I hope everyone has had some great turkey this evening, and if you’re not going shopping, then here’s a bedtime story for ya. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sansheng, Death Exists Not at the River of Oblivion

by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

The First Lifetime – We Part Though We Love

Chapter 1: I’m going to the human world to seduce him

From a time immemorial, people passing by the River of Oblivion (1) began to call me the Stone of Three Lifetimes (2). Thereafter, some people spurned me, some came hand-in-hand and carved on me their romances from lifetimes past, and there were even those who stood bawling in front of me.

The River of Oblivion is called the Wangchuan in Chinese mythology. It is similar to the Lethe in Greek mythology.

She is called the Sansheng Stone where Sansheng means ‘three lifetimes’. ‘Three lifetimes’ in Buddhist context also means the past life, the present life, and the future life.

And yet, I was just a stone by the Wangchuan riverside. I neither had joy nor did I have sorrow.

I sat faithfully that way by the Wangchuan for one thousand years until I finally formed a soul one day.

All living things were to be subjected to trials of fate, but I continued to sit there harmlessly for over another century until…

My love trial came.

Reading my fortune was a white-bearded priest passing by the Wangchuan. He prophesied my coming trial to the knowing nodding of his head.

I thought he was just making up hogwash.

I was a spirit born from the Sansheng Stone; my soul was that of a stone and my heart was that of a stone. My heart had long been forged into coldness by the perennial darkness along the Wanchuan River.

There was no pain where there was no love. If my heart hadn’t ever stirred, then where would this love trial be coming from?

Or so I thought.

But everything always had its surprises.

On a gloomy afternoon in the underworld, I returned to the eternally unchanging Wangchuan from my walk as usual. I looked up. In that coincidental moment, as if sunlight from the land of the living had broken through the thick layers of fog, the cluster amaryllises lining the Yellow Springs suddenly glistened radiantly.

A man gracefully came forth.

I suddenly recalled the words a human woman passing by me had once whispered many, many years ago: “What a scholarly gentleman, so polished, so refined.” (3)

a saying that means a gentleman’s cultivation of character is like the refinement of jade, taken from The Book of Songs, Odes of Wei.

After a thousand years, my stony heart made a rare subtle tremble.

He slowly approached, of course not to see me, but rather because behind me was the Naihe Bridge one must cross in order to enter the underworld. It wasn’t easy to run into such a beautiful person, so I thought I should have a beautiful meeting with him.

I stepped forward and softly called out to him: “Sir.” I thought to curtsy to him like the well-bred ladies did in human books. But the books only said ‘curtsy’. They never described to me what specific postures and movements were entailed.

I pondered for a moment, then mimicked the ghosts bemoaning to Yanwang (ruler of the underworld) and dropped to my knees with a thud, banged my head on the ground in three kowtows, and said to him, “What is thy fair name, sir?”

she’s asking for his ‘fair name’ as a man might ask a woman

The imps nearby sucked in two deep breaths of cold air. He stood there blankly with some surprise in his eyes. For the time being, he did not answer me.

Any endeavor must be approached with sincerity, for the Black and White Guards of Impermanence’s favorite saying was: “Sincerity equals success.” This was how they had always been able to lure the mortal souls to docilely follow them back.

Hearing no response from him, I briefly wondered that perhaps I hadn’t knocked my head loudly enough and therefore hadn’t shown enough sincerity. I crawled forward on my knees and, not sparing any effort this time, fiercely knocked my head onto the ground three more times.

It seemed I kowtowed so hard that I sent three waves of shock through the ground. The imps nearby wheezed in evident fright.

I raised my head and looked up at him with a bloody face. “What is thy fair name, sir?”

Perhaps the wretchedness of my bloody face had scared him stiff. He remained silent.

I hastily wiped my face, and in the process discovered both of my hands were damp! I hadn’t known I was bleeding this much. I suddenly realized why he was in such a stupor.

I panicked. While rushing to rub myself, I ended up smudging my entire body with blood.

I looked up to him quite helplessly.

In his pretty eyes was the imprint of my reflection. Then, his eyes curved into a dazzling smile.

Even though I didn’t know what he was delighted with, seeing him happy, I, too, offered him a friendly smile complete with two rows of sparkling white teeth, not realizing doing so was adding to the terrifying look of a bloody person.

The imp beside me, Jia, leaned in nervously and pulled me up. I wouldn’t rise. He caught his breath and whispered to me, “My dear Madam Sansheng! Who are you trying to scare with that frightening face?! Do you know who he is?”

Among the spiritual beings in the underworld, my magic wasn’t particularly profound. But due to seniority, all of the imps were respectful to me. They seldom spoke to me in such a tone. I frowned and said quizzically, “Of course I don’t know who he is. I’m asking him, aren’t I?”

