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 is THE chapter of the book, the one with the all important wedding ceremony. Here is where Di Jun will heal the hurt of the missing groom and make everything perfect! Battles, monsters and mythical beasts form part of this chapter so it has taken us a while to translate and edit it. We are excited to present Chapter Seven! Happy reading everyone!
Two armies encamped opposite each other was an indication of a stalemate between them. When two armies are locked in a stalemate, the scales tend to tilt rather quickly in either direction, and fighting could possibly erupt at any time. Logically speaking, Jie Shui was still a dangerous place, so Feng Jiu stayed there for three days before she was sent back to the Heavenly Jade Sea.
Previously, the matter about Di Jun having a Di Hou had spread like wildfire throughout the Eight Realms. But as most of the God race had never seen the legendary Di Hou, many people had remained skeptical about it. Feng Jiu’s trip to Jie Shui had proven the rumour to be true.
There was no shortage of female generals among the God officers; the male generals felt shocked about this matter, while the female generals were not only shocked, they were also each sad and dispirited.
However, Feng Jiu was completely unaware about these events, and made a pact with Di Jun that if the battlefields were fine in the following month, she would bring Bai Gun Gun along to see him. Although she could not bear to leave him, she did not openly express it, and sensibly returned to the Heavenly Jade Sea along with Fei Wei.
Not a few days had gone by after their return to the Heavenly Jade Sea when a headache inducing matter occurred.
Around the morning of the seventh day, the Heavenly Jade Sea welcomed a party of visitors. Since Di Jun was not around, the people that could induce Fei Wei to bring them into the Heavenly Jade Sea were naturally not ordinary. They were the clan leader of the Spirit Crane Clan, his wife and his daughter.
Fei Wei explained that Di Jun was born transformatively¹ from the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, and was an orphan with neither a father nor a mother. At the time of his birth, his spirit energy was so weak that he was almost torn apart by tigers and wolves as a meal. But as luck would have it, he was rescued by the spirit crane couple who happened to pass by.
The spirit crane couple saw how pitiful Di Jun was, so they brought him back with them to the earthly realms, and looked after him for several years, granting him the kindness of meals.
Hence, over the last 100,000 years or so, Di Jun had been very respectful towards them, and would almost always accede to their every plea despite his indifferent personality and his preference towards not meddling in the business of others.
Presently, Feng Jiu and Little Gun Gun were at a small pavilion not far from the guest hall listening to Fei Wei talking about these past events. Both of them had studied the history of the Chaos era, and were looking at each other silently. Little Gun Gun put his hand up first, “The spirit crane couple, were they Princess Zhi He’s parents?”
At this time, Zhi He had not been born yet, so Fei Wei did not know who she was, and was naturally unable to answer this question. But Feng Jiu nodded her head seriously, “En, they should be.”
They were indeed Princess Zhi He’s parents.
What the historical annals of the Great Chaos period did not record was the fact that the spirit crane couple, aside from giving birth to Zhi He before they faded, had once adopted a daughter in their earlier years named Chu Yi.
Fairy Chu Yi² was given a sweet, demure name, and her personality was gentle and refined. The spirit crane couple felt that Dong Hua appeared to possess a cold face and a cold heart, and did not subscribe to the secular notion of predestined bonds of affinity to worldly desires¹¹. But he was the favoured son of Heaven, an elite God out of thousands, and his moral character and talents were far beyond Gods of similar ranking. It would be impossible for him not to pass down his excellent bloodline, so he would eventually have to take a wife.
After all, none of the girls in the Eight Realms could get close to Dong Hua, so compared to them, Chu Yi had more mutual affection for Dong Hua. So when the time was right, they would step in and take the initiative to propose the marriage to him. It would be unlikely for him not to agree.
If Dong Hua were to marry Chu Yi, he would naturally become a part of the Spirit Crane Clan. So in the event that they fade, not only would Chu Yi have someone to rely on, the Spirit Crane Clan would also have someone to entrust.
In the masterplan of the spirit crane couple, this major matter was originally intended to be worked on at an unhurried pace and executed in tiny steps. But who would expect that a new mistress of the Heavenly Jade Sea would suddenly cut in and interrupt their plans halfway? The spirit crane couple were in a state of panic. Hence, they hurriedly brought their daughter with them to the Heavenly Jade Sea to orchestrate a forced marriage.
The two of them had definitely harboured the intention of using Dong Hua’s gratitude to force him into marriage. But the silver haired young man with the extraordinary brilliant disposition, was no longer the little orphan relying on the charity of meals the spirit crane couple offered to survive. The other party was now the Master God of the Eight Realms, so they did not dare to be too transparent with their thoughts.
Husband and wife both stayed at the Heavenly Jade Sea for only a day, before excusing themselves with other matters. They then departed, leaving only Fairy Chu Yi and a letter addressed to Di Jun at the Heavenly Jade Sea.
The gist of the letter said Chu Yi admired Di Jun and was completely devoted to marrying him. Although they both knew that he already had a wife, Chu Yi did not mind being a wife of equal status to Miss Bai, serving one husband together. Besides, they had also heard Miss Bai mention that she was an orphan girl. Being an orphan meant she would not be implicated by her family, or bound to any established rules. As such, she probably did not care about all these things. So could Di Jun please consider the kindness they have shown to him during the time when he was nurtured by them and fulfil Chu Yi’s yearning as well as the wishes of an old couple. And so on and so forth.
Feng Jiu had not seen the letter, but she had asked Fei Wei about it. Fei Wei most certainly did not dare open the letter. But being a clever little imp, he arrived at a conclusion after discerning what they thought from their body language.
