Three Lives Three Worlds
Pillow Book of Samsara:
三生三世 枕上书之梦回洪荒远古时
To our dear readers, this chapter has been a really long one, so it has taken us a little more time to translate and edit. Our team is happy with how the translation had gone and we hope everyone will have a wonderful reading experience. So without further ado, here's Chapter Five!
The Heavenly Jade Sea was a mystical place. Since the stone palace was built 100,000 years ago, and the entire area of the Heavenly Jade Sea subsumed under Dong Hua’s name, becoming the Emperor Lord’s private territory, it had always maintained its present appearance.
Over the last 100,000 years, great changes were seen in the evanescent passage of time¹, and the five races have redrawn their borders several times. Yet the grass and the trees, every pavilion and every terrace within the Heavenly Jade Sea continued to bask in its old self, remaining unchanging.
For a period of time, the steward of the Heavenly Jade Sea, Immortal Fei Wei envied his fellow steward, Feng Xing, who worked by Goddess Shao Wan’s side. This was because Feng Xing lived on Zhang Wei Mountain; Goddess Shao Wan loved to create formations and garden landscapes, so Zhang Wei Mountain was practically redecorated annually, changing its appearance year after year.
Fei Wei admired Feng Xing as he could live in a new home every year; he was so cut by his envy that he indirectly asked Di Jun several times when the Heavenly Jade Sea could be given a facelift. Di Jun bluntly dismissed his idea by saying he was not inclined to spare any effort on this matter.
After facing the Heavenly Jade Sea’s landscape of wide open spaces and natural carvings for the past 100,000 years, Fei Wei believed he would never live to see the day its layout would change. But this was how that miraculous event unfolded.
He had only gone out for four to five days to deliver a letter. On his return, however, he noticed that the place that Di Jun referred to as a garden — which he personally called a wild forest, had really been turned into what the secular world would meaningfully understand as a garden.
There were beds of beautiful flowers, winding and looping verandahs, a rock mountain carved by heavenly tradesmen, and an elegant, beautifully refined small lotus pond in the garden. It was closely comparable to the garden at Zhang Wei Mountain he had once so painfully envied.
Fei Wei called out to Bai Gun Gun who was flying his kite in the garden and asked him what was going on.
Bai Gun Gun enjoyed enlightening others, so he put away his kite. “This was how it went, “ he said as he helped Fei Wei dispel his doubts, “four days ago, while Mother was having a casual conversation with Father Lord, she started talking about the little patch of forest that was originally in this spot. Mother said she didn’t like that little forest, and preferred the garden that was constructed later on this territory based on her designs, saying that the garden had carved mountains, and streams, a lotus pond and a vegetable garden. So it was both useful and nice to look at.”
He gestured for a moment, “As she spoke, Mother drew a picture for Father Lord to see. Father Lord looked at the drawing, and disliked it, saying Mother has no taste and remarked that this type of ordinary garden could not compare to the natural charm of that patch of lush forest. After that, he chopped down that patch of lush forest, and created this garden as specified by Mother’s drawings.”
Fei Wei was silent for a while, “Young Master, the details you mentioned at the beginning, and the content behind “after that” seem to be a little disjointed … “
As Gun Gun had not fared too well in composition class, he was especially sensitive about his grammar. So he widened his eyes, “Ah, is that true? So what can I do, do you need me to repeat what I have said? How, how should I repeat it?”
“There is no need to do so.” Fei Wei stroked Gun Gun on his head, “This isn’t Young Master’s problem, this is Di Jun’s problem.”
Di Jun most definitely had a problem.
In Fei Wei’s opinion, Di Jun was actually an immutable God, and could even be considered a little bland. Hence, he had always been easy to serve.
But recently, Di Jun wasn’t that easy to serve anymore.
For example, Di Jun was no longer the kind of person who could continuously eat the same item on the menu for the next 10 years. Di Jun had never once walked into the kitchen to fix his menu over the last 100,000 years. But recently he had nothing else to do but to ask Fei Wei what he had planned for the next meal, even going as far as to discuss the menu in detail. He was a straight man², so how would he know anything about cooking.