Little Yi looked as though he was going to sputter up blood any moment now. “My dear madam! This is Heaven’s…” He hadn’t finished when a gentle voice interrupted him.

“My name is Moxi.”

He extended his hand where I readily placed mine inside. He flipped his hand and clasped my wrist.

My wrist was my vital portal. At this moment, he only needed the slightest exertion to send me to a very horrible death. Little Jia’s and Little Yi’s unsightly faces were becoming even ghastlier than they originally were. Jia quickly pleaded, “M’lord! M’lord! Miss Sansheng has lived here by the Wangchuan River all her life. The underworld is but a humble place; the young lady does not know her etiquettes. I beg you to forgive her.”

“Sansheng? That’s a strange name, albeit somewhat interesting.”

I was still looking at him. I did not feel afraid since there was no murderous intent in his eyes.

He carefully studied me for a while, let go of my wrist, and instead pulled me up by my arm. “How remarkable for a stone from the underworld to have developed a soul. You didn’t know who I was, yet why did you give me such a great obeisance?”

I suddenly understood. It turned out it wasn’t that my sincerity was lacking, but that it was too profuse. I honestly told him, “You’re so handsome that I wanted to…” Untimely, my vocabulary failed me. In my panic, I randomly grasped for a word that I didn’t know since when had dropped into my brain: “I wanted to seduce you.”

Little Jia gave me a ‘you’re hopeless’ look.

He chuckled. “What a straightforward creature.”

I was thrilled, thinking it was a compliment. “Then, can I seduce you?” I hastily asked him.

He said in some deliberation, “I’ve come for my trial, so I won’t be staying in the underworld.”

What he meant was ‘no’. I lowered my gaze, a little disappointed.

“Have you always sat by the Wangchuan riverbank?” he suddenly asked.

I nodded.

“Would you like to go outside for a look?”

My eyes lit up; I nodded vigorously.

He faintly smiled and patted my head. “Considering that I’ve received several bloody kowtows from you, I can’t have you kowtow in vain. Since you want to leave the underworld, I will promise you three lifetimes of freedom. The three lifetimes I go through my trial are also the three lifetimes you get to have your freedom. After I return from my trial, you will also obediently come back to the Wangchuan bank, how does that sound?”

There was nothing disadvantageous about his proposal. I nodded yes.

He cast a golden seal on my wrist. “As a spiritual being, you need to learn to be smarter. Hereafter, take care to protect your vital portal.” He added, “Those who are stronger won’t always be as kind as I am.”

The two imps, Jia and Yi, contorted their faces as they escorted him away. I touched the golden seal on my wrist.

“Moxi,” I called out to him.

Standing in front of the Naihe Bridge, he held the waters of oblivion in his hand and turned to face me.

“Can I come to the human world to seduce you?”

My question was so earnest that it prompted a burst of eerie laughter from Old Meng who was ladling her amnesic soup.

His lips were also upturning into a smile. “If you can find me, then go ahead.” At his last word, he drank down the soup in one gulp.

Without turning around, he entered deep into the underworld. I kept watching him leave, and remained unwilling to divert my eyes even after he disappeared from sight. Little Yi came back from the Naihe Bridge and waved his cadaverous hands in front of me, calling: “Miss Sansheng!”

“Huh?”

“Miss Sansheng, could you have developed some feelings for him?”

I finally turned to look at Yi and asked in seriousness, “What does it mean to develop feelings?”

Yi tilted his head in thought. “However the men and women are described in those books you always read is however ‘developing feelings’ should be.”

I pondered for a moment. In those books I frequently read, the gentleman would meet the lady, the lady then curtsied, the two next conversed in a word or two, and then they would begin to do a number of ooh ooh ah ah actions they couldn’t help themselves from. I never thought to ooh ooh ah ah with Moxi, so I really didn’t think I was developing feelings for him.

I firmly shook my head. “I haven’t developed any feelings.”

Yi gave a long sigh and muttered to himself, “That’s true, how can a stone develop feelings? I’ve thought too much.” Almost instantly, he stared at me and said, “The point is, it’s best as long as you don’t develop feelings for him! In this world, there is nothing more agonizing than the word ‘love’. This is not to say Miss Sansheng can never like somebody. It’s only because Lord Moxi is really someone no lady should ever fall for.”

“Why is that? He’s the best-looking and gentlemanly person I’ve ever met.” I paused, then added, “And he has the most pleasing voice to the ears.”

“Precisely because everything about him is so perfect that you should never ever fall for him! Lord Moxi is the God of War from Heaven. Although nothing is impossible in this world, he only cares for the world’s welfare. If his heart is occupied by the common people, will there be any space for love?”

