Pillow_Book_2.pdf

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Three Lives Three Worlds,

the Pillow Book

Original work by Tangqi Gongzi

Lower Volume

English translation: hamster428

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This is a non-profit fan translation.

All original copyrights belong to the author, Tangqi Gongzi. It had been our intentions to minimize as many errors and omissions as possible, and to present the original work as accurately as we could.

However, due to working with online sources

and our own amateur limitations, we ask for your understanding should you come upon any boo-boos.

You are welcome to use this translation for any

personal and non-profit uses, but again, because of the amateur nature of the work, we are not responsible for the erroneous relaying of

information should you choose to use it as:

A. English learning material, B. Chinese learning material, and C. Translation reference for other languages

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Part Three – Aranya

Chapter 1

01.

Night wind was chilly; on the shimmering surface of Shuiyue Swamp was a reflection of the bright moon.

Crowding Bailu trees reached for the sky along the bank. Every inch of this holy 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 a thick 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 mirrored reflection on a water surface, the real Fanyin Valley was interconnected to the rest of the vast world, stretching to infinite boundaries. This place, on the other hand, was nothing more than a corner trapped behind a wall. It had been more than three months since Donghua and Fengjiu had been trapped inside this cell.

When she entered the dreamland, the protective barrier Fengjiu created from 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 of numerous sinister sentiments. These sinister thoughts gave birth to many small demons who fed on people's life source. Fengjiu was a delicious meal

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to these starving demons. By the time Donghua passed the pythons to reach 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 he could 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 according to the books Zhonglin gave him, she had done many even more outrageous things just to satisfy her gluttony.

It was said Qingqiu suffered poor harvesting one year when she was young, and the loquat trees in the kingdom did not bear fruits. Nonetheless, behind her house stood a great loquat tree whose fruits were plump and sweet. Living nearby was a small greedy wolf. After he stole a few fruits from her, she had relentlessly hunted him down for three whole years.

Because of these previous records, when he asked her what she needed the Saha fruit for, and she answered she wanted to taste it, he immediately believed her. Moreover, he discovered he was increasingly disliking to see her 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, saying only this fruit could help her cure the Qiushui poison in her body and that she hoped he would grant her this grace, he didn't give too much thought and 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 take care of Yan Chiwu without staining his sword?

It really wasn't an easy thing to make him disappear completely from Xiao Bai's side without her becoming suspicious.

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Fengjiu had always been special to him. But for the longest time he did not question these feelings of his, or perhaps he didn't have the time and effort to question them.

Moreover, this kind of thing was different from annotating Buddhist scriptures. Sometimes, not trying to understand might actually bring the answers. Sometimes, it's just about fate.

Donghua startlingly realized what that fate was on the day of the competition.

At that time, seated high on the terrace, he glanced up and saw Fengjiu throw her classmate off the snow stake with only a few moves. When she sheathed her sword back into its scabbard, her cherry-colored lips secretly curled into a hidden smile in an effortless manner which made him thought for the first time of her queenly position in Qingqiu. At that moment, in his mind emerged four words: 'duan zhuang shu jing' (端莊淑靜)

'Respectable' and 'demure', there were times she could be this way? This was a new discovery for him, an interesting one, in fact.

A nervous Biyiniao maid served him warm tea. He raised his hand to receive it and lightly took a sip. By the time he glanced back, she had stopped smiling.

It was as if she felt her smile had been improper. While no one was looking, she softly bit her lower lip, then swept a glance as though she was afraid someone had seen it. Because her lips were luscious, the light bite left a pale indentation that gradually flushed pink again like an ivory pistil in early winter.

Propping his chin on his palm, he suddenly felt that if he must pick a queen, Fengjiu wasn't a bad choice.

He froze for a moment when this idea came to him. Then he gave it careful consideration.

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No, it couldn't be said that she was not bad. Rather, it must be said that in this whole world, she was the only suitable one. In other words, she was the only one he could ever like.

When his thoughts drifted to this point, he realized the meaning behind his recent actions.

It turned out he was thinking about this matter in such a way, thinking about her in such a way.

It turned out he liked her.

But why out of thousands of people did he only like Fengjiu? He thought about it for a long while and at last concluded it was because he had good vision. Because his sight was keen, he was able to discover her – a diamond in the rough. He wanted to like her, and so he did. To say that his feelings came easily would be true, but to say they didn't come easily wasn't wrong either.

