This neither humble nor arrogant attitude—how could it possibly look afraid? He was deliberately trying to blacken my reputation in front of my daughter.
What was truly tragic was that upon hearing Shahai’s response, Xihe felt an even greater sense of kinship, like Boya meeting Ziqi, and began endlessly sharing with him her experiences of being mistreated by me. Thus, throughout our journey, we spent every day amid cries of “Mother, mother, mother” and “Mother is so fierce.”
At the same time, we also inquired everywhere about news of the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl. Some said the spirit pearl had long since gone missing, others claimed it was in the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng at the other end of the desert, and still others said it had been taken back to Mount Kunlun by immortals. But regardless, the search area still hadn’t left the Western Regions.
After a long trek, we entered the border of the flowing sands region of the Western Regions, planning to first visit the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng to take a look.
For gods and demons, crossing this desert was merely child’s play, but for others, it was no small challenge. After resting for a night at a nearby camp, we recovered our strength and rose early to prepare for crossing the desert.
At that moment, the morning sun was just rising, the red sun hanging high like a massive amber radiating brilliance, yet low-key and steady. On the golden horizon, the shadows of camel caravans moved slowly. After dressing myself properly, I also put a Tashkent flower hat on Xihe, pressing down her long braids.
Her face was mostly covered by a veil, revealing only a pair of large, deer-like, spirited eyes—truly adorable beyond measure. Before long, she had become completely immersed in this world of costume changes, lifting the hem of her large red silk dress and spinning around in her soft leather boots.
Sushu had also changed into desert attire, still in bright red, but the style had become an over-the-knee wide-sleeved robe. With his fluffy curly hair as a backdrop, he naturally exuded an exotic atmosphere. Because he looked so much like a native desert prince, even Xihe couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Xuanyue also didn’t want to be left out, fetching a flower hat in his mouth, tossing it into the air, and landing it on his head.
Of course, the one who truly commanded admiration was Shahai.
He came riding a camel from the distance, with several more camels following behind. The camel’s bamboo-jointed strong legs supported its heavy body, and the man sitting high between the humps wore a black, gold-trimmed yaktak, leather boots on his feet, with his waist sash and long hair dancing in the wind, appearing heroic and imposing.
However, he was still wearing that bronze mask—I had heard he went to change clothes and had felt somewhat expectant, thinking that in such a scorching place, he might remove his mask. The reality was that I had thought too much.
Seeing him cast his gaze toward me, my heart startled, and I immediately turned to look elsewhere, pulling at my azure dress and mounting a camel. For some unknown reason, Shahai always appeared incredibly tall and dignified in Xihe’s eyes, and she clamored to ride the camel together with him.
I was about to stop her when I saw Shahai nod, and she joyfully jumped in front of him. Now I was at a loss and could only wait and see what would happen. After we set off, Shahai truly acted as he had said—he had no intention of harming Xihe. Apart from pressing down her little hat when she was being mischievous, he didn’t touch her unnecessarily.
Even so, I still felt very uneasy and rode alongside them, turning my head from time to time to watch them. After our gazes collided several times, Shahai whispered a few words to Xihe. She nodded obediently, jumped to another camel’s back, and he turned to approach me.
I pulled the reins, trying to avoid him, but helplessly, my riding skills were poor, and I wasn’t fast enough. His camel was already pressed against mine.
Then, he reached out and embraced my waist, picking me up like a little chick and setting me down in front of him.
“What are you doing…!” I struggled, wanting to get down, but he held me fast on the camel’s back.
“You kept watching us—didn’t you want to ride together with me?”
“Who wants to ride with you? I was worried about Xihe. Let me down quickly.”
Xihe was a child, so there was still enough space when she rode with Shahai, but with two adults on this camel, it was rather too cramped. At this moment, my back was completely pressed against his chest, and his arms also wrapped around me as he held the reins. This sitting position was like nestling in his embrace—truly indescribably strange.
Not only did he not let me go, he also lowered his head, drawing even closer, and spoke near my earlobe: “But I don’t want to let go.”
