Donlotan Novel

Part Thre Aranya
Chapter 1
01.
Night wind was chilly; on the shimmering surface of Shuiyue Swamp wasa reflection of the bright moon. Crowding
Bailu trees reached for the sky along the bank. Every inch of thisholy forest was shrouded under a cold
desolation. At first sight, this scenery was no different from that in recent memory. But given that snow fell
perennially in Fanyin Valley, Shuiyue Swamp, being on the outskirt of the Imperial City, should also be covered
under athick layer of snow. Yet there was not a snow flake in sight at this time. For this space was actually a dream.
Aranya's Dream. Although this dream was as consistent with Fanyin Valley as a mirroredreflection on a water
surface, the real Fanyin Valley was interconnected tothe rest of the vast world, stretching to infinite boundaries. This
place, onthe other hand, was nothing more than a corner trapped behind a wall. It had been more than three months
since Donghua and Fengjiu had beentrapped inside this cell. When she entered the dreamland, the protective barrier
Fengjiu createdfrom what was left of her fairy energy was destroyed. Once her 30,000
years worth of cultivation was gone, her body
weakened considerably,and she became no different from a mortal soul. When it rains it pours. Unexpectedly,
Aranya's Dream was a place ofnumerous sinister sentiments. These sinister thoughts gave birth to manysmall
demons who fed on people's life source. Fengjiu was a delicious meal
Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

2 to these starving demons. By the time Donghua passed the pythons toreach her, her snow-white face had
completely drained away. Looking at Fengjiu in this state, Donghua's mind suddenly went blank. He had always
known she was a troublemaker, but he didn't expect her
to be so reckless. He left the Tiancang Cage with her because he thought hecould still guarantee her safety no matter
what peril she was in.Apparently, he hadn't given enough consideration. He knew she was persistent about obtaining
the Saha fruit, but accordingto the books Zhonglin gave him, she had done many even more outrageousthings just to
satisfy her gluttony. It was said Qingqiu suffered poor harvesting one year when she wasyoung, and the loquat trees
in the kingdom did not bear fruits.Nonetheless, behind her house stood a great loquat tree whose fruits wereplump
and sweet. Living nearby was a small greedy wolf. After he stole afew fruits from her, she had relentlessly hunted
him down for three wholeyears. Because of these previous records, when he asked her what she needed theSaha fruit
for, and she answered she wanted to taste it, he immediately believed her. Moreover, he discovered he was
increasingly disliking to seeher together with Yan Chiwu these days. Of course he was none too happy. Thus the
night Jiheng came and pleaded to him for the Saha fruit, sayingonly this fruit could help her cure the Qiushui poison
in her body and thatshe hoped he would grant her this grace, he didn't give too much thoughtand at once agreed. It
wasn't something that needed extra reflection, he thought. At the time, he was preoccupied with something else: how
could he takecare of Yan Chiwu without staining his sword? It really wasn't an easy thing to make him disappear
completely from XiaoBai's side without her becoming suspicious.
3Fengjiu had always been special to him. But for the longest time he did notquestion these feelings of his, or
perhaps he didn't have the time and effortto question them. Moreover, this kind of thing was different from
annotating Buddhistscriptures. Sometimes, not trying to understand might actually bring theanswers. Sometimes, it's
just about fate. Donghua startlingly realized what that fate was on the day of thecompetition. At that time, seated
high on the terrace, he glanced up and saw Fengjiuthrow her classmate off the snow stake with only a few moves.
When shesheathed her sword back into its scabbard, her cherry-colored lips secretlycurled into a hidden smile in an
effortless manner which made himthought for the first time of her queenly position in Qingqiu. At thatmoment, in
his mind emerged four words: 'duan zhuang shu jing' (
) 'Respectable' and 'demure', there were times she could be this way? Thiswas a new discovery for him, an
interesting one, in fact. A nervous Biyiniao maid served him warm tea. He raised his hand toreceive it and lightly
took a sip. By the time he glanced back, she hadstopped smiling.It was as if she felt her smile had been improper.
While no one waslooking, she softly bit her lower lip, then swept a glance as though she wasafraid someone had
seen it. Because her lips were luscious, the light biteleft a pale indentation that gradually flushed pink again like an
ivory pistilin early winter. Propping his chin on his palm, he suddenly felt that if he must pick aqueen, Fengjiu
wasn't a bad choice. He froze for a moment when this idea came to him. Then he gave it carefulconsideration

4No, it couldn't be said that she was not bad. Rather, it must be said that inthis whole world, she was the only
suitable one. In other words, she wasthe only one he could ever like. When his thoughts drifted to this point,
he realized the meaning behind hisrecent actions. It turned out he was thinking about this matter in such a way,
thinkingabout her in such a way. It turned out he liked her. But why out of thousands of people did he only like
Fengjiu? He thoughtabout it for a long while and at last concluded it was because he had goodvision. Because his
sight was keen, he was able to discover her
a diamondin the rough. He wanted to like her, and so he did. To say that his feelingscame easily would be true, but
to say they didn't come easily wasn't wrongeither. Whatever the case may be, he just had to be here right now and
Xiao Baiwould be all right. The atmosphere in Aranya's Dream was peaceful, but outside, FanyinValley was
shrouded in a hazy state. That day, Donghua Dijun unhesitatingly mounted heavy lightning andfurious thunder to
enter the enchantment that trapped Fengjiu. His actionhad both shocked and confused the prostrated crowd waiting
outside thepython formation. The shock lay in the fact that Dijun had been in seclusion for tens ofthousands of
years. Although for unknown reasons, he paid specialattention to Fanyin Valley and regularly came for lectures, he
never onceused force while he was in the valley. In the past, Dijun had wielded his sword atop the ephemeral world
with avaliant arrogance. This image was actually only retold in legends; no one

5could ever really imagine how he had looked even in their dreams. Seventythousand years ago, Dijun didn't make
an appearance for the war againstthe Ghouls either. For what reason did he unhesitatingly let go of his fairyenergy
today to enter that dream? This was indeed shocking. Among the prostrating courtiers, quite a few had heard of the
rumorsregarding Dijun and Jiheng. They had previously wondered whether therewere some sort of unknown tales
behind Donghua and the musician. Buthow would that explain today's scene? This was indeed very dubious. After a
moment of shock and doubt, these loyal small fairies suddenly became enlightened. Only the blue sky above could
be compared to the King's eminence. Onlythe sun and moon's combined brightness could shine like the King's
grace.How could someone so noble and virtuous be tainted with worldly
dusts? Jiheng along with the imperiled Jiuge certainly had nothing to do withDijun. The King was risking everything
to rescue Princess Jiuge all becauseof kindness, the kindness of a noble deity. How dare they hazard ill thoughts
about the noble and virtuous King withtheir vulgar minds? They felt so ashamed, so very ashamed. On one hand,
they reflected on their vulgarity; on the other hand, theylooked on to see what danger was looming inside the force
field. Next, theyrubbed their eyes. They were given the view of the noble andmagnanimous King, who was gravely
injured, unhurriedly raising hishand to Princess Jiuge's face. Their ashamed hearts skipped a beat.
Perhaps this was how one expressed concern for a junior?

6But only a second passed when they rubbed their eyes again, straining tosee, as Dijun naturally helped Princess
Jiuge tuck away her stray hair. Hewatched the princess awhile and then gently pulled her in his embrace. Again,
their ashamed heart skipped a beat.
Perhaps this was how one expressed concern for a junior these days on
Jiuchongtian? But instantly afterward, they vigorously rubbed their eyes again to seeDijun's lips grazing over
Princess Jiuge's forehead. There was a shortpause, as if he was soothing her, then his arms tightened around
theprincess... The shame felt by the kneeling courtiers dissipated like thin clouds. Theyheld back their breath, their
hearts were boiling wild. This, could it be thatDijun's heart had flustered? His Majesty the King's heart could fluster?
HisMajesty the King's heart flustered and they caught him in action? Theyreally hit the jackpot today! What
happened thereafter no one knew. While they were caught in theirexcitement, thick clouds pulled in out of nowhere,
covering the force field by Jieyou Spring. In front of their eyes was only an inky thickness. When the inky clouds
receded, Dijun and the princess were no longer seeninside the force field. Only four pythons were left to stubborn
guard thefragile crystal sphere, never stopping to fume poisonous air. The pythons' eyes carried in them both fury
and sorrow. They intentlystared into the force field as if they were waiting for Aranya to appearagain in the soft blue
light. Red tears streamed down their copper-bell eyes,as if they had waited a long, long time. They looked so
terrifying but alsopitiable that it was somewhat sad. With Dijun inside, Liansong was naturally the highest-ranked
among thosestanding outside.

7The Biyiniao Queen together with her subjects looked up in wait forLiansong's decision. The Third Prince
squeezed his eyes for a while then
tapped his fan on his palm: You have knelt here for quite long, I'm sure
everyone is tired. Why don't you go back for now. However, pleaseremember you didn't see or hear anything today.
If I happen to hearanything repeated, the consequences f
or that mistake... he raised his browand looked around I'm afraid would have to be shouldered by theentire clan.
His words were polite, but in the softness lay hidden blades. It was exactlyLord Liansong's way of doing things.
The Queen and her subjects bowed toreceive his order. They were quaking in their boots when they stood up,and
after a distance, still didn't stop quaking. Liansong Jun carried the reputation of a playboy and was
oftenmisunderstood as someone untrustworthy, but those from oldergenerations across the lands all knew that
whenever crises arose, LordLiansong was far more decisive than his father. Out of Tianjun's three sons, it was
widely known that the second prince,Sangji, was the most intelligent and gifted. That was because when he
was born, 36 five-colored birds from Mount Junji soared to the sky, circling theQueen's chamber and dancing for 81
days.But Lord Liansong's supporters felt that the third prince's intelligence waseven more remarkable than the
second prince's. It just so happened thethird prince was born undersea; his auspicious omen was swimming fish
inthe water rather than flying birds in the sky. Furthermore, when the thirdprince was born, the outspread flood that
gave Tianjun headache in thosedays suddenly subsided; this was also a proof of the third prince'sphenomenal birth.
The third prince did not have the same influence as thesecond prince, but that was because His Third Highness was
humble
hedid not want to compete with his brother over meaningless fame. Of course, being an amorous man, Liansong
didn't quite know how'humble' was written. To use this word to describe him was an outright lie.But if we were to
speak of innate talent, he was really a bit better than
angji. He did not contend with Sangji for the title of Crown Prince in thepast because he had the wisdom to make
himself seem incompetent inorder to avoid burdensome responsibilities. That way, his life could behappy and
free. But there were such things as unpredictability in life. Although Liansongreached enlightenment at an early age,
who in this world didn't have a fewfriends? Risking life for one's friends could happen from time to time.Sometimes,
one couldn't run away from responsibilities. For example, this time. This time, if His Third Highness wasn't here to
helm the situation, ifrumors spread about Donghua being seriously injured, or the possibility ofhis dying, the world
could be shaken. Although Donghua had retired and no longer dealt with worldly affairs,for as long as he stayed
inside Taichen Gong, he would be a deterrent tothe irrepressible Demon Clan. Moreover, the ancient gods from
prehistorictime had concealed too many secrets about world creation. Liansong, too,feared that if Donghua's
prospects were really ominous, he wouldn't knowwhat would happen once rumors spread. Liansong closed his fan
and softly sighed. To ordinary people, 1000Fengjius wasn't worth even one of Dijun's fingers. His last words were
toononchalant. Apparently, he didn't know that to his subjects, this was a bad business deal.
02.
However, although Liansong's orders could make the Biyiniaos leave infear, if he wanted to threaten the Demon
Lord Yan Chiwu, he was stilllacking a bit.In Xiao Yan's words, he grew up on threats and menace. How
couldLiansong threaten him with mere words? Moreover, Liansong was toomuch of a gentleman; Xiao Yan didn't
hear anything threatening from what

9he said. He did immediately leave, but only so he could send Princess Jiheng back. Without any warning, Donghua
had held Fengjiu so gently in that forcefield that even Xiao Yan had felt startled for a moment, much less Jiheng.As
Xiao Yan recovered, he saw Jiheng's face draining away like a whiteparchment. She was biting her lips, almost
bleeding herself and forgettingto even wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her look of completedevastation
worried him so. Xiao Yan was a brute. Slashing people he had done, comforting people hehad not. But since Jiheng
was his beloved, he decided to give comforting atry. He found a small ring of pines and set Jiheng on a stone seat in
the centerof the forest. He thought seeing lively things might help her feel better atthis time. Old tears were still on
Jiheng's eye corners when new tears came out,gushing like rainwater, washing away the layer of make-up on her
face. Itpained Xiao Yan. He was pained, but he felt Jiheng indeed deserved to bethe person he loved
she was still so pretty in her ruined make-up. Xiao Yan was still thinking on how to approach her when he heard
Jihengspeak first. Tears on her pale face had not dried. Sounding somewhat cold, she said to
Xiao Yan: You think I'm funny, don't you? It was this way that year with
Minsu; it's still this way today with Dijun. You look down on me, don't
you?
Xiao Yan was flattered and somewhat surprised that Jiheng cared about hisopinion of her. He momentarily could
not control his excitement as thecorner of his mouth inadvertently twitched upwards three degrees. Thisappearance
in Jiheng's eyes was no different than a ridicule.
Jiheng lowered her head and stared at her hands. At length she said, You
do
think I'm funny. You stayed to bring me back, but you're actually

10staying to ridicule me? If you've seen enough and laughed enough, goaway. I think I'm funny a
s well. She pressed her lips tightly and said no
more. Jiheng kept saying she was ridiculous, making Xiao Yan's heart weighheavily. He felt a little aggrieved, but
also a little angry. Although he knewDonghua and Fengjiu arrived at this point because of his effort, and it wasalso
what he wanted, hurting Jiheng wasn't something he wished for. This,of course, wasn't his fault. Fengjiu was his
friend, it wasn't her fault either.Then, it could only be Donghua's fault. Xiao Yan's eyes burned brightly. He
clenched his fists and angrily told
Jiheng: There's nothing to laugh at you for. A thousand mistakes are all
Ice Face's fault. It was he who promised to marry you, although by leavingon the wedding day, you might not have
made him happy, but you havelowered yourself to him already, but he still would not change his mind.
How unreasonable of him. You don't need to be pained by him!
Here, he felt this was a good time to pry the corner and hastened to add:
This old man I mean, I heard a very good poem fro
m the mortal realm:
'Let go of thy past memories, cherish the one in front of thee

'
1
. You should also
set your sight from Ice Face and turn to someone else. When he finished,
he looked to Jiheng with loving eyes, while inwardly trying to see if he hadremembered the poetry lines correctly. It
was difficult to wax poetic like this, unfortunately, Jiheng didn't pay anyattention. She only stayed quiet for a
moment and then suddenly said to
him: I'm not Xuyang's true sister. My father was actually a water s
erpentfrom Mount Baishui. You may have heard of his name, he was the fiercestwarrior under Dijun during
prehistoric times -
Menghao. Tears gently
rolled down her face. She sounded hoarse.
11. Xiao Yan blankly looked at her, not understanding why she brought up herfamily history all of a sudden at this
time. Xuyang's sister wasn't really hissister, this was indeed quite maddening. Normally he would be veryintrigued,
but at this time he was waiting for Jiheng's reaction to hisconfession, then Jiheng told him something totally
unrelated. He felt a bithurt, is he being ignored? Of course he had heard of Menghao's fame. During Donghua's
campaignto unify the six realms, he was head of the army, a subordinate underDonghua's throne, a strategist who by
sitting inside his war tent could winfrom thousands of miles away; he had always been well-regarded byDonghua.
Later on when Donghua retired to Taichen Palace, Menghao andthe other generals also went into seclusion. But in
legends, the places that these generals retired to were the bestmountain ranges in the Lower Realm. Why did only
Menghao Shenjun goto a godforsaken place like Mount Baishui?
Jiheng looked to the distance and slowly said, My father fell in love with
my mother and parted ways with Dijun to go to the South land. But theRed Demon Lord used my mother as a bait
and ambushed him at MountBaishui. With the Dragon Lock, he imprisoned him in the white lake wherehe remained
as the protector of the Longnao plant months after months,years after years. Mother never told me about these
things. Then threehundred years ago, when brother punished Minsu to Mount Baishui, I
snuck there to save him and that was how I found out.
Xiao Yan gradually took interest in the story and momentarily forgot hisgrief as he continuously nodded to her
words. No wonder nobody knewMenghao Shenjun's whereabouts after he went into seclusion. It turned outthe
famous general suffered defeat due to a woman. It was really a case ofsuffering defeat due to love. Jiheng's hollow
eyes revealed a pain inflicted by bygone memories: To
save Minsu, I was attacked by numerous venomous creatures on Mount

12
Baishui. Hundreds of them bit into me. At this, she slightly shuddered.
Xiao Yan could not help but also shudder as he listened.
My
life was on the brink when it was Father who broke out of the Dragon
Lock to save me, she continued. However, he was also fatally poisoned.She choked back her tears: Before
Father passed away, we met Dijun.
Father entrusted me to him, begging him to take care of me and treat the
Qiushui poison in my body. Without looking at Xiao Yan's shockedexpression, she went on: Father knew I loved Minsu, but he thought
Royal
Brother Xuyang would be as wicked as his father. Even if I saved Minsu, itwas still a hopeless trap as Minsu would
certainly be brought back. Heasked Dijun to marry me so that Brother would let his guard down. Then Icould take
advantage of the two months of marriage preparation toprepare our escape. Father expected if I returned, no matter
where I went,my brother would patrol me more tightly, so only a marriage could help.He begged Dijun to marry me
that night to cover for me and Minsu to
escape.
She looked up to Xiao Yan. Dijun has always valued the men who fought
alongside him during prehistoric times. So when my father asked him to
help protect me on his deathbed, he gave his promise.
Her voice was getting hoarse, her eyes full of sadness, welling with tears as
she went on: Even Zhonglin who is Dijun's loyal attendant also felt I
mustrepay Dijun for the kindness he has bestowed on me. When Dijun came toFanyin Valley to lecture, he often
allowed me attend to his needs. If not forthat, I wouldn't have fallen in love again. Throughout these two
hundredyears, I sink deeper and deeper each day into this tragic situation. In thisworld, there's nothing easier than
loving Dijun, but there's nothing moredifficult than receiving his love. On Jiuchongtian, Zhonglin was very caring
toward me, yet these days I can't help but resent him.She buried her face into her palms, tears seeping through her
fingers. In
hindsight, Zhihe and I weren't any different, but funnily enough, I used tohate her. To Dijun, there are only two
kinds of women in this world: theone who can be his queen, and everyone else. There were times when

13wondered why Dijun didn't make me into that special someone. But todayI finally understand, there's actually no
such thing as karma and reason, it's
all luck and chance.
Xiao Yan was quiet. Most of the things Jiheng said were completelydifferent from what he knew. It made him very
confused. He thought heneeded to straighten his mind a little. In daylight, desolate snowfall blanketed the sky. The
green pines stood tallas though they had existed for thousands of years. At length, Jiheng raised her head. Her face
no long carried a feeble misery,
but her complexion remained somewhat pale. She faintly told Xiao Yan: I
am telling you so much today because I hope you will let go of your
feelings for me.
She hung her head
and said, You must think I'm being ridiculous to arriveat this conclusion after thinking for so long? She clenched
her hands, herfingernails seemed to dig into her palms, but her voice stayed light. Since I
like Dijun and have persisted for more than 200 years, I still want to have a
try at this love. Who Dijun chooses is still not definite.
Xiao Yan quietly looked at Jiheng's bleeding palms. He wanted to holdthem, but decided against it. He thought for
a while and suddenlyunderstood Jiheng's meaning. The King didn't like her, yet although shewas sad, she still
intended to fight that battle again. This came as a shock to Xiao Yan. On one hand, Jiheng was so beautiful that it
was ridiculous Ice Face didn'tlike her. On the other hand, intuition told him this was a good thing. Hisheart suddenly
felt uplifted. The road to pursuing Jiheng seemed to have become a lot smoother overnight. If this was the case, he
didn't need to rush. If Jiheng didn't pay attention tohim, he could wait. The more beautiful one became, the easier it
was to bemuddled. But no one stayed muddle his whole life.

14But Jiheng was so beautiful. What if she stayed muddled for overlong? Hewas a little hesitant. Xiao Yan
scratched his head. Himself so muddled, it seemed he couldn'thelp a muddled Jiheng. If she was bent on winning
Donghua back, nothingof concern should happen for now. He also needed to have some time forhimself. Gazing to
the moonlight from the eastern mountain, if he was notmistaken, several hours had passed. He wondered if Ice Face
had broughtFengjiu out or not. Xiao Yan frowned at this thought and then hastily ran to Jieyou Spring to look for
them. When he arrived at the spring, he was baffled at what he saw. Xiao Yan remembered that when they were at
Jieyou Spring the first time,everything was laid in ruins, the water in the stream had also been muddy.Only a few
hours passed and above the peaceful ground now formed alake, surrounding the center of the water body were four
pythons and theAranya Dream. In turned out Fanyin Valley had its share of capablehotshots. Xiao Yan rode on a
cloud into the air to take a look at this genius. This genius was the Third Prince. On the rising waves were a marble
table and chairs, and a concluding chessgame. His Third Highness was holding a stone while leisurely
conversingwith Meng Shao. The monstrous waves laid tamely under his soles likedomesticated hawks. Xiao Yan
spaced out for a while as he recalled the Heavenly Clan's thirdprince was the Water God of the Four Seas. Logically
speaking, not onlyshould he be able to move the lake that held the force field trappingDonghua and Fengjiu in a
short amount of time, even ten lakes would benothing for a water god in charge of the four seas. It was just that
healways saw Liansong dressing so opulently, he thought nepotism was at
15play when Tianjun granted him this title. He now witnessed with his owneyes that Liansong was
indeed talented. Xiao Yan flew to the waves and heard Meng Shao reporting to Liansong:
Although it is pos
sible to rescue someone by entering the dreamaccording to legends, in reality, I heard the dream contains
unpredictableperils. Reportedly, there was someone who also went inside the dream butdidn't know the rule that
disallows magic. Not only was he unable to savehis friend, he also made the dream shatter and ended up going to the
underworld with the person he came to save Meng Shao knitted his brow and lowered his voice to a whisper: I'm very
worried. Dijun's magic
is remarkable, but Aranya's Dream does not tolerate strong magic. Thechances of this entire matter were slim to
begin with. They've been in therefor quite a long time. I'm only afraid Dijun and Princess Jiuge's prospects
are more grim than good.
Xiao Yan stumbled on a wave and only heard Meng Shao's first few words.
He angrily said, Didn't Ice Face say he will definitely bring Xiao Jiu out?He added in annoyance: What kind of a dream is
this? You all protect it
like a soft-shell egg that can't be touched. From what I see, since it'sominous no matter what route we choose, why
not just crack it with ahammer and see if they're dead or alive. Except for his profound magic,there's nothing good
about Ice Face. His magic can be used to protect
Xiao Jiu when the dream collapses. He's lived for so long, I don't see what
difference it makes for him to have a few less years to earn money!
His words led Meng Shao to respond. Since Dijun's magic is useless inside
Aranya's Dream, compared to the two of them dying in the dream,although this way
is desperate, at least it might work. Meng Shao had
been present at court for more than a century, so his observance was a
little better than Xiao Yan. Although he felt more worried for Fengjiu, seeingthat Liansong seemed to believe in
Donghua, he added
: Of course,everything would still be decided according to Your Highness.
One was speaking from worry, the other from resentment. Compared tothose two, the Third Prince was unmoving
and perfectly calm. He began to

16gather the chess pieces and leisurely said, Why don't we make a bet? I'm intrigued whether this dream can really trap
Donghua. But you are sayingthat Donghua's magic cannot be cast inside Aranya's Dream and he wouldn't have any
other way. This, I don't very much agree with.
The Third Prince put away the chess pieces into its box as he carelessly
looked at Meng Shao and said to him, You are from here. You must have
read one or two history books during your school days. Don't tell me youcan't remember it was written in the annals
that in prehistoric times,
Donghua was the leader of the 72 generals?
Meng Shao flustered as he nodded. This question did appear on one of theexams many moons ago. Because he did
not pass, the book remained in hismemory many years later. If one of the 72 generals who served underDonghua in
ancient lore reappeared today, no one would stand a chance.They were truly formidable.
The Third Prince politely smiled. The generals in prehistoric times bowed
down to Donghua because he was good at fighting, but for him to sit atop
the world, it wasn't only due to his almighty magic, he pointed to hishead, but also this.
When he finished speaking, he whipped out his personal Jiyue spear to
gesture the bet and smiled to Meng Shao and Xiao Yan: Gentlemen, yourwagers.
Chapter 2
01.
Fengjiu didn't know for how long she had slept. Although she was always feeling hazy and didn't know anything
that wasgoing on, occasionally she could feel something. She was being hugged bysomeone. She felt she knew the
person who was hugging her, but for some reasonshe could not think of his name. She could smell the waffling scent
of whitesandalwood in the air; it was a familiar scent. But this sort of familiaritywas somehow very distant, and it
made her skeptical.After being held for a long time, she seemed to fall into a soft surface.Feeling more comfortable,
she relaxed into the arms that were holding her. Because she wasn't fully conscious and her body was in excruciating
painmost of the time, she felt extremely tired. Lying like this was to her liking,it was comfortable. Yet pain was a
persistent visitor. She wasn't very good at enduring pain.She could guess that she had made a sound or two
whenever she couldn't bear it. Each time a bout of horrid pain passed over her, there was alwaysan arm holding her
close, feeding her one spoon after another of some kindof liquid. The strong smell was blood-like, it did not taste
pleasant at all.But each time it reached her throat, her pain subsided greatly; she deemedit must be good stuff. When
she choked, someone slowly patted her back. When she becameanxious, someone held her hand. When she
whimpered, he hugged herclose in his arms. So she kept whimpering, even if nothing was the matter;she whimpered
whenever she remembered to. By the time her mind began to regain cognition, she tried to determine theidentity of
the person tending to her. His care had been tender, and she felt

18he was quite experienced. But the more she tried to think, the more hermind clouded up. Time flowed like water
in a stream, soundlessly on and on. In her muddledstate of mind, her eyes foggily passed over many familiar faces.
At last theystopped on a matron who dressed and moved ever so elegantly. She washer mother's mother, her
maternal grandmother, the elderly Lady Fumi.Her head started to ache. At this point, Grandmother was sitting in her
family's guest hall speakingto Mother about something. Although Lady Fumi seemed friendly enough, she was
actually a veryterrifying elderly fairy. Her goal in life was to marry off all of herdaughters to great men. With her
careful calculations, all seven daughtersindeed found great matches. She was undoubtedly the backbone of
thefamily. But after marrying all of her daughters away, she began to feel thelonely emptiness in life. She felt empty
for two thousand years until Fengjiu's father brought thefamily back to visit on her grandfather's birthday one day.
Her father brought her to present tea to her grandmother. Her elderly grandmotherwho was at the depth of her bleak
winter days was delighted to discoverthat her oldest granddaughter Fengjiu was now over 30,000 years old. It was
the ripe age to begin finding for her a husband. Her elderly grandmother had found a new pursuit in life, and from
thatday on she graced her eldest daughter's home as a regular guest. Fengjiu hid outside the small garden and tried
her best to listen in on what
her grandmother was telling her mother. She heard Grandmother say: The
reason why I am planning Jiu-er's marriage this early is so that she maymake a good choice. With Jiu-er's looks and
character, she must be marriedinto an established family. However, not everyone from an established
19family is capable. For example, last time your 2nd brother-in-lawrecommended the South Sea Water God's
younger son. He does have goodlooks and a prestigious background, but he holds no real title, it was such apity. I
think that for a man to be worthy of Jiu-er, he should have somepower in addition to a distinguished background,
only then does he havepotential. What's more, I'm not too fond of generals. Take your fourth brother-in-law for
example. He may hold a high position, but her marriagehad always made me ill with worry. If she didn't starve
herself pining forhim back then, I wouldn't have handed such a good child to a brute. What'sso good about a
general? Fighting and killing all the time, never knowinghow to be gentle and kind. As Jiu-er's mother, you mustn't
make the samemistake as I did. If there is a warrior befriending Jiu-er, you need to takecaution. There is additionally
another important matter. It must be acompatible match. Look at how beautiful our Jiu-er is, we must find
hersomeone just as handsome, so that I will have beautiful great grand-children. Else we'll ruin the reputation of the
red foxes along with the nine-tailed white foxes. I've only thought of this much so far, let me go back and
think some more on the details.
Her mother praised her grandmother for having thought so thoroughly;now they were surely going to find Fengjiu a
good marriage according toher grandmother's wishes; she hoped she wouldn't be too worried, so onand so
forth. After hearing their conversation, Fengjiu's heart was weighed down intons. She left the small garden uneven
steps. Along the way, her head feltas black and heavy as a mountain. Although Donghua Dijun, whom she liked,
built his legacy from twoempty hands and had a high status, he did not come from an oldestablished family. Her
grandmother would surely be displeased with this.Although Dijun had held some power in the past, he had since
retired toTaichen Palace and no longer held real power these days. Grandmotherwould dislike that even more. His
prowess on the battlefields were

20recorded in history annals for future generations to revere. He wasinfinitely better compared to her fourth uncle-
in-law. Grandmother woulddislike that worst of all. Besides Dijun's good looks, there wasn't a thing her
grandmother wouldlike about him. What was she to do? Yellow leaves floated outside the veranda, the wind in
autumn, the trees inautumn, everything about the season is full of sorrow. Her heart sankwoefully. She squatted on
the veranda in thought. It probably wouldn'twork if she asked her father to send someone to Taichen Palace
formatchmaking. She could only depend on herself in pursuing DonghuaDijun. At this moment, another scene
appeared. Not once did Fengjiu feel thiswas a dream she had dreamt up. Rather, changing scenes felt very normalto
her. But she could vaguely sense it was something that had alreadyhappened in the distant past. However, she almost
forgot that this was the reason she had asked Simingto bring her into Taichen Palace that year. If it wasn't for the
fact thatDonghua didn't fit into her family's criteria, if she had told her family ofher feelings and asked her Father to
send someone to Taichen Palace formatchmaking, then how would their story be like today? When the word 'today'
crossed her mind, she suddenly felt strange. Today,today. She felt she wasn't too happy with today. But what
happenedtoday? What day was today, exactly? She confusedly looked around. She was on a wedding bed, wearing a
red bridal gown. Flickering wedding candles, dim moonlight, endless insectchirping. Oh, today was her wedding
day with Cang'yi Shenjun. Her father searched high and low, and finally chose Cang'yi Shenjun ofMount Zhiyue to
be her husband.