Whatever the case may be, he just had to be here right now and Xiao Bai would be all right.

The atmosphere in Aranya's Dream was peaceful, but outside, Fanyin Valley was shrouded in a hazy state.

That day, Donghua Dijun unhesitatingly mounted heavy lightning and furious thunder to enter the enchantment that trapped Fengjiu. His action had both shocked and confused the prostrated crowd waiting outside the python formation.

The shock lay in the fact that Dijun had been in seclusion for tens of thousands of years. Although for unknown reasons, he paid special attention to Fanyin Valley and regularly came for lectures, he never once used force while he was in the valley.

In the past, Dijun had wielded his sword atop the ephemeral world with a valiant arrogance. This image was actually only retold in legends; no one

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could ever really imagine how he had looked even in their dreams. Seventy thousand years ago, Dijun didn't make an appearance for the war against the Ghouls either. For what reason did he unhesitatingly let go of his fairy energy today to enter that dream?

This was indeed shocking.

Among the prostrating courtiers, quite a few had heard of the rumors regarding Dijun and Jiheng. They had previously wondered whether there were some sort of unknown tales behind Donghua and the musician. But how 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. Only the 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 with Dijun. The King was risking everything to rescue Princess Jiuge all because of kindness, the kindness of a noble deity.

How dare they hazard ill thoughts about the noble and virtuous King with their vulgar minds? They felt so ashamed, so very ashamed.

On one hand, they reflected on their vulgarity; on the other hand, they looked on to see what danger was looming inside the force field. Next, they rubbed their eyes. They were given the view of the noble and magnanimous King, who was gravely injured, unhurriedly raising his hand to Princess Jiuge's face.

Their ashamed hearts skipped a beat.

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But only a second passed when they rubbed their eyes again, straining to see, as Dijun naturally helped Princess Jiuge tuck away her stray hair. He watched 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 see Dijun's lips grazing over Princess Jiuge's forehead. There was a short pause, as if he was soothing her, then his arms tightened around the princess...

The shame felt by the kneeling courtiers dissipated like thin clouds. They held back their breath, their hearts were boiling wild. This, could it be that Dijun's heart had flustered? His Majesty the King's heart could fluster? His Majesty the King's heart flustered and they caught him in action? They really hit the jackpot today!

What happened thereafter no one knew. While they were caught in their excitement, 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 seen inside the force field. Only four pythons were left to stubborn guard the fragile crystal sphere, never stopping to fume poisonous air.

The pythons' eyes carried in them both fury and sorrow. They intently stared into the force field as if they were waiting for Aranya to appear again 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 also pitiable that it was somewhat sad.

With Dijun inside, Liansong was naturally the highest-ranked among those standing outside.

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The Biyiniao Queen together with her subjects looked up in wait for Liansong'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, please remember you didn't see or hear anything today. If I happen to hear anything repeated, the consequences for that mistake...” he raised his brow and looked around “…I'm afraid would have to be shouldered by the entire clan.”

His words were polite, but in the softness lay hidden blades. It was exactly Lord Liansong's way of doing things. The Queen and her subjects bowed to receive 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 often misunderstood as someone untrustworthy, but those from older generations across the lands all knew that whenever crises arose, Lord Liansong 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 the Queen's chamber and dancing for 81 days.

But Lord Liansong's supporters felt that the third prince's intelligence was even more remarkable than the second prince's. It just so happened the third prince was born undersea; his auspicious omen was swimming fish in the water rather than flying birds in the sky. Furthermore, when the third prince was born, the outspread flood that gave Tianjun headache in those days suddenly subsided; this was also a proof of the third prince's phenomenal birth. The third prince did not have the same influence as the second prince, but that was because His Third Highness was humble – he did 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

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Sangji. He did not contend with Sangji for the title of Crown Prince in the past because he had the wisdom to make himself seem incompetent in order to avoid burdensome responsibilities. That way, his life could be happy and free.

But there were such things as unpredictability in life. Although Liansong reached enlightenment at an early age, who in this world didn't have a few friends? 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, if rumors spread about Donghua being seriously injured, or the possibility of his 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 to the irrepressible Demon Clan. Moreover, the ancient gods from prehistoric time had concealed too many secrets about world creation. Liansong, too, feared that if Donghua's prospects were really ominous, he wouldn't know what would happen once rumors spread.