As the sun rose, the desert gradually grew hot. It must have been because of this that I felt my whole body burning with heat, fine sweat beading. I didn’t want to argue with him and used actions to show my resistance, but was once again suppressed by him.
“As long as I can stay by your side for one more day, I’m unwilling to let go.” he almost embraced me tightly from behind, his voice low and suppressed. “Not even once.”
His voice was completely different from that person’s. But strangely, at this moment, I suddenly thought of that old person’s name, sealed away a hundred years ago.
If—I knew it was impossible, but just if—this person were Yinze, I thought I might have already burst into tears. I wouldn’t forgive him, but I would surely silently recite in my heart: finally, I have no regrets in this life.
But what was truly regrettable was that Shahai was almost a stranger. Demons were even more distant from us than the gods. Regardless of whether his feelings were genuine, that he could make such a confession to me showed that if it were true affection, many problems couldn’t become obstacles. That master who once spent days and nights together with me, no matter how many reincarnations passed, would probably remain nine heavens away from me.
The vast desert stretched endlessly, wild winds looked in all directions. I used my palms to sweep away layer after layer of flowing sand. The sand waves rolled, as majestic and furious as ocean waves. Xihe and Xuanyue belonged to water and both feared drought. Needless to say about Sushu—even before approaching the desert, his breathing had become labored.
Less than two hours later, he was parched, dizzy, and lightheaded, his face first red then pale, as if he could barely hold on. Seeing this, I immediately jumped down from the camel’s back and conjured water for him, allowing him to find relief. After receiving my assistance several times, Sushu joked: “Truly, one Suzhao clansman is worth a whole group of camels. Thank you, Little Princess.”
I said: “This place is not suitable for lingering—the faster we go, the better.”
Conveniently, I also used this as an excuse to no longer return to Shahai’s side. Shahai said nothing more, only coldly sweeping a glance at Sushu.
Strangely, that night, Sushu had stomach pains for the entire evening.
After several days of non-stop travel, according to the map, we had already covered half the distance. Night had fallen, and we discovered points of firelight on the horizon.
Curiously approaching to look, a strange sight suddenly appeared that left us all bewildered: in the center of the barren desert, there was a thriving solitary city. It was surrounded by water on three sides, covering three hundred li, with sand and water flowing together. In the center stood a tall mountain, exactly matching the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng depicted on the map.
However, reaching the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng should still require several days of travel. Was this because we had miscalculated, or were we seeing a mirage? With our hearts full of questions, we approached this solitary city.
Xihe had originally been clutching my sleeve, but when she looked up and discovered that this solitary city was surrounded by shimmering water, light spinning and dancing in the air, she said as if bewitched: “Mother, this place looks like our Suzhao.” Then, without waiting for my answer, she was already attracted by those water lights and ran over.
“Ah, wait…”
Before I could finish speaking, Xihe had already run beneath the water light. Her foot stepped into space, as if entering a swamp. Shahai quickly rushed forward, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her out.
The water rose and fell with changes, forming countless sandbanks, thus creating countless sand rivers in the surroundings. At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary desert, but it was countless mud pits—step on them and you would sink in. Sushu said, “It seems this place is a mirage. To prevent losing our minds, we should leave early.”
I tried using magic on the water in the air and made it move. After thinking, I said: “Wait, whether this city is an illusion or not is unknown, but at least this water is not an illusion. Moreover, how could so much water appear in the center of the desert? There’s only one possibility—someone did this deliberately… Could the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl be nearby?”
Shahai said, “This is the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng. The Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl is inside.”
“Really? How do you know?”
“I can sense it.”
“Then why does the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng appear in this place, much closer than we had planned?”
“That’s impossible to know. Let’s go in and see first.”
So, Shahai went inside to receive us, we flew over the water into the city, and Xuanyue carried Sushu in. Originally, seeing such strange sights outside, I thought there might be some danger inside, or demons guarding it, requiring at least a fierce battle. But unexpectedly, the city was completely peaceful and prosperous, with people content and happy, without even the shadow of a demon.
