When I turned around, Heng Wen moved to sit down by the table while still laughing. I dragged another chair to his side and took the pot to fill up his cup with tea before saying, "Do you want the copper coin divination or Guiguzi divination?"
"Are you saying this is not Song Yao Yuanjun divination?"
I finally couldn"t hold back my laughter, "You"re actually so idle; not watching over furball next door and instead came to watch the noise here."
"He"s shocked still by your words. I"d say the fox won"t do anything rash now. Every demon in his cave was taken away, the mountain cat and him both looked very pitiful, so I was going to give them that room so they can calm down a little. Then Shan Chengling happened to come, so I just had to come watch." He drank some tea then continued, "You play a Daoist well, you look the part, and you seem to be becoming more and more Daoist-like."
I took immense pride in this, saying triumphantly, "Of course! When I was a mortal, I did divinations all day long. I have read countless fortunes from behind a fortune teller"s stand, I can do better than newcomers in this area. Say this or that one violated some heavenly law and was sent down to the world, I"ll go and read their fortune. Guaranteed to do well in the business"
Heng Wen shook his head whilst holding the cup. "You look like you"ve become addicted to playing a Daoist. I heard people on earth likes to divine their fates, like you, you were telling fortunes all the time before, what have you learned?"
"Didn"t I tell you already, when I was seven years old my father invited a master from some-mountain to divine my fortune. That master said that I have a big opportunity, and may one day enjoy a hard to come by blessing, but just that for all of my life and beyond, my fate is a lone luan living by itself. I have never believed in this curse, so I looked all over for masters to tell my fortune. But when it comes to marriage, every single one said I had none."
Speaking about it makes me sigh. This immortal lord was seven that year, I was already aware in some matters. Even now I still remember the housekeeper Xu"s daughter. Her name was Fangniang, a young maiden about twelve or thirteen years of age. I had liked her so much that I was going to tell my father I will take her as a wife in the future, but just before I could, the old Daoist beat me over the head with a stick until I was seeing stars.
But that Daoist"s inauspicious remarks proved to be accurate. When Fangniang was a little older than fourteen, she married a merchant"s son. I indignantly ran to chase her, I asked her how she can forget the time when I gave her osmanthus cakes, thousand flakes pastry or that walnut pancake and the good times we had then.
Fangniang rubbed my head and said to me, "Young master, you still don"t know anything yet. And how can someone like Fangniang try to climb higher with young master?"
I watched, helpless, as she got on the red palanquin and as she was carried away with puffing and clattering.
My father had also arranged marriage for me, with a government official"s little lady. The matchmaker"s words described her as having the countenance of a flower and face like the moon. I heard that her birth numbers from large to small fit mine, and that she and I are a match made in heaven and arranged on earth. In the end, she fell in love with the third king"s heir. On a moonless night with strong winds, they eloped without disguise.
Another arrangement I had was with the n.o.ble daughter of the emperor"s own uncle. She eloped with her maternal cousin.
The next one was a princess from the household of a county king. The emperor came to fancy her and she became an imperial concubine.
The emperor made it up to me by giving me the hand of his little sister, the eighth princess. Eighth princess was having a clandestine love affair with a young a.s.sistant minister and even got a big stomach from it.
I loitered around brothels and fell in love with the number one flower. The feelings I exerted were so deep it could move heaven and earth. What happened in the end? She still became a pair with the poor scholar.
When I moved rashly and recklessly, I accidentally picked up immortality, which is truly "enjoying a hard to come by blessing".
Every word in the old Daoist"s divinations came true. So this thing called fate is not up to whether you believe it or not.
Heng Wen yawned, "I am clear, I"m clear, I"m clear of your misery and sorrow. After thousands of years hearing about it, my ears already have callouses in them. Can you not say something different? Always worrying about your eternal lone luan fate, not letting go. You are now an immortal in heaven, are you not happy being one?"
"I am happy. But you were immortal from the moment you were born, you don"t understand the power of this thing called love. Once you had it, you won"t be able to forget it. If not, why can"t the pair next door stay in heaven and stay an honourable immortal lord and instead fall down to this degree."
Heng Wen put forward his teacup. "Oh… That reasoning does make some sense. Interesting, interesting. If these words were heard by Jade Emperor, you will definitely be deemed haven"t parted from the worldly matter and get kicked down back to the human world."
I was feeling a bit of regret, not of the topic, but that I spoke too much again. I latched a firm grasp on Heng Wen"s sleeves. "Whether Jade Emperor hears it or not is secondary. I was only saying nonsense, not seriously, don"t hear it and think it"s interesting and then try to have a go at it with whoever you can find."
"Don"t you worry, I won"t be looking for someone else to try it with," Heng Wen said, laughing while patting my shoulder.
The sky was getting dark. When we were eating dinner downstairs, I unthinkingly asked after Mu Ruoyan and Shan Chengling. The servant said that the two lords had had their meals and went back to their respective rooms.
The fox and mountain cat were still grieving about their friends, we might as well let them have Heng Wen"s room for them to work out their sorrows. Heng Wen and I moved into my room. I turned things over in my mind, but still couldn"t guess who the man who rescued Nan Ming was. Suddenly I thought, Nan Ming, having returned after going away, will certainly tell Tian Shu everything that happened. He cannot be keeping this kind of thing from Tian Shu.
I discussed with Heng Wen about going to peek in Nan Ming"s room.
Shan Chengling"s room was at the end of the corridor, next to Tian Shu"s room. On the other side of Tian Shu"s room is this immortal lord"s room. Heng Wen took out my true body and we first came to Nan Ming"s room. No one could imagine that even after roaming the entire room Nan Ming was nowhere to be seen. The room was completely empty, so that leaves Tian Shu"s room.
Heng Wen and I stepped inside Tian Shu"s room. I turned to look for them and saw something incredible.
Mu Ruoyan and Shan Chengling were entangled into one shadow, they"re having… cough, they"re doing the matters of yin and yang.