The reflections of the stars, like silver tears, fell, streaking across the night sky and silently disappearing deep into the cherry blossom grove. At that moment, all the cherry trees in Xinghe County trembled simultaneously. The petals fluttered like snow, emitting a faint glow under the moonlight, as if each one had become a miniature star core.
Song Wanqing stood in the center of the stone chamber. The moment the pendant touched the drawing paper, a surging torrent of memories rushed into her mind
It's not her memory. **
It's mother's.
The scene flashed like an old-fashioned film: In April 198X, cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Young Lin Wan stood on the top of the clock tower, holding a silver paintbrush in her hand, with star trails flowing from the tip. Beside her stood a young man whose eyebrows and eyes were exactly the same as Lu Jinnian's, but with an even more gentle touch. He held a small music box in his hands and gently spun it, playing an unfinished melody.
"The star core is about to crack. Only the resonance of 'Star Painting' and 'Star Guarding' can seal it." " The young man said, his voice distant yet clear.
Lin Wan nodded, placed the tip of her pen against the star chart, and murmured, "Let blood be the contract, let the heart be the lock, and seal."
The silver light skyrocketed, and a crack split open in the star chart disk. A crystal the size of a fist slowly sank into the ground. Lin Wan cut her fingertip and dropped blood into the crystal, while the young man also cut his palm with a string, and blood fell on it. Two streams of blood interwove on the star chart, forming a mark - stars and notes, entwined like knots.
The moment the seal was completed, Lin Wan suddenly coughed violently, and her blood stained the draft red. The young man, in a panic, supported her and said, "You have exerted your primordial power. It will shorten your lifespan!" "
But she smiled and shook her head: "As long as the star core doesn't show up in the world, as long as this cherry blossom still exists..." That's enough."
The scene came to an abrupt halt.
Song Wanqing staggered backward. The pendant slipped from her hand but was caught by Lu Jinnian in one go. She gasped for breath, cold sweat oozing from her forehead, and her fingertips were still trembling slightly.
"You..." See?" Lu Jinnian asked in a low voice, his eyes complex.
Song Wanqing looked up at him, her voice hoarse: "Mother..." She didn't die of illness. She sealed the star core with the "Power of Star Painting" and exhausted her life.
Lu Jinnian was silent for a moment and gently placed the pendant back in her palm. "Grandpa said that star cores would attract star fragments, and the power of stars could fulfill wishes - but at an equivalent cost." Mother knew that someone was eyeing the star core, so she chose the most thorough way to seal it.
And your father... He paused for a moment. "He was originally the heir of the Star Guard Clan, but because he didn't want his mother to be sacrificed, he tried to seal the star core alone, but failed." That fire destroyed the archives room and also cut off the inheritance of the Star Guardian Clan.
Song Wanqing lowered her head to look at the pendant. The silver bracelet was shining with a warm and gentle light in the moonlight. Suddenly she understood why her mother was always silent in April and why she held her hand tightly before her death and said, "Don't go to the bell tower..." It hurts too much."
She wasn't afraid that she might get into danger.
She was afraid that she would remember.
"So, is the star core still there?" Song Wanqing asked.
"Here." " Lu Jinnian pointed to the star chart in the center of the stone chamber, "But the seal is loosening." Recently, the celestial phenomena have been in disarray, and the geomagnetic fluctuations have intensified. The gravitational field of the star cores has begun to affect reality - cherry blossoms have bloomed earlier, the hands of the clock tower have become disordered, and even some students have reported seeing "figures dancing" in the cherry blossom forest at night.
Song Wanqing was suddenly taken aback: "That's not an illusion." It's the "memory afterimage" released by the star core."
She opened the sketchbook, pressed the charcoal onto the newly drawn star map, and closed her eyes to concentrate. In an instant, the lines on the drawing paper began to glow, and the star chart disk resonated with them. Silver threads flowed, revealing a new path - from beneath the bell tower to an abandoned shrine at the deepest part of the cherry blossom forest.
"Under the shrine..." There's something." Song Wanqing opened her eyes. "It's the main vessel of the star core." "
Lu Jinnian stared at the star map, his brows furrowed: "But Grandpa's notes say that once the star core is awakened, it must be jointly suppressed by the 'Star Illustrator' and the 'Star Guardian', otherwise..." It will trigger a "starfall"."
"Starfall?" "
The reflection of the stars no longer falls into the cherry blossom grove but directly crashes onto the earth. His voice was deep. "The fire a hundred years ago was a harbinger of a falling star." If not stopped, the entire Xinghe City will be torn apart by the power of the stars.
Song Wanqing was silent for a moment and then suddenly put the pendant back on her wrist. A silver star and note badge was stuck to the pulse, giving off a warm touch.
"Then let's go to the shrine." " She said, her tone firm.
"Aren't you afraid?" Lu Jinnian looked at her.
"Scared." " She smiled, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. "But the thing my mother sealed with her life, I can't let it fall into our hands." And..."
She raised her sketchbook and gently tapped the star map with the tip of her charcoal pen: "What I have inherited is not only her blood, but also her pen."
The two left the secret passage following the star map path and returned to the ground. The cherry blossom forest glows with a deep blue light in the afterglow of the setting stars, and every step feels like walking on the starry river. In the distance, the ancient shrine, entwined with vines, stands quietly. Its torii gate has long tilted, yet it still stubbornly points towards the sky.
In front of the shrine, there is a stone tablet inscribed with four ancient seal scripts:
"Stars return to their proper places." " **
Song Wanqing approached and wiped the dust off with her sleeve. Suddenly, she noticed a line of small characters on the back of the stone tablet, which had been added with charcoal. The handwriting was so familiar that it made her heart tremble
If you see this line of words, it means the star core is about to wake up. Xiaoqing, Mom is sorry to you, but some protection must be accomplished through blood ties. -- Wan
Tears slid down silently.
She finally understood that her mother had never truly left. Her blood, her pen, and her power of star painting have long been buried in every star trail of this land, just waiting for her return.
Lu Jinnian stood beside her and gently held her hand, saying, "This time, we are not alone."
Just then, a soft sound came from inside the shrine.
It seemed as if someone had gently plucked the strings.
The melody of the music box began to play slowly.
In the sky, the second star is slowly falling.