Whether Moxi had any place for love in his heart didn’t matter much to me, but the first half of Yi’s remark gave me pause. “How can he take on something as savage as the God of War post? He’s obviously a very kind person.”

Yi almost sputtered a mouthful of blood. “Kind? But you don’t really believe that… do you?”

When he saw my nod, Yi shook his head and said in helplessness, “When the Demon clan attacked Heaven with an army of 100,000 strong, Lord Moxi led 30,000 heavenly soldiers and wiped them clean. Afterward, he led his army down to the Demon capital and massacred the entire Demon clan; blood flowed like water then. In the past decade, there has been no sound uttered by the demons. That’s because any demon three years and older has been exterminated.”

I had some impression of this event. During that time, the underworld became incredibly overcrowded. The wailing almost ripped Yanwang’s palace apart; the Naihe Bridge almost collapsed from being trampled on. Although these demons were said to have been killed by Moxi, war was in fact a matter of killing and surviving. Moxi as the God of War had the duty of resorting to force in order to suppress the rebels. His loyalties lay with his own clan. Decisive ruthlessness was only natural in battle.

I patted Yi’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me these things. I’m heading back to the stone to do some packing now.”

Yi was confused. “Miss, where are you going?”

I grinned. “I’m going to the human world to seduce him.”

After I finished tying up various loose ends in the underworld, Yanwang personally placed three seals on the back of my neck, each representing one lifetime in the human world. Once the three seals disappeared, I must return to the underworld and stand guard by the Wangchuan again.

In the envious eyes of other spiritual beings, I donned a white cotton dress and left to the human world.

The human world previously known through books was much livelier than I had imagined it to be, and also more interesting, and also… more dangerous.

On my third day on Earth, on the way looking for Moxi, I passed by a temple and discovered that it was dedicated to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I piously went in, thinking to offer my worship. I had only dropped to my knees, yet to finish bowing, when an old yet nimble monk suddenly stepped forth with a razor in hand. He smiled amiably at me: “Amitabha. Benefactor, knowing to mend your wrongs by seeking the Buddha is doing the world a good deed.”

Huh? I hadn’t had time to ponder over the meaning behind his words when his razor had headed straight for my hair.

I was a stone – the Sansheng Stone. From head to toe, the most difficult for me to grow was hair. I had stared at it for a thousand years before it finally made a little improvement, yet this old bald donkey had the nerve to shave me! I huffed and kicked him away. Unexpectedly, this monk was actually a martial artist. He easily escaped from my kick.

He withdrew the genial smile from his face. “What are you intending to do?”

“Baldy, I should ask you the same question,” I replied dubiously.

He sneered. “Demon, I thought you had wanted to follow the Buddha’s way to atone for your sins. It turns out you had come here to stir trouble!”

“Demon? You’re mistaken, I’m not…”

“Hmph, I’ve detected the mustiness of darkness lurking in you from three miles away. Don’t try to slink your way out of this!”

I sniffed left and right, but couldn’t really sense any mustiness on my body. The fish in the Wangchuan were much mustier than I was! This monk did not listen to my explanation. His razor came at me again. My desire to kill began to rise, but Yanwang’s endless reminders that I must never harm anyone suddenly came to mind.

I withdrew my attack, turned, and made a run for it.

The monk kept chasing after me ’round the entire mountain, forcing me to run till I was out of breath. I just wanted to give the bald donkey a punch and send him to an eternal sleep.

All of a sudden, a burst of fragrance drifted to my nose. I had never smelled such a wonderful fragrance in the underworld. My attention was instantly lured away. As I drew near, a red sea of flowers came into sight.

The humans called this season ‘winter’, and they called that glistening substance covering the red petals ‘snow’. But I didn’t yet know the name of these red flowers. After I passed through the sea of scented boughs, I discovered a small courtyard quietly standing on the other side.

Curious, I opened the gate and went inside. After barely stepping into the courtyard, the golden seal Moxi left on my wrist suddenly glowed. My heart drummed as I approached the main house inside the yard. Suddenly, I heard a gentle female voice: “Hush-a-by baby, on the tree top, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock.”

I gently pushed the door ajar and quietly peered inside. A young woman was sitting in bed with a baby in her arms. Upon a closer look, I smiled. That face, that nose, and those lips, wasn’t this a meatball version of Moxi?!

I hadn’t needed to expend any effort at all!

But he was only a meatball at present. He had forgotten his past life and could not yet recognize others. How was I going to seduce him? Or, should I stay by his side and be his guardian until he grew up? I definitely could not let other women, or men for that matter, to take advantage of him while he was still young.

A bellowing shout behind me abruptly disrupted my train of thought: “Heathen, where are you trying to run?!”

