Chapter 45: Koi! |
[February 13, 2021] . . .
It was the second day and Shěn Lí did not look forward to moving, instead she procrastinated and took a stroll around the Immortal realm. The people who met her were guarded and cautiously curious. One or two looking at her that way wouldn’t have been noticeable, but every pair of eyes looked at her in the same way. It was stifling. She would have preferred if they drew their swords and tried to cut her down; then they could have a proper fight.
After awhile Shěn Lí gave up. She may as well just face the awkwardness head on and go see Xíng Zhǐ.
. . .To her surprise, the residence had the same layout as Xíng Yún’s in the Mortal realm. The building was bigger with more wings, but was essentially the same. The front yard was grassy with rocks and trees as well as a stone table and some chairs. The back yard had vines and a pond under it. How long ago had it been built? It didn’t look new, but it didn’t look old either.
Compared to Xíng Yún’s old home, it was quite an upgrade, but compared to standards in the Immortal realm, where tiles were made of luminous glass and houses were made from precious wood, this house was extraordinarily plain.
No one was there and the entire place had a quiet deserted atmosphere. Shěn Lí unconsciously dropped her guard and began to relax.
She assumed he kept his memories after being born as a mortal and his mortal courtyard had been modeled after the one here. Thinking about it, Shěn Lí remembered that the formation array in the mortal realm gathered energy from both Heaven and earth. If they were the same arrays then staying here would help clear out the poison in her body.
It wasn’t the poison from the immortal ladies earlier, but was from the battle with the creatures in the temple while she was in the Mortal realm.[notes] It was a difficult and insidious poison. Despite her normally fast healing abilities, vestiges of the poison still lingered in her system.
As she strolled around the residence, Shěn Lí couldn’t help but think about a certain someone in white who liked to leisurely sit under the vines while basking in the sun. Perhaps he could only be so laidback and easy-going while bound by mortal coil in the mortal world.
-sigh- It was amazing how much influence a person's identity had on their personality.
Shěn Lí heard the sound of water and realized she had wandered to the pond. Looking at it she saw a fat koi swimming. She raised an eyebrow. “A fish no one feeds can grow so big? The water in the Immortal realm must be amazing.”
She sat down by the pond and flicked at the water with her finger. Out of nowhere a smooth hand reached out from the water and grabbed her wrist. Surprised, she looked up to find a pair of clear eyes looking at her. Silver light flashed and suddenly many more pairs stared at her.
These koi . . . were children.
She was still dazed when one of the children giggled and said, “Big Sister, will you play with us?”
Shěn Lí, still hearing the sound of water, unconsciously shook her head, but hands where already pulling her in.
“Sister, come play!” Their crisp voices were like magnetic charms.
Shěn Lí was pulled to the bottom of the pond before she realized what happened. The pond was bigger than it appeared from the outside. The only light source came from above. Her surroundings got darker as they went deeper.
Shěn Lí had a near innate fear of water, so her heart filled with dread at the sound of water gurgling in her ears. She didn’t panic and tried to swim back up. But the children were playing around her legs, and the motion kept dragging her ankles down. Shěn Lí lost it. The children, with their white teeth and cute faces, looked like ghosts from hell.
Breathing wasn’t a problem – she could hold her breath for half an hour - the problem was that she was under water. She frantically tried to scold the children but water rushed down her throat every time she opened her mouth. Every time she coughed or spat, more would gush in.
The water was sweet, but she couldn’t drink anymore!
She kicked and flailed like a maniac at the children, trying to go up to the light above.It was an unsightly image, but she did manage to finally break the surface. Unfortunately her timing was bad. A child leapt out of the water, twirled in midair and re-entered just as she did. Before she could gulp in a breath of air, she was pushed back down by his tail on the way in.
Shěn Lí was so angry. Once she got back on dry land, she was going to start a fire and boil the water. She was going to cook these kids then pull them out one by one!
It was fortunate things didn’t get that far.
Shěn Lí felt the current below her grow stronger. Before she could react, a force had pulled her out of the pond. She coughed so hard her face turned red. Several of the children came out as well. They flopped on the ground as their tails gradually transformed into human legs.