Liansong closed his fan and softly sighed. To ordinary people, 1000 Fengjius wasn't worth even one of Dijun's fingers. His last words were too nonchalant. 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 in fear, if he wanted to threaten the Demon Lord Yan Chiwu, he was still lacking a bit.

In Xiao Yan's words, he grew up on threats and menace. How could Liansong threaten him with mere words? Moreover, Liansong was too much of a gentleman; Xiao Yan didn't hear anything threatening from what

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he 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 force field 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 white parchment. She was biting her lips, almost bleeding herself and forgetting to even wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her look of complete devastation worried him so.

Xiao Yan was a brute. Slashing people he had done, comforting people he had not. But since Jiheng was his beloved, he decided to give comforting a try.

He found a small ring of pines and set Jiheng on a stone seat in the center of the forest. He thought seeing lively things might help her feel better at this 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. It pained Xiao Yan. He was pained, but he felt Jiheng indeed deserved to be the 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 Jiheng speak 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 his opinion of her. He momentarily could not control his excitement as the corner of his mouth inadvertently twitched upwards three degrees. This appearance in Jiheng's eyes was no different than a ridicule.

Jiheng lowered her head and stared at her hands. At length she said, “You

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staying to ridicule me? If you've seen enough and laughed enough, go away. I think I'm funny as well.” She pressed her lips tightly and said no more.

Jiheng kept saying she was ridiculous, making Xiao Yan's heart weigh heavily. He felt a little aggrieved, but also a little angry. Although he knew Donghua and Fengjiu arrived at this point because of his effort, and it was also 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 leaving on the wedding day, you might not have made him happy, but you have lowered 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 from 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 had remembered the poetry lines correctly.

It was difficult to wax poetic like this, unfortunately, Jiheng didn't pay any attention. 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 serpent from Mount Baishui. You may have heard of his name, he was the fiercest warrior under Dijun during prehistoric times - Menghao.” Tears gently rolled down her face. She sounded hoarse.

1_{These are lines taken from a correspondence poem the hero Zhang wrote to the}

heroine Cui Yingying in a Tang-era tale called Yingying’s Story. The Story of the Western

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Xiao Yan blankly looked at her, not understanding why she brought up her family history all of a sudden at this time. Xuyang's sister wasn't really his sister, this was indeed quite maddening. Normally he would be very intrigued, but at this time he was waiting for Jiheng's reaction to his confession, then Jiheng told him something totally unrelated. He felt a bit hurt, is he being ignored?

Of course he had heard of Menghao's fame. During Donghua's campaign to unify the six realms, he was head of the army, a subordinate under Donghua's throne, a strategist who by sitting inside his war tent could win from thousands of miles away; he had always been well-regarded by Donghua. Later on when Donghua retired to Taichen Palace, Menghao and the other generals also went into seclusion.

But in legends, the places that these generals retired to were the best mountain ranges in the Lower Realm. Why did only Menghao Shenjun go to 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 the Red Demon Lord used my mother as a bait and ambushed him at Mount Baishui. With the Dragon Lock, he imprisoned him in the white lake where he remained as the protector of the Longnao plant months after months, years after years. Mother never told me about these things. Then three hundred 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 his grief as he continuously nodded to her words. No wonder nobody knew Menghao Shenjun's whereabouts after he went into seclusion. It turned out the famous general suffered defeat due to a woman. It was really a case of suffering 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

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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 shocked expression, 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, it was still a hopeless trap as Minsu would certainly be brought back. He asked Dijun to marry me so that Brother would let his guard down. Then I could take advantage of the two months of marriage preparation to prepare 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 must repay Dijun for the kindness he has bestowed on me. When Dijun came to Fanyin Valley to lecture, he often allowed me attend to his needs. If not for that, I wouldn't have fallen in love again. Throughout these two hundred years, I sink deeper and deeper each day into this tragic situation. In this world, there's nothing easier than loving Dijun, but there's nothing more difficult 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 to hate her. To Dijun, there are only two kinds of women in this world: the one who can be his queen, and everyone else. There were times when I

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wondered why Dijun didn't make me into that special someone. But today I 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 completely different from what he knew. It made him very confused. He thought he needed to straighten his mind a little.

In daylight, desolate snowfall blanketed the sky. The green pines stood tall as 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 arrive at this conclusion after thinking for so long?” She clenched her hands, her fingernails 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 hold them, but decided against it. He thought for a while and suddenly understood Jiheng's meaning. The King didn't like her, yet although she was 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't like her. On the other hand, intuition told him this was a good thing. His heart 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 to him, he could wait. The more beautiful one became, the easier it was to be muddled. But no one stayed muddle his whole life.

