Fated Calamity: Dong Hua and Feng Jiu Story

TMOPB Fanfiction
by ssfx3yuchen

Synopsis

This is a fanfiction based from love story of Dong Hua and Bai Feng Jiu
from Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms drama series.

Disclaimer: Please be informed that I do not own the rights to the

characters in this story except #74 and #75 which are part of our creation.
Bai Fengjiu, Donghua and the majority of characters in the story are
fictional characters created by Tang Qi. Lord Wenchang is a character
mentioned in the Ten Miles of Peach Blossom drama.

OOC: Please also note that the depiction of Fengjiu and Donghua in this
story may vary a lot from the original and what DongFeng is in your minds.
Kindly proceed to read this story with caution.

Story by Micarzam14 and adapted by ssfx3yuchen (wattpad accounts)

Part 1: Chapter One to Chapter Nine and a Bonus Chapter

Prologue: Coronation

It was finally time for Fengjiu to accept her fate as queen of the Qingqiu
Kingdom. She felt it was just yesterday that she had tried to go against the
will of heaven when she cut off one of her tails and transformed it into a
weapon in her attempt to carve Donghua Dijun's name on the Rock of
Three Incarnations. Cutting off her tail had hurt so much, but her heart had
hurt even more from the harshness of the reality that they could not be
together.

She asked herself again and again the question of why they were not
meant to be. Why had fate allowed her to meet and fall in love with him,
only for her to endure the pain of heartbreak when she was told that they
had no destiny with each other because Donghua removed his own name
from the Rock of Three Incarnations?

As she hesitatingly stepped on the coronation platform, she was taken by

the sight of a tall figure with his back to her. She had thought it was
Donghua who had come to see her. The train of her red dress swept
against the floor slowly and haltingly as she passed the figure, only for her
to realise that the image had been a mere illusion as it faded from view.

In the Ninth Heaven, Donghua carefully watched Fengjiu's coronation from

a bronze mirror. He had sent his subordinate Siming with a scrolled-up map
as a gift to Fengjiu for her coronation. Whether or not this would be the last
time they would meet, neither of them would ever know.

Chapter 1
Three hundred years had seemed such a long time.

For almost 300 years after Bai Fengjiu is crowned as queen of the Qingqiu
Kingdom, she has never spoken a single word to the cold and emotionless
Donghua Dijun. At the same time, she is destined with an unknown person,
Wenchang Dijun. When a calamity happens one day and Donghua
vanishes, will Fengjiu be able to accept her fate with Wenchang? Will
Donghua return for his little fox?
Fengjiu still remembered everything about him, his fair complexion, his cold
and emotionless stare, the gentleness of his touch, and the ethereal glow
about him that captivated her every time she saw him.

It had hurt her so much to have to bid him goodbye. But she had firmly
reminded herself that she was the queen now, and that her subjects
needed her. She was not the playful, willful princess of the past anymore.
Nevertheless, the love for him in her heart had been so strong that she had
been willing to live and die for him.

When she received the news of Bai Qian and Yehua's wedding, all she
could think of was how she would finally see him. As she walked through
the celestial grounds, images of him clouded her mind. How had he been
for the last three hundred years? Had he been thinking of her just as she
did of him?

Donghua had lived a life without love.

Such a life had been nothing to the mighty emperor Donghua, as he had
lived for eons in the Ninth Heavens without the need for a companion.

But all had changed when he had met the playful and innocent fox princess
Bai Fengjiu. He had long known that he would have no destiny with her. To
grant her a chance at love with him, he had chosen to undergo a love trial
in the mortal realm. As Si Ming had said clearly, that would be the only
chance they would be able to live together as a couple. They had their one
chance at fate, in the mortal realm. He would have given anything to be
with her, had he not made his decision to erase his name from the Rock of
Three Incarnations.
The last three hundred years had been torture. However, he hadn't
expected that he would be finally seeing her again. She looked even more
beautiful compared to the last time he had seen her.

The pale green dress on her was a nice touch. The simplicity of her dress
had indeed brought out the beauty in her. Compared to the outfits she had
been wearing in the Ninth Heavens during the first few times he had met
her, her dress now made her look different. She looked a lot more mature
now, Donghua observed. He wished he knew who she had in her heart.

She bowed as he came near. "Bai Fengjiu greets Your Majesty Donghua
Dijun."

"It's been a long time, Jiu'er," he said. She was surprised at the change of
tone of the cold emperor towards her.

They continued the conversation between the two of them. Fengjiu seized
the opportunity to ask if anything had changed in the immortal realm while
she was away in the Qingqiu Kingdom, and what was new in Taichen
Palace. He would have loved to answer her that he missed her, but he
hesitated, recalling how her father Bai Yi had asked if he had been willing
to marry her. He didn't know if she had a suitor now, after such a long time.

"Taichen Palace has a lot of new fairy maids," he eventually said. "Nothing
much has changed, it has always been how it was." He then proceeded to
ask about her life at Qingqiu.

"Living as a queen is very tiring," she said. "There's a lot on my desk

everyday, and I can't afford to sleep early. Every night when I retire to bed,
I have so much on my mind. I don't know which subject of mine is suffering,
and how I can do the best I can."

Donghua noted how much she had changed and how mature she was at
this stage. He wanted, so much, to pull her into his arms and hold her to
him tight. Again ,he hesitated.

They were both hiding their feelings and pretending to be strong, but in
their hearts, they were yearning for each other.

............................................................................

The wedding ceremony between Bai Qian and Yehua would go on for a
number of days. A day went by, and not a moment had passed without the
blooming Fengjiu catching the attention of every eligible bachelor at the
ceremony. Regardless of age, looks, height, status or even cultivation,
each immortal was slowly losing their heart to the charming little fox,
especially with her newfound maturity as the queen. She was the heart of
the party, and she had been so preoccupied with socialising that she had
almost forgotten about him. Whenever he tried to engage in conversation
with Fengjiu, one of the young immortals would beat Donghua to it. And
when she had sent a message to Si Ming to call him over, he had arrived
only to see that she was with some other immortal, laughing about jokes
and the scenery.

By the second day, when Fengjiu continued to be 'too busy' to speak to

him, Donghua was infuriated. When another young immortal cut in front of
him to socialise with Fengjiu, he could no longer take it. The jealousy
emerging in his heart and mind was starting to consume him from within.
He was determined to claim her as his Jiu'er.
So be it, he thought. The young immortal found himself on his knees when
a lesser bolt of lightning hit him across his back, courtesy of Donghua the
Jealous God. What else could he do but run for his life? And so, Donghua
had prevailed. From the second day to the final day of the wedding, he
finally had Fengjiu all to himself.

Fengjiu was surprised when the cold god had her cornered with her body
against a pillar, before he magically teleported them into a room which they
now had to the privacy of just the two of them, away from the noise of the
crowds and everyone else. With a single tap of his fingers, a table filled
with fruits and tasty desserts materialised before them.

"Jiu'er," he called out, "Finally you have time for me."

"What are you up to?" she asked curiously. Had this cold-hearted god
devoid of all feeling and emotion, or so as he tried to make himself appear
to be, finally admitting that he had feelings for her all along? She feigned
ignorance, pretending she knew naught of his plans.

"Is this some kind of joke?" she asked.

"Jiu'er, you know why I rejected your feelings in the past. But that was the
past," he said. "It's been three hundred years, and the fear of losing you
has been tormenting me, day after day. I have always held back because
of the sake of the worlds. But today, I will no longer do that."

Fengjiu turned to look into his eyes, a look of disbelief across her face. "Are
you joking?"

"Jiu'er, you drive me crazy with jealousy when you talked with all those
men. Were you trying to test my patience?"
"They were set-ups by my aunt," Fengjiu explained. "I don't know them at
all, much say have feelings for any of them. Because I..." she paused, "will
always have that someone in my heart."

Hopefulness filled Donghua's mind. He gathered Fengjiu into his arms and
pulled her into his embrace. "Jiu'er, you already knew of my feelings long
ago. You were right when you said I still had feelings for you when I went to
the hut in the mortal realm. I have been hiding from them for so long, but I
cannot afford to lose you anymore. If I could turn back time and prevent my
old self from removing my name from the Rock of Three Incarnations, I
would do it."

The moment that Fengjiu had awaited had finally come, when Donghua
took her lips in his, and kissed her with such a fiery passion that neither of
them could hold back. He had warded the room strongly from being
entered by anyone other than themselves. They had been so occupied with
kissing each other that they lost count of time. And with every moment of
their kisses, the intensity between them simply got stronger. She immersed
herself in the sweet taste of his lips as his tongue slowly explored her little
mouth. He lifted her up gently and carefully laid her on the majestic bed in
the room, slowly

undoing the bows on her dress and sliding the silk-like material off her
slim, petite figure.

She knew the moment was about to come, and she willingly embraced that
other side of him, giving herself entirely to him as their bodies united. Like it
had been when she had used the drowned Consort Chen's body and he
was the Song Emperor while having his love trial, she had felt that tinge of
pain at first, which eventually led to pleasure as they came together as one.
As they lay together under the sheets with Fengjiu in Donghua's arms, they
only knew one thing: that with Donghua's violation of his oath, calamity
would befall them soon. There was a price to pay for defying their destiny.
Fengjiu wasn't afraid, and she was willing to take any risks that
accompanied her choice, for another chance at love with Donghua.

They spent the remaining days of the royal wedding with each other,
inseparable like a pair of mandarin ducks. But on the final day of the
wedding when she woke up, Fengjiu realised that the day for her lightning
trial had come. Fengjiu had been due to receive three strikes of lightning in
her trial to ascend as a High Immortal. At the same time, the Sky Kingdom,
whose skies had been clear as day the day before, had suddenly turned
dark. All that were present knew that the darkness of the skies was an
unusual phenomenon and all feared the calamity that was about to befall
the Sky Kingdom. Fengjiu witnessed the darkness from the window of their
chambers and before Donghua could stop her, she had dashed outside.

..................................................................

1.2: The Trial of Lightning: Her First Trial

Lightning bolts rained from the skies, striking her all over her body one at a
time and scorching her with each strike. Holding back the pain from each
time she was struck, Fengjiu counted six strikes. In her aunt Bai Qian's
time, she had only been due to receive three strikes of lightning, but her
master Mo Yuan had taken all three strikes in her stead. Donghua found
her minutes later, she had already collapsed in the ground in a pool of her
own blood, but lightning continued to fall from the sky, striking her. He
immediately wasted no time in pushing her out of the way and receiving the
bolts for her. But even after being struck by thousands of lightning bolts, the
darkness of the skies still continued to surround the Sky Kingdom. Finally,
after a long time, the lightning ceased, but every being in the Sky Kingdom
was horrified when meteorites appeared in the sky and launched
themselves at Donghua.

Being the highly-revered Emperor Lord, naturally many high immortals

would come to Donghua's aid. But it was to no avail, as a barrier had
already formed itself around Donghua and grew stronger as each high
immortal put in more effort and higher cultivation in trying to save him. The
rocks continued propelling at him, until he completely vanished from sight
and could not be found. All who were present, could only wish that this was
the last of the calamity that was about to befall the Sky Kingdom. But there
was no use, as Donghua was definitely gone from the ends of the universe.

