole way.
Pretending like nothing was wrong, as if they were just out on a regular trip.
As long as they walked a bit further, they’d see the next sea, the next mountain, the next lively town.
But now her eyes were red; anyone could see she was about to cry.
Weiluoya wanted to laugh at her, but she didn’t have the strength, so she could only speak softly.
“Xialvdi.”
Xialvdi’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
“Stop pretending.”
“I’m not pretending.”
“Liar.”
Weiluoya’s voice was weak and feeble.
“The number of times you got up in the middle of the night to check my breath on this trip is even more than the times you fed me.”
Xialvdi was silent for two seconds, surprisingly without refuting.
She simply lowered her head and brushed her lips very gently against Weiluoya’s forehead.
“You knew?”
“Mm.”
“Then you still pretended to sleep?”
“If I didn’t pretend, you’d be even more flustered.”
Xialvdi looked at the little face in her arms that was growing paler and paler, and the layer of forced calm in her eyes finally cracked a little.
In this month, they had gone to the seaside.
When Weiluoya saw the real sea for the first time, she stood on the shore and watched for a very long time, so long that she didn’t notice the tide wetting the hem of her dress.
Later, Xialvdi picked her up and walked forward through the shallow waves.
She also asked her very seriously whether the seawater would ruin her shoes.
They had also been to the mountaintop.
Weiluoya lay on her back, staring blankly at the layers of clouds and the sunset at the horizon. After a long while, she finally said very softly,
“So mountains really are this tall.”
They also stayed for seven days in some small town.
During those seven days, there were no phantom thieves, no detectives, no newspaper headlines, no damn Marriage Act.
Only the smell of hot bread in the morning, the excessively long shadows of trees in the afternoon, and at night the two of them squeezed onto a small bed, where Weiluoya would instinctively burrow into her arms after falling asleep.
Xialvdi had thought she could steal a little more time.
Even just one more day would be good.
But time, as always, never follows reason.
“Xialvdi.”
“Mm, I’m here.”
“Actually, I could feel it this afternoon.”
Weiluoya closed her eyes, her voice growing softer.
“My hands and feet were a little numb, and my heart felt empty, like someone had dug a hole in it.”
“Don’t say that.”
Xialvdi held her, and only after a long time did she manage to squeeze out a low sentence.
“But if I don’t say it, you’ll start overthinking again.”
“I’d rather overthink.”
Weiluoya was quiet for a while.
The wind blew, and the leaves rustled.
She looked up at the sky fragmented by branches and leaves, and suddenly remembered the little patch of sky she had seen from her hospital bed a long, long time ago.
Back then, she thought the sky was only that big.
But now, she had seen the sea, seen the mountains, seen whole expanses of stars at night.
And she had been so genuinely loved by someone.
It seemed she had already gained so much, so much.
“Don’t be sad.”
She spoke slowly.
“This month, I really was very happy.”
Xialvdi answered quickly.
“How could it be enough?”
“Not enough.”
“Not enough.”
“I still want to take you to see snow, to see the ice lake further north, to ride a long steam train, to eat things you haven’t tasted, to see fireflies, to…”
Her voice suddenly stopped near the end.
Weiluoya looked at her, then gently curved her eyes.
“We’ve already seen fireflies.”
Xialvdi lowered her head, her nose brushing against the top of her hair, saying nothing.
“In the last world, you took me to see them on the mountaintop once.”
Weiluoya said very slowly.
“In this world, you took me to see them by the river just last week.”
“I remember.”
“I remember too.”
Her voice was soft.
“So don’t always feel like you came too late.”
Xialvdi was silent.
These past days, she had tried other methods.
She had looked for doctors, alchemists, Mad Scholars who understood the Soul Doctrine, and she hadn’t even spared the street charlatans who claimed they could speak to gods.
But none of them were of any use.
She could only watch helplessly as Weiluoya grew lighter bit by bit, like light that could not be held in the palm.
“Weiluoya.”