21She remembered that of course she hadn't been happy with the groom herfather had chosen for her. Before getting
onto the bridal palanquin at theirfront door, she was still contesting with Father that if he had liked Cang'yiso much,
he should get on the palanquin himself, there was no need tomarry her to him. What she said angered her father so
much heimmediately tied her up with magical ropes and tossed her into thepalanquin. But in only a second she was
somehow on Cangyi's wedding bed. Shevaguely felt something interesting had happened on the way from Qingqiuto
Mount Zhiyue, but how come it was as though the middle part was cutout? For the first time, she sensed she was
inside a dream. But everything felt soreal that she couldn't be sure. In the flickering candlelight, she suddenly
heard the voice of a child attendant announcing from outside: Shenjun hasarrived.
It was the wedding night and consummation hour was nearing. ThisShenjun they announced must be Cang'yi.
Fengjiu gave a start. Shecouldn't even remember she had gone through nuptial rites with Cangyi, but now they were
consummating? In fright, she started to panic. She tookoff the golden hairpin from her hair, closed her eyes on
reflex, and feignedsleep. She thought to herself that the hairpin was sharp. If Cang'yi steppedanywhere near her, she
would let his red blood dye the wedding bedtonight. Fengjiu for a second felt confused. In her memory, why was it
thatthis didn't really happen the night she came to Zhiyue Palace? Why did sheremember that before they performed
nuptial rites, she had alreadydestroyed his palace? Or, maybe, perhaps, was she only dreaming? She calmed down a
little. Whether this was a dream or not, since she didn'tlike this Cang'yi Shenjun to begin with, and having high
integrity herself,she wouldn't let him take one bit of advantage even in a dream.

22When she sensed Shenjun had neared her, she slightly opened her eyes, herhand poised with the hairpin waiting to
protect its owner's chastity. But ithad only left her hand when, cling, it fell back into the piles of bedcovers. Fengjiu
stared incredulously at the person nearing her. She blinked in befuddlement. The one coming toward her wasn't
Cang'yi, but the person mentionedpreviously, Donghua Dijun. Under the moonlight, his silver hair was as white as
snow, his purple robeglowed with his movements, and the face emerging was the one Xiao Yandubbed Ice
Face. The person standing next to the bed was the very King himself. When Dijun saw her open her eyes, he was
rendered stupefied for amoment, then he touched her forehead. After he was done checking he didnot withdraw his
hand. He looked at her for a long while before asking her:
Are you awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?
Fengjiu wordlessly stared at Dijun, stupidly pondered for a while, and thenat length lifted her hand to beckon him
near. Dijun understood her gesture and came to sit on the edge of the bed, his body slightly bent close to her. From
this distance her hand could reach his robe collar, but her goal wasn'tDijun's
collar. Just a moment ago, her entire body was still limp without strength. Justgetting herself propped upright was
already difficult to do, but at thisheight, things was a lot easier. Dijun carefully studied her, his silver strands falling
onto her shoulders. He
asked her in a low voice: Are you uncomfortable? Where do you feeldiscomfort?
She didn't feel any discomfort. While Dijun asked that question, she hadquickly reached her hands out and used all
of her strength to pull down on

23his robe collar, then she latched her rosy lips precisely onto Dijun's... Theseries of actions: pulling, tugging,
dragging, kissing, shocked Dijun into astunned state. Fengjiu clasped her hands around Donghua's neck, her lips
firmlyattaching his. She thought to herself that just a moment ago, she was suspicious this wasa dream, the next
moment Cang'yi Shenjun had changed to Donghua. Thisproved it was indeed a dream. It kept morphing because it
was trying tofulfill an unfinished dream. That year when she left Jiuchongtian, the onlyregret she had was that she
had entrusted her love to the wrong personand never got anything back; it was a disgrace to Qingqiu. Since they got
tosee each other again in a dream, and dreams could change any minute,what would she do if Donghua vanished
from her in the next second? Shemust seize this moment to kiss him. Such opportunity doesn't comeknocking twice.
It wasn't bad if she could reap payback even if only insideher dream. Donghua's lips were as icy cold as she had
imagined them to be. They weremotionless even as she was tightly pressing onto them, as if he wascuriously waiting
to see what she would be doing next. Fengjiu felt satisfied with this display. She was taking advantage of him
he should sit there like a statue. It'd be better if afterwards his facereddened from the embarrassment of being taken
advantage of. After adhering their lips for long enough, she awkwardly nudged hertongue out to taste his upper lip
and could feel that Dijun was trembling
a bit. This reaction was in line with her calculation; the taste of satisfactionspread through her like watching a tree
vine quietly climbing to the top, orhearing a drop of dew rolling down lotus leaves. She released him after a couple
of licks, feeling it wasn't too bad that shehad taken advantage of him to this point. And anyhow, she wasn't
tooexperienced, she didn't really know how else to take further advantage ofhim.
hree Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2
24Dijun's eyes were slightly clouded, his expression quiet. It seemed even ifthe Tai Mountain collapsed around
them, an imaginary Dijun was still asunruffled as the real Dijun. Fengjiu was a little disappointed that Dijun wasn't
embarrassed. But thatwas fine, he had always been thick-skinned anyway. Fengjiu's hands that were clinging onto
Dijun's neck moved up to softlytouch his face. Finally content, she moved back to lie down on the pillowwhen she
was held back by a strong force. She hadn't realized what washappening when Dijun had already loomed closer to
her face. The indigo jewel on his forehead was emitting an illumination as bright as themorning star, reflecting
plainly her dumbfounded face. He was only an inch away from her nose. Dijun looked at her a while, thenever so
naturally bent down and gently grazed over her lips with his icyones. Fengjiu dazedly heard a string snap inside her
head. He studied her with deep, dark eyes. Seeing her lashes flutter, heunhurriedly deepened the force, coaxed open
her lips, easily found hertongue, and guided her to clumsily return his kiss. Dijun kept his eyesopen all this while to
observe her reaction. In reality, besides widening her eyes at him, Fengjiu didn't have any otherreaction. Her mind
had turned to mush by this kiss. This glob of mushfaintly though to herself: compared to the fluttering kiss she
initiated, hiskiss was so brutal in comparison. Dijun was definitely a god who neverwanted to lose. He was on an
entirely other level to pay back even oneteeny tiny offense. She held her breath for too long and could not breathe
anymore. Shewanted to push Dijun away but her hands had turned into powerless jelly.Her mind was so scrambled
today that she could not think to change backto her original form to escape the situation.

25
Dijun slightly loosened his hold, his lips were still connected to hers. Whyare you holding your breath? he asked
in a relaxed manner. Must I also
teach you how to brea
the on these occasions? Yet there was a hint of
hoarseness in his voice. Being the queen of Qingqiu, there was one thing Fengjiu always adheredto, and that was to
keep Qingqiu's face at all time. No matter whathappened she must never have Qingqiu's name soiled. What
Donghua said really hurt her pride. She suddenly regained her spirit
and used sophistry to respond: This is how Qingqiu people react in suchtimes. I don't need an ignorant person like you
to criticize me!
When things like this happened, what exactly was her Qingqiu's customs?She was only 30,000 years old, she was
but a cub. Of course she never hadthe chance to witness nor really understood them. She found out today forthe first
time that not only lips were used in kissing, but that tongues couldalso be used. She had always thought kissing only
involved touching lipsand nothing else, and that the more love there was, the longer they muststay attached. For
example, she had pressed her lips onto Dijun's for solong, her love must have reached the depth of the sea. It turned
out therewere many gray areas in between that she did not know, there was somuch more she needed to
learn. However, if even she, as a native of Qingqiu, didn't know about thiscustom, how would Dijun know any
better? She thought it'd be a goodidea to deceive Dijun with this excuse.
Hearing no response from Dijun, she added: Weren't you breathing justnow? Her expression turned solemn. This
is a taboo in Qingqiu. Gray
-wolf didi who lives next door to us lost his fiance because of this. People
look down on things like this.
After hearing her, Donghua indeed seemed to be in thought. She praised herself for fabricating this nonsense so
well. Well done, XiaoFeng.

26But Xiao Feng had accidentally forgotten one thing: sometimes, Dijun wasa deity with an immense sense of
curiosity. Sure enough, Dijun's curiosity led him to think a while before he offered
this conclusion: How interesting this custom is. Since I haven't tried it yet,
it's not a bad idea to try your Qingqiu'
s custom now.
Before she could think of anything, Fengjiu pushed Dijun's chest and
blushed pink as a peach blossom: How can you utter such a shamelessthing?!
In truth Dijun was just joking, but he didn't know his listener would notthink of them as cas
ual words. He reminded her: Who started it, do youremember?
Fengjiu's raging fire instantly flamed out; this was a question of pride.
She thought for a long time before she was emboldened enough to reply: Iadmit it was I who started it. She rubbed he
r nose and began to defend
herself with sophistry: But this is my dream, so I could do whatever Iwant. Here, she suddenly realized. Yes,
this was her dream, Donghua was
created from her imagination. Usually, she never won against him in anargument, how could he still be so arrogant
even in her dream? He wasreally disregarding the dream's owner!
She looked at Donghua fearlessly with newfound bravado: You, you are
merely created from my imagination. In my own dream, I can takeadvantage of you all I want to, however I want to.
But you can't do the
same to me. She barreled on now that her mind was clearing: You don't
have to counter what I said with reason, because there are no reasons in
this dream, my words are the only reason! Her speech was said wi
thconviction. When she finished, she herself was a little awed. She quietlywatched Dijun. Dijun was rendered blank
for a long while. She wondered if Dijun might have been intimidated. She waved her handin front of him. Dijun
grabbed onto her waving hand. He was clearl

27
looking at her, but his words seemed directed at himself: So she thoughtshe was dreaming. A pause. I was wondering why
you suddenly becameso relaxed, and you're not even angry.
Fengjiu heard each word from Dijun's two sentences clearly, but she didn't
quite understand his meaning. What are you talking about, dreaming?Utterly lost, she went on: Isn't this a dream? If it's not a dream, then
wheredid you come from? So very confused now, she added: Why should I beangry at you? Sh
e gave a start when her eyes took a glimpse of his red
lips; her face blanched as she said, Did I really take advantage of... She
couldn't say the word 'you'. Her free hand which wasn't held by
Donghua began to quietly pull up the quilt in front of her chest in an attempt tocover up her head as well. Reality
was a bit cruel. Dijun caught a corner of the quilt mid-air, her hand was held back in his.
He focused his gaze on her for a long while, then at last asked, Do you
remember what you did before you f
ell asleep, Xiao Bai?
What was she doing before she fell asleep? Fengjiu found she hadabsolutely no impression. Her brain was thrown
to the wind. A fogginessof forgotten memories about a tragic past was carried away by the light breeze.
Suddenly, half of her heart went cold. Did this symptom mean shehad lost her memory? Sorrow gave birth to
coldness. When this thought came to her, Fengjiu'slimbs stiffened cold. At this very moment, her freezing hand was
beingheld even tighter, and next to her ear was
Dijun's serene voice: I'm here,don't be afraid. You're just drowsy from your sleep, that's all.
She looked to Dijun uncertainly. Dijun smoothed the plastered strands on her forehead and then
composedly said, We sometimes can become this way after sleep
ing fortoo long. It's alright if we can't remember the things before we fell asleep.You still remember the most recent
things, so there's nothing to worry
about. A soft flash appeared in his eyes. Truthfully, I don't think it
matters if you can't remem
ber certain things.

28Although Dijun's words couldn't be counted as comforting consolation,when she heard them, she actually felt
greatly assured. Only now could Fengjiu see clearly. Although she was not dreaming, shewas indeed lying on a
spacious bed. But it wasn't a wedding wed with
red beddings and draperies. Under her body was a mattress, before her eyeswas draping gossamer, all in the same
deep indigo color. Beyond thecurtain wasn't a pair of burning dragon-phoenix candles (used for weddingnight).
Rather, floating above the bed canopy was a night pearl as large as agoose egg. Through the thin gossamer curtain,
the sky appeared to be a large screenwhile the ground was like a long carpet. The white forest and its glowinglight
gave off a mystical atmosphere all around. Of course, the spotradiating the strongest mystical energy came from
Dijun who was sitting infront of her. Dijun said 'the most recent things'.
The most recent things
, Fengjiu thoughtfor a moment, recalled something, and whispered t
o Donghua: If you're
not a dream, then... my wedding with Cang'yi Shenjun before you
appeared... must've been the dream.
She wondered about the origin of this dream. With a confused face she
said, Two months ago my old man, I mean, my father forced me t
o marryCang'yi Shenjun of Mount Zhiyue. On the wedding night, I did all I couldto wreck Cangyi's palace. This
marriage went down the drain. I heard thereparation of the palace cost him a fortune that year. But Cang'yi
Shenjundidn't mind that I had turned it into rubble. He even spoke on my behalf
when my father wanted to reprimand me.
She concluded in a lowered voice: He had made this gesture, but I had
thought since his sovereignty on earth was too expansive, he already hadmany troubles to worry about and his mind
already too exhausted. Butthen he spoke on my behalf. I was grateful to him, and feel somewhatguilty about
destroying his palace. I'm a bit ashamed. I reckon this is why I
dreamt such a bizarre dream today.

29Fengjiu's hair became tangled during her nap. Wordlessly, Dijun helpedher smooth it out. He thought about her
incoherent summary. Siming saidher forced marriage to Mount Zhiyue happened seventy years ago, butFengjiu
insisted it had only been two months. It seemed when she wasseriously injured, she did not have enough fairy
energy and her memoryhad been slightly muddled by Aranya's Dream. Her memory had stopped at seventy years
ago. This was why she did notquestion in anger why he had given the Saha fruit to Jiheng. Dijun felt that the ability
to addle one's memory inside the Aranya Dreamwas quite a blessing. Fengjiu pondered for a while. In the end, there
were a couple of things thatwere still puzzling to her. Doubt surfaced her face as she nervously said,
Actually, I had felt s
omething wasn't right the moment I opened my
eyes. She looked at Dijun as distress started to surface in her eyes. If I
was dreaming back then, and now I'm not dreaming anymore, then whereis this place, Your Majesty... why are you
here? And whose bed is
this?
Dijun looked at her for a moment. It seemed at this time Xiao Bai's memoryonly included the times she spent on
Jiuchongtian as his baby fox. This wasgoing to be much easier. With a sincere expression, he started his hogwash:
This is a force fiel
d like the Wicked Lotus Sphere. Yan Chiwu trapped me
in here. You worry for me so much that you hurried here to save me.
Fengjiu's mouth widened into the shape of a salted egg; one could fit an
entire fist into it. Is Yan Chiwu that incredible? He could trap you twice?!
Dijun retained his composed look: Not only did he trap me, he trappedyou too. That's why we can't leave this place, we are stuck
in here.
That villain Yan Chiwu! Fengjiu indignantly exclaimed. But she next became puzzled: Why is it
that Yan Chiwu had trapped you again and I
had rushed here to save you, but I don't remember any of it?
Because you've been sleeping for too long, Dijun calmly replied. Seeing
that there was still doubt in her eyes, he caressed her face, determinedly

30lo
oked into her eyes, and lowered his voice: Xiao Bai, haven't you alwayssaved me when I was trapped?
Haven't you always saved me when I was trapped? Fengjiu stiffened. Tonight her mind was indeed upside down.
She was acting in strangeways that she could not explain. But Donghua's words were like delicatesnowflakes
landing on her lashes, sweeping past the clouds in her mind. She felt somewhat more sober. Memories of
Jiuchongtian came flooding back, her heart was suddenlyaggrieved. She remembered there was one day when she
conversed with her aunt onhow mystical the world could be. It was mystical because there werenumerous things that
seemed similar but were not. For example, 'love' and'desire'. There was little difference between the two at first
glance, but theyare in fact quite different. The difference is that desire could be controlled,
but love could not be. That is why there is an eloquent mortal saying: It isimpossible to know where love starts nor
where it goes.
With Donghua, it wasn't the controllable desire but rather theuncontrollable love. She thought she had cut her
feelings off, but she didn'texpect those roots to be buried so deep. At first, she thought she had cutthem all cleanly,
but the more she dug, the more she found. She thought the past had been swept away with the wind, and
everythinghad turned to a cloud of dust. But with Donghua's simple words, the layerof dirt was lifted and she was
made to realize just how deeply and securelyher feelings were rooted. Why did Yan Chiwu trap Donghua again?
Why had she not learned her
lesson and still come here to save him like a lunatic? She didnt cared about
these questions any longer. Didn't Dijun say she always came to save him when he was trapped?

31After two hundred years, it seemed, he finally found out she was the littlefox who saved him from the Wicked
Lotus Sphere that year, his little foxwho once stayed next to him on Jiuchongtian. Did he also know shesuffered so
much only for him? But what if he knew and what if he didn't? This wasn't the time for suchquestions. Tears
suddenly welled up and rolled down from her eyes. She heard her
own hoarse voice: So you do know I was the fox back then. But why didyou only find out now?
The atmosphere inside the bed curtain suddenly sank heavily. Donghuawiped the tears on the corners of her eyes
and said after a long silence,
Everything was my fault.
She stared at Donghua with misty eyes. She never saw this expression onhis face before. She knew, he was yielding
to her. He yielded to her that he was wrong, but
she knew too that one wasnt at fault if one didn't know. It wasn't
Donghua's fault, it was Heaven who did not grant them this fate. It wasunfair to Donghua that he had to apologize. If
would be unreasonable if she were to hysterically question him rightnow. She only heard a smile can melt away a
feud, she never heard one shoulduse tears to make new enemies. She raised her hand to wipe her tears, then dropped
her gaze and
whispered: It's okay. Before Jiheng came to Taichen Pala
ce, you hadtreated me very well. Only after she came did you start to treat me poorly.But you don't have to worry
about this because I have long thoughtcarefully about it. Jiheng is the one you love. I was only a pet in
TaichenPalace. Since I scratched Jiheng, it wasn't wrong for you to punish me. Itwas fine too that you didn't come to
visit me when I was locked up, because you were busy with your wedding preparations with Jiheng. There

32are many things to worry about in a wedding, there were many etiquettes
to attend to. It was understandable that you would forget about me.
She sniffled and tried to appear generous. You don't have to worry about
the time the snow lion almost killed me either. I've already thought itthrough. On that day, had I listened to Zhonglin
and stayed put, I wouldn'tget into the troubles I encountered. I can't really blame anyone, after all. I
can only blame my own bad luck.
She raised her hands to wipe away her tears and sincerely said, Since I
suffered many hardships when I was at your palace, Heaven might be
telling me that you and I aren't fated, that's why I...
Dijun's voice asked her from above: That's why you...?

Fengjiu raised her head in silence; undried tears rolled down her chinwhen Dijun distracted her with his
question of That's why you...? She
wasn't sure herself. Dijun knitted his brow, his face suddenly became icecold. Fengjiu felt Donghua's eyes had
seemed sad when he looked at her.
02.
Back then on Jiuchongtian, had he known his pet fox was the young queenof the Bai family in Qingqiu, what would
he have done? Donghua thoughtabout this and felt more likely than not he would return Fengjiu back toQingqiu. If
the baby fox had saved him in the Wicked Lotus Sphere, thenhe would gift her with some Heavenly treasures as
a show of gratitude. Heundeniably adored her, but it wasn't exactly convenient to keep the queenof an entire clan to
raise as a pet. There were many things that had happened to her that he did not know,and perhaps this ignorance was
also a mistake in itself, yet he could notchange what had already passed; regret would not help anything. Fengjiu's
face was showing fatigue, her eyes vaguely gazing to the moonhanging atop a branch. She had been awake for
nearly half an hour. Timewas running out.

33Fengjiu's cultivation was depleted when she fell into Aranya's Dream, bothher soul and body were injured.
Throughout these three months, she hadhad to rely on Donghua's blood three times a day to mend her soul
andrestore her 30,000 years of energy. But her body was still very weak, andshe needed more time
to recover. Fairies usually look for places where dense mystical energy congregated tonurse their body back to
health. But there was little mystical energy insideFanyin Valley; there weren't too many sacred places here either.
Donghuaused his own energy to create an enchantment field especially designed forFengjiu's
recuperation. According to the rules of enchantment field sorcery, since it was createdspecifically for Fengjiu, when
she woke up, dormant energy around her body would start to rise, the enchantment
field would also spontaneouslytake effect, and her body would be encased in it for an hour. This was whyhe said
time was running out. However, although the enchantment was a good place to nurse animmortal body, it wasn't
somewhere a soul should stay inside for too long.It was best to place her elsewhere. In a case such as Fengjiu's
currentcondition, it was best to keep her soul in a living person where she couldhave access to continuous life force.
As for Aranya's Dream, there was norush to leave yet. Fengjiu leaned against the bed frame as she gazed vaguely to
the quilt onher body. Donghua wordlessly knitted his brow. He knew Xiao Bai must hate himright now. Truthfully,
it wasn't unreasonable for her to hate him. But herhealing enchantment seal would only last half an hour more. Once
sheentered into the enchantment seal, with how weakened her body
had become, she'd need at least three more months before she could leave. Tospend this last half hour with her while
she hated him would be a bigwaste.

34Inside the soft curtain, the atmosphere momentarily became muted,outside were sounds of the cicadas. In the bed
corner, Fengjiu held onto the quilt and hesitatingly looked atDonghu
a. What's wrong, Dijun?
Dijun recovered, looked at her thoughtfully for a long while and at length
replied: You were about to say,
'That was why...'
? When he saw that shewas beginning to frown in thought, he suddenly said, There's no
'that waswhy'
.
The truth is that we've already wedded.
Boom, Fengjiu hit her head on the bed frame. How could that be?! she
asked in shock.
Sorrow cast in Dijun's eyes. Why not? he asked her.
Fengjiu rubbed her temple and said, I don't remember She didn't
remember at all that she and Donghua had exchanged their birthdates, hadperformed nuptial rites, or
had consummated their marriage... Of course, itwas fine to not remember one thing, but she hadn't the slightest
memory ofeven half a detail... quite possibly Dijun was trying to fool her. But his faceat this moment was so
sincere... she stared in befuddlement at him. Donghua helped rub the bump on her forehead to get rid of the bruise
and
said, You don't remember because you've lost your memory. I had lied to
y
ou when I said you were drowsy from your sleep. He had the patience toadd: I was worried you'd be frightened if you knew. The truth is,
youhave amnesia.
Amnesia? Amnesia! As an immortal living in a dangerous era where it was extremely popularto get amnesia either
by potions or spells, getting amnesia was indeed quiteeasy.
Fengjiu stammered: I... am I that unlucky? Inside her head were indeed
many, many things she could not think of. Verifying this against what hadhappened earlier, she increasingly felt
Dijun's words might really be true.
She panicked: But clearly, how could I have agreed to this marriage? I
Dijun's hand paused, his eyes bore into hers as his words struck deep:
Because, Xiao Bai, don't you like me?
The tender look on Dijun's face right this second couldn't have beendeadlier. Fengjiu's heart skipped a beat as she
desperately resisted a
pandemic demise: It was definitely not for this reason. If this was thereason, then all those things I did...
With an unchanging expression,
Dijun corrected his words: This is onlyone of them. He added: It was mainly because I had knelt down to askfor
your forgiveness.
Fengjiu wasn't desperate anymore. Fengjiu was blown away. Fengjiu who was blown away quietly placed her fist
into her mouth. Dijun's aura when he knelt down, moreover his aura when he knelt downto her
she tried her best to conjure up the image but found it impossibleto imagine. Something so incredible she couldn't
even imagine. Something so rare itdidn't happen for thousands of years. But she had forgotten it all. What acrying
shame. Dijun said he had knelt down to her to propose. Putting aside thefrightening tale that the eminent king had
actually knelt down, moreimportantly, why did Dijun want to marry her? This, was truly a mystery for the ages.
Her curiosity grew over her shock and she tentatively blurted: You're
forced to marry me because you feel guilty, right? Then what of your
beloved Jiheng?
Dijun was stunned for a moment. He replied in puzzlement: Jiheng

and I,
how can you think of such a thing? Our ages are too different... He saw
her watery dark eyes as comprehension suddenly dawned on him that

36their age difference was even larger. A frown passed over his face as he
told her succinctly: Jiheng and I have nothing to do with each other.
Fengjiu was shocked to hear this directly from Donghua. She was so
shocked, she began to mutter to herself: Truthfully, am I still dreamingright now?
She pinched herself, from her eyes instantaneously rolled down two tears.
With misty eyes, she said: Oh, so I'm not dreaming, I really have amnesia
and forgot too many things. I feel this world has changed to where I can no
longer recognize some of it.
She looked to Donghua in bewilderment: I actually have one more

ques
tion, I don't know whether I can ask you or not?
This question would be a bit hurtful, but since she was really curious, shedidn't have the patience to wait for
Donghua to nod and spoke up before
him: If we're married like you said, I'm still somewhat p
uzzled as to why
my old man would agree to this marriage, because you... She had a slightdifficulty telling him this: Because my
old man is an extremely traditional
immortal
2
. You are not from an established family, neither do you have anypower. You don't satisfy his criteria as a son-in-
law candidate...
Dijun was silent for a moment. So Qingqiu had such rules for selecting
son-in-
laws, I didn't know about this. He gave some thought thensincerely said, Perhaps Bai Yi did not feel I have a glorious
future, butsince I knelt to you, I won him over with my honesty and honor, so he took
pity on me and agreed.
Listening to the story wafting out from Dijun's mouth, Fengjiu wondered ifperhaps it had sounded a little fishy. But
she couldn't quite put a finger on what was strange about it. If theywere speaking of reasons, his reason was
perfectly legitimate. People from
2
FJ might also be jabbing at her dad for being vulgar here because
(common) canrange anywhere from the conventional to the vulgar.

