Chapter 8: Chapter 8
Min Yang stood rooted to the ground as Tang Jing stood in his cottage with a letter from Qiwan. This couldn’t be real. The senior immortal wanted to embark on a perilous voyage to the Cave of Lost Gods?
“She can’t be serious,” Min Yang found his voice, rubbing his eyes earnestly with a handkerchief he produced from his pocket. “The journey is far from safe. What if something happens? How do I answer her father?”
“That you don’t need to worry, Officer Min.” Tang Jing produced a small container from her sleeve. Flipping it open with a single flick from her dainty fingers revealed a round gold pill. Min Yang knew this to be a cultivation pill, which Qiwan had likely taken forty-nine days to produce with an immortal brazier. To have created such an offering with superior grades, Qiwan would have invested her blood and energy. It was a Grade 1 pill, which few immortals of her rank had succeeded in producing.
“The God of Knowledge doesn’t need to know,” Tang Jing said slyly.
Qiwan possessed such a determination that nothing would deter her from what she wished to do. Knowing that, the officer grudgingly accepted the pill and pocketed it, box and all.
“Very well, if it is the Senior Immortal’s desire. I will see to it that she has what she needs.”
“That’s not all, Officer Min,” Tang Jing’s eyes shone brightly, emitting a shade of emerald green. She was such a loyal servant and a witty one at that. “My mistress wishes for you to join her in her mission. She has trust in you.”
Min Yang’s eyes bulged like those of a goldfish. Not only did Qiwan see him highly, she also was overconfident that he would survive such a journey. Think all he must, but he couldn’t say no to her. Because he had already promised to cover up for her in front of her father by accepting the pill, but if he was to accompany her, then wouldn’t her father see through his deception when he went missing?
“It won’t be a long journey, Officer. All you have to do is ensure my mistress’ father doesn’t get to know.”
“But won’t my disappearance trigger his suspicion?”
“When there’s a will, there’s a way. You can apply for vacation leave, or pretend you are sick.”
“Will that work?”
Tang Jing just smiled brightly. This officer was indeed a juvenile, not understanding how things worked in God Wen Chang’s office or the immortal realms. Immortals often snuck out to the mortal realm to indulge in forbidden fantasies or to have a gist of the world of the humans. Wen Chang was a kind and lenient supervisor that he would never bother investigating the reason behind an officer’s leave application, as long as the paperwork was done efficiently. He also had a high likelihood of forgiving a punishable offence in his department, although in more severe occasions where an officer committed a crime, he would employ the method ‘cut the hair instead of the head’.
In the time he was assigned to God Wen Chang, he had heard stories of how the god’s older daughter Wen Quyan had a quest for love and how Wen Qiwan herself had a special interest in Yingshang. That had been the reason why he had halted himself from uttering Yingshang’s name, since he hadn’t known if Qiwan had put down her feelings for the God of Mischief, or if the rumours were true. After all, they were told to him by no other than the gossiping god Siming, the director of human destinies who yet, was infatuated with affairs of the immortal world.
He had also heard that the God of Mischief was punished by no other than the Jade Emperor himself, his father, for disobeying orders and messing up the peace in the heavens. Nobody knew where Yingshang had been exiled to, or what was on his mind when he exited the Gates of Heaven laughing maliciously, “That won’t be all! My beloved Lord Father will soon call me back to the Nine Heavens! And in a carriage no less!”
That had been the last any celestial had seen of him as the Celestial Gate Guards had pushed him mercilessly out of the gates to the Nine Heavens. As expected, they didn’t appreciate his childish pranks on them, shaving the Silver Gate Guard’s hair when he was drunk or swapping the Golden Gate Guard’s strength elixirs with his pills of folly. Though it was five hundred years ago, some things just don’t get forgotten.
If he guessed correctly, Yingshang was in one of the mortal realms serving his sentence. But in which of the mortal realms he was, was the question. It appeared that Qiwan needed to know the answer herself to settle her scores with him. He didn’t know what Qiwan’s past was with Yingshang, or their relationship, but in view of her impending marriage to Di Qing, Qiwan probably needed to end things with Yingshang. Though Yingshang didn’t appear to be the type who would fall in love, who would know?
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“Take care to leave as little clues as possible,” Qiwan reminded the young fairy as she shuffled as many items as she could in the immortal market into her little knapsack.
“Ah, yes, yes, Mistress,” Tang Jing uttered with a deep smile as she picked out a few more things that would be required for their voyage. In the immortal realm, the gods used tokens to pay for their purchases, although a few would use trinkets, or gold or silver pieces. The rates for gold and silver in the immortal banks would often fluctuate. At the cultivation stores, cultivation pills were the preferred currency.
“We would need a strong boat to head down the Seas,” Tang Jing whispered excitedly. The trip wasn’t until two days later, but from what Min Yang had informed, his leave application was passed and he had applied for an exit and re-entry permit for himself and Tang Jing. Before they exited the gates, the plan was that Qiwan would have to transform herself into a jade hairpin temporarily with one of her immortal magic spells and Tang Jing had to wear the pin on her hair to smuggle her out.
This way, Wen Chang would not know his daughter was out of the heavens, and would simply assume she was in seclusion. Qiwan would also use a strong-lasting spell ward on her door to assure her father that she was indeed cultivating. She also created a project image of herself that would function like a doppelganger.
Behind the parchment paper making up the door and windows, the silhouette of the project image would make it seem like it was her practising. Wen Chang was not one who would resort to extreme means if he trusted the person. Qiwan knew her father had his utmost trust in her, so this time, she was secure.
“I know where we can get one,” Qiwan whispered back, recalling the boat that Yingshang had ‘kidnapped’ her in. If her assumption was right, the boat would be at the Fool’s Chase. She would only need to borrow the boat for their trip, but in the absence of Yingshang, how could she bypass his strong barriers to enter his abode? Judging by his cultivation level, she was inferior to him by a lot. But even if she knew she would fail, she should give her best in her attempt.
Tang Jing didn’t know about her escapade with Yingshang at the Fool’s Chase, nor how she was on the verge of becoming Yingshang’s woman, had her past memories not chosen to resurface at that point.
She couldn’t let these secrets between her and Yingshang come to be known, and would probably drink the immortal forgetfulness potion, dubbed Wangqingshui, Amnesia Love Potion to rid herself of those memories in the worst case scenario. Perhaps one day, she would come to need herself to forget Yingshang and the pain he had given her.
But now, she yearned to see him one last time. It would be all worth it, she prompted herself as she bade goodbye to Tang Jing and headed alone to the Fool’s Chase. It would take hours from the immortal marketplace to the Fool’s Chase. It was a place that held their first memories together. Memories that she endeavoured to preserve deep inside her.
One day, they would all be forgotten. Then that day would be their ultimate goodbye.
As she stepped into the grassy grounds overlooking the Fool’s Chase, Qiwan could have sworn she felt a deep pang in her heart. Something that belonged to Yingshang was here, she realised painfully, clutching her chest as a teardrop left her right eye.
Brother Shang, where could you have gone?