Three Lives Three Worlds
Wherever Step Goes, Lotus Blooms:
Vol 1, Metamorphosis
三生三世 步生莲之化茧
Although thousands of different flora exist in this world, in general, there are only four types: Flower God, Flower Immortal, Flower Monster and the ones that are unable to change forms.
The world’s flora can feel and are aware of their environment, but the ones that are able to absorb the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth, cultivating into human form are few and far between.
Either they have good roots and grow into a clan leader, or they are planted in a good place imbued with an abundance of spirit essence, allowing them to easily grow and cultivate into a beautiful flower spirit monster.
The hundreds of different flora found in the Hundred Flower Tower belonged to the former. Many years ago, Cheng Yu’s father had indeed spent a lot of effort sequestering the leaders of one hundred flower clans into the Ten Flower Tower. It was through this method that Cheng Yu was able to safely survive her predestined illness calamity.
It must be borne in mind that if not for Cheng Yu, these one hundred flowers and trees would have been able to assume human form more than ten years ago, and Ten Flower Tower would not merely have Zhu Jin and Li Xiang managing it.
But Hua Fei Wu, who had originated from an old forest deep inside the mountains, represented the latter type of flower monster cultivation.
Hua Fei Wu’s hometown was not an ordinary mountain. It was a mountain cloaked in a heavy fog of spiritual essence in the Four Seas and Eight Realms known as the Zhi Yue Immortal Mountains. It was also home to the master of the 100 billion rivers and mountains in the thousands of mortal worlds — Immortal Lord Cang Yi.
Hua Fei Wu grew next to the pavilion in Lord Cang Yi’s rear gardens. The Immortal Lord loved to enjoy his tea in the pavilion, and when his unfinished tea grew cold, he would water her with it. Lord Cang Yi had no idea that watering flowers with tea was taboo. Hua Fei Wu was lucky, not only did she survive the constant watering, but on one fateful day, she mysteriously transformed into a flower monster.
Cheng Yu was extremely curious about this and asked Hua Fei Wu, “You transformed at the residence of an immortal. Shouldn’t you have transformed into a flower fairy or a flower god? Why did you transform into a flower monster?
Hua Fei Wu explained animatedly, “When the flower master passed on, the hundreds and thousands of flowers became monsters, and this world no longer has any flower gods.
Cheng Yu replied, “ I do not understand what you mean.”
Hua Fei Wu was too embarrassed to admit that she herself did not quite comprehend her own explanation, and rubbed her nose, “It’s fine if you do not understand, that’s just what everyone says.”
Afraid of Cheng Yu’s further persistence in pressing on the matter, Hua Fei Wu changed the subject, “Why do all the flowers here call you the Flower Master? The Four Seas and Eight Realms once had a Flower Master, one that had cultivated from a red lotus, an honoured deity among the Flower Gods. She was bestowed with the title of the Hundred Thousand Flower Master.”
Spreading her hands before continuing, “For some unknown reason, the Flower Master had passed on, but before she did so, she was said to be the only one worthy of being referred to as the Flower Master.
At that time, Cheng Yu was just thirteen years old, and thirteen year old Cheng Yu did not care about the life and death of a fairy, nor did it bother her that she and the fairy were coincidentally referred to by the same title. Zhu Jin had just recently rescinded her financial control, so she had put her heart and soul into worrying about her monetary future and was not inclined to think about anything else.
Cheng Yu replied Hua Fei Wu, “They call me Flower Master as I am the big boss of Ten Flower Tower, but l don’t have any financial control. Zhu Jin is our true boss.”
Hua Fei Wu was somewhat shocked, and asked her, “Then where did you find the money to look me up today?”
Cheng Yu looked up at the skies, and replied indifferently: “Won the money at a gambling house.
Hua Fei Wu was taken aback when Zhu Jin, who showed up hurriedly looking for Cheng Yu, overheard what she said, and promptly took her back to Ten Flower Tower where she was locked up for another ten days.
Hua Fei Wu had every intention of finding someone who truly loved her in the mortal realm. Having survived through sinking and swimming in a money squandering establishment like Lin Lang Court for over a year, she realised that she would never be able to find true love in the human game world among the hedonistic sons of rich parents.