Startled, I swiftly dodged to the left, banged open a door, and lunged into the house. His razor flashed by as I saw a handful of black hair falling down in front of my forehead.

I woefully sprawled out on the floor, vacantly staring at that handful of dark hair fluttering down.

“Ah!”

The woman’s scream sounded so faraway to my ears, and Yanwang’s reminder was drifting even farther like puffs of clouds in the sky.

I jumped up, gathered my spiritual forces to my palm, and with Wangchuan’s one thousand years’ worth of darkness, I aimed a strike at the old monk. This strike would’ve crushed his brain, but my sanity was suddenly awakened by the crying of the baby.

My palm-strike veered to the side and struck the beam over the door, giving the entire hut three waves of tremor. I somersaulted out of the house. It seemed as though my strike had affrighted the old donkey senseless. It took him a second before he eventually collected himself. He looked at me, then looked at the meatball version of Moxi and suddenly faced the horrified woman and told her: “The red mole on your son’s forehead portends ominous things to come. He is already attracting such evil though he is only a newborn. He will surely be a curse to all those around him!”

The woman was scared livid at these words. She held onto her child, not knowing what to do.

I was furious. “Hey baldy, stop it with your nonsense!” All humans believed in the prophecies of these priests and monks. He was going to ruin Moxi’s entire life with his words.

“Hmph! Heathen, you ambushed me while I was unprepared. I will let you learn a lesson this time!”

The razor in his hand flashed a golden light as it turned into a Buddhist staff and headed straight for me. This monk did not have a high cultivation, but the Buddha nimbus on his staff prevented me from looking straight ahead. What we feared most in the underworld was the Buddha nimbus of the Western Heavens. Overwhelmed, I was forced to retreat.

I didn’t think that the fight between the monk and me would last very long. I was a stone – patience was my best virtue. I had believed that after our fight tired him out, he would eventually back off. By that time, I would come back to stay with Moxi until he grew up. I didn’t expect the human monk to be more stubborn than I thought him to be. Demon slaying was his lifelong mission, and perhaps I was the most powerful ‘monster’ he encountered in his life, he ended up considering killing me as the ultimate mission of his life.

Our battle transpired for nine full years in the human world.

Nine years!

In the end, it wasn’t that he gave up on killing me, but that my old acquaintances, the two brothers of Black and White Guards of Impermanence came to beckon his soul away…

I was hiding so wretchedly in the mountains at the time I chanced upon my acquaintances again. When I saw them drag the bald donkey’s soul away, I hugged their long hanging tongues and wept in joy. At the same time, I made sure to tell them to ask Old Meng to give this monk some extra soup so that he would become a half-wit in his next incarnation and live a life of misery.

After finishing off the monk, I primmed and preened my looks that hadn’t been primmed and preened over the last nine years. Then, crossing thousands of miles through mountains and streams, I found the small courtyard I had met Moxi in the past.

After nine years of living in the human world, I finally learned that the red fragrant flowers were called plum blossoms.

Even so, I had no idea the timespan of nine years could turn such a beautiful plum forest into this withering state.

I slowly neared the small courtyard as the golden seal on my wrist flickered again. I hadn’t stepped past the gate when I saw a dirty child holding a much taller broom sweeping the barren yard. The rustling sounded so dreadfully bleak.

The child seemed to have realized someone was entering. He suddenly turned around.

What I saw were a pair of clear eyes and a red mole between his eyebrows. My heart clenched up, my hands trembled, and the candies I bought for Moxi fell to the ground.

“Who are you?” He walked up to me.

I squatted down to be at his eye level and saw my own reflection in his clear eyes. I rubbed the dirt off of his face with my sleeve and told him, “My name is Sansheng. I’ve come to seduce you.”

He stared at me without saying a word, letting me use my sleeve to wipe his face. I took notice of his raggedy clothes and the bruises on his hands and neck. I seemed to recall his mother wasn’t an impoverished person nine years prior. How did she let Moxi become this way?

“Where’s your mother?” I asked him.

“Dead.”

His direct answer surprised me. Hadn’t mortals always cared a great deal about life and death? He… maybe he was still too young to understand life and death. That was the only explanation I could come up with.

“Since your mother has passed away, everything is up to you now. Remember, as of today, I have successfully seduced you.”

He remained silent as he watched me. I scratched my head; talking to a child was proving to be a very difficult task. Moreover, the child in question was somewhat reticent and withdrawn to begin with. I decided to use a simpler language to explain to him.

“In other words, I am your wife from now on. In accordance with the rules of the mortals, I am your child bride. But this isn’t important. What’s important is that no one can ever bully you again now that I’m here.” His eyes lit up. I patted his head: “Let me hear you call me ‘darling’.”

