The sunset was fading, and the White Lake surrounded them. The golden afterglow fell on the Great Temple atop the mountains, casting a majestic and splendid reflection on the lake. Sincere prayers gathered into a humming murmur that echoed throughout the entire White Stone Capital City. In the prince's courtyard by the lake, the sa sunset reflection fell, accompanied by the loud cries of eagles, as lodious as the distant mountains.
"Oh! Oh oh!"
A flying golden eagle swooped down from the high sky, then suddenly stopped, proudly dropping a half-ter-long big fish. It then folded its nearly three-ter wingspan, arrogantly lifting its head, waiting for the praise of its owners. Yet, it waited for quite a while without receiving the caresses or exclamations it anticipated.
"Squeak? Squeak squeak?..."
The golden eagle tilted its head quizzically, its sharp eagle eyes rounding to discern the overlapping figures of its two owners. The obnoxious male owner had caught the female owner's hand again and blocked her mouth, "completely shaless!"...
"Chirp! Chirp chirp!"
The golden eagle flapped its wings discontentedly, creating gusts of Jifeng. Even the blooming rose bushes by the lake were swept by the powerful wings, sending scarlet and light purple petals dancing in the air.
"Ah! Little Aviloztli! That's my favorite, the Safflower Rose and Blue Rose! ...Ah! ...Xiulote, wait a bit, hang on... ugh! You!..."
Seeing the cascading beautiful petals, Alisa widened her eyes and pushed hard against Xiulote, trying to rise from the large blanket. But just as she lifted herself, a large hand pulled her back, abruptly stopping her voice, leaving only indistinct nasal tones. After a while, she blushed, forcefully pushing her husband away, spitting a few tis and angrily scolding.
"Huff, huff! ...Xiulote, you naughty monkey! It's not even dark yet! Why are you in such a rush? So cunning...Little Aviloztli, listen to , go pounce on that scoundrel!!..."
"Uh! ...Little Aviloztli! It's !..."
"Chirp! Chirp chirp!"
Xiulote, still catching his breath, barely sat steady before the majestic golden eagle Aviloztli pounced him back onto the carpet.
Not seen for years, Aviloztli was already ten years old, a large raptor in its pri. Its wingspan was nearly three ters, weighing about twenty pounds, stronger than the average male golden eagle. Its diet even included coyotes and jaguars in the jungle, and the entire sky above the Lake Capital City was its territory.
"Uh! ...Little Aviloztli! Stop pouncing, let get up..."
"Oh oh! Oh!"
At this mont, amidst the conflicting orders from both owners, the golden eagle Aviloztli chose, without hesitation, the care of its female owner rather than the ignored male owner. However, it possessed the intelligence of a five-year-old child and recognized the male owner's visage. Thus, it retracted its sharp claws, persistently flapping its wings to prevent Xiulote from getting up.
"Hehe! Naughty monkey, serves you right for bullying ! Hee hee! Now you know how it feels to be pounced on...Alright, alright! Aviloztli, enough, let him get up... Uh, good child, co over! Co to my side..."
"Oh oh!"
Hearing the female owner's command, Aviloztli happily folded its wings, arrogantly lifted its head, and landed beside Alisa. Alisa lovingly extended her hand, thoroughly rubbing its round little head before hugging and kissing it.
"Oh! ...Squeak?"...
Aviloztli joyfully shook its little head, spinning in a 360-degree circle. But it soon widened its eyes, curiously nearing Alisa's face, using its unsensitive nasal cavity to cautiously sniff. Clearly it was hugged and kissed by the female owner, so why did it sll the male owner's scent?
"Cough cough! ...Little Aviloztli, you actually have so much strength..."
Xiulote stood up a bit awkwardly, brushing the eagle feathers off his body before draping a long robe over himself. Then, he walked to Alisa's side, gently touching his wife's puffed-up cheek, offering an apologetic smile, and then ruffled the little golden eagle's head.
"Little Aviloztli, you were so close to when you were little, and now you're like this, it really breaks my heart...Huh!...Little Qing?!"...
"Hiss hiss!..."
"Chirp chirp!..."
Little Aviloztli's feathers fluffed up instantly; its head turned 270 degrees, glaring into the flowers by the lake side. A more than two-ter-long, arm-thick water snake lazily crawled out from the lake.
It first raised its cold eyes, stared at the majestic golden eagle for a mont, then turned its head, stealthily crawling closer. Half raising its serpentine head, it tentatively flicked its forked tongue, carefully sniffing the scent on Xiulote's body before suddenly leaping out of the grass and winding around its owner's leg.
"Oh Chief Divine! Little Qing, you've grown so big!..."
Xiulote extended his hand, feeling the cold, slippery touch on his body. He let the green snake climb from his leg to his arm, finally coiling around his shoulder, posing a joyful "▽". Unknowingly, a decade had passed, and Little Qing had grown from a tiny creature into a large lake serpent. Yet, compared to the rapid-growing little golden eagle, today its size seed sowhat inadequate.
"Haha! Since little Aviloztli brought a fish, let's have fish for dinner tonight! ...Alisa, let personally roast two fragrant, crispy grilled fish for you!..."