** story by Micarzam14 and adapted by SansSerifa

Chapter 2

Word had it that following the conclusion of the young queen of Qingqiu's
lightning trial, she had fallen into an unexplained deep slumber for years.
What surprised all who were present at the royal wedding was that, albeit
being in the Ninth Heaven at the time of her collapse, her physically living
body had magically transported itself to Qingqiu a few days after that. They
knew she was svery much alive, as she was still breathing. Despite the
High God of the Ten Mile of Peach Blossoms, Zhe Yan's unsurpassed
skills in treating ailments and injuries, he was clueless to Fengjiu's
condition. His assumption was that she must be Donghua's calamity, and
their love had caused him to be punished for going against the will of
destiny as he had sworn himself eons ago.
To avoid the truth of Fengjiu's condition spreading in the lands and to save
Qingqiu from the danger of being attacked by their rival clans in the near
future, the High Goddess and now Crown Princess Bai Qian concealed the
truth by sometimes taking on her niece's form as her own, appearing
randomly within the Four Seas and Eight Deserts. However, she never
appeared in Fengjiu's form in the Sky Kingdom, seeming to have cut off all
connection with the Sky Kingdom. Thus, Qingqiu no longer took interest or
involved itself in the affairs of the Sky Kingdom. Bai Qian's fourth brother,
Bai Zhen, along with Zhe Yan, also contributed to the deception by visiting
'Fengjiu' frequently in Qingqiu.
Meanwhile in the Sky Kingdom, Donghua's disappearance had caused
issues of unresolved matters to continue to arise in the Sky Kingdom. The
Crown Prince Yehua had no choice but to temporarily take the affairs of the
Sky Kingdom into his own hands as he was seen as the person most
worthy of handling these matters at this time. At the same time, Si Ming
and Yehua's uncle, Third Prince Liansong, cooked up a story that a
calamity had been foretold to befall the Sky Kingdom in a prophecy eons
ago, and Donghua, being one of the oldest gods from the Honghuang Era,
had known about it beforehand. They also lied that due to the severity of
Donghua's injuries that he had sustained while defending the Sky Kingdom,
he was now cultivating in seclusion at his home at Bihai Canglin. He would
take thousands of years to recuperate from his injuries and also to recover
his lost cultivation. As a result, the Sky Emperor Haode was unable to
abdicate and pass on the throne to Yehua just yet. Furthermore, Bai Qian
and her son with Yehua, Ali, were in Qingqiu taking care.

Two hundred years passed in a flash. One unexpected day, a phenomenon

had happened at the Sky Kingdom. Immortals, old and young alike, were
flocking to the Rock of Three Incarnations in the Sky Kingdom to see for
themselves how a young immortal boy had been found staring upwards at
the rock, clad in a white robe and possessing silvery-white hair like that of
Donghua. He would have passed as a twelve-year old child, had he been
born in the mortal realm. Everyone were amazed by his striking
resemblance to Donghua, but when asked, the boy simply answered that
he did not remember his name or his past.

The twin celestial guards that were on duty were on the verge of arresting
the boy for trespassing into the sacred grounds, but relented when Zhe Yan
intervened. Like the crowd, Zhe Yan firmly believed that it was possible that
the boy was an incarnation of Donghua. Unfortunately due to the lapse of
time from the Honghuang Era to the current period, he was unable to
recollect how Donghua had appeared to look like during his childhood. His
suspicion for the boy to be Donghua's incarnation caused him to him feel
sympathetic towards the boy.
Zhe Yan offered to escort the boy to Haode personally to receive his
punishment, hoping to be able to negotiate a lighter punishment for the
child's trespass. He had then tried to tap into the boy's memories in secret,
but was horrified to discover a large blank space in place of memories. The
crowd of immortals and the guards followed behind them, hoping to clear
their doubts that this boy was Donghua. But what could they expect from
an immortal boy with such little cultivation and possessing no memories?
The boy hadn't even any recollection of his own name. Zhe Yan could only
wonder if the boy was amnesiac or had his memories erased. But if the
boy's memories were indeed erased, the creator of the forgetfulness potion
or magic must have been a God of high status and possessed very high
cultivation that exceeded his own, in order for him to be unable to reverse
any effects of amnesia. Zhe Yan further deduced that it could not be
possible as he was the oldest god that had practised healing in the lands
and up to now, there had been nobody that he was unable to heal, given he
had time and energy to do so. This excluded Fengjiu's plight which he had
never seen before in the length of his life as a phoenix god.
Haode looked down at the bold little boy who was reluctant to kneel before
him. He would have normally lost his temper, but the little boy had a special
aura about him that had seemed to draw even the attention of Haode
himself. One look at him and Haode was intrigued. He was curious about
the origins of the little boy.
Haode decided to obtain his answers directly from the boy.
"Little one, what is your name?" he bent down before the boy to ask him.
"I don't remember," he said. Haode continued to ask about the boy's
parents.
"I don't have parents."
"Do you know how old you are?"
"I don't know."
"How did you come to the Rock of the Three Incarnations?" Haode finally
asked. Then, Haode realised that the target he was speaking to was a boy
who might not familiarised himself with the ways of the heavens. Probably
he might have not even known what was the Rock of Three Incarnations.
Quickly he said, "The place you were at earlier. How did you get there?"
The boy thought for a few seconds before saying, "I woke up and found
myself there. I don't remember anything. I don't even know how to get out
of this maze now."
Zhe Yan and Haode exchanged glances. If the boy had been Donghua and
retained his past memories, he would have probably found his way to the
Taichen Palace now. Either he wasn't Donghua, or if he was, his past
memories had been wiped. To further confirm his identity, Haode
summoned Si Ming and enquired with Si Ming on the fate of the boy,
assuming due to his young age that he was a mortal boy that had
ascended to the immortal realm. Si Ming could only answer that his book
fate was empty at the moment and time would tell if his fate would
eventually write itself.
"Your Highness, I have a suggestion," Zhe Yan said to Haode, bowing with
clasped hands after Haode was done asking Si Ming questions.

"Do speak your mind," Haode replied.

"Instead of punishing the boy, I implore your Highness to consider sending
the boy to the God of War Mo Yuan in the Kunlun Mountains instead.
"Why so?"
"Firstly, he doesn't know how he got here and has no memories of the past,
so neither does he know what he did wrong. So it's useless to punish him.
Secondly, we don't know if he has been born as an immortal for a reason,
and who was his former self. If we send him to Mo Yuan, it is highly likely
he will thrive and excel under his guidance. He will be a valuable asset and
ally to the Sky Kingdom."
Haode pondered for a few moments, and thought what Zhe Yan made
sense, especially considering the possibility that the child may be an
incarnate of Donghua. Then he asked, "But why Mo Yuan?"
"Mo Yuan is unrivaled in his strength and cultivation. If Donghua was still
here, he would be equally powerful to Mo Yuan. Plus, Qian Qian was Mo
Yuan's disciple as well. Other than Mo Yuan, I don't know who would be as
qualified to teach the boy."
"Very well," Haode said, "Take the boy to the Kunlun Mountains and have
Mo Yuan take him as his disciple. Tell Mo Yuan it's my wish that the boy
will flourish under his care."
.....................................................
The God of War, High God Mo Yuan, was finally out of seclusion. It was
more than five hundred years since he awakened. He had once sacrificed
his soul to seal the demon lord Qing Cang in the Donghuang bell, and had
taken 70,300 years to restore his soul.
Mo Yuan had loved Bai Qian unconditionally, but Bai Qian was in love with
Yehua. In Yehua's past lifetime, Golden Lotus, he had been Mo Yuan's
brother, and he had still regarded him as such. Perhaps he would continue
going on loving her for eternity.
After Bai Qian's wedding to Yehua, he had returned to Kunlun Mountains
and started accepting new disciples if he saw potential in them, and the
number of disciples he had was now seventy-two. And when Zhe Yan
brought the boy with him to see Mo Yuan, he would eventually become his
seventy-third disciple. Again, Mo Yuan was a very observant person, and
he also believed and thought that the boy could be Donghua's incarnation,
but there was no way of ascertaining it as his fate book was empty and he
had no memories of his past.

"Seventy Third, from now on, you are a disciple of the God of War now,"
said Zhe Yan. "Bow, and greet your master."
The boy obeyed.
Mo Yuan looked at the boy, his eyes fixated on his silvery-white locks.
Silently, in his heart, he spoke to the boy. If you're not Donghua, why do
you resemble him so much? And you appeared not long after Donghua left.
The truth about the boy's origins would come to light someday.

Chapter 3

Mo Yuan watched Seventy-Three with pride. The young boy often preferred
spending his time alone by burying his face in books at the library, rather
than engaging in idle conversation with his elder martial brothers. Naturally
everyone would assume that Seventy-Three was shy and hated to be
around people, but in fact, he had good social relationships with all his
martial brothers, particularly the young Jian Wei and Hao Xinzhi, who
would often bring him goodie bags and desserts from the kitchen. In spite
of his young age, Seventy-Three had a sweet tooth. But who could turn
away that sweet, adorable face?

Seventy-Three would have the habit of immersing himself in books after

classes and martial training. In addition to being a bookworm, he proved to
show much potential in swordsmanship, performing remarkably when
armed with a sword, but was noticeably weak in archery and often missed
his shooting targets.

Mo Yuan enjoyed being with the boy, feeling like he had known him for a
very long time. One day, the boy had come to him and presented him with
a drawing of a very warm and beautiful place that resembled Bihai
Cangling.
Seventy-Three had painted a clear sky overhead with few clouds, and the
place had an abundance of tall trees adorned with purplish flowers.
Purple was the colour of Emperor Donghua's robe then, when he had
been alive.

"Seventy-Three, that's a beautiful work of art," Mo Yuan said. "Have you

ever been to the place in your painting?"

Seventy-Three smiled shyly and said, "No, Master. I just imagined this
place in my mind." As Mo Yuan had no idea how Bihai Cangling looked,
he didn't ask more about the drawing. The only other living immortal who
had known of and seen Bihai Cangling had been Zhe Yan.

Mo Yuan would later come to know that the boy was a prodigy when it
came to studying. From the Bihai Cangling painting incident, Mo Yuan
had seen for himself and would continue to see in future paintings, that
though the boy seldom painted, his painting skills were remarkable and
carried meaning to them, as if he had been to the places that he had
committed to put in ink.

By the tenth year in the Kunlun Mountains, Seventy-Three had already

mastered all the books in the library, and had even committed them to
memory. It was due to this reason, that Mo Yuan decided to appoint him
as the custodian of the library. Whenever anyone came to the library in
search of a book, he was able to easily recommend which books would
be of assistance and the locations of the books in the library. Although he
had already memorised the content of all the books in the library, he still
continued to read them out of his love for reading. He was interested
particularly in Buddhist sutras and Taoist texts. Some time ago, while he
was reading in the library, Seventy-Three came across some ancient
records hidden in the library concerning Shao Wan, the ancestor of the
Demon Clan and one of the earliest immortals. Seventy-Three's
discovery piqued his curiosity. Due to this, he inquisitively asked Mo
Yuan about the creation of the world and how the world had existed from
the beginning. To placate his curiosity, Mo Yuan had told him in brief
about the creation of the world, and about Shao Wan.

Shao Wan was about a few thousand years older than Mo Yuan and had
been the second phoenix immortal to ever exist in the world, Zhe Yan
being the only other phoenix immortal. She had been born out of the first
light in the world, and had been the first demon queen. She had ended
up forging a bosom friendship with Donghua and the goddess Zuti, whom
along with Zhe Yan and Mo Yuan, were the earliest gods and goddesses
born during the Great Honghuang Era. While she had been believed to
have disintegrated, she was actually in a state of hibernation, and was
yet to awaken.