A white cloth dropped on her face. She puffed out an angry breath, grabbed it and tossed it to the ground angrily. She pointed at Xíng Zhǐ while sputtering, “Twice! Twice!”
Xíng Zhǐ understood what she meant. He smiled as he said, “I didn’t mean it this time.” He pulled a strip of thin vine from the trellis, walked to the children, then lightly flicked it across their butts as he shooed them. “Go inside the house.”
The children got up while holding their bare bottoms. They pouted but did as told and staggered into the house.
Xíng Zhǐ looked at Shěn Lí and said, “I’ll get you an explanation in a moment,” as he followed the children into the house, leaving Shěn Lí alone in the courtyard.
She was breathing a sigh of relief when she heard whimpers come from the house. Were the children crying? Shěn Lí thought about the vine in Xíng Zhǐ’s hand and wondered if he was putting it to use. Ha . . .Well I hope he gives them a good whipping!
She was going to take a look. Once she got inside, she saw Xíng Zhǐ lounging on the settee with his head propped on top of one hand. He held the vine in the other hand and was lazily swishing it around.
The children’s eyes were red as they stood naked in front of him.
Xíng Zhǐ glanced at Shěn Lí as she came in. To the children he said, “Apologize.”
The child at the end of the line wiped at his eyes and snotty nose before murmuring, “I’m sorry Sister. I didn’t know you couldn’t . . . wuuu swim. I won’t play like that -hiccup- wuu . . . anymore.” His voice gradually dropped toward the end.
Another child picked up the cue and continued.“-sniffle- I’m sorry wuu . . . We really wanted to play. Wuu . . .” A chorus of apologies filled with sniffles and sobs followed down the line.
It was a mess. A bunch of bare-bottomed half-pints were sniffling and crying through their apologies. Shěn Lí could barely make out what they were saying. She finally covered her face with one hand and waved the other at the children. “It’s OK. It’s not a big deal. You can all go now.”
The children choked on their sobs when Shěn Lí said that. They looked over at Xíng Zhǐ hopefully. The moment he nodded, they rushed out like their feet were on fire.
It became quiet after they left. Xíng Zhǐ sat up. “Since when did the Azure Sky king become so magnanimous?”
“A group of little kids crying and sniffling naked as the day they were born, what am I? Some old witch trying to steal yang essence from young boys? Only a god would be indifferent to such a scene.”[notes]
“No, not indifferent.” He played with the vine in his hand. “I thought their snot-nosed, sniffly expressions were funny to look at.”
Shěn Lí rubbed her temples. She had expected things to be awkward between her and Xíng Zhǐ so she had come to the residence mentally prepared. But apparently, she had thought too much. There was no awkwardness between them at all.
She looked at him tiredly. “Immortal emperor arranged a room for me? I would like to rest in peace.”
“You can pick any from the west wing.”
And that was how the first day living with Xíng Zhǐ went.
Nothing happened after that. Although they shared the same residence, they didn’t see each other. Shěn Lí never saw Xíng Zhǐ enter or leave, so she assumed he was in closed door meditation. It turned out all her mental preparations weren’t needed after all. This would work. If things continued as they were, then she wouldn’t have to see him until the Hundred Flower banquet. And unless he showed up at her wedding banquet, she wouldn't ever see him again . . .
. . .At the prickle of pain in her scalp, Shěn Lí glanced at the mirror at the child koi spirit behind her. But the little koi didn’t notice and continued to tug at Shěn Lí’s hair, still combing and happily oblivious.
“Your Highness’s hair is really nice but it’s too thick and straight, not like a lady’s at all.”
Shěn Lí didn’t reply.
The little koi children were originally attendants for the residence, but Xíng Zhǐ had ordered them to wait on Shěn Lí alone, however the more they served her the more chaotic things became . . .
Bang! A small koi knocked over a basin of water and now both her and the koi combing her hair were wet from the splatter. The small koi looked up in panic at Shěn Lí. He had made a mistake!
The other koi combing her hair yelled out, “What are you doing!?” He stomped his feet and smacked his hand down angrily. He was still holding the comb when he did, so he ended up yanking Shěn Lí’s head back with the motion and pulled her hair along with the comb.
