Three Lives Three Worlds
Pillow Book of Samsara:
三生三世 枕上书之梦回洪荒远古时
This was seven months later.
At the Heavenly Jade Sea, Fei Wei brought up a time in Di Jun’s past, when he was studying at Water Marsh School. He spoke of the Formation Studies class that Father God had personally taught.
In a battle between two armies, lining up soldiers and devising formation strategies were vital. The better the formation, the better it could impede the enemy, potentially winning with a surprise move.
Speaking of that period, the two most outstanding students of Formation Studies were Mo Yuan and Dong Hua. Both had their own representative work when they graduated. Father God saw that Dong Hua had forgotten to name his work, so he gave it a name — the Qian Yuan formation.
The meaning of Qian Yuan was the beginning of Heaven’s way. Thus, what Father God meant was that this formation strategy had taken all the various principles behind the inception of the laws of Heaven and incorporated them into it. Then, the strategy drew upon the most ruthless and cruel parts to create a formation so comprehensive that it could directly and efficiently overcome all the others that existed in the world up until now. It was overbearing to the point that it was worthy of its name, Qian Yuan.
However, due to the cruel and dominating qualities of the formation strategy, on the day its drawings were completed, Father God had taken a look at it and sealed it in perpetuity afterwards. He said that if this formation were produced, it would be detrimental to the people of the world.
But Father God still gave this representative work very high marks, but it was not as high as the grades Mo Yuan received for his work. God Mo Yuan had seen both formation drawings and felt that Dong Hua’s ingenuity was one up over his own. So he asked Father God why Dong Hua’s grades were lower than his. Father God indicated that Dong Hua had forgotten to name his formation strategy and had lost a very important point as a result of it.
Since then, Di Jun had never forgotten to name the things he owned. It was all thanks to Father God indeed.
Feng Jiu offered a different opinion when she heard of this point, saying that when she was a pet in Tai Chen Palace, Di Jun had not given her a name. He only called her Little Fox. Fei Wei said oh, that was because in His Imperial Lordship’s eyes, Little Fox was the name he gave you. So you did have a name. For all you knew, he probably felt that this was a very cute name he had given, and may have been secretly proud of it.
Getting back to the main story, the reason why Fei Wei expressly mentioned these events were not merely for a casual conversation. It was only by understanding the origins of the Qian Yuan formation could Feng Jiu comprehend the current state of affairs. And only through acknowledging the present situation would she not needlessly worry about Di Jun in the event she was ordered to remain at the Heavenly Jade Sea and forbidden from leaving it.
This was the current state of affairs. Seven months after the discussion forum at Zhang Wei Mountain, Di Jun had returned to the Nine Heavens and reopened Tai Chen Palace, officially taking over as the Master of Gods.
After wielding the sceptre of the Pārijāta Tree¹, the Eight Realms’ symbol of the highest authority, in his hand, Di Jun dispelled the enchanted seal Father God had placed on the Qian Yuan Formation.
He activated the formation, using it to strategically command the army of several million soldiers of the God race into the war. Less than half a year later, they had forced the tri-forces led by Fu Ying into retreating back to the Northern Realm.
After Fu Ying retreated back to the Northern Realm, he extracted the essence nourishing the lands, and used it to create an enchanted restriction ward that enclosed the entire Northern realm inside its boundaries. He retreated his army into the ward, shutting themselves in. They stood their ground from within, never leaving it.
The enchantment was constructed from the essence of the land. If an attack was forced from the outside, the ward would break, and the essence destroyed. The entirety of the Northern Lands would be wiped out along with it.
This was Fu Ying’s strategic gamble on the unwillingness of the Gods to lose the vast territory of the Northern Realms. As expected, the God race did not dare attack from the outside and stationed an army of a thousand outside the ward, by the embankment of the Jie Shui River.
As the hostilities of war were tense, Feng Jiu had not seen Di Jun for half a year. She had thought that since the war would not end in the short term, she would have no idea when she could see Di Jun again. Consequently, on the seventh day after that conversation with Fei Wei ended, two immortal generals arrived at the Heavenly Jade sea, saying they were under Di Jun’s orders to invite her to Jie Shui for a get-together.
It was nightfall when she arrived at Jie Shui. Feng Jiu had imagined that the atmosphere at the encampment would be tense and sombre as the two armies were in the middle of a confrontation. But who would have thought that it was really in an environment of recuperation.
On the eastern side of Jie Shui, the middle of the tops of many tents were adorned with lanterns hung in a circle, clearly a festive sight. It was on further query that she found out that a military commander was getting married on this day.
Feng Jiu was very surprised, and curiously asked Fei Wei, “It is possible to get married on the battlefield?”
Fei Wei was just as astonished, “Miss Xiao Bai, don’t tell me that the era where you came from had such severe rules that do not allow immortal generals to marry on the battlefield?” He sincerely sought her advice, “But once war breaks out in the Eight Realms, the confrontation between two armies frequently lasts for a few hundred years. At times, it may even drag on for a few thousand years. Since nothing alarming is happening, isn’t it too cruel not to allow the immortal generals to get married?
