Bai Qian woke up drenched in a cold sweat. She looked around her surroundings, Bai Qian was still on her bed in the peach orchard. Ye Hua was still asleep soundly beside her. The world wasn't blazing around her.
As quietly as she could, Bai Qian got out of bed. She sat down by the porch wearing nothing but her sleeping robe. Although the air was chilly, it did not bother her. Bai Qian had faced much worse.
She wrapped her arms around her knees, a lot worse.
The nightmares were getting worse. Every night, Bai Qian had been plagued by dreams she didn't understand. Some of them were vague childhood memories, others were eldritch visions. The worst of it was her past crimes. The places she burnt down, the people she killed, the battles she fought. As if the universe were laying out her mistakes for her to see.
"Can't sleep?" He asked her.
Bai Qian sighed and rested her head on his lap, "Yeah, "
He ran his fingers through her hair, "Was my snoring too loud?"
Bai Qian laughed and nudged his chest, "No, "
"Then?"
"There's a lot on my mind, that's all," she confessed.
"Why?" He asked.
Bai Qian looked out to the peach orchard, winter was fast approaching, and the trees were bare now. Various animals were preparing for hibernation, the whole forest seemed to be quieter now.
"When one thinks of the future, one couldn't help but to recall the past, " Bai Qian murmured out.
Ye Hua stopped combing her hair, "Are you that nervous for the future?"
"No, " Bai Qian said, "I'm just afraid my past will come back and haunt me, "
She looked up at him. Ye Hua looked so much like Mo Yuan, it's scary. If her dreams about her father were a memory resurfacing, did Mo Yuan really kill her entire family just to get Da Ji?
No wonder, she drank the soup of forgetfulness.
If this was true, Bai Qian couldn't marry Ye Hua. If she does so, it would seem like a betrayal. Then again, Bai Qian didn't know how to feel about her family's demise. Because Bai Qian couldn't remember them, she couldn't recall their love and affection for her, their time and attention. Nor are their arguments or tantrums.
To Bai Qian, her family was nothing, but titles. Da Ji was her only family.
Ye Hua just smiled down at her, "Qian Qian, as long as we're together, there's nothing to worry about, "
Bai Qian snuggled closer to him, he's right of course. As long as they're together, they could face anything in the world. And soon enough, Bai Qian would form a new family with him, the one that she would never forget.
On the day of their wedding, they had everything set up ready. Red garlands decorated the walls. Offerings were arranged on the table outside. Despite the snow, they managed to light the red candles with the incense burner between them.
When Ye Hua came out wearing his wedding robe, Bai Qian was awestruck. He had never looked more handsome. The vermilion robe complemented his golden skin, his hair tied neatly into a knot with a long red ribbon.
Her blush matched her wedding dress. Thankfully, Ye Hua couldn't see her embarrassment under her red veil.
Ye Hua stepped closer to her and held her hands delicately.
"I can't wait to lift off that veil, " he told her, "After tonight, you are mine, "
Bai Qian squeezed his hands, "And we will be together forever, "
After tonight, their souls will be bound to each other forever. Nothing could rip them apart, not even death. Ye Hua would be hers for eternity. Bai Qian wanted more lifetimes with him, and tonight she would make sure of it.
Everything was perfect, absolutely nothing could ruin this. Bai Qian was expecting a lifetime of happiness with Ye Hua.
Her feet stepped into the yard, her red dress glazed across the pure white snow. The chill did not bother them at all, as their heart was warm enough to melt through the snow.
First, they kneel to heaven and earth. Next, they knelt to the spirits and the gods above. Before they could bow to each other, a commanding voice called out.
"Zhao Ge, stop! "
"Zhao Chu?" Ye Hua muttered.
"You can't marry her, " Zhao Chu yelled.
"Why not!" Bai Qian protested.
"She's not human, Zhao Ge, " Zhao Chu said, "She's a demon, "
"This again?" Ye Hua sighed, he stood up against his brother, "How many times do I need to tell you. She's not!"
