Hua Cheng glared at the statue.

This... was supposed to be Gege?

He'd just opened his mouth when he was interrupted. Xie Lian stepped forwards, patting the iron statue on its frog-like head. "I like it very much. Thank you, guys."

Wei Wuxian was quite astonished that he would like it.

After all, this frog statue was supposed to be him... not a frog.

Lan Zhan coughed, trying to hide his presence as much as possible.

"I like it so much that I want to present it right outside, in front of my Palace!" Xie Lian said, with a determined look in his eyes.

The two couples, "..." Please, don't...

In the next moment, they found themselves standing outside, facing the Palace of Xian Le. There was the frog statue, standing almighty proud and strong. Its edges were rough and not pretty, but Xie Lian seemed to treasure it very much. The Crown Prince had made sure to decorate the statue in crimson red ribbons, trying to flaunt it as much as possible.

"Xie-xiong... that isn't really necessary..." Shen Qingqiu almost stumbled over his words. Even if you add accessories to it... it won't hide the ugliness of that sculpture.

"Oh? What is this?" A new voice added to the commotion.

The two couples were shocked to find another presence amongst them. Clearly a second ago, they didn't notice anyone passing by! How come...?

"Your Highness Tai Hua," Xie Lian saw who it was and greeted them.

"I was curious when I heard that Crimson Rain Sought Flower was in the Heavenly Capital. It turned out that Your Highness the Crown Prince returned, and made some new friends."

The speaking person's figure belonged to a handsome young man. He donned on a pair of luxurious robes, with armour coating his sleeves, which only enhanced his aura that made people want to bow down to him. Many ribbons of the colour wine red had garnished his robes. A magnificent cape had trailed behind his back. His locks of straight black hair had fallen down his shoulders.

A crown was worn on his head, glowing in the brightness of the Heavenly Capital.

"I shall introduce myself to your new friends." The figure clasped his hands. "I, Tai Hua Crown Prince, Lang Qianqiu greet to the friends of the Crown Prince of Xian Le."

Lang Qianqiu was respectful and full of nobility in his every action.

The two couples found themselves unable to respond. Lang Qianqiu was a Heavenly Official, and his aura was unmistakably grande. They could barely reciprocate the greetings.

All of a sudden, the proud aura of Lang Qianqiu had withdrawn.

The Tai Hua Crown Prince had whipped his head around, trying to find a certain person. "Hey! Where did Gu Zi go? He was right next to me a minute ago?"

"I'm right here, Uncle." A small child had stuck his head out from underneath Lang Qianqiu's heavy layers of robes.

This small child went by the name of Gu Zi. He used to wear cheap robes, torn of holes and smeared of dirt. However, ever since entering the Heavenly Capital with Lang Qianqiu, he was treated with luxury and groomed to look luxurious.

"Hello." Gu Zi greeted the two couples.

Seeing the child, the two couples found it easier to communicate. "My name is Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian." The Yiling Patriarch introduced himself.

"HanGuang-Jun." Lan Zhan followed right afterwards.

"Peak Master of Qing Jing Peak, Shen Qingqiu."

"Luo Binghe."

Lang Qianqiu looked like he'd jotted everyone's names down in his heart. He merely nodded, and said, "I will get going now. It was nice to meet the friends of my Guoshi. I need to go accompany Little Gu Zi on his walk."

Gu Zi didn't fuss. He just tugged on Lang Qianqiu's sleeves, and the two bid them farewell.

Lang Qianqiu and Gu Zi had left.

Wei Wuxian quickly nudged Xie Lian on the shoulder. "You taught that God before?"

Xie Lian looked at him. "Don't be afraid, Wei-xiong. Lang Qianqiu is a good kid."

The remaining two couples, "..." How is that a kid?

The clear blue skies had gradually melted into a dark colour of twilight. Clouds bypassed the Heavenly Capital, with the winds all running in same directions.

A moon gleamed brightly up in the skies.

Wei Wuxian clapped his hands together. "Let us begin..."

"THE SLEEPOVER!"

In a grand bedroom, the three couples were on the king size bed, sitting around in a circle. The walls were painted in beautiful colour of pale beige, with a smooth marble flooring. The bed was layered in many blankets, and garnished in pillows.

"Wei Wuxian..." Luo Binghe turned to look at the Yiling Patriarch.

He found it especially unaccustomed to look at Wei Wuxian's new look...

In fact, the three couples had decided to do something fun. They changed robes with their lovers as pyjamas, and wanted to hang out all night long.

Wei Wuxian had exchanged robes with Lan Zhan.