He was silent for a moment. “Sansheng,” he repeated my name.

“It’s ‘darling’!”

“Sansheng.”

“Darling!”

“Sansheng.”

“…Fine,” I gave up, “call me Sansheng then

Sansheng.”

“Yes?”

I would come to remember the way he called my name again and again that day, calling me until I answered him. Much later, I learned there had also been a time when he called his mother over and over again to no avail.

Moxi was originally the God of War from Heaven. Although he was only in the mortal realm for his tribulation, he should still be a cultured and civilized man, and so I thought to send him to school.

Not far from where we lived was a small town. There was only one academy in this town. The teachers at this academy knew of the old monk’s prophecy that Moxi would grow up to be a curse to all those around him, and so they were reluctant to welcome him into their school.

I told Moxi to carry a pot of gold coins and circle around the academy. Eventually, the teachers accepted him.

I helped him tie his hair on the first day to school. He looked at me through the reflection in the bronze mirror; in his eyes was a flicker of apprehension. I gently said to him, “You’ll be living here in the mortal world for some decades more. It’s not a very long time; I’ll make sure peace follows you in life. But I hope that you’ll become a responsible person and lead a brilliant life through these decades. Literacy is a must. Listen to your teacher while you’re at school. Although I wouldn’t call them sages, they will still conduct themselves with propriety in front of their students. Study hard!”

Moxi nodded.

When he came back in the evening, there were some injuries on his face. A red mark here, a blue mark there. “Did you get bullied?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Did you fight back?”

He shook his head.

I dressed his wounds and asked, “Where does he live, the one who bullied you?”

Fatty Wang was the son of a landowner in town. His family was so wealthy that even their backyard was enormous. I looked on in total glee. After I lit a fire in his family’s woodshed, a southerly wind timely blew by and flamed it into a big fire. Half of the sky blazed red.

Feeling that the scene was rather spectacular to behold, I led Moxi to a good viewing place and pointed to the towering flames from Fatty Wang’s house as I told him, “Laugh all you want.”

Moxi looked at me thoughtfully. “Sansheng, my teacher said we should return misdeed with virtue.”

“Moxi, you should learn to differentiate. Your teacher was obviously lying to you. It’s okay to listen, but don’t take everything to heart.”

Moxi listened to my words, then slowly issued a ‘hahaha’ sound.

Life in the human world flew by in the blink of an eye. Moxi was fast approaching his coming-of-age at twenty years old.

Under my very careful education, it was no great surprise Moxi grew up to be a gentleman as gentle as jade. His face and figure did not differ too greatly from the time I met him in the underworld. Because his godlike bearing was uncommon in the human world, and combined with his extraordinarily intelligence, he soon became well-known in this small town.

However, “fame kills people, blubber kills pigs.” There had to be a reason why this saying stayed in circulation for as long as it did.

It was a sunny and balmy morning when I was reclining on the divan to read a newly released novel. It was a love story about a couple who had made it through the rough of times and it came with detailed ooh ooh ah ah passages. I was right at the climax of the story when Moxi stepped in from outside. He picked up the cloak and robe I had casually tossed on the ground and put them away, gave me a cup of water, then said, “It’s not good to lie around all day. You should also go outside for some sun, Sansheng.”

I took the cup from him. My eyes did not leave the book as I perfunctorily said, “Sunlight is like poison to me. It offers me no benefit.”

But he wouldn’t take my words. “It snowed this morning. The plum blossoms in our compound are blooming very beautifully. Let’s take a walk to look at them.” I looked at him and saw a shiny ray of hope in his eyes. I placed the book that was getting to the ooh ooh ah ah part down: “All right, I’ll come with you for a walk.”

Happy, he softly smiled.

We held hands and took a stroll around the plum forest. He didn’t lie to me. The plums were blossoming quite beautifully today.

“Moxi, you know I love the view of these red plum blossoms and their fragrance in the glistening snow, but do you know why?”

He thought for a while. “It’s probably because your temper is very similar to this plum.” I paused amid walking and looked into his eyes as I shook my head, smiling wordlessly.

He didn’t really get it, but he left me to my perusal of his face. Gradually, a hint of a smile appeared: “Sansheng, do you like looking at me?”

“Yes.” I used my hand to measure the distance between his head and mine. He was now a full head taller than I was. I tilted my head in thought: “Moxi, let me hear you call me ‘darling’.”

His ears suddenly reddened.

“You’re fast approaching your coming-of-age,” I said. “I think this child bride should finally be promoted after so many years. Just choose a date and marry me, won’t you?”