She called her in a low voice.
“I really hate this feeling.”
“Mm?”
“Like I’m about to lose you again.”
Weiluoya raised her hand, which had little strength left, and slowly touched Xialvdi’s face.
Her fingertips were very cold.
Xialvdi immediately lowered her head, pressing close to her.
“Then this time, I’ll tell you more seriously.”
“Say it, I’m listening.”
Weiluoya looked at her, her eyes a little blurry, but she still tried hard to see her face clearly.
“In the last world, those words I said weren’t true.”
“I know.”
“But I still wanted to say it myself.”
She paused too, as if gathering the last bit of her strength.
“I like you.”
“It’s not just a little.”
“It’s a lot.”
The wind suddenly picked up, rustling all the leaves in the woods together.
Xialvdi’s arms holding her trembled slightly, her throat seemed blocked by something, and only after a long time did she manage a low reply.
“I know.”
“Mm.”
“But I still want to hear you say it a few more times.”
Weiluoya wanted to laugh at her greediness, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she coughed.
Xialvdi immediately helped pat her back, her movements flustered, not at all like the usual composed Phantom Thief.
“Slow down, don’t talk anymore.”
“A few last words, you have to let me finish.”
“Don’t say ‘last.’”
“Alright.”
Weiluoya conceded very softly.
“Then let’s say ‘this time.’”
Leaning in Xialvdi’s arms, her eyelids slowly grew heavy.
“This separation is not the end.”
“So don’t be sad either, okay?”
Xialvdi’s breath suddenly became erratic.
She looked down at the person in her arms, and finally tears fell, landing on the side of Weiluoya’s face.
Warm.
Weiluoya was startled for a moment, then slowly blinked.
“You’re crying.”
“I’m not.”
“Liar again.”
Xialvdi held her hand and pressed it against her own cheek.
“Then listen carefully.”
“No matter what you become next time, what name you go by, or where you run off to, I will find you.”
Weiluoya looked at her, and the light in her eyes flickered gently.
“Don’t do anything foolish this time.”
She knew Xialvdi understood.
She had never dared to think about the end of that last world.
But now, she still wanted to leave this sentence for her.
“Don’t lose yourself first while trying to chase after me.”
Xialvdi pressed her lips tightly together and only nodded after a long time.
“Okay.”
“I promise you.”
Weiluoya seemed finally relieved.
She slowly curled up a little more into her arms, her voice growing fainter.
“That’s good.”
“When we meet next time, you have to recognize me at first glance.”
“If you don’t recognize me, I’ll be a little angry.”
“I won’t fail to recognize you.”
Xialvdi lowered her head and gently kissed her forehead.
“I’d recognize you even if you were burned to ashes.”
Weiluoya let out a very soft laugh.
That sounded weird.
But the meaning was there.
After she said this, her breathing suddenly became very shallow.
The System’s voice rang softly in the depths of her consciousness.
[Host. It’s time to go.]
She just thought a little regretfully that in the end, she still hadn’t gotten to see snow.
Weiluoya didn’t ask if she could stay a little longer.
But that was okay.
Next time.
She struggled to open her eyes and looked at Xialvdi.
“Xialvdi.”
“I’m here.”
“Next time, you have to come early.”
She paused, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just leaned in very softly and brushed her lips against Xialvdi’s.
The final kiss was as gentle as the wind.
Xialvdi held her tight, wanting to keep her.
But the person in her arms still slowly grew lighter.
Like moonlight slipping through her fingers.
Like the last firefly of summer flying far away.
In the woods, deep in the grass, a faint light suddenly flickered on.
Then a second, a third.
A small patch of fireflies slowly rose, gently drifting in the dim twilight woods.
Xialvdi bowed her head, her forehead pressed against Weiluoya’s now-still forehead, not moving for a long time.
The person in her arms looked as if she were asleep, her expression peaceful, a slight curve lingering at the corner of her mouth.
When the wind blew, a firefly gently landed on their clasped hands.