Chapter 49

A Meeting with Sha Hai

In that moment, the wind stilled and the room was filled with the scent of ink. His body stiffened like iron, and I froze along with him. For a while, neither of us moved, as if time itself had stood still. Only the scattered plum blossoms seemed to carry on, falling silently.

“What are you doing?” he turned around, puzzled.

I quickly let go of him and stood up straight. Just then, a graceful figure on the opposite mountain peak began playing a phoenix-headed harp. The sound was so mournful and beautiful that it only served to increase my turmoil. I wondered myself what I was doing. I had no connection to Sha Hai, so why had I suddenly hugged him and said such strange things?

Seeing that I didn’t answer, Sha Hai smiled. “Wait, you didn’t actually fall for me, did you?”

“No, of course not,” I insisted.

“That’s good. I don’t mean everything I say. What I said to you before was just idle chatter. Don’t take it seriously. Otherwise, my wife and I might have a huge fight.”

“What, you’re married?”

“At my age, how could I not be?” he smiled coldly. “Perhaps you think I’m ugly, so you assumed no one would want me?”

“Of course not...”

He put on his mask and shook his head meaningfully before walking out, leaving me standing there like a fool. The distant music played on, its sorrowful melody tugging at my heartstrings. I listened to the mournful tune and almost cried at my own impulsiveness.

What was I thinking? I was just a water sprite, trying to sympathize with a powerful demon. And I had even developed feelings for him. How foolish and naive of me.

After that day, I consciously kept my distance from Sha Hai and spoke to him more politely than before. But I couldn’t understand why he was staying in Kunlun Mountain. Was he there for a specific purpose, or was he simply keeping me company? If it was the latter, then why did he say he had a wife and told me not to take him seriously? Was he trying to have a casual fling with me? What a jerk, so frivolous and shameless.

However, I was still curious about the strange markings on his face. Fortunately, we were in Kunlun, one of the places with the largest collection of books in the immortal realm. So, I spent every day in the library, sitting in a secluded courtyard with a book, trying to find out what those markings meant.

Unfortunately, the demon realm was still shrouded in mystery to the immortals. The records about demons in the Kunlun library were always incomplete. And there was even less about Sha Hai. According to Emperor Fusheng, he was the newly appointed Demon King. But no matter what, there should be some records about him. However, I couldn’t find his name in any of the books. Could he have given us a false name?

One morning, as I was flipping through the “Thousand Demon Chronicles,” I mumbled to myself, “This is so mysterious.”

“What is so mysterious?”

Someone had come very close to me without me noticing. It seemed that there were truly many experts in Kunlun. I turned around and saw an old man standing behind me. He was wearing a gold-embroidered snow robe, holding a whisk, and had a kind and benevolent expression. However, I couldn’t sense any immortal aura from him, which meant he was deliberately hiding it. I said, “Oh... I just saw a person recently who looked a bit strange, and I wanted to find out why...”

The old man said, “Oh? What was he like?”

Considering that this place could be dangerous for Sha Hai, I lied and said I had met such a person in the desert. I described the markings on his face and his behavior at night. The old man laughed loudly and said, “Those are not demonic markings, but the marks of divine retribution. Your description of his nighttime behavior is also consistent with someone who has suffered divine retribution.”

“Divine retribution? This person has been punished by the gods?”

“The so-called marks of divine retribution don’t mean that a god has actually punished him. It’s just that if this person was once a high-ranking immortal and had sworn an oath to the heavens, the pure energy in his soul would never dissipate. When he falls into demonhood, the turbid and pure energies clash and cannot coexist, so they will disturb his mind and ruin his appearance. At night, when his demonic power is at its peak, if he is not accustomed to the evil energy of demons, he will transform into that state, which is only natural.”

I suddenly realized. The reason I couldn’t find any records about Sha Hai was that he used to be someone from the upper realms. And then, Hanba said he had divine power and mistakenly thought he was the Divine Lord Yinze, which also made sense. However, I didn’t know why Hanba would think he was Yinze. Yinze was arrogant and proud, how could he possibly fall into the demon realm? I said, “Will those markings always be with him?”

“Yes, and there will be more and more until he dies,” the old man replied.

I couldn’t help but be alarmed. “So, he’ll never have a good life?”

“There’s constant warfare these days, and many immortals have fallen into the demon path, but none of them had made any oaths. It’s rare to find an immortal who would knowingly walk into a tiger’s den.”

“Sigh, it’s all because of this damned drought. I wonder when it will end.”

The old man closed his eyes and smiled, slowly stroking his beard. “Just wait and see.”

“Really?” I jumped up from my chair, filled with joy. “Has the upper realm found the cause of the drought and found a way to fix it?”