When he heard Feng Jiu ask about it, he didn’t dare hide anything, and honestly expressed his views based on what he knew of them over the years. He had guessed that they should be thinking of letting Fairy Chu Yi come to the Heavenly Jade Sea to be his wife of equal status.
At first, Little Gun Gun had no idea what a wife of equal status meant. The ignorance of a child was his bliss, so he did not feel angry until Fei Wei considerately explained that a wife of equal status meant that Chu Yi also wanted to become his mother. Gun Gun exploded with rage on the spot.
But Feng Jiu remained unperturbed, and persuaded Gun Gun not to panic. “Don’t be alarmed,“ she said calmly, “the first age after the establishment of the New Order of the Gods, was the Age of Far Antiquity. You panicked because you have not studied the Age of Far Antiquity in your history lessons. With regards to the Age of Far Antiquity, you need to know that whether it was formal history or unofficial history, there was no mention of your Father Lord’s encounter with such a marriage. So it can clearly be seen that this matter did not end as intended.”
“Is that true?” Gun Gun was skeptical, “Jiu Jiu, you are not lying to me, are you?”
Feng Jiu looked at Gun Gun with a profound glance, “En, I did not lie to you, as knowledge never lies."
Fei Wei, “...”
That was how Fairy Chu Yi came to stay at the Heavenly Jade Sea. If the news of an unmarried maiden being left at the Heavenly Jade Sea for no particular reason were to spread, the resulting rumour would not be pleasant to the ears. But Fei Wei did not dare to make the decision to drive the Fairy out of the Heavenly Jade Sea, so he was forced to quickly take the spirit crane couple’s letter to Jie Shui to consult Di Jun on the matter.
After he had consulted with Di Jun and returned, he discovered that Fairy Chu Yi had disappeared, and Feng Jiu had also gone missing.
Little Gun Gun was once again flying his kite in the garden when he saw Fei Wei coming to look for him. Flying his kite like an expert, “It was like this,” he explained, “Brother Fei Wei, after you left, Jiu Jiu ran into Fairy Chu Yi twice and noticed her persistently worried frown. So she asked her what she was worried about. As it turns out, the Fairy was indeed distressed about something!”
Gun Gun’s face was filled with pity, “She said she already had a sweetheart, and did not intend to stay at the Heavenly Jade Sea to wreck or join our big family. But as her sweetheart does not belong to a large clan, her parents looked down on him and broke them apart. She was in distress because of this. Jiu Jiu was shocked when she heard this. She said that it was rare to encounter a girl who doesn’t like Father Lord in this era, so Fairy Chu Yi was indeed an unusual girl in this world that was worth admiring. Then Jiu Jiu unlocked the Heavenly Jade Sea, setting the Fairy free, helping her to elope with her lover.”
What Fei Wei did not understand was, “Since Fairy Chu Yi has eloped, we’ll just let her elope. That is fine. But why did Di Hou also disappear?”
Little Gun Gun continued to explain, “Fairy Chu Yi bumped into her sweetheart as soon as she stepped out. He was waiting forlornly at the entrance. When they saw each other, they hugged and wept disconsolately on each other’s shoulder. Then they prepared to get married straight away. However, their marriage still needed a witness, so kind hearted Jiu Jiu decided to help them all the way to the end. Hence, she accompanied them when they ran away so that she could be their witness!”
Gun Gun looked pleased with himself³ as he finished speaking, and used an idiom to conclude, “It was very inspiring and tragic⁴!”
Fei Wei did not have any time to praise Gun Gun on the recent improvements to his grammar. Both his legs instantly buckled as soon as he heard that Di Hou had gone to finish a good deed by running away with Chu Yi.
He also forgot to ask Gun Gun if he knew where they might be at this moment, and hastily sent a young immortal child to notify Di Jun. After that, he hurried out of the door to chase after the missing Di Hou, leaving Gun Gun, who was tugging on his kite strings, stunned, “Why didn’t anyone ask me where Jiu Jiu had gone to before going out to find her?”
After thinking about it for a moment, he nodded his head and talked to himself, “Perhaps the reason was because they had already deduced that Jiu Jiu is at our maternal ancestor’s Wen Yuan Valley.” He gasped with admiration from the bottom of his heart, “Brother Fei Wei is really incredible.”
He went back to flying his kite as he spoke, carefree and worry-free once again.
But Brother Fei Wei was not that incredible.
Fei Wei bumped around like a headless fly and found nothing after searching for two days. But he ran into Di Jun who was on the road looking for her. Following the breath essence on Feng Jiu’s half-heart ring, Di Jun led him to Wen Yuan Valley in the Eastern Realm where they found the person they were looking for.
When they found her, Di Hou’s tiny self was drunkenly creating a din on the wedding night of Chu Yi and her sweetheart.
Di Hou stood in front of Chu Yi, clinging onto her shoulders with the air of a person who had personally experienced it, speaking earnestly and sincerely, “It’s true, don’t be sad. Not having any close family around to congratulate you on your wedding night is nothing. At least the groom is here.” She continued honestly, “In this world, there are those pitiful brides where the groom wasn’t there on their wedding day. Compared to those brides, you are already very fortunate!”
Chu Yi forced a smile, and was about to say something when her face paled. Feng Jiu was curious, and followed Chu Yi’s gaze, turning her head behind her to look. She shivered and then stiffened a little before turning back to continue looking at Chu Yi, “But if the Husband Lord of that kind of bride did not show up at their wedding because he had to save the world, then... then that bride is not pitiful. After… after all, she married a Husband Lord who could save the world! So she is really lucky!"
