What was I to do? Even drinking the northwest wind would choke my throat. There was nothing I could do about it – who told Fu Chenzhi to casually grab my hand and let them see it? So that was what “intimate relations” meant – I learned another new word.
That jailer wasn’t finished with his nonsense and continued: “By Cangying God above, this humble one feels that the Little Princess and His Highness, having grown up together like siblings, acting so intimately, committing such acts against natural order, will surely face divine retribution sooner or later. After the Little Princess left, I privately tortured His Highness, not knowing I was beating the Little Princess… Having committed such a grave crime, I beg the Second Princess to grant me death!”
Second Sister was so angry she nearly crushed the armrests of her chair, yet maintained silence from beginning to end, quietly looking at me. The ministers all expressed shock and indignation, their faces full of new grievances and old hatred.
Amid this chorus of sighs, I only heard the Prime Minister angrily lamenting like iron refusing to become steel: “Little Princess, Luowei! You are a princess of our great Suzhao – how could you, how could you…” After saying this, he slapped the back of his hand, making loud smacking sounds, looking deeply pained: “Luowei, look at yourself now – how can you face your late father and mother in the netherworld!”
This matter was truly impossible for me to defend with a hundred mouths. Just as I was about to explain that it was merely Fu Chenzhi’s one-sided confession, Lord Kaixuan said: “Everyone, do not blame the Little Princess for this matter. Although the Little Princess and Master Fu are nominally siblings, they have no blood relation. The two grew up together as childhood sweethearts – they would inevitably develop romantic feelings. Moreover, the Little Princess is still young and doesn’t understand matters between men and women. Being led astray by Master Fu is entirely possible…”
This scoundrel was slandering my brother again. Enduring the pain in my body, I said: “Brother never led me astray – he simply likes me. He’s not a bad person and has never done anything harmful. The bad person is Lord Kaixuan. You hypocritical, false gentleman, from the moment you arrived in Suzhao, you’ve been like a sunflower full of schemes. How long do you intend to continue slandering us?”
Now, Second Sister finally couldn’t sit still. She slammed the armrest hard and said angrily, “Luowei, you’re still defending that boy Fu Chenzhi! You, you, you – could it be that you really and he…”
Lord Kaixuan again pretended to be the good person: “The child doesn’t understand anything – it’s really not her fault…”
Second Sister interrupted: “I’m disciplining my sister – I don’t need you playing the good person.”
Lord Kaixuan had to shut up, still wearing a pitiful, wronged expression. Now I was really in trouble – Second Sister already completely trusted him. What was I to do? I supported myself at my side, trying to sit up, but still collapsed due to bodily weakness: “Second Sister, would you rather believe this false gentleman than believe me?”
“If you hadn’t… if you hadn’t gotten so close to Fu Chenzhi, I would still be willing to believe you.”
She stood up, her eyes filled with bitter pain, as if harboring a thousand grudges and hatreds. Her feet staggered, and Lord Kaixuan quickly stepped forward to support her.
But she pushed him away with one motion, looking at the hundreds of worried faces before her. She smiled bitterly and finally said slowly: “Our Suzhao Clan has, for a thousand years, wholeheartedly served the Cangying deity, living peacefully and contentedly on our land. Our people have devoted their efforts to helping demons in danger and mortals in distress, never seeking profit through harm, nor harboring disloyal thoughts toward the upper realm. Unexpectedly, we suffered betrayal by foreign races and persecution by immortals, now forced to hide in the shadows, living in fire and water. Those not of our race surely have different hearts – this is the inevitable trend, already proven fact. From today forth, any who leave Suzhao shall be banished, along with their five generations of descendants, forbidden from returning to Suzhao. Violators shall be executed immediately. As for Little Princess Luowei, who conspired with traitors and communicated with foreign enemies, she should be executed, but considering her youth and misguided path, she shall instead be sent to Yunxia Temple at the Cangying altar for cultivation, forbidden from leaving for fifty years. This matter concerns Suzhao’s life and death – no debate is permitted. It takes effect immediately.”
Thus, before my injuries healed, I was confusedly thrown into Yunxia Temple. Fortunately, Second Sister arranged for several people to come and care for me, while also throwing Xuanyue over to keep me company.
Yunxia Temple was built in a corner of the altar, cold and remote, with cliffs and precipices nearby. Just sticking your head out would scare you half to death from the towering peaks.
