Nan Yu sat beneath the lamp, her needle flying as she embroidered a picture. On the pale yellow cloth, only varying shades of black were used to delicately depict a courtyard teeming with lush foliage, yet imbued with a profound stillness—a miniature reflection, it seemed, of the very courtyard outside her window. Beside her, Gui’er was locked in a fierce battle with a tangled skein of silk thread. Pull one end, and the other immediately knotted; just as she loosened that snarl, pulling too tightly on another section would create a fresh lump. Realizing she couldn't possibly manage the mess, Gui’er decided on the most direct solution: biting through the threads.

“Wait a moment, Gui’er, let me see if I can undo it.” Nan Yu stopped Gui’er’s impending bite.

She took the ‘snarl’ and began to patiently work apart the utterly chaotic knots in the silk. Gui’er watched, mesmerized, as Nan Yu’s long, slender fingers deftly manipulated the tangled mess. Beneath her touch, the silk gradually loosened, one strand after another being drawn free and smooth by Nan Yu.

“Nan Yu, you are truly amazing, you can do everything…” Gui’er propped her chin in her hands, watching Nan Yu with deep admiration.

Nan Yu, as she appeared before her, wore a long robe with an antique elegance. Her hair was loosely gathered at the nape of her neck, secured by a jade hairpin as white and translucent as her own skin, making her look like a refined lady emerged from ancient times. In her room, aside from the electric lamp, not a single modern convenience was visible. Instead, there were a guqin, a chessboard, tea sets, and exquisite flower arrangements—all things Gui’er knew Nan Yu excelled at. Nan Yu was, after all, a celebrated talent proficient in the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

“I truly admire you so much… When will I ever catch up to you?” Gui’er took the now-untangled silk from Nan Yu and returned to her own embroidery. But looking at the crooked, uneven flowers in her own work, and then at Nan Yu’s piece that resembled a classical ink painting needing no further outline, Gui’er felt the gap between them was far greater than just heaven and earth.

“You’ve only just started learning; this is normal. You’ll get the hang of it as you practice,” Nan Yu said with a gentle smile. Gui’er’s temperament was always fiery and impulsive, making her ill-suited for embroidery, an art demanding such patience.

“I always end up like this…” Gui’er held up her hands, dotted with small pinpricks. No matter how many times Nan Yu had treated the wounds, her fingers inevitably suffered during embroidery.

“Don’t rush yourself; just take it slow,” Nan Yu said, treating a fresh prick for her once more.

Nan Yu was truly remarkable. Not only was she multi-talented and possessed of elegant, graceful demeanor, but she was also immensely powerful in her magic—rumored to be the sect leader of her lineage. Even Liu Di treated her with a degree of deference. Though she was always impeccably polite, not a single yao guai in Lixin City dared to provoke her in the slightest. Gui’er desperately wished she could be like her—no, even just half as capable would suffice.

Effort. If I just work hard, I can achieve it… even just a part of it.

Gui’er encouraged herself, plunging back into the battle with her needlework.

Nan Yu stood up and walked to the window.

Outside was the scenery she knew intimately. Perhaps in another day or two, she could finish stitching this entire view onto the fabric.

Under the lamplight, a cluster of roses near the window swayed softly in the evening breeze.

Had Gui’er not visited today, Nan Yu would not have turned on the light. She preferred to sit quietly in the dark to complete her embroidery or play chess against herself. Perhaps she herself was an element of that stark black and white scene, existing silently and coldly from ages past to ages hence. She could sense the passage of time, yet she could not accept it, could not allow it to change her.

“Nan Yu, look at my memory! I almost forgot the things I specifically brought for you.” Gui’er suddenly exclaimed as if remembering something. “Look, do you like them? I always see you sitting in the shadows. If you don’t like the electric light, use this instead. I found them at the antique market; I only paid a hundred yuan for them! But I scrubbed them clean, and they’re still quite beautiful.” Saying this, she took out a pair of oil lamp stands from her bag.

They were a pair of antique stands. While the craftsmanship wasn't exquisite, they were definitively not modern reproductions. The lamps used oil. Some parts were blackened with soot, but Gui’er had cleaned most of the surfaces, making them perfectly usable.

“I know you dislike modern appliances, so I bought these for you,” Gui’er said with a distinct air of wanting praise. “The vendor claimed they were Ming Dynasty antiques and wanted three thousand yuan, but after a good round of haggling, he quickly backed down!”

Nan Yu didn't dislike electric lights so much as she disliked brightness; she felt more like her true self when shrouded in darkness.

“Thank you, Gui’er.” Nan Yu looked at the lamp stands. They genuinely brought back memories of how people illuminated their surroundings during long stretches of the past. Lighting them might be quite interesting. “It’s a pity I don’t have any lamp oil here.”

“I can get some…” Gui’er volunteered readily. “Can I use some of your flowers?”

Nan Yu nodded.

Watching Gui’er bustling about was a genuinely pleasant experience.

Gui’er went out to the courtyard, held out her hand, and murmured softly. Soon, small, multi-colored specks of light detached from the flowers and plants in the yard, flying into her hand. By the time she returned inside, the container in her hand held a small cup of a colored, oily substance.

“The essential oils of flowers and trees—humans sell those too, but they have to kill the plants to extract them.” Gui’er pursed her lips, expressing her disdain for human methods. As a shan gui (mountain spirit), the flora were more than willing to satisfy such a small request from her.