The sunset subrged below the lake's surface, and the campfire rose in the courtyard, wafting the aroma of grilled fish. The Texcoco lake wind blew from the east, carrying a faint salty sll, much like the wind from the sea.
These salty, damp winds ca not only from the eastern salt lake sectioned off by embanknts but also from the natural salt pools in the southeastern Lake Region. Lake salt and well salt were important outputs of the Texcoco Lake District, also key trade goods of the xica Alliance. Naturally, tonight's grilled fish was also seasoned with the fine, white Texcoco lake salt refined by Xiulote's improved filtration.
"Hiss hiss!..."
"Chirp chirp!..."
The golden eagle and the green snake, one on the left and one on the right, settled with their share of sashimi, enjoying a rare mont of quiet coexistence. anwhile, Xiulote and Alisa nestled between the golden eagle and the green snake, leaning against the fragrant water cedar tree. They snuggled up to each other, sharing the crispy, slightly spicy grilled fish bite by bite, breathing in the familiar and reassuring scent from each other.
At this mont, they leaned on each other's shoulders, watching the last trace of sunset gradually be stained by the black night sky. Their cheeks pressed together, listening to the cicadas in the evening breeze as if hearing heartbeats. When their hearts beat fast, they felt close, and when leaning together, the beats slowed and intertwined, becoming perfect as if flowing with different lodies yet perfectly harmonious.
"Xiulote, do you know?... Over these years, I've always missed you... I've wanted so much, wished to accompany you like this, always stay with you... until..."
"Ah?!..."
Listening to Alisa's whispers, Xiulote's once-hardened heart suddenly softened and fluttered. He turned around and tightly hugged his fragrant, mature wife to his chest. Then, he gazed into Alisa's eyes and seriously asked.
"Until... what?..."
"Hmm... until... the sun sets, the sky turns very dark. And we... like our ancestors, beco stars in the sky, forever leaning on each other!"
"Hmm? Beco stars in the sky?"
Xiulote blinked, looking past Alisa's lifted hair strands at the Central Arican night sky, with its expansive Milky Way. The stars were so vibrant, densely clustered together over countless millennia until today.
"Alisa, the stars in the sky look very close, but actually they're very far apart..."
"Ah? Stars are far apart?... Then, are our ancestors far apart too?..."
"Hmm..."
Xiulote just gazed at the starry sky for a mont before discovering sothing more enchanting than the stars, which was his wife's eyes right before him. Those eyes seed to carry a river of stars, shining brightly at him. And in that bright river, only his image was reflected, making him deeply intoxicated, yearning for an endless exploration...
"Alisa, my wife, I too wish to accompany you... just like the highest Great Pyramid, with its most sacred Twin Temples... standing side by side at the highest point under the heavens!... until..."
"Ah! The highest point, the Twin Temples?... Hmm... until what?"
"Until the sea dries up, turning into fields. Mountains crack open, becoming rivers. Heaven and Earth unite."
"Stop!"
Excitedly flashing her eyes, Alisa felt her husband's heartbeat and looked into his profound eyes. She wanted to see through that ocean-like mist into Xiulote's deep heart, to see that soul once etched in her heart, incomparably clear.
"Chief Divine witness! Xiulote, I'm listening to your heart! No empty words!"
"Uh..."
Upon hearing this, Xiulote pursed his lips, thought for a while, and then spoke again. This ti, he was incredibly serious and utterly honest. In this world, perhaps only Alisa could make him feel so honest now...
"Chief Divine witness! I will stay with you until we die, until we're both buried... buried in the Holy City's Moon Pyramid..."
"Huh? After death, buried in the Moon Pyramid? Hmm, not buried in the Royal Family's Great Temple?"
"Yes... the Moon Pyramid, that's where I was born and where I will return..."
Under the splendid river of stars, Xiulote sincerely nodded. He grasped his wife's hand tightly, softly promising eternal death.
"Alisa, after I die, I will be buried in the Moon Pyramid. And if you die, you must also be buried with , buried there... Do you rember?"
"Ah! Let us be buried together in the Moon Pyramid after death... Okay! Xiulote, I rember!"
Upon hearing Xiulote's words, Alisa was stunned for a mont, then nodded vigorously. She repeated her lover's words, mysteriously warming up, her eyes misting over. Then, she lifted her moist eyes, leaned toward Xiulote's ear, gently licked it, and whispered.
"Xiulote, it's dark..."
"Huh? It's dark?"
"Hmm... It's dark... The moon should co ho... The stars want to be mischievous..."
"Ah!..."
A bright full moon rose from the East, slowly descending into the deep night sky. And the stars in the night sky blinked, lost within a vast sea of stars.
"Yoo-yoo!"
The golden eagle Aviloztli let out a lodious cry, soaring into the sky. The sky is its domain, the place it yearns to conquer.
"Hiss-hiss!"
The green serpent Xiaoqing slithered its long body, gently sinking to the depths of the lake. The lake bottom is its ho, where it loves to sleep.
The night is long, ho is far away. Journeyn on long roads, lovers beside them...
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