37Qingqiu had always been known to be soft-hearted and easily flooded withcompassion. Then in retrospect, Dijun
had not lied to her. She and Dijun had reallywedded. She didn't know why she had reconciled with herself and
agreed to marryDijun. Nonetheless, Dijun must have spent some effort to disentangle thetangles in her mind. It must
not have been easy on Dijun. It turned out sheand Dijun had finally reached such an ending. Divine will was
indeedimpossible to foresee. When you thought it was this, it turned out to bethat. And yet, this was a kind of
pleasure for immortals who lived foreverlong. Because Heaven was difficult to predict, she became wistful for a
moment.When she woke from her trance, she saw Dijun's dark eyes pausing on her.She didn't know why, but
happiness started to fill her heart. She pretended to cough loudly in an attempt to desperately repress herexuberant
mood, t
hen she tentatively turned to Donghua and said, Dijun,
are you certain you only knelt down to me? Although I don't remember
anything, are you certain you haven't done other embarrassing things?
In her mind, despite using two non-pressing rhetorical questions, she hadvoiced her doubts in each of those
sentences. If something is suspicious, itcan't be absolutely true. Upon hearing her remark, Dijun suddenly
turnedquiet; this was a prime example. She was definitely smart to have knownthis all on her own! She restrained
her surging feelings of self-admiration and said with a sense
of satisfaction: Don't try to trick me just because I can't remember. I
changed my mind just because you knelt down to me? Don't underestimate
me. I don't believe you!
She added the last line originally so that she could hear a few soothingwords from Donghua's mouth. But for some
reason, Dijun was caught in along period of rumination after listening to her until a falling dry branchdropped onto
the bed curtain to break the silence. His mind snapped back

38
as he softly replied, If I want you to believe me, he slightly pondered,what must I do, Xiao Bai?
Fengjiu believed it was a display of his shyness that Dijun had notanswered her questions but turned the
conversation around instead. Also,he had had to redeem himself by doing so many outrageous things that hecould
not bear to recall those memories. She was very pleased. However,she still didn't fully understand why Dijun wanted
to redeem himself. Butdidn't she already forget the reason? She had forgotten too many thingsthat she couldn't
expect to comprehend everything in a second or two. Dijun was still knitting his brow, he seemed pensive as he
asked her,
What do you want me to do, Xiao Bai?
Because she firmly believed Donghua was being shy at this moment, shewas inwardly happy. She felt that she
shouldn't force Dijun to feel evenworse. If Dijun had used this trick to change the subject, she should playalong.
She scratched her head and slowly replied, What should y
ou do? I can't
really think of what I'd want you to do either. A pause, then: However, I
heard if one wants to prove his love, one usually carves his heart out asproof... Oh, you probably haven't heard of
this. From what my aunt says,it's a popular thing in the mortal realm. When one wants to declare hisfeelings, there is
nothing more sincere than carving his heart out. Mortalsdie when their hearts are removed, so when death is made
intoremembrance, such memory cannot fail to be significant nor can it fail to be
sincere.
Seeing Dijun's frowning face, she coughed and said: That is, I'm only
saying this because you asked what I wanted you to do. I thought of what
to say but nothing came to mind. She scratched her head and added:Right now I can't think of a single thing that I really want
you to do.
Her eyes slightly gazed toward the corner of the curtains as she blinked her
eyes: If there's some incense in the furnace right now, I might be able to
sleep a little better. You can help me light the incense burner now, when I

39think of something, I'll tell you again in the future. Since we are husband
and wife, let's not dwell on this. When the words 'husband and wife' left
her mouth, a flash flickered in her eyes and she embarrassingly lookedaway. There was a taste of novelty as these
two words lingered on her lips. Itwasn't as if she had never married before. But her marriage to Ye Qingti inthe
mortal realm was due to circumstances, it was only in name, he hadnever called her his wife, she had never referred
to herself as such either. It turned out a marriage of mutual love was actually like this. Thoughtfulness dwelt within
Donghua's eyes, but there remained nothing
strange in his voice. At length, he said, Alright, let me owe you for now
and ask
me later. He turned and lit the incense burner for her.
They were indeed married. Dijun agreed to everything she said today, redrain falling from the sky could not be
odder. Dijun sat on the edge of the bed with his back turned against her. Heconjured up a three-legged bronze
incense burner from his fingers thentook some pieces of fire-stones from his sleeve; his actions were swift
andsmooth. Fengjiu took time to recall Dijun's expressions today. Although it wasmostly her opinion, it seemed
there were some subtle differences, andthese subtle differences were a little difficult to understand. She
couldn'tunderstand, so she didn't plan to understand. Instead, she knelt closer tohim, wanting to see what kind of
incense he was burning. Without warning, the purple back suddenly turned around, taking her by
surprise. Dijun's face was only inches away from hers with this close
distance to Dijun came the sight of his icy lips... she held onto her
composure: I wanted to see what kind of incense you're burning.
Because she was kneeling on her knees, she was sitting at a higherelevation than Dijun, subjugating Dijun into a
rare lower position. She quietly straightened up to get away from his face.

40But halfway, her left shoulder was held in place by Dijun's hand and shewas slightly pulled toward him. Her
leaning position appeared as thoughshe was intending to do something to Dijun.
His head was slightly raised. You seem to be thinking about something.
When Dijun asked aloud this question, she was not thinking of anything.But because Dijun so asked, she
remembered something. Pop. A burst offlame blazed from her head down to her neck. Because they were too close,
Dijun's breath unexpectedly skimmed over
her lips when he spoke. He asked again, What are you
thinking?
Seeing Dijun's handsome face up-close, Fengjiu suddenly had a grandrealization. In a drifting immortal life lasting
a perpetual span, indefinite and withoutend, it had seemed at first glance one could enjoy anything and
everything.But in reality, it had only seemed that way. Compared to an endless life, ifin the realm of impossible
hypotheticals, it would be better if she couldmeet a handsome man she liked just in one lifetime. But this matter
ofmeeting a soul mate was already rather elusive. On the occasion thiselusive chance came along, she should not let
that encounter go to waste.Moreover, this 'impossible hypothetical' and 'elusiveness' also happened to be the
husband she married. She reached her hands out to cup Dijun's face. In reckless determination,
she tried to lean down to him in one fell swoop at the same time, she
immediately felt Dijun's pulling hand, and before she knew it, her headhad abruptly lowered down and met his lips.
So you were thinking of this... there was a hi
nt of laughter in Dijun'svoice. She did think of this, but it was one thing for her to think about it, andanother for him
to say it aloud. She would never admit to such a thing even
if she was killed. She put on a temper and righteously said, Who was
th
inking of this? I only thought since we are married, on our first time i
certainly wasn't I who took the initiative to kiss you. A moment ago a
moment ago although it was I who initiated, but that was only because Iwas dreaming so I was a little confused.
When I'm awake I'm actually a
very restrained person...
Dijun interrupted her and said, You're absolutely right. It was I who tookthe initiative.
She wanted to say more, but her unspoken words were swallowed up by akiss.Dijun had his eyes closed, and she
found out his lashes were very long.In the background, the white forest was illuminated to view by the nightpearl
above the bed canopy. Fengjiu wrapped her arms around Dijun'sshoulder, slightly bent her head, also closed her
eyes, and slowly encircledDijun's neck. Each of her movements was done in unconsciousness. In her mind,
shevaguely felt marriage was indeed a mystical thing. Even in her wildestimagination, never did she think there'd be
one day when he would be herhusband or that he'd kiss her like this. His hand was gently placed on hernape, his
eyes were defenselessly closed, and he ever so gently bit into herlips. Dijun was perhaps the divinest out of all
Divines, forever staying inside theThree Purities of the untroubled Bodhi land. There was no one in the worldwho
dared to entice him into the dusty realm, but she had the audacity totry such a thing; she tried, she tried and it
worked. She was too talented. She drew him into this love affair, something he had never experienced before. He
must not be used to it. But even so, he was not lost. He was stillgoing at his pace, by his rules. He was certainly the
king she always knew.She loved it. A while later. Donghua bent down to watch Fengjiu sleeping in his arms.

42The girl he was holding had a pair of slender brows, thick still lashes, andplump rosy lips. Compared to when
she had just woken up, her expressionseemed to be improving. An hour was too short. Although he had used a
dishonorable method toprevent her from quarreling with him, he didn't really care whether it wasright or not. As far
as he was concerned, if it was useful, it was good. The most important thing at this time was extracting her soul so
her bodycould immediately recuperate inside the healing enchantment seal. Hemust not miss the hour. After several
months, by the time her body was healed and she could leavethe enchantment seal, would her muddled memory be
restored? Wouldshe hate him when she recalled this period? Of course Dijun had thought ofthis, and it was causing
him a slight headache. But unlike warfarestrategies where countermeasures could be arranged in advanced,
he couldonly improvise when the time came. Once he saw her reactions, he wouldknow how to coax her again. He
carried a soundly asleep Fengjiu to the marsh. The moonlight was quiet and cold. Dijun held Fengjiu in one arm.
Hewaved his other as the submerged healing enchantment seal under theShuiyue Marsh broke free from the water
surface. The water curtain partedon either side of the seal and revealed an ice coffin enveloped in glowingwhite
light. The puffs of mist surrounding the ice coffin instantaneously glided acrossthe water. It was apparent at once
that this spreading mist was boundlessfairy essence. Although it was dim within the mist, the moon's pure lightwas
completely different from the forest's emerald brilliance, instantlyeclipsing the entire perimeter of the white forest in
its luminance. The fishswimming underwater was blessed with some fairy essence that equaledover a century of
cultivation. They raced each other to shape-shift, rushingto prostrate by the marsh to the purple-robed deity
Dijun paid little attention to them and trod into the water. He carefullytransferred the sleeping Fengjiu from his
embrace into the ice coffin. He
heard her frown in her sleep: cold.
There was a bold fish who craned its neck wanting to see how the girlinside the coffin looked. His friends hurriedly
pulled him back and pushedhis head down. The little fish behaved himself, this time raising its eyes tosneak a
peek. Dijun removed his outer robe and draped it over Fengjiu. He held her
hands tightly until she stopped shivering then whispered soothingly: Begood and wait here a while. I'll come back for you after
some time. He
then smoothed her stray hair and turned to say to the kneeling fish sprites:
I'll leave her here with you. Help me look after her.
He did not raise his voice, but the group of fish sprites in the marshdropped their heads even lower, in a deferential,
almost pious way. Their
voices sounded cowardly but also disciplined: Your Grace's wish is ourcommand.
The circular moon disappeared behind the clouds. The group of fish spritessaw the white-robed deity watch the
maiden inside the coffin for a longwhile, then placed his finger on her forehead and brought her soul out.Like a
white stream of mist, the extracted soul softly winded around hisfinger giving off a faint glow, dignified and
beautiful. Fengjiu's soul needed to be stored inside a living person to recuperate. Butif her soul was transplanted
into a normal person while her cultivation waslimited, he feared her soul would entangle with the host's soul
andafterwards become inseparable. That would be very problematic. It
was better to find a pregnant woman to host her soul inside the womb; thatwould be the best. Donghua carefully
gathered Fengjiu's soul and turned around. Behind him,the ice coffin slowly immersed into the water. Tonight was
windless. It was a good day
44
Chapter 3
01.
Fengjiu at last woke up after a sweet deep sleep. She sat in bed absently fora length of time. A moment ago, she had
dismissed the maidservants waiting around her bed. These maidservants were like azure water
she quite liked theirappearances. Their service was also very adeptly meticulous they hadserved her well. They
were also observant of formalities and knew to showrespect they had addressed her 'Your Royal Highness'. It stood
to reasonthere shouldn't be anything for her to be dissatisfied with. What made her confused was that although these
maids had called her'Your Highness', they did not say 'Your Highness Fengjiu', nor 'YourHighness Jiuge', but
instead calling her 'Your Highness Aranya'. Aranya she knew this name. She also knew Aranya had been dead
formany years. Her tomb must be covered in grass, her bones disintegratedsince long ago. She also remembered she
was battling against the tails ofgiant pythons for the Saha fruit only a moment ago, then in the midst ofdanger, she
suddenly fell into an empty void. She didn't know what hadhappened in the void, but no matter what it was, it
couldn't have beenenough to change her into Aranya in one brief blink of an eye. Her reflection appeared in the
bronze mirror placed bedside. It was of amaiden dressed in red. She had a pair of dark slender brows, bright eyes,
atall nose, thin lips, and ivory skin. She frowned as she studied herself for atime. This was doubtlessly a beautiful
woman. But was this beautifulwoman herself or not, that, she wasn't sure. She had forgotten how she looked. This
wasn't simply amnesia. After more than 30 millennia of ebb and flow,she had experienced things upon things, events
upon events. Sheremembered everything well, from the time she braved the scorching sunto come out from her
mother's womb, to the time she broke into the

45python's territory on her own with the sole aid of her bravery to steal theSaha fruit. But this sort of memory was
like a storybook
she knew theplot, but she only had a vague impression of the story's characters andsceneries. For example, she could
remember her aunt, Bai Qian, but shecouldn't remember how she looked. The past 30,000 years of her life wasnow
feeling like a story someone had written on the pages of a book. After dazing for a while, she did call up some
thoughts. In her aunt'shidden book collection, she had come across a time-traveling phenomenonsimilar to what she
was experiencing now. However, that was only theimagination of the mortals. There was no sorcery in the realms
that couldmuddle up time. If the maids had said Aranya, then it must be the Aranyaof Biyiniao lore. She feared this
place was a replica of Fanyin Valley whichhad been re-created by a powerful deity. Although she was still young
andunknowledgeable, as Qingqiu's heir, she had heard of such sorcery once ortwice before. She feared a strange fate
had somehow led her to fall into this world. As for
being mistaken as Aranya she frowned in worry, did that not mean her
soul had left her body and now inhabited Aranya's own? On her forehead immediately appeared two beads of cold
sweat. But if shethought about this carefully, her inference was quite reasonable. If her faceand body weren't
identical to Aranya's appearance, why would the maidslower their eyes and call her 'Your Highness Aranya' today?
But if she didresemble Aranya, why did Meng Shao and the Biyiniaos not recognize thiswhen she first came
to Fanyin Valley several months ago? Soul swapping was really no joking matter. If her soul took over
Aranya's body, then whose soul was occupying hers? More importantly, where washer body now? Most importantly,
how did it ultimately look like? Fengjiu's mind was going haywire. She didn't even know where to beginlooking for
her soul. On top of everything, the Saha fruit was still kept withher body. Fortunately she had wisely placed it inside
a pouch when she leftthe Tiancang Cage. Unless it was her own incantation, no one else couldopen it

46Combing through past events for half a day, she realized her concerns weremostly false alarms. Since there wasn't
anything urgent waiting for her todo, Fengjiu eventually calmed down. She was glad she was a dauntless immortal.
If she had been an ordinarywoman who was unfortunate enough to fall into this place where she wasall alone, where
her future became uncertain, and where there was no way back, she would've been scared to endless tears. She had
had a moment of panic, but after that moment of panic her mindwas immediately able to clear. She'd live in peace
where she was, whatcomes will come, for the time being she should just stay put. She reckonednobody knew she
had fallen into this place, and she couldn't expectsomeone to come to her rescue either. Therefore she was able to
calmdown. If this fate was already meant for her, there was nowhere for her to hide. If
it wasnt, sooner or later she'd have the opportunity to find her body and
flee from this place. Nothing could be done for the time being even if sherushed. Moreover, one could see Aranya
was born to a wealthy household.She had nothing to lose. She would treat this as a restful retreat. Comparedto
borrowing Jiuge's identity at Fanyin Valley and always worrying abouther wherewithal, this deception was much
better. Therefore, this was actually profitable. The mortals
had a poetry line, what did it say? I walk to where the water
ends, and sit and watch the clouds ascend 3. These mortals that were busysurviving day to day like scavenging ants had
great wisdom themselves.That sort of talk was exactly right. She had not a single acquaintance in this place. Her
past life was stuckoutside this world. Everything she saw and heard was entirely new to her
47Her mood used to be affected when she thought of the past; now it feltnormal. Just one thought used to bring up a
world of sorrow now, too, feltnormal. Living Aranya's life, playing Aranya's role, throwing wholly asidethe identity
of Fengjiu, life actually passed by quite pleasantly. There was just one thing; it had to do with snakes. From the
servants' words and Fengjiu's own speculations, Aranya's way ofdressing, living, walking, and all sorts of other
habits really did not differfrom hers. She didn't have to deliberately imitate anything; she was quitepleased. She
couldn't have guessed that a few days later, a pair of maids dressed
in blue would be carrying a large and lengthy blue python to seek audience
with her. Your Highness has not asked for Prince Qing lately. In anger, he
swallowed up three oxen. We think Prince Qing misses Your Highness, sowe especially brought him here to see
you. The weather is warm today,
would you like to bring Prince Qing out for a stroll? At this time, Fengjiu
looked to the thirty-foot-long Prince Qing who was hissing before her asher mind reeled. She sputtered and fell from
her chair. In her childhood, Aranya was thrown into a snake pit by her mother to beraised, and thus developed an
affinity with the snake species. It was saidshe had rescued this Prince Qing as a blue snakelet, raised him as a
little brother, and named him Ah Qing (Qing = blue). In the palace, fromShangjun's attendants down to the menial
servants, each and every onerespectfully referred to it as 'Prince Qing'. These three words 'inside the palace' meant
Aranya was a princess. Thetitle 'Shangjun' was the honorific the Biyiniaos used for their head-of-state,which meant
Aranya was a princess of an entire Biyiniao Clan. For Fengjiu,masquerading as a princess wasn't a difficult matter,
but masquerading asa snake-loving princess... She woke up from the shock of that day, mulledover the matter, and
passed out again before the incense stick could burnhalfway.

48Nonetheless, she must overcome her fear of snakes. If she could, she would be successful in masking the eyes
of the world as Princess Aranya and livein leisure day to day. But sooner or later, if she was discovered to be
animpostor, she'd be a dead fish... Fengjiu was preoccupied in coming up with countermeasures for threedays. At
noon on the third day, a ray of light came to her. She recalled thatwhen she was a child, she was a picky eater and
could not eat carrots. Heraunt hosted a ten-day carrot feast in Qingqiu and trained her to change hereating habit
during those ten days. Surprisingly, it turned out to be veryeffective. Perhaps the same method could be useful this
time. Three days later, she booked the quiet innermost room on the second floorof the capital's legendary Zuilixian.
Fengjiu looked to the feast table full ofsnakes with a swelling head. On the table were cups upon cups, dishes upon
dishes. There were stirredfried snake eggs, salt and pepper snake, braised snake, snake soup, all in allten dishes
made from baby snakes to aging snakes and every snake in between. A few steps away from the table was a wall
screen, behind it was a vomit basin. After sitting still for half a day, Fengjiu tremblingly lifted herchopsticks. She ate
bite by bite, vomited swallow by swallow. Afterdowning a dozen bites, she entirely gave up and vomited it all out.
On thefinal rounds at least her hands stopped shaking while holding thechopsticks, which could be considered a
progress. Everything should not be rushed; she needed to take each step at a time. It wouldn't be too late tocontinue
the battle tomorrow. With a pale face, Fengjiu pushed her wayout the door, walking to the staircase with uneven
steps. In all fairness, the snake soup was a delicious dish. If Prince Qing wasmade into a soup, being so large, she
wondered how many bowls he wouldyield. In her mind suddenly emerged the impressive face of a painfully

49hissing Prince Qing. A snake stench shot straight from her stomach to herthroat. Her face changed color as she
rushed back inside the room. Because she had turned too quickly, she did not pay attention to the white-robed
maiden walking in from behind. The collided white-robed maidenmade a cry, then tumbled down the
staircase. Fengjiu watched in shock as a young man dressed in black who happenedto be walking upstairs timely
reached his hands out to catch her, perfectly bringing the falling girl into his arms. Fengjiu silently mused that this
was exactly how 'knight in shining armor'
should be played. But before she could catch the heros face, her stomach
churned and she made a dash toward the room for the vomit basin again. She leaned on the basin for half a day
before she felt any better. By the timeshe pushed the door to go out, her steps were uneven and in a trance shedrifted
downstairs. Then she was greeted with a pair of piercing gaze. When her eyes caught the eyes of the owner's gaze,
Fengjiu's brain slowlyturned.
Since the beginning of time, all cases of knight in shining armor had
always been like this. The knight gazed to the damsel he saved, the twolocked eyes, and from their gazes came their
unspoken feelings whichwould lead to matrimony. But this eye-locking matter should be betweenthe knight and his
damsel, only then would it be romantic. However, at the moment, the heroic knight was instead staring at her,
his big eyes against her small ones. What was the meaning of this? Fengjiu had no idea. Only until she saw the
rescued white-robed maiden stood on her toes andleaned half of her body against the young man did she
comprehend thesituation. After being bumped into, the girl fell and injured her foot. Theyoung man who was staring
straight at her with furrowed brow must besilently condemning her, the culprit.

50She hadn't taken care of this matter well enough.Fengjiu took irregular steps as she came downstairs; on the last
two steps,she lost her footing and almost keeled over when that same young manreached out to hold her; his effort
was neither too soft nor too strong, it
was just right. For this favor of his, she naturally had to look up and say herthanks. Then she placed a few gold
ingots into the hand of the white-robed beauty. She was a princess; what did she have if not money? The beauty
looked to the gold in her hand and seemed surprised. Fengjiu
placed her hands together and said, Because I was in a hurry just now, I
had bumped into you and made you injured. I have nothing on me butthese vulgar things, I hope you'll accept them
as payments for the doctor's
fees. If you take them, then do also forgive me. If you don't like gold, shetook out a plump purse and sincerely
continued, I also have silver, pearls,
gems, and illuminating pearls. Which would you like, Miss? Please don't
hesitate to choose!
After she finished a series of pretty apologies, the young maiden stillhadn't replied but the black-
robed man had softly called to her, YourHighness.
Heavy rain suddenly poured outside the windows, its sound pounding likescattering pearls. Fengjiu blankly turned
her head. Like a white waterfall cascading over the eaves, rainwater continued tospill down from the sky. In front of
this waterfall was the tall man, his hairas dark as ink, his facial features like painted lines. His eyes, when onegazed
into them, seemed to usher in a snowy coldness of late wintertime. Did he call her... 'Your Highness'? A boom went
off in Fengjiu's head. This icy black-robed man must be oneof Aranya's acquaintances. It was such a mistake to
leave without herservants today. Normally when she met any of Aranya's acquaintances, theservants would help her
buy a bit of time. After a word or two, she would be able to grasp her guest's identity. But in today's situation... it
seemed shewould have to use her last expedient: feigned ignorance.

51
She pretended to be confused and said to the young man, Several people
have also greeted me as 'Your Highness' just now. Have you mistaken mefor someone else
as they have?
The young man's calm eyes suddenly darkened, his sharp gaze affixed on
her. At long last, he slowly replied, Don't you remember me?
His gaze gave Fengjiu goosebumps. He looked as though he haddiscovered her lies. She shuddered and tried to
calm herself down. There were a great numberof people who resembled each other in this world. How would she
knowwhether he believed the words she said or not? Perhaps he was only usingsuch expression to deceive her,
she shouldn't rattle herself. She regained her composure, looked to the young man and firmly
explained: It's not whether I remember you or not. I've never met you andI'm not the princess you speak of...
She hadn't finished when he interrupted her. With the same steady gaze,he coldly sai
d, I am Chen Ye.
How could he be so stubborn after all she had said? Fengjiu feigned anger:
I don't care whether you're Fu Ye or Chen Ye (Fu = float, Chen = sink).
Nonetheless, her heart all of a sudden came to a halt
Chen Ye. This was awell-known name to her, second only to Aranya. In the legends aboutAranya, more than half
were linked to this name. It turned out the personstanding in front of her was the Archmage Chen Ye. If standing
before her eyes was Chen Ye, the more they spoke, the moreawry things could go. At this point, a quick escape was
the best policy.Thinking on her feet, she maintained her fuming anger and fiercely said,
If I said I don't know you, then I don't know you. I need to leave for anurgent matter. Make way!
The young man seemed slightly shaken, but did not stop her. Instead, hestepped aside and let her through. Her heart
thumped as she followed thecorridor and left the restaurant. When she glanced back through her

53
After a quiet moment of reflection, Chacha replied gloomily, Are youspeaking of the friendship from your childhood? Sh
e became riled:
When you were little, you remembered His Excellency Chen Ye is your
cousin and took the initiative to attend his birthday. But he listened to theEldest Princess and the Third Princess's
instigation that you were filthy andthrew your present away. After that, didn't you stop coming to his
birthdays and never associated with him again? With reddened eyes, shecontinued: Princess, you are kind to think
that such could be considered
friendship, but in my opinion, His Excellency Chen Ye is not worthy of
your friendship.
Fengjiu blanked for a moment. Only one word was needed for her to seeChacha was a loyal servant who would
serve her with all her heart. Aranya never got along with her older half-sister and younger full-sister,Fengjiu knew
about this. The young incumbent Archmage named Chen Yewas her mother's nephew, thus he could be considered
to be her cousin,she also knew this. Among the three princesses, the eldest princess Junuowas best loved by their
mother, the youngest princess Changdi was bestloved by their father, and Aranya as a newborn was thrown into a
snakepit to be raised. She was neither close to her father nor loved by hermother. Among the three sisters, she was
the most unfortunate. This,Fengjiu also knew. But regarding Chen Ye, she had always assumed he and
Aranya were on the same boat. After shed spent half a day pondering, it
turned out he and Aranya's pair of sisters were the actual childhoodsweethearts. This, Fengjiu didn't
understand. How odd this all was. After thinking through the night, Fengjiu still failed to follow. When shesaw the
morning rays dawning outside, she yawned and went to sleep.When she woke up from her nap, she saw Chacha
hiking her skirt as shehasted in. Fengjiu sighed to herself that she had been quite a clairvoyant.She reached out to
pick up a cup of cool tea, then as she drank she asked
Chacha: So what did Chen Ye ask when he came over today?

