Peach Demon

Well guys, it’s the end of this short story~

Many of you may understand what I said at the beginning of the project by now. I really wish Jiu Lu Fei Xiang had written a longer story about this couple, because they’re really too cute, and I’ll miss them haha~ At the same time, the brevity of the story allows the readers to remember this couple, sweetly and innocently. Let us remember this wonderful, cute couple in our hearts, and take away some of the most important lessons from their story ❤

We are so close to unlocking one the milestones on Discord! We only need FOURTEEN people left to join discord, and then the next short story will be unlocked! Come make it possible, and click here:

Chapter 2.2: The Lights Wane

When he suddenly remembered this, Shangguan Qihua felt the past him had given Ah Zhuo so little.

When he brought these thoughts together, he felt as insane as weeds that were unable to be controlled.

He had never given Ah Zhuo anything. He hadn"t even given her a hairpin. He had never left anything that had his mark on it for Ah Zhuo. If she wanted to leave, she would probably forget him quickly.

Shangguan grasped the Icy Firmament Sword in his hand tightly. In between his tight frown, half of it was pain, and the other half was regret.

He was so dumb, so wooden, and slow-witted. If he was forgotten, it served him right. How could he be as smart as Ah Zhuo? He had already drawn a circle around himself early on and lived his life within its confines  Meanwhile she left her own marks everywhere in his life, from this Icy Firmament Sword to helping him take his revenge on the Demonic Sect,  His every breath was invaded around by her cheerful talk.

Penetrating the bone with longing, longing that penetrated the bone, Shangguan thought, No matter how difficult it was to bear, this was all that he deserved.

—

In the ninth year of Wuzong"s reign in the Yuan Dynasty. Households welcomed in the New Year.

Snow had just fallen in Luoyang City. The long street looked just like a section of white silk fabric, dyed by the snow upon it. The man with the bamboo hat grasped a sword as he walked on the still street in early morning. On a holiday for reuniting, this lonely figure made everyone start to guess some of his experiences and stories.

"Oh no! Oh no!" A man in blue ran over, as he b.u.mped into Shangguan Qihua"s shoulder with panic. The item he carried fell onto the ground with a bang, "Aiya, aiya, what should I do? What should I do?" The man bent down to pick up the item in a hurry.

Shangguan also bent down to help him, but just now, he had also been absent-minded. Otherwise, it wouldn"t be so easy to let other people b.u.mp into him. In the moment that he bent down Shangguan suddenly started, as his pupils swiftly and sharply fell upon the man who had bent down to pick up his object.

The fragrance of peach blossoms. In this time and season in Luoyang, how could there be peach blossoms…

After the man in blue finished picking up his item, he didn"t even glance at Shangguan. He anxiously ran into another alley.

Shangguan didn"t hesitate at all, and chased after him.

That man acted like he totally didn"t feel anyone following him, as he turned into many small alleys and then finally  into an ordinary house courtyard.

Shangguan hesitated for a moment before finally, following him into the courtyard quietly. After puncturing a hole in the paper window of the house, Shangguan looked in. The house"s arrangement wasn"t excessive, but he did not see anyone. In his heart, he was bewildered so he hesitated before still pushing the door open and going in.

Just as he had seen from the window, there was no one in the room. He went to the hall, and entered the inner room. What he saw startled him as he saw that a wooden slab on the bed was open wide. Inside, there was a deep flight of stairs. He did not know where they went.

Shangguan"s heart suddenly became excited, and with a bit of caution  he walked down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, there was a secret path that was so long that Shangguan felt a bit scared. The serene and hidden corridor was almost exactly the same as the underground palace of the Chen Nation. With every step Shangguan took, the excitement in his heart deepened. When he got to the end, suddenly his eyes  opened so wide at the scene that Shangguan could practically hear his own heartbeat beat like a drum. He saw the cold jade bed silently in the middle of the room with a thin layer of dirt on it. A weak peach blossom tree twig was stuck within the dirt.

"Ah….Ah Zhuo," Even if he was unclear about the circ.u.mstances, and should have remained silent, these words couldn"t be stopped at all.

"Aiya." The super busy man at the head of the cold jade bed suddenly lifted his head up. Upon seeing Shangguan Qihua, he seemed alarmed, "You followed me in?"

Shangguan looked around the small private room. After he saw that the figure he sought was not here, he looked at that man. That man laughed, "Nice to meet you, ah, nice to meet you. Ah Zhuo must have told you about me. I am the Crown Prince of Chen."

Shangguan paused, remembering, "The stammering son of the local tyrant?"

The smile of the Crown Prince of Chen went rigid, as he cursed under his breath with lowered head, but when he lifted his head, he maintained his smile, "After becoming a gyonshi [1], my stammer recovered, but I was still accustomed to saying words two times."

[1] gyonshi is a zombie; not the western type of zombie, but a Chinese "hopping" vampire, ghost, or zombie which is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese folklore. It moves about by hopping, with arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or “life force”, usually at night, while in the day, it rests in a coffin or hides in dark places such as caves. More information (Wikipedia)

"What about Ah Zhuo?" Shangguan didn"t care what kind of a person he was.