No matter how hard or how many times he tried, Seventy-Three could not
recall anything from his past. He often wondered how his childhood had
been, or if he had a past lifetime. He was originally tasked with helping in
the kitchen but had ended up creating even a worse mess than it was
before. When he tried to cook, it had caused his peers to suffer from bad
food poisoning, or if they had been lucky, they would just need to make a
few trips to the bathroom. This was also another reason why Mo Yuan
had assigned him to the library, thus swapping his role with that of Jian
Wei, who was formerly an assistant librarian. It had been for the benefit
of everyone.

On Seventy-Three's eight hundredth year in Kunlun Mountains, everyone

was appalled when a strange foreign object appeared in the mountains.
As it had been circling around everyone while still suspended in the air,
Mo Yuan decided to investigate for himself. At that time, Seventy-Three
had chosen to remain in the library instead of following the others outside
to find out what the commotion was about. He was positive that if there
were any signs of imminent danger or if there was an emergency, Mo
Yuan would definitely send someone to get him. He assumed
unswervingly that it was probably a joke by his elders to test him for his
curiosity, or perhaps even an experiment gone wrong by one of the other
disciples.

He heard the door being pushed open by someone, and all of a sudden
something passed swiftly in the air and whizzed through the gap from the
open door towards him. Mo Yuan watched as it appeared that the object,
which he now identified as a small dagger, had chosen its owner.
Following what had just happened, a stampede of young disciples barged
into the library like wild bulls, clumsily knocking into the bookshelves in
their shock. Seventy-Three's neatly arranged books started crashing
down on their heads, waking them from their trance. In their minds, the
sight of Seventy-Three being chosen by the weapon had been so
intriguing and yet startling to them, that the disciples had all offered to
dust and rearrange the books back on the shelves without a single
question or word about what had just happened.

It was only Mo Yuan and the senior disciples from Bai Qian's time,
particularly Four and Ten who stayed with Mo Yuan, whom remained
calm and composed despite the incident before their very eyes. Mo Yuan
was not shocked by the incident as he had always believed Seventy-
Three to be special, as he he had seen Bai Qian to be. He decided to
impart some of his skills and knowledge to Seventy-Three, giving him
some scrolls to help him improve his skills in swordsmanship and
immortal magic (xianshu). However, when he put Seventy-Three's skills
to the test, he realised that he was not wrong in his judgment of Seventy-
Three. His youngest disciple had indeed defied all odds by exhibiting to
him the reality that despite what was taught to him, Seventy-Three
excelled in immortal magic, to the extent that he even knew how to cast
higher level spells that were beyond Mo Yuan's younger disciples'
capability. This caused him to believe even more strongly than before,
that Seventy-Three was Donghua.

Yet another incident would shake the Kunlun Mountains. It was three
hundred years later, when they would discover Seventy-Three lying on
the ground outside the temple one morning, motionless but still very
much alive. Quickly Four and Ten called for their master to come, and Mo
Yuan did not hesitate to quickly transfer some of his cultivation into the
boy's body. How could a mere child have survived such torture, Mo Yuan
thought. His age had been a myth, and Mo Yuan estimated, basing from
the time Donghua vanished, that he was no more than 1,500 years of
age. By then, he had lived and studied in the Kunlun Mountains for 1,300
years. But upon recalling his appearance when he was brought to the
Kunlun Mountains, it dawned upon Mo Yuan that the boy did not appear
to be only 200 years of age at that time. Was there a possibility he wasn't
Donghua? Again, Mo Yuan wasn't sure if Seventy-Three was older than
that, and if he wasn't actually Donghua but another immortal reborn into
the world to help them.

After resting for a month to recuperate from his wounds which had
appeared to Mo Yuan to be the result of repeated strikes of lightning,
Seventy-Three had been plagued by nightmares every night. In his
nightmares it had been chaotic. He faced wave after wave of enemies,
while the grounds of the battlefield were covered in bloodstains and
corpses of those who had fallen in battle. The nightmares had scared him
so much that he was afraid to go back to sleep.

He revealed to Mo Yuan what he had seen in his dreams and what had
happened the night before he had been found unconscious. He had gone
out to help Jian Wei find something that he had lost in the woods. The
sky had been very dark, and all of a sudden he felt a bolt of lightning
penetrate his little body. This was followed by more bolts, one after
another. In the end he had counted nine, and as he lay on the ground
with his body scrunched in tremendous pain, it seemed to be that
meteorites were falling from the sky. Mo Yuan recalled how Zhe Yan had
mentioned that meteorites had been seen to catapult themselves at
Donghua before he allegedly died. Mo Yuan put the facts together, and
this just made him even more suspicious that the boy was Donghua.

Seventy-Three had trusted and regarded Mo Yuan as his own father, and
Mo Yuan treated his disciples as his own children, but Seventy-Three
had been exceptional to him. Mo Yuan seldom listened to his disciples'
personal problems. Similarly, Seventy-Three would only reveal his issues
to Mo Yuan. Now that Mo Yuan had 75 disciples in total, he had been
very particular to not talk to them about personal issues.

Seventy-Three also told Mo Yuan that he was unable to see his own face
in the nightmares, but he was able to see that he was wearing a purple
robe during the time of the battles. When he tried to look at his reflection
in the nightmares, all he could see of his face were flashes of luminous
light covering his face. Mo Yuan also reassured him that he might have
been dreaming due to thinking too much and having expectations of his
own looks in his past lifetime. But Mo Yuan assumed that his disciple was
seeing a memory of his past lifetime.

Perhaps, he was right. And perhaps, not.

Chapter Four
It had been three months since Seventy-Three was struck by lightning,
and every time he goes to sleep, he would continue to relive his
nightmares. Mo Yuan decided that since the boy had a connection with
Zhe Yan while in the Nine Heavens, then a visit to Zhe Yan would be in
order.

........................................................

Meanwhile, Zhe Yan was in Qingqiu, checking up on the sleeping

Fengjiu. He noted that it had been 1,500 years that she was in a deep
slumber. Bai Qian had looked physically tired taking care of her all the
while, and Ali had constantly been asking when his Sister Fengjiu would
wake up.

Zhe Yan closely monitored Fengjiu's breathing and pulse, scanning her
body for any changes since his last visit. He commented to the powerless
Migu, a tree spirit who was Fengjiu's housekeeper in Qingqiu, that there
had been no visible improvements since he last checked on her. Shortly
after, he fetched a large porcelain vial from his sleeve and told Migu,"I've
increased the dosage of her medication. Please feed her one pill a day.
You should have ample supply before my next visit."

The loyal tree spirit bowed in reverence and gave him his word that he
would do so, before receiving the vial with clasped hands. "Thank you,
High God Zhe Yan."

Zhe Yan turned to Bai Zhen who was sitting in the corner and informed
him that he would be going to the Kunlun Mountains next to check up on
the boy, at the same time asking if Bai Zhen would like to join him. Bai
Zhen declined, standing firm in his decision to stay in Qingqiu for now
and assist his younger sister in handling all the matters of the kingdom
that required her indulgence, since Fengjiu had been sleeping all this
while.

"Very well, I understand your concerns on Fengjiu's condition and your

commitment to your family. No worries, I will bring you sweet treats when
I get back," Zhe Yan said to Bai Zhen with a wink, before leaving.

Bai Qian was up to her neck in the affairs of the kingdom. She recalled
why she had decided to give up her inheritance to the throne in favour of
her young niece back then. She didn't enjoy politics, and if not for her
brother, father, uncle and grandfather having her back, she would have
collapsed with all the stress that she had. She wondered how Fengjiu
had coped while being in charge of all the matters of the kingdom as its
young monarch. She attributed her disinterest in the matters of the
kingdom to her lazy and unbothered personality. She loved having fun,
and though she was the Crown Princess, she wasn't interested in getting
involved with handling the affairs of the Sky Kingdom, which she let
Yehua handle himself.

A number of immortals of different ranks who had witnessed the

meteorite event in the Sky Kingdom had asked Bai Qian about the silver-
haired boy. Although they had not said it to her, Bai Qian knew what had
been in their minds: the question of whether he had been Donghua. In
addition, the Third Prince Liansong was among the immortals who were
curious about the boy. Being a gossip-monger himself, it was not
surprising if Liansong had been curious about whether the boy was
Donghua, but Liansong was one of the few immortals that had been
particularly close to Donghua since a long time ago. Donghua hadn't
much friends, apart from Shao Wan, and so his friendship with Liansong
had been exceptional. It had been unfortunate that Liansong arrived too
late as Donghua had vanished. Liansong had done what he could to
dissuade Donghua from putting his life on the line during the royal
wedding, but Donghua was adamant that he needed Fengjiu back in his
life, and had been willing to take all the risks he could in order for him to
have another chance at love with her. Sadly, this had ended badly for the
two of them. Liansong felt a heavy heart for his friend. While the stress of
handling Fengjiu's affairs weighed down heavily on Bai Qian, she also felt
a little annoyed that now her husband, similarly, had to handle a lot more
affairs pertaining to the Sky Kingdom and they hadn't met for a very long
time.

............................................................................

Meanwhile, Zhe Yan set foot in the Kunlun Mountains. It had been 1,300
years since he escorted the boy to the God of War, and when Mo Yuan
had kindly requested for his presence, he had been eager to see what
was the matter that required his assistance.

He had walked side by side with Mo Yuan, observing all that was
happening inside his abode, when suddenly he chanced upon Seventy-
Three's painting of the place resembling Bihai Cangling. Mo Yuan had
the boys, Jian Wei and Hao Xinzhi, suspend the painting over the wall in
the living room, in a specialised area where Mo Yuan would often play a
game of 'go' against his opponents. This way, he could be able to have a
good view of it when he played 'go'.

Zhe Yan could not help realising that the spot in the painting was in fact,
very familiar. But try as he might, he could not recall where he had seen
it, especially the tree with purple blossoms. In fact, he had flown over the
area as a young phoenix, without knowing that it had been Donghua's
birthplace. As Donghua had no parents, he had been fostered by a pair
of immortals, who then had a child, Zhi He. Due to her non-biological
family ties with Donghua, Zhi He had became a princess in the Nine
Heavens. Zhe Yan noted that the painting was a mesmerising depiction
of nature, with the purple blossom tree, a peach blossom tree, the sea
and the skies. As he was acquainted with Mo Yuan, he didn't hesitate to
ask about the origins of the painting, and Mo Yuan told him about how
Seventy-Three had presented it to him, and told him that the place in the
painting was a figment of his imagination. Recalling that Seventy-Three
was the boy he had brought in, Zhe Yan was even more eager to see the
boy now.

Mo Yuan told Zhe Yan about the issue of Seventy-Three's constant

nightmares. As Zhe Yan also believed the boy was Donghua, similarly he
also felt that there had to be a connection between him being Donghua
and having dreams, presumably of his own past lifetime. But regardless if
the boy was Donghua or not, there had to be a solution for his
nightmares. Zhe Yan thus suggested that Mo Yuan allow Seventy Three
to reside in the Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms for the time being.
According to Zhe Yan's point of view, perhaps by providing the boy with a
change in environment, this would help him with sleeping better and
relieve him from having further nightmares. Also, it would be a good
break from everything he was learning, and since the boy loved nature, it
would be highly beneficial to him to live at his peach blossoms orchard
and enjoy the nature before him. Another reason he thought would
benefit the boy was his own collection of rare books, since the boy loved
reading. Furthermore, as it was Seventy Three's first trip out of Kunlun
since he was brought there, it would also be a good opportunity for him to
experience the world out there and the different places in the Four Seas
and Eight Deserts. While he was not the most junior disciple of Mo Yuan,
he was the youngest disciple by age, although his age was not clearly
known or mentioned to anyone. Finally, Zhe Yan was able to convince
Mo Yuan to allow him to bring Seventy Three to the orchard.