In the past, Di Jun had never raised an objection about the food, it was always just plain stir-frying this or that. But lately, he not only started ordering dishes, but actually demanded for better condiments.
Besides, Di Jun did have a good taste in clothing. But the Four Seas and Eight Realms were at war, so it was already a good thing if everyone had enough to eat and had clothing to keep themselves warm. Hence, there were no so-called trends in his clothing. Consequently, when he made clothing for Di Jun, he would sew a few hundred at a time with the same exact material, in the same design and colour out of convenience.
Di Jun had never said anything about the clothing after wearing them for the next hundred years. But in recent times, Di Jun suddenly became interested in rare cloth. Whenever he was free, he would urge him to go out and search for cloth in the color, material and pattern he had specified clearly to the minute detail.
In the first seven days of confronting the new changes in Di Jun, Fei Wei could not make any sense of it. He thought that Di Jun had fallen under nefarious influences.
On the eighth day, he took the place of the two little immortal children, who had eaten too much fruit and upset their stomachs, to serve Di Jun and Miss Xiao Bai at lunch. It was here that the instinctively clever Immortal Fei Wei worked out the reason why Di Jun had suddenly become so meticulous about food.
Di Jun was still the same Di Jun who would simply eat whatever he was given. But Miss Xiao Bai was a fine, delicate girl, and such a girl would require the same kind of thoughtful care. She should not simply eat whatever she was served.
On the ninth day, he saw the rare cloth he spared so much effort in finding, appearing on Miss Xiao Bai’s body. Immortal Fei Wei, who only needed a hint to comprehend things, also understood why Di Jun suddenly became selective in clothing material.
Di Jun was still the same exact person who would wear whatever he was given. But Miss Xiao Bai was a fine, delicate girl, and such a girl will need the same kind of thoughtful care. She should not simply wear whatever she was given.
Fei Wei observed the situation for half a month. On the surface, it appeared as if Di Jun treated Miss Xiao Bai just like anyone else. For example, Di Jun loved to stifle people when speaking. The frightening thing was, he actually treated Miss Xiao Bai the same way. As a result, he often made Miss Xiao Bai so angry that she would spend an entire day ignoring him afterwards.
Fei Wei sighed as he thought, perhaps Miss Xiao Bai believed that Di Jun did not treat her well. But he knew that Di Jun had truly done many things for her. In fact, one could say he treated her meticulously in every possible way. But he suspected that Miss Xiao Bai became confused after being stifled by Di Jun on a daily basis, so how would she ever know that Di Jun had put so much effort for her.
Instead, she thought that the reason she was eating well and wearing good clothing was because of him, Fei Wei, the immortal steward’s attentiveness in handling matters. He was nowhere near this thoughtful.
Di Jun did not seem to mind that Miss Xiao Bai had this sort of misunderstanding toward him, and even bade him not to speak about this indiscriminately.
Why would Di Jun behave in this way? Wasn’t it a good thing for Miss Xiao Bai to know that he had seen to her needs in a considerate and attentive manner? Could it be possible that Di Jun had never pursued a girl before and liked Miss Xiao Bai? But there were thousands of thoughts hidden within his heart, yet he did not know how to express it, therefore causing him to take such incomprehensible actions?
After continuing to observe their whole family for another half a month, Fei Wei felt that he was not wrong. There was no doubt that he was a clever and quick-witted imp. But he had no courage to seek confirmation from Di Jun about whether he was such an imp, and if he was right about his unfathomable inner world.
Time flashed by and three months had passed.
A major event broke out on Heaven and Earth during those three months.
As the Elders of the God race were unable to invite Di Jun out of the Heavenly Jade Sea, they had a discussion. They eventually decided to let High God Hou Zhen temporarily substitute as the Master of Gods. But they were also afraid that High God Fu Ying would not give in and incite internal strife. Hence, they bestowed the entire territory of the Northern Realm to Immortal Lord Fu Ying, allowing him to live a carefree life as an honoured god, free from the control of Nine Heavens.
The Elders believed that the way they had dealt with this matter covered all bases. Although Fu Ying controlled an imposing army, he did not have the comparatively larger army that High God Hou Zhen had, when combined with the army under the control of the Elders. If it came down to a real fight, he may not necessarily win.
