2. When I Returned to Heaven, I Met My Old Friend
Proofread by Zhu Yuan
There were three islands and ten continents in the Eastern Sea. Three continents belonged to the island of heaven, namely Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. The three continents of the central island were Meirong, Langyuan and Yaochi. The three continents of the island of earth were Chicheng, Xuanguan and Taoyuan. Between the three islands there was Zifu State, and Emperor of Donghua lived in Fangzhu Mountain.
For the first time I set foot on heaven, I was amazed by the celestial environment, especially those ethereal and magical clouds, which almost filled every corner of the celestial world. I thought that these wispy decorations were used to bring out the celestial atmosphere.
Fangzhu Mountain was like a paradise of peace and tranquility away from the mortal world. The air there was filled with purity. Air in Green Mound and Qiyun Mountain were no match for it. I felt that every cell in my body was enjoying the environment. I liked this place and even felt a little inexplicable familiarity with it, as if I had lived here hundreds of years ago. Every single thing here made me pleased. At that moment, I began to believe that perhaps Fairy Peony indeed lived in my past life.
As soon as I arrived at Fangzhu Mountain, Emperor of Donghua left me to two little fairies, told them to take good care of me, and then disappeared. Looking at the direction where he disappeared, I regretted it very much. He tricked me into coming here but let me solve all the problems by myself.
"Young lady, you will live in this Qinghua Garden, which is prepared for fairies whose practices are not that excellent." The little fairy was only 15 or 16 years old, but he was always expressionless, which was even more annoying than Emperor of Donghua.
In fact, I"d like to ask if there was any place for demons to live in this area, but I finally said: "What are your names?"
"I am Fairy Pine, and this is Fairy Willow. We will serve you in your daily life." The little fairy said respectfully.
"If you have any inconvenience, you can tell us at any time, and we will try our best to help you." Fairy Willow said genteelly. Her origin was a willow, and her body was softer and thinner than that of ordinary fairies. Her carriage was like the willow in the wind, which made people feel tender and lovely at first sight.
I looked at the handsome Fairy Pine and the charming Fairy Willow, and I was amazed. The celestial fairies were indeed polite, and they called me "young lady" when they needed to address me. The appellation they used made me feel younger. Although there were so many beautiful monsters in the demonic world, they were absolutely inferior to immortals in terms of the pure and refined temperament. The immortals had removed their desires and evil spirits from their hearts. They were as pure and flawless as new-born babies, making people feel comfortable.
I had lived for two thousand years. In addition to serving Bai Xiaoshan, I had never been served by others. At that moment, I was enjoying the service of these two little fairies, which greatly satisfied my vanity. The resentment against Emperor of Donghua had also decreased a lot, and I thought he was actually a considerate emperor.
In fact, there were only three people living in this garden, including me. It was said that the celestial world had been in recession for hundreds of years, and there were too few monsters who could become immortal. It was inevitable that there were not enough people in the celestial world. There were three separate courtyards in this Qinghua Garden. One was Richu Yard, in which lived a snake demon called Qianbi who had just completed two hundred years of cultivation. One was the Xingjiang Yard and Bai Qingqing lived in it. She was of my race and had been immortal for only a hundred years. The third one was the Yueluo Yard where I lived.
I once joked with Fairy Pine and Fairy Willow that this was the imperial palace of Emperor Donghua, and fairies here were responsible to please him. As a result, Fairy Pine was almost irritated by me on the spot and said calmly: "Young lady, don"t talk nonsense. Will the emperor do such a shameless thing? If you ever joke about the emperor"s reputation again, don"t blame me for punishing you! "
I was shocked by the imposing manner of Fairy Pine. I thought to myself that Emperor of Donghua was an idol for him. However, this little fairy didn"t understand the worldly affairs. There were many people in this world who had outstanding reputation but hid numerous beauties in their houses. I was too lazy to argue with him, and I dragged Fairy Willow to accompany me to talk with other people in the garden.
Since I came to Fangzhu, I hadn"t met with Emperor of Donghua yet. I was very disappointed for a while. After all, I had a month"s friendship with him, which was still valuable for me when I had to live in this strange place. However, my sadness was soon swept away, because Bai Qingqing, the fox fairy, visited me very warmly.
According to Fairy Willow, Bai Qingqing was a strange fairy. She had strange characteristics, and the reason why she became a fairy was also unbelievable. It was said that she was abandoned by a male demon, and she devoted herself to becoming a fairy in anger. She concentrated on practicing for hundreds of years and eventually was promoted to the celestial world. Meanwhile, she became the fox fairy with the shortest cultivation in history. However, Bai Qingqing liked to talk with people, and she would start with her failed relationship every time, which was described as "extremely tragic", and then end the conversation with the gossips in the celestial world. She had been gossiping others for more than one hundred years. In Fangzhu, only Emperor of Donghua was free from her slanders.
When Fairy Willow talked about this, her lovely face was distorted uncontrollably for a moment. It was estimated that she had been tortured by Bai Qingqing for too many times, which left her an indelible psychological impact. This made me more and more curious about Bai Qingqing, so when I heard that she wanted to visit me, I asked Fairy Pine to invite her into my room regardless of Fairy Willow"s unhappiness.
When Bai Qingqing came in, I was bending over the table playing with pinecones that I had stolen from Fairy Pine"s pocket. A flash of red light appeared in front of me and suddenly stung my eyes. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the figure in red behind Fairy Pine. I thought to myself, was she a white fox or a red fox? How could she be so extravagant?
Bai Qingqing wore a red dress and walked slowly into my room. She had a fabulously beautiful face. I believed that she must have been very enchanting before she entered the celestial world, and she was less flirtatious after becoming an immortal. But for that red dress, she would have been compared to a pure and fragrant orchid in the empty valley. Who would leave such a beauty at home and go out looking for other women?
Bai Qingqing"s expression was melancholy, but I could see from her eyes that she was very excited. She took my hand as soon as she entered the room and said excitedly: "My little sister, after waiting for one hundred years, I finally see you today."
I wondered whether I had a long-lost sister or not. Was she my mother"s illegitimate daughter or my father"s posthumous child?
"Why do you wait for me?" After thinking for a moment, I decided to ask her directly, since it was the lack of filial piety to doubt the innocence of my parents.