...........................................................................

Six months passed by in an instant. Zhe Yan observed the boy laughing
and playing in the orchard, playing excessively with the peach blossoms
as they rained down on the grass below. He visually compared the two in
his mind. Seventy Three was a lot more lively than Donghua had been.
He associated it to Donghua being in reign when the realms had been in
their darkest moment, which gave him a terrifying and cold demeanour
and thus, instigating fear in his subjects then, upon them seeing how
merciless he had looked. If Seventy Three really was Donghua, he must
be the coolest and cutest Donghua ever.

The boy loved to play in the orchard, settling under the blossoms early in
the day, but from afternoon to night, he had his nose in books from Zhe
Yan's hidden collection, preoccupying himself with both reading and
learning. In addition, Zhe Yan even demonstrated to him how wine was
brewed in his orchard. Seventy Three had been so intrigued with brewing
wine that in no time, the orchard was filled with various types of wines,
differing in taste and flavours. One day, Bai Zhen also had the
opportunity to run into the boy at the orchard. He had long heard of the
boy and the possibility that he could be Donghua had never registered in
his mind, but the sight of his silvery-white mane instantly reminded him of
Donghua. Apart from Donghua, he had not seen any other immortal
possessing hair of that colour.

The day finally came that the boy mustered his courage to speak to Zhe
Yan to inquire about Donghua. It was by no doubt that he would chance
upon a few texts referring to Donghua in Zhe Yan's limited but rare book
collection. He had also read about the former Sky Emperor in various
books back in the library in the Kunlun Mountains. The boy had also been
curious about what the usual hair colour of immortals were. From his
knowledge from books, he had noticed that silver was not a common hair
colour of immortals, especially a young immortal like him, though older
immortals would often possess white hair which was often likened to the
silver colour of his hair. Despite being a Honghuang god, Zhe Yan's hair
was a dark shade of black, and had no idea why Donghua's hair colour
was as it was. Due to this, he had always assumed that Donghua's hair
was silver due to a genetic condition that affected his hair.

Suddenly, a look of seriousness came over Zhe Yan's face, presumably

due to a thought that had just clouded Zhe Yan's mind that probably all
silver-haired immortals had a very special purpose in life. He used
Donghua as the former Sky Emperor as an example, and asked the boy
what would he have done if the world had given him such severe
expectations on himself. Being the bright young immortal that he was,
Seventy Three had read so much about Donghua to know all his
achievements in his life and how he had been victorious in his battles
against evil, including the sacrifices and oaths Donghua had made in his
journey to become the Sky Emperor. Shock was written all over Seventy
Three's face at Zhe Yan's sudden question, and he could only answer
that it would not happen to him as he was but an ordinary immortal. Zhe
Yan realised how terrifying the thought had been to the boy, and quickly
rephrased the question. He asked what contributions would Seventy-
Three want to make to the world as an immortal. The boy's answer was:
"peace and calmness to the world where everyone values each other's
presence regardless of their differences."

Ah, he was being very noble and kind, Zhe Yan thought. He was just like
Donghua, sacrificing himself for the sake of the beings of the world.

Chapter Five
Fast-forward to ten years later, Seventy-Three had been cultivating and
learning from Zhe Yan at the Ten Miles of Peach Blossom as his second
master. Since moving there, the nightmares had stopped. Zhe Yan
roughly recalled a moment where he had left the orchard momentarily
only to return and find Seventy-Three surrounded by falling blossom
petals, appearing to resemble fingers in the distance. It had been such a
mesmerising scene as the petals fluttered above Seventy-Three,
enveloping him. On a closer look, Zhe Yan found that Seventy-Three was
unconscious and had tried to rescue him, but a barrier had formed itself
around Seventy-Three, preventing Zhe Yan from intruding further. When
Zhe Yan tried to break down the barrier, he found himself unable to, due
to the power of the protective magic surrounding the barrier. The magic
clashed with Zhe Yan's own magic and caused a few of his trees to burst
into flames. Zhe Yan had been left no choice but to retreat for the sake of
his orchard.

When asked about the incident, Seventy-Three only answered that he

had been drunk from sampling the wine he had been brewing and
chosen to sleep under one of the peach blossom trees. When he awoke
the next morning, he had seen the burnt trees and was unaware what
had happened to the burnt trees the night before. Zhe Yan pretended to
have no idea of what happened and suggested that the trees may have
been struck by lightning, and asked Seventy-Three to replant the burnt
trees instead. From this incident Zhe Yan was able to deduce that
Seventy-Three's cultivation was very high, to be able to produce such
powerful and devastating effects even when he was asleep, surpassing
even the immortals of 'high god' rank in spite of his young age. However,
on the surface, Seventy-Three had looked like any normal immortal.

Zhe Yan would tell Seventy-Three of the two beauties of the Bai family,
who would often bother him from time to time. He would often tell stories
of how mischievous the two were, and remind Seventy-Three how lucky
he was to be born in a different generation from him. Zhe Yan stated that
had both beauties came to pester him at the same time, he would not
have known how his orchard would have been turned out, with all the
chaos that they brought along to him. Unknown to Zhe Yan, Seventy-
Three was already plotting on how to meet the two beauties. He knew
that he was considered a lowly immortal compared to the two beauties
who were of royalty status, but he had been eager to see them for
himself after hearing of Zhe Yan's tales about them. According to Zhe
Yan, they were considered the first and second ranked beauties in the
Four Seas and Eight Deserts, and no other female could match with their
beauty.

In the decade that Seventy-Three lived in Zhe Yan's orchard, it was

seldom visited by immortals, apart from Bai Zhen and his mount Bifang.
Occasionally they would have a visit from the Second Prince of the West
Sea. Seventy-Three had never got the chance to meet the beauties that
Zhe Yan had told him about. Although Seventy-Three didn't know, but at
this point, Bai Qian had returned to the Sky Kingdom with Ali, while
leaving Qingqiu in the hands of Bai Zhi and the Bais, and Fengjiu was still
in her slumber, occasionally visited by Zhe Yan to monitor her condition
and prescribe further medication. Seventy-Three would also accompany
Zhe Yan to send wine to other immortals as gifts when Zhe Yan saw fit.
They had officially visited the West Sea and the Nether Realm. On his
first sight of Seventy-Three, the Lord of the Underworld, Xie Guchou, had
mistook him for Donghua due to the similar colour of his hair to that of
Donghua, but Zhe Yan wasted no time in giving him an explanation and
introduce Seventy-Three as the seventy-third disciple of Mo Yuan.
It was said that Lord Xie had been a friend of Fengjiu in the past, and
with her disappearance Lord Xie had not appeared in Qingqiu for some
time. Perhaps, with his business in the Nether Realm, he had hardly any
chances to see Donghua in person to remember clearly how he looked
like and also, he probably hadn't got wind of what had actually happened
to Donghua in the Nine Heavens as the truth behind Donghua's
disappearance had been carefully hidden by the Immortal Realm. Lord
Xie was also not one of the guests present during the royal family.

Nevertheless, as Lord Xie was a man of a few words, he had happily

accepted the explanation and acknowledged that he was mistaken. At
the same time, Lord Xie also told Zhe Yan that despite the rumours of
Donghua's death that he had heard from immortals passing by in their
travels, he was positive that Donghua would come back anytime as there
had been no evidence of his death, nor any incarnation recorded in his
Book of Life and Death.

............................................................................
Fengjiu saw herself in a beautiful place, surrounded by clouds and mist,
with purple-coloured blossoms adorning the trees. She stretched her
hands out and called for Emperor Donghua.

"Dijun, are you there?" There was no reply.

"Donghua?" she called out again. "Donghua Dijun, where are you?"

She felt a light breeze pull on her hair. Purple blossoms descended from
the trees, swarming her and caressing her gently, as if Donghua was
alive and touching her again. The petals enveloped her, landing in her
hair and on her clothes, some on her feet. She continued to walk further
while still calling Donghua's name, but the sight before her caused her to
freeze in her footsteps. The path before her was pitch black, leading to
complete darkness. She feared that this was the reality of Donghua's
fate. For the first time, she felt scared.

A crowd of concerned family members had gathered around Fengjiu's

bed, starting from her grandparents and parents to Bai Zhen and Zhe
Yan. Bai Qian wasn't able to return to Qingqiu as she had spent a long
time away from the Sky Kingdom, and at this moment she couldn't leave
as she needed to stay behind in the Sky Kingdom to assist Yehua with a
number of matters. According to Migu who had been watching her,
Fengjiu had started showing signs of waking up. He had seen one of her
fingers move slightly but she was still sleeping. She had been sleeping
for 1,510 years after all, and everyone was excited for the day that she
would finally wake up. After some time, Zhe Yan stood up upon
completing his diagnosis of Fengjiu's condition. He asked all those
present not to worry, as Fengjiu's condition was stable.

............................................................................

As all good times come to an end, the day would come when Seventy-
Three had to return to the Kunlun Mountains to resume cultivation under
the God of War. Mo Yuan had anticipated this moment, waiting to receive
Seventy-Three with open arms day after day. He had missed his
youngest disciple so much. In fact ten immortal years would seem a short
while to most immortals, but to Mo Yuan, it had felt exceptionally long.
Zhe Yan had sent a few king-sized wine jars to Mo Yuan as a gift, and
among them were wine that Seventy-Three had brewed himself during
his stay at the orchard. Seventy-Three accompanied Zhe Yan in
delivering the wine to Mo Yuan personally. When Mo Yuan realised the
moment he had been waiting for had come, he rushed out and welcomed
his disciple with open arms, bringing tears of joy to Seventy-Three's eyes.
As Seventy-Three had no parents, Mo Yuan had acted as a surrogate
father to him. This particular moment had been etched deep in his
memory.

He stayed and cultivated until he was almost 20,000 years. Seventy-

Three vividly recalled in his memory, how he had been sorting and
packing items with his seniors when one of them, Fifty-One decided to
seize the opportunity to remind Seventy-Three to behave appropriately
and pay attention to their master while he was lecturing on Taoist
principles. Probably, Fifty-One hadn't realized at that point, that in the
near future, due to Seventy-Three's photographic memory and having
memorised all the scriptures in the Kunlun Mountains, he probably would
be the one to substitute their master in giving lectures on the Tao instead.

When Seventy-Three reached the immortal age of 20,000 years, Mo

Yuan had requested Seventy-Three to accompany him to the Nine
Heavens in the Sky Kingdom in giving lectures to the immortals there.
The last time he had given a lecture there had been more than 100,000
years ago, as following that, he had taken 70,300 years to patch up his
soul after it had been shattered by the Donghuang bell during a battle
with the Ghost Clan. The lecture he would be giving had been estimated
to take half a month.

