▸ Although this chapter may be uninteresting, it plays an important part to the lore. So, just read it, okay?
Qingqiu Mountain.
This has been your safe haven when you're dreaming. It's massive, fantastic, and very captivating. It has this way of making you want to remain there forever.
In Qingqiu, you occasionally do nothing more than relax on the soft grass, take a refreshing dip in the cool water, talk with Jiu Yuzhou often, and, of course, enter the ancient palace.
Let's start with the palace.
It appears old and neglected, but ever since you discovered that there's a palace here, you've done your best to clean it up, even though it'll be dirty again the next day.
The palace has massive gates and rocks around it, and like the Monkey King's cave, the gate can only be opened by you and your grandmother. As you enter, two fox sculptures are seated on the left and right. There are gardens and walking paths too in the front yard.
What about the inside and how it looks? Just imagine a lovely and spacious palace because words can't describe this palace's beauty.
The library and the arts are your favorite elements of the castle!
There are hundreds of books that did not exist in Megapolis : magics, dark magics, how to handle a certain power, past history of each hero, Journey to the West volumes, and the list goes on.
The arts?
When you look at all those beautiful creativities, it leaves you stunned.
All forms of art were presented for Jiu Yuzhou; Paintings, sketches, sculptures, photographs, and plenty more are all there.
There are a few artworks that you adore completely! One of them is when the Monkey King, Demon Bull King, Macaque, and three other unknown beings pose goofily. Meanwhile, Jiu Yuzhou floats on top of them, laying sideways, laughing at her friends' poses.
Despite the fact that every art is beautiful, there are some that you may not have enjoyed.
For example, when there's a painting where Jiu Yuzhou was kneeling and facing forward with a sorrowful expression on her face. A woman with a skeleton face, who looks like the woman from your nightmare, is standing behind Yuzhou and has placed both of her hands on Yuzhou's head as if she's trying to manipulate your grandmother.
As a background, red-rose and blue colors looked to be trying their hardest not to blend into one another.
⁘
Currently, you were leaning against a lovely pink tree with your (f/c) sketch book at your side, deciding to read a certain book you had discovered in the library and doodle it after you're done reading.
You savored the calm atmosphere, listening to the water trickle down from the river, and feeling the breeze caress your face.
The book has gorgeous dark red coloring and gold trim around each edge, giving it a really intriguing appearance from the cover.
All of a sudden, you sensed a presence on top of you as an elegant voice spoke, "Would you like me to read it for you?"
You giggled, tilting your head upwards to see your grandmother hanging upside down on a branch next to you.
"I'm not a kid anymore, grandma." You replied, closing your sketch book so she couldn't see what was inside. Meanwhile, Yuzhou executed a graceful flip and landed on the ground perfectly, as if she were not a hundred years old.
"I can read on my own."
"And yet, you want to read a fiction book."
Yuzhou smirked as she slyly removed the book you had intended to read from your grip without your permission.
Abruptly, you gasped dramatically and put your palm on your chest, "Hey! Age is not a factor if you want to read fictions!! Wait a minute... Where's the-"
Yuzhou remarked, giving one of the cockiest grins you've ever seen from her.
"It's right here."
She showed the book, which was already firmly in her grasp. She then twirled it around with one finger like a basketball before the book opened to the first page by itself, landing neatly on the palm of her hand.
"Now, let your youthful grandmama narrate you an old-fashioned story," Yuzhou cracked a grin, patting your head until it became tangled, causing you to groan and shove her hands away like usual.
"I swear, could you please stop messing up my hair?!" You protested and trying your best to fix it until you believed it was already tidy, "I'm going to meet someone after this, you know?"
Yuzhou's only response is a playful eye roll, "You want to impress MK boy so desperately, huh? Until you start to care about how you look, despite the fact that he has seen you wake up with disheveled hair all the time."
"W-WHAT?!" You screamed loudly at her words. An extremely strong wind was blasting out of you and the birds around you had flew away.
Although she is correct, how did she know you're going to meet up with MK?
You felt heat rise to your cheeks, automatically covering your face with your hands to escape more teasing from grandmother.