I had been here for one day and was already frozen blue and purple in hands and feet, while having to endure skin-peeling pain, truly longer than a whole previous year. Xuanyue crouched by my bedside, using its tiny tongue to lick near my wounds, trying to ease my suffering, but I still felt unbearable pain and could only lie flat, shivering.
Sigh, this life was truly impossible to live.
After calming down slightly, I began earnestly trying to sort out my thoughts and organize what had happened during this period. Where exactly had I gone wrong that led to everything developing to this state?
Recalling every scene of Lord Kaixuan’s appearances, I suddenly realized that so many seamless coincidences were very likely all deliberately orchestrated by Lord Kaixuan.
First, Xuanyue was an ancient fierce beast, yet it was sold as an ordinary tiger cub in such an ordinary stall – this was already extremely unusual.
Second, that spider demon had eaten the Grand Priest completely clean, yet risked impersonating him to return and see Father, taking such an enormous risk from beginning to end just to bite me once – no matter how I thought about it, it made no sense. It could only mean it was a whetstone used by Lord Kaixuan for his bitter stratagem, though he hadn’t expected that even so, Second Sister still refused him. At the same time, letting everyone know the Grand Priest was dead while bringing back celestial scriptures gave the Suzhao Clan some hope toward the immortal realm, yet left them helpless. With Lord Kaixuan as Suzhao’s only immortal, he could act as he pleased.
Furthermore, Lord Kaixuan’s claim that he encountered Fu Chenzhi while traveling was probably also an intentional “chance meeting”…
Just when I had deduced things to near certainty, several masked men took advantage of the servant girls’ inattention, secretly slipped into Yunxia Temple, and carried me to the edge of a snowy cliff.
Seeing them restrain my arms, I looked up at the sky and laughed: “So, Lord Kaixuan, you want to silence me?”
Lord Kaixuan no longer hid, emerging from under a snow pine with a smile: “The Little Princess is too clever. Keeping you alive might ruin things before fifty years pass. Rest assured, I won’t kill you – I’ll just throw you off this cliff. Whether you live or die depends on your fortune.”
I glanced at that thousand-zhang snowy cliff – I couldn’t even cry. True, I was of the Suzhao Clan and more resistant to falls than mortals, but falling from such a height, even if I didn’t die I’d be crippled. Combined with my severe injuries, death was certain, but I’d probably have to linger in agony for several days and nights. This pre-death torment would be like human purgatory.
I said: “Since I’m doomed to die anyway, give me a quick end.”
“I pity flowers and cherish jade – I wouldn’t want to personally act. If you’re willing, I can have these men give you a quick death.” He pointed to the masked men beside him. “Only then, the Little Princess of great Suzhao would meet an unseemly end of shameful suicide, which might not sound good when spread around. Better to jump off the cliff and let your Second Sister think you ran away, still having some fond thoughts of you, hoping for your early return. What do you say?”
“Fine, but before I die, I have only two questions for you.”
“Please speak, Little Princess.”
“First question: Are you an immortal? If you are, why don’t you stay properly in the immortal realm instead of having such obsessive delusions about a Suzhao princess? Could it be you’re just a homeless dog in the immortal realm, only hoping to come to Suzhao to marry and become a son-in-law?”
“That’s not one question.” He smiled unmoved. “I’ll only answer your first question – I am an immortal. Do you think I traveled thousands of li to Suzhao just to marry your sister? True, Liuying has exceptional beauty, but not enough to make me go to such lengths. Suzhao has a secret that even immortals and gods haven’t discovered. As long as I control it, I can go higher and farther, becoming a venerable one who dominates the divine realm. Of course, the endless realms of immortals and gods are something you little ants will never understand.”
“Lord Kaixuan, just tell me honestly – did my father kill your whole family, or kill your whole family?” By now, I was nearly consumed by fury, suddenly turning around and struggling: “My father treated you with the courtesy of fine silk and good horses, yet you repay kindness with enmity! Are you even human?!”
Lord Kaixuan stretched lazily: “Oh my, when a little girl throws a tantrum, she’s not cute at all. You’ve probably forgotten that this cliff is surrounded by ice and snow, with not a drop of water. With your current magical power, you probably can’t quickly melt ice and snow into water to carry you skyward. If you don’t beg me more now, you might get smashed into a living corpse – what would you do then?”