Ruddiness spread from his ears down to his cheeks, his Adam’s apple slightly undulating. After a long while, a dash of chagrin emerged in his eyes. “Sansheng, you’re, you’re always…” He did not yet finish his sentence when I suddenly heard someone’s voices from beyond the plum forest.

Ever since Moxi acquired a little fame, there was always someone coming to look for him. I’d never said a thing, but they interrupted our marriage conversation today. My face deflated. I was quite unhappy.

The voices of those who came were becoming louder and louder. Moxi had also faintly caught onto them. “Sansheng, it seems someone came to visit, let’s go back to the house.”

I hummed an answer and went back into my room, continuing to read my book. Moxi went out to the guest hall to receive his guest.

Approaching noon, Moxi saw the guest out and then came into my room. He sat down without speaking. I reclined against my chair and also did not speak; my patience had always been great. He finally couldn’t win against me.

“Sansheng.”

“Hmm?”

“It was the governor who came by today.”

“Oh.”

“He… he told me to go the capital to become an official.”

“Oh.”

Perhaps my indifference was making Moxi a little lost. He carefully studied my face. Seeming to have made up his determination, he said, “I want to go.”

I quietly turned to the last page of my book. The love story had a happy ending. I then turned around to look at Moxi. He was intently watching me. I sighed, “A man should have ambitions. It’s an official that you aspire to be, not a thief… albeit fundamentally, there’s not much difference between the two. But I will admit that the Imperial Court is one of the places to chase your ambitions. I’ve always hoped that you can be triumphant in life. Now that you are in possession of both talent and opportunity, you should be brave and go. Why are you looking at me?”

Moxi shook his head. “I’m not becoming an official for any ambition…” His cheeks flushed ruddy. “As you said, I’m almost twenty. I’ve, I’ve always thought to have a talk with you about our marriage one day.”

I held the cup, frozen on the spot.

His smile was utterly helpless. “But Sansheng, you are always a step ahead of me.” He added, “I want to have a family with you, but as a man, I cannot let you take care of me for the rest of my life. I want to bring you happiness using my own ability.”

“Sansheng, will you wait two years for me? After I succeed, I will come back to marry you.”

I couldn’t say ‘no’.

At that moment, I wished I was an ordinary girl. I wished I was waiting for him to come home and call “Sansheng” to me from the door.

However, he wanted me to wait two years. I was originally a very patient rock, but I just couldn’t bear it this time. After a night of tossing and turning, I suddenly sat up in bed.

“Moxi.”

I knew he wasn’t there, but I still wanted to call his name, as though he would appear in front of me if I’d only call out to him.

“Moxi.”

I called to him thusly three times, but I received no other answer besides the rustling wind outside. I could not fall asleep again, so I simply rolled out of bed, and without packing anything, I left the house in only a white robe straight to the capital to find my husband.

[Chapter Index]

Share this:

FacebookTumblrEmail

Loading...

This entry was posted in c-novel and tagged sansheng wangchuan wu shang. Bookmark the permalink.

Post navigation← Wangchuan Wu Shang

I was no stranger to the capital.

Having once been chased around the city by the old monk for more than three months, I'd gone to all the places I needed to go and been to all the places I needed to be; there wasn't a thing left for me to be curious about.

I was anxious to find Moxi, but since I didn't want him to know I was so attached to him, I didn't dare to look for him in the open. It hadn't been long since he was recommended to be an official. As it was still the beginning, he must be having a hard time with little fame to speak of. I took to the streets to ask around, but no one had any information to offer. There were times when I thought to go to the palace to find him, but the imperial family was surrounded by such resplendent royal air that it suffocated me, and so I could only give up the idea in the end.

After debating back and forth, I decided that during the day I would wait for luck to smile on me, and then at night, go to high-ranking officials' homes to search for Moxi's whereabouts.

I had thought at first that looking for Moxi in person would yield better odds than trying to wait around for luck, but my luck ended up surprising me with its remarkable felicity.

That day, the capital was filled with sunshine. I was idly walking down the streets as I tapped a stalk of scallion onto my romance novel. Suddenly, I heard a commotion ahead where groups of people were beginning to amass. In a moment of curiosity, I stuffed the book away, flung the scallion to the side, and walked over to catch the show.

This show turned out to be a rather interesting one. It was a very dramatic "the water flows on with no regards for the flower's feelings" story that was unfolding.

The 'indifferent water' was precisely my husband Moxi, and the 'falling flower', if I wasn't wrong, should be the general's beloved daughter, Shi Qianqian.

How did I know? Well, largely because her boudoir ornaments weren't too shabby. I'd been selling a lot of jewelry these days, and hers fetched in the most money.