'
The era Miss Xiao Bai came from was a flourishing period of peace and prosperity with basically no battlefields. Everything she knew about war she had learnt from school. But when the Master spoke about the wars during the Ancient Age of Chaos, he mainly touched on how the God Generals lined up their army and set up strategic formations, as well as the deployment of military deceptive tactics. He had never mentioned anything about how the happiness of the officers and soldiers were safeguarded during their free time.
This was a blindspot in Miss Xiao Bai’s knowledge. She went blank for a while and could not answer the question. Eventually, she stroked her forehead, and shyly laughed a little, “It’s possible that I am expressing my amazement due to my lack of knowledge on this matter.”
As the two of them were talking, Fei Wei saw the figure of Di Jun appearing by the banks of the river, heading towards them. Then he hurriedly but discreetly retreated, shooting a meaningful glance at Feng Jiu before he left.
Feng Jiu raised her eyes and looked ahead after Fei Wei gave her a hint.
The Jie Shui River meandered gently, the chilly weather creating a layer of misty fog floating up above it. The bright moon reflected in between, as if there was a disappearing floating reflection. The purple robed, silver haired God appeared to be bathing in the flowing silver moonlight, walking towards her amidst the misty fog, like a dream.
Not far away, was the encampment bustling with noise and excitement, a large bonfire burning in its midst. The soldiers were making merry, singing and dancing around the bonfire, pranking a couple in the middle, dressed in red, likely the bride and groom.
As the silver haired young man approached, Feng Jiu felt as if the cacophony of merry sounds, which were full of presence, had faded entirely into the distance. All that was left, was the lull of quietness and the sound of her pounding heart on the Great Land of Chaos.
Although the time she had been together with Di Jun was not exactly short, whenever she saw his figure, it would always make her heart beat faster. Then, she would effortlessly recall the feelings she had, when she first fell in love with him.
It had been a difficult time during the few thousand years when she had pursued him relentlessly. But no matter how hard it was, she had never been able to truly let him go. Perhaps this was the reason for her racing heart.
Feng Jiu stared at the figure of the young man as he came closer and closer. She most definitely understood that by standing where she was and allowing Di Jun to walk towards her on his own accord made her appear to be reserved. But she was only able to resist for less than three counts before she ran towards him as if she was flying, while silently thinking, hrmph, it was his fault for being so slow.
At this moment, she no longer resembled a fox, but was more like a bird, or even a butterfly as she threw herself blithely into his embrace in sweet happiness, encircling her arms around his neck. She raised her head, the light in her eyes touchingly luminous, as she complained half truthfully, “Why did you walk so slowly!”
The young man did not respond to her complaint, but instead lowered his eyes to size her up. “How about you? Why do you love to throw yourself in my arms?
She arched her brow, “I am letting you take advantage of me, isn’t that a good thing?”
He raised his eyebrows, “Am I taking advantage of you, or are you taking advantage of me?”
This was definitely a question, and it was one that stumped Feng Jiu. But she thought of it in another way; the Di Jun of 260,000 years ago might not be her Husband Lord yet, but eventually, he did become her Husband Lord, so why couldn’t she take advantage of him in advance? As long as he didn’t push her away, she would dare to do it, so she pretended to glare at him, “Yes, I am the one taking advantage.” She stuck her tongue out, “Then I shall take advantage.”
She had practically hung her entire self onto Di Jun’s body. Di jun was worried that she might be unsteady, so he took the extra trouble to hold onto her waist.
Nearby, two young soldiers absentmindedly walked closer, accidentally running into His Imperial Lordship and his Empress. They immediately retreated two steps hurriedly to avoid them, but quietly turned back to look at them curiously as they walked away.
Having been seen by the young soldiers, Feng Jiu’s delayed feeling of shame erupted. She suddenly became a little embarrassed, and took a step back, pouting, “This place has too many people coming and going, let’s find a more deserted place.” She said as she walked towards the reed pond by the riverside.
A large boulder happened to lie by the side of the reed pond, and the two of them sat down on it. As soon as they were seated, the young maiden cuddled up against him. That’s when Di Jun realised that when they were alone together, she would always be very attached to him.
The young maiden snuggled up beside him, and hugged his arm. She raised her head slightly, her large apricot eyes brimming with curiosity, her pupils twinkling like falling stars, “Previously, you did not permit me to come here, so why are you allowing me to come now?
He lowered his eyes to look at her, “Haven’t you always thought about seeing what the current battlefield is like? Previously, It was too dangerous, but it has been relatively peaceful recently. Furthermore, we have a soldier getting married, so the atmosphere is bustling with excitement. I thought you might like this.”
“Ah, so it’s like this.” After getting her answer, she turned her head towards the merrymaking crowd circling the bonfire in the distance, a look of happiness on her face, “En, I really like it. “ It appeared as if a thought had crossed her mind as she finished saying those words, the smile on her face abruptly faltering.
He was keenly aware of the change in her mood, so he asked her aloud, “What’s the matter?”
