Spirit of Longevity 𑁍 MDZS

一

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"ZhanZhan! What are you up to?" I smile at my friend who just video called me, setting my phone on it's stand. "I'm drawing right now. What are you doing, MeiMei?" She giggles and then holds up a book I'm intimately familiar with. Mo Dao Zu Shi, the manhwa specifically.

My smile grows at seeing that. "I'm glad you like it. It is one of my favorite works I ever laid eyes on." "It's very good! I'm at chapter three so far, but gotta take a break." A chuckle leaves my lips and I lean my cheek against a propped up hand. "You were never one to read for long amounts of time, no matter if it's novel or manhwa. There is a donghua of it too, very nicely animated as well." She makes an excited and surprised face, reminding me of a puppy getting it's first treat. "I will try to find it later then."

Then it grows quiet for a while except for her humming a tune and my pencil scratching over my paper. I have been at this for at least eight hours now, drawing the same character over and over, in different scenarios and outfits. The only time I wasn't doing this was when I drank tea or needed to use the bathroom and of course when I had breakfast. Onlookers would think I'm possessed with how many illustrations I have finished of this one character. That thought makes me chuckle again.

"Hey, ZhanZhan? Did you eat already?" "I ate breakfast at seven this morning." There's no point in lying to her and I don't want to, she's my childhood friend after all. I'm happy to still have her by my side. "That was yesterday!" I look up to her with surprise widened eyes. Yesterday? "What do you mean yesterday?" She pouts, her lips pursed and eyebrows scrunched. "It's 6:47... ZhanZhan! How could you not pay attention to the time?!"

Eh?

I look at my phone's clock and there it really is. 6:48 am. My eyes are wide open in disbelief, jaw slack. I haven't been drawing for eight hourse at all! Not only have I been awake for 26 hours but I have been drawing for at least twenty of those! A loud thump from the phone makes me flinch, seeing MeiMei angrily get ready.

"ZhanZhan! Really!" She stomps off to her wardrobe to get her favorite coat and put her keys into the pocket. "I'm going to come over now! And you better be in bed when I'm there, you hear me!" Her finger is pointed at me through her camera as she picks up the phone and then drops the call.

I'm doomed. Utterly doomed. There's no coming back from this! I really should go to bed now but... A sigh leaves me as I continue to draw. It's not much that I want to add to this illustration, but the expressions are missing and the atmosphere needs to be more pronounced. I can't not finish this. It's weird, I know, but this urge to finish the drawing is too strong.

A gentle expression with a smile... A slight breeze moving just small amounts of hair and fabric... A curious glint in the eyes of a small dragon spirit... Leaves and petals falling around them... Drops of water clinging to both of them as they are in a crystal clear pond... Exhaustion washes over me as I put my signature on the artwork, a bright smile on my face.

It's...
Beautiful.

But I couldn't look at it for much longer as I feel my vision darken, the sensation of hitting my forehead being the last thing I feel.

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My body feels unimaginably heavy when I come to, my eyelids fluttering open. Huh? That ceiling... I don't have a ceiling like that in my house. Where am I? Why is my body so heavy and aching?

"MeiMei..." My throat is parched as if I haven't had any tea or water in days. A woman comes into my vision, a surprised yet happy expression on her face. Tears well up in her eyes as she leans her hands on the matress I'm laying on. "Heng Zǐ! You're finally awake!" Heng... Zǐ? Why is she referring to me with such a title? I don't understand...