"She is, " Zhao Chu insisted, "And this time, I can prove it, "
Within the trees stepped a Taoist priest, two monks from before and a dozen villagers carrying farming equipment as weapons.
Bai Qian knew this scene far too well. All it left was Mo Yuan to show up and ruined everything she worked so hard for.
Bai Qian refused to let this happen. She won't.
Before she could do anything, the priest stepped up, holding an octagon-shaped mirror. He pointed it towards the sun, and the reflected light shone on her.
Bai Qian's knees weakened, and she dropped to the ground. The mantras chanted by the monk cause ringing in her ears. Bai Qian covered her ears, refusing to let the spell take over her.
"Qian Qian!" Ye Hua yelled. He wanted to reach out to help her, but his brother grabbed him by his armpits.
"This is for your own good, brother!" Zhao Chu said, "You need to see her for what she really is!"
The chants were getting louder now, Bai Qian's resistance was waning. She screamed and buried her hands in the snow.
"Stop!" Ye Hua yelled at them, he begged the monks, "Please! Let her go!"
" The demon had clouded your eyes, young man, " the priest said, "She had seduced you and took away your will. This demon revealing mirror will show you what she really is, "
The reflected light grew more intense. Two fox ears popped out of her head, pushing the veil to drop on the ground. Whiskers grew out of her cheeks, her fingernails turned into claws. Her nine tails opened up like a fan behind her. When Ye Hua's eyes met her, he saw her as what she really was. He took a step back.
"Qian Qian?" He murmured.
"She's a demon," the priest announced, "a nine-tailed fox!"
Her animal instincts kicked in, she growled at them, her claws inches away from their necks.
"Why can't you leave me alone! I haven't done anything to harm this village," she snarled.
"You're a demon, " the priest said, "You don't belong in this world. You can't marry a man, "
A monk brought out an alms bowl. It was obsidian black, engraved with spells written in gold. One look and Bai Qian knew what it was.
"This will hold you until we send you to the demon sealing pagoda, " the monk stated, "Don't bother, resistance is futile, "
The chanting got louder now, it felt like a restraint was wrapping around her body. Bai Qian struggled against it, she howled.
"You really think that you can stop me? I have been here for millennia!" She pointed her finger at Ye Hua, "He couldn't! You really think that you can?"
Before they could do anything, Bai Qian grabbed Ye Hua from his brother's grip. She elbowed his neck and brandished her claws at the crowd.
"Not a step closer!" She warned them, her nails pricking his throat, "Or he gets it!"
The crowd hesitated, Bai Qian inched slowly away from them.
"Bai Qian, " Ye Hua croaked out, "What are you doing?"
"Getting us out of here, " she whispered, "Just trust me, "
"How can I?" He argued, "You have been lying to me for years, "
Bai Qian looked down, guilt seeping into her heart, "I'm sorry, Zhao Ge. I never meant for it to go too far, "
"Too far? What do you mean?" He asked. One of her tails wiped in front of his face, the realisation dawned on him, "You're my fox! You came back, "
"Of course, I did, " Bai Qian confessed, "I'm sorry that I hid this from you. I thought once you found out, you would hate me, "
"Qian Qian, I..." Ye Hua murmured.
"Vixen!" The priest called out, "Release that innocent man!"
"*The sea of bitterness has no bounds, repent, and the shore is at hand, " the monk preached, "Release him, and your sentence will be lightened, "
" You speak of salvation, monk!" Bai Qian protested, "I know very well I had drifted way too far offshore. Don't deny my driftwood, he is what I have left, "
"He is not yours to take, " the monk insisted, "He is somebody else's too. You need to let go, "
"Qian Qian, " Ye Hua managed to croak out, his eyes were pleading. Bai Qian loosened her grip, what had she done? She had harmed and endangered the person she cared for the most.
There's no point in holding on. Bai Qian let him go. She raised her hands in surrender, ready for them to take her.
A hand grabbed her out of the blue, the fingers laced with hers. Bai Qian found herself to be pulled along by Ye Hua, away from the mob.