"You know what? Just tell me the story."
"Hoorayy!!"
Yozhou's tails wagging in excitement as she went to sit by your side with a grin on her face.
When she acts like this, she reminds you of a Golden Retriever. They have one similarity and that is frequently energetic, especially around the people they care about.
Yuzhou is simply thrilled that she was able to spend time with her granddaughter. Over the previous few months, you two become busier. With her on vacation, the two of you hardly ever spoke. Even when you tried to tell her about your day, she would just shut you out completely.
That irritated you, but how could you stay enraged? After all, she is your grandma. She deserves a vacation from all the chaos that has been happening.
"Now..." Yuzhou began in a more tranquil tone than previously, "Allow me tell you about the story of a despair love story."
"Oh man. Angst?" You blurted out, but Yuzhou's death stare made you shut your mouth again.
"Once upon a time there was a beautiful empress."
"She had long flowing hair that looked like snow, her voice was the sweetest song that anyone had ever heard, her eyes were a pair of shimmering crimson color, and her soft skin was as pale as porcelain."
"Woah..." Although you didn't plan to say it aloud, you simply did. Yuzhou unexpectedly laughed and nodded in agreement with what you said.
"Woah indeed." She replied before continuing with the narrative.
She has now produced an illusion of the narrative in front of you so that you may envision the story in greater detail.
"She may be an empress, but she is lonely."
The mighty empress appeared in the illusion to be sitting alone on her throne, glancing left and right, no one to talk to.
"There is no emperor, no queen, no prince, no princess; Only her and hundreds of guards ready to defend her from harm."
Yuzhou then created the illusion in a different environment to make it look like the empress was strolling through a garden when she came across a man who was more colorful and vibrant than any flowers in the garden.
"One day, the empress went to the garden and was startled by a commoner! He was so stunning that even a simple grin from him was enough to make her heart race. This commoner was the most perfect being, so charming, and pure—she fell in love with him almost straightaway."
You smirked, becoming even more interested.
"The commoner was an ordinary man. He was a musician by heart, extremely gifted, and a well-known young man around town for being both wise and patient."
"The empress took him under her wing, caring for the commoner despite her brother and his warrior, the empress' trusted people, informing her that she was throwing away her entire kingdom away."
"Who are they to tell the empress what to do?" You crossed your arms, glaring at the two guys in the illusions.
Yuzhou shrugged and flipped to the following page, concentrating on projecting the scene into an illusion.
"Well, as it turns out, the empres' trusted people were her loyal defenders. She had known them her entire life and they had sworn to protect her no matter what—but they viewed her relationship with the commoner as a threat! These two loyal defenders rushed to her room and pleaded her to end her relationship, but she refused."
You scoffed, smirking at what Yuzhou said, "As she should, to be honest. If a commoner is as attractive as how he described in the novel, I'll fall in love immediately! Nobody can prevent me from admiring that commoner."
Yuzhou chortled as a response. She couldn't believe you enjoy saying this many comments on a single story just as much as you enjoy pointing out mistakes when you watch a movie.
She soon continued as the illustration's dominant color was now a dark shade of red.
"The empress grew tired of being told not to follow her heart, so she stormed away with her commoner in the night."
"They went on an adventure, running away, not knowing where they were going, but they were free!"
Afterwards, the scenery began to resemble a lovely forest, similar like the Qingqiu mountain, but with more trees shading the sky.
"Eventually, they settled in a log house deep in the forest; The commoner would perform sweet songs, and the empress would cook."
"She thought this was the most perfect life she could've ever had—she could spend all of her days with the man she loved and they could live a simple life."
"This... This was perfect."
Yuzhou waited for a little second to see your response, and what she witnessed was very entertaining.
Your jaw dropped open as you stared at the illusion in total bewilderment, "That's it?! You said it would be depressing!"
Yuur grandmother laughs uncontrollably once more. She tried not to, but she can't help herself.
"Heyy! What are you laughing about, huh!?" You questioned, your tone seemed genuinely frustrated as Yuzhou began to calm down herself, even if there's a few laughs in between her words when she apologized.