54
Chacha happily shook her head: His Excellency Chen Ye did not stop by
today, but I'm here to relay a surprising news which I'm sure you'll be very
happy to hear. She continued in jubilation: Your teacher is back! Mr. Mohas returned! He's waiting for you in the guest
hall!
The tea in Fengjiu's mouth instantly sprayed onto Chacha's face. Chacha
wiped the tea off her face and said: Your Highness must be very
surprised. When he left, Mr. Mo clearly said he'd return in half a year. It's
only been a month since then, even I'm surprised myself.
Fengjiu was surprised, indeed. When she recovered, she felt she haddowned eight goblets of bloody mold today. If
she were to talk about this mold, she also had to talk about Aranya's background. Aranya was a child who did not
have the care of her father nor the love ofher mother. Thus even though Fengjiu took over Aranya's body, her
twoclosest relations could never tell. Fengjiu had been quite at ease during thistime. But besides her parents, there
was one other familiar presence in her life
it was her teacher. That year, Aranya's mother had cruelly tossed her intothe snake pit. Thanks to her lucky star, she
was not swallowed whole bythe pythons but was instead raised up as a snakelet. The Aranya in thosedays did not
have a human appearance despite the 'raising' she received.Her teacher passed by one day and pitied the child. He
rescued her out and brought her up under his wings. Each of Aranya's words, actions, and gestures was carefully
taught by herteacher. At this time, this teacher, who was supposed to be on a trip, forsome reason came back early.
Wasn't this drinking bloody mold? And thisteacher of hers who dropped in out of nowhere... would he be able to
tellshe was an impostor? Fengjiu clutched her forehead. With an expression that was both painful
and blithe, she said: Teacher's return is n
aturally a joyous event, but now

55that I think about it, I did not sleep well last night. I'm getting a headachefrom the morning wind. Why don't you
settle my teacher in first, I'll come
by later to give him my greeting and apology.
Chacha was a loyal servant. As soon as she heard Fengjiu said 'headache',she almost rushed out for the
apothecary. A chuckle suddenly echoed in the courtyard. Fengjiu lifted her gaze overand across the windowpane. A
jasper flute brushed aside the willow branch and out came a white figure. Fengjiu's gaze followed the long robe. The
white-
attired man smiled: It's
been more than one month since we've seen each other but you're getting aheadache just as you see me. What is
ailing you? Should your teacherdiagnose and treat your
malady?
Fengjiu went into a daze when the word 'teacher' came out from the youngman's mouth. In Fengjiu's mind, the word
'teacher' always went together with the word'old'. Of course, her aunt's teacher Moyuan was an exception, but
thereshouldn't be that many exceptions in the world, should there? Teachersmust resemble Taishang Laojun on
Jiuchongtian, with gray hair and beardwhich were worthy of the title 'Teacher'. But was the handsome white-robed
gentleman in front of her eyes really Aranya's teacher? Was he theteacher who single-handedly brought Aranya up?
Fengjiu felt her life-long beliefs had been thoroughly crushed. Within three steps, the white-robed gentleman had
come before her. Whenhe saw that she was standing there frozen, he glanced to Chacha.Immediately, Chacha bowed
to the two and cheerfully took her leave.
Fengjiu calmed herself then raised her hands to greet the man: Teacher,have a seat... She wicked away the perspiration on her
forehead and
offered him tea, then poured herself another cup to calm down. The white-
robed man thoughtfully watched her and at length spoke: Ihope you're well, Your Highness Fengjiu. Next, he added: I'm Su Moye.

56The tea in Fengjiu's mouth sprayed onto his face. Su Moye was the West Sea's second prince. He was a suave
charmer, who together with Lord Liansong were famouswomanizers of the realms; he was also her little uncle Bai
Zhen's favoritedrinking buddy. Su Moye had a great understanding of tea. She had visited the West Seaonce or twice
in the past, and thus they could be counted as acquaintances.But could this mere acquaintance compel Su Moye to
break into Aranya'sDream to rescue her? In her impression, he wasn't such a righteous man.And because of her
memory loss, she naturally could not recognize heracquaintances. It surprised her that he was able to see she was the
one inAranya's body. Nevertheless, meeting old friends in a foreign land was always a goodthing. Once the pair took
their seats, Fengjiu could not help but ask. With humoring eyes, Su Moye took from his sleeve a delicate white silk
handkerchief and leisurely wiped the tea on his face. You did not return
after being in here for so long; the four pythons guarded the place day andnight. Then the Biyiniao Queen recalled
that the Snake Queen perhapscould get rid of these pythons. Liansong came to me asking that I save
you.
The Snake Queen was a white-tailed python born after prehistoric times.She absorbed Heaven and Earth's essence
and remained in her originalshape during her cultivation until she gained immortality. Jiuchongtianconfirmed her
supreme divineness and Tianjun himself granted her therank Yuanjun. She went by the title Goddess Qishan.
Fengjiu nowremembered this Goddess Qishan was none other than Su Moye's mother.
Th
is dream is so dangerous, but without hesitation you havemagnanimously come into the dream to save me. I have
misunderstood
you greatly in the past, Fengjiu said with some guilt.

57The warm breezy smile suddenly froze on Su Moye's face. He lowered hishead as he looked to the tea bubbles
inside his cup. At length he said,
Aranya was really my student. She was fifteen when I saved her from the
snake pit. I raised her myself until she was sixty. Although we weren't blood-related, I considered her to be bone
of my bone, blood of my blood.
Su Moye's description silenced Fengjiu for a time. Out of the West SeaWater Lord's heirs, Su Moye was the most
refined and amorous. Peoplecalled Mo Shao a charmer because there were at least 800 hearts if not 1000within the
clutch of his palm. However, people didn't know that he neverpicked these flowers deliberately himself. Mo Shao
did not come to his beauties, his beauties came to him. That was why when he used suchexpression to say 'bone of
his bone, blood of his blood', it completely tookFengjiu by surprise.
Su Moye glanced to her, stroked the flute in his palm then added: Because
I had business in the West Sea, I left Fanyin Valley for two years. By thetime I came back, the previously lively girl
had left behind only a grass-
covered grave. The entire Biyiniao clan insisted she hanged herself Helapsed into a second of silence. For more
than two hundred years, I have
been searching for the reason behind her death, but these Biyiniaos coveredup this matter rather tightly. Then
Liansong came asking me to save you,telling me you have fallen into Aranya's dream. Since it's her dream, I
naturally want to come and see for myself. He glanced at Fengjiu and saidin a soft voice: Therefore it just happened to be conve
nience that I came to
save you. There's no need to feel you've owed me anything. A smilesuddenly appeared on his placid face: Anyway, I've also
come this timefor your help on something.
Fengjiu raised her head and paid him attention. People said Su Moye'stemperament was often curious, this remark
was surely not false. SuMoye's smile
if you say it was warm, it was warm; if you say it was cool,it was cool. At this moment if you say it was hearty, it
was also trulyhearty. More amazingly was how he could wear three different expressions

58at the same time while each was completely honest. Well done, indeed,Thousand-face Deity.
Fengjiu was a grateful person; she nodded thoughtfully: I've taken a lot of
tea from you in the past. If there is something you need which I can do, I
will certainly do it for you.
Su Moye seemed satisfied with her answer. He slowly swept his eyes
around their surroundings and said, You've probably discovered yourself
that someone had likely created this existence based on the world ofAranya's past. Each person and scenery which
existed in Fanyin Valleythen will now be here exactly as it was. Additionally, if someone belongingto Fanyin Valley
comes into this world, he will replace his corresponding
clone. He pointed to himself: For example, I was originally Aranya's
teacher, the 'me' that was reproduced in this world would instantly
disappear once I entered into it.
Fengjiu stammered: Then are you to say I merged into Aranya's body because I am Aranya and vice versa? This
entire matter was far too bizarre. All Fengjiu could feel was a bolt of lightning striking in her mind,and stars started to
circle before her eyes.
Su Moye regarded her a while then shook his head: With you, I reckon the
creator's magic was not proficient enough and he thereby created a fewglitches. Losing one's memory of the original
reality once fallen into thisplace is one of those glitches. You are probably encountering the second
glitch after that one. He looked outside the window: Aranya's soul
hadturned into ashes. Even if everyone in the Biyiniao clan can reincarnate,Aranya cannot. Everyone here can be
replaced by his original counterpart,
except for Aranya.
Fengjiu felt her clenched heart relaxing when she heard Mo Shao's words.She saw his gaze now transfixed on the
distant weeping willow outside thewindow. She felt a sense of heartbreak as she cleared her throat and said:
You said you needed a favor from me, we might as well talk about it now.
What do you need me to do? That way I can also see what I need to
prepare. After I help you, we can use our efforts in finding a way to leave.

59
After a lengthy time, Su Moye answered faintly: At first glance, this
fabricated world is no different from the Fanyin Valley of that year.However, after it was set in motion it was no
longer linked to FanyinValley. Perhaps the person who created this world wanted to reverse thetragedy which had
happened in those years by inventing a happy ending
in this environment.
He looked at Fengjiu: Aranya had ha

nged herself dead; whether there isnow a happy ending or not, it'd still be a lie. Now that you're here to playthe part
of Aranya, I hope you can imitate her previous actions so that thisworld may reproduce Fanyin Valley's past
happenings, so that I may find
out the truth behind Aranya's death.
03.
The matter Su Moye wanted her to help was fairly simple. There had beena few major events in Aranya's lifetime
which contributed to her ending.Whatever she chose in those years, Fengjiu needed only to make the samechoices.
Su Moye knew Fengjiu was a free spirit. Except for those majorevents, he let her do whatever she wanted. Fengjiu
could see that although the King and Queen of the Biyiniao clan, inother words her convenient parents, did not treat
their daughter very well,they held high esteem for Su Moye. With Su Moye as her knowledgeablepillar, Fengjiu's
days became leisure, happy, and free. There was only one thing she was unhappy with. The servants keptwanting to
bring Prince Qing to her residence every day, pleading to her tochat with it, to comfort and care for it. This problem
was giving Fengjiu a bit of a headache. She had persevered through her snake feast for half amonth, but when she
placed her hand on Prince Qing's head, she was stillshaking badly. How could she openly stay away from Prince
Qing without calling doubt
upon herself This was causing Fengjiu some worries. She had no one to
confide these worries to... Then came Aranya's mother's birthday.

60The birthday of Aranya's mother, Lady Qinghua, had always beencelebrated differently. Reportedly, Lady
Qinghua was a refined andtalented woman. An ordinary feast with dancers and singers would not beto her liking.
Because her father wanted to please her mother, he pulled outall the stops every year for her birthday. According to
the most recentnews, her father had planned a large ship this year to take her mother on ariver cruise down south.
They would be going to Guanchen Palace in thesouth border to view camellias. Aranya was their daughter.
Although she wasn't very well loved, her namewas still included on the list the king commissioned. Fengjiu packed
a few things and thought of the servants to take alongwhile traveling south. As Prince Qing was a colossal 30-foot
long snake, henaturally could not tag along on the embarking cruise ship. The worrieswhich had troubled her these
past few days completely dissolved. Herheart was finally liberated. Two days before departure, the servants brought
Prince Qing to her residence. Her mind now relaxed, she lavishedattachments and anguish onto Prince Qing without
reservation. There wereeven two drops of tears spilling from her eyes. The servants were made to be even more
convinced that their princess was the very same one they hadalways had. The recent coldness toward Prince Qing
must have been theirown illusion. Unfortunately, Fengjiu overdid the sincerity bit. At that exact moment,Shangjun
who had not stepped into her home for over 800 years suddenlygraced them with his presence. Shangjun was in a
good mood these daysand occasionally thought of this daughter, Aranya. He felt some guilt thathe had been
neglecting her on a normal basis. Thus he wanted to make avisit. Seeing this scene the moment he stepped into her
home, Shangjun briefly frowned in thought, then gave Fengjiu a look of affection. They departed on the third day.
Fengjiu gazed to the back of the dragonship. Following closely behind was a smaller boat. The servants taking
careof Prince Qing lifted the curtain and smiled to her. Prince Qing also poked

61his head out from behind the curtain and affectionately hissed its tongue ather. Fengjiu stood frozen on the shore,
lost and shaken by the river wind. Chacha held a stack of damask bed quilts as she headed to board that boat.
Fengjiu finally found her voice and asked after her: Where are yougoing? Chacha beamed: Did Your Highness forget? Prince
Qing is timid.
Once he leaves the palace, he'll need Your Highness to stay by his side atnight. The wind is strong on the river, and
I'm worried you'll be cold, so
I'm especially bringing bed quilts aboard. Fengjiu's legs turned to jelly
and threatened to keel over. It was thanks to Su Moye that she was able tostand on her feet. Fengjiu held onto Su
Moye's hand and woefully said,
Mo Shao, do me a favor. When night comes, please knock me unconscious

then take me aboard. I thank you on behalf of my entire family.
Night fell as wind fluttered on the river. Inside the ship's main hall, lightpearls shone as bright as daytime. A dozen
figures sat around the feasttable. On the host seats were Aranya's parents. Below them were the threeprincesses and
a number of courtiers. The first courtier lining the table wasChen Ye, someone Fengjiu had met already. After him
was Su Moye. Being the first time she got to meet the two princesses Junuo and Changdi,Fengjiu observed them
intently and saw that both were as white as snowand as beautiful as flowering blooms. Their looks alluring,
theirmovements elegant. Although she did not have much impression of theoriginal world, she reckoned not many
on Jiuchongtian could surpass their beauty. Fengjiu sighed; Lady Qinghua really knew how to bear
children. Dancers were performing in the center of the hall while Fengjiu was lost inher thoughts. These common
sounds came in one ear and out the other; shedid not know what they were singing.
Within the misty water clouds, is where the distant dream is found.
Fengjiu pensively downed one cup, then another, wanting get get herselfdrunk. Not until Su Moye tapped on her
head did Fengjiu gradually wake

62up in confusion. Like trying to seek night cereus within the fog, she lookedto the dancing beauties and traced out
their fuzzy faces. The pearls' light was suddenly eclipsed to her right. Fengjiu slowly turnedaround to look. In the
room where light and colors blended hazily, apurple-robed man suddenly appeared and unhurriedly took the
seat beside her. This young man carried with him a chilly iciness, contrastingthe colors and sounds in the hall. His
long hair was a most striking silver,and on his forehead was an expensive looking indigo jewel. When his icyface
turned to her, she felt a sense of familiarity. Even such an icy face could make her feel familiarity... Fengjiu
belatedlypondered whether she had drunk a bit too much tonight. While she was wondering who he was and why he
even happened to sitdown next to her, Shangjun on his high seat took advantage of the pausingperformance and
smiled toward them. He projected his voice loud and
clear: I see Xiz
e has also arrived. Aranya has been drinking so dolefully,I'm inclined to think the cause of which is your late arrival.
Although youleft the mountain this time because of Junuo's illness, it's been a while sinceyou've seen Aranya. Why
don't man and wife converse with each other for
a bit?
The hall went quiet momentarily. The young man next to her who was
called Xize faintly replied: Yes, Sire.
Fengjiu sobered up instantly. On a clear moonlit night, the moon's reflection glided on the water. Waterand sky
were both spotless. On the bright sky was the solitary roundmoon, underneath at the boat's stern were Fengjiu and
Su Moye peelingwalnuts and having conversations. The walnuts were sun-baked to crispand fragrant perfection. The
conversations had to do with Fengjiu's newlyarrived Prince Consort, Xize Shenjun

63Aranya was barely an adult, why did she already have a Prince Consort?This was a long story. Su Moye told
Fengjiu to peel the walnuts while herecalled memories of the past. According to Su Moye, this person named Xize
was somewhat of a bigshot. Within Fanyin Valley was a Qinan Palace. This palace was under thegovernance of the
Archmage. Since ancient times, the Archmage hadalways been chosen by Heaven, his birth ever phenomenal. But
his postwas quite idle; he normally did not involve himself in political affairs.However, once the king committed
transgressions, the Archmage coulddethrone the king thereby ensuring the long-term survival of FanyinValley. In
other words, the responsibilities of the Archmage were to listento the ways of Heaven and supervise the advisors of
the king. For thisreason, the Archmage was always the first person a king needed to winover once he ascended the
throne. The present master of Qinan Palace was Chen Ye, its past master was noneother than Xize. All because of
this reason, Aranya's father, in her earlythirties when she was still a minor, had arranged her marriage to
Xize.Aranya was a boulder her father had used to weigh Xize down.Fortunately, she was still young and they did
not live together despite being married. Two years later, rumors had it Xize resigned from his postdue to the
contraction of a severe illness. He then took refuge behindMount Qinan and passed his position onto Chen Ye. Su
Moye looke
d to the circular moon in the sky: Ever since Xize asked to
leave Qinan Palace, he also showed no interest toward Aranya. Moreover,the two had never stayed together, so no
one talks of this unfortunate marriage anymore. He glanced to Fengjiu: He hid in
seclusion behindMount Qinan, and although Aranya was his wife in name, when she died,he didn't once leave the
mountain to see her. This was why I didn'tmention this part to you before. It was my ill consideration which had
brought you surprise today. Then he frowningly said, I don't know whyyou and I get to see Xize leave the mountain in this
fake world. He added:
64
I've never seen this Xize before. Today was also my first time meetinghim.Fengjiu deliberated: My father seemed to say
he descended the mountain because of Junuo's illness. Su Moye hesitated: Xize's medicinal practice was truly
excellent, but if I'mnot mistaken, Junuo isn't sick, she's just suffering from morning sickness...Walnut shells fell
from Fengjiu's hands onto the floor.
How can Junuo bepregnant when she isn't married yet? Did you remember incorrectly from
your increased age?Su Moye smiled faintly as he took the flute from his sleeve. What did you just call me
increased what? Fengjiu smiled dryly and respectfully offered him a handful of peeled
walnuts and an honest reply: I said your taste just increased, it'ssomething we should celebrate.
Su Moye received the walnuts without reserve and kept the secretive smile on his face: You'll know when the time
comes whether I'm speaking nonsense about Junuo or not. He rose and smoothed out his garment. It's not early anymore, should
I knock you out and bring you to the blue python?
Fengjiu shuddered. She grimaced and said, The moon is high, the sky is clear. How can we waste such a beautiful scenery? Let
me catch the river breeze for half an hour before you strike me.
Su Moye laughed and took his flute back to his room, leaving her alone onthe stern to enjoy the breeze. She was
frightened by Prince Qing during the day, then suffered a
scare just now at the feast. Coupled with a long ramble from Su Moye, hereyelids now gradually closed in the
breezy moonlit night. She seemed to be

65entering a dream as the cruise ship charged ahead. In her comfort, sheheard a conversation several paces
behind. Sister, you only ate a little at the feast before you threw up more than halfof it, said a clear crystal voice.
His Excellency Xize personally roasted some yams and had the servants bring them over. Have a taste and see
ifyou like them? She continued: I've always thought someone with His
Excellency Xize's station in life would never near himself to kitchen work.Surprisingly he roasted these yams very
well.A softer voice replied: Since His Excellency Xize took reclusion behindMount Qinan, he doesn't want others
to disturb his peace and he hasn'tneeded the help of servants for many years. Of course he can do somethingas trivial
as roasting yams. At this point, Fengjiu realized who the speakers were. As expected, theywere no other than her
two sisters. She had not wished to eavesdrop in thecorner. Perhaps because she had chosen this secluded corner to
talk to SuMoye, and the sky was also dark, the two sisters did not notice there wasan extra pair of ears. It was wrong
to continue to listen to them, it also seemed wrong to go out.While she hesitated on what to do, she heard Changdi's
crystal laughter:I'm afraid you're the only one who knows these things about HisExcellency Xize. From my understanding, His
Excellency only left themountain for your sake. He's been at the palace for ten days but he hasn'tgiven Aranya so
much as a glance. It seemed the rumors were true; hereally does not care for Aranya. You may have also noticed
Aranya's gazeat His Excellency Xize tonight. When she heard Father say that HisExcellency had come down the
mountain for your illness, I clearly saw her face draining like a piece of parchment. She was
upset.Junuo's soft voice lowered into a whisper: Sister, you are speaking ill.Don't repeat such nonsense lest others
hear you. Changdi hummed: Since you are always too kind, you can't see how arrogant she has become in recent days. She
thinks she should be treated.
66differently now that Father allowed her to come with us this year. Shedoesn't see that she is only a filthy sort
raised by snakes! Even if she's right
in front of me I'd say the same thing. Then she added: I really don't get it.
If His Excellency Xize doesn't care for her, then why doesn't he divorceher? She's only compromi
sing his status!
Those few words came with the night air into Fengjiu's ears. Should shecontinue to listen or immediately go out
there? Fengjiu didn't have toponder anymore. She yawned and walked out from behind the corner:
How lucky I am tonight. I di
dn't expect that while catching river breezeon the stern would I get to hear my sisters having ideas about their
brother-in-law. Are people not afraid of ears on the walls anymore when they
speak shameless words and do shameless things?
Fengjiu's sudden appearance stopped both Junuo and Changdi in theirtracks. Changdi was the quicker one to react
as she immediately sneered
after her initial hesitation: In those days it was you who reached for the
moon. Are you jealous that His Excellency Xize only has older sister in hisheart? The subject of shame is one for
educated people to discuss. You
want to speak to us about shame with that status of yours?
She was the younger sister but she dared to deride her older sister soeloquently. With only one glance, one could
see she was not welldisciplined. Fairies in Qingqiu had been disciplined by Fengjiu so well thatshe had no one left to
discipline now. At this very moment, Changdi wasprovoking the beehive. In fact, it made her a little excited. Fengjiu
nodded
in comprehension and smiled: Oh, so because your status
qualifies you to speak of shame, you freely speak shamelessly and act
indecently. I've learned something new today.
Changdi raged with hatred: You! She was stopped by Junuo's low voice:His Excel
lency Xize told us this is the hour to check my pulse. Go back
with me. Her glance carelessly swept across Fengjiu, but it was Changdito whom she said: There are times when
engaging in these senseless warof words will only condescend ourselves.

67When she finished, she pulled Changdi and turned away. In a small room, on an embroidered cushion by an
intricate gold inlaidtable, Su Moye poured himself a cup of wine. The oyster pearl emitted asoft glow on the narrow
table. The Biyiniaos were only earth fairies, buttheir wealth was rather ludicrous compared to the water gods of the
fourseas. Su Moye inattentively played with his cup. The crowd outside had vowedthis dream was created from
Aranya's sentiments. In reality, she had diedand turned to smoke. What sentiments? What dream? Alas, he still let
hisheart dare to hope even with those simple words. He almost believed. He was thrilled at the time. If, like what the
Biyiniao elders said, this wastruly Aranya's phantom mind, he wanted to waste no time in entering it.He might be
able to find out what was haunting her if he were to go inside.What exactly was her phantom mind? Was there a
place in it for him? Hedidn't know in the past, and he still didn't know now, but he wanted toknow. By the time he
was really able to come inside and look around, herealized this place was merely a simulated parallel world. He
wasdisappointed. There was truly some selfishness in his rescuing. He remembered
Liansong's words to him that day: With Donghua there, he will
undoubtedly ensure Fengjiu's safety. I'm not worried about this. Donghuashould be together with Fengjiu. If you
find Donghua you'll find Fengjiu.The most important mission of your trip is to first look for the two of
them.
Finding Fengjiu was an easy thing to do. That day while drinking in therestaurant, he had witnessed the run-in
between Aranya and Chen Ye.Feeling suspicious, he came to her residence the next day and made upsome lies. He
got a mouthful of tea specks from her and an impressionwhich lasted until now. But what Liansong said about
Donghua wasn't

68right at all. Donghua didn't appear until today, he and Fengjiu didn't sticktogether. What he told Fengjiu about
Xize today couldn't be counted as lies. He trulyhad never seen Xize before. After he came into this world, he also
forgothow Dijun looked due to the glitches. Dijun for the same reason did notrecognize him. However, he snooped
around Qinan Palace a few days agoand saw Xize's portrait in the palace's secret lair. This portrait did not showthe
same purple robe and silver hair image they saw today. If Donghua was determined to borrow Xize's identity, it
wasn't difficult forhim to use a correction spell and replace the Biyiniaos' memories of Xize'sappearance with his
own. A correction spell wasn't a powerful sorcery andwas harmless in this world. It was exactly the King's style to
use acorrection spell rather than to change into Xize's appearance for thismasquerade. Su Moye knitted his brow and
mulled over everything. When Fengjiu wasseriously injured, her soul might have needed to separate from her body
torecuperate. Any decently skilled fairy would know it was best to heal
inside the womb of a pregnant woman. Could it be that Dijun had placed
Fengjiu's soul into Junuo's womb? If that was the case, it would explain why Dijun was so attentive to Junuo.But
unexpectedly, Fengjiu was one of the glitches, and her soul went toAranya's body in the end. Dijun did not seem to
know about this yet. Thisshow was getting more and more interesting. Su Moye smiled. Light finally shone on
several things. Fengjiu and Dijunwere now together, but they were concealed from one another. He alsoneeded
Fengjiu's help, so he couldn't let these two meet just yet. It wasn'tthat he lacked righteousness. Since the beginning
of time, coming intocontact with worldly dust would always lead to persistent sentiments.These sentiments had
plagued him for many years, and only Fengjiu couldrelease him from it

69Before he met Aranya, no one had ever occupied his heart. To this day, hestill remembered that warm breezy day
when a child in red bridal gownand beautiful makeup tapped on the chess board with her fair slender
finger and tentatively asked him: Teacher, what is troubling you? Are you
unhappy because I'm getting married at such a young age? These arematters which will not yield fruits even if we
spend time thinking aboutthem, so what is the use of thinking? Let's take advantage of this beautifulspring scenery;
before the palanquin arrives, let me accompany you in a
game of chess.
How could someone with such disposition hang herself? The cup of wine was becoming warmer in his hand. In the
paleillumination of pearl light, the white-robed man poured wine onto the
ground and softly murmured: Bilianch
un tastes best when it is warmeduntil there is a fragrance of lotus after the rain. Try and see if it's the same
taste you've always loved. His gentle voice contained a trace of lonely
desolation. Wind gained speed outside the window. Within the whistlingwind was a sound of muted mourning.