Thus, he appeared especially pure. He wore the plain white robes, making him look like he was visiting a funeral. The robes were large on him, thus, it appeared like a cape instead of an outer robe. On the hem, a design of clouds flowing upon rolling waves was embroidered.

Wei Wuxian flaunted the white robes, with the long sleeves swishing like a curtain.

"I know that I look good." He praised himself.

Meanwhile, on his left side was Lan Zhan, who'd worn his lover's robes. Except... he looked especially odd. Probably because Wei Wuxian's size was a lot smaller than he expected.

The black and red robes were tight around Lan Zhan's forearms, with the fabric being stretched immensely. Because of how tight the robes were, an expanse of Lan Zhan's chest was exposed. He could barely even tie the black and red robes together.

His muscles bulged from the outer robes, lining the fabric finely.

"Lan Zhan..." Wei Wuxian felt hesitant. He coughed, "Actually, you look good! Anyone would look good in my clothes!"

Lan Zhan's ears were dyed with red blush.

He didn't dare to look directly at his lover, unable to overcome his embarrassment.

"HanGuang-Jun needn't be ashamed." Shen Qingqiu also wore black and red robes, which were exchanged from his own lover; the Demon Lord. The difference between his pale skin and the dark coloured robes made a sharp contrast. His long straight hair had been tossed over a shoulder.

"Yes!" Wei Wuxian agreed. "Look at your muscles! You should be proud instead!"

To encourage his lover even more, Wei Wuxian stuck out a hand and traced the lines of his lover's muscles. "See? This is what all men in this world wants!"

Instead of being encouraged, Lan Zhan's face had blushed even redder.

"Stop teasing him." Luo Binghe scoffed. He wore his Shizun's robes, with the luxurious bamboo green fabric brushing against his skin. It made him feel like Shen Qingqiu was actually embracing him at the moment. There was the fragrance of sweet orchids, reminding him of the times that Shizun would teach him how to hold a sword correctly, how to read and identify words, and how to stay confident.

Luo Binghe snuggled in the robes, which were a little tight on the shoulders. He didn't mind though. In any case, it just felt like his Shizun was tightly hugging his shoulders.

Meanwhile, there was Xie Lian. He just simply wore the Ghost King's crimson red robes. It was strange how a simple colour made the Crown Prince fantasize and fall head over heels for his lover.

The red robes had a design of butterflies embroider on its hem, sleeves, and collar.

Xie Lian had set aside his bamboo hat for the night.

By his side was supposed to be Hua Cheng—

Instead, there was a giant ball of blankets. "Is... Hua Chengzhu alright?" The two couples looked at the roll of blankets. They knew that within the blankets was the Ghost King.

"Why is... Hua Chengzhu hiding?" Wei Wuxian felt hesitant.

"This..." Xie Lian was even more hesitant. Truth be told, he'd given his lover his robes; the plain white fabric of the scrap picker. He even watched Hua Cheng try on the robes. Instead, the cheap fabric had been completely torn into shreds, as it couldn't handle the Ghost King's body.

Since then, Hua Cheng had sunken in a puddle of remorse.

He couldn't wear anything, thus, he could only hide in the blankets.

"My clothes were too small." Xie Lian laughed helplessly.

The two couples couldn't laugh along, since they were worried on whether or not Hua Cheng would explode and kill them.

"Oh yeah, Xie-xiong." The two couples were done being servants for the day. Wei Wuxian turned to Xie Lian, asking a question. "We carved such an ugly statue of you... it looks like a frog!"

Shen Qingqiu fanned himself. "It was pretty ugly, I must admit."

Lan Zhan turned away, his blush reaching up to his neck. As a student of an outstanding family and always had good studies, he was ashamed that he couldn't even carve a proper statue of the Crown Prince.

"How come you liked that statue so much though?" Luo Binghe asked.

They all turned to look at Xie Lian. The latter just smiled lightly, "In the past, I wasn't that good of a guy. People stopped worshipping me, and so, my statues were burned down."

Hua Cheng, inside the roll of blankets, had twitched.

Strangely, Xie Lian had only said a couple of words, but the atmosphere had already grown solemn.

"So, I was really happy when my friends made a statue of me—even if it did not look like me or didn't meet the standards of sculpture art. I was originally afraid that we would be distant because of my identity as a Heavenly Official. However, you guys supported me." Xie Lian looked at the butterfly on the robes he wore.

"I really do treasure what you guys have created. It's... a big deal to me."

The two couples didn't dare to blink when looking at their friend. They didn't know that a mere statue meant so much to Xie Lian. They also had no idea about each other's past.