Lighting the fragrant, smoke-wisping oil lamps and holding her unfinished embroidery, Nan Yu felt a dizzying sense of having slipped back into past eras. In those days, she often mended clothes for her Master and seniors under the cover of night, the incense on the altar dedicated to the Three Pure Ones filling the entire room with fragrance… Further back in time, her memory seemed to blur. In those scented, colored chambers and embroidery halls, there were songs and laughter echoing, but how many of those truly immersed in it were ever genuinely happy? It had been too long; Nan Yu could no longer recall clearly…

Nan Yu preferred sitting alone in the dark, perhaps precisely to avoid dredging up these memories? For when she was part of the night, the darkness would not stir the past memories within her heart. Often, Nan Yu felt she wasn't truly present in this space. Sometimes, she felt caught somewhere in time, unable to advance or retreat, so she had slowly been assimilated by time itself, becoming a muted existence, overlooked and colorless, much like time itself.

When had she started feeling this way?

Before that, hadn't she already become accustomed to this life?

“Nan Yu, come try this quickly.” Gui’er called out again.

Nan Yu realized Gui’er certainly knew how to savor life. In the blink of an eye, she had set out an array of pastries and brewed a pot of tea, preparing for what looked like a candlelight (oil lamp) dinner.

“Nan Yu, try this one. I just learned how to make it. To ensure I got the ingredients right, I went to that hotel several times. They charge a fortune for it, but the actual material cost isn't high at all! It just takes five or six hours to make one batch—a bit troublesome.” Gui’er’s culinary skills were impeccable; every small pastry looked like a delicate work of art. Gui’er was relentlessly dedicated to achieving perfection in the color, aroma, and taste of her food, yet tragically, her usual patrons never seemed to truly appreciate the quality of what they ate.

“Zhou Ying and Huo’er are so lucky to have you taking care of them every day,” Nan Yu said sincerely.

Gui’er blushed, embarrassed. “Actually, I can’t do anything well. My magic is all half-baked. If only I could be as brilliant as you. Zhou Ying and the others really admire you, even Huo’er admires you, you know…” Gui’er tilted her chin up, mimicking Huo’er’s usual condescending posture from high above.

“Who looks down on people like that…” A disgruntled voice came from behind Gui’er. Huo’er zipped in through the window in a flash, landing unceremoniously on the table, scooping up all the pastries and shoving them into its mouth, swallowing them whole before continuing the conversation: “You little sneak, instead of staying home making late-night snacks, you’re badmouthing me behind my back! Apologize to me immediately, or bring me snacks for my forgiveness!”

“Was I wrong? That’s exactly how you act!”

“No, no, no! I’ve never seen myself act that way!”

“Next time, I’ll have someone hold a mirror up when they talk to you, and then you’ll see!”

Listening to Huo’er and Gui’er bicker, Nan Yu stood up to greet the person who followed Huo’er in. “Zhou Ying, you’re here.”

“Mm,” Zhou Ying entered. “Huo’er said he was coming to find Gui’er.”

“Yes, yes! We heard Gui’er’s late-night snack prep was moved here tonight, so we came along…” Liu Di popped up from behind Zhou Ying, broadly opening his arms toward Nan Yu. “Nan Yu, I missed you so much! You missed me too, right…”

Nan Yu subtly shifted her body, allowing the man attempting to embrace her to enter the room instead.

“Stupid dog, why did you follow? Nan Yu doesn't welcome you!”

“Hmph, she welcomes me plenty! She definitely doesn’t welcome a wrecker like you!”

“You menace! Who are you calling a wrecker?!”

“It’s you! You destroy everything wherever you go…”

“Vicious dog, you’re ruining my reputation, face your doom!”

“Unruly child, I’ll discipline you on behalf of your father!”

……

“I’m sorry, Nan Yu. Huo’er, it’s just…” Zhou Ying looked anxiously at Nan Yu’s elegant room, which had been instantly transformed into chaos, and tried to apologize. He didn't mind the mess in his own home, but seeing Nan Yu’s space ruined made him feel genuinely distressed.

“It’s alright…” Nan Yu suddenly broke into a bright smile. “It really is fine. I’m so glad you all came!”

The atmosphere in the room shifted in an instant. The chilling sense vanished, replaced by an almost overwhelming boisterousness.

The room’s temperature rose, as did the decibel level of the noise. Even though the oil lamp had been knocked over at some point, the room was still brightly illuminated—Huo’er’s sheer luminescence far outstripped that of the lamp.

“What are you all doing? Nan Yu’s embroidery, Nan Yu’s Go board, Nan Yu’s books…” Gui’er joined the fray. The entire room and courtyard were now bathed in riotous color.

Even the night could have color.

Nan Yu watched the scene unfold, smiling faintly, as Zhou Ying stood beside her.

“Come in and sit,” she said.

“Mm.”

“I haven’t seen you around lately. I heard you went traveling?”

“Huo’er and I went out. I meant to bring you a gift, but Huo’er ate every single present intended for you along the way.”

Nan Yu could more or less guess the kind of gifts father and son had intended to bring. “If you truly want to give me a gift, then just come visit often.”

“But you cherish quiet so much…” This was the reason Zhou Ying didn't visit Nan Yu’s home frequently. He felt his presence disrupted the unique atmosphere of her dwelling, especially when Huo’er was present—that atmosphere would vanish instantly, leaving Zhou Ying feeling guilty towards Nan Yu.

“I also very much cherish the company of friends,” Nan Yu said earnestly, looking at Zhou Ying.

“Mm,” Zhou Ying nodded.

“So…” Nan Yu looked at him with a smile.

“Yes, I will come.”

Perhaps she had rested for too long. Taking a step forward again might not be the wrong choice.

No matter what path lay ahead, it would certainly be different from the one she had walked behind her. The next time night fell, it would be different from this evening.

Nan Yu and Zhou Ying stood quietly at the doorway, watching the ongoing battle inside.

The night breeze blew through, and the fragrance of the flowers softened the darkness into a gentle warmth. The courtyard, once still as water, had suddenly sprung to life amid the sounds of clattering and crashing.