Chapter 4
02.
As dawn broke next day, Fengjiu sat in bed contemplating life's affairs. Thanks to Su Moye who had knocked her
unconscious, she was able to staywith Prince Qing on the same boat last night. She heard Prince Qing hadslithered
fruitlessly around her all night long. Only early next morningwhen the pheasants began their crows did he retire
inside the cabin infatigue. Fengjiu was glad and worried at the same time. She was glad shedidn't have to face
Prince Qing today; this was a very, very good thing. Butwould she have to let Su Moye strike her again came
nighttime? No matterhow skillful Su Moye was, she'd still spend the entire night inunconsciousness, then suffer
dizziness and neck pain the next day. Overtime, this wouldn't be a sound solution. Her maid Chacha also looked as
pensive as she did. She, too, was glad andworried at the same time. She was happy because these days Her
Highnesswas increasingly gaining royal affection. Last night, the king hadcommanded His Excellency Xize to pay a
bit more attention to HerHighness. At last Her Highness's hard days were ending. But she becameworried when His
Excellency Xize did not follow the royal order andaccompany Her Highness back last night. Could it be that she had
left thedoor ajar ever too slightly? Then, should she simply not close the doortonight and only lower the curtains?
But wind was cold on the river, whatif Her Highness caught the cold air...While servant and master were both lost in
their own thoughts, outsidecame a message that after half an hour of sleep, remembering he was tohave breakfast
with her, Prince Qing had forced himself to rouse from hisnap and was now waiting outside. Fengjiu sighed
inwardly that Prince Qing must be the incarnation of theDevil. She instantly slapped on a concerned expression and
told the
servants: How can half an hour of sleep be enough. He's been up all night,
surely he doesn't have the strength. He needs to stay in bed much longer

71Every one of you should coax him to sleep. If he is exhausted, ultimately, I
as his sister will be very pained
It's been two days since you have seen Prince Qing, Chacha replied withsome surprise. Normally Your Highness will
accompany Prince Qing and
let him lie at y
our feet to sleep, how come today
Fengjiu's heart gave a thump. Chacha suddenly went hushed. On her face appeared an odd hint of blush,
then at length she shyly said: Do... do you perhaps want to look for His
Excellency Xize today, therefore you don't want Prince Qing whom you've
always loved to disturb you?
Her face continued to flush as she curled her hands into fists. His
Excellency Xize is your husband, if we compare him to Prince Qing,
naturally, naturally there is some difference.
She thought of
something and said with a slight embarrassment: Are you
coming to His Excellency Xize's chamber this instant to have breakfast withhim? Ah, of course we cannot delay
such a matter. How stupid of me, onlynow do I understand your intention. I even asked such stupid questions.Your
Highness rest assured. Chacha will notify His Excellency Xize right
away!
The moment she finished speaking, she sprinted off as fast as a hare.
Fengjiu hadn't uttered no when Chacha had already disappeared
without a trace. Fengjiu sat still for a while, then wordlessly brought back her hand whichwas raised to stop Chacha
from leaving. That was fine. The lesser of two evils
Prince Qing's clutch or Xize's clutch.Even if she were to use her toes to think, Xize would still come out as
the better choice.

72In the past, her aunt had suffered due to a little snake. At this point, she feltthat sooner or later she would also
suffer because of this blasted PrinceQing. Those from Qingqiu were really not compatible with snakes. Because they
were on a ship, Lord Xize's chamber was not very spacious. Awall screen depicting a flock of jackdaws playing on
water separated theroom. Fengjiu idly pushed the door open when she saw Junuo andChangdi already seated around
a mahogany table, demurely eatingporridge. Xize sat a few feet away fiddling with an incense burner. The sudden
movement of the door made a lound sound, but Xize did
not bother lifting his head. The corner of Changdi's mouth bent up as shelooked to Fengjiu tauntingly while Junuo
demurely carried on with herporridge. Fengjiu arched her brow. Even supposing Junuo was sick and Xize neededto
constantly watch after her, it was Xize who should come to Junuo'squarters. This act by the two sisters did not care
at all to avoid stirring upsuspicion. They were even more carefree than herself; Fengjiu had to givethem her heartfelt
admiration. Seeing that Xize took no notice of Fengjiu, Changdi felt immensesatisfaction. She was convinced
Fengjiu must be embarrassed this time andsurely would not stay around for half a moment more. Feeling pleased,
thesmile on her face deepened. But in a second, however, that same smile froze stiff. Changdi had really
underestimated Fengjiu's face thickness. Alreadyhaving solid foundation, while she was at Fanyin Valley, she had
pickedup everything from watching and listening to Donghua Dijun. Nowadays,although her skin was still far from
being impenetrable to a blade, copingwith this sort of situation was mere child's play. As if no one was there,
shewent to look for a seat herself, and as if no one was there, she helpedherself to the food. Henceforth, they all sat
eating the same light porridge,one spoonful after another, tasteless and flavorless. Nevertheless, Fengjiu

73who was sitting next to them ate deliciously without any quandary; shelooked as though she was enjoying her
meal entirely too much. Changdi was puzzled. Aranya had so incessantly pestered Xize andseemed to be truly
lovestruck with him. But so early in the morning shewas already ignored by Xize, why hadn't she shown any
grievances? Whywas there not any objection? Why was there not any resentment? Why wasthere no apparent injury
on her part? On the other hand, Aranya hadalways been great at acting. Perhaps she was just forcing a smile. If so,
sheshould instigate her a bit.
Changdi completed her train of thoughts and sneered: I heard Aranya
jiejie came to have breakfast with His Excellency Xize. If
you are done, it's best that you leave, lest there be disturbance during His Excellency's
treatment for Junuo jiejie.
Fengjiu took a book from her sleeve and replied: That's fine. You all go on
with your treatment. I'll just do some light reading. You don't have to be
courteous for fear of disturbing me. I'm nothing if not generous.
Changdi's vein popped blue. How shameless! Who's afraid of disturbingyou?! Junuo softly coughed and cut in: Don't be disrespectful!
Then sheturned to Fengjiu and said, Meimei must not know, I've been light
-headedrecently. Ordinarily, of course I'd be very happy to see you come visit. But
if the room is so crowded these days...
She spoke to Fengjiu, but her gaze seemed to pass over Xize.
Really, if jiejie is suffering such a malady, it seems you should hurry backto your room to lie in rest, Fengjiu
replied in ardent concern. Your cabin
is far from here, give me a moment to send two servants to escort you
back. As she finished, she made a movement to rise.
Junuo was flabbergasted. Changdi bit her lip angrily and turned to Xize:
Look at her
Meimei, Fengjiu modestly began, do you want to praise me for mythoughtfulness? How courteous and respectful of you.
hree Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

74Changdi's unspoken ruthless words choked back into the pit of herstomach. If she said anything at this time it
meant she did not understandpropriety. But if she didn't say anything, how could she swallow down thattone? As her
mind turned, she placed her hand to support Junuo who was
beside her and panicked: Junuo jiejie, what is wrong? The pair of sisters'
minds really worked in sync. Junuo raised her hand to her temple and
replied, All of a sudden, I feel dizzy A song well sung.
This was called a compassion play
a play which was designed specificallyto draw sympathy from others. Fengjiu recognized it because whenevershe
got into trouble as a child, she had always loved to act this play. Fromthe time she was little till now, she couldn't
tell how many times she hadperformed this show. She lamented inwardly at Junuo and Changdi's pooracting, but
with this mere act they actually made Xize place the
incense burner down and take the several paces it required to come over. Hehelped support Junuo, his hand placed
on hers to check her pulse, his eyesseemed to pass over her stomach. There was some difficulty in this development.
From the expression ofAranya's convenient husband, Junuo indeed seemed to be important tohim. Whether he was
diagnosing anything, this Xize Shenjun wouldprobably want to chase his guest away. Fengjiu sighed inwardly.
Heavens,if Prince Qing was sleeping, of course she wouldn't have to stay here at
all, but Prince Qing wasn't sleeping. Once she walked out those doors, shewould be surrounded by servants who
would urge her to spend time withPrince Qing... She perspired cold sweat. If she were to faint at this moment,she
might be able to continue staying in Xize's room. Fengjiu did not faint. Because at that moment Chacha had timely
knockedon the door. Chacha assumed Fengjiu adored Prince Qing and she thusshould always promptly relay his
latest situation to he
r. Prince Qing isasleep, very soundly at that. Your Highness needn't worry.
Xize who was checking Junuo actually looked up this time; he inattentively
said to Fengjiu: Can you

75But the word 'you' hadn't landed on the ground when Fengjiu had jumpedwit
h a huge grin on her face: Look at my memory, I had forgotten all
about catching river breeze with Mo Shao this morning. Since you guyscan't catch river breeze, please stay and rest
well. Goodbye, goodbye. I'llcome back to impose on your hospitality whe
n I have time. At the door,she poked her head back in and sincerely smiled toward Junuo: Take care,
sister. Treat your illness and take your medicine on time for a speedy
recovery. Junuo's face momentarily turned blue.
Xize remained still for a spell. Then he turned to Changdi and told her, as if
he was now finishing what he was saying earlier to Fengjiu: Can you helpme bring the packet of medicine powder by the doorway.
The ship was large, but to look for Su Moye, there were only two places.Either he was lying in his room, or at the
bow of the ship. Fengjiu went to the bow to look for Su Moye. Greeting her eyes were a redmud stove, an emerald
green celadon tea set, and Mo Shao who was
pouring tea. He looked at her with a soft smile: After awakeni
ng from aspring slumber, I find the books mundane. My new joy is drinking bittertea in leisure by the veranda. The
young miss hath thus hied hither, shall I
pour thee a cup?
Fengjiu finally understood why Mo Shao was known as one of the mostromantic men in the land. Was this not a
charming image? Fortunately, hercultivation was solid and her reaction was a mere twitch of the eyelids. Buthow
could any ordinary woman say no when she was offered tea by such acharismatic gentleman? Both were tea-lovers,
yet one could see Donghua Dijun and Su Moye wereentirely different. If the person brewing tea was Dijun, apart
from hiselegant form, his speech wouldn't contain the same charm found in Mo
Shao's words. Dijun generally only had three words to say: Drink or not?
Fengjiu smiled softly.

76At that moment she became lost. Truthfully, she hadn't thought much ofDonghua Dijun lately. At the time, she
was busy stealing the Saha fruit.Then both she and the fruit fell into this world. She wondered whathappened to
Dijun and Jiheng afterward. Perhaps they had solved theirentanglement and were now inseparable. As Jiheng once
said, they were tolast eternally. Fengjiu breathed warmth into her hands. There were times when she stillthought of
Dijun, but he belonged to a different past; there was no need
to bother forgetting him. Henceforth, Donghua Dijun had become nothingmore than four words to her.
I was only joking with you, Su Moye said as he offered her a seat. What,have I brought up some sorrow?
Surprised, F
engjiu replied, I'm still so young, what sorrow can I possiblyhave? Unable to hold back on her curiosity, she leaned into Su
Moye andasked, The words you used to invite me for tea, did you also speak thatway to Aranya?
Su Moye softly furrowed his brow.
Again, Fengjiu did not restrain herself and dug deeper into the past: Andhow did Aranya respond to you?
There was a subtle tremor in Su Moye's tea pouring hand. A smiling younggirl seemed to emerge before his eyes.
She winked to him, then suddenly
waved over the dancers nearby. Teacher is inviting everyone for tea.Sisters, why haven't you come over yet...? She then stepped to the side.
Next thing he knew, he was trapped on his seat by layers and layers ofdancers, having no way to flee. Su Moye s
topped pouring tea and smiled charmingly: Why should I tellyou?
Fengjiu straightened herself and looked glum: Fine then. Twisting to andfro for a while, she said, The truth is, I
came to find you for your help. You
helped knock me out last night, but we can't do that every night. I heard

77the ship will dock this evening. There is a place with great scenery and Iwant to go see it. But if Ah Qing comes
along, it won't be fun anymore. I
have figured out a solution on my way here. Give it a listen.
Su M
oye replied with sympathy: You sure are trying hard and makingyour life difficult in order to avoid Prince Qing.
To come up with this solution, Fengjiu really had put in great effort. Prince Qing's eyesight wasn't great. To find
her, he always used his nose. In the evening, the dragon ship would dock by Heartbreak Mountain.Heartbreak
Mountain had a Heartbreak Cliff, at the bottom of the cliff wasMingxi Bay. Fengjiu wanted to visit Mingxi Bay
tonight to see Yueling flowers.Although she had considered sprinkling some powder onto her body toescape from
Prince Qing, with Prince Qing's temper, he would be furiousonce he failed to find her. At that time, he may very
well swallow thewhole dragon boat. She deliberated back and forth. To find someone who would wear her skirtand
take on her scent was the best alternative. And yet at the thought of themighty Prince Qing, she couldn't bear to be
cruel no matter who it was. ButHeaven did not disappoint. While she was caught up in her distress,Changdi timely
appeared in front of her...
Fengjiu said to Su Moye, From what I see, Changdi seems to harbor secret
feelings for Xize. Tonight I will leave her a letter in Xize's name and inviteher to meet by the river. Mo Shao, your
physique doesn't differ too greatly
from Xize's. If you pretend to be him, it should be a cinch.
She paused, then carefully added: When we go on shore, make a pit a few
steps away and draw water in from the river, then cover it up with a spell.When Changdi comes running toward you,
she'll surely fall into it. I'll beon a small boat conveniently docked nearby. I'll prepare some clothes. Youscoop her
from the water, then lead her into the boat and let her change out

78of her wet clothes. Once you accomplish these things, you are consideredm
y great benefactor. I'll take you to see Yueling flowers.
Su Moye watched as Fengjiu dipped her finger into the tea and drew forhim topographic maps in all seriousness. He
laughed in spite of himself:
Your little uncle had always said as the only grandc
hild in Qingqiu, youare much too pampered. With that disposition of the Devil, you go aroundmaking all sorts of
trouble. I didn't believe him before, but now I see, you
do indeed live up to your name.
Fengjiu erupted: Little uncle relies on little uncl
e-in-law's backing, he's theone who goes around making all sorts of trouble. Talk about me with no
shame. She looked aggrieved. Actually, each time my aunt and I stirredtrouble, we always gave careful
consideration beforehand. Miserably, sheadded: T
hese days auntie has uncle-in-law's backing so she's relatively
relaxed, but I, I still have much to think about.
Su Moye choked on his tea and exclaimed, that could be considered agood habit. Then he stroked his eyebrows and
continued: This plan of
yours sounds great in theory, but since you're pulling Lord Xize into ithis expression became inscrutable. Xize isn't an easy
person to contrive. Ifhe finds out you're using him, I'm afraid there will be more problems.
Fengjiu thoughtfully considered this for quite a while, then quite a while
more, and precisely offered three words: Like I care.
02.
As eventide approached, with a mask perched on her head, Fengjiusquatted within the riverside reeds and peeked to
the situation outsidethrough bright keen eyes. The Si'xing was flanked by Heartbreak Mountain in a narrow calm
gorge.Innumerable wishing lanterns belonging to the mountaineers swarmed the bay. They dotted across the sky like
celestial stars. Tonight coincided with the villagers' Jade Maiden festival. This festival wasa match-making event
between men and women, an eternal age-old

79custom of the locale. On the night of the festival, both unmarried youngmen and women wore masked costumes
to go out. Where the grass wasquiet and the flowers were still, they used songs and dances to confesstheir feelings,
forming the start of a lifelong marriage. Because they were holding such a major event, it was rumored
HeartbreakMountain would be sealed off tonight. Fengjiu fiddled with the mask on her head and quietly chuckled.
Luckilyshe had brought a mask by intuition, else penetrating into the mountainswouldn't be a breeze. A gust of wind
blew through the river marsh, Fengjiu sneezed and took ahandkerchief from her sleeve to wipe her runny nose. She
looked up to seethe water pit she had made in the afternoon just ahead of her. Su Moyewho was playing the role of
the purple-robed Xize was now slowly takinghis place.
When the moon rises atop the willow trees, after sunset is when I shall meet
thee
4
.
Forthwith, a blue-robed maiden appeared. She unhurriedly liftedher soles and sauntered forward, but just before
reaching the covered pit,she ceased her steps. Amid the light emitted from the mountaineers'lanterns and torches, her
ardent gaze directed at Su Moye.
Fengjiu clenched her fists and chanted silently: Another step, just onemore
The blue-robed Changdi stopped and went no further. Shy with
uncertainty, she demurely issued a heartfelt protest: Your Excellency had
sent me a letter, and I've read it. In the letter you said you have admiredme for a course of time now, that you often
have sleepless nights in
thoughts of me...
Fengjiu saw Su Moye's body jerking slightly in the night wind.
4
These are lines from an Ouyang Xiu poem called
written about a couple'srendezvous on Lantern Festival.

80
Changdi shyly looked up. Your Excellency also said it is
complicatedduring the day when there are people around. Since you could not look atme properly, you invited me
here to relieve your longing, but you feared
such thing would be presumptuous
Fengjiu saw Su Moye's body jerking slightly yet again in the night wind.
With gentle eyes, Changdi softly huffed: Well here I am, but why are you
only looking at me without saying a thing? Your staring at me like this
really... really embarrasses me
Fengjiu saw Su Moye's body jerking yet again as he took a step back.
Fengjiu anxiously cheered him on in her head: Mo Shao, stay strong!
Changdi looked straight to Su Moye then gracefully smiled to him with
bewitching eyes: You actually don't have to worry that such action would be rash. My feelings for you are also
she could not help herself and tookone step forward.
Ahh
Changdi fell into the water pit. Fengjiu was momentarily stunned. When she could react again, she wipedher
sweating forehead as she saw Su Moye also frozen in front of the waterpit. She quickly jumped out from the reeds
and gestured to him that thefish had been caught. Although there was some surprise, he needed to takethe next step
and dive in to save her. Su Moye saw her gesture, hesitatedfor a moment, and then turned his flute into a twenty-
foot-long pole topoke around the pit.
From the pit came Changdi's aggrieved voice: Your Excellency, you're jabbing on my head... Su Moye hastily slowed his
pokes and replied, Oh,
sorry sorry, why don't you climb up this pole. Why were you walking so
carelessly? I'll bring you some clothes.
Squatting, Fengjiu saw through the reeds a soaking wet Changdi climbingout from Su Moye's flute, sobbing as she
followed him to the docked small boat.

81There was some problems, but this matter was half way to success. Only,Mo Shao had become a bit unstable after
his undertaking. Were the wordsshe left for Changdi in the letter too passionate? So passionate even theamorous Mo
Shao couldn't bear them? Tomorrow if Xize found out shehad used his name to write such a love letter to Changdi,
she wonderedwhether he would be able to stand it. Fengjiu let out a long sigh. Her sigh had only left when she heard
someone's voice beside her: What are you doing here?
Fengjiu turned around to look, and happily smiled when she saw him:
Waiting for you, of course. Didn't I say I'll take you to go see Yuelingflowers after we finish?
She gazed to the small boat afar: You're so quick. It's only just and you'vealready come back from bringing
Changdi away.
Then looking back a
t him, she said, Why are you still in Xize'sappearance? Change back, there is no one else here.
Two steps out from the reeds, she came back to take a cypress wood mask
and reached out towards Xize's handsome face. I almost forgot. If we're
going into the mountains to see Yueling flowers, we must wear this. I'vealso prepared one for you. Since you don't
know the way, stick close to
me.
Then she pat his shoulder: Right, if a strange girl sings to you, rememberthese eight words: Put on your guard,
stabilize your immortal foundation.
And if a strange guy wants to abduct me, remember these other eight
words: Don't be polite, whack him to the ground.' This path before us has
countless beasts and obstacles awaiting, so we will need to help each otherout
. Cough cough, of course, it's mainly you helping me out.
Su Moye throated a reply.
Fengjiu tilted her head: Why is it that your voice sounds so much likeXize? Didn't I tell you to change back
already? Looking to the sky, she

82
continued: Never mind, ne
ver mind, it's not early anymore; we should
make haste or else we will miss it.
Deeper into the mountains, sunlight gradually died out, the spring nightwas without stars. Fengjiu resorted to an
illuminating pearl to light theroad. Handsome bamboos and clever plants lined their way
Fengjiu discovered this excellent spot known as Mingxi Bay from anarchaic book she found in the palace. Included
in the book was also adetailed map. At this moment, Fengjiu was carrying this map in her handto navigate the
way. Heartbreak Mountain was celebrating tonight, but the old man under themoon
5
did not comply with appropriate scenery. The sky was as dark as
a big black dome looming over their heads. His Honor was instead hiding

83 behind the dome, even his mustache was hidden away; Fengjiu had tostagger along the entire path. The deeper
they went into the mountains, the more solitude it became.Occasionally they could hear the roars of tigers. Fengjiu
felt it was a wisedecision to drag Su Moye along with her on this trip. The pretty singing voices faded behind them.
When they reached MingxiBay, their eyes were greeted with a pitch black landscape, and their earswith dead
silence. It was vastly different compared to the bustling town atthe onset. Fengjiu stored the illuminating pearl back
into her sleeve, lay down ontothe night-dewed grass, and called Su Moye over to lie down with her. Slowsounds
were heard a few steps away, and she reckoned Mo Shao hadlistened to her suggestion. Mo Shao was somber
tonight. Fengjiu at first assumed it was caused byChang Di's recitation of the love letter. On the way here she heard
a songwafting out from the woods. She caught the first couplet and the last,
together they formed four lines as follow:
We became husband and wife whenwe plaited our hair. Doubt never entered our affair. If I live, I'll come back to
thee;but if I die, go on remembering me
.
6
When the pretty song drifted into her
ears, as if a light was suddenly lit, she only now realized. Who was Mo Shao? For someone who didn't bat an
eyelash at the millionsof flowers surrounding him, would he be stunned speechless by a slightlyoutrageous love
letter? Mo Shao wasn't speaking because during this goodhour on this beautiful night, he was reminded of the past
with Aranya afterseeing these couples pairing off. He thus felt pained and did not talk. Leaving Mo Shao alone in
somberness wasn't something a good friendwould do, therefore she needed to find topics as soon as possible to
turnhis attention from all this gloom.
6
These are lines from

Parting with My Wife
(
) by General Su Wu in the HanDynasty. He wrote it for his wife when he was commissioned by the Emperor to go
toXiongnu.

84
Within the darkness, Fengjiu cleared her throat and broke the silence: It's
written in books that Yuelings won't flower until the end of the Dog hour(9 pm). We may have to wait a little more.
There's a folksong about
Yuelings, have you ever heard of it?
As she told him this, she tapped her
hand and softly sang:
Yueling flower, once a snowflake up high. Plucked down,it withered and died. It lived but a moment, perished in the
next. When the moonrose, it missed the flower. When the flower bloomed, it missed the moon. The moonwas
ignorant of the flower. The flower was ignorant of the moon. Flower lived a
fleeting life, flower died a fleeting death.
Fengjiu was lazy in her youth. She did poorly in all her main subjects,causing Bai Zhi Dijun much headaches. But
she was gifted in singing anddancing. When she was little she would love to show off. It was only laterwhen she
read from her aunt's books saying dancing for others was an
act by entertainers that she stopped. She didn't hesitate to turn into anentertainer tonight to console Su Moye; for
friends, she was willing to doanything. Fengjiu felt she was quite generous, quite righteous. It was a very sad song,
and Fengjiu had expressed the sentiments well, butSu Moye after listening to her only said l
ightly, Your singing isn't bad.
He said nothing more afterwards. Mo Shao was being a little strange tonight. But because he was this way,she
needed to be there for him even more. Fengjiu gazed into the shadows
and continued to say: For me, flowers and
plants aren't that interesting, but I wanted to read up on these Yueling flowers. You probably don'tknow this, in
myths, Yueling flowers only bloom on Jade Maiden festival.When the flowers bloom, we can't see the moonlight, so
it is alwaysmoonless at this time of year. In fact, compared to Yueling flowers and the
moon, you and A...
Aranya was on the tip of her tongue when Fengjiu quickly stopped herself.Mo Shao was feeling sad, the cause of
which was Aranya. From herexperience, she best not mention Aranya's name in these times. She
thought wisely and used the word she to improvise: It's already good
enough that you have memories with her. Take a look at the Yueling

85flower, supposedly it also wants to see the moonlight once. But when themoon rises it doesn't see the flower.
When the flower blooms it doesn't seethe moon. They never get to meet, a love which is not destined to be. Is this
not a tragic tale?
A long time passed but Su Moye was quiet, still. As Fengjiu was about tospeak again, her words dissolved away
when her eyes widened at the sightof bright light slowly rising in the air.The effulgent radiance gradually
surrounded the landscape. A streamwound around a vast field of flowers. Amid Yueling trees, tiny petalsclustered
into blossoms, issuing a dim white light. They left the boughs anddrifted across the sky, as though they had been
dyed by a layer ofmoonlight and frost. The stretch of flowers resembled a small patch of sky,with petals floating
mid-air like a brilliant stretch of stellar cloud. So this was the blooming of Yueling flowers. How beautiful it was.
Fengjiuhad never seen such exquisiteness in Qingqiu, nor had she on Jiuchongtian. Fengjiu excitedly turned her
head to look at Su Moye. Mo Shao was restinghis head on his hand, still absolutely, categorically somber. She could
nothelp but sigh inwardly. For the experienced casanova to hurt to this extend,even after two hundred years he still
hurt so much, Aranya must have beena talented person. Fengjiu could not bear to see this despondent, silent, and
lonely Mo Shao.She inched closer and pointed to the snow-like Yueling flowers gliding in
the air, determined to comfort him: Take a look, why are Yueling flowers
so beautiful when they bloom? It is because there is nothing else aroundtonight, and they are the only ones glowing
brightly in the open. They're
the only ones that we can see, that's why they are the prettiest.
She turned to look at Su Moye's masked face and sincerely advised: For so
many years you had no way of forgetting her because you would letnothing else besides her into your memory.
When you try to to eraseeverything else, she becomes clearer and her image deeply ingrained, and
she will hurt you even more. She gestured seriously: But this isn't right,

86 besides her there are other people, other things, other this and that.Sometimes we hold onto our insistence
because we are blind. Mo Shao, it
isn't that you don't know this. You just don't want to. At this point, if a
sensible man like Mo Shao still couldn't get it, then she had done her dutyand there was nothing more she could
do. Unexpectedly, Mo Shao opened his mouth to speak. Yueling flowers tookturn to bloom and wane like a
flickering stream of light. Under this stream,
Mo Shao coolly said, What's
wrong with keeping only one person in mymemory? What's so special about other people that I should pay attention
to them?
Fengjiu had to admire Mo Shao for being able to say this in only a fewwords. But pity arose in the midst of her
admiration, and she could not
help but soften down: Your steadfast dedication is really rare, but lettingher into your heart will also lead pain into
it...
Mo Shao interrupted her, his tone vaguely inscrutable: When was Ipained?
Fengjiu reckoned Mo Shao was a dead duck with a stubborn bill
he could
not bear for others to see his vulnerability, so she agreed with him: I
know, I know this isn't ordinary pain, but a sweet pain. I get it, I do. Butthis sweet pain will break your heart. You
must not turn a blind eye, bec
ause this sort of pain is fatal once it pervades you
Mo Shao broke her off: I don't think you really know.
Gosh, as a man just admit to your pain, Fengjiu frowned. She was
suddenly reminded if she wanted to comfort someone, she needed to begentle. S
he eased her eyebrows and softened her voice. Being this way
means you are in denial. If you're not hurt, then why are you so strangely
quiet tonight?
Mo Shao glanced at her once, then turned his back and said nothing more.