The old man smiled but didn’t say anything. He stretched out his hands, transforming his right hand into a brush and his left hand into a piece of cowhide. He quickly ground some ink using dew and grass juice, dipped the brush in the ink, and made a few dots on the cowhide. As I was puzzled, he stopped writing and said, “Look, are these dots very close together?”

I nodded. He wrapped the cowhide around his fist like a glove, pulled his hand out, and blew into it. It inflated like a balloon. He pointed at the dots he had made earlier: “Look, are the dots still as close together?”

I shook my head. “They’ve gotten much farther apart.”

“That’s the cause of the drought. All the gods know it, but they’re powerless to do anything about it.”

I stroked my chin with my thumb and stared at the balloon, lost in thought. “You mean this balloon is a reference to...?”

“The universe isn’t static; it’s constantly expanding.”

So that’s it. He was using the balloon as an analogy for the universe. Since the universe is constantly expanding, so too are the mountains and rivers. Then, I took the brush and drew a long line on the balloon. As I was imagining what would happen if it continued to expand, the old man blew into it again. The balloon expanded further, and the wet ink line broke into pieces. I clapped my hands and said, “Could it be that all the water in the world is like this ink line? The riverbeds are getting bigger, but the water isn’t enough to fill them, so there’s a drought...”

The old man said with satisfaction, “You’re very clever. If the water in the world continues to be scarce, everything will collapse.”

“Really? But didn’t you just say that the drought would end soon?”

Unexpectedly, he replied with something completely unrelated: “Gods indeed have infinite life, but the sun, moon, stars, and the five elements are constantly changing and returning to everything.”

I didn’t understand what he meant, but I realized one thing: there was a huge difference between gods and demons. I sighed, “At a time like this, the demon realm is still causing trouble for the divine realm. I don’t know what they’re thinking. Hasn’t Zi Xiu thought that what he’s doing might cause him to disappear as well?”

“Demons are inherently chaotic. It is the innocent who give life to the world, and it is often the innocent who destroy the world. Zi Xiu is not inherently evil, he’s just a spoiled child. He is also very strong, otherwise he wouldn’t have become the Demon Lord at such a young age. Unfortunately, he has the heart of a king but not the demeanor of a saint.”

“You’re praising him even though he’s doing all these evil things. I think you’re the one with the demeanor of a saint.”

The old man still had a kind smile on his face and didn’t respond.

We chatted for a while longer, and then he turned into a cloud and left. I was thinking that there were so many extraordinary people in Kunlun, and even an unknown old immortal was so wise. I had learned a lot from him. Just as I was thinking this, several immortals dressed in Taoist robes came running towards me and said, “Miss, did you see the Heavenly Lord pass by here just now?”

“The Heavenly Lord?” I swallowed. “Could it be... Yuan Shi Tianzun?”

“Yes, we saw a cloud appear at the foot of the mountain, and that should be the Heavenly Lord’s shadow...”

Oh my goodness, who have I been talking to...

I was so flustered for the next two days, thinking that I was in big trouble. I was afraid that Yuan Shi Tianzun had already guessed that Sha Hai was here and that I had put Sha Hai in danger. However, after two days, Sha Hai was still in Kunlun, giving me cold looks or teasing me at regular intervals.

Now, I no longer had any resentment towards him. Instead, I felt a deep respect for him. He was willing to endure the torment of divine retribution and the danger of being eliminated by the immortals, all just to tease a woman. Such determination was not something ordinary people could possess.

After meeting Yuan Shi Tianzun, I felt that Kunlun was a treasure trove, so I decided to stay and study hard before returning to Su Zhao. However, Xuanyue probably couldn’t stand it, so I let her go back to Su Zhao first. Since Su Shu was unwell again and Xi He was feeling bored, they decided to go back together.

I was worried about Xi He going alone, so I wanted to send her off myself, but Sha Hai volunteered to help me. I didn’t trust him very much, but he said something that left me speechless: “If I wanted to harm you, do you think I would have waited until now?”

So, Xi He, Su Shu, and Xuanyue left with Sha Hai. Before they left, I saw that Su Shu looked pale, so I couldn’t help but worry. “Su Shu, are you okay? I’m not at ease seeing you like this. Why don’t you stay in Kunlun and recuperate for a while before leaving?”

Su Shu smiled, her lips pale. “Actually, I’ve always been wondering. I wasn’t originally capable of taking human form, but after that big snow more than twenty years ago, I suddenly gained this ability... However, this isn’t my own spiritual power, and I’ve been relying on it for so many years. I feel like I won’t be able to last much longer...”

I was anxious. “Why didn’t you tell me about something so important?”

“Su is just afraid of being looked down upon by the little princess.”

“No, I’m coming with you.”

I was about to go back to my room to pack my bags, but he stopped me. “Don’t. The little princess has been busy with state affairs in Su Zhao for a long time. It’s rare for her to decide to stay in Kunlun, and it’s not for her own selfish reasons. Stay a little longer. Su guarantees that next spring, I will wait for the little princess to return in the Moon Palace.”

