#30: Lotus and Hibiscus Flower Gods

After dawn, Dong Biling walked out of the wooden hut alone. The rising sun shone upon her, but it brought her no warmth. In her hand, she held a jade bangle—a piece of mutton-fat jade her father had acquired from the Western Regions. The two sisters each had one. However, hers was the finest piece of jade, subtly fragrant when rubbed in the palm of her hand, while Yezhen’s, though appearing similar, was in fact just a discarded corner piece cut from hers.

Though they were sisters, their treatment had never been the same. They both understood this, but she considered it natural, while Yezhen felt only gratitude. All this wealth was bestowed by Dong Qishan; how he chose to distribute it was entirely up to him.

In the past, Biling would often leverage her status as the legitimate young lady, bossing the two around, inflating her eldest daughter’s temper to an infinite degree. Most of the time, she treated Dong Yezhen merely as a high-ranking maid. So, when she learned that her sister was fond of Liancheng, she simply wanted to snatch him away, like taking a toy. However, she never anticipated that she would truly fall in love with Liancheng. Therefore, when Dong Yezhen encountered misfortune (being possessed by a ghost), she almost breathed a sigh of relief. This way, no one would ever compete with her for Brother Liancheng again...

But only now did she understand that everyone’s obedience was never because of who she was, but merely because her father was the wealthy master of Dong Family Fortress. The only person who truly held her in their heart, genuinely loving her as family, perhaps besides her parents, was only Dong Yezhen. Regardless of whether she considered Yezhen her true sister, Yezhen always stood by her.

“You’re truly annoying. Even in death, you make me feel indebted to you.” Dong Biling gripped the mutton-fat jade waist pendant, walking staggeringly on the mountaintop.

Below lay a chasm of ten thousand zhang (about 33,000 meters), shrouded in mist. She stumbled over, took a look, and thought, “If I jump down like this, I probably won’t live again.”

Dong Biling suddenly felt a great weight lifted from her heart.

She thought about her life. Although short, she had tasted all the delicacies of the world. She lived a life of wealth that ordinary people could not achieve even after a hundred lifetimes of cultivation. Yet, she could not even see through the heart of the person lying next to her. She ultimately could not bear the continuous blows of the past few days and felt that there was no longer any meaning in clinging to life.

Dong Biling curved her lips. Almost without a second thought, she stood on her tiptoes and leaped. Immediately after, her figure was like a fluttering butterfly, a flash of red, descending gracefully. Below the mountain were turbulent waves, leaving no corpse behind.

When Zhong Xu and Chang Sheng arrived, following their aura, they happened to witness this scene. With no one to ask, they immediately entered the small wooden hut.

Inside the wooden hut, Gong Lingyue sat in a pool of blood. Beside him lay Dong Liancheng’s corpse, while Yezhen was no longer recognizable as a complete human form.

When Zhong Xu opened the door, the sunlight shone in, and Gong Lingyue’s skin was rapidly aging. Wrinkles crept onto his face, and his dark hair instantly turned white. In an instant, he transformed into a frail old man.

“How did he become like this?” Zhong Xu came to Di Jiang’s side, a look of confusion on his face.

Di Jiang also stood with her arms crossed, equally perplexed.

At this moment, the hunched Gong Lingyue, summoning strength from unknown depths, suddenly picked up a nearby dagger, exposed his left hand, gritted his teeth, and carved off a section of his finger bone.

He carved the bone into a flute, placing the bone flute in Dong Yezhen’s pool of blood, and said, “In the next life, play the bone flute, and no matter how many mountains and rivers separate us, I will rush to your side. From now on, we shall be together forever, never to be parted.”

Di Jiang’s eyes widened as she looked at the dejected Gong Lingyue. Slowly, she said, “Lotus flowers bloom in June, hibiscus in July. My Flower God Compendium will likely include two flower gods consecutively.”

“What...” Wen Yao exclaimed in surprise.

Di Jiang smiled faintly and made a “shush” gesture, clearly not wanting to explain much to Wen Yao at the moment. She turned and walked to Gong Lingyue’s side, probing, “Gong Lingyue?”

Yueying forcibly raised his head, glanced at Di Jiang, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but quickly lowered his head again, holding Dong Yezhen’s black dress, grieving on his own, no longer paying attention to others.

Clearly, he didn’t understand why Di Jiang knew his name, but at this moment, he couldn’t care less. Yezhen’s death had left his eyes with a grayish-white haze, showing no will to live.

Di Jiang waited for a long time. Seeing the wrinkles on his face deepen and his hunched back become more pronounced, she couldn’t help but ask, “You are an artisan. How did you end up in a state of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man?”

Gong Lingyue trembled upon hearing this. After a long pause, he said, “The Five Decays of Heaven and Man are destiny; I accept it.” His voice was hoarse, but a hint of anger could be discerned in his tone.

“Are you angry with me?” Di Jiang was startled. “Did I do something to displease you?”

Gong Lingyue was silent for a moment, then said, “Heh, if you hadn’t picked up Yezhen’s lost prayer talisman in Yunmengze, Dong Biling wouldn’t have known Dong Yezhen’s feelings, and wouldn’t have asked her mother to break them up, and then none of what happened later would have occurred.”