I raged: “Go ahead and act! Even if I’m smashed to death, I’ll become a vengeful ghost and haunt you daily! You heartless, ungrateful thing – with your dog-like appearance, you still want to become a god? Bah! You’ll die a horrible death!!”
Hearing the phrase “you still want to become a god,” Lord Kaixuan’s expression changed dramatically, as if offended, and said sternly: “Then watch me become a god from hell, you shameless little water demon. Throw her down!”
The two masked men lifted me high and threw me out. My body rapidly plummeted through the cold air. I flailed my limbs trying to save myself, but was powerless. Soon, Lord Kaixuan’s figure was blocked by cold mist, and Yunxia Temple’s snowy cliff gradually blurred.
At the same time, the longer I fell, the more afraid I became.
After falling several hundred zhang, I suddenly heard “aowoo” cries – Xuanyue had jumped down after me!
It stretched its front paws toward me, its golden pupils emitting blue light, and then snow from the cliff face fell in succession, turning into flowing water like a heavy rain pouring down.
“Xuanyue!”
I quickly used the water manipulation sky-ascending technique, lifting myself to float lightly in the air. Xuanyue also landed in my arms. Because it touched my wounds, I cried out in pain. Looking down again, the valley bottom was only a few li away.
I used my last spiritual energy to land safely at the valley bottom, then my knees gave out, and I fainted in the soft accumulated snow.
I had a very long dream.
In this dream were nine springs and three autumns, clear, beautiful, heavenly scenery, my irretrievable childhood, and my parents, whom I knew even in dreams, had already passed away. Therefore, this dream was also the first beautiful dream that left me tearful upon waking.
Xuanyue cried “aowoo,” as if afraid I might freeze to death here, pushing my arm with its small tiger paws, occasionally biting my ear, and licking away my tears. The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was its big eyes. Seeing me wake up, it bounced and rolled into my arms.
“Xuanyue, thank you.” I stroked its fluffy head and gave it a reassuring smile. “If not for your desperate rescue, I’m afraid I would have died without a complete corpse.”
It squinted its eyes and rubbed my hand with its head like a cat. The surroundings were still cold with howling wind and snow. I didn’t know where the fierce wind had carried me, but I knew I was no longer in Suzhao. Because the snowy cliffs on both sides also twisted and wound forward, Suzhao had no such magnificent valleys.
I struggled to stand against the mountain wall, gazing at the path ahead. Xuanyue seemed much more energetic than I. Its tiny body bounced a few times before circling behind me. Then I heard it make two coquettish calls from behind.
I turned around and was startled by the scene before me. That snowy plain had inexplicably grown a patch of green land. On both sides of the green land, peach trees stretched for hundreds of li into the mist, and all the snow petals flying into this domain turned into drifting red flower petals. Xuanyue seemed bewitched, calling out joyfully and running into the mist in a flash.
I called out to it and quickly chased after, wanting to pull it back. However, entering the mist, I felt my body warm up, and I was momentarily mesmerized by the scene before me: myriad branches of crimson colors, trees full of delicate brilliance – it was actually a peach forest covering the mountains and plains. Peach blossom petals fell in large quantities like a fierce wind and sudden rain, disturbing my vision.
After a shower of flower petals passed, in the center of this green land, I saw the profile of a young man.
He stood under the thousand-leaf peach blossoms, holding the same ink-wash white umbrella, his dark hair like jet, his brocade robes elegant and flowing, surpassing piled smoke and drooping willows.
It was that man again!
I was completely puzzled – why did I always encounter him at times like this? However, compared to my surprise, when he saw me, he showed no surprise at all. He simply turned sideways, cast an indifferent smile at me, and pointed to his feet.
Fallen flowers covered his garments, tumbling about his robe hem. Xuanyue was by his legs, playing with the petals like chasing butterflies. Most magically, Xuanyue’s fur had turned black and white! Looking like this, it was nothing more than a winged white tiger…
What was happening now? I was like sitting in clouds and mist, quickly running over: “Xuanyue, why has your red fur turned white?”
Only then did Xuanyue look at its paws, frightened enough to shrink backward and tumble onto the grass. I helped it up and looked up at the young man: “That… did you change it to this color?”
The young man didn’t answer, only nodded. When I asked for the reason, he didn’t speak either. He simply opened his umbrella under the tree to shield us from too many petals and led me forward.