Before long, the Feng monarch here, hearing that guests had come from afar, even personally came out to welcome us, setting up a feast with wine. The other party was so excessively hospitable that I was initially somewhat suspicious, but I truly couldn’t detect any immortal, spirit, or demonic aura from them, so I relaxed and chatted with him. Concealing the matter of Suzhao’s drought, I roughly introduced where we came from. After hearing this, the Feng monarch was even more admiring of us: “You are indeed extraordinary people. I toast you again.”
After another cup of fine wine, I pondered for a moment and said: “Your Majesty, there’s something I’ve never understood. Now that there’s a great drought throughout the world, and deserts stretch endlessly along our route, why are there so many water sources near your kingdom?”
“To tell you the truth, we can be protected because we have a magical treasure from the immortal Shezheng.”
My heartbeat quickened considerably, but I still pretended not to understand: “An immortal’s magical treasure? How interesting—what kind of treasure is it?”
“This treasure is called the Tidal Pearl, made by the great immortal Shezheng from his eyeball.” The monarch smiled slightly. “If you’re interested, I can take you to see it.”
Although the name had changed, upon hearing this legend, I knew this was the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl we were looking for.
With this thing, Suzhao would be saved… My heart raced, but I appeared very calm: “Good, thank you for the trouble, Your Majesty.”
He led us to the palace treasure room. The Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl was placed right in the center of the treasure room, ice-blue throughout, with water light seemingly about to flow.
The Feng monarch said, “This is the Tidal Pearl. Seventeen years ago, our entire kingdom was in a tragic state. Fortunately, my late father found this in the West Sea. Without it, our entire Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng would probably have been buried in yellow sand. Thank you, Great Immortal Shezheng, for your protection.” After speaking, he made a worshipful gesture.
Afterward, he had people arrange accommodations for us. Before returning to our rooms, Sushu sighed: “What a pity. So this Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl is the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng’s national treasure. We’ve come so far, only to return empty-handed after all.”
Xihe said, “Mother and Aunt Ying will surely find a way.”
Shahai glanced at me without speaking and never expressed any opinion. By midnight, my emotions were extremely complicated. Certainly, the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl was in the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng. If I stole it, it would probably bring much trouble to the Feng people.
However, the monarch had also said that this pearl was found by his late father. That is to say, the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl had never belonged to the Feng people. On the contrary, we were the Suzhao clan, the water tribe endowed with divine power—we should have more right to possess a rain-summoning treasure than mortals.
Moreover, this entire kingdom was so weak as to be vulnerable. Even without taking the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl, others would covet it. If it fell into the hands of demons, the consequences would be unthinkable… Thinking of this, I felt somewhat better and secretly slipped into the palace using water manipulation to steal the spirit pearl.
I woke everyone from their beds and had them flee with me in the starry night.
Xihe had no idea what was happening, and Shahai remained as always, offering no judgment. When we snuck to the city gate, Sushu and Xuanyue looked at me with strange gazes. I said: “Let’s go—why aren’t you moving?”
Sushu said, “The Little Princess I know would never do such a thing.”
“What thing?”
“They treated us with such warm hospitality, yet the Little Princess repays kindness with enmity—is this appropriate?” Without waiting for my answer, Sushu was already somewhat indignant: “I know it’s for Suzhao, but building one’s peace on others’ destruction—this goes against heaven. I’d rather die of thirst than do this. The Little Princess should return the spirit pearl.”
“You speak so easily. You’re not of the Suzhao clan, so naturally you don’t care about Suzhao’s fate.”
Probably not expecting me to strike back so mercilessly, Sushu was stunned for a moment: “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that there must be better ways to solve Suzhao’s drought—it doesn’t have to be through plunder, right?”
If there were, would we have endured so many years of hunger and thirst? Naive people are certainly lovable, but likewise, they can be more cruel than anyone. Sushu was very caring and good-tempered, but his mind was ultimately just that of a child. I looked at him—his reaction was no different from Xihe’s. At this moment, Xihe was also looking at me uneasily: “Mother…”
I didn’t respond, just walked straight into the night. Then, a voice suddenly shattered this silence: “The night is cold with heavy dew. May I ask why you’re leaving the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng at this hour—is it because our hospitality was inadequate?”