It was not as if they did not give him an honourable way out. They had already allowed him to build a personal fiefdom in the Northern realms. A level-headed person who saw things clearly ought to accept this as a way out of the situation. He should not insist on inciting internal strife, setting himself against them, and take on the burden of fighting a war.
The Elders were not without justification in their considerations. But they did not anticipate that Fu Ying would be a person with great ambition who would stubbornly enjoy challenging difficult problems.
However, he did initially carry his grievances with him as he headed to the Northern Realms. But once he got there, he conveniently made contact with the Ghost and Monster races, promising them great innumerable benefits in return for their alliance.
It wasn’t long before the three factions combined their strength and formed a large allied army. They attacked the Nine Heavens with the desire to eliminate the Elders, and deposing Hou Zhen. This would allow Fu Ying to control the Eight Realms, thus becoming the next King of the Gods.
Hou Zhen and the Elders urgently deployed their troops and dispatched their generals to the frontline to repel the enemies. The two armies battled for many days and were deadlocked in a stalemate at Fei Shui.
The Gods were in a state of anxiety, not knowing which direction this war was heading.
For this reason, High God Zhe Yan visited the Heavenly Jade Sea twice. Not long after, High God Hou Zhen also arrived at the Heavenly Jade Sea. After that, the group of Elders also appeared one after another at the Heavenly Jade Sea.
High God Hou Zhen and the entire group of Elders waited at the main entrance of the Heavenly Jade Sea for seven days before Di Jun finally loosened his stance. He agreed to leave seclusion, temporarily assuming the position of the King of Gods, and taking command of the great army of gods to fight the tri-forces of Fu Ying, the Ghost and the Monster races.
As Di Jun became busier with important matters, he naturally began to see Feng Jiu and Gun Gun less. Their family of three had previously taken all three meals together. But now, it would be considered a good thing if they were able to eat together for one meal.
Fei Wei initially thought that Miss Xiao Bai would not be used to it. But unexpectedly, Miss Xiao Bai was a very sensible girl even at a young age. Knowing that Di Jun was busy with official business, she did not disturb him on her own accord. She would simply find something to entertain herself, and would have fun doing so.
While Di Jun was busy, Miss Xiao Bai took Little Gun Gun along to visit all the surrounding areas of the Heavenly Jade Sea. They even took time out to make a trip to Qing Qiu, taking a few peeks at Fox King, Bai Zhi and Fox Queen, Ning Chang from afar. On this day, she was mulling over whether to bring Gun Gun to Zhang Wei Mountain to explore.
Fei Wei naturally had to consult Di Jun for further instructions regarding this matter as Zhang Wei Mountain wasn’t like Qing Qiu, where they could go and return in a day. The distance between Zhang Wei Mountain and the Heavenly Jade Sea was 108,000 li³. With their current cultivation, it would take them no less than three to four days to return.
Di Jun was right in the middle of organising a scroll of formation charts in his study. He raised his head and looked at Fei Wei after hearing about the matter, “Why was she thinking about going to Zhang Wei Mountain?”
Fei Wei honestly replied, “Miss Xiao Bai said that girls from her era had always idolised Goddess Shao Wan. So she would like to pay a visit to admire Shao Wan’s former residence.”
Di Jun pondered for a moment, “Oh, that’s a good thing.” He replied, nodding his head.
Fei Wei felt that Di Jun was possibly worried about Miss Xiao Bai’s long journey and expressed his loyalty at once, “Your Imperial Lordship, you may set your heart at ease. I will definitely protect Miss Xiao Bai well on this journey, and make sure that both Miss Xiao Bai and Young Master remain absolutely safe.”
Di Jun deliberated once again for a while, and rolled up the scroll of formation charts afterwards. He casually said to Fei Wei, “It doesn’t matter, I have a meeting there and happen to be on the same route as you all.”
Naive⁴ Fei Wei believed him.
Originally, the location of the formal discussion forum officiated by High God Hou Zhen was to be held at the Heavenly Jade Sea to accommodate Di Jun. And just like that, it got relocated to Zhang Wei Mountain, 108,000 li away.