With this insight, Hua Fei Wu finally became clever for once and deeply felt that she needed to find another way to achieve her dreams.
However, as she was unfamiliar with the ways of the mortal world, she mulled on it for a long time before finally approaching her one and only familiar and close mortal friend — fourteen year old Cheng Yu — to be her consultant.
For the wealthy families of the Da Xi Dynasty, when it came to raising daughters, if the elders of the family were dependable and meticulous, they would wait till the child grew to about thirteen to fourteen years of age, before coming up with a plan to find her a prospective marriage.
The reason why Hua Fei Wu enlisted Cheng Yu for help was because she was currently of a marriageable age, and ought to be more well versed with romantic matters of the mortal realm, making her just the right person to be her consultant.
As Cheng Yu had lost both her parents ever since she was little, the two flower monsters, Zhu Jin and Li Xiang had gone through great difficulty in raising her to adulthood. They did not adhere to the traditional etiquette of raising a virtuous princess, choosing to put the importance of her lively personality and health first.
In order to strengthen her bones, Zhu Jin tacitly consented to letting her assume the identity of Young Master Yu, enabling her to mix with the highly spirited and lively juveniles at the Ping An City marketplace, shooting arrows, wrestling and playing chinese soccer. This had resulted in Cheng Yu developing a bit of a boyish temperament.
Although Princess Red Jade, Cheng Yu, had reached the same age as the other girls in Ping An City who had begun secretly thinking about what their future husbands might look like, the first most important matter in her life was how to make more money, and the second biggest matter was how to score more outstanding goals at the next chinese football competition.
Consequently, when travel-worn Hua Fei Wu arrived at the Ten Flower Tower to discuss her romantic life with her, Cheng Yu had just completed ghostwriting several pages of school assignments for Wan Yan Zhai and did not have any time to hide them, so she was in a daze throughout the conversation.
But she had the spirit of sisterhood, and surmised that this issue was not very difficult to handle. After sending Hua Fei Wu off, she shut herself in, and focused on studying a mythical novel about immortals, spirits, monsters and mortals with intertwined destinies.
After cramming for several days, she felt as if she knew it all, so she headed to Lin Lang Court the next day.
The first idea that Cheng Yu proposed to Hua Wei Wu was the concept of borrowing and returning an umbrella from the novel, “The Lady in White Weighing down the Lei Feng Pagoda.”
It was said that Xu Xuan lent the White Lady an umbrella under the eaves of a small teahouse at the entrance of Shen Gong Lane. The next day, Xu Xuan went to the White Lady’s home to retrieve his umbrella. The act of borrowing and returning of the umbrella formed the bonds of gratitude, and love blossomed, culminating in the story << The Legend of Lady White Snake >>.
She advised Hua Fei Wu to try taking advantage of a heavy downpour to wait at the ferry crossing in the city’s north with a spare umbrella. If she saw a handsome gentleman coming off the ferry without an umbrella, she could offer to lend him one, possibly trapping an unlucky soul into fulfilling an unusual romance with her.
Hua Fei Wu, who hailed from the deep mountains had neither seen much of the world nor was she well-read. She immediately thought that it was a marvelous idea, so she happily went off to prepare the umbrellas before she even listened to the second idea.
The Heavens were gracious.
It rained the next day.
Cheng Yu was still dozing off when Hua Fei Wu dragged her out of the Ten Flower Tower to the small ferry crossing in the city’s north.
There was a wooden pavilion by the small ferry crossing, and it was here that the two women were having a private conversation. Hua Fei Wu pointed to the two large bamboo baskets covered with oilcloth and nervously asked Cheng Yu, “I have brought 20 umbrellas, Flower Master, do you think that’s enough?”
Cheng Yu was a little dazed as she replied, “Huh?”
Hua Fei Wu rubbed her hands and said, “This is how I plan to do it. In case the nobles are all young, handsome and talented, and if I like all of them, having one or two umbrellas will not be enough, so I brought twenty umbrellas to be safe, though this may barely be enough for the plan to be foolproof.
Cheng Yu squatted down and began rummaging through the umbrellas inside the bamboo basket, and asked Hua Fei Wu, “We need to carry these two baskets of umbrellas to the entrance of the ferry crossing, then I will guard them while standing next to you, so when you see someone you fancy, I will hand the umbrella over to that person, right?” She sincerely advised Hua Fei Wu, “This might make us look like we are selling umbrellas.”