Shi Qianqian was lying dejectedly on the ground. Her ankle seemed to be hurt. She was looking at Moxi with a pair of peach eyes streaming in tears, but Moxi's gaze just indifferently swept past her before he turned away. Then, Shi Qianqian rushed forward to catch his hem. Unfortunately, Moxi avoided her quick as a flash, landing her on the ground and causing her face to be smeared in dirt.

The crowd of onlookers sighed pityingly at Shi Qianqian who lay sprawling on the ground in embarrassment, stubbornly biting her lips with reddened eyes. She looked so fragile that it made me feel sorry for her.

Yet Moxi was altogether unmoving. Without giving her one single glance out of the corner of his eyes, he quickly walked away.

Hmm, I rubbed my chin thinking. Moxi had never given me such a look since the day I fostered him since he was nine. I hadn't thought he'd be such a cold-hearted man away from home.

The young lady was very stubborn. After Moxi left, the others tried to help her but she would not let them, instead choosing to stand up herself. Thinking that she who liked Moxi must certainly be a good-hearted girl who knew right from wrong, I conjured a small spell and treated her injured ankle. Paying little attention to the surprise on her face, I turned around and chased after my Moxi.

Moxi was entering a small tavern. I stopped under a weeping willow next to the building, unable to take another step for the tavern had become different today. It was exuding the same intense royal air as did the imperial palace. I stared up to the second floor where a man dressed in blue was leaning against the window and drinking by himself.

The emperor.

The emperor of this particular world was a fairly wise ruler. Peace and prosperity reigned the land in this good era. Unfortunately, his general wielded so much power that the young emperor was having sleepless nights, and was now thinking of ways to strip the general of his military control.

It hadn't been long since Moxi arrived in the capital yet he could already meet the emperor in private. It seemed he must've thought of an excellent way to help the monarch eliminate his major concern.

While I was appreciating how smart Moxi was, a man dressed in Daoist robes suddenly emerged from the alley next to the tavern.

The Imperial Reverend. This was the most powerful priest in the world, and I instantly recognized him. In the past, the old monk who hunted me down had also entreated this man to help him catch me.

I could already foresee another struggle seeing that I was running into him again. As I was lamenting how shitty life was, he unexpectedly shot me a look, then turned around and left. While I was left in puzzlement, I suddenly heard a soft voice calling from the second floor of the tavern: "Sansheng!"

It was Moxi who saw me from the window.

Having nowhere to hide, I smiled at him in answer. "I've come because I miss you every second of the day and the nights are far too long without you. Let's haste our wedding along, Moxi."

As soon as I finished, the streets went dead silent for a long stretch of time. Moxi blushed at this long silence.

"Hahaha." Behind him came the emperor's hearty laughter. "What a bold beauty. Moxi, you have quite the luck!"

Moxi bowed to the emperor and made a rush downstairs. I beamed at him. Moxi walked over, looking as though he was doing everything he could to rein back his joy. He knitted his brow and asked, "Why have you come to find me so soon? I had thought I'd have to wait another six months. Since you came all alone, did you have a hard journey? Did you encounter any trouble on the way? Are you hungry? Do you want to rest?"

I just looked at him with a smile.

Moxi gave me a good look and said, "I've worried for nothing. Sansheng would never let herself suffer. How did you find me?"

"I saw you on the street just now."

Moxi's smiling face slightly stiffened. He hurried to explain: "Sansheng, that's…"

"I know, the girl who likes you."

He carefully observed my face. "Her looks aren't bad," I said, "but she's a bit short, so she's not the one for you."

"But of course," Moxi laughed at my words. "Sansheng's the only one for me."

I patted his shoulder in high spirits. "I'm glad you know."

"I'll go say goodbye to His Majesty, and then I'll take you back to rest."

"Alright."

It turned out Moxi did not live in the palace, nor did he lodge at some minister's home. Instead, he bought a quiet cabin, the layout of which was very similar to the plum compound he and I had lived in.

After supper, I pulled Moxi out for a walk in the small garden.

"The capital is very different from the small town we used to live in. You must not have been accustomed to living here by yourself?"

"There's not really much I have to get used to. But there were mornings when I got up and didn't see the dishes you laid out for me, or the evenings when I came home and didn't see the candle light you left on for me. When I thought of your being all alone at home, I wasn't sure how you would be able to take care of yourself, and it had made me feel a little rueful."

I giggled as my heart burst in joy. I held his hand and gazed to the stars over our heads, swinging leisurely as we walked. "Moxi."

"Yes."

"Moxi."

"Yes?"

"Moxi."

"What is it?"

"I just want to call your name," I said. "Every time I call your name, I get to hear your reply. I suddenly feel that this sort of happiness isn't very easy to have."

Moxi lightly smiled. I continued: "It must be hard to come to the capital and be an official?"