It was only when the other Gods came to him on separate occasions to enquire about the sudden change in location that Fei Wei realised the meeting Di Jun spoke about was actually this meeting. So when Di Jun said “he happened to be”, it really wasn’t the case.
The other Gods modestly asked him what this was about, but he did not know what to say. He could not reveal that it was because Di Jun did not feel reassured when Miss Xiao Bai wanted to explore Zhang Wei Mountain, and therefore changed the location of the discussion forum to the same destination. This would greatly diminish Di Jun’s illustrious reputation.
So Fei Wei racked his brains and forced himself to reply, “Perhaps it’s to commemorate his friendship with Goddess Shao Wan … “
After hearing those words, the other Gods surprisingly believed him. Sighing amongst themselves, “Di Jun is truly a person who values friendship!” One after another, they wiped their tears as they left feeling touched.
Fei Wei wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, feeling that he was really quick witted.
Feng Jiu naturally did not know about this incident. She honestly thought that it was mere coincidence that the forum was held on Zhang Wei Mountain, and that Di Jun just happened to be on the same route as herself. So she merrily followed Di Jun all the way to Zhang Wei Mountain.
Di Jun left to attend his forum. Feng Jiu took Gun Gun with her to visit the surrounding area, covering every place their eyes could see. After they finished sightseeing and returned to their living quarters, they saw Fei Wei moving their luggage outside.
Upon further inquiry, she found out that the immortal servants were not aware of her identity and had thought she was a servant girl from the Heavenly Jade Sea. As a result, they had organised for her to stay in the servant’s quarters. Fei Wei was in the process of moving her belongings to Di Jun’s courtyard.
Feng Jiu was a generation of Qing Qiu’s Queen, and was occasionally quite meticulous and thorough while considering matters. She felt that this place was not the Heavenly Jade Sea and doing this would be rather excessively ostentatious, potentially stirring up rumours about Di Jun.
Hence, she instructed Fei Wei to just arrange for her to be housed in a single quarter in the maidservant’s courtyard, and that would suffice. After hearing that Di Jun was still discussing official matters with others, it occurred to her that Di Jun would be fatigued, and prepared a set of ginseng tea, entrusting Fei Wei to send it to him.
Fei Wei carefully lifted the set of ginseng tea and left. Feng Jiu returned to her quarters, coaxed tired Gun Gun to sleep, and took care of her luggage. As she was unpacking, she suddenly realised that Di Jun had only brought Fei Wei along for this journey.
However, Fei Wei had occupied himself with her and Gun Gun since they arrived, so she was afraid that he might not have had the chance to help Di Jun unpack his luggage.
When she was at Tai Chen Palace, if Di Jun wanted to attend the buddhist assembly at the Western Brahma Realms, she had always busied herself with helping him pack his luggage. Di Jun also liked it very much when she did so. With this in mind, she immediately decided to take a look in Di Jun’s courtyard to see if there was anything that required her to organise.
Di Jun’s courtyard was very large as expected. She walked gracefully all the way to the front of Di Jun’s sleeping quarters only to pause at the locked stone door. She was always able to pass through Di Jun’s restriction wards and boundaries unhindered, but this was not the Heavenly Jade Sea. This was a place that did not rely on restriction wards or boundaries to keep doors locked; it relied on physical keys.
Fei Wei wasn’t by her side, so she would not be able to open the stone door before her. Just as she was feeling thorny about her problem, she suddenly heard a feminine voice shout, “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
Inside He Qi hall, the Gods were in the middle of an official discussion when they caught sight of Princess Zi Zheng barging in hurriedly.
Princess Zi Zheng was High God Hou Zhen’s only daughter, and the apple of his eye. As a consequence, she had always been willful.
Unlike High God Fu Ying who was an expert in warfare, High God Hou Zhen was not a warrior god. When it came to leading an army and fighting a war, he was no match for High God Fu Ying, but he had a brain that was functioning well.
