Chapter 51

Yinze’s Side Story - Once Upon a Sea

The universe is vast and boundless, and I stand alone at a crossroads.

A thousand years have passed since the battles of the Yellow Emperor, and in this prosperous empire, I have no confidante.

Even if I were to die nine times, I would have no regrets, for I would be reunited with the Azure Dragon.

Though my heart yearns for the sea, the moon of today accompanies me.

— Yinze, Divine Lord, “Moonlit Sea”

Alas, we were destined to be apart. This was Shang Yan’s catchphrase. From the time Su Zhao was first established, whenever she looked at the flowers, insects, mountains, or stars, she would think of Zi Xiu. And every so often, Yinze would have to listen to her repeat this phrase. He always remained silent. She would complain that he was stubborn and inflexible. However, Yinze didn’t care about Zi Xiu at all. Just because Shang Yan liked Zi Xiu, he wasn’t going to become like him. She liked men who were knowledgeable but uncompetitive, and she wanted him to be like that, but there was no way that was going to happen.

Shang Yan was the first woman he had ever felt anything for, but unfortunately, there were too many differences between them. They were attracted to each other but also suspicious of each other, and they never trusted each other. Yinze was too arrogant and self-centered; he always considered himself first. For example, he had already planned out the kind of life he wanted, the places he wanted to go, and the kind of woman he wanted to be with. She had to stay in the Water Domain of the Divine Realm. If it had been an ordinary woman, she would have been grateful for such an arrangement, as powerful men often had strong personalities. However, Shang Yan was the noble Princess Zhao Hua, and she couldn’t stand it. Compared to his cold arrogance, Zi Xiu’s gentle tenderness and sweet lies were more appealing to her.

He had noticed the resemblance between Luo Wei and Shang Yan a long time ago, long before he started to feel anything.

Any girl undergoes a significant transformation as she grows from a young girl into a beautiful woman. Luo Wei’s transformation occurred between the ages of forty-two and fifty-two. Yinze had always been surrounded by beautiful women, so he had become accustomed to their beauty. Therefore, when Luo Wei gradually grew up and countless people praised her beauty, he didn’t feel any resonance. She was his disciple, and he always treated her as a junior, a child, and he never found her particularly attractive. Until one morning when she was forty-seven years old.

That day, she went out with her fellow disciples to pick tea and hurried back at noon to make tea for Yinze. Yinze usually took a nap at noon, but this disciple was exceptionally energetic and could go from dawn to dusk. With his reluctant consent, she served him as if she were a little maid. He waved her away, telling her to wait aside, but she stood in front of him without any hesitation and offered him the tea. In the past, she would kneel to offer him tea, but this time, because she was on the bed, she bent over and handed the teacup to him while standing. He realized that her hair had grown very long and reached her hips, so even when she wore it in twin braids, she had a slightly seductive look. She was standing with her back to the light, and her expression was unclear, but her outline resembled that of an old friend. That day, she had also woven a few freshly picked green leaves into her braids, which was something Shang Yan loved to do. He was lost in thought when she interrupted him, “Master, please have some tea.”

The face that drew near was rather delicate but couldn’t be called beautiful. To Yinze, true beauty was something that was refined over time. It was in this realization that he understood this wasn’t Shang Yan. Shang Yan, though outwardly fragile, had a strong, self-assured core, and her words often carried a hint of haughty disdain. He had never seen Shang Yan laugh wholeheartedly. But for Luo Wei, laughter was as common as breathing. She was so carefree, always acting as if she had just won a million gold coins at a gambling house. So, even though he later realized that the two shared similarities, he never confused one for the other.

However, an accident happened later. During a trip to Jiu Zhou, due to his negligence, she was possessed by a peacock spirit.

It was late at night when she entered his room without his permission, wearing a thin silk robe and lighting the oil lamp. From the moment she entered, with her slow, seductive movements, he realized something was wrong. A thousand-year-old demoness and an inexperienced girl, even if they shared the same body, would be vastly different. Yet, she turned her head, pulled down the gauze that had slipped off her shoulder, and sat down at his bedside. Her eyes were so alluring, inviting yet reserved. Knowing she was possessed, he was unable to move. She grabbed his collar and called out softly, “Master...”

Yinze stared at her without moving. She complained, “Master, why don’t you say anything?”

Luo Wei would never do something like this. But it was undeniably her appearance, her voice. Yinze exhaled and said, “Get out of her body.”

“Don’t you recognize Wei’er anymore?” Her fingers traced his neck, moving upwards, gently stroking his thin jaw. “Or would you prefer if Wei’er called you ‘Yinze’?”

The way Luo Wei said “Yinze” in her familiar, soft voice caused Yinze’s mind to go blank for a moment.

It was a great humiliation. He had never been so shaken by a woman before. Before he could recover, she had already leaned into his arms and kissed his lips passionately. His head was buzzing, and he almost lost control, pulling her into his arms to respond to her...

If it hadn’t been for his sudden return to his senses, he didn’t know what he would have done.

Later, he captured the peacock spirit. She laughed without fear, her laughter extremely seductive. “Divine Lord Yinze, I helped you discover such a beautiful secret, and you’re going to imprison me in return?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said coldly, ordering the other immortals, “Take her away.”

“Does your beloved disciple know about your evil desires?”

The other immortals were shocked but could only remain silent in front of the Divine Lord and bowed their heads. Yinze impatiently said, “Take her away.”

“Yes, Divine Lord.”

After that, Luo Wei returned to her normal self. Seeing her eyes blinking like a startled deer, so innocent and carefree, without any of the peacock spirit’s allure, Yinze finally felt a sense of relief. This was how she should be at her age. But whenever she called him “Master” in her simple and straightforward way, he would hear that long, soft “Yinze” ringing in his ears. For many days after that, he avoided contact with Luo Wei and refused to look at her. Whenever she smiled at him, he felt irritated. He was never good at hiding his annoyance. She soon noticed his change in attitude and came to apologize, looking so foolish and innocent that it made him even angrier. Every time she came, he would drive her away.

Fortunately, he found substitutes later. Those pure and beautiful fairy maidens, similar to Luo Wei but not quite her, gave him some comfort. At that time, he firmly believed that he liked these women because they were similar to Wei’er. Even when he was intimate with other women, kissing their pale hair, his mind would always wander back to that forbidden “Yinze.” It was just a momentary impulse, and it had nothing to do with her.