Late at night, two streaks of light successively cut through the night sky and fell into a town located in the mountains of the Southern Ridge of Tang Country.
And on that very night, a boy and a girl were born simultaneously in the town.
"Haha, this is wonderful! My Ye Family has finally given birth to a male heir. The curse has finally vanished. Heaven protect us."
A voice of ecstatic joy could be heard emanating from the Ye Family, one of the major households in the town.
But at the same time, a completely opposite mournful cry came from the other major household, the Lin Family.
"Oh heavens, did my Lin Family commit some terrible crime? Is this meant to end my Lin Family line?"
This is Qixia Town, a remote settlement within Jiangzhou Prefecture of Tang Country, home to several hundred families.
There are two major households in the town, one surnamed Ye and one surnamed Lin. The farmland here is basically owned by these two major households.
These two families have significant backgrounds in Tang Country.
The Ye Family Old Master originally served as an official in the Tang Country court, rising to the position of Internal Chancellor, before retiring twenty years ago and returning to his hometown.
The Lin Family Old Master also served as an official in the court. He was a military officer, rising to the position of Protector General of the Nation. He also retired ten years ago and returned to his hometown.
These two men were quite interesting: they were from the same town, were friends since childhood, and entered officialdom on the same day.
After decades of struggle, both achieved the highest civilian and military ranks in the Tang Country court.
Both families were deeply trusted by the Emperor and served as the pillars of Tang Country.
However, after leading Tang Country to its peak prosperity, they resigned all the titles and official positions granted by the Imperial Court and returned to Qixia Town with their entire families.
Note that not only did the two of them resign all their positions, but even their sons resigned all their court duties and titles.
During the decades these two men dominated the military and political affairs of Tang Country, they expanded the nation's territory by more than twofold, but perhaps their Karmic Debt from Killing was too heavy, incurring punishment from Heaven.
Both families had only one son, and the rest were all daughters.
It wasn't that the two families disliked having many daughters; the problem was that their sons could not produce male heirs.
Rumor has it that both families sought out an Enlightened Expert for fortune-telling. The expert said their Karmic Debt from Killing was too heavy, and Heaven intended to punish them.
If they wanted to continue their family bloodline, they could only resign and retire. Both Old Masters chose to believe this advice.
Because the reality was undeniable: their sons truly could not produce male heirs.
Of course, there might be other reasons as well.
However, in the twenty years since returning to Qixia Town, their sons and daughters-in-law had given birth to several children, yet they were all still girls, without a single male heir.
This time it was the fourth child for the Ye Family Head, and also the fourth child for the Lin Family Head.
However, it seemed the Ye Family's curse had been broken, but the Lin Family's had not.
Sure enough, the next morning, two middle-aged men walked out of their homes holding their children. They stood door-to-door, and the Ye Family Head looked across the street with a smug expression.
The Ye and Lin families lived directly across the street from each other.
"Ah! Brother Lin, your family had another daughter, didn't you? It seems your family's curse can't be broken,"
The Lin Family Head was very displeased by the Ye Family Head's expression.
"Alas! My father has resigned himself to fate. After all, your Ye Family Old Master was a civil official, while my Lin Family fought on the battlefield, so our debt from killing is heavier. Therefore, Heaven's punishment on my Lin Family is harsher. He said that since we can't produce a male heir, we can only take in a Live-in Son-in-Law. This is our last bloodline; we certainly can't marry her off. This time, your Ye Family has won,"
"Haha, I accept your concession, I accept. By the way, your child is a daughter, and mine is a son. How about—hehe—we have your daughter marry my son when they grow up? After all, our doors face each other; we shouldn't let the fertile water flow into outsiders' fields." the Ye Family Head suddenly chuckled strangely.
The Lin Family Head was startled. He thought about it carefully, and then agreed to the Ye Family Head's suggestion.
Of course, the one who ultimately agreed to the marriage was actually the Lin Family Old Master.
Finally, the two of them settled on the children's names right there: the Fourth Young Master of the Ye Family was named Ye Liuyun, and the Fourth Young Miss of the Lin Family was named Lin Aoxue.
Time passed, and years changed. Five years later... by a stream outside Qixia Town.
"Liuyun, wait for me! Isn't it bad that we sneaked out?"
A girl wearing a water-blue dress, with bright, lovable eyes, was chasing a very handsome boy.
The handsome boy was hiding everywhere; he seemed deliberately intent on avoiding her.
The boy seemed very reluctant to be found by the girl in the blue dress. He looked around, suddenly spotted a pool nearby, and dove straight into it.
He had hidden himself underwater in the pool.
"Huh? Liuyun, where are you? Stop hiding, I see you."
The girl in the blue dress, after running to this area and finding the boy missing, immediately began searching carefully.
As for the boy, he was holding his breath, hiding at the bottom of the pool.
Just as the boy was holding his breath, a faint golden light in the pool entered his field of vision.
"Huh? What is this?" The boy paused, then reached down and grabbed the golden object from the bottom of the pool.
Upon looking, he found it was an antique ring of pale gold.
The ring was emitting a strange radiance that captivated his mind.
"A ring?" the boy muttered after pulling the ring out.
The boy was currently underwater. This sudden distraction caused him to swallow a few gulps of water, forcing him to surface.
"Cough, cough, cough... Damn it." After surfacing, the boy coughed violently a few times, then climbed onto the bank.
But at the same time, he certainly exposed his hiding spot.
"I found you! How dare you hide in the water, that's too much."
When the girl in the blue dress saw the boy, she quickly ran over. Seeing this, the boy immediately took off running again, this time definitely heading back toward the town.
"Ah... Ao Xue, please spare me."
Seeing the girl in the blue dress chasing him again, the boy couldn't help but beg for mercy.
"Never!" the girl named Ao Xue replied huffily, still chasing relentlessly.
These two children were Ye Liuyun and Lin Aoxue, born on the same day and at the same hour five years ago.
However, the two of them had been somewhat different since childhood: they both possessed Memories of Past Lives and remembered who they were before.
In their past lives, they came from a world called Earth, and Lin Aoxue was Ye Liuyun's girlfriend in his past life.
While they were out traveling, they simultaneously encountered an accident. When they woke up, they found themselves Transmigration to another world.
The most bizarre thing was that after their consciousness awakened and they met, they discovered that the other person had also come to this world.
Of course, they truly confirmed each other's identities when they were two or three years old.
One could only say this was a blessing in misfortune, as they still had a very close person accompanying them.
"Ah... I'm so annoyed. Heavens, please strike me down with a bolt of lightning now," Ye Liuyun pleaded while looking up at the sky.
Lin Aoxue was truly too clingy. They were childhood sweethearts in their past life, and they were still childhood sweethearts in this life.
Ye Liuyun wanted freedom! He didn't want to be controlled in this life; in his previous life, he was already Henpecked.
Under Lin Aoxue's pursuit, this day of frolic ended once more. Fortunately, the nighttime belonged to Ye Liuyun.
At least Lin Aoxue wouldn't cling to him at night, although Lin Aoxue was already used to this, as she simply liked being close to Ye Liuyun.
But in reality, men need a certain amount of personal space. After all, distance is required in any relationship; without distance, one feels smothered.
However, around eleven or twelve o'clock that night, the pale golden Copper Ring that Ye Liuyun had picked up during the day, which was placed on the table, suddenly flashed with golden light.
After the golden light faded, a transparent figure emitting a faint, condensed glow appeared beside Ye Liuyun's bed.
"Heh heh..." The Mysterious Person gave Ye Liuyun a strange smile.
He hadn't expected the ring he casually picked up to hold a secret, and not a small one at that.