It was rumoured that 700 years ago, when High God Mo Yuan first set out on his path, High God Hou Zhen had wanted to marry his daughter to him in order to inseparably bind his clan close to High God Mo Yuan. This was one way he had illustrated how intelligent his brain was.
Unfortunately, Zi Zheng was wholly enamoured with Dong Hua, and would rather be dead than to comply. In actual fact, marrying Dong Hua was also a good option as Hou Zhen remembered he had also supported it.
But Dong Hua returned to his native home to live in seclusion 500 years later. However, as Dong Hua left seclusion recently, word had it that Hou Zhen’s intentions was reignited.
Princess Zi Zheng had trespassed into He Qi Hall this time. But how was one to know if it wasn’t a show performed by father and daughter to arouse the attention of Di Jun.
The Gods present at the forum were quite astute, so no one would think of damaging Hou Zhen’s intentions. Therefore, they uniformly stopped their discussion and collectively turned their attention toward the spectacle.
However, this matter truly had nothing to do with High God Hou Zhen. He was also very confused as he watched his daughter barge in, and couldn't help pulling a long face, “Everyone is currently discussing official business with His Imperial Lordship, so how could we tolerate you making a scene here. And why have you not quickly left!”
Princess Zi Zheng wasn’t even the least bit afraid, “Your daughter is also here to speak of official business. Besides, it is an official business that also requires Di Jun to make decisions on!” She clapped her hands as she spoke, and two strong immortal servants escorted a female immortal, whose hands were bound with the immortal trapping lock, into the hall.
The female immortal had beautiful jet black hair, snow white skin clothed in red, looked rather young, yet her beauty was astounding. The crowd of gods looked at each other blankly. They watched as Di Jun, who was still slowly stroking his paperweight a short while ago, stopped short, and looked towards the middle of the hall.
Feng Jiu wasn’t afraid of her current predicament. She was just afraid of losing face. At just 30,000 years of age, she was still too young; even if she was outstandingly talented among her immortal peers, she had lost her cultivation after battling Miao Luo and had not yet restored her immortal strength.
Under these circumstances, she would not be able to fight Zi Zheng, an immortal three generations older than her. She was truly powerless to do anything about her situation.
She quietly raised her eyes a little, secretly watching Di Jun. Di Jun’s gaze also landed on her, and appeared to be looking at the immortal trapping lock on her hands.
She was discouraged as she thought about how Di Jun must have felt that she was a weakling, looking down on her. The more she thought about it, the more she felt disheartened, so she dropped her head low.
Zi Zheng cast a cold eye at Feng Jiu, and faced Dong Hua, her demeanour severe, “I saw this girl behaving surreptitiously outside Di Jun’s sleeping quarters, her manner suspicious, so I moved forward to question her. She unexpectedly said that she is your personal maidservant, so that was why she made an appearance there.”
Zi Zheng softly jeered, “Everyone in the Four Seas and Eight Realms is aware that Di Jun has never kept a beautiful personal maidservant by his side. She must have been a spy sent by Fu Ying, so I captured her here for Di Jun to administer justice!”
Feng Jiu had no choice but to defend herself, “Let’s … let’s just assume I have elevated my status by calling myself Di Jun’s personal maidservant. But I am really a servant girl from the Heavenly Jade Sea!”
She glanced at Di Jun as she spoke, and thought she was smart enough to come up with a perfect explanation that would not accentuate the problem. If Di Jun could cooperate with a nod, this matter would be resolved, and it would no longer veer off course.
But unexpectedly, Di Jun really veered off course. He did not nod his head as she had hoped, and instead, looked at her, frowning, “Appearing in front of my quarters? What were you doing there?”
Zi Zheng exclaimed indignantly, “She must have gone there to scout for some classified information!”
“I really did not, “ Feng Jiu shook her head quickly, silently hating Di Jun for not coordinating with her. She couldn’t refrain from emphasising that her identity was that of a personal maidservant once again, “because I am an attending maidservant. My duty is to serve Di Jun. That was why I wanted to say I was just intending to unpack Di Jun’s travel baggage…”
Zi Zheng laughed coldly, “So why weren’t you able to enter Di Jun’s sleeping quarters?”