87Fengjiu's heart thumped loudly. Don't say because she saw through
his buried feelings with only one sweep of the eyes, he was rendered soembarrassed he got mad? Mo Shao could
also be very petty. Well, since he was already mad at her, there was no need for her to speakgingerly anymore. She
temporarily put aside her mission of enlightenment.Nevertheless, there was something she was really curious about.
She hadheard numerous stories about Aranya, but she still didn't know howAranya was truly like. Why not take
advantage of his anger and trick him alittle.
Fengjiu appeared natural and spoke in a casual tone: You said you onlywant to keep one person in your memory. How was she like?
Night was quiet; a song drifted in from the distant hills, indistinct andfaint. When Mo Shao finally spoke, his voice
was low, but she could hearthe sincerity.
Very beautiful, he told her. And she'll be even more beautiful when shegrows up. He paused then added: She has a good personality too.
Thenhe recalled: Also very talented. Talented in everything. And finallyconcluded: Everything about her is wonderful.
Then as though he wasspeaking to himself: Since I picked her, naturally everything about her iswonderful.
Fengjiu mulled over Mo Shao's words. A pretty face, a good personality,with talents to boot, no wonder Aranya
was ill-fated from the very start.There was an old saying: Heaven is jealous of remarkable women. Thesewomen had
always been buried away by Heaven, one could hardlylament. Fortunately she and her aunt, although fairly beautiful
in looks,did not have a particularly good personality nor any talent. However, shedoubly appreciated Mo Shao's
words and wanted to concur with him but
didn't know exactly what to say. She thusly said, There was also someone
I once liked. I seem to have the impression that he was very good looking,
but I think he might have been an awful person. Then she added: That'swhy he will get to live a long life.

88
Mo Shao echoed absently, With me here, she will also get to live a verylong life.
Fengjiu sighed inwardly. Although she did not detect from Mo Shao'svoice any trace of bitter regret, one cannot
judge pain from the surface. Hemust have been extremely hurt. If Mo Shao was here that year, he would've been
able to keep Aranya's life. Alas, fate toyed with man. To hear Mo Shaosay these words, she wondered how much
remorse he must be feeling. How lovelorn Mo Shao had been. How sad he also had been. Before their eyes Yueling
flowers drifted further away in the wind likefalling stars. A burst of flowers flew past and was gone in the blink of
aneye, exactly as those words 'live in a moment die in the next.'
Su Moye took the lead to rise and said, Let's go.
Fengjiu also rose and straightened her skirt. When she raised her head, shesuddenly froze under the dying twilight
of Yueling flowers. A moment agoshe did not pay too much attention when she was lying on the grass. Atthis time
when she stood up, she was surprised to find that although SuMoye's face was obscured by the ornate mask, the
exposed strands of hairwere still a silver color of the moonlight.Out of the blue a thought entered her head like
a thunderbolt. A long while later, in the faint glow resembling early dawn mist, shesuddenly advanced in front of the
purple-robed man and tremblinglyraised her hand to his face; the mask fell away. The flowers' throbbing lightspread
onto the trees, the grass, and the two of them. In the pulsating light
field, Fengjiu hoarsely voiced: Lord Xize? When he didn't respond, sheasked again, Why did you lie to me?
The young man caught his slipping mask with one hand and lightly
replied, I never said I was your teacher Mister Mo.

89
Chapter 5
01.
Despite having seen flowers with the wrong person, Fengjiu was glad shewas smart enough to not say anything
inappropriate which wouldincriminate her identity to Xize. Not only that, she also got to hear a gossipdirectly from
Xize's mouth. How very lucky she was. Lord Xize seemed like an iceberg at first glance, but who knew his
feelingsfor Junuo were so deep. No wonder the mortals say beauty is in the eye ofthe beholder. Fengjiu, however,
became a little worried for Xize as she lay down to sleepthat night. How blind was this man, truly, for him to see a
goodtemperament and even talents from Junuo. For a handsome man, he hadsuch bad tastes. What a crying
shame. She sighed and fell asleep, but it hadn't been long before she rose to washherself as the rooster crowed
its early crows. Last night, she had unrighteously left Su Moye behind to face Changdialone. She wondered whether
he was able to cope with the hardships ornot. He might come early this morning for reprisal. If she showed
senseearly, perhaps he would be soft-hearted and let it go. Decided thusly, she straightened her back and sat inside
her cabin to waitand wait. But only until the Morning God's rays had permeated to the open expansedid Mo Shao
unhurriedly show up. After he arrived, he did not makemention of her transgressions. He only said last night Prince
Qing hadchased Changdi around the woods amid shrieks and howls. After beingswathed by Prince Qing ragged,
Changdi had fainted upon returning to theship. This misfortune had alarmed even the King and Queen. After he

90finished, he concernedly reminded her that Changdi wasn't easy to dealwith; for all one knows, she may be
seeking retaliation later. Only now did Fengjiu realize why Mo Shao was so nice today. Without lifting a finger, the
person who ditched him was about to get intotrouble. Of course he would be happy to feign kindness. Mo Shao was
stillMo Shao. Despite the complaint, she kept his advice close at heart. She didn't think Changdi would broadcast
such a disgrace for everyone tohear, what with her pride, but how was she to know the King and Queenwould catch
it themselves. In her dictionary, 'trouble' was a bold entry but 'damage control' didn'texist. She had always been the
queen of Qingqiu, and as Queen, she
had believed it was enough to know how to cause trouble; damage controlwasn't a subject she needed to learn. She
felt a hint of shame at her pastignorance.
She thought awhile and asked Su Moye hopefully, No matter what,
Aranya is still Their Majesties' biological daughter. Even if she is to be
punished, they probably won't punish her too severely, right?
Su M
oye knitted his brow: That's hard to say.
Seven days later while squatting inside a broken cage at Guanchen Palace'sdungeon, Fengjiu at last got to taste
Aranya's parents' furious brand ofdiscipline. She now knew why Su Moye had furrowed his brow that day. This
imprisoning cage was made from the stone which formed Mount Jiuqu. It could indeed only be considered
as a cage, and one could indeedonly squat inside it
the slightest movement would lead to immediatecontact with the cage walls. She didn't know what enchantment
was usedon these stone walls but a single touch was as painful as piercing blades.Absolute torture, it was

91Yet this had only been the case after Su Moye had asked on her behalf toface the wall ten days himself to help her
shoulder some of thepunishment. If she hadn't had Mo Shao's generous help, she feared beingimprisoned alone
would not be enough to lay this matter to rest. In the past, she was also confined whenever she angered Bai Yi,
andalthough she still resented those punishments until now, she only realizedtoday that compared to Aranya's father,
her father Bai Yi was still a verykind parent. This pose of a vertical squat was normally already too awkward, now
therewas even a need to maintain it at all times. While one could freely castspells in this mock world just like in the
original Fanyin Valley, magicusage had been restricted in her cell, she couldn't even use a stabilizingspell though
she wanted to. Thanks to good physical health, she held outan entire day, but by nightfall she couldn't bear it
anymore and let her backfall against the stone wall. It knocked the air out of her when, instantly, thesensation of a
thousand knives cut through her flesh, so painful itimmediately cleared up her mind. This same torture went on and
on. On the first day, Fengjiu doggedlythought all would be fine if she would only put up with it. On the secondday,
sweat soaked through her clothes and Fengjiu could only wishsomeone would come to rescue her. On the third,
fourth, then fifth day, sheeventually realized this kind of punishment would never stop, it wouldn'tend simply by
enduring it, and no one would be coming to save her. Shedidn't know what deep hatred these parents held against
Aranya to betreating her so ruthlessly. Drowned in pain, from the day she was born till now, this was the firsttime
Fengjiu thought of dying. When the word 'death' emerged from the depths of her mind, she
was jolted by a swift case of sobriety. But before her thoughts could wanderfurther, the dungeon door which had
been locked for many days suddenlyclicked open. In the backlight stood a delicate silhouette.

92She struggled to lift her eyelids and saw Changdi standing in the lightsmiling to her. In the dim dusk light, when
she looked as though she had enjoyed enoughof her wretched state, she sauntered over and peered down at her from
above. She said ever so softly, Jiejie, how has prison served you these pastfew days?
It was already a struggle to listen to her, let alone making a reply. Changdi waited for a second then laughed even
more delightedly:
Haven't you always been quick
-tongued in the past? Yet you are so quiet
today? Or is the pain preventing you from speaking?
She squatted down to be level with Fengjiu and said, That prank of yours
was quite something, it made the stupid snake chase me around somiserably. But when you came up with your plan
that day why hadn't youthought that I'm not the type to swallow bitterness, that sooner or later I
would be returning the favor? She took ano
ther careful look at the cage
and whispered, When Father sentenced you to a stone cell to repent, I
thought an ordinary stone cage wouldn't be any good, so I privately askedthem to especially switch this Jiuqu cage
for you. This cage has served youcomfo
rtably, has it not?
Because her legs were numbed, her whole body fell backward against thewall once more. The sharp pain induced a
cry from Fengjiu. Changdi
propped her chin and innocently asked, Are you thinking that Father
wouldn't be so heartless, that once you are released from here, you can
fault me in front of him? She suddenly had a look of scorn: Howlaughable, just because I call you jiejie, do you think you
are really mysister? Father took you on one trip to Guanchen Palace and youve alre
adyforgotten the true sort you are? Even if I were to cut you down with asword, Father would only confine me for a
few days. Do you honestly
think Father will slay his favorite daughter only to avenge you? Shesneered, Aranya, from the moment you were
born you were already
destined to be unwanted.

93Through Changdi's first few words, because she had provoked her first,Fengjiu felt Changdi was pretty good to
have found a way to retaliate andtorture her back. Since she wasn't as good, she had to admit her defeat. Butthrough
the latter part, Fengjiu was glad the one hearing these words washerself and not Aranya. Even as an outsider, she felt
rather hurt. There suddenly came noises beyond the ajar prison door. Loud gongs
sounded from the distance. Celest
ial fire, it's celestial fire! Water, rush
water to the palace! someone cried out in alarm. The commotion
worsened. Changdi all of a sudden reached for Fengjiu's collar. Fengjiuunavoidably staggered toward the cage wall
where another burst of painhit her. By the time she regained her senses, suffocating smoke had enteredthe dungeon.
Changdi covered her nose, her eyes shone bright in the
smoke as she lightly laughed: The palace is on fire, it may very well reach
this place before we know it. Jiejie, it seems old Heaven pities your
meaningless life hence he is granting you an early release.
Fengjiu struggled for a fraction of breath and firmly pulled Changdi's handinto her cell. She squeezed a small smile
onto her lips as she brought herhand to the wall, wanting to let her fathom the taste of cutting blades.Changdi's shrill
scream immediately gave sound. Fengjiu gasped softly:
You can't stand even this much? How unpromising! Your rambling isvery annoying. If you've said enough then get lost!
Changdi held her hand and scampered away. At the door, she turned andshot a look full of a spiteful hatred. Smoke
swamped the cell. Fengjiu coughed as she tried to remember. Right before Changdi came, what was she thinking
about? That's right, death. Indubitably, there was no afterlife for immortals. Oncea fairy died, both body and soul
would naturally turn back to dust wherethe only existence left was nothing more than vapor gas in the vast
cosmos.However, this was the body of Aranya. If this body were to die, her ownspirit could quite possibly be freed
and returned to its original body. At the

94same time, there was also a chance her soul had merged with Aranya's body, and would live and perish together
as one. Foxes had sharp ears. Now as she emptied her mind her hearing could goeven farther. In the chaotic
background, only one sound was clear
it wasthe voice of Xize. This convenient husband of Aranya was always socomposed, like an ancient lake whose
placid surface was without waves ortide. Surprisingly, there were times when just his voice alone could showhow
worried he was. But his worry had nothing to do with her. Xize's voice floated in the air, his
question being: Where is the eldest princess? She wasn't sure whom he
was asking. Fengjiu momentarily felt sad for Aranya. Figuratively, the celestial fire wasa blade which mounted on
both her and Junuo's throat at the same time.But her only hope, her husband, was placing his heart and mind
entirelyon her sister's safety. Wasn't this a tragedy? And again, she had no one leftto depend upon. The fire gradually
worsened, now licking at the dungeon door. As thesaying goes,
the raging fire of a thousand logs, a
monstrous fire instantlyflourished. In this critical moment, Fengjiu was exceptionally calm. Herpain seemed to have
been evaporated in the heat of the fire. She suddenly recalled the time on Jiuchongtian when she was hurt underthe
claws of Jiheng's one-winged snow lion, not once did the hope ofDonghua coming to her rescue enter her head.
When she stole the Sahafruit and was trapped in the python territory, she was frightened, but againsuch hope did not
come close to sneaking into her mind. Not having that thought was a good thing, because then she wouldn't haveto
be sad or disappointed time and time again. Auntie once said it was Heaven who determined marital fates; a damsel
indistress always had a gallant knight at her side. She grew up thinking thisscenario would be the same for her.
Perhaps this was only why she fell inlove with Donghua who once saved her on Mount Qinyao. But apart from

95that one time, Donghua hadn't helped her again in her moments of need.She survived each time on her own. She
endured each time by herself. Inany case, she had to wonder whether she would have the same sort of luckthis time.
Feelings are deep, yet fate is shallow
. Deep feelings were herself; she andDonghua were the shallow fate. Another word for it would be luckless. Shehad
no luck which was why she met him, and he had no luck which waswhy he let her go. She briefly mused she was
such a poet tonight. She also briefly felt she wasentirely hopeless, and obviously had spouted lies. She had said
DonghuaDijun had become four mere words to her, yet in this life-and-deathmoment, she still thought of him
unwittingly. But if she were to really die tonight, would he be sad for a minute's lengthafter the news reached him?
Would he lament: 'I never thought she wouldsuffer such tribulation at her young age. That year she had tended to
mymeals three times a day in Fanyin Valley. She had taken great care of me.' If she could trade her three thousand
years of love and persistence forDonghua's words, it meant the karma she had garnered couldn't have beenhalf
bad. As the flames licked along the ceiling beams, one snapped and began tofall. Fengjiu gazed to the ceiling where
only bright fire could be seen as itparalyzingly glared down on her. Fengjiu closed her eyes. In her calmedheart she
supposed 'from dust to dust' was still a way to life. She waited forthe moment of truth. She was lucky. There was
still a way to life. But it wasn't the way to life she had expected. The black-robed man managed to push aside the
colossal fallen timber.When he saw her damp forehead and waxen cheeks, he startlingly asked,
They went so far as to imprison you in the Jiuqu cage? Flashes of fury

96emitted from his stern cold eyes. He raised his sword and briskly sliced thestone cage in four. Fengjiu was
released in a moment's time, but in amoment's time pain also came rushing back in full force. It crept over everyfiber
in her body as she groaned in suffering and stumbled over. Theyoung man steadied and held her at the waist. A fire-
shielding cloak was thrown over her body and head. Chen Ye?Why have you come to save me? Fengjiu m
urmured. He did not answer her; he held her and searched for a way out. Theoriginally narrow dungeon had turned
into a sea of flames. Fengjiu didn'tthink it had ever lit so brightly as it was doing now. Before her eyes wasthe
massive fire, but her nose was feeling very cool. Her mind was aware ofthe pain still, but this time she really fainted
away. A long time later, night wind seemed to be blowing by. There was a sound
in her ears: I created this place in order to bring you back to life. Though
you aren't her, if this body is destroyed what significance would there be inall that I do? I'll surely bring you back,
Aranya. I owe you, they owe you.
You have to return and take back what was yours. When this voice said
'Aranya', Fengjiu could feel a repressed pain hidden within it. But she couldn't tell whether this was a dream or
not. When she awoke from her blackout, a silver moon was hanging in thedistant horizon. There was no one around
for miles, only a few listlessflowers nearby greeted her. The fire had left an uneasy aftertaste in herthroat. Fengjiu
confusedly looked to the fire-shielding cloak on her body. Atlength her mind started to click. The palace was caught
in a celestial firewhich spread to the dungeon. In the most dire moment, Chen Ye hadappeared out of the blue to
help her escape. She looked to the barren wilderness around her. The only living thingswithin a thirty-foot radius
were some weary katydids. Her savior hadprobably changed his mind on the way back and tossed her here on
theroad. There was a bitterness of medicine lingering in her throat, the pain on

97her body had partly been subdued. It seemed before being thrown away,she was given a very effective analgesic
for treating wounds; her saviorwas quite gracious after all. Chilly wind blew across her face, drawing a few sneezes
from Fengjiu. Herpreviously injured body had incurred a few more afflictions from the pastseveral days of torture.
Adding onto everything was the gusty wind at themoment; to have harmful air seeping into her body would likely
lead topneumonia, and when that day came she'd be the one suffering all alone. Fengjiu fully understood this
potential problem. She tightly wrapped thecloak around herself once more and followed the moonlight to a
narrowroad leading back to her distant residence as she staggered away. The more she went, the less she saw of the
fire's traces. When she reachedXiaohan Manor, she couldn't see any sign that would indicate the palacehad been in a
celestial fire only moments ago. It seemed living far awayalso had its benefits. She entered the courtyard with one
push at the gates. She passed throughthe flowers and plants and headed for the main hall. Sweat on
Fengjiu'sforehead had condensed into large beads. On one hand, she admired herheroic self for getting home even in
her sickly state. On the other hand, herlegs had begun to tremble, and all she wanted to see was a bed so shecould
collapse right there and then. The main hall's entrance was inches away. As she lifted her hand to push itopen, she
suddenly heard sounds coming out from behind the carved door,and it stilled her half-raised hand in midair. Fengjiu
slightly peered inside; on a small table in the room sat a long-
burning candle, behind the candlelight was a chaise longue. Presently, Junuo who should not be here was lounging l
azily across the chaise.Aranya's husband in name, Xize Shenjun, sat on a stool adjacent to the bedwith his back
turned against the door. His head was bowed as he
helped Junuo dress the wound on her hand. Perhaps because he was once theArchmage, this husband of Aranya's
was not quite like the rest of the

98Biyiniaos. Every gesture he made seemed to have a sub-expression. In hisaloofness was a glimpse of laziness, in
his laziness was a glimpse of half-heartedness, and in his half-heartedness was a glimpse of indifference. Atthis
moment as he helped to dress Junuo's wound, there was an everslightest detection of deviation from his his usual
actions
he was beingcareful. Fengjiu remained at the door momentarily. Enduring the Jiuqu Cage'storment might have
confused her brain and caused her to enter the wronghouse. She quietly turned around. She passed through the
flowers andplants again straight for the gates when, suddenly, she saw Chacha comingout from the arching
doorway. Her faithful servant Chacha glanced up and detected her presence. After
some initial hesitation, she seized her sleeve in jubilation. Your Highness,
at last you brought yourself back safely. There was a large fire at the mainpalace and a few subsidiary palaces not
long ago. I was worried that the
fire would spread to the dungeon too. Are you hurt anywhere? Withoutwaiting for Fengjiu's reply, she quickly went on: The
moment the fire
started, Mr. Mo had hurried back from his place of penance to look for you.
Did you miss it when you come back with Mr. Mo?
Fengjiu glanced at Chacha, then glanced to the hanging eaves on the
building peeking behind the flowering tree. She mused, Then I'm not lost.
But I think I saw Junuo just
now
Chacha pursed her lips: Lord Xize's residence and the eldest princess's
palace were near the main palace. Both were caught on fire. Since the eldestprincess is unwell, the queen arranged
for her to stay at our place for the
time being. She carefully searched for Fengjiu's expression. Lord Xizestaking care of her is also by order of the
queen
Fengjiu naturally knew why Chacha's eyes had flashed that way. Sayingshe wanted hot tea and rest as an excuse,
she sent her away to prepareteaware. Truthfully, all she wanted was a bed to stretch out on right now,she didn't care
for tea at all. Xiaohan Manor, however, only had top-floorliving. Her bedroom was right above the main guest hall.
At this time, she

99did not have the energy to deal with the two individuals inside the mainhall. The clustering flowers and plants in
the courtyard could be used as awind shield. Her body seemed to be hanging in there too, so why not situnder the
flowering tree and take a little nap. At the same time she wouldalso wait for Su Moye. Her nap turned into a long
sleep. When she fell asleep she had distinctlyfelt a little cold, but by the time she opened her eyes she was
surrounded by warmth. She bowed her head to see a man's outer robe draped over her body. A voice
entered her ears: Are you awake? She raised her head and
saw Su Moye sitting on a stone bench next to the flowering tree.
Fengjiu foggily looked at him for a fraction of a second before saying: You
knew the palace would be on fire tonight and that Aranya would be
trapped in it, didn't you?
Su Moye seemed as though he had expected this question. At length he
answered, I knew there would be a fire today, but in the past when the
fire happened, Aranya did not step out of Xiaohan Manor. That's why Ididn't pay attention to whether the fire would
spread to the dungeon or
not. He looked at her then said, And the truth is that she never got
herself into enough trouble to be locked up inside a dungeon. She and youare different, so naturally the things you
encounter would also be
different.
Fengjiu could vaguely have guessed this answer. Since in any case Icannot replicate her life, how will you know
the cause of her death?
Fundamentally speaking, taking a wrong step will lead you down awrong mile, Su Moye lightly said. The variables are as
numerous as the
lotus petals in Xiangshui Lake. It's very likely even a sheer sneeze cancause a rippling deviation from the original
world. But do you know thatin these many variables, there are also those which can't easily be changed
no matter what?

100
Seeing her confused eyes, he went on: Do you still remember the white
lotuses which are formed from people's hearts in the Pundarika Pond infront of Taichen Palace? Lotuses in the Jade
Pond change with each season,dawn always comes as night passes, but the thousands of white lotus
blossoms in Pundarika Pond remain ever unchanged. His voice fleetingly became vague as though he was
asking himself: Is whats unchanged thelotus, or a person's heart?
A person's heart, Fengjiu responded.
Su Moye looked at her with appreciation. Yes, only a person's heart

doesn't alter so easily. For example, Junuo towards you; for example,
Changdi towards you; or for example, the king and queen towards you.
His eyes gazed off into
the sky. The clamorous dusty world is merely
ephemeral clouds, what I ultimately want to see behind this dusty worldare their true hearts toward Aranya;
that
would be the cause of her death.He changed directions and said, Therefore you can do whatever
you wantto do without minding Aranya's nature in the past. For the few major
events, however, remember to make the same choice as she did.
Fengjiu thought a bit then nodded. She rearranged the cloak on her body,leaned against the old apricot tree and
raised her head looking to the full
moon in the sky. You go ahead, I'll stay to watch the full moon a while.
Su Moye looked at her for a moment, then gave out a helping hand and
teased her: Chacha said your unchanging heart is due to having me for a
teacher, bracing against the cold night wind here in the garden is also towait for me. Since I've returned, there's no
need to stay in this misty cold
night. Get up and come back inside with me.
Spring apricots filled the courtyard, the blossoms were as white as snowunder the moonlight. Fengjiu ignored the
hand offered to her andremained looking to the round jade in the sky. After a while she suddenly
said, Have you heard of my story with Donghua Dijun? She had barely
asked when she suddenly realized it w
as somewhat inappropriate. The breeze is making me sentimental tonight, she swiftly said. Pretend youhaven't heard
anything. Go on ahead.

101The smile on Su Moye's mouth faded, he reached out to the pot on thestone table and warmed her another cup of
te
a. Liansong mentioned someof it to me, he said. Bai Zhen always said your innate personality doesn't
allow you to dwell in sorrow, right now you look as though you are tryingto endure sadness on your own. If there's
anything on your mind, you canalways tell me. Although my reputation is but false fame, I can still be
considered as one of your elders.
Fengjiu remained silent for a while before telling him: Changdi replacedthe stone cell the king had sentenced me to with the
Jiuqu Cage.
Su Moye's teapot-
holding hand shook. What?
Fengjiu tilted her head to glance at him. It was nothing, really, shequickly said. I've taken some medicine for the
injuries. It doesn't hurtanymore. She gazed skyward again. It's just that when I was enduring
the torture inside the cage, I kept thinking why it had to be like this for me.Auntie said when she was trapped by
High Deity Yaoguang inside thewater dungeon, High Deity Moyuan had come to save her. And when shewas
captured to Daziming Palace, Moyuan again came to save her. Ah,then it seemed Moyuan came to her rescue each
time? Then say, hasn'tAuntie used up all my luck? Is that why every time I'm in danger I'm
always by myself? Her voice was tremendously calm, there wasn't a
single trace of hurt in it. Her last words had seemed a genuine inquiry.
Su Moye lowered his voice: Every time? He seemed to see a shadow
deep within the apricot garden, but at a closer look, nothing was thereanymore. Even as he held his breath he could
not detect anyone else'srespiration inside the yard.
Fengjiu raised her head and mumbled, Mmm, the sort of danger that
almost took away my life had happened a few times in the past. If I hadn'tgone through those I probably wouldn't
have been able to withstand thetorture of the Jiuqu Cage. Because I'm the only granddaughter of the Baisin Qingqiu,
I actually have always been spoiled since I was young. Later
on because I liked Donghua Dijun, I came to experience some bitterness and
became a lot stronger. She continued after a brief pause: Actually, I

102shouldn't say no one ever came to save me. For instance, this time Chen Yewas there to save me, even if he did
toss me aside halfway back. I didn'treally mind. Most people cannot withstand the Jiuqu Cage for five days,right? I
actually survived it, I even got out and came back alone. I'm very
pleased and proud of myself.
Su Moye drained the cooled tea then handed her some warm one. Andthen?
And then? She thought for a moment before slowly replying: When I
came back I saw Lord Xize dressing Junuo's wound for her. To be honest, Ididn't think Junuo's injury was that
serious, but Lord Xize was bandaging
it so carefully, suddenly it left me feeling a little sad. She lifted her handsto her eyes. At that time I felt so much
like Ar
anya, but I also felt sorry forher. If she saw such a scene, she'd certainly feel even worse than I do. Andit made me
sad because I now got to see how a well-protected womanlooks. I despise Junuo's pretense of being hurt by such
trivial injuries, yet I
was very envious of her.
She raised her hands to cover her eyes. Dijun... why is it that every time I
need him, he's never there for me? There were times when I thought thisway. Whenever I was in danger he never
appeared. I told myself it was because we aren't fated, but I didn't really believe that. I thought if Iworked hard,
Heaven would someday be moved. This time, though, Ireally think if Chen Ye hadn't saved me, I'd have died. I
didn't believe weweren't fated before perhaps because I wasn't thoroughly disappointed
yet.
Then, do you hate him? Su Moye asked after a long silence.

Fengjiu lowered her palms, gazed to the apricot blossoms under the
moonlight, and blinked hard. Probably not. I just feel weary. Dijun is
great, we just aren't meant to
be.
You're still very young, Su Moye gently told her, you'll meet someone better in the future.

103
Fengjiu unconsciously nodded. Yes, I'll meet someone better in thefuture.
Su Moye smiled: What kind of man do you want to meet?