Shěn Lí cradled her head in her hands. She took a deep breath, but in the end she couldn’t hold back. She stood up, grabbed the children and shook them until they reverted to their koi form. Shěn Lí kicked the door open while holding them to her chest. Each time she saw another of the children, she would grab them and shake them till they changed. Then she tossed all of them into the pond!
“You are not allowed to come out. I will steam you if you do,” threatened Shěn Lí.
All the children koi had red eyes. One spoke up. “But High God said Your Highness is different from other immortals. Your Highness has to eat, so we have to serve you. Otherwise, Your Highness will starve to death!”
She Li replied, “I am not hungry.” Then she turned and walked away. Two steps later she turned around and warned them again. “Do not come out.”
The koi stared at her with glistening eyes but didn’t say anything.
Shěn Lí grabbed her hair, intending to tie it in her usual style, when she saw Xíng Zhǐ lounging against the door frame looking as beautiful as ever with the sunlight reflecting in his smiling eyes.
“What are you doing so early in the morning?”
Shěn Lí had been nursing a grudge in her belly for a while. “They were here on your orders to annoy me right?”
Xíng Zhǐ raised an eyebrow. “I never ordered anything like that.”
The little koi felt thoroughly wronged. “We were really trying our best to serve Your Highness . . .”
Shěn Lí rubbed her head and blurted out, “Is this called serving?!” To Xíng Zhǐ she said, “If you really wanted to help, then why weren’t you the one serving me?” She was only speaking out of anger; she didn’t really mean it.
But unexpectedly Xíng Zhǐ answered with a simple, “OK.”
It got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It wasn’t just Shěn Lí, but the little koi children were surprised too.
The sound of rolling fruit broke the silence.
Shěn Lí turned around and saw Goddess Luò Tiān standing in a daze at the backyard gate. By her feet were a bunch of fruits.
Xíng Zhǐ turned to look at her. “Why are you here Yōu Lán?”
Yōu Lán hurriedly bent down to pick up the fallen fruit after coming back to her senses. “The Immortal emperor asked me to inform the Azure Sky king that today is the day to bathe in the essence pool. I remembered the Azure Sky king and High God shared a residence, so I thought I’d bring some fruit for High God as well. The courtyard door was open so I came in . . .”
Her voice trailed off. Even without saying it, everyone knew she had heard it all.
Xíng Zhǐ was calm and only nodded.
Shěn Lí coughed, turned around and began walking as she spoke. “Since it is the Immortal emperor’s orders, let us not delay; we’ll leave immediately.”
The Demon realm was filled with miasma, and since Shěn Lí lived there, she was in turn polluted by it as well, so she had to cleanse herself before participating in the Hundred Flower banquet. Shěn Lí knew about the need for purification before she came.
Yōu Lán looked at Shěn Lí’s quickly retreating figure. She finally looked at Xíng Zhǐ and bowed, then left the fruit in the house before leaving with Shěn Lí.
. . .Yōu Lán had debated mentally for a while before she finally decided to give voice to her thoughts. They had moved some distance from the residence already when she called out, “Your Highness, I went to the Demon realm some days ago. Although my stay was short and my exploration superficial, I am aware people of the Demon realm are dissatisfied with the Immortal realm.”
Shěn Lí stopped and turned to look at Yōu Lán. “If Goddess has something to say, say it clearly.”
Yōu Lán spoke seriously. “Whether it be feelings of discontentment or resentment, I hope Your Highness and the people of the Demon realm will behave accordingly.” She stared hard at Shěn Lí, her voice incredibly grave. “There is only one high god left in all the realms. None of us can shoulder the burden of his loss. The cost is simply too high.”
Shěn Lí suddenly remembered Qīng Yè[notes] was stripped of his godhead because he went against the Heavenly Dao. So . . . was Yōu Lán trying to insinuate that the Demon realm was trying to use Shěn Lí to seduce High God in order to chip away at his godhead so they could get back at The Immortal realm?
Shěn Lí smiled at the absurdity. “Goddess, whether or not I am as capable as you think I am, if High God loses his godhead, so what? If he can’t hang onto it himself then that’s his problem. What are you telling me all this for?”
Shěn Lí turned around and decisively left. Yōu Lán stood alone, her gaze cold.
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