After she finished saying those words, she struck a posture holding up her head with both hands, “Ah, I feel a little dizzy, I am going to sleep now.” She immediately fell downwards as soon as she stopped talking. Remembering that she should not fall onto the marriage bed of others, she rigidly collapsed crookedly towards the cold muddy ground.
Just before she made close contact with the mud, a pair of sturdy arms caught her. She quietly opened her eyes into small slits, and saw the expressionless face of Di Jun looking at her, and quickly shut her eyes again.
Chu Yi, who was sitting on the bed, saw Di Jun appearing, and was so frightened that her face drained of colour. She was afraid that this merciless foster brother would break them up and send her back to her parents to be disciplined. So she couldn’t stop her tears from falling. The disparity between the strength of the groom and Di Jun was large, but he was still a man. So he summoned his courage, bravely putting himself in front of Chu Yi to protect her.
Di Jun scooped Feng Jiu up into his arms, and looked at both of them, “Both of you … “
The newlyweds glared at Di Jun as if he was their enemy.
Di Jun remained indifferent, “Still haven’t consummated your marriage because Xiao Bai was creating a din?
The two newly weds facing their enemy went blank for a moment before nodding their heads.
Di Jun gave an ‘en” sound, “Then make the most of this time. “ He deliberated on his choice of words, “After all, a wonderful moment on a beautiful night is worth a thousand gold⁵.”
Chu Yi widened her eyes in shock after hearing “a wonderful moment on a beautiful night is worth a thousand gold” coming from Di Jun. She felt that either he or she had been hit by nefarious influences.
Di Jun was unconcerned. He carried Feng Jiu in one arm, while using his other hand to magick a bottle of medicine, placing it in front of the couple’s marital bed, “This medicine can assist the both of you in welcoming a child sooner.” He thought about it, and patted the groom on his shoulder, “Don’t disappoint me.” After that, he left the bridal chamber carrying Feng Jiu in his arms.
Don’t disappoint Di Jun, but in what? — the pair of newlyweds looked at each other blankly.
Fei Wei was the last to leave, so he gave a word of advice to the two of them, explaining the deeper meaning behind Di Jun’s words, “Di Jun has even prepared the medicine for you both. If the two of you were to consummate your marriage quickly, and give birth to a child, this matter will be set in stone and cannot be changed⁶. Then Venerable Lord Spirit Crane naturally can’t beat the mandarin ducks with a stick⁷, breaking both of you up, and neither will he bother Di Jun again. Isn’t this a solution that is not only the best of both worlds, but also to everyone’s delight and satisfaction?”
The pair of newlyweds suddenly saw the light. While their faces flushed with excitement, their innermost thoughts were complicated. They felt as if they had gained some new knowledge about the legendary Dong Hua who was said to be uninterested in worldly desires.
When Feng Jiu woke up, she was inside Di Jun’s tent at the banks of the Jie Shui river.
She was still a bit confused, so she thought for a long time while she was lying down. She remembered that she had been at Wen Yuan Valley last night, witnessing the wedding of Chu Yi and her sweetheart. She had watched Chu Yi and her sweetheart harmoniously getting married. They were holding each other’s hands and paying their respects to Heaven and Earth, so she had become a little envious. She had envied and envied and finally drank too much wine. After that, she talked to Chu Yi for a while, and then … it seemed like … then Di Jun had arrived?
Feng Jiu quivered, and suddenly sat up. Briefly sweeping her eyes around the room, she realised that this appeared most definitely to be Di Jun’s large tent. She glanced around again after composing herself, and discovered that the interior decor of the tent seemed to be different from the last time she was here.
For example, the place she was sleeping at originally had a plain curtain, but it was now a green canopy. The area outside the muslin canopy was no longer illuminated by a bright pearl, but a dim glance revealed red lanterns and tall candles reflecting light onto each other, brightening the room. In addition to these, threads of bright, lustrous and colourful silk were hanging down from the middle of the tent roof.
Feng Jiu sat cross legged on the felt blanket, knitting her brow while deep in thought, Something wasn’t quite right. These tall candles and green canopy, red lanterns and colourful silk seemed like the things used in weddings, weren’t they?
As she kept thinking, she raised her hand to push aside the muslin canopy, intending to confirm her findings. But at this opportune moment, Di Jun raised the curtain, and entered the tent. Feng Jiu was silent for a while as Di Jun naturally walked over to her and touched her on her forehead, “You’ve woken up. Does your head still ache?”
She shook her head feeling muddleheaded.
Di Jun’s fingers stopped at her temple, massaging it, “It looks like the sobering elixirs were quite effective.” As he spoke, he turned and went behind the wooden screen towards the side, and the swishing sound of clothing being changed followed.
Feng Jiu’s foggy mind was still inside a cloud⁸. So, she asked Di Jun from the other side of the screen, “Is another wedding being held on the campgrounds?”
Di Jun gave an “En” sound.
Feng Jiu made a half-sober “Yi” sound, “Then whose wedding ceremony is it today?”
The sound of clothing being changed stopped behind the screen, “Yours.”
Feng Jiu still had not responded to what was really happening, “Mine? Mine and whose?”
Di Jun walked out from behind the screen, fully dressed in resplendent regalia. Bending his head to adjust his sleeves, “Aside from me, who else are you thinking of having a wedding ceremony with?”
Feng Jiu went blank, and was stunned, “It’s … it’s ours?”