Looking up, I found the speaker standing beneath the city gate—it was the Prime Minister. He was riding a camel with two attendants standing at the gate. From his tone, he should have become suspicious of us, though he didn’t know I had already stolen the spirit pearl. I said: “We still have urgent matters to attend to and didn’t want to disturb His Majesty in the middle of the night. I’ve left a letter—please convey our farewells to His Majesty on our behalf, Prime Minister.”
“This matter, this old minister dares not decide alone. Please stay one more night and personally bid farewell to His Majesty tomorrow morning before leaving. What do you think?”
I had wanted to simply ignore him and fight our way out, but before I could walk past him, he was already staring at the cloth bag in my hand in shock: “Isn’t this the light of the Tidal Pearl?”
I gazed at him quietly without speaking, only waving my sleeve to wrap Xihe’s eyes with a veil. The Prime Minister pointed angrily: “You dare steal our nation’s sacred object! This is unforgivable—come, arrest them all and immediately report to His Majesty…”
He had no chance to finish his words. Because I had already summoned water to surround his head, condensing ice spikes that pierced through his skull. He had no time even to cry out before his breathing stopped, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. Except for Shahai, everyone around gasped, and even Xuanyue stared at me with wide eyes. I used water manipulation again, killing the Prime Minister’s remaining party with flying spikes. Seeing them die one by one like the Prime Minister, silently and soundlessly, I was also relieved: “Let’s go.”
If Sushu could still have stopped me before, now he was frightened into silence. Only Shahai laughed neither coldly nor warmly: “Truly worthy of being the Little Princess of Suzhao—even killing is so elegant, without blood staining sleeve or lapel.”
Deliberately killing people—this was the first time in my life. My hands were cold inside my sleeves, and my jaw was chattering as if covered with ice. I didn’t want them to see this fear, so I only quickened my pace and rushed out of the city gate.
But unexpectedly, worse things lay ahead: when I flew out of the city and left that sandbank, the speed and direction of water flow above the sandbank also changed accordingly, as if the whole thing was flowing away from the Kingdom of Liuhuang Feng. Realizing this might be related to my actions, I tried walking farther away. Sure enough, the water flow followed me over.
“Little Princess, it’s still not too late to regret!” Sushu chased after me, urgently saying, “You don’t need to go back and apologize to them—just secretly return the spirit pearl. I observed the structure of this city earlier—it’s almost entirely built with the Spirit Pearl’s power. If they lose the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl, they’ll probably really…”
I wavered for a long time. Who wants to be the villain? Who wants to kill innocents? Who wants to bear heavy sins and live wretchedly? It’s just that when gods and demons die, they can still be reborn; when demons and ghosts die, they still have chances for reincarnation. But once we leave Luoshui, we’ll be reduced to dust in this torrent of history, never to see daylight again.
Now all of Suzhao’s water sources had dried up. Only Luoshui still survived, but it too was daily declining. Since the Suzhao clan has managed to survive in the six realms until now, we absolutely shouldn’t perish in this endless natural disaster.
At this moment, remembering the hidden pain in my parents’ eyes before they died, remembering how Father had once whispered beside my childhood bed: Wei’er, none of us lives for ourselves alone. You are Suzhao’s princess, you are my daughter. This is your fate, and also your responsibility.
I bit my teeth, closed my eyes, and rushed several hundred meters away. With the Prayer Rain Spirit Pearl’s assistance, my spiritual power was as if divinely aided. The waterless flight that had always been a regret was no longer just an unreachable dream. I could even imagine what I and Suzhao would become with this spirit pearl.
Only during this flight, I heard Sushu’s pleas to stay, Xihe’s cries of alarm, and the thunderous sounds of cities collapsing and falling into ruin. Then, the people in the city wailed as their cries shook the heavens, their screams drowned in wind, dust, and sand. I kept my eyes closed, unwilling and afraid to turn back and face that hell on earth, only hearing Xihe cry: “Mother, Mother, return the spirit pearl to them! When did we become such evil villains?”
It’s not that I have no heart to pity the people. It’s that as one member among all living beings, we have not received heaven’s mercy.
I simply haven’t forgotten my parents’ teachings—I just want our descendants to survive.