The Crown Prince spread his hands out wide, "Just now, she beat me up, said that she would go find you and ran away."

Shangguan was startled, and was a bit confused about the meanings behind his words.

The Crown Prince scratched his head, "Speaking of this, I guess it was my mistake, ah, mistake. When I heard that the Master of the Demonic Sect had been caught, I curiously went over to go look at the excitement. In the end, I just happened to see a Peach Tree Demon who had grown for a millenium. I saw that she had no internal essence, and the way she seemed to die at any moment, so I decided to take her in from the goodness of my heart and put her in my home to raise. How exhausting, ah. For her, I even personally went to go fetch her true form, and moved my cold jade bed over. All I wanted to do was raise her body well, but she gave me a string of curses and scoldings. Only then did I know of your relationship with her. Thus, over the next few days, just as soon as she could get out of  bed, she began to keep arguing about meeting you. I didn"t allow her to… and just now, she beat me up and ran away."

Shangguan understood some of this, but he had also gained more questions and confusions, "What internal essence? What "almost about to die"?"

"You still don"t know?" The Crown Prince c.o.c.ked his eyebrow, "Logically, you should have died already." He walked closer and pointed to Shangguan"s heart, "Your heart was pierced by a crow demon which pierced your flesh and blood, creating a big hole. It was Ah Zhuo who used her internal essence that she cultivated for a millenium to help you repair your heart, thus saving your life.

"However, without an internal essence, demons can"t survive for a long time. The fact that she could accompany you for two years already required a lot of ability, ah, ability. If she had not met me…" The Crown Prince began to exaggerate about his deeds in a saccharine manner.

However, his words still penetrated Shangguan"s ears.

Internal essence… so that was why he had gained vast power in a night. That was why Ah Zhuo suddenly decided to help him take revenge. Knowing that she couldn"t live much longer, he wanted to help him gain his desires while she still lived?

What a foolish girl.

Sourness penetrated his heart, as Shangguan pressed on the pit of his stomach, hating himself momentarily.

"Where is Ah Zhuo?"

"Who knows. In any case, tonight is the Lantern Festival, ah, the Lantern Festival. There"s a lantern a.s.sembly in the city. That girl loves to join in on the fun…"

Not waiting for the Crown Prince to finish speaking, Shangguan Qihua turned and immediately left.

"Hmph, you"re just another chap who forgets favors and violates justice!" The Crown Prince was so angry he stamped his feet in anger.

The lanterns from the Lantern Festival continued along the endless street, practically illuminating half of the sky. Everyone"s faces were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with smiles and laughs.

He took off his bamboo hat and changed into some attractive white clothes, only because in the past he had heard Ah Zhuo say that these types of clothes were the most conspicuous. He walked into the swarms of people in the street, his vision anxiously searching through the people within the crowd.

Suddenly, he stopped. In one of the lantern shops, a streak of pink attracted all his attention. In this moment, he felt as anxious as a woman who was about to get married, "Ah Zhuo!" He treaded forwards with big steps, grabbing that girl"s hand. When he saw the person"s face, his happiness suddenly turned into disappointment, "Right…"

"Shangguan Qihua!"

A loud sound suddenly exploded. When he heard this voice, he went stiff all over, and was afraid to turn around.

"Do you want to chop your hand off, or do you want me to help you?" The voice that came from behind him was cool, but fury and jealousy were hidden in its depths. Shangguan pursed his lips and finally let go of the confused girl"s hand.

He cleared his throat like a child who knew his wrongs and timidly turned around. When he saw the person who had come, the silent lanterns around them became numerous rays of light as he flew over. Only this girl resided in the depths of his eyes.

"Ah Zhuo…"

"Don"t call my name!" Ah Zhuo turned and walked the other way in a fury. Shangguan was even more panicky. He grabbed her arm fiercely, while pulling her into his embrace easily.

After her rushed breathing calmed down, Shangguan didn"t know what to say as he was slow-witted. Numerous moods bubbled up, but in the end, only a sentence appeared that seemed full of grievances, "I"ve looked for you for a very long time."

Ah Zhuo didn"t understand, "Didn"t I only take a nap? Where did you go looking for me?"

"I have been looking for you for a long time…"

So long that he almost forgot even himself.

Though Ah Zhuo didn"t really understand the circ.u.mstances, she comfortingly patted Shangguan"s back and said, "Relax, relax. I"m here. In the future, I won"t make you look for me.

Shangguan only went silent. He thought, If I could have always seen Ah Zhuo whenever I turned my head, perhaps the current me would never know how much I fall short of her.

They hugged for a long time in public, and the people around them formed a circle around them. Even someone as brazen as Ah Zhuo couldn"t help but blush so she thought about it and asked, "Shangguan Qihua, if you really don"t want to part with me, then marry me."

Shangguan went blank and dumb.

This type of feeling was like the moment they had first met- when Ah Zhuo leaned her head down to kiss him- he had felt so elated that all of his other feelings were smothered out.

Ah Zhuo saw that Shangguan had no reaction and could not help but get angry, "We"ve hugged before and kissed before; do you want to renege on a debt?"

"… no renege." He blushed as he softly spoke.

Or, in other words, this was exactly what he had been looking for.