"If I knew it was so important," Wei Wuxian sighed, "I would've tried to make it prettier."

"Yeah!" Shen Qingqiu coughed. "Wei-xiong, you completely messed the head over."

Wei Wuxian shot a glare at the Peak Master. "Hey! At least, I didn't make the body look like an amphibian!"

The argument between them had brightened the atmosphere. Soft chuckles had enveloped the grande bedroom, making it much happier.

"Now that I think about it, what happened when you guys were in the dreamscape?" Xie Lian thought about it. "Back in Square Town, you guys suddenly fell unconscious. What kind of spell did you guys encounter?"

The laughter diminished.

The blush on Lan Zhan's ears had also diminished. It was quiet for some time. Xie Lian wondered if he'd brought up the wrong topic. However, before he could add anything, he was interrupted.

"Just some bad memories." Wei Wuxian smiled. "Nothing to trifle over."

Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe agreed.

Lan Zhan, "Mn."

The atmosphere felt kind of awkward. All of a sudden, a gasp piqued in the bedroom. Luo Binghe's attention was caught by the sight from outside the window.

"Look! Look, Shizun!" He pulled Shen Qingqiu over.

Everyone else was curious. They trudged over to the window, with six heads peeking at the glass frame. (Hua Cheng had poked a head out from the bundle of blankets)

"Wow." Wei Wuxian could only say one word.

Outside, the skies were completely pitch black. It was like a silhouette, opening its mouth to gobble the entire Heavenly Capital inside its stomach. However, spots of light had illuminated the shadow. Floating in the skies were lanterns, kindled in fiery heat. The lights brightened the skies, making the flowing clouds visible to the Heavenly Officials.

The three couples counted how many lanterns there were.

Xie Lian didn't need to count, "Three thousand."

In the dark skies, which appeared akin to the abyss, three thousand lanterns were lit to ignite the night. Those three thousand lanterns held the hopes and ambitions of many people. They reflected the faces of amazement and awe. It was also the very thing that symbolized worship.

At that moment, the three couples found themselves warming up.

A fire was lit in their hearts.

Below the horizon was a place where the lanterns weren't visible. There were only shadows, which lingered in unkempt corners and edges.

Three figures sat on the ground, leaning against a stone wall.

Yi Ran sighed. "It's so unfair. I can't believe that I had to meet those brats again!"

"You're an unlucky charm." Bo Fan spat. "Get away from me."

Yi Ran huffed. "Did you think that I wanted to work with you!?!"

Bo Fan rolled his eyes. "Then why don't you go and file a complaint to Boss? Tell him that you hate my guts, and go off fooling around!"

Yi Ran shot out a punch. Naturally, Bo Fan blocked it.

"I never fool around." Yi Ran's eyes were hard like stone.

"Oh really?" Bo Fan taunted. "I thought you were trying to find your little lover from the past?"

Yi Ran's fist was caught in Bo Fan's palm. Abruptly, a blue fire ignited. "Ah-Sha isn't my little lover."

Suddenly, the fire extinguished. Nu Wang had lifelessly blown it out with a blow. She stated cleanly, "Yi Ran has no lover. She has me."

Yi Ran and Bo Fan, "..." They turned to look at one another.

Then, they toppled over from laughter.

"Why... are you guys laughing?" Nu Wang felt hesitant.

"That was a good one, Nu Wang!" Bo Fan couldn't help but praise the female ghost. "Why go looking for your male consort when you have a wife waiting for you at home?!?"

Yi Ran wiped away her tears of laughter. "Nu Wang, you're really good at changing the subject."

Nu Wang, "..." She wasn't trying to change the subject. She was serious.

After finishing their laughter, the three youngsters had fallen silent. Yi Ran looked up at the sky, but there was no sign of light. She sighed heartlessly.

Her hand had fallen to her side, with many scars etched over her knuckles.

"We're like three children... all yearning for the day that we find our home." A shadow had fallen over her eyes. "But underneath the horizon where the moon won't even shine at us... truly, what exactly is our final destination?"

"Where is our abode?"

CoolCool-Aid: Today's chapter ended with a bitter taste. How about let's invite a certain ancient character transmigrated from the modern times... to give us some comedy?

Shen Qingqiu: You called?

Shen Qingqiu: Oh, a joke? How about a pun? I found one from online

Shen Qingqiu: There were two traffic lights at the crossing. One traffic light said to the other, "Stop looking, I am changing."

Shen Qingqiu: Laugh hahah

Luo Binghe: ('･_･') What has gotten into my Shizun? What are traffic lights? What is a crossing? What are puns?