On one of the days that they were in the Sky Kingdom for Mo Yuan's
lectures, Mo Yuan and Seventy-Three decided to pay a visit to Yehua,
considering their family ties as Yehua was Mo Yuan's brother in a past
lifetime. On Mo Yuan's inquiry, he was informed that Yehua was in
Taichen Palace as its temporary master. Mo Yuan was also informed that
despite Immortal Zhonglin being a reliable steward of Taichen Palace, he
only visited once in a millennium.
The duo were received by Yehua and the Star Lord Siming at the
entrance to Taichen Palace, where Seventy-Three greeted them humbly
and respectfully, clasping his hands with a bow and referring to himself
as Little Immortal, "Little Immortal (xiaoxian) Seventy-Three pays his
greetings to Prince Yehua and Star Lord Siming." Yehua was very warm
to Mo Yuan and Seventy-Three, although Seventy-Three felt that even
he, like all the immortals in the Nine Heavens they had met earlier, would
have his eyes fixated on him for some time. As this was his second time
meeting Siming and given Siming's kind personality, Seventy-Three
clicked immediately with Siming. The siblings bonded over tea in the
pavilion, recalling the last time they had met. Yehua expressed how long
it had been since Mo Yuan ever visited the Sky Kingdom or his old friend
Donghua's Taichen Palace, and Mo Yuan inquired on how his
relationship was with Seventeen (Bai Qian). While Mo Yuan and Yehua
were rejoicing in each other's happiness, Siming had brought his new
silver-haired friend out on a tour of the Taichen Palace. He had also
promised Seventy-Three a look at some of the manuscripts he was
writing, which would be used in future mortal fate books. A thought
appeared in Siming's mind on how Donghua had looked as a young
immortal. Surely he would look a bit like Seventy-Three, since Seventy-
Three bore such a striking resemblance to him?

After the tour, Siming and Seventy-Three returned to the pavilion, where
Yehua warmly asked about his impression on the tour. Seventy-Three
replied casually that he was amazed by the diversity of the books he had
seen in the library at Taichen Palace. Yehua informed Seventy-Three
that he was welcome to pay a visit to Siming and his library of books any
time he wished. Seventy-Three was delighted, but as Mo Yuan had
trained him about etiquette in the Sky Kingdom, he did not express signs
of any excitement and simply smiled and thanked Yehua courteously with
a bow, "Thank you, Prince Yehua."

On the way out, they ran into Prince Ali, Bai Qian and Yehua's young
son, who had now grown to be a young immortal. As in the past, Ali was
a very talkative and inquisitive boy, often saying things without further
consideration. Yehua had expected Ali to jump right into questioning if
Seventy-Three was Donghua. Mo Yuan had a lengthy explanation to Ali
who Seventy-Three was and while he had silvery-white hair like
Donghua, he wasn't Donghua but Seventy-Three, his youngest disciple
by age. Apparently, Ali had caught wind of the news of Mo Yuan and a
silver-haired young immortal visiting Taichen Palace, so he couldn't
contain himself and quickly rushed there to find out for himself if it was
true. They ended up chatting for almost two hours. Mo Yuan had long
heard of how chatty his nephew was with strangers, but just brushed it off
as part of adolescence. This time, he was able to witness it himself.

Just before they left, they managed to have a short glimpse of the
Miaohua Mirror, an artifact at the Taichen Palace resembling a waterfall,
which was said to be able to see into an immortal's lifetime, as well as to
visit any place in the realms, but unfortunately, Donghua was the only
one who could activate and use it, so all he could do was sigh and admit
how miraculous the artifact was. He wished that if only Donghua was
around, he would have the chance to observe the wonders it could do.

Chapter Six
Finally, after sleeping for 20,005 years in Qingqiu, Fengjiu opened her
eyes.

All were delighted by the fact that their beautiful fox queen had come
back to them, especially Zhe Yan who had seen her as his own niece. He
had seen her from birth till she was grown up, and she definitely had a
place in his heart. The loyal tree spirit was also glad that they didn't have
to endure any more terrible cooking very soon. Fengjiu had been the chef
of the Bai household, and when she was in a deep slumber, Migu's
cooking had been far from unpalatable, it was simply horrendous.
Similarly, Bai Qian was not of the cooking type either, so when Qian Qian
had been in Qingqiu, she had no choice but to eat raw and under-cooked
food, just as she did when she was Su Su, and just before she had met
Yehua.

The first thing she had asked was where was her Donghua. Right,
Donghua had been with her when she had collapsed, and they had been
together. Not just together, but together as a couple. It broke her to know
the truth of what had happened. If they had not broken Donghua's oath of
never being in love and if they had not succumbed to carnal desire for
each other, perhaps he would still be very much alive. She also learned
that she had passed the trial by taking the six strikes of lightning, and had
ascended to be a high immortal. But because she had indulged in
intimacy with Donghua, she had been punished by having to suffer the
additional three strikes of lightning. Yet, it was Donghua who had given
his life for her. Seeing the state of devastation and despair she was in,
the Bais and Zhe Yan decided to leave her to her thoughts. Bai Zhen had
felt so painful to see the state she was in, but he understood very well
what it meant to be in love. He had felt such deep feelings of admiration
and love for Zhe Yan in their special relationship, and yet nobody would
ever fathom his situation. He would silently and deeply love Zhe Yan. At
this moment, the most he could do was be his niece's pillar of support,
while she repaired her broken heart. But he knew, deep down in her
heart, there would be a part of Donghua which she would never forget.

Zhe Yan decided to keep the reality of the silvery-white haired boy a
secret from Fengjiu. He didn't want Fengjiu carrying false hopes in her
mind that he was Donghua, and risk her getting hurt further. There was
no actual proof that he was Donghua, and every immortal that knew of
Donghua's death had just simply speculated that he had to be Donghua
as he appeared after Donghua's passing, but the assumption had been
mainly due to his silvery-white hair. Time would be the best medicine.
Fengjiu was strong, and although she wasn't able to control herself from
harbouring feelings of love for Donghua and giving herself wholly to him,
she was a good queen. She would place her subjects over her own
needs, and in time, Qingqiu would flourish under her reign.

After some ninety days had passed, with Bai Zhen's encouragement,
Fengjiu brushed away her tears and began to stand on her feet again.
Her body was numb from all the pain she had went through, and if not for
Bai Zhen not giving up on her, she probably would be still hiding in her
bedroom, escaping from reality. With Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan's help, she
started cultivating to account for the years she had been asleep. Now
that she was far more formidable than before, it was time for her to make
a decision that would change everything.

Fengjiu gathered her courage to speak to her parents about her decision
about living in the mortal realm. It had been part of their Qingqiu culture,
as following a queen's coronation, the queen would spend years in the
mortal realm to gain experience so as to become a better ruler. As she
was a young queen at 32,000 years old when she was crowned, Fengjiu
had spent the three hundred years prior to the royal wedding, in studying
and learning everything she could about the history of the world, the
customs of the realms, and the ways of the Sky Kingdom. In addition, she
also studied Buddhist scriptures and texts to enhance her knowledge and
skills on the religious beliefs of Qingqiu. Thus, she had never had a
chance to explore the mortal realm to gain actual experience that would
benefit her, with the exception of the time she had inhabited Consort
Chen's body with the assistance of Si Ming, for Donghua's love trial.
Since falling into a deep sleep, her chance to learn from the mortal realm
had been delayed for tens of thousands of years. She was devastated,
feeling pain and guilt for the loss of her beloved, but she knew deep in
her mind that there was nothing that could be done to prevent the
calamity from befalling them on that day. He had sworn to protect the
world by giving up his destiny, but yet he had paid for breaking his oath
with his own life. Understanding that she had grown up and was a mature
High Immortal now, her parents and Bai Zhen gave her their blessings for
her departure to the mortal realm. Perhaps this way, Bai Zhen thought,
she could forget her pain and find happiness somehow.

Before she departed Qingqiu, she handed a magical parchment to her

trusted housekeeper Migu, so that in the case of an emergency, he would
be able to contact her, regardless where they both were. The parchment
was equipped with the power to be able to contact her in the mortal
realm. "Donghua," she whispered, "I live for you. Since you gave up your
life for mine, I will live happily for your sake, and repay you with my life."

............................................................................

Meanwhile in the Kunlun Mountains, a letter from the Sky Kingdom

arrived, addressed from Yehua to Mo Yuan. In the letter, Yehua
desperately asked for help from Mo Yuan to provide him with a reliable
assistant as he was getting overwhelmed with the weight of his duties in
the Sky Kingdom. The Kunlun Mountains have been providing assistance
to the Sky Kingdom in the past, and one such example had been Yehua's
personal guard, who is now tasked to protecting Ali with his life. After
much consideration and given Seventy-Three's accomplishments in the
Kunlun Mountains and his potential, Mo Yuan decided to assign Seventy-
Three to the Sky Kingdom as Yehua's assistant and right-hand man.

The first person he was introduced to in the Sky Kingdom after being
assigned to Yehua's office, was Yehua's wife, Crown Princess Bai Qian.
He witnessed the beauty of the woman said to be the most beautiful in
the whole world, and noticed that while there had been no other woman
in this world who could ever compete with her in her beauty, he felt no
inclination to her. Perhaps it was how it registered in his mind that she
was Yehua's wife and his senior in Kunlun Mountains, factors that made
him respect her, but he was not physically attracted to her. Zhe Yan had
also described her as one of the two Bai beauties who would bug him
often, but she was now far from the description as a mischievous white
fox in his stories, being the future empress and a role model in all the
beauties of the world. At the same time Bai Qian thought in her mind, she
would rather be in Qingqiu than be in the Sky Kingdom. If not for her love
for Yehua, she probably wouldn't be here.

After countless introductions to the officials in the Sky Kingdom, Seventy-

Three sat at Yehua's work desk and assisted him in clearing out the
papers on his desk. Yehua gave him a briefing on what he did and
needed to do, and Seventy-Three had been very sharp and decisive in
helping him with his next course of action.

Following ten years of being Yehua's right-hand man, Seventy-Three

would go on to be promoted to assist the star gods in the registry. The
star gods were mainly the Highest General (Shangjiang), Assistant
General (Cijiang), Noble Premier (Guixiang), Controller of Destinies
(Siming), Controller of the Middle (Sizhong), and Controller of Wealth
(Silu), all of who liked and enjoyed the company of the young immortal
(young here pertains to Seventy-Three's age). Seventy-Three eventually
became closest to Si Ming, as if they had known each other for a very
long time. When he had leisure time to spend, he would be seen hanging
around in the Star Lord's personal library, lost among books as Si Ming
was said to have a vast collection of books and stories, as opposed to
the other star gods. Due to this reason, Si Ming gave him the nickname
"Shu Tong" (book boy, also meaning an assistant or servant to a scholar
who studied with him). The two would later forge a very powerful
friendship, in years to come.

............................................................................

Please stay tuned for the next chapter, on Fengjiu's life in the mortal
realm. I realized this chapter is much shorter than the previous chapters,
but I hope you enjoyed it!

Chapter Seven
Excerpt from the Pillow Book:

In ancient times, there was one particularly important subject at the

Shuizhaoze Academy that was opened by the Father God for the various
clans to study at, and that was to gain experience in the mortal realm.
There are billions of worlds in the Trichiliocosm. Staying one year in each
world would take at least one billion years. Fortunately, the Father God
was kind enough to only randomly select 100,000 mortal worlds for his
students to gain experience from.

As legend had it, the outstanding students who had the opportunity to
experience the world included the future master of the universe, Donghua
Dijun, the Heaven Clan's god of war, High Deity Moyuan, the Demon
Clan's ancestor goddess, Queen Regnant Shaowan, the world's first
phoenix, High Deity Zheyan, as well as Fengjiu's paternal grandparents.