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But Jiheng was so beautiful. What if she stayed muddled for overlong? He was a little hesitant.

Xiao Yan scratched his head. Himself so muddled, it seemed he couldn't help a muddled Jiheng. If she was bent on winning Donghua back, nothing of concern should happen for now. He also needed to have some time for himself.

Gazing to the moonlight from the eastern mountain, if he was not mistaken, several hours had passed. He wondered if Ice Face had brought Fengjiu 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 a lake, surrounding the center of the water body were four pythons and the Aranya Dream. In turned out Fanyin Valley had its share of capable hotshots.

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 chess game. His Third Highness was holding a stone while leisurely conversing with Meng Shao. The monstrous waves laid tamely under his soles like domesticated hawks.

Xiao Yan spaced out for a while as he recalled the Heavenly Clan's third prince was the Water God of the Four Seas. Logically speaking, not only should he be able to move the lake that held the force field trapping Donghua and Fengjiu in a short amount of time, even ten lakes would be nothing for a water god in charge of the four seas. It was just that he always saw Liansong dressing so opulently, he thought nepotism was at

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play when Tianjun granted him this title. He now witnessed with his own eyes that Liansong was indeed talented.

Xiao Yan flew to the waves and heard Meng Shao reporting to Liansong: “Although it is possible to rescue someone by entering the dream according to legends, in reality, I heard the dream contains unpredictable perils. Reportedly, there was someone who also went inside the dream but didn't know the rule that disallows magic. Not only was he unable to save his 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. The chances of this entire matter were slim to begin with. They've been in there for 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's ominous no matter what route we choose, why not just crack it with a hammer 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, seeing that 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 to those two, the Third Prince was unmoving and perfectly calm. He began to

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gather 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 saying that 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 you can'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 the exams many moons ago. Because he did not pass, the book remained in his memory many years later. If one of the 72 generals who served under Donghua 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 his head, “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, your wagers.”

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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 was going on, occasionally she could feel something. She was being hugged by someone.

She felt she knew the person who was hugging her, but for some reason she could not think of his name. She could smell the waffling scent of white sandalwood in the air; it was a familiar scent. But this sort of familiarity was 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 pain most 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 always an arm holding her close, feeding her one spoon after another of some kind of 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 deemed it must be good stuff.

When she choked, someone slowly patted her back. When she became anxious, someone held her hand. When she whimpered, he hugged her close 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 the identity of the person tending to her. His care had been tender, and she felt

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he was quite experienced. But the more she tried to think, the more her mind clouded up.

Time flowed like water in a stream, soundlessly on and on. In her muddled state of mind, her eyes foggily passed over many familiar faces. At last they stopped on a matron who dressed and moved ever so elegantly. She was her 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 speaking to Mother about something.

Although Lady Fumi seemed friendly enough, she was actually a very terrifying elderly fairy. Her goal in life was to marry off all of her daughters to great men. With her careful calculations, all seven daughters indeed found great matches. She was undoubtedly the backbone of the family. But after marrying all of her daughters away, she began to feel the lonely emptiness in life.

She felt empty for two thousand years until Fengjiu's father brought the family back to visit on her grandfather's birthday one day. Her father brought her to present tea to her grandmother. Her elderly grandmother who was at the depth of her bleak winter days was delighted to discover that 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 that day 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 may make a good choice. With Jiu-er's looks and character, she must be married into an established family. However, not everyone from an established

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family is capable. For example, last time your 2nd brother-in-law recommended the South Sea Water God's younger son. He does have good looks and a prestigious background, but he holds no real title, it was such a pity. I think that for a man to be worthy of Jiu-er, he should have some power in addition to a distinguished background, only then does he have potential. 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 marriage had always made me ill with worry. If she didn't starve herself pining for him back then, I wouldn't have handed such a good child to a brute. What's so good about a general? Fighting and killing all the time, never knowing how to be gentle and kind. As Jiu-er's mother, you mustn't make the same mistake as I did. If there is a warrior befriending Jiu-er, you need to take caution. There is additionally another important matter. It must be a compatible match. Look at how beautiful our Jiu-er is, we must find her someone 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 to her grandmother's wishes; she hoped she wouldn't be too worried, so on and so forth.