Fengjiu thought for a
second. Although I'm not so weak that I would die if
someone didn't come save me from perils, I do hope to meet someone whowould help me when I was in danger.
Then after saving me, he wouldn'tthrow me to the side. And when I was sad he'd be there to com
fort me.
Su Moye lowered his voice: Haven't you thought about meeting someone
who wouldn't let you suffer, who wouldn't let you be in danger to begin
with?
She did not speak.
Su Moye continued: Does your neck not hurt when you crane it like that?
Did someone tell you looking up will stop tears from falling? Don't you
know that's a lie? What is it that you are trying to bear?
A burst of chilling night air passed by. Fengjiu was still looking skyward asif the round moon in the sky was full of
fascination. Sometime later, twostreams of tears fell from her eyes, followed by low sobs. Then a whilemore, she
finally bawled heartbreakingly. A strong gust materialized out of thin air, bringing apricot petalssprinkling down and
swirling turbidly like a snowstorm. Within the flyingpetals, Su Moye once again saw the purple shadow. It turned
out his visionwasn't blurred. In the dense petal rain, the purple-robed deity was deathlypale, at his feet was a spilled
medicine bowl. His fingers grasped onto anold apricot trunk while his eyes rested on Fengjiu's body. Fengjiu
remainedunaware, she was only crying harder and harder now. He knitted his browand silently gazed toward her. He
seemingly wanted to come closer, yetunable to take that distance-closing step.
02.
Because of the palace fire, Aranya's ten day long penance was renderedmoot. Fengjiu did not kick up a fuss over
Changdi's attempt at burying her

104alive. As Changdi said, even if this matter was called to attention, shewould only be receiving a perfunctory
punishment. Besides, though itwasn't brought to attention she was able to crawl back from that pit. If shewere to be
buried again, she could drag herself out again. Let's see whowould stay buried in the end, and whose pit was better
dug. Most of the excursion palace lay in ruins in the aftermath of the celestialfire. More than half of the mountain
camellias had also suffered, bringingthe queen's birthday to a dismal scene. The king was beyond enraged, butsince
celestial fire wasn't caused by men, there was nowhere he could venthis anger and looking at the ruins only served
to further dampen his mood.Displeased with the sight, he ordered for overnight preparations to returnthe dragon ship
back to the Imperial City. White mist glided ceaselessly on the river surface, lanterns hung high onthe mast, a few
pale stars dotted the sky. Day was breaking. Fengjiu lay sprawling under a fluffy soft damask quilt as she listened
towaves crashing onto the bow. A pleasant scent made its way into her bedcurtain just as a question slowly
wandered into her mind: if one woke upin pitch darkness and found a familiar stranger next to one's bed, howwould
one generally react in this situation? Logically speaking, shouldn't she scream loudly, pull her quilt, back away
into the corner, and use a trembling yet stern voice to shout: Insolentscoundrel! What do you want? But the person in front
of her couldn't be
considered a scoundrel, and had always treated her as a wooden stake. Itwas pitch-black at the moment, what could
anybody do to a wooden stake just because it was pitch-black? Having thought this way, Fengjiu slightly relaxed.
She slowly sat up in bed, leaned against the headboard and lit a candle. When she brought thelight to the handsome
man, she startlingly confirmed that his face indeed
belonged to that person. Lord Xize, did you... walk to the wrong room?
Illuminated by candlelight, Xize did not look well tonight. He quietlystudied her for a while with a gaze which
seemed to want to dissolve into

105her eyes. But he made no movement, and she didn't know what he wasthinking. Fengjiu considerately lifted the
thin quilt to get out of bed and said to him,
I've had enough sleep. You seem quite tired. Were you too lazy to find
your room so you came to sit in mine for a bit? I'll be outside to catch some
breeze. If you go remember to leave the door for me...
Her remarks were, in fact, intended to avoid scandals and rumors. Eventhough Aranya and Xize were technically
spouses,
she
was not Aranya.There was nothing to be said between her and Xize. In the middle of thenight, if something could be
avoided then it was best to avoid. She only lifted her quilt midway before Xize's outstretched hand securelytucked
her back in. Lord Xize frowned as he draped a cloak over her
shoulders and handed her a steaming cup of hot syrup. Has the pain goneaway? Drink this, he told her in a softened voice. In
spite of his unmoving
expression, she could hear the concern in these seven words. Fengjiu confusedly took the syrup in her hands. This
face and mien should be reserved for Junuo's hurt pinkie. Instead, at this very moment he wasstaying in her room
and even bothering himself to tend to her. Hadsomeone hexed him? Fengjiu raised the candlelight to Xize's face and
sincerely looked at him in
concern. Your Lordship have you got the wrong person? I am Aranya,
not Junuo. Or perhaps... I really do resemble Junuo to you people who arepossessed. But I'm really, honestly
Aranya. You are seeing me as Junuoonly because you are posses
sed
Xize quietly looked at her for a long while. I'm not possessed.
Fengjiu became even more dubious upon hearing his words. Thengenerally speaking, shouldn't you be tending to Junuo at this moment?
she probed. Xize's eyes came to rest on her face.
Is it not a good thing that I'm tendingto you?

106
Fengjiu took a moment to think. Comprehension dawned on her. Ah, did
Junuo ask you to look after me to make up for what Changdi did? Howloving they are to one another. I never
thought of bringing this matter toHis Majesty's attention. For this you have wasted your care on me, but I'mnot sure I
deserve it. Actually, I have Chacha to help me with water and teaand similar such. When Chacha isn't here, I can
take care of myself. There'sreally no need for e
xtra help.
She handed the sweet syrup back to him then cautiously said, I know we
don't love each other, but you always help the two of them. I think it's
somewhat... inappropriate. She said 'inappropriate' but in fact it was more
than inappropriate. She felt incredibly offended for Aranya, but with heridentity, she could only say this much. She
calmly brought her gaze back to Xize again, and was surprised to findhim dazedly looking at the syrup in her hands.
At long last he replied,
This has nothing to do with them. Then he lifted his head to look at her.Today I only gave you a cup of water but you don't even want to
drinkit?
There was clearly no expression on his face, but when these words cameinto her ears, Fengjiu was made to feel a
little crestfallen. She didn't drink itat first because she didn't want him to compensate her in Changdi's
stead, but since he said that wasn't the case, to reject him again would seem
unamenable. She received the cup and stammered, I wasn't thirsty before,
but n
ow I am, then downed the sugary water.
The syrup was obviously sweet, but she could almost instantly taste thetang of fresh blood. She was unsure whether
her taste was malfunctioningfrom the torture of several days ago. Speaking of the torture several days ago, she
recalled that taking Chen Ye'smedicine had only reduced her pain in half. Last night while conversingwith Mo Shao
in the apricot garden, her body was still in constant pain. Yetat this point in time, inexplicable comfort enveloped
her. Indeed when onewas young, one's bones were strong and a good sleep cured all ailments.

107While she was lost in thought, Xize had taken the porcelain cup from herhands and placed it on the table. Then
he helped her lie down and said,
There is still some time before sunrise. Get some more sleep.
Fengjiu did feel a bit sleepy after drinking the syrup, but Xize's actionstonight had her awfully befuddled. When he
lowered his head in nearproximity, she could also smell the faint fragrance of white sandalwood. Itgave her a
nostalgic sense of familiarity. But if Xize wasn't possessed andwasn't amending on behalf of Changdi, could he have
alternatively caughthis head in the door? Mild incense swarmed the room. Conducive to resting, it aided
Fengjiuwell. She had many questions to ask, but they were immaterial comparedto sleep. As she was about to give
in to somnolence, she suddenly heard
Xize's voice in the darkness: That night you said you had once lovedsomeone? A pause. That person had made you very
disappoi
nted, hadn't
he?
Fengjiu's heart gave a thump. That night she mistook Xize for Su Moye andled him to go see Yueling flowers.
Subsequently she told him there wasonce a person she loved but he was to be considered a terrible man. More than
ten days had since gone by. Now that Xize suddenly asked, shedidn't know what he was referring to. In any case, it
was unlike Xize to askthis question. In her view Lord Xize was an immortal possessing profusedivinity. Not only in
the Biyiniao clan, even the notably stern elders sheknew would have a difficult time matching his otherworldly aura.
Later onwhen she learned he had feelings for Junuo, she still didn't feel it to be true.She always had the impression
that his feelings were blocked by a layer ofairy divinity. Truthfully it did not feel very much like an earthly kind
oflove, and thus she didn't expect for him to ask such an earthly kind ofquestion. Although he insisted he wasn't
under black sorcery, she worried hemight've been struck with it.

108Seeing her i
n lengthened silence, Xize said, He had indeed made you verydisappointed.
Fengjiu sighed under her quilt and awkwardly said, It really doesn't
matter whether I was disappointed or not. It's just that sometimes loveneeds the presence of fate as well. I spent a lot
of time gambling on thisfate, but in the end I didn't win. Only recently did I comprehend thetragedy of insisting on a
fate which we don't have, and was enlightenedquite a bit. If there is something Your Lordship is unable to see, we
candi
scuss about it.
Night was dark and quiet, but she was able to feel Xize's eyes intently
fixing on her. If he now appears in front of you, will you still doubt thatthere is fate between the two of you?
Fengjiu laughed, feeling extremely sleepy now. The

word 'fate' has neverexisted between the two of us. I've wagered on myself for so long, it's abouttime to let it go. So
you see, whether he appears or not this time wouldn'treally make a difference. It would be better if he doesn't come,
I don't really
want to see him.
A long time passed before she heard Xize say: Truly?
Truly, Fengjiu replied in sedateness. She then mumbled, I actually

understand why Your Lordship said these things to me tonight. I knowyou've always been reluctant to be in this
marriage, and are afraid I'll clingonto you. You're hoping I can find someone soon? You don't have to worryabout
this, everyone has his own fate in life. I'm feeling really sleepy, ifthere is anything else let's talk about it tomorrow.
When you leave, help me
close the door.
Xize no longer spoke. Fengjiu thought he was probably embarrassed because she had seen through his mind.
She felt she was especially skilledtonight to be able to read someone's heart. Yet for some reason the roomwas filled
with a sadness which overwhelmed her. Xize remained in hercabin even after she fell asleep; she did not hear the
door closing upon his

109exit. White sandalwood interspersed with the fragrance of incense,lingering on indefinitely. Fengjiu slept past
noon. She was so hungry she couldn't stay asleep on anempty stomach. Coincidentally, beyond the door Chacha was
receiving SuMoye's oral instructions inviting her to the bow for some grilled fish.Fengjiu's sleepiness dissipated at
the deliverance of this news. When shelooked around before closing the door, she saw that the furniture in herroom
had been put away neat as a pin. The small embroidered stool Xizemoved to her bed last night to sit on was now
firmly resting at the foot ofthe bed. The cup of syrup she drank from also went away without a trace.It was as if she
had never woken up in the middle of last night, and theconversation she had with Xize was but a figment of her
dream. She went to the bow and looked around. Su Moye was holding a fish kabobas he stood beside a broken
stove, looking back at her with a grimy face. The ever elegant Mo Shao was a master at brewing tea on fine
charcoal. Hehad probably assumed the fire used for brewing tea was the same one usedfor grilling fish, not knowing
they were entirely different. Her stomach crawling with ravenous bugs, Fengjiu watched Mo Shaomake a mess and
the promise she heard suddenly turning into flittingclouds in the sky. He had invited her out for fish, but looking at
thissituation, he had really asked her out to grill fish for him. Mo Shao pointed to the mahogany box next to him,
and albeit shamefaced,
smiled charmingly at her. I knew you'd hurry over because you'd be
hungry with nothing to eat. I've especially prepared a bowl of porridge for
you.
Fengjiu was pleased to see that Mo Shao still had some conscience left. Shedrank her porridge without further
decorum. It was a sweet porridge,gooey soft and fragrant, but for some reason whenever it entered herthroat, there
was always a hint of bloody tang on the tip of her tongue.Aside from this hint of blood, the taste was otherwise
remarkable.

110Su Moye watched her finish the porridge then pointed to the feet of the
barrel, still smiling his charming smile. If you're done eating then teach
me how to grill these fish. They were hard to come by. Lord Xize especiallysaid having them grilled is beneficial for
you. Regrettably, 'though I'mwell-
versed in books and swords, fish grilling in particular is a bit...
Upon hearing the name Xize, Fengjiu abruptly choked on her last gulp ofporridge the moment it went into her
mouth. Mo Shao swiftly handed hera drink. Whatever it was, it still tasted like the sweet syrup from the
night before. Fengjiu swallowed the syrup with difficulty to wash the porridgedown and
foggily looked at Su Moye. These fish are from Lord Xize too? I
thought there was something wrong with him last night, as if he waspossessed. It seems he really is suffering some
very bad witchery if he stillhasn't come back to sense even now. Instead of giving these fish to theroyal chef, he left
them to your authority. Since when did you two share
this type of rapport?
Su Moye seemed surprised. Didn't Lord Xize say anything to you after hecarried you back to the ship last night?
Fengjiu was even more surprised. She stared at the syrup in her hand and
said, I was in a bad mood last night so I stayed in the apricot garden to
cry... Umm, after I fell asleep from crying, wasn't it you who brought me
back to the ship?
Su Moye calmly handed the fish ka
bob to her: That's not the case at all.
Well, last night. Last night quite a few things had happened. The second Fengjiu let herunbridled tears fall, a gust of
wind came into the quiet apricot garden. SuMoye wasn't sure if it was from the emotions of Donghua Dijun who
washiding in the back. Burst after burst of turmoil, then burst after burst ofchill. Seldom did the carefree prince of
the West Sea visit Jiuchongtian topay homage. Even so, he was informed of Donghua Dijun's reputation for

111 being an emotionless and desireless deity. For the first time he found thatthe universe's master, too, had feelings
all along. Her crying went from loud sobs to whimpering sounds, then graduallylowered into inaudibility. Fengjiu
leaned against the tree with his robedraped over her and fell asleep in tiredness. He had intended to bring herinside
and was about to get up from the stone bench when the purple-robed deity had gone over to the apricot tree, bent
down, and pickedFengjiu up, all while looking as though he had been waiting just for thismoment when she would
finally fall asleep. Su Moye had met Donghua Dijun once when he was a child. The mortalslived in their earthly
realm while the fairies resided on the three heavens ofpurity. Still, he had thought that above the earthly realm, the
superior kinghad also transcended outside and beyond the Three Purities. In his eyeswas an indifference, as though
the heavens and earth contained nothingmore than empty void. Back then he had thought, 'ah, perhaps this was the
aura of one who ownsthe universe.' Once in this world, he recognized he was different than he had been,
but because they were so far apart he couldn't really see what it was. Now ashe stood in front of him, his arms
holding a sleeping Fengjiu, his eyesshowing a rare hint of softness, he came to understand what the differencewas
compared to that year. Something now existed in Dijun's eyes. The rapport he shared with Xize which Fengjiu
referred to was merely inthe form of a question Dijun had asked
before he left: Aranya had a
teacher named Su Moye. You're not the Su Moye of this world, but from
Fanyin Valley. Have you come and replaced the original?
Before, there were a few things he could hide from Donghua because hehad been too concerned about Fengjiu to
detect anything else. Now thatFengjiu's identity had been revealed, he knew he could no longer hide thetruth and
naturally confirmed.
112
Dijun then asked, Did Liansong ask you to come in here to find Xiao Baiand me? At first, of course he had
to pretend he didn't know that Xize wasin fact Donghua. But he then admitted that Liansong had asked him to
helpthem escape from this place. He had done everything he could to prevent Donghua and Fengjiu fromrecognizing
each other just for his own selfish motives. This time when hesaw that they were about to recognize each other, he
did not stop them because he had felt sorry for Fengjiu. Should Donghua want toimmediately bring Fengjiu back,
there was nothing he could do. As forAranya's karmic matter, he'd simply have to take a few detours. Unexpectedly,
kindness rewarded him. Dijun gazed to the distance beyond
the garden and said to him, It was I who kept the truth from her first. For
now don't tell her who I am. Mystical energy are purer here compared tothe outside world, suitable for her to
recuperate. We won't leave for thetime being, you don't have to go back either. Help me look after her when
I'm not around.
The sound of a sneeze brought Su Moye back from his reverie. Fengjiurubbed her nose
and asked him, You asked me if Xize said anything when
he brought me back on board. I've spent quite some time thinking about
it, but he said what seemed to be a lot of gibberish which I cannot wholly
remember. Did he mention anything to you?
Su Moye tho
ught about it and cryptically smiled. Nothing at all

114
Chapter 6
01.
The wide river flowed east. This river was named Si'xing, and eastwardwas where the capital lay. Because they were
coursing downstream thistime around, the returning trip went much more smoothly. In only three orfour days they
had already reached Heartbreak Mountain. Mingxi Bay at Heartbreak Mountain
how could Fengjiu forget thecompanionship she and Xize had shared when they last saw Yueling blossoms there.
Yet this was the third day Xize hadn't shown himself sincethe night they spoke in her room. Fengjiu considered
herself aconscientious person; after eating his fish and drinking his syrup, she
had been wanting to express her gratitude in person. At the same time shewondered whether his condition had
improved and if he had regained anyof his senses. Not having seen him left her feeling a little regrettable. Thanks to
Mo Shao's care, Fengjiu ate then slept, slept then ate, livingcomfortably for the past several days. Never mind the
external injuriesfrom Jiuqu Cage which had all healed, recently she even gained a muffin-top on her stomach. In the
wake of this discovery, she sometimes pinchedher stomach dolefully in addition to sleep and eat. Chacha kept in
mind what she saw.
Her Highness seems to miss PrinceQing, she worriedly reported to Mo Shao. She has been holding onto her
stomach every day in endless sighing. She might have found out thatPrince Qing has been sleeping ever since Lord
Xize came to visit it.Knowing her affection for Prince Qing, she must be afraid I would blamemyself, for she has
restrained herself from asking me about his condition.I've been the one mainly responsible for Prince Qing yet I
ended up
allowing such serious trouble to happen Her eyes g
listened with tears.
Our kind princess is always thinking for others.
Su Moye gazed outside the window and thought to himself, 'these daysyour happy princess has long forgotten
whether Prince Qing was a scallionand which hillside he was grown from. She is only bemoaning the fat she

115
gained.' Yet from his mouth came these words: No wonder you areAranyas most trusted helper. Smart and clever as expected,
and are able to
see through her intention. If you already know what she wants then followher wishes; such is the duty of a loyal
servant. If she doesn't ask you, she
will certainly ask me, at which time I will give her the details.
Soothed by the overwhelming praise, Chacha expressed her gratitude and joyfully ran off, leaving Su Moye
alone to his rumination. Dijun had actedwith meticulousness and care. Before he left, he even remembered
Fengjiuwas afraid of snakes and took it upon himself to take care of Prince Qing.Poor Prince Qing. He wondered
whether he would ever be able to wake upfrom this sleep. Su Moye sighed lamentably. In another cabin.
Disappointed by the fire, the King had been irritated fordays, now he was sick of the continuous sailing. At this
time, the ritesofficial by his side forecast a sky filled with glittering stars tonight, and toldhim it was going to be a
beautiful evening. His Majesty's interestimmediately kindled upon hearing this. He ordered the rites officials toclean
up the entertainment terrace on deck for a night banquet soon tocommence. Fengjiu had no interest in these dinner
parties, but for the past few daysthere were only two places she could visit: her room and the bow; therewere only
two people she could see: Chacha and Su Moye. To and fro, backand forth, she was bored to tears. That was why for
the first time ever sheleft to come to dinner early. By the time Shangjun, his queen, and the two princesses followed
therailings to mount the terrace, Fengjiu had already drunk two cups of tea,eaten three plates of sweets, and littered
the floor with walnut peels. Changdi's eyes swept to spot her; a touch of malice and mockery flashed inthem.
Fengjiu calmly plopped half a cake into her mouth and pretendedshe didn't see her

116Changdi preened herself prettily today. In her hands was a lyre, on
her body was a white dress fluttering in the river wind, and on her face wasmeticulous makeup. But no matter how
important a dinner is, it was still just a dinner. There was no need for a princess to perform music. At first,Fengjiu
didn't really understand. Then she perked her ears and listened tothe courtiers sitting in the distant. It turned out Lord
Xize was apparentlymusically inclined. One of the courtiers even added mysteriously thatPrincess Changdi and Lord
Xize were quite compatible in their interests. But up to the opening of the banquet, the musically inclined Lord Xize
stilldid not appear, leaving a stiff-faced Changdi holding onto her lyre on stagelike a block of stone. Fengjiu partly
gloated in glee but also partly felt sorryfor her. Nevertheless, Lord Xize proved to be a prized confection. Not only
didChangdi miss his presence, even the queen asked after him. Once there wasfull attendance at the terrace and the
opening dance came to a conclusion,
the queen's moderate voice found its way to Fengjiu: It h
as been severaldays since I last saw Xize. Shouldn't he have returned today? The banquet
has started yet why do I still not see him?
Fengjiu listened to her words dazedly. While she hadn't seen Xize lately,she merely thought he wasn't on board and
had gone somewhere. Shedidn't know when he had left much less when he would be returning. For amoment, she
didn't know how to lie and could only vaguely play along
with the queen's words. I'm afraid there might have been some delay on
his way back, such thing isn't unusual. I'm dismayed to have burdened
Mother with this worry.
There was a number of shrewd people at the terrace, would she buy thisambiguous answer?
In the steep and narrow Kongshan mountains are ferocious beasts
guarding the soul-preserver he
rb, interjected Changdi, all of a sudden. If
gathering these herbs for Junuo jiejie ends up causing His Lordship harm, I

117think I must apologize to Aranya jiejie. I assume because His Lordship hadleft in a hurry, he hadn't had time to
bid you goodbye. You must not know
his whereabouts?
Then turning to the queen, she said, It was I who requested His Lordship
to retrieve Huhuncao from Kongshan. I was worried for Junuo jiejie, forfear she had suffered a shock the night of
the fire and agitated her health.After saying he will grant my wish because I rarely ask for something fromhim, he
left the next day. But I'm now beginning to worry seeing that HisLordship hasn't come back yet. It seems I might
have been wrong in asking
him to go
The queen looked to Changdi in surprise, Fengjiu was also a bit shocked. In
the distance came Su Moye's voice: Xize has not met with the two sistersafter we boarded the ship, don't listen to
her folly.
Amusedly turning the cup in her hand, Fengjiu watched Changdi feign alook of concern and bashfulness in her
eyes. Things were becoming a tadinteresting. Although she had always been slow, as a child she had often
conspiredwith her aunt to deceive her father, and thus she was only too familiar withwhat was happening. She knew
well all these twists and turns. When MoShao remarked Changdi was speaking careless folly, he signified she
washarboring a motive. And what was Changdi's great motive? Her words plainly insinuated there was some discord
between Lord Xizeand Aranya, and that their bond wasn't comparable to the affection he heldfor Junuo and
Changdi. To sing about this sort of petty jealousy under thetable was fine as an amusing tale. Bellowing it on the
table, however,couldn't really be considered a pleasant display. But if she were to say thatChangdi had delivered the
speech just to anger her... then she wasn't quitethat stupid. Fengjiu ruminated awhile when she suddenly recalled the
words of theT h r e e L i v e s T h r e e W o r l d s t h e P i l l o w B o o k 2
118From Changdi's words and actions, it seemed she was really desperate tomarry Xize and had thus
planned this. Marrying off two princesses to one man was not unprecedented. Xize seemed to have feelings for
Junuo, but Junuo wasn't Shangjun's biological daughter. Furthermore, she was said to be engaged to Chen
Ye.Although they liked each other, it was nothing more than a short affair andit would never work out. Besides,
Changdi's feelings for Xize did notdevelop in a day or too. With her personality, she must have alreadypleaded to
the king. Either the king hadn't brought it up to Xize or he had but was rejected. Although Xize had retired from his
post, his ties to Qinan Palace werecenturies old. Compared to Chen Ye, his name was more reputable. Sincethe king
had always respected him, he of course wanted his support. What could one do to wed Xize? Compromising oneself
was the fastestway... Perhaps Xize had always been cautious hence Changdi couldn't yetaccomplish her plan. As a
last resort, she was going to compromise herselfin front of everyone.
The clever thing about this plan was that Xize wasn't here. Hed have to
clarify his innocence after hearing about it at a later time. But clarifyingone's innocence was a meaningless endeavor
unless it was done on site.Clarifying after the fact would only make it seem as though he was tryingto cover his tail.
When subsequent talks became more intense andsubjected Changdi and Xize to tumultuous gossips, for her
reputation theKing would naturally find ways to betroth her to Xize. In the face of these clever tactics, the only thing
Fengjiu could do was toconcede her deepest admiration. Even though the seated bunch of minions would be
following the King'swill, they all looked at her sympathetically with knowing eyes. Butcompared to the trouble of
Xize's asking to share the same room and bedone day, his marrying Changdi, no matter what, was actually a good
thing.

119Fengjiu's heart sang with music. If one paid attention to minute details,indeed she had lost some face; but if one
were to look at the bigger picture,this plan of Changdi's had actually paved for her a bright open road. Shealso didn't
need to take part in this relationship. Certainly capital, capital;excellent splendid plan; congratulations, well done
haha. After a slew of words from Changdi, quite a few whisperings started tomake their way around the tables. But
everyone present was smart enough.No matter how they felt inside, their faades were natural and easy,tranquil and
calm. As Fengjiu expected, the king did not agree with this. Following Changdi'sconfession, he only lightly said
what could a mere Shuikong Mountain doto Xize? Didn't he hear that the royal physicians have something
preciousto present? With a few simple words, he had instantaneously diverted theconversation. At a glance, an old
doctor promptly stood up and reported back that there was surely a treasure to be presented.
The old doctor hunched over in obeisance and said, I once heard Your
Majesty mention that there is some algidity in the three princesses'constitutions. I happened across a few Jibaiguos
today. These fruits must be consumed during the vernal equinox to be at their most effectiveness. Ihad instructed the
apprentice to stew them into a porridge as treatment forthe princesses' algid condition. Your Majesty, should I
present them
immediately?
Whilst the King nodded, on the wooden stairs came the clickety-clack of
steady steps. Another voice timely drifted into the seating arena: Jibaiguo?
Presently Aranya cannot
have this fruit. Fengjiu turned around. On the
stairs emerged a body from the waist up. Didn't this proper purple-robedand silver-haired appearance belong to
Xize Shenjun who hadn't shown upfor several days, the sweet confection who was dissected on the table
justnow? The entire party panned their eyes to the source of the voice.