Feng Jiu stiffened, “I … I did not have the key …”
Zi Zheng laughed coldly once again, “Why would a personal maidservant tasked to unpack Di Jun’s travel baggage not have the key to his sleeping quarters?”
The two women argued endlessly for a while. Di Jun, who was silently watching them from the side, asked a soul doubting question, “Has relying on the both of you to debate whether she is indeed my personal maidservant or not produced any results? Isn’t it easier to just ask me directly?
Logic, this was indeed the logic. Zi Zheng was stumped for a moment, and reacted after a while. Her expression had a moment of wonder before she shot Dong Hua a bewildered look, “So, is she definitely Your Imperial Lordship’s personal … “
Di Jun massaged his temple, “She is not.”
Zi Zheng heaved a sigh of relief, and raised her voice, “Then she must be a spy!”
Di Jun tapped his fingers impatiently, “She is my wife.”
Feng Jiu totally did not expect Di Jun to casually and indifferently speak the truth, and was momentarily in a shocked daze.
The crowd of immortals were also dazed. Only Di Jun remained unfazed, and looked towards herself and Zi Zheng, “If there are no other matters, both of you may leave.” Seeing her obediently turning to leave, he spoke again, “Wait, Xiao Bai.” He retrieved a set of keys from his sleeve as he spoke, and saw that her hands were still bound with the immortal trapping lock. He creased his brow, and the immortal trapping lock disappeared.
Di Jun threw the keys over, and Feng Jiu caught them distractedly, “This is … “
Di Jun appeared as if he did not understand why she would be asking such a retarded question, “Didn’t you want to unpack my baggage, but had no keys?”
Watching the understanding suddenly dawn upon her as she mumbled, “Ah, yes … “ Di Jun appeared as if he was amused by her. Not wanting others to sense it, he pulled up his lips slightly, and slowed his voice a little, “Good, you may go.” Then, he added a line, “Don’t lie recklessly to others in future. “
Feng Jiu shot a glance at the crowd of petrified immortals in the hall. Nodding her head, she took the keys and left. When she stepped over the threshold of He Qi hall, she heard Di Jun impatiently address Zi Zheng, “Why are you still here?”
Zi Zheng’s voice carried her sobbing, “When did Di Jun get married, why haven’t I heard about it before, that female immortal, what ... what’s so good about her … “
Di Jun’s reaction was to call out for High God Hou Zhen.
After that, the sound of admonishment echoed from He Qi hall.
Feng Jiu sneaked a peek behind her, and saw a group of panicky immortal servants hurriedly supporting an interminable wailing Princess Zi Zheng out of the hall.
Feng Jiu benefited from that disaster and moved into Di Jun’s sleeping quarters. The gossip appeared to grow wings, and in less than a day, it had spread throughout the Eight Realms.
That night, Feng Jiu was dozing off while waiting for Di Jun to return to his quarters to sleep. The hour of water passed by, and Feng Jiu still waited in vain for Di Jun. But she ended up waiting for a Demon girl who was here to climb into his bed.
The girl clapped her hand over Feng Jiu’s mouth as she was about to call for help, “Ai, don’t scream, don’t scream, I am not here to climb into his bed,” the girl explained, “I am here to see what the rumoured Empress looked like.”
Feng Jiu heard the girl’s real reason for coming. For some unknown reason, she was unexpectedly a little disappointed. She had heard High God Zhe Yan speak about it before, that during the Age of Chaos and the Age of Antiquity, Di Jun was the man of many girls’ dreams. The girls of the Demon race were the most unreserved, and fond of climbing into Di Jun’s bed. She had never seen such a setting, and was a little curious.
The Demon girl who called herself Jin Jin let Feng Jiu go, and sized her up from head to toe. She couldn’t help nodding, “Ai ya, so you turned out to be such a beauty who could destroy a state. I, Jin Jin, am willing to concede defeat.”
She sat familiarly at the side of the bed when she finished speaking. Moving closer towards Feng Jiu, she continued chatting to her, “However, His Imperial Lordship is made out of stone, and has no feelings and no desires. Otherwise, why would none of us, the demon girls of several generations, have ever succeeded in climbing into his bed. So how did you do it?