After hearing their conversation, Fengjiu's heart was weighed down in tons. She left the small garden uneven steps. Along the way, her head felt as black and heavy as a mountain.

Although Donghua Dijun, whom she liked, built his legacy from two empty hands and had a high status, he did not come from an old established family. Her grandmother would surely be displeased with this. Although Dijun had held some power in the past, he had since retired to Taichen Palace and no longer held real power these days. Grandmother would dislike that even more. His prowess on the battlefields were

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recorded in history annals for future generations to revere. He was infinitely better compared to her fourth uncle-in-law. Grandmother would dislike that worst of all.

Besides Dijun's good looks, there wasn't a thing her grandmother would like about him. What was she to do?

Yellow leaves floated outside the veranda, the wind in autumn, the trees in autumn, everything about the season is full of sorrow. Her heart sank woefully. She squatted on the veranda in thought. It probably wouldn't work if she asked her father to send someone to Taichen Palace for matchmaking. She could only depend on herself in pursuing Donghua Dijun.

At this moment, another scene appeared. Not once did Fengjiu feel this was a dream she had dreamt up. Rather, changing scenes felt very normal to her. But she could vaguely sense it was something that had already happened in the distant past.

However, she almost forgot that this was the reason she had asked Siming to bring her into Taichen Palace that year. If it wasn't for the fact that Donghua didn't fit into her family's criteria, if she had told her family of her feelings and asked her Father to send someone to Taichen Palace for matchmaking, 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 happened today? 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 insect chirping. Oh, today was her wedding day with Cang'yi Shenjun.

Her father searched high and low, and finally chose Cang'yi Shenjun of Mount Zhiyue to be her husband.

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She remembered that of course she hadn't been happy with the groom her father had chosen for her. Before getting onto the bridal palanquin at their front door, she was still contesting with Father that if he had liked Cang'yi so much, he should get on the palanquin himself, there was no need to marry her to him. What she said angered her father so much he immediately tied her up with magical ropes and tossed her into the palanquin.

But in only a second she was somehow on Cangyi's wedding bed. She vaguely felt something interesting had happened on the way from Qingqiu to Mount Zhiyue, but how come it was as though the middle part was cut out?

For the first time, she sensed she was inside a dream. But everything felt so real that she couldn't be sure. In the flickering candlelight, she suddenly heard the voice of a child attendant announcing from outside: “Shenjun has arrived.”

It was the wedding night and consummation hour was nearing. This Shenjun they announced must be Cang'yi. Fengjiu gave a start. She couldn't even remember she had gone through nuptial rites with Cangyi, but now they were consummating? In fright, she started to panic. She took off the golden hairpin from her hair, closed her eyes on reflex, and feigned sleep. She thought to herself that the hairpin was sharp. If Cang'yi stepped anywhere near her, she would let his red blood dye the wedding bed tonight. Fengjiu for a second felt confused. In her memory, why was it that this didn't really happen the night she came to Zhiyue Palace? Why did she remember that before they performed nuptial rites, she had already destroyed his palace? Or, maybe, perhaps, was she only dreaming?

She calmed down a little. Whether this was a dream or not, since she didn't like 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.

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When she sensed Shenjun had neared her, she slightly opened her eyes, her hand poised with the hairpin waiting to protect its owner's chastity. But it had 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 mentioned previously, Donghua Dijun.

Under the moonlight, his silver hair was as white as snow, his purple robe glowed with his movements, and the face emerging was the one Xiao Yan dubbed 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 a moment, then he touched her forehead. After he was done checking he did not 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 then at 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't Dijun's collar.

Just a moment ago, her entire body was still limp without strength. Just getting herself propped upright was already difficult to do, but at this height, 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 feel discomfort?”

She didn't feel any discomfort. While Dijun asked that question, she had quickly reached her hands out and used all of her strength to pull down on

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his robe collar, then she latched her rosy lips precisely onto Dijun's... The series of actions: pulling, tugging, dragging, kissing, shocked Dijun into a stunned state.

Fengjiu clasped her hands around Donghua's neck, her lips firmly attaching his.

She thought to herself that just a moment ago, she was suspicious this was a dream, the next moment Cang'yi Shenjun had changed to Donghua. This proved it was indeed a dream. It kept morphing because it was trying to fulfill an unfinished dream. That year when she left Jiuchongtian, the only regret she had was that she had entrusted her love to the wrong person and never got anything back; it was a disgrace to Qingqiu. Since they got to see 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? She must seize this moment to kiss him. Such opportunity doesn't come knocking twice. It wasn't bad if she could reap payback even if only inside her dream.

