Proofread by Zhu Yuan
Bai Qingqing"s skill of scratching was superb. She tore out a lot of my fox fur, making me ashamed to become a fox again.
As I only ate two peaches, my practice wasn"t improved that much, but I was refreshed, and didn"t feel hungry for three days.
One day, Bai Qingqing, who had been cooped up in Xingjiang Yard for so long, finally couldn"t help but come to find me. Her anger was easily defeated by the loneliness since she had no one to talk to. She came with Fairy Qianbi together.
At the sight of Fairy Qianbi, I stepped back involuntarily, but was dragged back by Bai Qingqing. "My sister, you don"t need to hide anymore. Thanks to your peaches, Fairy Qianbi has made great achievements in practicing her skills. Now she can almost control the coldness. You don"t have to hide anymore!"
"Really?" I looked suspiciously at Fairy Qianbi. She nodded, and there was still no expression on her face.
I breathed a sigh of relief, got rid of Bai Qingqing"s hand and said with a smile: "You should tell me earlier. I didn"t even dare to bask in the sun in the garden these days."
"Then why are you here?" I thought it was better to ask them clearly. My fur didn"t recover yet, and I couldn"t stand her injury again!
Bai Qingqing showed a gentle smile, but it still made my flesh creep. "Didn"t you give two peaches to Fairy Qianbi the day before? She"s here to say thank you!"
I dared not see Bai Qingqing because I knew that she was still angry with me. So I turned to Fairy Qianbi, and looked at her expectantly. I had never been thanked in my life!
There was a flash of uneasiness on Fairy Qianbi"s face. She immediately greeted me and said: "Thank you!"
At these words, I heard a strange noise and saw the panic on the face of Fairy Qianbi. Her panic suddenly turned into guilt and helplessness. I rolled my eyes and found that I was frozen again.
"I"ll help you right now!" Fairy Qianbi said hastily. But as soon as she spoke, I found the ice layer in front of me was a little thicker.
Fairy Qianbi also discovered it and immediately covered her mouth, not daring to speak again.
I looked at Bai Qingqing from the corner of my eye, only to find that she was smiling happily. She touched the ice on top of my head and said softly: "My sister, look at you! Didn"t you eat two peaches? Why are you still so weak?"
I was angry. Bai Qingqing was really unkind. After such a long time, she still felt bitter about the peaches. What a stingy fox!
Fairy Qianbi made a gesture to Bai Qingqing, asking her to unfreeze me. However, Bai Qingqing only patted the ice on my head again, smiled and said: "You don"t have to worry about her. She is so stout that she can totally bear the coldness, which can also be regarded as a test for her practice. It is sunny outside today, and we can put her in the garden and let her unfreeze herself!"
Bai Qingqing put me on her shoulder and happily went out to a corner of the garden. She put me under a big tree with luxuriant branches and leaves. She also avoided the place where the sun shone. Then she touched the ice on my face and said in a tone of schadenfreude: "My sister, you can stay here. The ice is not thick and it will melt in a moment. Don"t worry!"
I was angry. Bai Xiaoshan told me before that "the thick ice wasn"t built in a day," but I was frozen by the thick ice in a moment. Besides, this ice was so thick that I suspected that Bai Qingqing was blind!
"You can stay here, and I"m leaving right now!" Bai Qingqing threw in a wink and then walked away leisurely. She also persuaded Fairy Qianbi to leave. Fairy Qianbi was still struggling as to whether to open her mouth or not.
At that moment, I finally understood what kind of friend I had made! The ice made me feel chilly all over and even my heart was cold!
Help me! I cried out in my heart for Emperor of Donghua, and hoped that he would come to help me. If he hadn"t forced me into heaven, I would never have endured this pain.
As I was gnashing, the ice around me suddenly disappear. I seemed to see a figure in blue. A close look showed me that the man was Emperor of Donghua.
"Whoops! Your Majesty, I want to go back to Qiyun Mountain!" I went straight forward with my stiff body and fell into his arms, wiping tears and shouting.
He frowned, reached out to embrace me and said: "Fairy Qianbi still needs more practice, but I don"t think she meant to harm you. Are you really going back for this reason?"
I rubbed my red nose against his clothes and snorted: "You promised me to help me find Bai Xiaoshan. Why haven"t you found him after such a long time?"
Hearing what I said, he was shocked. After a long time, he sighed in a low voice: "Li, is it that difficult for you to stay with me?"
I was confused by what he said. Why did he suddenly sigh like this? So I ignored this remark directly and continued: "I want to go back to Qiyun Mountain."