Feng Jiu retreated backwards, putting a little distance between herself and Jin Jin, “I did not climb into his bed.”
Jin Jin hit her thigh once, and hit it so hard that Feng Jiu could feel the pain on her behalf. But Jin Jin remained unconcerned, “I didn’t say you climbed into his bed. It is like this, we were only interested in sleeping with Di Jun you see. Just a one night stand, but we weren’t successful. Yet you went as far as to get His Imperial Lordship to marry you. The difficulty of this exercise is much greater than just simply sleeping with him. That was why I became curious. How did you accomplish this after all? “
Feng Jiu had always been muddleheaded about the reasons why Di Jun had fallen in love with her. She had a magnanimous heart in the past, and felt that it didn’t matter why he did. Di Jun loved her, so she had already obtained a windfall; getting to the root of it didn’t mean anything to her.
When asked at that moment, she was somewhat vague, and shared her experience with Jin Jin uncertaintly, “It is possibly because I am a fox and stayed by his side as a pet for several hundred years. He found out later, and was a little touched. That was why he decided to try a relationship with me.” After she finished speaking, she thought about it and felt that this reason was so believable that even she herself was convinced by it. Bumping her fist against her other hand, she faced Jin Jin with conviction, “I guess it should be like this. Aren’t you a little moved by it?
Jin Jin wasn’t moved by it, and gave her a simplified summary of what happened, “That is to say, you chased Di Jun for several hundred years but did not get to sleep with him. Yet you didn’t give up, and continued chasing him, which resulted in him being moved by you?” Jin Jin gave out a shocked sigh, and directed a thumbs up toward her, “You still hadn’t given up after several hundred years of failing to sleep with him. If that’s the case, then you are really amazing, and a person worthy of being his Empress!”
Feng Jiu didn’t know what to say for a moment. She covered her mouth coughing lightly, “We, the God race, aren’t too concerned if we get to sleep with someone or not. We just prefer to care about whether we can capture someone’s heart, and let the other person truly love us.”
Jin Jin’s line of thinking was comparatively different from others, and would relate everything to whether one could sleep with someone or not. She had a look of amazement on her face, and gave Feng Jiu another summary, “So what you meant was, you still have not slept with Di Jun up till now?
Feng Jiu stayed silent for a while, “... I have already slept with him.”
The expression on Jin Jin was as expected, and she curiously asked, “So what was sleeping with Di Jun like?”
Feng Jiu glared at Jin Jin, “Why are you asking about this?
Jin Jin hurriedly gestured with her hands, “Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t have any other motives. It’s because you are the only person that has slept with Di Jun in all of the Eight Realms, so I was just asking in passing. “ She paused when she spoke of this point, and slowly raised her brows, “It couldn’t be because your son and all was just a rumour, and you really haven’t slept with Di Jun?” She looked at Feng Jiu with a face full of pity, her tone sighing, “Ah, you cannot be blamed for this. After all, Di Jun is an immortal made of stone … “
This undoubtedly aroused Feng Jiu’s competitive spirit, “I have truly slept with him before.” She earnestly turned toward Jin Jin, “He is passable.”
Jin Jin’s face was full of doubt.
Feng Jiu grew serious, “It’s true, he is passable.”
Jin Jin nodded her head, “Passable.” Jin Jin was a hothead, however, and stopping her was impossible. So she continued asking, “What does passable mean?”
The door opened at this moment, and Di Jun stood silently by the doorway. Feng Jiu and Jin Jin looked at each other in shock.
Jin Jin was the first to react. She jumped up with a smiling face, “Your Imperial Lordship, don’t misunderstand. I ... I live just on the next mountain top. Since I live close by, I just came over to chat with your Empress. I … I … I don’t have any ill intent.” Seeing Di Jun take a step forward, Jin Jin paled as she stepped back, “I … I heard Di Jun never hits women!”
Di Jun nodded, “ I don’t hit them, so would you like to get out on your own, or do you want me to throw you out?”
Jin Jin chose to get out on her own.
