Chapter 32: A Rescued Hú Lù |
[June 23, 2019] . . .
The day was getting late, and the setting sun cast a brilliant glow on the water's surface.
Such a gorgeous view was rarely seen in the Demon realm. Shěn Lí drank her wine as she gazed at the reflection.
“I have suspected it for a while, but I couldn’t figure out why you would want to go the Lower realms, and as a mortal at that.”
“Hm.” Xíng Zhǐ shook his head. “You get bored when you live as long as I have. And when you’re bored you do strange things. I went to the Lower realm with the desire to incarnate as a mortal and experience the ordinary life of a commoner.” Xíng Zhǐ gave a helpless laugh. “I drank from the river and I gained an ordinary body but my god knowledge could not be erased.”
Shěn Lí looked at Xíng Yún in surprise. She had not expected him to drink from the water of forgetfulness. Unfortunately, one bowl was not enough to wash his memories away. That was why he knew so many arrays and was able to see the spirits of the dead even though he had no magical aura.
“No mortal body can bear the burden of a god. No wonder you were so sickly.” Shěn Lí understood now. “But since you remembered, why did you pretend not to know me?”
Xíng Zhǐ glanced at Shěn Lí out of the corner of his eye. “The same reason you left for the Demon realm with Mò Fāng and the Demon emperor.”
He hadn’t wanted to delay her on his behalf. Besides that, as Xíng Yún, he hadn’t replied to her declaration before she returned to the Demon realm. It was only more awkward after returning and meeting her again as Xíng Zhǐ.
Sever all ties of affections huh?
Shěn Lí laughed then sighed. “So, what you were trying to do was make me not like you? You know, your behavior was the complete opposite. You were acting like a man trying to seduce someone!" Was he really that unaware of himself?
“Were you seduced?”
Asking a question like that when he was trying to cut off relations . . . this man was too reckless.
Shěn Lí spoke into her wine bottle. “How is that even possible? High God is thinking too much of it. How can I, the Azure Sky king, behave so inappropriately? That time in the Mortal realm, I met and fell for an ordinary mortal name Xíng Yún. That was in the past. Now you are an ancient high god. How could I possibly feel the same way about you?”
Xíng Yún retained an aloof smile but his hand had tightened into loose fists.
Shěn Lí continued. “Your current identity is too troublesome. Like the prince who had to kill his brothers to gain the throne. Prince Ruì loved his princess, but ultimately, in order to produce an heir, he had to accept an imperial concubine. He didn’t do anything wrong; it was simply something required of him because of his identity. If one day we were to meet on the battle field, I wouldn’t just be Shěn Lí, I would be Azure Sky king, Shěn Lí."
Xíng Zhǐ stared at Shěn Lí with a fixed gaze as she continued. “The marriage to unite the Demon realm and the Immortal realm should be happening soon. What I want to say today is just this. You are unwilling to be Xíng Yún so Xíng Yún doesn’t exist for me anymore. As far as I am concerned, Xíng Yún died in the Mortal realm long ago. The you facing me now is the Immortal High God Xíng Zhǐ, so there is no need for further subterfuge on your part.”
“Shěn Lí, from the start, both identities have always been mine.” Xíng Yún was simply the mortal him in the Mortal realm. His body changed but he was still the same person, with the same memories. He didn’t want Shěn Lí to see him as two separate individuals.
Shěn Lí resisted this idea. Shaking her head, she said, “As far as I’m concerned, you are two different and distinct individuals. Xíng Zhǐ, you and I do not share a fate, nor do we have anything to do with each other, so you need not be concerned about any lingering feelings on my end.” Shěn Lí held her wine bottle up next to his as she solemnly spoke. “Immortal High God Xíng Zhǐ, as the Azure Sky king, I will obey the royal edict and marry Lord Fú Róng.”
She tapped her bottle against his with a clang.
It was a crisp sharp sound that echoed all the way to the pit of his stomach before finding its way to his heart and bleeding into a thread of pain. It left him silent for a moment, then with a with a slight smile he said, “Indeed Your Highness, that would be good.”
The sun had set, but the afterglow still colored the sky. Shěn Lí finished her wine bottle and threw it into the river. It made a crack sound as it broke to pieces. The sound was like a resounding firm punctuation for their conversation.
Shěn Lí stood up and dusted herself off as she said, “The gates should be closed but I have no desire to return to the capital. My plan is to head to Yáng Zhōu to search for Lord Fú Róng. What does Immortal High God plan to do from here?”
Xíng Zhǐ didn’t answer, so it was silent between them for a couple of seconds. The silence was broken by the sounds of footsteps from behind. They knew it couldn’t be mortal footsteps from the feel and heaviness of the sound.
Shěn Lí surveyed the land. The waters were shallow, but the grass was high. Combined with the dimming sky, it would be easy to stay hidden.
One look at her face and Xíng Zhǐ could tell what she was thinking. “Why hide?”