"If you insist on going back, I will not stop you, but today you"ve suffered from the coldness of Fairy Qianbi. If you don"t eliminate it, I"m afraid it will be harmful to your health. It"s better for you to go to Clear Spring Pool and bathe for an hour. Then you can leave, safe and sound." After a while, he said slowly.
I suddenly looked up, feeling quite flattered: "I can go to Clear Spring Pool? Really?"
He nodded with a smile.
So, I swept away the grief and indignation and rushed to Donghua Hall. Then, in front of all the fairy children, I stepped into Clear Spring Pool bravely.
After removing my clothes quickly, I plopped into the pool. The hot air instantly filled my whole body and drove away the chillness in my body. I sighed with great satisfaction. Clear Spring Pool was indeed a good place. It was really unkind of Emperor of Donghua not to share it with others!
I was so happy to bathe in the pool that I believed this was the happiest thing in the world, and I had lived in vain for 2,000 years. But I suddenly stopped thinking so, because Bai Xiaoshan would beat me to death if I got used to the sumptuous life after I"d been in heaven for such a short time!
At the thought of Bai Xiaoshan, I felt sad again. I leaned against the pool, closed my eyes and began to nap.
"Ruoli! Ruoli!"
"Your Majesty, you shouldn"t do that! Consort Li will die in the fire..."
"Your Majesty, the demon concubine brought us disasters, and you should put her to death!"
"Now, get on out of here, you!"
"Ruoli, wait for me…"
In a daze, I heard a noise around me. Suddenly, my brain began to ache faintly. Endless flames appeared in front of my eyes and spread to my face. The burning temperature scorched my skin and the pain was unbearable.
Outside the fire, I saw a figure in blue desperately running towards me. Countless people went up and stopped him. Between me and him, there was always fire which was inaccessible.
I tried to open my eyes, but could not see his face in any way. I only heard him shouting over and over again: "Li! Li!"
My heart suddenly began to ache and the air was thinner. I was about to die. I wanted to catch something but there was nothing around me.
"You stupid fox! You are so unethical that you eloped with the immortal privately. I"ll beat you to death!" Bai Xiaoshan"s face suddenly appeared in front of me, as fierce as ever, but I laughed happily.
"Xiaoshan, Bai Xiaoshan, you are finally back. If you don"t come back, I will follow Bai Qingqing to eat chicken legs!" I muttered, holding Bai Xiaoshan"s arm.
"Li, is it so difficult for you to stay with me?" Bai Xiaoshan"s face suddenly turned to be that of Emperor of Donghua again. He looked at me sadly, and I immediately let go of my hands.
Emperor of Donghua, you wouldn"t let me free even when I was dreaming! You were indeed nipping at my heels!
"Li! Li!" As if hearing someone calling me, I reluctantly opened my eyes and saw the handsome face of the emperor in front of me.
I shuddered and suddenly woke up. Looking around, I found that I was lying on a bed, but not my own bed, so I jumped down from the bed immediately. Bai Xiaoshan told me that a good fox couldn"t just lie on someone else"s bed.
"Your Majesty, why am I here? I"m supposed to be in the pool!" I scratched my head and asked incredulously.
Her eyes were somehow dim, but there was also surprise. Apparently, he was relieved as I woke up. Hearing what I said, he was slightly shocked: "Don"t you remember?"
I shook my head.
He came up, reached out to my forehead and said: "You"ve fallen into a dream barrier and have been asleep for seven days!"
I stared at him with unbelief and stammered: "Re…Really?"
What the h.e.l.l was a dream barrier? I hadn"t experienced it in the past 2,000 years, but as soon as I entered heaven, I suffered from it. It seemed that I was not suitable to live in heaven!
"What are you thinking about?! Since you wake up, you will be fine. You must fall into the barrier because you have too many odd thoughts in your mind." He seemed to see through my mind and said.
Well, too many odd thoughts? Besides Bai Xiaoshan, what could I think about? He was the only family member I had in the world. For more than 1,000 years, he had always been with me. Now he suddenly disappeared. If nothing bad happened, I should blame him for causing me to worry. But how could I spend the rest of my life if he was unlucky? That was all I thought about. Where did the fierce fire, the figure in blue and the grief-stricken voice come from?
"There is a new alchemist in Daode Tianzun"s mansion. He seems to be a pheasant demon who has gone through the practice successfully. I don"t know what Bai Xiaoshan looks like, but you can go and see whether he is Bai Xiaoshan or not." He said lightly.
I was surprised by this unexpected news. Bai Xiaoshan, you were the most hardworking pheasant in the world. It must be you, right?