A sudden inspiration struck as she spoke of this point, “Today is such a day where selling umbrellas is a good thing, we …”
Hua Fei Wu quickly cut her short, “Flower Master, why don’t you just stay here to guard the two baskets, I will first take a few with me to scout ahead. If this ferry load has any quality goods, I will come back for the rest, but if they are not, three or four umbrellas should be enough for me to give away.”
Cheng Yu stared at the two bamboo baskets before her and quickly agreed.
Hua Fei Wu responded to what was said only after she had walked out of the pavilion and hurriedly backtracked to instruct Cheng Yu, “Flower Master, swear to me that you will not sell the umbrellas I left behind.”
Drawing circles on the ground with her feet, Cheng Yu replied, “OK,” she raised her head and shyly glanced at her, “Then … can you tell me under what price should I not sell them?”
Hua Fei Wu gnashed her back teeth, “You cannot sell them at any price!”
The small pavilion was situated in a remote area. There were two trees in front of the pavilion, blocking it from view, so not many people would find it and use it to avoid the rain.
Cheng Yu guarded the umbrellas till she started nodding off. In a sleepy haze, she heard a man’s voice landing above her head, “How much are you selling for an umbrella?”
She jumped in shock, half opening her eyes, and saw a pair of partially wet white-soled cloud pattern boots. Lifting her head a little further, she saw the corner of a half wet white silk robe. Although Cheng Yu’s brain wasn’t quite awake, she could still remember what Hua Fei Wu instructed before she left, so she vaguely replied softly, “Oh, not for sale.”
Outside the pavilion, the sound of wind and rain blended into one, and amidst the sound of pouring rain, that person said indifferently, “I sincerely wish to buy one. Offer a price, little brother.”
As if she was put into a difficult position, Cheng Yu rubbed her eyes as she replied, “There is no price.”
“Is that right? Out of that many umbrellas, there are none that can be priced? This is really interesting.“ A hint of interest crept into that voice, appearing as if its owner felt that this matter was truly interesting.
Cheng Yu silently thought that if she didn’t want to sell, then she wouldn't sell, and wondered how this could be interesting. She happened to finish rubbing her eyes, and raised her head to look at that person in the eye.
The man’s eyes also happened to glance her way, and their gazes met in mid air. Cheng Yu was distracted for a while. The man dropped his head and continued rummaging and pulling out an umbrella with his hand. The fingers on that hand were lustrous white and slender, like clear jade. The man casually said, “With such a heavy rain, sell me an umbrella, Little Brother. Just take it as a good deed and offer me the convenience. Deal?”
Cheng Yu did not reply him as she was completely baffled.
When it came to the talent of appreciating beauty, no one other than Young Master Yu in the Da Xi Dynasty could claim the number one spot. Young Master Yu grew up in the Ten Flower Tower and frequently visited Lin Lang Court since she was very young. Hence, even the former Emperor who had three thousand beauties in his harem did not have a fraction of the talent that Young Master Yu had.
Cheng Yu’s exceptional talent in appreciating beauty was something that slowly grew from the influence of daily exposure to plenty of beautiful people. She had a secret that only the flora knew — she was born with the ability to see flowers and plants during the flowering season as enchantingly beautiful women or handsome men, regardless of whether they could transform to a human or not.
Take for example, Yao Huang, a flower that had not yet transformed. When it wasn’t the flowering season, Cheng Yu saw him as an unopened peony flower, but once he bloomed, what she saw was no longer Yao Huang the flower but a handsome young man sitting on her desk all day looking disdainfully at her room. At first, this gave her a lot of stress, but the next time Yao Huang bloomed, she moved him to Zhu Jin’s room next door.
From then on, she could hear the two of them chatting late every night. The two flower monsters were well-read and loved to learn, so she could even hear Yao Huang and Zhu Jin discussing the principles of Pythagorean theorem by the candlelight in her dreams. These were really unbearable memories to recall ….
As a result of growing up this way, Cheng Yu became rather resistant towards “beauty”. Looking at a stranger’s face and becoming totally dazed was something that had never happened to her since she was born. This made her feel rather strange, and she couldn’t help but stare at the young man in front of her twice more.