Donghua's lips were as icy cold as she had imagined them to be. They were motionless even as she was tightly pressing onto them, as if he was curiously 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 face reddened from the embarrassment of being taken advantage of.

After adhering their lips for long enough, she awkwardly nudged her tongue 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 satisfaction spread through her like watching a tree vine quietly climbing to the top, or hearing a drop of dew rolling down lotus leaves.

She released him after a couple of licks, feeling it wasn't too bad that she had taken advantage of him to this point. And anyhow, she wasn't too experienced, she didn't really know how else to take further advantage of him.

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Dijun's eyes were slightly clouded, his expression quiet. It seemed even if the Tai Mountain collapsed around them, an imaginary Dijun was still as unruffled as the real Dijun.

Fengjiu was a little disappointed that Dijun wasn't embarrassed. But that was fine, he had always been thick-skinned anyway.

Fengjiu's hands that were clinging onto Dijun's neck moved up to softly touch his face. Finally content, she moved back to lie down on the pillow when she was held back by a strong force. She hadn't realized what was happening when Dijun had already loomed closer to her face. The indigo jewel on his forehead was emitting an illumination as bright as the morning star, reflecting plainly her dumbfounded face.

He was only an inch away from her nose. Dijun looked at her a while, then ever so naturally bent down and gently grazed over her lips with his icy ones.

Fengjiu dazedly heard a string snap inside her head.

He studied her with deep, dark eyes. Seeing her lashes flutter, he unhurriedly deepened the force, coaxed open her lips, easily found her tongue, and guided her to clumsily return his kiss. Dijun kept his eyes open all this while to observe her reaction.

In reality, besides widening her eyes at him, Fengjiu didn't have any other reaction. Her mind had turned to mush by this kiss. This glob of mush faintly though to herself: compared to the fluttering kiss she initiated, his kiss was so brutal in comparison. Dijun was definitely a god who never wanted to lose. He was on an entirely other level to pay back even one teeny tiny offense.

She held her breath for too long and could not breathe anymore. She wanted 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 back to her original form to escape the situation.

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Dijun slightly loosened his hold, his lips were still connected to hers. “Why are you holding your breath?” he asked in a relaxed manner. “Must I also teach you how to breathe on these occasions?” Yet there was a hint of hoarseness in his voice.

Being the queen of Qingqiu, there was one thing Fengjiu always adhered to, and that was to keep Qingqiu's face at all time. No matter what happened 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 such times. 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 had the chance to witness nor really understood them. She found out today for the first time that not only lips were used in kissing, but that tongues could also be used. She had always thought kissing only involved touching lips and nothing else, and that the more love there was, the longer they must stay attached. For example, she had pressed her lips onto Dijun's for so long, her love must have reached the depth of the sea. It turned out there were many gray areas in between that she did not know, there was so much more she needed to learn.

However, if even she, as a native of Qingqiu, didn't know about this custom, how would Dijun know any better? She thought it'd be a good idea to deceive Dijun with this excuse.

Hearing no response from Dijun, she added: “Weren't you breathing just now?” Her expression turned solemn. “This is a taboo in Qingqiu. Gray-wolf didi who lives next door to us lost his fiancée 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, Xiao Feng.

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But Xiao Feng had accidentally forgotten one thing: sometimes, Dijun was a 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 shameless thing?!”

In truth Dijun was just joking, but he didn't know his listener would not think of them as casual words. He reminded her: “Who started it, do you remember?”

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: “I admit it was I who started it.” She rubbed her nose and began to defend herself with sophistry: “But this is my dream, so I could do whatever I want.” Here, she suddenly realized. Yes, this was her dream, Donghua was created from her imagination. Usually, she never won against him in an argument, how could he still be so arrogant even in her dream? He was really 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 take advantage 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 with conviction. When she finished, she herself was a little awed. She quietly watched Dijun.

Dijun was rendered blank for a long while.

She wondered if Dijun might have been intimidated. She waved her hand in front of him. Dijun grabbed onto her waving hand. He was clearly

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looking at her, but his words seemed directed at himself: “So she thought she was dreaming.” A pause. “I was wondering why you suddenly became so 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 where did you come from?” So very confused now, she added: “Why should I be angry at you?” She 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 to cover 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 fell asleep, Xiao Bai?”