Since he said that, and the beginning of the year wasn’t far away, I asked my daughter to send a message to my second sister, asking her to take good care of Su Shu. Then, I stayed in Kunlun to continue my studies. After a while, Sha Hai brought them back. Surprisingly, he was still the same as before, accompanying me in reading in the courtyard, walking in the mountains, and occasionally taking me down the mountain to try some mountain delicacies. He seemed to have nothing to do.

He would still be possessed by demonic energy every night, and seeing him suffer so much made me incredibly sad. But besides calming him down and wiping his sweat when he was like that, I was powerless to do anything. He didn’t seem to mind either; the next day, he would act as if nothing had happened.

Time flew by, and winter turned into early spring. I calculated the time and decided that I should bid farewell to Sha Hai in a few days and return to Su Zhao to reunite with my family and pay my respects to my brother’s grave. One afternoon, someone suddenly told me that a senior brother had come to see me and was waiting for me in Wan Ying Valley. I found it strange that a senior brother from Tian Shi City would come to see me at this time of year, but I put down my brush and went to Wan Ying Valley anyway.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom in March, covering the entire mountain with clouds of pink and white. In the far distance, there was a fortress surrounded by verdant peaks, while nearby, there was nothing but a sea of cherry blossoms. The falling petals were like a thick blanket of snow, covering the ground in a long, pink ribbon.

Walking on this soft, velvety carpet, I went deep into the cherry orchard and saw several young men standing in the distance. They were all dressed in elegant robes, looking as ethereal as immortals. They were chatting happily, and the back of one of them made me stop in my tracks.

He was wearing a white egret feather crown, his robes were like clouds, and his posture was straight and tall. As he turned his head to speak to the others, a long strand of hair fell over half of his face, covering everything below his nose, which looked like it was carved from white jade.

Although his appearance was unfamiliar, and I couldn’t see his face clearly, many familiar things would never change.

It was as if someone had plucked at my heartstrings, and my fingertips trembled as I covered my mouth and nose.

Not long after, the others left on their swords, leaving him alone. He stood with his back to me and bowed to his companions. Just then, a spring breeze blew, carrying with it the fragrance of flowers and dew, disrupting my thoughts.

In the chaotic cherry blossom rain, his green silk robes fluttered in the wind, creating a beautiful and breathtaking painting.

In that moment, my heart was filled with a mix of emotions. I was both excited and afraid. I didn’t dare move, afraid of disturbing him and causing him to vanish into the depths of the cherry orchard. I even thought that even if the face he turned around was not the familiar one, it would be enough to just see this back figure in the spring light.

Time passed so slowly yet so quickly. Finally, he turned around and looked out at the distant path. I had imagined what his strange face would look like, and what kind of eyes he would have, but the moment our eyes met, I almost fell to my knees.

Although we were far apart and I couldn’t see his expression clearly, I knew that the slight movement of his eyebrows meant he had given me his usual smile. At that moment, I dared not move anymore. Because I knew in my heart that I wasn’t hallucinating or dreaming.

This couldn’t possibly be real.

The wind blew harder, and the soft spring breeze mixed with the flowers, blurring his face. The white egret feathers on his crown trembled, and the fairy ribbon on his robe was blown up, as if it would drag him into the sky at any moment.

However, when the wind stopped and the flowers settled, he was still standing there, not disappearing.

His smile became more obvious, but it made me even more confused – was this a hallucination, a dream, or...

With a final glimmer of almost desperate hope, I called out in a timid voice, “...Brother...?”

“Weiwei.”

His voice was as sweet as a zither, so real that I began to believe that this was not a hallucination. But because of that, I started to feel afraid. Because if he disappeared again, I would probably... I saw him walking towards me along the path covered in fallen flowers. Unwilling to look away, I rubbed my eyes hard. I thought I wouldn’t be mistaken this time, but when I opened my eyes, I found that he was already standing in front of me. I said, “Who are you? Why are you pretending to be my brother?”

“After I was reborn, the first thing I wanted to do was to find you, so I went back to Su Zhao. I didn’t expect you to be gone, and instead, a cute girl called me uncle.”

He spoke as if it were nothing, as if he were simply saying, “I had porridge and a bun for breakfast this morning.” Hearing him say these things, I could hardly believe my ears. But I didn’t dare interrupt him. All I wanted was to believe this, even if it was just for a moment.

“Xi He said you were in Kunlun, so I came to Kunlun specifically. I can’t believe you would actually run so far away...” He paused and rubbed his head. “What’s wrong? Seeing your brother back, you don’t seem happy at all.”