It could be seen that all of these students who had gone to the mortal
worlds to gain experience had become successful, and greatly successful
at that.

..........................................................................
In a period of ten years, Fengjiu had travelled across three mortal worlds,
running a restaurant in the first, becoming a landlady of a vast farming
area in the second, and serving in a historical medium in the last.
Following this, she would travel to a different mortal world every fifteen
years, efficiently using makeup to conceal her phoenix birthmark and
faking a wrinkled appearance to imitate the mortal process of aging. In
this way, she was able to live in different worlds for fifteen years each
without triggering any suspicion from the mortals. Immortal magic was
prone to backfiring in the mortal realm and which had been seen with her
experience in Donghua's mortal trial in the past, had adverse effects
when used in the mortal realm. Thus, she restricted her usage of
immortal magic in the mortal realm. Also, the mortal realm had some
strange, anti-magic zones which magic spells wouldn't work in.
Fortunately she was an excellent swordswoman and was also extremely
skilled in archery, as her arrows had never missed a single target.
Fengjiu would disguise as a commoner to learn the ways of the mortals.
She noticed how mortals were susceptible to jealousy and evil thoughts,
and many had been led astray by lust and greed. She had seen how
mortals had been desirous to many things such as money, strength,
power and lust for the opposite sex. Occasionally, she would also dress
in man's clothing to protect herself from mortal men and observe how
they reacted and acted in different scenarios. She learned about the four
stages of sufferings, birth, aging, sickness and death, and how mortals
suffered very differently from immortals. Immortals did not age, and would
not die for a very long time. Some immortals like Zhe Yan and Mo Yuan,
had existed since the creation of the world.

When she finally felt frustrated that she had seen enough of that mortal
world she was in, Fengjiu decided to spend an additional year there
before moving to the next world, making it her sixteenth year in that
world. She firmly decided that no longer enjoyed the glamour of living
among mortals there. In an attempt to isolate herself from the mortals and
to live an even simpler life, she moved to the woods. There, she survived
solely on her hunting skills and from wild produce, mainly fruits and
vegetables, which she harvested with her own hands. Eventually she
found that she had missed her life at Qingqiu greatly, so she moved
again to settle down in a cave in a secluded spot in the mountains, where
she would be able to enjoy a scenery like that of Qingqiu.

She was adamant that due to her excellent survival skills, she would not
have to fear the wild beasts that roamed the mountains. At the same time
she was mindful of the reality that there were only a few beasts living in
the area, that possessed enough strength and cultivation to actually harm
her. Furthermore, if she was that weak, she wouldn't have passed the
difficult Bingcang ceremony that allowed her to become queen of
Qingqiu. She knew her own strengths and weaknesses, and it would
have taken more than just a few beasts to take her down.

.........................................................................

Meanwhile in the Sky Kingdom, Seventy-Three has manned the library of

the Heaven Registry for thirty-thousand years. The library was divided
into six branches, with one for each star god. Like before in the Kunlun
Mountains, Seventy-Three again made short work of all the books in the
library, digesting each word in the books and remembering them so
clearly that he had been able to recite the books from his mind, even in a
random sequence. The only books he had not exactly seen or
remembered had been the records and books of mortal fates, that were
inaccessible to the public, and in the custody of Siming.
One day, Siming asked Seventy-Three for his assistance to rearrange
the books of destiny in his office. While he was arranging the books,
Seventy-Three realised that there had been a game board made of fine
jade and stone in the end of the room. Every square on the board had
been beautifully engraved. What had caught his attention was the black
and white stones lying on the board, appearing to be part of an
unfinished game. Assuming that the person who had been playing 'go'
earlier had been unable to complete the game, he used his wits to
continue the game, pretending that he was playing with an imaginary
opponent. Given his prior experience of training and playing 'go' with Zhe
Yan and Mo Yuan, he was able to complete the game in just a few
moves.
Surprisingly, the moment he replaced the final stone, it followed with
echoes of loud rolling noises in the room. A previously covered section of
the room in the east had opened up and revealed a passage into another
room. Without considering further, the young and curious Seventy-Three
entered the room. The passageway had been narrow, with gold-lined
walls adorned with jade and stone of different colours and designs. The
passage lead to another room and a delighted Seventy-Three cried out in
his joy of finding another library.

The bookshelves in the inner library had been made of gold, and
contained many ancient-looking books. However, a few vacant
bookshelves remained. Amazed with the books before him, he unrolled a
scroll and read about the records of the Nuwa goddess' life in the past.
The next scroll that followed was one depicting how the Father God had
created the Four Seas and Eight Deserts.

Suddenly, he heard someone shout, "Outrageous!". It turned out to be

the voice of the Sky Emperor, who had transported himself into the secret
library to read from the archives of the Donghua Emperor on the first
mortal emperor, A'bu'tu.

In a flash, the Sky Emperor had transported Seventy-Three, who was

dressed in a white-robe disciple's uniform, into the Grand Hall of the Nine
Heavens. This time, the young immortal was mature enough to know the
seriousness of the matter, and how he should kneel before the Sky
Emperor. He quickly fell on his knees.

The Sky Emperor solemnly asked from the platform above, "Why were
you in the secret library? Do you know that it is out of bounds to young
immortals like you?"

Seventy-Three paused for a few long seconds before bowing with

clasped hands and explaining with palace etiquette,"Your Highness, your
humble servant Xiaoxian didn't mean for this to happen. Xiaoxian was
arranging books when he unintentionally opened a secret entrance.
Xiaoxian didn't know it would lead to a library, and when he saw the
books he couldn't get his eyes off them. Xiaoxian didn't know the library
was restricted from entry, and he didn't know that disciples couldn't read
the books in the library, because Xiaoxian has never knew of the library's
existence. Please be lenient with Xiaoxian in view that Xiaoxian didn't
know what he did wrong."

Hao De fumed, but after hearing Seventy-Three's little and careful

speech, he had to admit that this young immortal was in fact, very good
with words. If he had been lying, he did it very well indeed. But Hao De
chose to believe him instead, probably due to his resemblance to the
vanished Donghua Dijun. He dismissed his explanation and declared to
him what he had done wrong. Siming was also called in to place upon
him a fate in the mortal realm. Seventy-Three was sentenced to twenty-
three years in the mortal realm.

The truth had been that only a few people were allowed to enter the
secret library, Siming being one of them. It had been the place of
Donghua's archives, and Siming usually used it to research on whether
there had been information on a certain topic in the archives. As a rule,
books inside were not allowed to be brought within the four corners of the
room, and could only be read within range of the bookshelves, and thus
bringing out a book or scroll out from the library was a punishable
offence. Because Siming had once brought a book out from the library
and allowed Fengjiu to read it, he had been lightly punished by Donghua.

Upon receiving his punishment, Seventy-Three's last words was "Your

Majesty, Xiaoxian wholeheartedly accepts what I did wrong and its
consequences, but also believed that there is no wealth like knowledge,
and no poverty like ignorance. "

Everyone present was shocked beyond description by the young

immortal's sharp tongue, with the exception of Hao De who leaned
forward in his seat to give Seventy-Three a closer look. It appeared that
his anger earlier had dissipated and he was now amazed with Seventy-
Three. "What is your name, young one?"

"Xiaoxian is called Seventy-Three after being accepted as the seventy-

third apprentice of the God of War in the Kunlun Mountains."

Hao De recalled how the incident over fifty thousand years ago, where he
had agreed with Zhe Yan to exonerate a child from punishment and send
him to Mo Yuan to be trained. And yet, today, the child, now a grown
immortal, was standing before him. Curiously he asked, "Do you
remember anything from your past now?"

The bystanders with the exception of Siming were puzzled by Hao De's
sudden question. Seventy-Three replied with a sad face that he
remembered nothing.

Hao De was still unsure whether this immortal was Donghua, and deep
inside his mind, he wanted to believe that he was, but yet questioned
himself on the possibility of that being true since even now, Seventy-
Three still had no memories of his past. With his powers, he could try to
see right through the young immortal to know that he had not been lying,
but he still chose to believe that Seventy-Three was telling the truth. Hao
De started to place hope for the boy in his mind that he would be the one
to inherit Donghua's position as the future master of Taichen Palace and
the Emperor Lord of the future. In years to come, Hao De would
eventually go on to realise that he had yet to be impressed by any
immortal like Seventy-Three.

Chapter Eight

In the mortal world, where Fengjiu and Seventy-Three are both at.

As each day went by, Fengjiu got used to living in the wilderness like
birds flying in the sky. Never did a day go by that she needed to hide her
youthful looks or her birthmark behind makeup. Neither did she have to
don men's clothing to protect herself from the danger of lecherous men.
The only exception had been when she left the mountains to buy special
materials from the village closest to the mountains. She would use
different disguises when she left the mountains temporarily.

In the decades that Fengjiu spent in the mountains, rumour spread like
wildfire that there had been an evil spirit residing up in the mountains that
would kill and eat human beings. The mortals believed that if one went to
the mountains, there would be no hope of them coming back again, so
they avoided going to the mountains. Thus, Fengjiu was safe from being
discovered by mortals, and was able to indulge in a life of seclusion,
cultivating in the mountains.

On the third day of the second month in the lunar calendar, Fengjiu
watched the full moon with a jar of wine in her right hand, when suddenly
the moon turned red. It was a full lunar eclipse known as the blood moon.
Her cultivation allowed her to conclude that something out of the ordinary
was about to happen.

Meanwhile, on the same night, in Zitong, Sichuan Province, a poor widow

birthed an infant with a full head of silver hair. Upon seeing the infant's
hair, she was overridden by guilt, thinking that due to the despair she had
gone through while pregnant, it had caused the infant to have been born
with white hair. She named the boy Zhang Ya, in the wishes of her late
husband.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Ya was ambushed from a
distance at the foot of the so-called cursed mountains by hunters wanting
to take his life, as he had been believed to be an evil spirit. He had
fainted from his injuries. Just in the nick of time before the hunters could
approach the unconscious boy, a beautiful young woman materialised
before them and defeated the attackers with a mere swing of her sword.

When the boy came to, he found himself in a cave. His injuries had
already been wrapped and treated. A beautiful lady hovered above him,
seeming to have been taking care of him as he slept. He instantaneously
knew that this beauty had to be his saviour. "Who are you? Why have
you saved me?" he asked.

As he received no response from her, he continued, "Everyone

discriminated me and many thought I'm a demon due to my hair colour.
Why are you so kind to me?"

She looked at him sadly. "Why should I be unkind to you, just because
they did? After all, you're only a mortal." The weight of her words had
shocked him. Was she not from this world, since she referred to him as
'only a mortal'? Where could she be from? Thoughts were lingering in his
mind. In years from now, these questions would still remain unanswered.

"You remind me of someone I know," she added a few minutes later. "But
regardless, as a passer-by seeing someone in trouble, how could I just
have walked by without lending a helping hand? Furthermore, this is
where I live as well."

Silence fell over them. Her phoenix birthmark shimmered brightly in the
brightness. A medium-sized pearl illuminated the cave, allowing him to
focus on her excellent facial features. She had been dressed in a simple
thin dress, her hair bound in a single high ponytail. The boy wondered
what a beauty like her was doing in the mountains.