After Jin Jin got out, only the two of them remained in the room. Feng Jiu’s heart was beating like a drum, unsure of how much Di Jun had heard of the conversation between Jin Jin and herself. As she saw Di Jun head to the backroom to bathe, she consoled herself with the possibility that he hadn’t heard anything. In the end, the first thing Di Jun said when he came out towelling his hair was, “I would also like to ask, what does passable mean?”
Feng Jiu, who was spreading the quilts, seemed to rise above what she had heard, and slowly turned around, “It’s better not to ask …”
Di Jun sat on the jade stool opposite the bed and continued towelling his hair, "So, does that mean it was no good?”
Feng Jiu stood by the bed, feeling as if she should not be here, but should have been under the bed. She stuttered, “Not ... not no good, you ... you don’t need to worry.”
Di Jun put down the cotton cloth, “I was indeed a bit worried, so what does it mean exactly?”
Feng Jiu lowered her head, and half covered her face, “It … it means good, “ she raised her head a little fiercely, “it means good, isn’t that enough? ” She covered her face again when she finished speaking.
Di Jun stood up, and walked over. He sat by the bedside, and pulled her down so that she was sitting facing him. Looking at her as if he was urgently discussing a serious, important matter, he asked earnestly, “So why didn’t you just tell her directly that I was very good?”
How could one answer such a question? Feng Jiu felt as if she was dying. Her face was blood red as she sat there for a long time, figuring out how to reply Di Jun so that he would shut up. A moment later, she said, “That I am able to have such a wonderful you has already made others hate me. If they knew that you … are also that capable, won’t that make them hate me more? Let’s just keep it a little low key?”
Di Jun looked at her for a time, “You are right.” Sure enough, he shut up.
For a while, the two of them had no words. Then, they just laid down to sleep.
After waiting for Feng Jiu’s breathing to even out, signaling that she had entered dreamland, Di Jun slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the blush that had not subsided from the face of the young maiden, a small teasing smile played on his lips.
The young man gazed at the young maiden in his arms. A long time later, he lightly imprinted a kiss on her forehead.
Outside the window,
a full moon hung high,
the bright flowing moonlight,
faithfully witnessing this moment.
Glossary for Chapter Five
Heavenly Jade Sea of the Sacred Spirit 碧海苍灵 Bi Hai Cang Ling
(Shortened to Heavenly Jade Sea for
general use)
Emperor Lord 帝君 Di Jun
His/Your Imperial Lordship 帝座 Di Zuo
Notes
1. Tang Qi had written the phrase “桑田不知化了多少次沧海” (Pin Yin: Sang Tian Bu Zhi Hua Le Duo Shao Ci Cang Hai) [loosely translated: “the mulberry field had changed into the sea countlessly”] which was coined from this idiom “沧海桑田” (Pin Yin: Cang Hai Sang Tian) which meant the following: the swift changes of the world; great changes are seen in the course of time; the evanescence of worldly affairs is like the sea turned into a mulberry field. We have chosen to translate it as per the actual meaning of this poetic phrase since it would not make clear sense to an English reader why the transformation of the mulberry field into the sea signified change.
2. A “hardcore straight man” is often described as being insensitive towards women and has a bad taste for fashion, but he is not obnoxious like those male chauvinists.
3. “Li” (里) is an ancient chinese measure of distances between places.
4. The direct translation of the Chinese word, "老实" (Pin Yin: Lao Shi) is “honest”. But in this context, what it really meant was more along the lines of “naive”. To bring out what Tang Qi is trying to express, we have used “naive”, instead of “honest”.
Credits
Header Pictures: Tencent, Eternal Love of Dream
Story: 唐七 | Tang Qi
Book Title: 三生三世 枕上书之梦回洪荒远古时 | Pillow Book of Samsara: Back to Chaos in a Dream
Copyright Statement
The above translation is translated by our translation team from Chinese author, Tang Qi’s original work, Back to Chaos in a Dream Part 5, an outtake of her book, Three Lives Three Worlds, Pillow Book of Samsara. All copyright belongs to Tang Qi.
以上的英语翻译都是本翻译师从唐七原作， 三生三世枕上书番外， 梦回洪荒元古时第五段所翻译的。版权都是作者唐七所拥有。