Yuzhou then turned to a page that appeared to have been messed up and scratched a few thousand years ago. You're not even sure how Yuzhou is still able to read it.
"However... This... This relationship... It can't last."
"One day, the empress was cooking when she was suddenly struck by a powerful evil curse! It drove her cold and bitter."
The illusion darkened; A storm descended over the forest, causing animals to flee in terror.
"She was no longer the woman she once was. Now full of hatred and evil, she transformed into an unmerciful 'witch'."
The horrible vision in the illusion made your eyebrows twitch. You could almost hear the empress' cry for help and her cruel laughter.
"The commoner was frightened by her and her evilness. The empress he knew was no longer there, his perfect love was gone forever, and now he was bound with a cold-hearted 'witch' who wanted nothing more than to ruin the world and him."
"He planned to run away, terrified. This was the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with! But she's too cruel for him to stay. He believed that the woman he once loved wouldn't even flinch at the thought of his death!"
"Ugh, whoever cast the curse spell on the empress, really hates everything that's nice," You cursed while Yuzhou agreed with a thumbs-up.
"The commoner fled, never looking back. However, he revealed his true nature. Turns out, he desired nothing more than the empress' beauty and throne. As time past, surprisingly he finally came to actually love the empress; He merely didn't want to expose his true intention."
"Unfortunately, the empress was solely focused on how devastated she felt at his decision to run away. She was outraged."
"She was now on a path that would bring complete destruction. The awful empress had burned her own kingdom to the ground. Next? She went looking for her beloved."
"She was blinded by fury and when she finally found the commoner? She was driven to take her cherished love's life."
"WHAT?!" You screamed, unprepared for such plot twist.
"However, after the empress took her love's life, she mysteriously came back to her senses."
"In an instant, the empress went insane. She was angry at herself for what she had done—how she could have possibly killed him?!"
You imagine how hurt the empress must have been. It was not her fault... She was placed under a curse, and fury had made her blind.
"The empress mourned for her commoner sweetheart. Her heart longed for the soothing warmth of his touch and his sincere voice. Never could she be at peace with herself."
"She had lost the love of her life, destroyed her kingdom, and become someone different from who she had once been. This was a far greater punishment than death; a wounded heart is never simple to mend."
"The empress would break down every day as she thought about her lover, who she had banished from this world."
"She still missed him terribly; she had always and would always be in love with him."
"She would have done anything for him to come back."
"She understood that even though he simply wanted her throne, he loved her just as much as she loved him."
"The empress sank into an endless depression, never leaving her ruined home, never finding peace within herself. She's all alone, day after day, year after year, mourning."
The illusion in front of you sparkled with shades so intense that you had to squint your eyes to adjust to the light.
"Then, out of nowhere, an enchanting goddess appeared in front of the empress..."
"The goddess herself was a shining, beautiful woman. Her raven hair flowing down her head like a fountain and her eyes glows beautifully like the sun."
"She smiled down at the empress as she extended her hand to the empress as if she wanted to help her or perhaps make her happy once more."
Yuzhou quickly closed the book with furrowed brows, "And the story never finished."
Your face was filled with surprise and dramatic disbelief as you stood up instantly, "That's it? It ends with a cliffhanger?! 0 out of 5 star rating!"
Without asking first, you snatched the book out of Yuzhou's hand and turned to the last page, only to be met with a blank page. On the bottom of the page, there are the words 'Wang Haoyu' and a scribbled name next to it.
Soon, you gave the book back to Yuzhou, who was already standing up. She then dusted the dust off your pajamas and placed both of her palms on your shoulders with a sleepy smile.
"My love... No matter where you go or what you do, know that I will always be at your side and always be your amazing grandmother. Promise?"
She said it too seriously and all you could manage was to give her a confused smile, "Um, okay. I promise."
"Good."
With that, Yuzhou's form vanished totally, leaving you to look into the horizon, wondering what she meant.
"That story definitely needs to be sketched in my sketch book. Oh! Or maybe I should tell MK about it? Eh, I'm gonna draw it first."