She suddenly understood. This was Di Jun making up a wedding ceremony for her. Then, she abruptly remembered what she had said to Chu Yi when Di Jun arrived at that bridal chamber in Wen Yuan Valley. Di Jun must have heard those words, and thought that she was demanding something, so he ...
She hurriedly sat upright and explained, “I… I have not wanted you to make up a wedding ceremony for me. When I said I envied them, it was just something I casually said. “ She racked her brains, stammering, “At that time, you were not there at our wedding ceremony. I did have some regrets, but that was because I am a young girl. All young girls are like this, just not being very sensible, that’s all. But I have truly never blamed you, neither do I want the extravagance and waste, giving everyone the extra trouble. I am not that wilful!”
Di Jun walked over and sat by her side. He held her nervously clenched fist in his palm, calming her down, “You are not insensible, and you are not wilful.” He looked at her, “I prepared this wedding ceremony not because you demanded anything from me. It was only because I wanted to give it to you.”
They were so close, and were also alone together. But for the first time, the young maiden did not intimately cuddle up to him. She simply sat still for a while, as if lost in her thoughts. After a while, the rim of her eyes reddened, little by little. She leaned her head to the side, and asked him, sobbing, “Di Jun, I… I am… am very happy, but why do I feel like crying instead…”
She had perfect apricot eyes. Her eye clefts were wide, the corner of her eyes were rounded, so her eyes appeared to be particularly large. Whenever she laughed or cried, they became especially innocent and vivid.
He raised his hand to soothe her tears, but she grabbed his wrists. Then she grasped his hand, leaning her head slightly as she touched her cheek to the back of his hand. After that, her cherry blossom lips gently pressed onto his palm.
He let her be so, his eyes deep as he gazed quietly at her without blinking. When she lifted her head after she had her fill of pressing her lips against his palm, he stretched his hand out and held her small and delicate fair chin.
She gazed at him in confusion, her eyes glistening like water. As if she was surprised, her lips unconsciously fell open slightly.
He looked intently into her eyes, then he lowered his gaze and stroked her lower lip with his thumb somewhat forcefully. Those pink lips became plump and beautiful, like a splendoured blooming flower.
He leaned forward, kissing those lips.
Her eyes widened, both her hands clenching his sleeves uncontrollably. Nearby, the colourful lantern popped, exploding into a lantern flower. But no one cared.
His kisses wandered over and over on those red lips, as she slowly closed her eyes amidst that tender kiss.
The auspicious hour approached.
Several million officers and soldiers of the God race held their battleaxes, clothed in full battle armour. They lined up on the east side of the Jie Shui river respectfully welcoming the Emperor Lord and his Empress out of their tent.
The bugle horns of the east sky sounded three times as the thundering battle drums on the side of the expansive river rang out in accompaniment. Amidst the sound of deep drum beats, the silver haired Venerable God, accompanied by his beautiful wife, walked out of their tent together.
Both of them were dressed in purple robes — the brocade robes were made from the silk threads spat by the gold and silver silkworms that reside on the mythical Twin Mulberry Tree, where the Three-Legged Golden Crow perched on. The seven treasures of gold, silver, agate, azure stones, giant clams, corals and scarlet pearls adorned the robes, making them so resplendent and stately that it was impossible to see up close.
Under their feet, was a long continuous cloud path paving the way directly to a high platform built by the banks of the Jie Shui River. The platform was very wide, and was made out of a single piece of jasper. In the middle of it, grew a large Heavenly Tree; the trunk of the tree was so high that it pierced through the clouds, while its crown could be said to be so vast that it would cover half the battlefield in Jie Shui.
Feng Jiu raised her head, making an effort to see the tree. She was able to distinguish the feather-like leaves of the Heavenly Tree, and its coral-like red flowers. Expressing her surprise in a low voice, “Isn’t this the Pārijāta Tree that grows on the Thirty Third floor of Nine Heavens?”
Di Jun gazed at the tree from afar, “I heard you say that marriages of the God race two hundred and sixty thousand years in the future will require going to Nu Wa’s place to record the couple’s names in the marriage registry. But Nu Wa’s current celestial office isn’t in this role, so the marriages in the God race presently do not have this practice. Therefore, this cannot be done.”
He withdrew his gaze and looked at her, “Among the spirit living things of the Eight Realms, only the King of Heavenly Trees — the Pārijāta Tree from the Thirty Third floor of Nine Heavens could bear the vows made by the King of Gods. Hence, the rites officer Mo Yuan conferred at the Investiture three years ago, drew up a system of rites regulating the marriage ceremonies of the King of Gods. It is stipulated that during the marriage ceremonies of the King of Gods, marital vows need to be made to the Pārijāta Tree. After that, the tree will lower the Crown of Gods, acknowledging the authority of the Queen of Gods on behalf of Heaven and Earth.”
Feng Jiu appeared to be attending a class in history, “I can’t believe the Master did not mention this before … but I remember that every generation of the Heavenly Lord’s wedding ceremonies after that did not make any marital vows to the Pārijāta Tree.”
Di Jun looked into her perplexed eyes, and smiled, stroking her head, “It was probably because the few generations of what you refer to as Heavenly Lords were not Kings of Gods.” Holding her hand and leading her towards the high platform, “Let’s go and see what kind of crown it has prepared for you.”
In pace with their approach to the Heavenly Tree, the millions of officers and soldiers knelt down one after another like the waves of the ocean, the sound of ”Greetings to the Emperor Lord, Greetings to the Empress” vibrating throughout the Northern Realms in a continuous and unending stream.