Moxi was silent for a while before saying: "Being able to use my power to help people in need, being able to rely on my own hands to fulfill my compassion so that there'd be people who would become happy as a result of my actions. Even if palace intrigues are rather troublesome, if these powers I achieve can be used for the people… Sansheng, do you understand this sort of satisfaction?"

I could not help but shiver as I looked up at him. In his eyes was unmistakably a gleam I had never seen before.

At this moment, I seemed to see once more the Heavenly God of War who had come to the underworld accompanied by the radiance of light.

This was the true Moxi. I all of a sudden recalled the words Jia had said to me many moons ago: "Lord Moxi is the God of War from Heaven. Although nothing is impossible in this world, he only cares for the world's welfare. If his heart is occupied by the common people, will there be any space for love?"

I had thought little of these words at first, but when I saw the expression in Moxi's eyes today, I came to realize Jia was actually a rather perceptive prophet.

Moxi truly had a heart for the common people, no matter what form he took…

The next day, Moxi went to the palace; and as usual, I stayed home and read my books.

I hadn't yet turned to the second page when I suddenly heard light, steady footsteps from the courtyard. Soldiers? Ever since I gained spiritual cognizance, I had been a behaving spirit. All right, so I'd been held captive by a ghost, scolded by Yanwang, hunted by a monk, and attacked by a priest, but I had yet to be apprehended by the hooligan authorities.

Since this was to be my first experience, I was tingly with excitement.

I was looking forward to their rushing in and accosting me, wanting to see what sort of offensive they were organizing. But after waiting forever long, there only came a neat series of knocks rapping at the door. I was quite disappointed. I had no choice but to answer the door as was required by proper etiquette.

The soldiers were probably in hiding somewhere, for only a handsome girl stood by the doorway. I looked at her for a long time before some recognition came over me. Why, wasn't this the girl Moxi had tossed away on the street just yesterday – Shi Qianqian?!

When she saw me open the door, she suddenly looked as if she was struck by lightning. "There really is a woman," she muttered to herself. "He had really brought a woman home."

Liking a man was one thing, making a ruckus in someone's home was another. Thinking to myself I couldn't let this girl's feelings get ahead of themselves, I crossed my arms in front of my chest, leaned against the door and said, "That's right, I am his woman. I've shared a bed with him among other things since we were children. Is there something you would like to say?"

The young ignorant girl was shocked by my words. She stumbled two steps backward and almost fell to the ground. I raised an eyebrow at her, feeling slightly cruel, but at the same time, vindicated.

At this point, a middle-aged woman suddenly jumped out from the side, pointed at me, and began her condemnation: "Don't you dare harass our young lady! Don't let your obscenities soil her ears!"

I was utterly innocent. "I answered because she asked. Every word I said is true. Why would any of it be obscene?"

Shi Qianqian's face went even whiter. The woman railed at me: "Brazen harlot! How dare you be insolent to our young lady! Men, take her away!"

I rubbed my forehead in frustration. She was clearly the vexatious one. As I was about to reason with her, a group of blue-uniformed soldiers suddenly sprang out.

"Oh!" My eyes lit up as I gasped in excitement. The woman shouted, "She's about to release her hidden projectiles! Protect the young lady!"

The sharp sounds of swords leaving their sheaths raised the hair on my arms.

I opened my mouth, but the phrase "let's keep the peace" hadn't sounded when a large blade had swung straight down my head. Through the tempering of the human world, my temper was now much more restrained compared to when I first came here. Nevertheless, I couldn't let people bully me like this. My expression at once frosted up as I fiercely glared at the first soldiers to rush toward me.

Mortals who had never practiced sorcery would immediately become petrified by one icy stare of mine. They would plop to their knees in a desperate kowtow.

But the people in the back did not learn their lesson, still flying at me like a swarm.

I recited an incantation, gently waved my arm, and the soldiers who came to siege me all flew away. I sighed: "If we're going to live as humans, then let's learn to observe and assess the situation at hand, shall we?"

Shi Qianqian and the other woman were both swept off their feet by the forces of darkness and fell to the floor. They looked at me in stupefaction. I stepped forward and offered my hand to pull the woman up, but she screamed "monster" and scrambled away. I had no choice but to turn and help Shi Qianqian.

By contrast, she docilely let me help her up. I wiped the dust from her face for her and said, "No matter how much you like someone, you should still have some self-respect. Don't come to others' homes and make a ruckus anymore. Not only will it belittle your status, it is also of little use. Oh, Moxi's three lifetimes have also been destined for me. If you really want to seduce him, then come back in another three lifetimes."

Everything I said was the truth; I didn't think her ears would actually process it to be something different. Her eyes were red as she turned and ran in tears.