"Here, drink this and get well," the beautiful woman said after some time
had passed, handling him a vial containing a concoction for his recovery.
In the years of living in the mountains, she had brought with her books on
the way of herbalists. For eleven years, she had been cultivating and
practising herbalism in the mountains, using herbs that she gathered with
her own hands, to qualify as a skilled herbalist. The concoction contained
a potion to restore his vitality and heal his injuries, but it also contained a
sleeping draught. When he woke up, it was already morning and he was
back in his village with no signs of the woman he had met the night
before. His basket, filled to the brim with gathered herbs, lay by his side.

Fengjiu's POV

Fengjiu recalled how the boy who appeared to be no more than an

ordinary mortal, had responded to her with such a mature voice.

"What in the world, did you come to these cursed mountains for?" she
asked.
"I was gathering wild herbs as the village doctors are willing to exchange
the herbs for money and medication for my sick mother," the boy said
truthfully. Despite him knowing about the rumoured dangers of the
mountains having an evil spirit, he still went to the mountains. The
hunters that had attacked him had appeared to be geared with Taoist
talismans and amulets of different kinds, as they were probably prepared
to defeat the 'evil spirits'.

Fengjiu asked herself how cruel fate was. She lamented, "At such a
young age, he had already been destined to suffer so much. But at least
he is more fortunate than me. As compared to me, he probably only has
a few more years in his suffering." While Donghua's disappearance from
the realms would make her suffer for eternity. Foxes chose to have only
one partner all their lives. In the absence of that partner such as in death,
they would often find it difficult for them to accept a new partner.

Recalling Si Ming was in charge of writing destinies of mortals and that of

immortals being sent to the mortal realms regardless due to punishment
or to undergo their trials to ascend to the status of high god, she
wondered what wrongdoings the mortal boy had done in his former
lifetime to reap such karma to be reborn to a widow who lived in such
poverty.

When the boy was unconscious, she used her newly acquired powers as
a high immortal to tap into the boy's energy to find out for herself if he
was indeed a mortal, and to look into his life as a mortal. She was unable
to detect any immortal energy on the boy, and deduced that he was a
common mortal. As his silvery hair had reminded her so much of her lost
lover, she knew that it could not be possible for him to reappear as a
mortal with no immortal energy on him.

She felt sympathetic towards the boy upon seeing in his life, how he had
been bullied and , remembering her time in the mortal realm where she
inhabited the body of Donghua's mortal self, the Song Emperor's consort.
Due to the jealousy of his wife and several concubines, they had called
for a Taoist priest who insisted that her phoenix birthmark was a demonic
flower and hence, the mark of the devil. Furthermore, as the birthmark
appeared on Consort Chen's forehead only after she took over her body,
they were suspicious of her identity. If not for the Song Emperor's
intervention, she probably would be put to death. And now it was
happening to this boy, just because he had white hair. In the different
worlds she had lived in, she realised the fact that mortals often tended to
jump to conclusions about things that were unusual and many had been
superstitious. In her sorrow, Fengjiu turned to the clear, dark sky and
watched the twinkling stars. "Donghua, where are you?" she asked
bitterly. "When will you come back?"

Was fate teasing her? she thought as she received no answer from the
sky.

Perhaps it was time she returned to Qingqiu, after roaming the worlds for
such a long, long time. Furthermore, she had already accepted the reality
that Donghua was finally gone, and it was a fact that would never
change.

The young boy had been the reason that she would break her own rule
that she had imposed on herself, when she cast a light spell to spirit him
back to the entrance of his village. She probably could have left him in
the woods below the mountains, but she had feared for his safety.

...........................................................................

Meanwhile, Zhang Ya returned home after sending the rare collection of

herbs that he had gathered to the physicians, and collecting his payout
as well as a few packs of prescribed medication, which he would brew in
a pot with a slow fire, to feed his mother with. But to his dismay, when he
arrived home, his mother was lying weakly on the ground, breathing her
last moments.

She was just as beautiful as she had been when he first remembered her
as a young child. She had loved wearing floral dresses, and due to how
poor they were, she would constantly patch up their clothes when they
got torn. They had survived on whatever produce they could harvest in
their fields. With the exception of winter, his mother had busied herself in
planting whatever she could. She had been sick for a very long time, and
her condition deteriorated when she overworked herself by taking care of
him and working hard in the fields. Her last words when he hurriedly
hugged her had been, "You are so smart, Ya'er. How I wish I could have
lived to see you in a scholar's robe."

And it had been with his mother's last words, that Zhang Ya, a mere boy
of ten, vowed that no matter what, he would sit for the imperial
examinations and achieve the title of scholar. Following his mother's
death, he found work in a rich tycoon's estate as a servant, eventually
growing up to impress both masters, young and old, with his intelligence
and photographic memory. When he was a teenager, the old master had
him study with his grandchild, whom he later grew up with, and later, both
men sat for the imperial examinations together.

How it was believed in the olden days to be upon passing the exams with
flying colours.

In the boy's brilliant mind, nothing would ever stop him from
accomplishing his mother's wish to become a scholar. He had a long
road ahead, filled with discrimination and people belittling him due to his
status as a poor servant, all of which Fengjiu had seen in his mortal life.
But in spite of all his hardship, he was determined to overcome his
problems and prove himself with all his intelligence and his heart of gold.

Chapter Nine

It had been purely coincidental that the rich family that had taken Zhang
Ya in as a servant that year shared his surname, Zhang. As a servant, he
learnt to dye his hair by experimenting with and mixing different herbs like
he had seen Old Zhang Liu do to the old master's hair. However, his
attempt was not fruitful as the dye barely covered the whiteness of his
hair. He took on another option, which was, to cut his hair short and hide
it under a cap that given to him by another servant.

When he reached the tender age of thirteen, the young master, Zhang
Xu, learnt of his poetic sense. Admiring his desire to study and his
brilliance, the older Xu proposed to his father to allow Ya to assist and
accompany him in his studies. The two struck up an unexpected
friendship, and over the years, it was said that there was no place that Xu
would go without taking Ya.

As time went by, he continued to have his childhood memories of Fengjiu

in his mind, even keeping a painting of Fengjiu in his room. Although he
didn't know her name, he knew she had to be a fairy of some sort, and so
he named her 'Fairy Beauty'. Xu would often tease him that he was in
love with an older girl, and Ya would deny, stating that he was merely
trying to remember his debt of gratitude to her for saving his life.

Upon Ya turning seventeen, Xu and Ya passed the imperial examinations

to become scholars with the rank of xiucai (flowering talent). When Ya
was twenty years old, they passed the provincial examination held
normally once every three years, to achieve the Ju Ren (raised man)
grade. Xu had Ya and himself enrolled at an academy in the capital to
prepare them for the last stage, the Jin Shi (advanced scholar)
examinations, which would determine whether they would be within the
200 candidates that were selected every year. The lucky candidates,
known as the zhuangyuan, were said to be offered a permanent post in
the government, along with numerous benefits.

With his brilliance and determination, Ya's name was top in the list of
candidates selected during the final examinations. At this time, it was
customary for the emperor to present a golden rose to the winning
candidate. Ya had been filled with pride when he approached the
emperor's high seat, believing that he was about to fulfill his mother's
dying wish. Unfortunately, it happened that it had been breezy, and his
cap was blown off, causing his hair to stream out behind him in waves.

Alas, Taoist masters arrived at the scene, sent by the emperor's own
teacher, Guoshi, and interrupted the emperor from awarding Ya the
golden rose. The reasoning they had given to the emperor was that his
white, devilish hair and his birth during the blood moon was a curse that
would result in the downfall of the empire. Believing the words of his
teacher, the emperor erased Ya's name from the list of selected
candidates and instead awarded the top position to Xu. Ya was dragged
out by his feet from the hall by the ferocious masters, before being
treated as a demon by the horrendous souls in the crowd that had best
assembled. While they mocked him and threw rotten eggs in his face, the
only thought in his mind had been, what could he say to his mother, now
that he had failed her? Deeply humiliated and devastated, he saw no way
out but to drown himself. When Xu was able to get to him, all that
remained of himself was the portrait of Fengjiu that had dropped on the
river bank. At 23 years old, Zhang Ya had ended his life.

........................................................................

His lifeless body was rescued by a silver dragon, lifting it towards the
surface. The dragon rose out of the waves carrying his dead body and
continued to ascend higher and higher in the air, until at last he had
reached the very sky itself and carried him up into the nine heavens,
where he was enthroned among the stars in the sky. The said dragon
was no other than His Royal Highness the Third Prince Liansong himself.

Seventy-Three jumped up with a shock, as if he had woken up from a

dream. He realised that he was now lying on an exquisitely crafted long
bed with sheets and pillows of expensive looking brocade. He asked
himself if he was dreaming, but then started to recall his memories of
being Mo Yuan's disciple, and later, an apprentice of Taichen Palace.
Quickly, he ran to the mirror on the table before him, and looked at his
own reflection. The young boy was gone, replaced with his magnificent-
looking appearance. A moment later, he heard someone come into the
room. It was Mo Yuan, the very first teacher he had and his master,
carrying with him a teapot filled with tea, and its accompanying teacups.
Remembering how he had humiliated him by entering the sacred library
without permission, Seventy-Three lost no time in bowing to Mo Yuan to
request for his forgiveness. Mo Yuan raised him to his feet, forgiving him.
Mo Yuan started explaining to his disciple how starting today, everything
would be different. Tears brimmed in his eyes when he thought of how
Seventy-Three had spent thirty thousand immortal years in the Sky
Kingdom without returning to visit him even once. He knew that it was for
the best of Seventy-Three who was an obedient child, and that Seventy-
Three needed to learn how to be more prudent. But he was after all, an
emotional person, and without Seventy-Three by his side, he felt a tinge
of loneliness and emptiness. And very soon, Seventy-Three was to be
assigned to the Sky Kingdom permanently, away from him.

Seventy-Three was confused by his master's words, but hesitated to say

a single word due to the previous sin he had committed. His silence was
followed by Mo Yuan placing an embroidered gown in his hands, which
was elegant compared to the plain robe he wore as an apprentice.

At the Grand Hall, Hao De sat grandly in his high seat while Zhe Yan, Mo
Yuan, Yehua, Bai Qian, Liansong, the six star gods, and a few Sky
Kingdom immortals looked on. Seventy-Three was amazed as it was his
first time seeing so many immortals present at the same time. In his
years as an apprentice, he had yet to encounter so many immortals as
he stayed in the registry and thus didn't have the chance to be involved
with affairs in the Sky Kingdom.

Chong Lin stood beside Seventy-Three and gave him a careful reminder
of the formalities and rules he had to be mindful of in the Sky Kingdom.
Hao De again asked Seventy-Three the same question, which was
whether he had recovered memories of the past. Again, he received the
same answer.

In a firm and serious tone, Hao De announced, "Seventy-Third apprentice

of Mo Yuan, I now appoint you as the God of Culture and Literature. You
are now the keeper of the registry. It's your responsibility as well to
assign newly ascended immortals to their new roles before they enter the
gates of Heaven, as well as managing the name lists of the would-be
officials. I hereby name you as Imperial Sovereign Wenchang of Taichen
Palace."

Wenchang's position was a rank lower than that of Donghua's, but yet,
was considered that of an emperor (Dijun) and hence every immortal
below him held him in high respect. Bowing and clasping his hands
together, Wenchang received the appointment scroll from Yehua, saying
his thanks to Hao De. The star gods and Sky Kingdom immortals bowed
to him in reverence, but the hall remained quiet as no immortal who
dared to talk, much say gossip, before the serious no-nonsense Sky
Emperor.