The red sun rose from the horizon, and the sound of bells chimed from the Nine Heavens above. It was the sound pledging the precise auspicious hour. As the faint chime of bells faded slowly into the distance, a shower of Mandara, Mañjusaka, Golden Udumbara, Mallikā, Kusuma, Pundarīka, and other spectacular flowers fluttered down one after another from the Heavens. In an instant, all of the Great Land of the Eight Realms were bathed in the skyful rain of flowers.
Di Jun, in the company of Feng Jiu, stepped onto the jasper platform. He led her to stand in front of the King of Heavenly Trees representing Heaven and Earth on it. Then he magicked the golden Sceptre of the Pārijāta Tree onto his hand, holding it horizontally aloft. The millions of officers and soldiers kneeling below the platform also uniformly held their weapons aloft in a similar fashion, executing the rite of vows. The sound of armour striking sounded as one, resonating throughout the eastern side of the Jie Shui river. It was solemn and imposing, leaving one feeling astounded.
Although Feng Jiu had seen many great aspects of the world, she had truly never experienced such a scene before. The solemn atmosphere was contagious, and her heart couldn’t help but beat in a continuous staccato.
She quietly pressed her chest that held her wildly beating heart, listening to Di Jun saying his vows, word by word, line by line, in the face of the Gods of the Eight Realms, towards the Pārijāta Tree, “Qing Qiu’s woman, Feng Jiu of the Bai Clan is lively and intelligent. Born with natural elegance blessed by the Heavens, she has deeply won my heart…”
But at this moment, a gigantic wave suddenly surged from the slow flowing waters of the Jie Shui river by the side of the platform. Afterwards, a hideous rumbling erupted from the ground in between the sound of cracking earth. Separating the river waters was the enchanted ward made from the essence of the Northern Lands. The ward, resembling a huge black cover enclosing the entirety of the Northern Realms, abruptly opened, revealing neatly and densely packed row after row of soldiers.
Feng Jiu’s mind hummed, and she responded immediately, It’s High God Fu Ying using Di Jun’s marriage ceremony, at a time when the God race would loosen their vigilance, to send his troops out.
She gripped Dong Hua’s hand tightly, somewhat flustering, “Di Jun!”
At a rough glance, Fu Ying’s tri-forces lined up in formation outside the river, appearing to be numbering in the millions. Horizontally in front of the troops, along the banks of the Jie Shui River, was the Vanguard Army consisting of thousands of enormous hunting monster beasts struggling to get free.
The monster beasts gathered in a cluster, hissing towards the Heavens in a terrifying cacophony of sounds.
Under the jasper platform, the officers and soldiers of the God race quickly responded, and immediately moved to their positions, lining up in formation.
Feng Jiu turned her hand over, grabbing Di Jun’s hand, attempting to pull him off the high platform. But Di Jun stopped her. “Don’t be afraid.” He said softly. Di Jun’s Cang He sword appeared magically, and he held it by the edge of the blade, his crimson golden blood flowing down along the length of the sword's blade.
At the same time, Fu Ying, riding his mythical winged serpent mount, circling in mid-air on the opposite bank of the river, suddenly waved his hand, signaling his orders, “Attack!”
The monster beasts with their ferocious features revealed, baring fangs and brandishing claws, waded into the river, rushing towards them.
Di Jun raised his hand, the body of the Cang He sword violently lengthened, and grew like a millennium old giant tree. After that, it duplicated itself a thousand times over, and lined up in an erect row on the east bank of the Jie Shui River. The awe inspiring swords merged into one with the crimson golden blood. In a flash, the thousands of Cang He swords joined together, taking the form of an indestructible crimson golden barrier ward.
A few demonic water dragons at the front of the pack of monster beasts dashing across the river had flown across to the other side, and were preparing for a slaughter, when they ran headlong into the wall of the barrier ward. Two of the demonic water dragons had rammed their bodies right into the edge of the Cang He’s blade forming part of the barrier ward. Before they could even howl, they were already cut into several pieces by the keen crimson golden blood infused blade of the Cang He.
Feng Jiu gazed at that powerful barrier ward in shock.
The monster beasts advanced wave upon wave only to be entirely buried outside the barrier ward, momentarily turning the outside of the crimson golden barrier into a hill of corpses amidst a sea of blood.
Fu Ying, astride his mythical winged serpent in mid-air, was flustered and exasperated. He began casting spells in an effort to break the barrier ward. Although she could not see if Fu Ying’s efforts in attacking the barrier had any effect on it, Feng Jiu was still worried.
Di Jun picked up the Sceptre of the Pārijāta Tree that had been floating in mid-air once again. Feng Jiu could not believe it, “You… you still intend to carry on with our marriage ceremony?
Di Jun was calm and collected, looking as if they were not really on a battlefield at that moment, acting like they had not just encountered a surprise attack by the enemy troops, and besieged by the monster beasts. He calmly comforted her, “Don’t be afraid, we still have the time of one incense stick, and all the ceremonial rites will be fully completed by then.” He took a glance at the barrier ward standing firmly at the banks of the Jie Shui river, “This time, nothing will go wrong midway.”
Feng Jiu stammered, “But..”
Di Jun interrupted her, holding her icy cold hand and assuaging her fears for the third time, “Don’t be afraid, I am here.” Comforting her, “If I say it will be all right, then it will be all right.” He waited till her hands did not feel as icy before turning to face the crowd of officers and soldiers below the platform. Raising the Sceptre in his hand high above him, his expression calm as he swiped the Sceptre from left to right. A golden ray of light burst out of the Sceptre, instantly covering the entire battlefield.