Wen Yao was stunned. “So, if I hadn’t picked up that marriage talisman then, Dong Biling wouldn’t have known Yezhen’s feelings, and Dong Liancheng wouldn’t have known Dong Biling’s intentions?”

“Precisely.”

“So, it’s my fault?” Wen Yao chuckled wryly.

Gong Lingyue shook his head. “It’s not your fault, but the nature of humanity. The Dong family’s business was too vast, and Dong Qishan did not know how to restrain himself. It was only a matter of time before they were targeted. However... I have my reasons for disliking you.”

“You certainly see things clearly,” Di Jiang raised her lips, revealing a peculiar smile.

“How can he see clearly?” Wen Yao scoffed. “A dying person, no matter how difficult it is to accept, can only accept.”

Gong Lingyue glanced at her but did not retort.

At this point, Di Jiang added, “What if I could save your life?”

As Di Jiang said this, a peculiar gleam appeared in Gong Lingyue’s eyes, like a spark of hope, but it was only fleeting.

“You don’t believe me?” Di Jiang asked again.

Gong Lingyue shook his head and said indifferently, “Death is not terrifying, and there’s nothing to cling to in life. As Yezhen said before her death, if the beloved person is gone, living alone has no meaning.”

“Heh... what if I said I could also save Yezhen’s life?”

“How is that possible?” Gong Lingyue’s head shot up. His pale gray eyes stared unblinkingly into Di Jiang’s, as if trying to catch a hint of jest. But Di Jiang’s eyes were very serious and full of conviction.

“I can save Yezhen,” Di Jiang slowly said. “In this world, the artisan clan is not the only one that can bring the dead back to life, and saving a person does not necessarily require them to be resurrected.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Gong Lingyue looked confused.

“It’s simple, I want to make a deal with you,” Di Jiang smiled again and said, “I can lend you three hundred years of lifespan, and I can also bring Yezhen back to life and wait for you for three hundred years. But for the next one hundred years, your freedom belongs to me; you must help me save a person.”

“Who?”

“You’ll know then,” Di Jiang said. With a wave of her hand, a golden light disappeared into his forehead.

Soon, from the roots of every strand of Gong Lingyue’s hair, golden patterns slowly spread. His hair gradually turned black again, inch by inch, and the wrinkles on his face disappeared. He straightened his back, which had been hunched from old age, and in just a moment, he returned to his youthful appearance. But at the same time, his vision darkened, and he lost consciousness.

“Daoist Zhong, please carry him back for me.” Di Jiang looked relaxed, a stark contrast to the expressions on the faces of the other three. But none of them said much.

Wen Yao was used to Di Jiang’s unpredictable nature, Chang Sheng didn’t think much, and Zhong Xu had known from the start that Di Jiang’s identity was not ordinary.

________________________________________

When Zhong Xu carried Gong Lingyue, and Di Jiang and her companions returned to Dong Family Fortress, the fortress was already in chaos. The simultaneous disappearance of the three Dong siblings made Dong Qishan seem decades older. His appearance no longer held its former radiance, but was instead surrounded by a deep sense of powerlessness.

Di Jiang and her group did not tell them what happened on the mountaintop. They quickly packed their luggage and left. They bought a carriage and traveled day and night, bringing Gong Lingyue towards Yunmengze.

For Di Jiang, the admirable souls were no longer in Dong Family Fortress, so whatever happened there afterward was none of her concern. Her only thought now was to rescue Wu Ruian as soon as possible.

On the carriage back to Yunmengze, Di Jiang took out the long-sealed Flower God Compendium from her sleeve. At the beginning of #Six, she wrote down two names, and their life stories quickly appeared...

Fifteen years ago, Yezhen and Liancheng lived in the most dilapidated and dirty slum of Siam Liang City, worrying every day about what they would eat tomorrow. Leftovers from restaurants were considered a feast, and if other beggars found them, picking up rotten vegetable leaves from the market to cook was also considered a generous meal. But most of the time, they could only scavenge for slop and cold rice in the garbage heaps. This was the daily life of beggars in the slums.

Liancheng was two years older than Yezhen. They had no parents but depended on each other for survival. Whenever Liancheng had food, he would always give it to Yezhen first. Only after Yezhen was full would he eat her leftovers. Whenever Liancheng was dizzy from hunger, Yezhen would ask him with tears in her eyes, “Why are you so good to me? I... I can never repay you in this life...”

At this time, Liancheng would pat her head, embrace her against his chest, pat his chest, and laugh, “Because you’re my pre-destined wife! I’m counting on you to grow up and bear me sons!”

Yezhen understood in her heart, smiled knowingly, and continued to eat the food he had begged for.

She thought of herself as Liancheng’s wife, and being ‘kept’ by him was only right.

One day, another small beggar came to the slum. She was very beautiful—with fair, delicate skin and dressed in fine clothes, quite different from the weathered beggars. At first, Liancheng thought she was a young lady from a wealthy family and tried every possible means to gain some advantage from her. But later, she stayed curled up on a straw mat in the corner of the wall, and after a few days, she became as dirty as they were. The beggars’ food was already scarce, and now there was another one vying for food, and a mute at that. Everyone’s sympathy had long disappeared in the daily begging, and almost no one helped her. Except Yezhen.