Shěn Lí glanced at him. “Don’t you feel it?” She focused on the dam farther down the river. “The air just turned strange. It’s not something good.”
Dusk was a time when evil manifested in the Mortal realm, so Shěn Lí was more alert.
She had yanked Xíng Zhǐ over and hid in the grass.
“Still, did you really have to pull me along to hide with you? I don’t think I need to hide.” He looked bemusedly at her hand holding his on top of the grass.
Ah! How could she have forgotten? Even when he was the weakling Xíng Yún, he was ridiculous enough to tease the crown prince about his weight. No matter how benign his expression, he was still the same impudent person!
Shěn Lí coughed lightly and pulled her hand back. She talked big earlier, but her action just now was that of a person protecting another. She had unconsciously reacted to the situation like he was that same sickly, weak-bodied mortal she used to know, instead of an incomparable high god who everyone in the three realms would bow to.
The sound startled the group of four people walking along the river bank, one of whom had his wrists tied behind his back. His head was covered in a huge scarf. The shape seemed to suggest antlers. Remembering where she was, she called out, “Hú Lù?”[notes]
The person did not reply, but the tremble that shook his entire body at her call confirmed her suspicions.
Though Hú Lù did not have the Immortal realm’s mandate, he was an immortal earth spirit, a minor land god.
The group holding him captive were clearly not soldiers of the Immortal realm, so who were they to dare capture him? They were dressed entirely in black from head to toe, even their faces were covered. Shěn Lí furrowed her brows and approached to query.
Their leader pulled his sword and attacked before she had could ask.
Shěn Lí didn’t have a chance to show off her spear’s fearsome abilities, when from over her shoulder a column of water rushed past. It slammed into the attacking man and drenched him in water with a crash. Sudden cold air sprang from the ground. He was rooted to the spot as ice crystals formed from the combination of chilly air and condensed water.
The other two decided to flee when they saw this. Xíng Zhǐ waved his hand before they could take a single step, and they, like their leader were also rooted in place.
Shěn Lí raised her brows. “Ice spell?”
“No, it's a stop water spell.”
Shěn Lí wasn’t familiar with all the different types of water spells nor was she impressed by any of them. They all sounded the same to her. She strode over to Hú Lù and pulled the fabric covering his head.
A trail of light wound around his antlers, much of his head, mouth, and neck like a collar.
Shěn Lí frowned. “What kind of spell is this?”
Xíng Zhǐ looked down in thought. “An immortal binding spell.” He formed a ball of light on his fingertips and pressed it lightly against Hú Lù’s bindings, breaking the seal.
Freed, Hú Lù bent over at the waist and took a great big gulp of air. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he looked at the two people in front of him. “Thank you! Thank you great immortals for saving my life! I thought for sure I would die! Wuu! Wuu!”
Shěn Lí’s lip quirked at the corner. This big crybaby hadn’t changed one bit.
She and Xíng Zhǐ waited for him to finish crying.
Hú Lù wiped his face with his arm after the flood of tears stopped. He gasped once he got a good look at his saviors, specifically at Shěn Lí. “You . . . you’re . . .”
Shěn Lí nodded. “Yes I am. But don’t worry, this time I’m not here to coerce you into doing anything.” She pointed a finger at the three men. “What’s going on with them?”
“Wuu wuu! It’s a long story! It all started when someone from an immortal sect came and started trouble!” Hú Lù sighed. “There is a sect of some renown in the martial world called Fúshēng Mén. We didn’t care who they were, but they set up a banquet and invited all the local land gods to attend. A bunch went, but none came back. Another banquet invitation arrived and another group went. They never came back either! By then, we were all leery of them. No one accepted the third invitation. Who would have guessed when we said no, they would forcefully kidnap us?”
Xíng Yún narrowed his eyes. “What you describe is a serious crime. Why have you not reported it to the Immortal realm?”
Hú Lù cried out in grief, “We wanted to! The first messenger we sent was found dead in the woods. The next was also found dead. There were never many of us to begin with, so between that and the banquet, there was barely anyone left. Everyone scattered.” Hú Lù got teary-eyed just thinking about it.
“The woods around the capital aren’t that big. I was afraid I’d be caught if I stayed so I went and hid in the city. I was able to stay hidden until today. That’s when they caught me. If it weren’t for you two . . . wuu wuu! Who knows what would have happened to me?!”
Shěn Lí was confused. “You’re a land god with an immortal body. Your magic isn’t strong, but it shouldn’t be that weak. Why are you such a pushover? Why is everyone able to do what they please with you?”
Hú Lù gave Shěn Lí an aggrieved look. “It’s not that I didn’t resist . . . there were other immortals with strong magic who tried to resist too. But the other side has some magic that specifically deals with immortal beings like us. We can struggle as much as we like, but we can’t break free. I heard from other immortals that the magic this sect uses doesn’t resemble normal immortal magic . . .“
He looked at Shěn Lí and hesitated for a moment before continuing. “It was like a demon technique . . .”
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