She noticed that the young man’s hair and clothing were half drenched by the rain, but he still looked nothing like a sorry figure. Reasonably speaking, he had been walking in the rain for a while, so the edges of his robe and shoes should have been stained with mud, yet his white robe and shoes remained spotless.
The young man noticed Cheng Yu’s fixated gaze, and sized her up from head to toe before he suddenly smiled. The smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes, so it appeared to be somewhat cold. This smile was chilly, yet it held a romantic bearing. Cheng Yu had encountered numerous beautiful people, but had never seen a person with such a conflicting temperament.
Amidst the soft sound of wind and rain, the young man raised his eyebrows and said, “You are a girl.”
Cheng Yu had never given it away dressing as a man, so a boom sound went off in her mind, but she paid no attention to what the young man was saying. Her entire body and mind was placed on the young man’s face — the raised brow brought out the liveliness from within his cold face, making that face absolutely beautiful.
Cheng Yu was so lost in her attraction that she remained dazzled, but she still did not forget to plan for her good friend, Hua Fei Wu. She was such a model best friend.
The wheels of her mind started turning very quickly, as she thought of the young man who had hastily entered the pavilion. A face such as his, could practically move the Imperial Heavens above, and the Earth Goddess below, so it would be impossible for Hua Fei Wu to reject him. But destiny relied on opportunity, and Hua Fei Wu was not here at this moment, so she would need her to make the decision on her behalf this once.
The young man spoke one more time, “Miss, this umbrella …” Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the purple umbrella that was presented before him. Cheng Yu gazed at him with luminous eyes, “This umbrella cannot be sold, but I can lend you one. Remember to find a day to return it to Lin Lang Court.” She added, “Look for Hua Fei Wu.”
The young man took the umbrella, and lowered his head, playing with it for a moment, “Lin Lang Court, Hua Fei Wu?”
Cheng Yu nodded her head, reluctant to pull her gaze from the young man’s face. The young man glanced at her again. It was a gaze devoid of warmth, but in the deepest recesses of his pupils, a hint of interest emerged, and the gaze that fell on her face lingered a little longer, allowing Cheng Yu to notice that his pupils were a dark amber colour.
“If I don’t remember wrongly, Lin Lang Court is a brothel. Miss, you appear to look like a young mistress from a decent family.” The young man said.
What he really meant was asking her why he needed to return the umbrella to Lin Lang Court. This was a long story, and she was really too lazy to explain, so Cheng Yu casually found an excuse for herself, “There is nothing more, it’s just that I frequently head to Lin Lang Court for some fun, that’s all.”
The young man looked at her, his gaze moving from her eyes down to her chin and stopped, then he continued moving his gaze down for several inches, “For fun.” The young man smiled, “Do you know what kind of place a brothel is?”
Cheng Yu knew very well what it was, and answered without hesitation, “A place where one could indulge in seeking pleasures.”
The young man’s expression was somewhat profound, “As a girl, how would you be able to seek pleasures at a brothel?”
Cheng Yu was stuck, how could she seek pleasure and find fun in a brothel? All she did was to spend money on a hotpot session with Hua Fei Wu, but how could one say that out loud?
She mumbled for a long time before vaguely replying the young man, “To drink wine and what not …“ After her vagueness, she finally remembered that the reason she took on this white robed young man was to matchmake Hua Fei Wu with him, so there was no reason to divulge so much about herself to him.
Thus, she cleverly shifted the subject immediately onto Hua Fei Wu, even logically linking the fact that she was a regular patron of the brothel, and solemnly told the young man, “So you can believe that I and Lin Lang Court’s Queen of Flowers, Hua Fei Wu are very familiar with each other.”
The young man said, “Oh.”
What did “oh” mean? Cheng Yu couldn’t fully understand for a moment, but she was observant enough to discern what he meant through his body language. She felt that the young man didn’t look like he hated carrying on his conversation with her, so she let herself go, her heart seeking forgiveness from the Heavenly Gods and Buddha for the impending sin of talking nonsense.