"The enchantment on him is too strong! We need to capture him to break it, " The priest yelled, " After them!"
The mod chased them for hundreds of yards, but Ye Hua never once let go of her hand.
She blinked, "I don't understand, "
Ye Hua gave her a brilliant smile as he guided her out of the peach forest, "There's no need to understand. I love you, I just want to be with you. I don't care what you are, "
Tears streamed down Bai Qian's eyes, "You really think that? You really don't mind that I'm a demon?"
Ye Hua's grip on her was tight, "First, I need to get over the fact that my pet is my wife. Other than that, I don't mind, "
The joy on her face was bright as her dress, Bai Qian sobbed, "You made me the happiest woman in the world, "
Ye Hua laughed, they jumped over a fallen log, skipped through some tree roots. Their red clothes blurred into the white forest.
"We can start over," Ye Hua suggested, "Go somewhere where we can be ourselves. You don't have to hide anymore, Bai Qian, "
She nodded, it was everything she ever wanted. It was too good to be true.
"Just you and me?" She asked.
Ye Hua agreed, "Just you and me, "
They ran and ran until they had to stop in their tracks. Laid ahead of them was the river, hundreds of meters wide.
The mob caught up to them.
They stood at the river edge, the icy water roared below, broken pieces of ice rushed through the current. They were surrounded with nowhere to go.
"You have nowhere to run now, " the priest said, "Surrender!"
"Never!" Bai Qian protested. For once, she was so close to her dreams. To have him accept her for who she is and love her unconditionally. Bai Qian wasn't going to let some stupid priest ruin this for her.
"The vixen's power on you is strong, " a monk said to Ye Hua, "But we can still help you, let go of her, "
Ye Hua protested, "I love her, I'm not going to let you take her, "
The monk opened his palms, "You had been enchanted. Your feelings for her aren't true. It is nothing but illusions. You need to look through it, "
"No!" Ye Hua argued, "You're the one who is living in an illusion. Bai Qian had been nothing but a kind soul. She never harmed anyone here, she helped all the villagers here, "
Ye Hua turned to look at her, pride in his eyes, "She helped me. She's the kindest person, I know. She's not a demon, she's a goddess, "
The monks and priests lowered their staff. As if they were taken by Ye Hua's words. A glimmer of hope bubbled in her mind, maybe just maybe they would let her go.
Bai Qian should have known that was too good to be true. A person spoke up from the mob, "Lies! Everybody knew that it was a nine-tailed fox who burned down the town a century ago! A white one in fact, just like her, "
"That doesn't mean that she's the one that did it," Ye Hua protested.
Bai Qian wrapped her tails protectively around herself. When she took a step back, the guilt on her face became apparent.
"Qian Qian!" Ye Hua called out, "What are you doing?"
Oh, the number of people she killed that day, the number of lives she ruined. The char buildings and blackened pavements were all because she wanted to prove a point.
That she could be just as powerful as her aunt, as ruthless. To prove that not even a god could stop her from doing what she wanted.
"I did it, " she admitted, "I burned down the town, "
The crowd roared and advanced.
Ye Hua turned to meet her. He reached out to hold her, but Bai Qian took another step back.
"I killed men and consumed their souls," she confessed, "I toyed with their hearts. "
"No...no..." Ye Hua murmured, "It can't be true, "
"I betrayed my best friend without a second thought, " she added, "I lied to you too, "
Bai Qian moved away from him, "I haven't been honest with you, "
The expression on his face was heartbreaking like he didn't know how to see her now.
"I knew you before we met, " she confessed, "in your past life, "
"What are you talking about?" Ye Hua stretched out his hand, "Qian Qian, please. The ledge."
Bai Qian didn't care about her safety right now, she didn't deserve that luxury. Ye Hua was persistent, he inched slowly close to her, trying to coax her out of the edge.
"You have a brother, you love him more than anything in the world," she continued, "and I killed him. "
"It's in the past, " Ye Hua said, "it had nothing to do with the present. "
However, it had everything to do with the future.
