Linyue let out a long, tired sigh. "So it was you."
Of course. The dream wasn't a dream at all. It was a memory. The dog must've shared it with her. Just like the scroll said how spiritual beasts sometimes shared memories with their bonded cultivators. She remembered now. She had seen the memory from a low angle, as if she were smaller. Lower to the ground. Like… well, like a very observant dog.
What she witnessed was the memories of the fluffy white dog. It must have been made by her master for Yun Qi, probably to protect or accompany her. It made sense now. No wonder the creature was so cute, soft, fluffy and emotionally manipulative. It was designed to make people feel better while secretly holding ancient trauma. So that was why the dog had been in the forest of Shulin all this time. It must be because of Yun Qi.
Shu Mingye glared at the white dog. "Wait. That dog really gave you a dream?"
Linyue glanced at him. "Shared a memory."
Shu Mingye's frown deepened. "What kind of memory? Its past life? What kind of snacks it likes? Maybe its hobby is sniffing tree bark? Meanwhile I'm sitting here worried to death, and you are spiritually connected to a fluffy bedtime storyteller?!"
The white dog let out a soft huff and turned its fluffy butt toward Shu Mingye.
Linyue gently scratched its head. "It showed me something important."
Shu Mingye narrowed his eyes. "Is this dog… competing with me?"
The white dog sneezed loudly.
Linyue bit back a smile. "Don't worry. You're still fluffier on the inside."
Shu Mingye stared harder. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or a threat."
Linyue leaned against her very grumpy husband, her smile soft and amused. He looked like he was preparing to interrogate the dog for high treason.
"Stop being jealous of the dog," she said gently.
"I can't promise that. Especially if you keep scratching its head like that."
Her hand, mid-scratch on the white dog's fluffy head, froze in the air. "Are you serious?"
"I never joke," he said seriously, though the twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
Linyue gave him a long, unimpressed stare. "You're ridiculous."
"I'm married," he said smoothly, "which means I have exclusive rights to your affection and head-pats."
The white dog huffed, clearly offended by the terms of this contract, and flopped onto its side. Its fluffy tail thumped directly against Shu Mingye's face as if to declare, I was here first.
Shu Mingye paused. Slowly, he turned his head toward the traitorous fluff. "Did you just… challenge me?"
The white dog wagged its tail. Smack. Smack. Smack. Right across his jaw.
Shu Mingye narrowed his eyes, voice low and dangerous. "Pie, move your hand. I need to duel your pet for the position of favored one."
Linyue's lips twitched. "You're jealous of a dog."
"I'm not jealous," Shu Mingye said stiffly, his eye twitching as the dog's tail smacked him again. "I'm asserting dominance."
The white dog yawned, tail still thumping.
Linyue sighed, scratching the dog's ear. "I think it's winning."
He looked betrayed. "Pie! You're supposed to support your husband!"
She gave him a flat stare. "Anyway, there's something more important. The memory it showed me… it was about a woman named Yun Qi. She was really beautiful. And my master, Qi Heng, was with her."
Shu Mingye raised an eyebrow. "Your mysterious master?"
Linyue nodded. "Yes. But in the memory, he was a perverted, flirty, romantic emperor."
Shu Mingye blinked. "...Perverted?"
She nodded again. "Flirty. Very smooth. Carried her down a hallway while whispering sweet words."
"Romantic?" he added slowly, as if each word was a punch to the brain.
"I know. It's hard to imagine," Linyue admitted. Her expression was grave, as if she had just witnessed something world-ending.
Shu Mingye looked personally offended on her behalf. "I'm sorry for your loss of respect."
"But that's not the point," she said, lowering her voice. "She called him Your Majesty. And the palace in the memory… it was huge. Grand. Everything was polished marble and golden. I think… I think he was an emperor. Yun Qi must've been his lover."
Shu Mingye shrugged. "Or maybe Your Majesty was just a pet name."
Linyue tilted her head and gave him a very long, very unimpressed look.
"A weird pet name," he added. "A really weird one."
