Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Nothing had felt more relieving to Qiwan than the feeling of waking up next to Yingshang, but it also cleared another doubt in her mind.

Trapped in this mortal shell for the time being, it was most unreal that Yingshang could finally have Qiwan in the solitude of his home. He hadn’t known for how long he would be trapped in this unstable place, with his powers taken from him temporarily until he completed his sentencing. With the finite lifespan of a human, it would probably be fifty or sixty years before he would be able to return to the celestial realms.

But by then, what would be life in the heavens like? Would he still have that tiny bit of fate he had begged for? Unlike Yue Lao, who was the controller of mortal fates, tying the red threads of destiny between mortals, immortal fates were yet a bit more complicated. Still, he acted against his wilful self and sought a solution to secure his fate with Qiwan.

After Qiwan had rejected him on the boat, proving their lack of fate, Yingshang had disappeared, for months, to seek a solution. He had travelled down to the Hells and back, just to get his answer. In return for creating that ‘red string’ between him and Qiwan, he had to answer to his many sins. For this, he willingly faced the punishment his father had imposed on him since a very long time ago: his exile to the mortal realms.

Qiwan wouldn’t know about the fate he had exchanged his freedom for, nor the reason why he had suddenly accepted his punishment that he had been evading for tens of thousands of years.

Now that she was here and had no access to her immortal powers, Yingshang hoped that she would stay with him until the day he reported back to the heavens. After that, nothing would ever limit them from being together. They would finally be together for eternity, just as he had wished for.

“Wan-er?” he asked as she pulled on his robes. Her face flushed as she looked down at her naked body. Though she had tried so hard to hide it from him when they were basking nude in the waters back in the heavens, she hadn’t known then that it was him masquerading as Fang Yiqi all this time.

“No magic here, Wan-er. Just me and you. For eternity.”

She appeared puzzled by his words. “Do you mean it, Brother Shang?”

He nodded, then held her close in his arms. “Now that you are here, we will never part.”

Though she was conflicted by his words and her promise to Honglie, that she would return once she had achieved what she wanted, she just nodded. He acceded to her, taking off his robes.

“We won’t be able to use our powers here, Wan-er. Are you ready for this?”

Hearing her little sigh followed by a ‘yes’, he removed his robes and surrendered to the passion of them becoming one. She heaved and moaned throughout the night, answering sinfully to the delights of their mortal bodies uniting again and again, until they both succumbed to weariness.

As tired as he was, there was a lot on his mind, so he stayed up for hours, watching her sleep peacefully by his side until it was daybreak.

Qiwan was brushing her hair at the dresser while a violet robe covered her back. Yingshang stirred, rubbing his eyes agilely as he watched her.

“Wan-er, I see you helped yourself to what you needed,” he chuckled. She stopped what she was doing for a few minutes and turned around to smile at him. Her lips were a dazzling rose red and her cheeks pink from the lipstick and rouge he had bought for her.

“Thank you again, Brother Shang.” She stood up and finished binding her hair in a tight bun. “What do we do now, Brother Shang? Is there a way to help you return to Heaven?”

He grasped her wrist tightly. “What use is returning to the place up above, when I would rather have you? There’s nothing that pleases me more than having you by my side.”

She blushed at how smooth his words had sounded. “Brother Shang, are you going to be here for a very long time? What crime have you done for the Jade Emperor to send you here?”

He hushed her, whispering inside her ear. “I don’t know, Wan-er. What’s important is that we are now together. Nothing can separate us now.”

She pondered for a few minutes. “I have recovered the memories of the past. It was you all along, not Fang Yiqi. Why did you keep it from me?”

“I can’t tell you the reason, Wan-er.”

Dismay was written all over her face, although Qiwan was not the type who would rage unnecessarily. Yingshang knew all he could do was to assure her with his love.

………………………………………………………………….

The marketplace was bustling as they entered it, hand in hand. Qiwan occupied herself in her thoughts as she observed the vendors selling vegetables and fruits cheerfully. By no doubt, Yingshang was happier here with his mortal life than as an immortal. To hide his silver hair, he was wearing a square hat. He also dressed shabbily in plain robes, compared to the layers of exquisite brocade he would adorn himself in the immortal realm.

“Every day, you come here to sell fish?” she asked curiously, relating what he had told her earlier. Yingshang just smiled.

“I think you have really changed, Brother Shang,” she remarked as they passed the friendly vendors, which Yingshang greeted humbly with a wave.

If they were still in the immortal realm, Yingshang would have played countless tricks on the innocent deities and lesser immortals. She didn’t know what Yingshang had gone through to warrant such a significant change. To her, the Yingshang before her was a completely changed individual, so different from the man she had fallen in love with at first sight. Still, her feelings for him had run deep, and she would not change her mind about him that easily.

The promise she made to Honglie flashed inside her mind, as if Honglie was communicating with her. Regardless of the outcome of her relationship with Yingshang during these few days, she needed to fulfil what she had promised. Just a few days more, she said silently in her mind. After she had spent those days she needed with Yingshang, she would voluntarily leave to return to the heavens. Then, her impending marriage with Di Qing awaited her.

Perhaps, in all her immortal life, she was never meant to be with Yingshang at all.

After leaving the marketplace, they arrived at a stream where Qiwan found to be a bit familiar. Yingshang didn’t even deny it, sitting by the bank and teaching her to toss stones across the water until they reached the other side.

One. Two. Three. The circular stone hopped to the middle of the stream at her throw.

“I hope at least it's an improvement?” she faked a smile. He patted her hair and laughed, his silvery strands flowing down his back like a curtain.

“Let’s try again,” he said, comforting her with his thick arm. Without a word, she snuggled against him tightly.

“I wish time would never stop as we are having fun like this.”

“You know that we have all the time of our lives.”

Qiwan fell silent. There was just so much she couldn’t manage to tell him, although her thoughts constantly resided in her mind. Her father, her honour, her impending marriage, the promise with Honglie… all of which were factors that impeded her from staying with him forever.

There was no eternity between them, but she couldn’t tell him. At least, not now.