Feng Jiu could not understand this hand signal, but the officers and soldiers below the platform were evidently familiar with the meaning it conveyed. As the ray of golden light spread out, the sound of their voices rang out with vigorous spirit in unison, “Array!”
When the golden ray of light reached the horizon, a cavalry mounted on the Meng Ji beast suddenly emerged prominently from all directions in the sky. Rider and mount were both in full iron clothing. Then the Meng Ji beast raised its hoof and dashed to where they were standing, hovering steadily in the air, kneeling before the King of Gods with both knees forward, its disposition expressing his allegiance to him. From the ground, came the sound of weapons and armour striking; the sound grand, solemn and sublime, as the ground soldiers divided into eight camps, assembling into the Qian Yuan Greater Formation.
The battle flag fluttered ostensibly in the whistling wind. Everyone was prepared, and ready for battle.
Di Jun raised his head, glancing at the barrier ward that was still steadily stopping the advance of the Monster beast, but he had no intention of immediately removing the ward. Instead, he turned and walked towards the sacred tree to continue the ceremony that he had not completed earlier. On the contrary, what he was doing seemed to be reasonable and fair, and did not make anyone feel that it was abrupt.
“Feng Jiu of the Bai Clan is lively and intelligent. Born with natural elegance blessed by the Heavens,” the young man’s voice was gentle, “she has deeply won my heart. I willingly bind myself to her in the bonds of matrimony, faithfully staying by her side for eternity.”
As soon as his words were spoken, the entire body of the Pārijāta Tree blossomed with the soft illumination of the serenely beautiful seven-colored light.
Then, a Crown of Gods made of the blooming flowers of the Pārijāta Tree fell from amongst the luxuriant branches of the Heavenly Tree. The crown was caught by several birds with beautiful coloured feathers holding it with their beaks, slowly presenting it before Di Jun.
Dong Hua took the Crown of Gods from the beaks of the birds, and looked towards Feng Jiu, “The Pārijāta Tree’s taste in aesthetics is pretty good. This Crown of Gods is not bad, isn’t it?”
Feng Jiu admired Di Jun for his ability to still crack a joke at this moment. Her eyes fell onto the ornately beautiful crown, and the rims of her eyes reddened uncontrollably, rendering her speechless for a while.
Di Jun took a step closer, and placed the Crown of Gods on top of her head.
The Sacred Tree had dropped the Crown of Gods, which represented its recognition of the status of the Queen chosen by the King of Gods. The numerous officers and soldiers already in formation neatly raised their weapons, and stood at attention to their right of front to show their respect to the Queen of Gods. The uniformed sound of their weapons thrilling the hearts of people, making it inexpressibly dignified, solemn and respectful.
Di Jun stood behind Feng Jiu, and held her hand, grasping the Sceptre of the Pārijāta Tree with her, whispering softly by her ears, “Since you have already become their Queen of Gods, you will be the one to command them to initiate the fight in this final battle.” As he said those words, he grasped her hand that firmly held the Sceptre and waved it to the right.
The bugle horn sounded the call to charge, the Cang He sword withdrew the barrier ward. The soldiers gathered momentum, uniformly chorusing, “Attack!”
On the east side of the Jie Shui river, the two armies clashed head-to-head.
The battle of Jie Shui was the final confrontation between Di Jun and High God Fu Ying.
The war persisted for a total of forty nine days⁹.
In forty nine days, the iron hoof of the God race trampled the Northern Realms. Fu Ying was greatly defeated, the entire rebel army led by him was completely wiped out.
The Ghost Lord and the Monster Lord handed in their surrender documents but Di Jun refused to accept them.
In the end, Fu Ying, the Ghost Lord and the Monster Lord were beheaded by the Cang He sword, and the corpses of the three Lords sank to the bottom of the North Sea.
Feng Jiu did not stay at Jie Shui to experience the whole war.
The battlefield was tough and perilous. She had no desire to distract Di Jun, so she returned to the Heavenly Jade Sea accompanied by Fei Wei on the second day.
This happened before the war ended. It was a day Fei Wei was serving Feng Jiu and Little Gun Gun in the vegetable garden, watering the Yan Zhi vegetables that were just planted not long ago. Feng Jiu said that Di Jun loved to eat Yan Zhi vegetables, and when Di Jun returned victorious from the war, and arrived home to the Heavenly Jade Sea, the first batch of vegetables would have just ripened.
The two of them were discussing this when Feng Jiu suddenly changed the subject, and asked Fei Wei, “The wedding ceremony between myself and Di Jun, that day on the battlefield, was really a ruse by him, right?”
“Fu Ying hiding in that ward created from the essence of the land was frustrating, so letting him believe that Di Jun’s wedding ceremony would loosen the army’s vigilance, possibly luring him out was what Di Jun was thinking, right?” She paused, “Fu Ying finally did come out as expected.”
Fei Wei was caught off guard, and his heart jumped. He was surprised that Feng Jiu was able to discern what had really happened, and though she did not get it completely right, it wasn’t far from reality.
It was indeed the truth. The army led by Fu Ying could not restrain the Qian Yuan Greater Formation, and was forced to hide into the Northern Realm. But it was impossible for him to hide in the ward forever, and he would have to find an opportunity to come out.
Besides, Di Jun’s style of handling matters had always leaned towards resolving problems in the shortest time possible. Since when would he tolerate continuing hundreds and thousands of years of confrontation with Fu Ying.