He was tall and walked quickly. I had to take two steps for every one of his to barely keep up, asking: “May I ask who you are? Why do I always encounter you in critical moments? Do you know me? Wait, why don’t you speak? When we first met, you did speak…”
He seemed to have heard all my questions, but never opened his mouth, only silently leading me to the end of the peach forest. Finally, he waved his sleeve and pointed to a narrow mountain path, indicating I should go there.
Being ignored felt very unpleasant. I walked forward two steps, then turned back and said softly: “Will I see you again in the future?”
His smile was barely perceptible and didn’t match his age – it was the kind of smile that had weathered countless storms.
At this moment, he stood with his back to the light, his deep black eyes also hidden in shadow. Though I couldn’t see clearly, I could tell that his eyes revealed the vicissitudes of “songs like old times, yet emotions can’t remain the same.”
He still made no sound, only closed his umbrella. Sunlight fell on him, and he became transparent. Flower petals fell on his shoulders, and starting from the back of his head, his entire person also transformed into scattered flower rain.
I knew he wasn’t of ordinary flesh, so this was merely his incarnation departing elsewhere. Yet I didn’t know why, but seeing this scene, I always had the illusion that he wouldn’t live long in this world. My heart tightened, and I quickly rushed forward, wanting to keep him there.
However, he dispersed too quickly.
In an instant, there was no human figure before me, leaving only scattered red blossoms and fragrance drifting for ten li.
Leaving the illusion, I returned to ice and snow, though I was already far from the previous canyon. Ahead was a main road leading to snowy mountains. The mountain range rose hundreds of zhang high, extending upward to the heavens. On the peaks were precarious towers and stone bridges with immortal cranes circling. At the mountain top was also a huge rotating, luminous floating island with several immortal halls built above it. Where exactly had I wandered to – I had never been to such a place…
Though I grew up in Suzhao, I was very familiar with Suzhao’s surrounding environment. Looking at this scene, I was already thousands of mountains and rivers away. Even more mysteriously, Xuanyue’s color had changed back to red once again. The wounds on my body that had lost feeling began to ache intensely again.
What exactly was the background of that young man? Could that peach blossom forest have divine effects of stopping bleeding, relieving pain, and changing colors? Or was I simply having dream after dream?
Xuanyue was hanging in my arms, seeming both hungry and thirsty. I had no strength left to use magic. Seeing a well at the foot of the mountain ahead, I carried Xuanyue over, wanting to get some water to drink. Who knew that just as I approached the well mouth, I heard voices speaking not far away. My heart sank, and I climbed up a small hill nearby.
The voices grew closer. I heard a young man’s thick voice, apparently belonging to a fat person: “Junior Sister, I see you’ve been in a good mood these past few days. Why is that?”
A girl’s voice, crisp and clear like a silver bell, responded: “Fool, Taishi Jun is about to come to Qinghong Mountain – how could I not be happy?”
The fat man said, “Hehe, Junior Sister calls me a fool.”
Then a young man said, “You are a fool. Do you think Junior Sister is so happy just because Taishi Jun is visiting Qinghong Mountain? It’s because Third Senior Brother is also coming back! Fool!”
The fat man said, “Now that he’s no longer under Master’s tutelage, he’s not our Third Senior Brother anymore. Should we change how we address him and call him Senior Uncle?”
The girl said, “Hmph, if you want to change, change yourself. I won’t. Third Senior Brother is Third Senior Brother.”
The young man said, “Sigh, I think Second Senior Brother is going to be jealous again…”
The fat man said, “By the way, have any of you seen Taishi Jun?”
The girl said: “Taishi Jun is a god – can you just casually meet him? Haven’t you seen that to welcome him, the entire Qinghong Mountain has been transformed, like it were rebuilt?”
The fat man said, “That’s true. I haven’t even seen an Immortal Venerable, yet I’m about to see a Divine Venerable. How terrifying…”
The girl seemed not to hear them talking at all, murmuring to herself: “Third Senior Brother is coming back, when will Third Senior Brother return…” She ran to the well’s edge, staring blankly at the well water, but happened to meet my eyes in the water’s reflection.
“Who’s there?!” She suddenly raised her head, a beam of light shooting from her fingertip toward me.
My chest was struck by the magic technique, and I rolled straight down from the cliff.
Wonderful, another blow like that – it was refreshingly soul-stirring. I was indeed the Little Princess of great Suzhao, but I couldn’t withstand this flower girl’s endless somersaults and torment.