Yezhen would secretly share some of her food with her. At first, she didn’t eat, but later, seeing Yezhen’s increasing worry day by day, she would symbolically eat a couple of bites.

“How old are you? Where are you from? Where are your parents?”

Yezhen’s questions never received a response. She always remained curled in a corner, unresponsive to anyone, but Yezhen continued to secretly help her, never forgetting her for a single day.

Later, Liancheng somehow became acquainted with Daoist Master Ma Wenshan, and they were brought back to the Dong family, transforming from wild pheasants into phoenixes, living a life of luxury. After Yezhen’s rise, she did not forget the small beggars with whom she had shared hardships and often provided relief to them.

One day, Yezhen noticed a wound on the mute girl’s face, so she forcibly brought her back to the mansion. Upon examination, she discovered that the girl had multiple injuries all over her body, countless new and old wounds. It turned out that after they left, the envy and dissatisfaction of the other beggars were vented upon the mute girl. That year, Madam Dong became pregnant, and Dong Qishan felt even more that Liancheng and Yezhen were heavenly blessings, treating them even better. Yezhen then pleaded with her adoptive father to bring the mute girl back as well, keeping her in Yezhen’s backyard.

“Brother Liancheng is getting more and more amazing. He came in first in the provincial examination this time!”

“Brother Liancheng brought a gift from another province today, it’s a hand-held bronze mirror, isn’t it beautiful?”

“Brother Liancheng said I’m getting prettier and prettier. When do you think he’ll marry me? But we’re siblings now, can I still marry him?”

“Sister Biling is truly adorable. Today she gave me many candies, all brought by father from the Western Regions, so delicious! I’ll share some with you, remember to eat them.”

“Tomorrow, I’m going to Yunmengze with Brother Liancheng and Sister Biling. I heard there’s a Temple of the Matchmaker there, very effective for praying for marriage. I hope Brother Liancheng and I can be married soon and have many, many children for him.”

“Since the trip to Yunmengze, Sister Biling seems a little different towards me... Brother Liancheng too, they seem... never mind, maybe I’m just overthinking.”

“Today, today... today Brother Liancheng kissed me! Will I get pregnant? What should I do if I really have a baby? It’s fine, it’s fine. Brother Liancheng is going to be a father, he’ll be as happy as I am. Tomorrow I’ll go find father and ask him to arrange our wedding!”

For years, the mute girl had not grown up and had never left that small hut. Yezhen simply thought she ate too little and was malnourished. She often came to accompany her, telling her all the secrets in her heart. Humans are not plants; how can they be emotionless? After years of companionship, the mute girl also regarded her as the only person she could trust and be close to.

But from that day on, Yezhen never came again. When the mute girl couldn’t help but go out to search, she heard about Yezhen’s demonic pregnancy.

She was disemboweled by her closest kin, her body scattered.

“Yezhen... I will definitely save you.”

This was the first time the mute girl spoke in over a decade. He held her corpse, crying with uncontrollable rage.

He was the youngest artisan in the artisan family. His parents were no longer alive, and he had never used his artisan power to save anyone. His lifespan was about to end.

But he did not exchange Yezhen’s life. What he wanted was for her to use Dong Liancheng’s heart to gain power and rebirth. The moment Yezhen was resurrected, he signed a contract with her: the day she obtained Liancheng’s heart would be the day of her true resurrection. During these seven days, she could borrow his power for revenge.

She immediately agreed but quickly regretted it.

Gong Lingyue became paler day by day, and his hair fell out in handfuls. She soon learned Gong Lingyue’s secret—he had no lifespan or power left and was about to experience the Five Decays of Heaven and Man.

“You’re so foolish.”

“And you are no less so.”

Their conversations were minimal. He didn’t understand Yezhen’s feelings, only thinking that her heart belonged solely to Liancheng.

But in fact, from the moment he saved her, she had already fallen for him.

She wanted revenge, but she wanted to spend more of her limited life with Lingyue.

Lotus flowers (菡萏 - hàn dàn) bloom in June; the Lotus Flower God, Gong Lingyue.

Hibiscus flowers (夫容 - fú róng) bloom in July; the Hibiscus Flower God, Dong Yezhen.

Lotus (菡萏) and Hibiscus (夫容) are fundamentally the same plant, with 菡萏 referring to the lotus bud and 夫容 referring to the lotus in full bloom. The two were one entity, sharing a single lifespan. However, Gong Lingyue’s own abilities were limited. To allow Yezhen to seek revenge, he chose to let her pay with his heart, in exchange for power and rebirth, to aid her revenge.

Yezhen was willing at first, but when she learned that Gong Lingyue was facing the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, she realized that the hatred she had been tormented by was meaningless.

Ma Wenshan and Dong Liancheng deserved their punishment, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of Lingyue’s life.

If Lingyue could not live, would her rebirth have any meaning?

They knew each other early but could not be together.

Love was something they never spoke aloud, yet it was the deepest bond in their hearts.