She shook her head. "No. I'm sure that place was a palace. But I've read the Yunyue dynasty's history scrolls. No mention of an Emperor Qi. The records say the Yun clan ruled for thousands of years."
Shu Mingye said slowly. "Then maybe… Yun Qi was part of the Yun royal clan. Maybe she was the emperor."
Linyue blinked. "You're saying… she was the emperor, and he was the lover?"
He smirked. "I mean, that would explain the flirty part."
Linyue let out a tired groan and flopped into his chest. "Can we go back to you being jealous of the dog? That made more sense."
Shu Mingye chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. "That works too. It's easier to compete with a dog."
Linyue rested her cheek on his shoulder and mumbled, "The spring… it was real. The maiden. It was Yun Qi's resting place."
Shu Mingye's voice softened, though curiosity crept in. "What do you mean?"
"She was a water cultivator," Linyue explained slowly, her voice quiet. "She dissolved herself. Her whole body… her spirit… everything. She turned into water. Her core exploded, and the cave walls turned into those blue crystal-like stones just like the spring. It was her."
Shu Mingye went still. Even his heartbeat seemed to pause. "So that spring—"
"—is filled with her spiritual energy," Linyue said softly. "It's her power. She sacrificed her life force to make that spring. That's why it's so pure. So full of vitality."
Shu Mingye's voice dropped low, his tone serious. "Why would she do that?"
Linyue shook her head. "I don't know. I only saw the memory of her crying really badly. And then she just… went into the crater and gave everything up." She took a breath and added, "I read in one of the scrolls Master gave me, if a cultivator sacrifices their core like that, they sever their soul's reincarnation cycle. There's no next life. They give up everything. Her life force becomes the spring's vitality. That's why it's still so rich even after so long."
"Is that why you cried?" Shu Mingye asked gently.
Linyue nodded against his shoulder. "I felt really sad. She looked so kind, so beautiful. And I don't know what happened to make her choose that."
She paused, her brows furrowing. "And my master…" Her voice lowered further. "He was different. In the memory, he was warm. Playful. Flirty. He smiled. Laughed. Teased her." She glanced at Shu Mingye with wide, confused eyes. "Now he's just… silent. Brooding. Cold. He wears that weird mask that hides his whole face. What happened to him?"
Shu Mingye sighed deeply. "Pie, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I think your master was the original Male Lead."
Linyue blinked. "What?"
"I mean, think about it," he said dramatically. "Tall, powerful, emotionally repressed, dark past, mysterious identity, tragic romance with a beautiful woman who turned into a spring. It all fits."
Linyue stared at him, face perfectly blank.
The white dog sneezed loudly, clearly agreeing.
Shu Mingye nodded seriously, as if the sneeze had sealed his case. "See? Even the dog knows. But don't worry, you chose the updated Male Lead. Better features, less masks, more abs."
Linyue smacked his chest lightly, her lips twitching. "Shameless."
"I learned from the best," he said proudly, before dipping down to kiss the top of her head. His grin softened, though mischief still lingered in his eyes. "And for the record, Pie, no matter what tragic pasts or mysterious dogs come along, I'm not letting you turn into a spring."
Linyue smiled softly, eyes twinkling despite the heavy memory. "Good. I prefer baths. Not becoming one."
Shu Mingye laughed, the sound low and warm, and his hand slipped into her hair. His fingers combed through the silky strands without thought. It had become a habit. Whenever she was near, his hand simply reached for her, as if his body had already chosen its favorite person.
He sighed quietly, his brow creasing. Life had been chaotic enough already. Angry cabbages, demon attacks, mysterious array. But somehow, her master being a secret emperor of possibly a vanished dynasty had bumped the chaos to a whole new level. He had already looked into Qi Heng. Nothing. No records. No scrolls. Not even an offhand rumor. Her master was more mysterious than a ghost wearing a cloak made of conspiracy. And now his Pie said Qi Heng was an emperor. An emperor of what? A forgotten realm? A tragic love story?