Di Jun knew that Fu Ying was stubborn and self-opinionated, and also had a rash temperament. Hence, after the siege of the Northern Realm, marriages took place on the battlefield from time to time. During these occasions, he would command the army at the camp to relax their vigilance for an hour and a half right from when the formal ceremonial rites would begin.
At the same time, Di Jun had employed a stratagem of disseminating some so-called counter formation drawings that could restrain the Quan Yuan Greater Formation to Fu Ying.
The produced counter formation drawings looked very genuine. Although Fu Ying was impetuous, his aides and advisors were still cautious, so they investigated and studied the drawings in detail several times, but could not find anything unusual.
Furthermore, the spies that Fu Ying sent out to investigate had found that every wedding ceremony held on Di Jun’s campgrounds looked genuine, and that the hour and a half of loosened vigilance wasn’t a ruse. His aides and advisors had mostly come from a background of civilian court officials with meticulous mindsets. Though they were not able to find anything suspicious, they still persuaded Fu Ying to quietly wait for an opportunity. How was one to know that Di Jun would also get married on the battlefield?
In Fu Ying’s opinion, this was an exceptional opportunity to destroy Dong Hua’s wedding ceremony, and to invigorate the morale of his own army. Hence, he went against the advice of his aides and insisted on opening the ward and declaring warfare on that day.
Fei Wei had no idea how to explain to Feng Jiu that Di Jun had not made use of her. His forehead was soaked in cold sweat as he stuttered, “His Imperial Lordship… His Imperial Lordship really did not treat the marital rites between the two of you as a tool to lure Fu Ying out, even though it did indeed have this effect. But don’t misunderstand His Imperial Lordship!”
As Fei Wei wiped his cold sweat off, he finally found a point to prove Di Jun’s sincerity, so he was able to speak more fluently, “When you first visited Jie Shui and said that you envied the wedding ceremony by the banks of the Jie Shui river, His Imperial Lordship took it to heart and since then, has initiated preparations for it. In order to do this, he did not hesitate to dig up the King of Heavenly Trees that grows on the Thirty Third floor of Nine Heavens and move it to the Northern Realms.”
Feng Jiu chuckled, interrupting Fei Wei, “Why are you so nervous? I do not feel that he has used me. If it were just to lure Fu Ying out, wouldn’t it be the same result if he got his most capable celestial general to marry? Not only that, it would not have required him to dig up the King of Heavenly Trees and have it moved there. He is a Venerable God of the Eight Realms, and he is this world’s stabilising force¹⁰.”
She smiled slightly, “Did you know that in 260,000 years, as long as Di Jun is honoured in the halls of Tai Chen Palace, no one in the four races of Heaven and Earth would dare to act rashly. The man I admire and adore is not simply a respected god that anyone can ask to love like a regular man and woman. He has to carry the burden of the world on his shoulders, and I have always understood this.”
Fei Wei was stunned, “Di Hou, you…”
The young maiden dressed in red raised her eyes to gaze towards the distant sky, which was the precise direction of the Northern Realms, “Di Jun has already accomplished the best he can for me. Previously, I said that the best Di Jun is the one I know 260,000 years from now, but that is incorrect.” There was gentle affection in her eyes, “The Di Jun of any time, is always the best one.”
Fei Wei was silent for a moment, and felt a little moved. He finally understood why there were numerous women who admired Di Jun in the Eight Realms, but it was just this girl who could make Di Jun treat her so differently.
She was beautiful but not bewitching, intelligent without being cunning, knew righteousness and reasoning, and was kind and considerate. Within these Eight Realms, there was no other person like her who was not only desirable to Di Jun, but could match him this well.
Fei Wei smiled imperceptibly, a sudden sense of comfort arising in his heart.
Glossary for Chapter Seven
Empress 帝后 Di Hou
(Used interchangeably with Di Hou)
His Imperial Lordship/Emperor Lord 帝座 Di Zhuo (Used interchangeably with Di Jun)
River of the Legendary Dog 颉水河 Jie Shui River
Heavenly Jade Sea 碧海苍灵 Bi Hai Cang Ling
Flowers, Beasts, Precious Stones & Rarities Glossary for Chapter Seven
Mandara Flower
(Chinese Hibiscus)
曼陀罗
Màn Tuó Luó
Mañjusaka Flower
(Red Spider Lily)
曼殊沙
Màn Shū Shā
Golden Udumbara Flower
(Fig Flower)
金婆罗
Jīn Pó Luó
Mallikā Flower
(Arabian Jasmine)
婆师迦
Pó Shī Jiā
Kusuma Flower
(Queen of the Night)
俱苏摩
Jù Sū Mó
Pundarīka
(White Lotus)
芬陀利
Fēn Tuó Lì
Pārijāta Tree
(Indian Coral Tree)
昼度树
Zhòu Dù Shù
Agate
玛瑙
Ma Nao
Azure Stone
琉璃
Liú Lí
Giant Clams
砗磲
Chē Qú
Corals
珊瑚
Shān Hú
Scarlet Pearls
赤珠
Chì Zhū
Mythical Winged Serpent
鸣蛇
Míng shé
Meng Ji Beast
孟极兽
Mèng Jí Shòu
Notes
1. Dong Hua was a product of transformative birth by the elements of Heaven and Earth. We have translated an article from Tang Qi that talks about how Gods were born in the 3L3W universe. You will be able to read more details about how Dong Hua was born here: https://elodsoompie.wixsite.com/home/post/how-are-the-gods-and-immortals-in-the-three-lives-three-worlds-universe-born
2. Based on our understanding of the word Shén Nu (神女) in the context of the Three Lives Three Worlds universe, we have translated the words to ‘Fairy’. Hence, Chu Yi’s rank placement in the story is that of a fairy.