(For further information, here is a link for reading about the Taoist deity
Wenchang:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wendi-Chinese-deity)
........................................................................

Some days later after the appointment of Wenchang, Siming arrived by

himself in Qingqiu for a private meeting with the Queen of Qingqiu after
receiving a message from her to come to Qingqiu. She looked a bit
pleased to see him.

"Siming, long time no see," she said happily.

"Long time no see, Queen Fengjiu," Siming said with a slight bow. He
recalled how it had seemed like yesterday that they had been spending
time together in the Sky Kingdom. Back then, she had been a princess,
and Siming had held her in high regard. Because he understood her
unchanging love for Donghua, he chose to bury his feelings of admiration
for her deep in his heart. He had admired her very long, but compared to
what she felt for Donghua, what he felt for her was but a mere crush.

Fengjiu invited Siming to sit down with her and enjoy tea. A plate of
vinegar fish sat on a plate before them.

"This is ..."

"Siming, it's been a long time since we last had a friendly conversation,"
Fengjiu said. "Since Dijun left, I've been by myself, wandering the mortal
realm. You are my closest friend in the immortal realm, so I just wish for
us to enjoy a meal together."

Siming smiled. Even with Donghua's death, Fengjiu's heart would be with
him eternally. Similarly, he would continue to keep his feelings for her
hidden deep in his heart.

He accepted the cup of tea Fengjiu offered him. Fengjiu had known
clearly about his low alcohol tolerance, and had prepared a pot of strong-
tasting tea for him. As for the dish of vinegar fish, she had also known of
the incident where he had the shock of his life upon eating a similar dish
prepared by Donghua himself. As powerful as he was, Donghua had
been a horrible chef. Siming felt grateful for the delicious tasting meal
before him.

"Queen Fengjiu, Dijun wishes only that you can live your life happily and
take care of yourself in his absence." He took out a scroll and handed it
to her. "This is written by Dijun himself, before he went to the royal
wedding and met you again."

Fengjiu received the scroll with a heavy heart.

Siming said, "Dijun anticipated that one day, he would die. He didn't
expect that he would come to meet you again in the royal wedding and
go against the oath that he made eons before meeting you. He didn't
expect his time to come so soon."

Even after Siming had left for some time, tears continued to flow down
Fengjiu's cheeks. When Donghua ignored her in the past, she had felt
pain in her heart, but it hadn't hurt her as much as having to hurt him
during his love trial. But living each day without the assurance of him
being around was simply torture to her. He had died just to give her a few
days of happiness together. Nobody would replace his position in her
heart. If she had a choice, she would be willing for herself to be the one
who has died that day. She had said before their stand-down with the
Ghost Lord Qingcang, "if Dijun lives, Fengjiu lives. If Dijun dies, Fengjiu
will no longer live on." And now, she was simply living on for Donghua
himself.

- End of Part One.

Bonus Chapter
Three Stooges in Heaven: The Apprentice, The Hopeless and The King
of Gossip

(This is back when Seventy-Three was still an apprentice)

His Royal Highness, The Third Prince Liansong had a knack for creating
new magical weapons or upgrading them. On this day, he had prepared
three treasures to be presented to the Lotus Fairy Chengyu, whom he
loves. The treasures are a ball-like object, the Haotian tower and a
magical cube.

Seventy-Three was stretching his limbs and taking a break from his tasks
when he saw Liansong chasing after Chengyu at the Pundaki Pond in the
Nine Heavens, with a jade flute in his left hand and hugging the three
treasures in his right. It appeared to Seventy-Three that he wanted to
present them to Chengyu as a gift, and persevere in his attempt to
impress her. However, Chengyu simply didn't have the time for him, or
rather, his antics.

Liansong had wanted to demonstrate the powers of his newly-developed

treasures to Chengyu, but she hurriedly moved away from him.
Eventually, Liansong dropped his treasures with a loud clanging noise on
the ground while chasing after her. Hearing the loud clang, Chengyu
turned towards Liansong for a few seconds, before glaring at him and
leaving the pond quickly. Seventy-Three realised the treasures were now
disassembled, and Liansong was wearing a very depressed look on his
face as he contemplated what should he do right now that the girl is gone
and his newly-developed magical weapons are now dismantled. Seventy-
Three greeted the two gods as Chengyu rushed past him in a flurry. He
then started to help Liansong pick up the dismantled treasures and
attempt to place them back together. Despite Liansong's skill in creating
remarkable artifacts and weapons out of anything in the world, Liansong
would take days to reassemble any of his creations that were now
disassembled.

The Haotian tower was a magical weapon that could conquer any demon
and ghoul in the world. Liansong had just created a new version that was
lighter and more efficient than its previous versions. The cube served as
a labryinth to hold someone inside, and the magic ball may be utilised as
a special lock with a unique key, and the key may only be used to unlock
the ball by the very person who had locked it.

At the gazebo, Seventy-Three took a few minutes to solve the issue of

the cube, while Liansong struggled with reassembling the Haotian Tower.
After a few minutes had passed, Seventy-Three suddenly recalled he had
some errands to run, so he bowed to Liansong and took his leave to
return to the Taichen Palace.

On his way back to the Taichen Palace, Seventy-Three ran into Zhe Yan
who was in the Sky Kingdom for official reasons as well as to pay him a
visit. Zhe Yan pulled out two jars of wine from his sleeve and showed
them to Seventy-Three, who recognised the first as wine that he had
previously brewed and required a very long fermentation time, but was
now ready for drinking, and the second was from Zhe Yan's wine
collection and was his gift to Seventy-Three for his great performance as
an apprentice in the Sky Kingdom. Seventy-Three felt touched by how
charitable and kind Zhe Yan is. However, Zhe Yan declined to enter the
palace as he had to rush to the netherworld to deliver some wines to Lord
Xie.
The next day, Seventy-Three asked Siming for some time to drink with
him. Siming was about to reject Seventy-Three due to his low alcohol
tolerance, but after hearing about the unique wine that Seventy-Three
had received from Zhe Yan the day before, he was inclined to give it a
try, due to Zhe Yan's reputation of being known all over the four seas and
eight deserts to brew the finest wines. It was rare that a god could get to
taste his wine, and receiving a jar was a honour to Siming. On the other
hand, he didn't want to hurt the kind sentiments of someone who wanted
to share with him the fruit of his own labour (referring to the jar of wine
that Seventy-Three had brewed himself). As such, Siming told Seventy-
Three that he would sit by and have a small portion of the wine while
answering Seventy-Three's queries and have a chit-chat with him, as
Seventy-Three drank to his heart's content.

At a table in Siming's place, the men sat facing each other and sipped
Zhe Yan's wine in their bowls. After Siming had finished his first bowl,
Seventy-Three asked Siming why, that among all the books he had read,
they had mentioned that undergoing a love trial (qingjie) was the most
effective way for an immortal to regain lost powers. He was curious about
the reasoning behind this fact.
Siming replied, "Love is the most uncontrollable among all emotions.
Love can deceive a person, can make him lose own self and cause a
reasonable person to become unreasonable when he allows his
emotions to be controlled by love."

Seventy-Three finished the jar of wine and opened the other jar of wine
that he had brewed, filling up both his and Siming's bowls. He was
unaware that the wine gifted to him from Zhe Yan had been very
concentrated and a mere sip was prone to make Siming intoxicated.
Siming gulped down the bowl of wine that Seventy-Three had just poured
for him and commented, "This wine of yours is inferior compared to that
of High God Zhe Yan's, but I can say that it is good compared to the ones
served in the Sky Kingdom." With that, he asked for another round of
wine. While he was pouring the wine from the jar into his bowl, on the
outside he had looked very sober but in fact, he was already very
intoxicated.

Seventy-Three then said, "I do not understand what is so special about

love that makes a person unable to think properly. Kindly enlighten me,
Star Lord."

Start of the Gossip

Siming answered, "You will not understand it until you experience it on

your own. Did you know that the Crown Prince almost lost his life twice
due to love?"

Seventy-Three widened his eyes, and Siming told him the story of Yehua
and Bai Qian, having almost completed the story when Liansong arrived
at Siming's place to look for help from Seventy-Three in reassembling the
Haotian Tower. Quickly, Liansong tried to warn his old friend to stop in
fear that he would get punished if someone had heard him. Telling the
story of Yehua and Bai Qian was forbidden in the Sky Kingdom. All maids
and
servants who were aware of what happened had been transferred
elsewhere, far from the Sky Kingdom, to prevent the story from getting to
the ears of others.

Siming didn't heed Liansong's warning, and continued to tell Seventy-

Three, "Even the great Donghua Dijun was deceived by love." Upon
hearing Siming's sentence, Liansong was struck by awe and showed
interest in listening to what Siming had to say. Immediately, he sat up in a
straight posture. A clean drinking bowl materialised before him, which
Seventy-Three quickly filled up after being given a stare from Liansong.

Liansong asked, "So, what happened?" His eyes were fixated on Siming.

Siming tells the story of how the princess of Qingqiu did her best to repay
her debt of gratitude to Donghua Dijun starting by serving as a maid in
disguise at the Taichen Palace, and later becoming a fox that the
emperor kept by his side, before descending into the mortal realm to
assist with his love trial. When the princess of Qingqiu was a fox, she had
somehow got into the sealing pagoda and had been injured by the
demons within. The Emperor had used up a lot of his cultivation to
continuously heal her and take care of her. He had also kept her at his
side and defended her when she had been bullied by immortals in the
palace while she was in the guise of a fox. From seeing what happened,
Siming believed that the emperor loved the princess of Qingqiu deeply in
his heart, but was unable to proclaim his feelings for her.
However, according to Siming, the love trial was actually the only way for
the emperor to reciprocate the feelings of love that Fengjiu had
harboured for him. The emperor had even lost years of cultivation due to
the trial that they had in the mortal realm.

Seeing how engaging Siming's story is, Seventy-Three quickly refilled

everyone's bowl the minute the bowls were empty. He was curious on
who this Donghua Dijun was, since people had been always talking about
him. He also knew that the emperor had silvery-white hair like himself,
which was why Lord Xie had reacted in that manner when seeing him
with Zhe Yan for the first time.

Both Seventy-Three and Liansong were amazed upon hearing the story
of the cold-hearted emperor that everyone regarded with high respect.
Although Liansong had been one of the emperor's buddies before, he
had never expected that the cause for the emperor's loss of cultivation
had been due to a lady. At this point, Siming is completely intoxicated,
while Liansong is sober.
Liansong continued to ask, "What happened next?" but Siming has
moved on, and his next story no longer concerned Donghua Dijun.

Siming said, "The truth is I cannot understand them at all. Why don't you
ask the Third Royal Highness why the goddess of the Pundaki Pond is
angry with him? Or how he got stuck between the demon deity Cheng Yi
and the mortal Ruby Court Master?" As an overseer of mortal fate,
Siming had assisted Liansong when he was living in the mortal realm to
investigate the whereabouts of some of the Honghuang gods. Hence, he
had known of the story between Liansong and Chengyu, although he did
not understand it, or love, very well.

Upon finishing his sentence, Siming leaned back in his chair and fell
asleep, leaving an annoyed Liansong glaring at him, and a curious
Seventy-Three wondering about Liansong and Chengyu.

Why was it that Siming had no predestined fate with any goddess?
Probably nobody knows.

End of Bonus Chapter.