What was she doing before she fell asleep? Fengjiu found she had absolutely no impression. Her brain was thrown to the wind. A fogginess of forgotten memories about a tragic past was carried away by the light breeze. Suddenly, half of her heart went cold. Did this symptom mean she had lost her memory?

Sorrow gave birth to coldness. When this thought came to her, Fengjiu's limbs stiffened cold. At this very moment, her freezing hand was being held 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 sleeping for too 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 remember certain things.”

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Although 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, she was 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 eyes was draping gossamer, all in the same deep indigo color. Beyond the curtain wasn't a pair of burning dragon-phoenix candles (used for wedding night). Rather, floating above the bed canopy was a night pearl as large as a goose egg.

Through the thin gossamer curtain, the sky appeared to be a large screen while the ground was like a long carpet. The white forest and its glowing light gave off a mystical atmosphere all around. Of course, the spot radiating the strongest mystical energy came from Dijun who was sitting in front of her.

Dijun said 'the most recent things'. The most recent things, Fengjiu thought for a moment, recalled something, and whispered to 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 to marry Cang'yi Shenjun of Mount Zhiyue. On the wedding night, I did all I could to wreck Cangyi's palace. This marriage went down the drain. I heard the reparation of the palace cost him a fortune that year. But Cang'yi Shenjun didn'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 had many troubles to worry about and his mind already too exhausted. But then he spoke on my behalf. I was grateful to him, and feel somewhat guilty about destroying his palace. I'm a bit ashamed. I reckon this is why I dreamt such a bizarre dream today.”

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Fengjiu's hair became tangled during her nap. Wordlessly, Dijun helped her smooth it out. He thought about her incoherent summary. Siming said her forced marriage to Mount Zhiyue happened seventy years ago, but Fengjiu insisted it had only been two months. It seemed when she was seriously injured, she did not have enough fairy energy and her memory had been slightly muddled by Aranya's Dream.

Her memory had stopped at seventy years ago. This was why she did not question in anger why he had given the Saha fruit to Jiheng.

Dijun felt that the ability to addle one's memory inside the Aranya Dream was quite a blessing.

Fengjiu pondered for a while. In the end, there were a couple of things that were still puzzling to her. Doubt surfaced her face as she nervously said, “Actually, I had felt something 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 where is 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 memory only included the times she spent on Jiuchongtian as his baby fox. This was going to be much easier. With a sincere expression, he started his hogwash: “This is a force field 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 trapped you 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

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looked into her eyes, and lowered his voice: “Xiao Bai, haven't you always saved 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 strange ways that she could not explain. But Donghua's words were like delicate snowflakes 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 suddenly aggrieved.

She remembered there was one day when she conversed with her aunt on how mystical the world could be. It was mystical because there were numerous things that seemed similar but were not. For example, 'love' and 'desire'. There was little difference between the two at first glance, but they are 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 is impossible to know where love starts nor where it goes.”

With Donghua, it wasn't the controllable desire but rather the uncontrollable love. She thought she had cut her feelings off, but she didn't expect those roots to be buried so deep. At first, she thought she had cut them all cleanly, but the more she dug, the more she found.

She thought the past had been swept away with the wind, and everything had turned to a cloud of dust. But with Donghua's simple words, the layer of dirt was lifted and she was made to realize just how deeply and securely her 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 didn’t cared about these questions any longer.

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After two hundred years, it seemed, he finally found out she was the little fox who saved him from the Wicked Lotus Sphere that year, his little fox who once stayed next to him on Jiuchongtian. Did he also know she suffered so much only for him?

But what if he knew and what if he didn't? This wasn't the time for such questions.

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 did you only find out now?”

The atmosphere inside the bed curtain suddenly sank heavily. Donghua wiped 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 on his face before.

She knew, he was yielding to her. He yielded to her that he was wrong, but she knew too that one wasn’t at fault if one didn't know. It wasn't Donghua's fault, it was Heaven who did not grant them this fate. It was unfair to Donghua that he had to apologize.

If would be unreasonable if she were to hysterically question him right now.