With both hands lightly patting together on her chest, she said, “Why should this umbrella be returned to Hua Fei Wu? That’s because this umbrella really isn’t mine, it belongs to Hua Fei Wu. And about Hua Fei Wu, she is not only beautiful, but also has the heart of a Bodhisattva. She frequently comes to this ferry crossing on rainy days to care for the welfare of people caught in the rain, and that is why this umbrella cannot be sold.”
The more nonsense she made up, the more she became passionate about it, and began believing in what she was sprouting. She even gave a timely suggestion to the white robed young man, “Hua Fei Wu has an elegant and gentle nature, and is very good at singing and dancing. If you can spare some time after returning the umbrella, you should stay to appreciate her clear voice and wonderful dancing. It is said that when the second son of High Official Zuo heard her distinct singing, he became totally enraptured by her voice, and after Young Marquis Lin saw her sword dance, he disbanded his entire house of dancers.”
She spun her yarn till she was very happy, and even felt that she had literary talent. She had used a series of parallels to flatter Hua Fei Wu’s accomplishments. But after the bout of joyfulness, she realised she had made a mistake — the one who could sword dance wasn’t Hua Fei Wu.
Apart from her beauty and a reasonably good voice, Hua Fei Wu practically had no other extraordinary talent. The one famous throughout the royal capital for her sword dancing was Hua Fei Wu’s arch enemy.
She hurriedly made up for Hua Fei Wu, “However, Fei Wu recently sprained her leg, so it is likely you won’t be able to watch her dance, which is a pity.” While she sighed with regret, she sneaked a peek at the white robed young man, her innermost thoughts feeling that even a wooden club would be moved with the effort she was making, so she expected the young man’s face to express some fascination.
However, the young man bent his head to look at the umbrella in his hand, and did not appear to have much of a reaction. She also couldn’t clearly discern the expression on his face. After a while, she heard the young man asking her, “So Miss, what is your name?”
Cheng Yu was in a daze, “Huh”
The young man opened the umbrella, and it expanded with a pop, his face now blocked behind the umbrella.
The young man’s action of holding the umbrella by it’s handle and lifting it upright wasn’t slow, but Cheng Yu caught the entire series of movements. In the wake of those movements, the edge of the umbrella first revealed the curve of a cold and stern chin, followed by his lips and the bridge of his nose, and finally that pair of unfathomable dark amber eyes.
From under the umbrella, the young man repeated in a low voice, “I am asking, what is your name, Miss?”
Cheng Yu took a long time to react, and coughed once, “Ah, I …” she said, “I’m just a kind soul Hua Fei Wu occasionally brings along to assist her while she does her good deeds, names and such are actually not worth mentioning.”
The young man smiled, and did not ask again. He only said a word of thanks, and promised to return the umbrella to Lin Lang Court the next day. Afterwards, he raised his steps and walked into the falling rain.
Glossary for Chapter Two
Peony flower monster. 花非雾 Hua Fei Wu
He was a character introduced in 3L3W 沧夷神君 Immortal Lord Cang Yi
Pillow Book. In Lotus Step, Hua Fei Wu grew
in his rear gardens and cultivated into a
Flower Monster through him.
Home of Immortal Lord Cang Yi 织越仙山 Zhi Yuan Xian Shan
Hibiscus flower monster. 朱槿 Zhu Jin
Pear tree monster 梨响 Li Xiang
Cheng Yu's Home 十花楼 Ten Flower Tower
Court of Glittering Jewels.
A brothel in the Imperial City of Ping An 琳琅阁 Lin Lang Ge
(Lin Lang Court used in story)
Current Dynasty in mortal world. 大熙朝 Da Xi Dynasty. Cheng Yu is a member of the ruling royals.
Peony flower monster. 姚黄 Yao Huang
Credits
Header Pictures: Tencent, Eternal Love of Dream
Story: 唐七 | Tang Qi
Book Title: 三生三世 步生莲之化茧 | Wherever Step Goes, Lotus Blooms: Metamorphosis
Copyright Statement
The above translation is completed by our translation team from Chinese author, Tang Qi’s original work, Three Lives Three Worlds, Wherever Steps Go, Lotus Bloom: Vol 1, Metamorphosis, Chapter 2-1. All copyright belongs to Tang Qi.
以上的英语翻译都是本翻译组从唐七原作， 三生三世步生莲之化茧， 第二章所翻译的。版权都是作者唐七所拥有。