After a long time, she spoke with a mixture of envy and desolation, “The both of them getting married this way feels like such a good thing. Happily celebrating together after offering their respects to Heaven and Earth, and accepting everyone’s blessing. I really envy them.”
He watched her expression, frowning slightly, “Why would you envy them?” He paused for a moment, “Our wedding, wasn’t it more majestic than theirs?
He saw her remain quiet for a while, “It was indeed more majestic. The Heavenly Jade sea was decorated so beautifully, and all of the God race arrived to congratulate us.” She bit her lip, “Except on the day of the wedding, Di Jun did not show up.”
He was stunned, “What?”
She suddenly became angry, “Neither was it your fault.” She had gotten angry despite saying it was not his fault, yet not knowing who she was angry with, “It was because you had to save someone. After you had rescued that person, you encountered a precarious matter that would have endangered the world, requiring you to handle it. So you missed our wedding ceremony. I waited a long time for you, but you did not return. My wedding robes were so beautifully made, and I especially wanted to wear them, but in the end, I still never got to wear them. This was not your fault, it was fate making a mockery of people.” She sighed in a matured manner when she finished speaking.
That youthful, beautiful face sighing with such maturity. It appeared to be funny, yet one could not laugh, and would instead feel their heart aching.
He was silent for a long time, “Didn’t I compensate you afterwards?”
SShe pretended to relax by shrugging her shoulders, “You did say that you wanted to compensate me. But even if you weren’t there on our wedding day, Zhong Lin had arranged everything very well, and our marriage had also been recorded into Nu Wa’s marriage match book. Therefore, reasonably speaking, we were already married.” She spoke logically and clearly, appearing as if she had given it a lot of thought, “Although many problems had arisen during our wedding, all the gods of the Eight Realms knew that we were already married. Wouldn’t it be strange to get married again? So I refused your offer to compensate me.
He looked into her eyes, “Did you sincerely refuse?”
“En, “ she said dully, “although….” biting her lip again, “but it was just strange, so in the end, I decided that it would be better not to have it.” Hugging his arm as if she was consoling herself, “The fact that I could already be together with Di Jun was already satisfying, so I did not regret that our wedding ceremony was not so perfect.
Beautiful, intelligent, and sometimes a little silly. But regardless of the circumstances, she would always be so heartbreakingly thoughtful. This was the girl he would spend the rest of his existence with, at a very very late period in the set course of his life. His heart shivered lightly, and he could not help but caress her on her forehead.
After talking for a long time, she appeared to have exhausted herself, and yawned lightly. With a soft nasally tone that one could not guard against, she acted coquettishly towards him, “Di Jun, I am sleepy now.”
He caressed her forehead once again, ”Then just lie on my lap and nap for a while.”
She half-opened her eyes and sat up straight, “Sleep on your lap?” As if she felt that this was unimaginable, she was a little stupefied, “Why is Di Jun so amiable today …”
Why would she say he was amiable today? On which day was he not affable? Previously at the Heavenly Jade Sea, hadn’t he tolerated sharing a bed with her every night? Her sleeping postures had always involved cuddling into his embrace, and when had he ever pushed her away? She was just a heartless little fox who would always forget after waking up.
He did not reply.
Taking advantage of her reverie, he reached his hands out, hugging her over. Then he fiddled with laying her down, causing her entire body to nestle in his embrace. Knowing that she was delicate and gentle, and had difficulties sleeping without her own bed and blanket, he created a bed of cloud quilts out of thin air and bundled her into it. After he finished all of that, he raised his hand and caressed her eyes, “It is comfortable lying down like this, right?
Feeling her eyelashes softly brushing past his palm as she lightly nodded, he sighed, “Then go to sleep.”
But she rustled her hand out of the cloud blanket and pulled on his sleeve, asking in a soft voice, “You will be here, right?”
Lowering his eyes to look at her, he reached out to hold her free hand. He placed her hand by the edge of his lips, keeping it close to him, “En, I have been here all along.”
The silver moon shines clear and brilliant,
the Age of Chaos is lonesome,
if there are lovers,
separated by the ends of the world,
they can still promise each other an eternity.
Glossary for Chapter Six
Fundamentals of Heaven 乾元 Qian Yuan
River of the Legendary Dog 颉水河 Jie Shui River
Father God 父神 Fu Shen
Heavenly Jade Sea 碧海苍灵 Bi Hai Cang Ling
Miss Little White 小白姑娘 Xiao Bai Gu Niang
(We have retained the pinyin for the story)
His Imperial Lordship 帝座 Di Zhuo
Empress 帝后 Di Hou
Notes
1. The 昼度树 (zhòu dù shù) is the Indian Coral Tree (Pārijāta in sanskrit) from the Madhyamāgama Scripture, 2nd middle discourse. It is located on the 33rd Heaven (Trāyastrimśa Heaven).
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 6, 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， 梦回洪荒元古时第六段所翻译的。版权都是作者唐七所拥有。
The poem at the end kinda heart breaking actually.
Thank you so much for translating! I look forward to new chapters everyday and when they come I always feel giddy with excitement! You guys work so hard! You are a blessing to us non chinese readers 😊😊
Why oh why are they so cute ?? 🥺