She only heard a smile can melt away a feud, she never heard one should use 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 Palace, you had treated 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 thought carefully about it. Jiheng is the one you love. I was only a pet in Taichen Palace. Since I scratched Jiheng, it wasn't wrong for you to punish me. It was 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

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are 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 it through. On that day, had I listened to Zhonglin and stayed put, I wouldn't get 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 chin when Dijun distracted her with his question of “That's why you...?” She wasn't sure herself. Dijun knitted his brow, his face suddenly became ice cold. 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 queen of the Bai family in Qingqiu, what would he have done? Donghua thought about this and felt more likely than not he would return Fengjiu back to Qingqiu. If the baby fox had saved him in the Wicked Lotus Sphere, then he would gift her with some Heavenly treasures as a show of gratitude. He undeniably adored her, but it wasn't exactly convenient to keep the queen of 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 not change what had already passed; regret would not help anything.

Fengjiu's face was showing fatigue, her eyes vaguely gazing to the moon hanging atop a branch. She had been awake for nearly half an hour. Time was running out.

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Fengjiu's cultivation was depleted when she fell into Aranya's Dream, both her soul and body were injured. Throughout these three months, she had had to rely on Donghua's blood three times a day to mend her soul and restore her 30,000 years of energy. But her body was still very weak, and she needed more time to recover.

Fairies usually look for places where dense mystical energy congregated to nurse their body back to health. But there was little mystical energy inside Fanyin Valley; there weren't too many sacred places here either. Donghua used his own energy to create an enchantment field especially designed for Fengjiu's recuperation.

According to the rules of enchantment field sorcery, since it was created specifically for Fengjiu, when she woke up, dormant energy around her body would start to rise, the enchantment field would also spontaneously take effect, and her body would be encased in it for an hour. This was why he said time was running out.

However, although the enchantment was a good place to nurse an immortal 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 current condition, it was best to keep her soul in a living person where she could have access to continuous life force. As for Aranya's Dream, there was no rush to leave yet.

Fengjiu leaned against the bed frame as she gazed vaguely to the quilt on her body.

Donghua wordlessly knitted his brow. He knew Xiao Bai must hate him right now. Truthfully, it wasn't unreasonable for her to hate him. But her healing enchantment seal would only last half an hour more. Once she entered into the enchantment seal, with how weakened her body had become, she'd need at least three more months before she could leave. To spend this last half hour with her while she hated him would be a big waste.

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Inside 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 at Donghua. “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 she was beginning to frown in thought, he suddenly said, “There's no 'that was

why'. 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, had performed nuptial rites, or had consummated their marriage... Of course, it was fine to not remember one thing, but she hadn't the slightest memory of even half a detail... quite possibly Dijun was trying to fool her. But his face at 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 you when I said you were drowsy from your sleep.” He had the patience to add: “I was worried you'd be frightened if you knew. The truth is, you have amnesia.”

Amnesia? Amnesia!

As an immortal living in a dangerous era where it was extremely popular to get amnesia either by potions or spells, getting amnesia was indeed quite easy.

Fengjiu stammered: “I... am I that unlucky?” Inside her head were indeed many, many things she could not think of. Verifying this against what had happened earlier, she increasingly felt Dijun's words might really be true. She panicked: “But clearly, how could I have agreed to this marriage? I...”

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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 been deadlier. Fengjiu's heart skipped a beat as she desperately resisted a pandemic demise: “It was definitely not for this reason. If this was the reason, then all those things I did...”

With an unchanging expression, Dijun corrected his words: “This is only one of them.” He added: “It was mainly because I had knelt down to ask for 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 down to her – she tried her best to conjure up the image but found it impossible to imagine.

Something so incredible she couldn't even imagine. Something so rare it didn't happen for thousands of years. But she had forgotten it all. What a crying shame.

Dijun said he had knelt down to her to propose. Putting aside the frightening tale that the eminent king had actually knelt down, more importantly, 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

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their 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 dreaming right 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 question, I don't know whether I can ask you or not?”

This question would be a bit hurtful, but since she was really curious, she didn'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 puzzled as to why my old man would agree to this marriage, because you...” She had a slight difficulty telling him this: “Because my old man is an extremely traditional immortal2_{. You are not from an established family, neither do you have any} power. 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 then sincerely said, “Perhaps Bai Yi did not feel I have a glorious future, but since 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 if perhaps it had sounded a little fishy.

But she couldn't quite put a finger on what was strange about it. If they were speaking of reasons, his reason was perfectly legitimate. People from

2_{FJ might also be jabbing at her dad for being vulgar here because 俗 (common) can}