120Green mountains hid in the distance, wind glided on the water. A cloakwas seen hanging on Lord Xize's arm,
weary dusts of a long journey weredetected on his body, but not the slightest urgency was shown on his face.With
utter calm and leisure, he stood firmly on the terrace and lightlygreeted the monarchs. Then he unhurriedly came
beside Fengjiu, placed acontainer of soup on the table, slid the cloak on his arm over her head and
said, Coastal wind is drafty, why didn't you know to put some clothes onwhen you went out?
Before Fengjiu could poke her head out from the cloak, Lord Xize took theopportunity to sit down, picked up the
teacup in front of her, raised it tohis lips and downed it in one swig. Around them, a few indistinct gaspswere let
out.Fengjiu managed to poke her head out from behind the cloak and saw thecup on Xize's lips. A boom went off in
her head as she came to realize whythere were sounds of gasping. She quickly extended a hand to block him:
Stop, good sir. That's my cup!
Xize turned his head, looking rather puzzled. What difference does itmake when what's yours is mine?
Fengjiu's head again pounded loudly. Avoiding the gaze of others, shecovere
d one side of her face and sincerely asked, Hey, did you take thewrong meds? You have never been this way before...
Xize paused for a brief second then concisely said, That's because I tookthe wrong meds before. Next, he poured out a hot
bowl of soup
and
handed it to her: Here, drink this.
Today Lord Xize was altogether unpredictable from words to actions.Fengjiu simply could not make him out. She
took the soup in puzzlement.
What is this? Did you make it? She took a whiff then said with praise,You actually spend time in the kitchen, too? I would
have never thought. I
reserve the highest admiration for those who go into the kitchen, let us
exchange ideas one of these days.
young courtier moments ago. She at once grasped the situation.

121The cup shook in Xize's hand, but with an unchanging expression herepli
ed, Mmm I... went to the kitchen to watch Chacha cook.
Because it wasn't a formal dinner, the atmosphere was unrestrictive. Themusicians' string and woodwind notes
soared from behind the curtains,conversations ensued among seated guests. No one noticed Fengjiu andcompany's
unexpected exchange at this table. Regardless, Changdi had previously paved the way for men's gossips. Aline from
you: 'Last time I borrowed a commentary book from you and sawyour exceptional annotations. Indeed your every
word has my admiration.'A line from me: 'How can my meager rustic knowledge compare to yours. Idare not claim
that I am learned from knowing a few scant words, lest I become a joke to you.' They appeared as though they were
enjoying smalltalks and lively drinks, but in reality both eyes and ears were entirelydirected in the direction of the
Xi-Feng couple's table. Since Xize had trekked a long distance to come back to the banquet, theKing should
naturally drop a caring word or two. He looked to Xize, thenwit
h a rare concern said two lines to Aranya: Xize said presently youcannot have Jibaiguo, but why is that?
Why? How would she possibly know? She looked to Xize and ventured,
Because its good stuff maybe? Since Junuo is sick she should have
more, and so
I can't have any? In honesty, I
She intended to explain since she was bighearted, she didn't really carewhether they let her eat that fruit or not. She
hadn't yet begun when she
was cut off by Xize: She is using Huhuncao. Huhuncao and Jibaiguo are
pha
rmacologically incompatible. She would not be able to withstand it.
Fengjiu thought to herself, 'If you are on Junuo's side, just stay on Junuo'sside. I haven't said a thing, why start this
poppycock?' Her absorptioncaused her to be careless and she end
ed up blurting: I don't rememberever taking Huhuncao?

122
Xize looked at her and prodded his chin: It's in your soup, no?
Fengjiu looked to the bowl confusedly: Isn't this fish soup with ginger?
Xize glanced at her while scooping out two pieces of ginge
r. Huhuncaogrows in extremely shaded areas hence its strong odor he hadn't
finished when the culinary proficient Fengjiu seemed to have understood:
Oh, so for this dish you first used the flavor of fish to mask the flavor of
Huhuncao, then you used ginger to get rid of the fishy smell? That's quiteingenious, but there's also another method
I would like to discuss withyou. Though the herb is strong, I think the savor of mutton would likewise
be able to subdue it
Xize appeared to agree. We'll try that next time.
Chacha who stood at their side could not help but to chime in: YourHighnesses, this isn't cuisine...
The buzzing crowd at the terrace gradually settled down into hushedsilence. The two princesses Junuo and Changdi
wore an ashen complexionon their faces while the courtiers below bowed their heads in exchangedlooks. At length,
the contemplative king broke the silence when he turned
to Xize and said, That is to say you didn't pick Huhuncao for Junuo?
Fengjiu's head felt heavy. She had forgotten all about that. This meant she hadn't seen Xize in recent days because
he had ventured tothe high mountains only to retrieve Huhuncao for her. What virtue andtalent did she have to
burden him to care for her like this. Even if they werespouses in name and he was adhering to his responsibility, he
was quitededicated to have taken it this far, really exemplary... Fengjiu's mind was racing at random, her eyes also
darting at random. Shesaw Xize glancing to Junuo then sweeping back to the host. The look on his
face was indecipherable. If not for Aranya, why would I make that longand dangerous trip to Kongshan? He considered for a second then
said,The queen did ask me to look into the eldest princess's condition. In my
opinion the elder princess is doing fine and has no need for my attending.

123Not looking after Aranya on the other hand will cause me some
worriment.
Fengjiu choked on the tea in her throat. That's just crazy talk. It's obvious
you have always been distant toward me. Have you... taken the wrong
meds?
Xize leaned over and helped pat her back. He took a good while then
unhurriedly said, Oh, that's because I don't often come down to thepalace, but you didn't come to see me.
Fengjiu couldn't figure out this logic, she instinctively faulted his words:
It's you who didn't come to see me, okay?
Xize briefly frowned as he thought for a moment on how to respond to
this; he sincerely fibbed, I did come to look for you, but you never noticed
me. You only stayed with your teacher from morning till night. To be
honest, I deliberately ignored you because I was jealous.
Su Moye reacted quickly and said in haste, Your Lordship, you can'taccuse the innocent like that...
Fengjiu was too dumbfounded to say anything. What Xize said, what Su Moye said, and what the king said
thereafter, because her brain was addled by anger, she completely did not catch. Shedidn't even notice at what time
the dinner came to an end. By the time hermind came back, on the terrace remained only her and Su Moye. A cool
burst of river wind passed them. Fengjiu shivered and said to Su
Moye, Mo Shao, do you feel that today Xize is a little... a little...ahh, I don'tknow how to put it into words...
Su Moye laughed out loud. He makes you feel a little familiar?

Familiar? Fengjiu was made to see with Su Moye's small pointer. There
were times when Xize gave off the feeling that if Donghua Dijun had
fortuitously come here, they would be the best of mates. If that happened Lord Liansong would likely have to give
up the seat of being Dijun's best

124friend. In the event Dijun no longer looked for Liansong for drinks andchess, wouldn't Liansong be very lonely?
Might he cry? Ah, that's not true,Liansong could always look for Su Moye. It seemed without women, theycould
still pass time in blithesome peace.
02.
It was already the end of the pig hour (11pm) by the time she crawled into bed. Owing to Huhuncao, Fengjiu had
a restful sleep that night. Early nextmorning she perplexedly found a new chaise longue placed in front of
her bed. When Chacha was called over, she related that Lord Xize had spentthe night in this small chamber and had
risen from bed to go to the kitchensince before dawn. It seemed he was learning to make porridge with a
fewapprentice cooks. Not having sat firmly, Fengjiu fell straight down from her bed. Chacha said
in shyness, Are Your Highness upset that while His Lordship had stayedin your cabin, he had set up a separate couch? She
blushed. Chacha also
had this question but later came to understand that His Lordship
was being considerate of your recovering health. He placed a separate couchnot wanting to share the same bed with
you not because he doesn't want
to... consummate your marriage...
On the ground, a row of cold sweat condensed on Fengjius

temple.
H...elp, help me up first, she told Chacha with a shaking voice.
Consummation. Fengjiu didn't really understand this consummationmatter, and her unreliable mother and aunt had
never explained it to hereither. But she vaguely knew it was something horrific. What Xizeultimately had in mind,
there was simply no way to predict. In thissituation, perhaps the only thing she could do was to look for the
almightySu Moye and consult some countermeasures with him. But first, she must fill her stomach before looking
for Mo Shao; a fullstomach was the most important regardless of what one was trying toaccomplish.

125Mo Shao seemed to have read her mind today, however. After washingand before food could be put on the table,
Mo Shao had already appearedin
her small cabin, humor was evident on his face. Why was there a letter
in my room early this morning asking me to come by? You even wanted tospeak with me in the privacy of your
room; aren't you afraid of Lord Xize's
jealousy?
This situation, this scene, they were making Fengjiu's head spin. Not long ago, she had been excited at the thought
of savory porridge, butfor some reason, her mind began to feel foggy the moment she saw SuMoye come into the
room. She vaguely heard Mo Shao mention something about a letter in his room. She didn't leave any letter in his
room, much less inviting him into herown. But right now as she looked at him, all she felt was that the man in front
ofher was very handsome. He was the one whom she had spent thousands ofyears searching for, all the way from
pure celestial realms down to murkymortal streets. She had toiled so much all because of him. Seeing Fengjiu
staring at him motionlessly while her eyes were slowlygiving birth to a different kind of look, Su Moye's smile
gradually died
from his face. He only managed to ask, What's wrong? before the young
girl had flung herself at him. She firmly clung to him in an embrace as herarms tightly encircled his neck.
Even if this wasnt real, it was Aranya's face, Aranya's body
, and Aranya's breath grazing by his ear. On the main ship, Changdi sat down across from Junuo. Being a little
anxious, she asked Junuo for the fifth time, Jiejie, isn't it almost time?

126 Junuo reached for and unhurriedly tipped over the steaming teapot. She
then gave her a glance and said, What's the hurry. Like brewing tea, there
needs to be suitable heat and appropriate timing. Too fast or too soon,
neither will do. Changdi scoffed and stood up. It was difficult enough to
drug them with a lovesick potion. I'm feeling uneasy. I don't know whyLord Xize is treating Aranya differently these
days. I cannot wait. When hesees the person whom he treats differently in an entangling state with
someone else, I wonder how he might look. She sneered, And Arany
a,never mind that Father doesn't like her to begin with, even if he had lovedher to the rim of his heart, he would no
longer be able to tolerate her with
as great a sin as adultery.
Junuo leisurely returned the tea ware back to its original place. That
is ofcourse. We have to push her to the depths so she can never rise again from
the land of death. This time our strike must be neat and swift. She rosewith a smile. It's almost time. Last night
when she slathered our faces, it
was in front of a large
crowd. How can we show up by ourselves today?
When they pushed their way out the door, on the Sixing River were rolling
whitecaps. Blue sky and bright daylight reigned outside the small boat; inside,romantic curtains hung high. A few
days ago, Chacha had replaced the bedcurtains for something thicker; when the curtains were down, they couldkeep
the morning light out. The bed curtains were now in disarray, a disheveled young man was lyingin bed, pinning
down his hands was a young woman in skin-claddinggossamer-thin fabric, her dress slipping off one feminine
shoulder. She casther mesmerized eyes onto his body, all while straddling him and baringher baby-soft porcelain
ankles to view. Spring was blooming behind the curtains. Was this not what they called'erotic amour'?

127Fengjiu dazedly looked at the man lying underneath her. She wasextremely confused. What exactly was she
doing, and what was shesupposed to do next? The person beneath was rather quiet. His gaze lingered on her face for
amoment as t
hough he was contemplating something. Dragging to bed,stripping off clothes, pushing down, lying on top.
Fengjiu didn't understand him. The young man looked at her with stilled
eyes. These four steps were done quite adeptly, he seemed to sigh, but Idon't remember ever teaching you this. Where did you
learn it?
Fengjiu was surprised to see the forever regal man being held captiveunderneath her and even sighing in such a
way. In his eyes was herreflection, shining like the soft starlight on a cold night
there existedcoldness yet also warmth. She lowered down to lay a kiss on his eyes and felt his trembling lashes;this
was so very interesting.
From books, she foggily answered him. In books are jade
-like beauties,in books are houses of gold, yo
u can find everything in books.
Does that book tell you what to do next? The man's voice was very low.
If one wasn't near him, one almost couldn't hear. She slightly moved away from him to watch his face and nodded
her head.
It does. Many, many things
, in fact, that she seemed to not recall themclearly. Since she couldn't think clearly, she was too lazy to think clearly.
She just instinctively wanted to be closer to the man underneath her. The
next step is to blow out the light, after that would be t
he morning after,she told him in all seriousness. Then she was suddenly confused: Butwhere is the light?
The young man maintained his vulnerable pose, having both hands pinned
down by her. He gazed at her a while then at last said, I think somethingwas left out when you read that book.

128
Fengjiu mumbled, It was Auntie who gave me the book, I'm sure nothingwas cut out, all the while looking around
to see whether there was a light
near their bed. Then she thought and felt perhaps even a book given to her
from Auntie might not have been complete. She curiously asked, Whichpart are you saying was left out?
I can't tell you right now. His eyes were somewhat clouded.
As he spoke, his undulating Adam's apple caught Fengjiu's eyes. She neverpaid serious attention to these spots
before because she had never been thisclose to him. Or perhaps there had been times when they were this close inthe
past, she just didn't have the guts she had today. She wasn't interested in what was left out of the book anymore.
She utteredan evasive response, released one of the man's hands, moved toward hisneckline, and tugged open the
restrictive lapels. Her hand paused slightly.The open neckline revealed a beautiful clavicle, and a light lit up in
hereyes. The man did
nt offer any resistance, he indifferently left her to her will. She
carefully stroked him, then after caressing a while, she quite enviously
said, Collarbone, ahh, this I don't have.
I had wished for a beautiful collarbone every year when I was young,
she ruefully told him, but in the end I still have none. Mother said I was a
little chubby so my collarbone was hidden away, but there had really been
one. As she spoke she brought her hand to the flesh where her collarbone
supposedly hid to show the young man. She froze when she reached it,
sneezed, and said, It seems I do have one.
He clearly could only move one hand, but the young man dragged thequilt quite easily and steadily raised it to
drape around her shoulders. Witheyes still clouded, he exp
lained to her: That's because this isn't your own
body. But even on your own body, we can still vaguely make out the shape
of your collarbone. His movement gaped the lapels wider, exposing a pale
scar beneath the collarbone, one which looked like some sort of knifewound.

129It was a sentence without rhyme or reason, one which Fengjiu did notunderstand. She only brought her hand to
touch that scar, blinked, then
carefully caressed it and asked, Does it still hurt?
The man stiffened. He tilted his head; it was obviously an old wound from
long ago, but he casually gave off a groan: A bit.
Fengjiu carefully neared down. She pressed her scarlet lips onto the scar,remained there for a while, then slipped
her tongue out to lick it, her teethinadvertently grazing the collarbone. When the man suppressed a groan,
Fengjiu asked concernedly, It still hurt even after coated with saliva?
The man played along with her words, his emotion inscrutable: It could be because new wounds have formed.
Fengjiu neared the man's neckline and searched for half a day, finding onlyteeth marks at his clavicle. She brushed
them with her fingertip, raised her
head slightly, and with her lips by his ears, asked in a pliable voice, Is ithere? Then let me lick it again for you...
Before she could finish her words, she somehow found herself now underhim. Fengjiu widened her eyes confusedly
as she looked at the handsomeman before her eyes. He held her hands and trapped her under his body. The quilt that
wasoriginally on her now assuredly rested on his shoulders; under the coverwas a perfectly silent world. She didn't
think she had used very much force to push down on him justnow, nor did she subject him to this confining pressure
which was makingher unable to move, but she also did not want to resist. The young man calmly stared at her, his
breath almost audible. She couldtell his breathing wasn't as calm as his expression let on. He was looking ather, but
it seemed as though he was looking at someone else. Her reflectionwhich was in his eyes also looked to be someone
else's.
ST h r e e L i v e s T h r e e W o r l d s t h e P i l l o w B o o k 2
130
A short suspension. I might be thinking... that I want to quickly switch thetwo of you back.
She didn't know what he meant in the latter part, but insisted on
understanding. With the same pliable voice, she asked, Why 'might'? Wasyour mind blank just now? Noting the man's brief
moment of palpitation,she writhed her wrists and said, Are you tired? I feel a little cold, why
do
nt you lie back down.
The two princesses Junuo and Changdi led a team of maids and broke intothe small cabin. Floating out from behind
the heavy bed draperies were
silky whispering words: I'm a little cold, why dont you lie down. A
subsequent faint gasp or two instantly created an amorous atmosphere inthe small room. The two princesses looked
at each other and chuckled in delight. They came just in time. But there were techniques in catching an affair. One
could either usewords, or one could use force. To use words meant to use formality; fromoutside the curtains, they
would cite Heaven and Earth and moralities toguide the pair of trembling lovebirds out from behind the curtains
andadmit to their own guilt. To use force meant they would be wieldingweaponry. With a cane, they would strike
mercilessly at the lovebirds in bed. Of course catching the adulterers with force would grant them moregratification,
but the two princesses didn't have faith they could beat SuMoye. Furthermore, what decency was there in unmarried
ladies
disturbing others bed in broad daylight. They thus could only regrettably
pick the previous approach. In front of the bed lay a white brocade robe askew, a black belt flunghaphazardly
nearby. Aha, here lay the pretext. Changdi hooked a sleeve
with her finger and assumed uncertainty on her face. Isn't this Mr. Mo's

131
garment? Then she proceeded to look startled. Could it be Mr.
Mo behind the curtains? Now she looked as though she was completelyashamed with indignation. Aran
ya, come out. How can you be so brazenin broad daylight, engaging in such imprudence with your teacher? Eventhe
ants can boast to have a better sense of shame than you. What have you
done to the Royal Familys name this time?
Changdi performed the villain remarkably well, and Junuo immediately
joined in. She told the maid beside her, Go, go and ask Father, Mother,
and Lord Xize here. Tell them there's an important matter which requirestheir urgent presence. We came wanting to
check on Aranya meimei'shealth, we didn't know we would run into this. I myself don't know what
to do right now...
As the two princesses harmonized their melodies, the delegated maids alsoanxiously left the cabin like sprinting
rabbits; one look could tell they werewell-trained servants. The small boat had long had people stationed allaround
it. At this point, the two people hiding in bed were akin to twoturtles trapped in an urn. A large group of female
officials stood beyondthe bed draperies with guarding eyes; all they were waiting for was thearrival of the monarchs
and Xize. This show happened to be well staged.With the dragon ship ahead and Fengjiu's small boat slightly
behind, thedistance between them were merely measured by a few steps. Combinedwith Junuo's clever arrangement,
from the time Shangjun stepped onto the
boat to the moment he entered the cabin was but an instants length.
Behind the tightly concealed bed came rustling sounds of fabrics. Becausethe two princesses were too busy
kneeling down to put on a show for theking outside, they had not noticed these frictional sounds, and thus did
notfeel cause for urgency. Junuo was talented, Changdi was even more so. Justa moment ago she was still frothing
at the mouth with excessive lies andcould not wait to crucify Aranya on the spot, but Shangjun's toes
had barely come into the cabin when the silver blade in her mouth instantlyturned into distressing plea. In
prostration, she professed alarming HisMajesty was all she could do in the face of discovering Aranya and Su

132Moye in a clandestine affair. They had disregarded the morals binding ateacher-student relationship and were in
bed together at this very moment.As unmarried ladies of virtue, she and Junuo had felt shocked when
theyencountered this matter, and
they hadnt known what to do. On and on she
went. Because each step and detail of this play was going in Changdi's way, shehad a fine time acting. Raising her
head, she saw Shangjun facing the bedwith eyes full of anger. It felt as though gloomy clouds were bearing downon
the tiny space, it satisfied her so. With this sense of satisfaction, sheglanced to Shangjun again, and saw that he was
looking behind her, but hismonstrous anger had dissolved away like a clay ox dissolving in water
7
,turning instead into surprise.
Curious, Changdi couldnt help herself from turning around.
She took one look and her body went soft, threatening to keel onto theground. Behind them, the curtains had been
lifted to the side. Aranya was lying in bed; sitting on the outer edge was a silver-haired man who wasunhurriedly
slipping on his shoes, but he wasn't Su Moye. Although hewas not wearing his trademark purple robe, but rather a
pure simple whiteone, the man who was leisurely putting on his shoes, the one they keptsaying was an adulterer,
was actually and plainly the husband whomAranya had legitimately married, Xize Shenjun. The cabin was
momentarily enveloped in a deathly silence. The kingglanced sideway at Junuo; one could not guess what mood he
was in. The maids lowered their eyes and filed into two lines, they did not as muchas dare to exhale. Those standing
farther away boldly whispered theirthoughts in mind: their masters in the past had privately ridiculed HerHighness
the second princess; they said she did not deserve the position of
he tilted her head and curiously asked him, What are you thinkingabout?

133the Archmage Lady as she could not win the favor of His Lordship; nowthe sun had risen so high, and the
Archmage had only gotten out of bed,
then didnt this mean the second princess had won His Lordship's
affections? Because he just woke up, Lord Xize's silver hair was a bit messy. Althoughhis clothes were neat on the
surface, the closed lapels were not asrestrictively tight as ordinary days. When the morning light sprinkled in,he
made a most remarkable picture. The picture was beautiful, but the atmosphere in this small cabin was
quiteoppressive. His Lordship was also silent. After putting on his shoes, hedidn't care to look at the roomful of the
people. He turned around to thedamask quilt and wrapped it around Fengjiu who was sitting on the bed.He then
lightly carried her up and took the path next to the wall screen,
slightly giving a nod to the king: Too noisy. Excuse us.
Shangjun glared at Changdi and Junuo who were prostrated on the
ground. Even as the clans head,
he really did not know what to say given
this scenario. He dazedly nodded back and said, After I investigate thismatter, I promise to give you a clear
explanation. These words carried in
them a self-
humbling sense having been spoken by the clans head.Unexpectedly, Changdi with her pallid complexion suddenly hissed:
He
is not Xize, he has to be Su Moye's transformation. Because he knows hecannot hide his scandal with Aranya, he
resorted to this desperatemeasure. Su Moye's sorcery is powerful, you may not be able to see
through it, but you must believe me
The king's expression had changed several times throughout all of this. He
shouted with a deep growl: Silence! Frightened, Changdi took a step
back and bit her lips. The cabin went dead silent momentarily; the only
sounds remained were those of Xizes dying footsteps as he carried Aranya
away. Changdi lowered her head and dug her nails into her palms, leavingseveral deep imprints. How dare the fake
Xize ignore her words?

134The king seemed a little tired; after staying in reticence for a while, he
suddenly spoke toward the hatchway: Why have you also come here?
Changdi immediately looked up in disbelief; her body went soft, almost as
if she couldnt even remain kneeling. Never in her wildest imagina
tion didshe expect a white-robed Su Moye to be standing at the cabin door holdinga jasper flute in his hand. Why
was it Su Moye?
Mo Shaos elegant form stood at the hatchway. On his face was a proper
smile, he gave Shangjun a proper greeting, all while he was inwardlyswearing proper curses. Dijun
how did they ever think to maneuver Dijun? His Eminence hadobviously plotted this entire comical play. Then at
the end, he made aspeedy escape and pushed him out to sing the finale instead. That oldfogey. He was swearing
inside, but a smile nevertheless surfaced on the outside as
he raised his voice to say: I didn't expect Your Majesty to also be here.
Early this morning, I received a letter addressed from Aranya inviting meto meet her in her cabin at the end of the
Dragon hour (9 am). But I was theone who taught Aranya her handwriting. Others may not recognize if it'sher
handwriting or not, but I can still make a differentiation. For thisreason I thought to choose a more respectable hour
to come see her. I didnot think I would be meeting Your Majesty and the two princesses who
would also come to visit Aranya. My timing is ill, indeed.
When his words landed, even an idiot might have guessed what thecircumstances involving the brouhaha in
Aranya's room were today. Panic emerged on Changdi's face. She went down on her knees and held
onto Shangjun's leg. Father, don't believe him. He's lying!
Su Moye seemed to not follow. Princess, you shouldn't accuse me of
speaking lies, I still kept part of the letter and its unknown handwriting as
evidence.

135
Changdis originally blanched face instantaneously turned livid. She
looked to Junuo for help; Junuo only bowed in silence, her hands hidden inher sleeves, her body seemed as if it was
bound tightly.
Shangjuns
furious eyes shifted from Junuo to Changdi, then back to Junuo.
In a rumbling voice, he ordered, Men, bring the two princesses back to
their rooms. They're not allowed to take one step out the door without my
prior approval.
The king walked away in a huff, his ire did not appear to be mild. Whether
Aranyas affair with Su Moye was true, or Junuo and Changdi had framed
Aranya and Su Moye, the shame was all in the family. If he hadn't known,then it wouldn't matter at all.
Unfortunately his two foolish daughters hadmaneuvered him into their chess game and brought it to his
attention.Covering up this matter wasn't difficult, it was how to appease Xize andkeep his face that was the troubling
matter. This ordeal was giving himquite a headache. Su Moye gazed after the female officials following the
departing King; helightly weighed the flute in his hand, his smile slowly fading. Moments
ago, Changdi hadnt chosen her words in panic and had accused him of
uttering lies. After using nonsense to counter nonsense, he indeed had lied.They had put in a significant effort to
imitate Aranya's handwriting; evenhe was fooled. He even carried the letter and went to meet with Fengjiu.Only
until she flung herself around him did he sense that something wasamiss and that she seemed to be under some sort
of witchery. He'd held a deep affection for Aranya. It was exactly because of this deepaffection that he did not
mistake Fengjiu for her for even one moment. But
if he hadnt learned the mystification sorcery himself, he
might have beendragged into this play as intended by Junuo and Changdi. Once he recognized that it was a set-up,
the most imperative thing to dowas of course to find Dijun in the kitchen. He had originally wanted toswitch places
with Dijun and let their foiled plan be a lesson to those two.Dijun was standing in front of a small stove at the time,
listening to hisplan. The hand which normally held Buddhist sutras was then holding a

136wooden spoon. He slowly stirred the thick porridge on the stove andask
ed, Because they are women, you are unable to pull the trigger? Doyou still remember how to write the word
'tidy'? When Dijun said these
words, the unfathomable expression on his face had been exceptionallycalm, and his voice had given him chills. He
had heard Dijun was one to act with quick precision, but those cases
had all been related to the six realms critical issues. Today's matter could
only be regarded as trivial domestic affair; he wanted to see how Dijunwould go about tidying things swiftly.
Dijun hadnt done much. He only lured the two princesses into inviting the
king to enter the cabin and lift the curtains. Nonetheless, the lifting of thecurtains had enlightened him quite a bit. If
Dijun had lifted the curtainsfrom the front, at most the two princesses would only be deflated. With
this identity, and without throwing away Shangjun's face, Dijun couldnt
really punish the two princesses. But if the curtains were lifted from behind, Shangjun would need to appease to him
by personally teaching histwo ignorant daughters. Compared to the first approach, this one could
make both princesses learn their lessons without any effort on Dijuns part.
It was as tidy as could be. The furniture in the small cabin was now illuminated by the brightmorning light. Su Moye
glanced askance at the untidy bed and slightly
raised an eyebrow. No wonder when he saw Dijun, he wasnt as furious as
he had been in the kitchen. This was because the two princesses hadinadvertently planted for him a lush willow
8
, allowing His Majesty a jollyday of fun.

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Part Thre Aranya

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

'Let go of thy past memories, cherish the one in front of thee

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Dijun's voice asked her from above: That's why you...?

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Dijun was stunned for a moment. He replied in puzzlement: Jiheng

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

She looked to Donghua in bewilderment: I actually have one more

(common) canrange anywhere from the conventional to the vulgar.

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

He looked at Fengjiu: Aranya had ha

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Mo Shao, do me a favor. When night comes, please knock me unconscious

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2

Three Lives Three Worlds the Pillow Book 2