Note that a Shén Nu is one rank higher than a Xiān Nu as a Shén Nu can potentially attain the rank of High God/Goddess if they work hard enough on their cultivation and/or are from an ancient line of gods, e.g Qing Qiu’s Nine-tailed Fox Clan.
In this universe, there are several classes of gods and here is our breakdown and its corresponding translation:
仙女 Xiān Nu Fairy
神女 Shén Nu Fairy
仙 Xiān Immortal
神君 Shén Jūn Immortal Lord
神 Shén God/Goddess
上仙 Shàng Xiān High Immortal
上神 Shàng Shén High God/High Goddess
3. The idiom 摇头晃脑 (yáo tóu huàng nǎo) has been translated to its figurative meaning in English.
摇头晃脑 literally means to wag one's head. Figuratively it means the following:- looking pleased with oneself; assume an air of self-approbation (self-conceit); (he has a way of) nodding and rolling (his head about like a prig whenever he speaks).; rocking back and forth.
Bai Gun Gun’s personality has never come across as conceited, so the most logical one to use in this context would be him looking pleased, which is what we have used.
4. We have translated the four word idiom 可歌可泣 (kě gē kě qì) to its figurative meaning in English as the literal words would not make any sense in English.
The literal meaning of the idiom is “You can sing or you can cry” but the figurative meaning are as follows:
i) deeply moving
ii) happy and sad
iii) inspiring and tragic
Based on the context with which the words are used, we have elected to use ‘inspiring and tragic’ as this would be the most accurate one to describe Chu Yi’s arc in this chapter.
5. The English translation of 良宵一刻值千金 (Liáng Xiāo Yī Kè Zhí Qiān Jīn) is fairly close to its meaning in chinese. A wonderful moment (一刻) on a beautiful night(良宵) is worth a thousand gold (值千金 ).
6. 米成了饭木做了舟 (Mǐ Chéng Le Fàn Mù Zuò Le Zhōu) is equivalent to “A matter is set in stone and cannot be changed” if understood in the context of the story.
米成了饭 means “the raw rice has become cooked rice” while 木做了舟 means “the wood has been made into a boat”. As you can see the entire phrase implies some sort of permanent change on the raw rice and the wood. And this change obviously can’t be reversed. So in the same way, it means that a matter/issue/whatever is now set in stone and cannot be changed.
7. 棒打鸳鸯 (Bàng Da Yuān Yāng) literally means “beat the mandarin ducks with a stick” and the actual meaning means “breaking up a couple who love each other".
8. 云里雾中 (Yún Lǐ Wù Zhōng) means “amidst the clouds and fog”. This was translated with the literal meaning in mind as it clearly shows that she was still a little confused and puzzled about what was really going on. We think reading this “Feng Jiu’s foggy mind was still inside a cloud” gives you the idea without the figurative meaning.
9. 七七四十九日 (Qī Qī Sì Shí Jiu Rì) Seven seven forty nine days frequently appears in buddhist scriptures and rites. They are also a regular feature in many Chinese mystical and fantasy stories.
The 7 multiplied by 7 days = 49 days is the timeline used in buddhist services for the auspicious reincarnation of the departed and it originated from Buddhism. It brings 49 days of mourning for the soul of the deceased into Chinese traditional funeral rites. This is also referred to as the Seven Seven Prayer for the soul of the deceased, or the Land and Water buddhist rite, etc. It is a large buddhist assembly to perform the rites that will help a soul reincarnate.
In Buddhism’s concept of reincarnation, people go through seven stages of reincarnation with karma within 7 to 49 days after death, which means that the forty nine day is a buffer period, except for extremely good people who go to heaven immediately, and extremely bad ones where people immediately go to hell. Most people can atone for their sins and be reborn into a good life after going through the Seven Seven Prayer Rites. The rite involves reciting buddhist scriptures and prayers every 7 days over 7 weeks making it a total of 49 days. This rite became popular in China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
This makes sense in the context of this story as 49 days later, High God Fu Ying and the two other Lords responsible for the war were dead. Odd numbers are used by the buddhist for things like funerals and other negative events, while even numbers are used for auspicious and joyous events.
10. "He is a Venerable God of the Eight Realms, and he is this world’s stabilising force" - "他是八荒的尊神，是这天下的定海神针". The original words, 定海神针 is a divine artifact featured in Journey to the West. This artifact became the Monkey God’s (Sun Wu Kong) weapon and he wields it for the entire road trip to the Buddha Realms. Legend has it that this artifact, the Ocean Stabilising Divine Needle is the force that makes the oceans and seas stable. So Tang Qi used it as an analogy to Dong Hua being the stabilising force of the Eight Realms.
11. Buddhists refer to the secular world’s visual forms, sound, smell , taste, sensations of touch & dharmas as the “six desires”. Mankind’s heart and the “six desires” have predestined affinity from the day of their birth, and are thus burdened by it. This is what 尘缘 (Chen Yuan) refers to. This generally means that a person’s predestined affinity with the secular world is not broken and will thus be guided by their own desires.
In other words, what Tang Qi means when she uses “不结尘缘” to describe Dong Hua is that he is detached from the secular desires of the world. The key word here is “不结” which means the words in bold: “...did not subscribe to the secular notion of predestined bonds of affinity to worldly desires."
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 7, 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， 梦回洪荒元古时第七段所翻译的。版权都是作者唐七所拥有。