I grabbed his hand. His hand was warm, with a pulse, and it was flexible, not the stiff ice block I had touched in the snow that day. I held his hand in both of mine, interlaced our fingers, and then said hoarsely, “Give me a slap.”

He didn’t understand. “Why?”

“Hurry up and slap me awake, or I’ll be sad for a long time when I wake up.”

I grabbed his hand and slapped myself twice, but he pulled his hand away and hugged me instead. He sighed, “I’m sorry. I was reckless back then. But the Heavenly Emperor said that I had made great contributions, so he gave me a new immortal body. Now I no longer have any demonic blood in me, so I won’t be in any danger. And I won’t participate in any more battles. Wherever you are, I will be there.”

I looked up at him and stared at him for a long time. “You... are you really my brother?”

“Yes.”

“Brother...” I buried my head in his chest and cried until his clothes were soaked. I couldn’t say anything else except for calling him “brother” over and over again.

He didn’t say anything else either. He just gently stroked my hair, comforting me silently as he had when I was a child. The difference was that we were both much older now. My hair had turned white, and he no longer had that stern expression on his face when he ordered me around.

At that moment, all I could hear was his low laughter, like a promise of a hundred years of togetherness.

Now that my brother was back, I had to plan for the future. I took him to sit in a pavilion surrounded by flowers and trees, and we talked heart to heart for nearly an hour. I told him everything that had happened in Su Zhao over the past forty years, including Emperor Fusheng’s illusion and the spiritual pearl of the Liuhuang Fengshi Kingdom. As I was excitedly talking about these things, he suddenly interrupted me and asked, “Where did Master go?”

“That’s not important. What I want to say is, that spiritual pearl…” I tried to bring the topic back, but he frowned and said, “Since you’ve married and had children, he shouldn’t have been gone for so long. Where did he go?”

“Actually, that spiritual pearl…”

“Weiwei, answer my question.”

I slumped my shoulders and sighed. “Alright, we never got married. We haven’t seen each other for as long as we haven’t seen each other.”

He was taken aback. “What? Then Xi He…”

“I raised Xi He myself.” Seeing his indignant expression, I waved my hand. “Alright, brother, so many years have passed, I don’t care anymore, and you don’t have to pursue it either.”

“So you’ve been alone for the past forty years?”

“No, my second sister is still alive.” After waiting for a moment, seeing him staring at me motionlessly, I realized something and wiped my forehead. “Okay, I was alone, I never married.”

“Why didn’t you marry? Didn’t you meet someone you liked?”

Perhaps he was just saying it casually, or perhaps he had ulterior motives, but I remained silent for only a moment before laughing heartily. “Of course not, I’m not made of stone. However, I’ve never really thought about getting married. Maybe my luck is just like that, I’ve never met anyone better than you, brother. So I would rather spend my days by your grave than consider spending the rest of my life with someone else.”

He seemed nonchalant, but his tone was unusually cautious. “You’ve always regarded me as your closest kin, why would you compare me to a future husband?”

Twirling a flower between my fingers, I smiled. “Isn’t a husband also a close kin?”

“Weiwei, do you know what you’re saying?”

Raising my eyes from the flower, I looked directly into his. I simply nodded slightly. Brother had always been quick-witted and perceptive, but because of his strict and disciplined personality, he often stopped himself from acting impulsively. But this time was different. As soon as I nodded, he leaned in and his lips touched mine like a feather. My heart skipped a beat, but I noticed that he had kissed me several times, as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water.

If I’m not mistaken, this was the second time he had kissed me. Because his clumsiness this time was no different from the first time in the Fa Hua Cherry Orchard. Suddenly, I felt a dull pain in my chest. In fact, it was this kind of aloof brother who had been waiting for me silently all along. Why did I keep falling for bad men?

I grabbed his clothes and looked up at him, responding to him gently. He held my hand and pressed it against his chest, and as if instinctively, he leaned in and deepened the kiss...

The branches were sparse, and the catkins were fluttering. The world seemed to be filled with idle sorrow. When this long kiss ended, my brother’s breathing was a little unsteady, but he said firmly, “Weiwei, let’s go back to Su Zhao and get married.”

These words, which I couldn’t get from Yin Ze no matter how much I cried or begged, were so simply said by my brother. If it weren’t for Xi He being so endearing, and if I hadn’t missed so many years with my brother, I would have regretted it so much...

We embraced each other in the pavilion for the afternoon, and then we slowly returned to my residence. After some discussion, we decided to leave Kunlun as soon as possible and return to Su Zhao to hold the wedding. The only thing I needed to do was to say goodbye to Sha Hai. I wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to invite him to the wedding. But when I went back, I realized that I was worrying unnecessarily.

Because Sha Hai had left, and his few belongings had been taken away. Only a few servants were tidying up the room.

Leaving without saying goodbye was so typical of him. I just didn’t expect that I would never see him again for the rest of my life.