"I know you'll never forgive me. For the grudges and resentment we hold against each other, even the Yellow River couldn't wash it away, " she declared, "But there's one thing I want to let you know..."
Ye Hua looked down at her feet and back at her, "Qian Qian, whatever you want to say, you can do it here, away from the ledge, "
Bai Qian shook her head, she had made her choice. This was the only way for her to repent her sins. She should have known there was no future for them. They were just too different. Bai Qian only brought disaster wherever she went.
With her gone, everyone will leave him alone. Ye Hua would live-out his mortal life in peace. The universe clearly didn't want them to be together. Even so, Bai Qian gathered up all her courage to say, "I love you, Ye Hua!"
With that, Bai Qian completed her confession. She slipped and fell into the icy river below.
The last thing she heard was Ye Hua screaming her name.
When Bai Qian's body slammed into the water, she felt like she was hitting the pavement. The cold was the first thing that shocked her.
After that, it was the current washing through her body. Her movements were out of her control, she hit her head against a huge chunk of ice, and the world went black.
Bai Qian heard the crackling of a fire nearby. She was surrounded by warmth, her belly was filled with milk.
A soft finger nudged her cheek, Bai Qian cooed in reply.
"嫂子 Sao Zhi (sister in law), She's beautiful, " a soft feminine voice said, "Have you thought of a name yet?"
Bai Qian felt a light squeezed from the hand holding her, "Your brother had named her Bai Qian,"
"It suits her, " the voice said, " A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. You must be relieved, after four sons, you finally had a daughter. Congratulations, "
Her mother laughed, "Thank you, Da Ji, "
"Have you divined her future yet?"
Her mother laughed, "What for? We are already divine, "
"There were always greater forces at play here. Even the gods had to succumb to the will of fate, "
Her mother looked down at her, "I suppose so, "
She turned to Da Ji, "You always have a gift for that. Are you going to read her palms or something?"
There's a sly smile on Da Ji's face, "I have something better than that, "
From thin air, Da Ji pulled out an empty tortoiseshell. With her claws, Da Ji carved out Bai Qian's name. Before she put it in the fire, her mother stopped her.
"Is there anything wrong, Sao Zhi?" Da Ji asked.
"I'm just not sure if we should do this. Zhe Yan had mentioned it's not wise to peer into the future," her mother said.
"Since when do you listen to Zhe Yan's wisdom? That old phoenix knew nothing about divination," Da Ji retorted, "Besides, oracle bone is the most accurate way of prediction. I killed the tortoise myself, "
Her mother relented, and Da Ji dropped the shell into the fire. The tortoiseshell crackled into the flame. All around the writing, cracks were formed. Da Ji let out a smirk, "Interesting..."
Her mother peered into the fire, "How interesting?"
Da Ji pulled the shell out of the fire, she examined it much closer.
"Your daughter will grow up to be a beautiful and influential woman, " Da Ji deciphered, "That she will be an empress, "
Her mother hugged her tighter, "Well, that's a given. We are going to let our children take the throne of Qing Qiu, "
"That would make her a queen," Da Ji added, "but the cracks indicate that she will be an Empress. She will have the most powerful man in the world bowing at her feet, "
"Empress?" Her mother looked down at her, "Empress of what? Who will bow before a woman? "
Da Ji put down the shell, "It didn't specify. Your daughter will certainly grow up to be a powerful empress, imagine the amount of influence the fox clan will have on the whole world if it's true, "
Her mother stared at Da Ji in confusion, she put Bai Qian back down to her cradle. She combed her hair to the back of her ear, gently cooing her to sleep.
"It was never the fox clan's way to influence worldly matters," her mother said, "We just need to live harmoniously with the other clans. Even if she becomes an empress, I won't let her, "
"Why not? We can marry her off to a powerful clan. She can serve as a liaison for us. We can change the world..."
The fox queen raised her hand, and Da Ji stopped talking.
"No, " her mother argued, "I have no interest in this. Power and influence meant nothing to us. Besides, we always marry within our own, "
Da Ji's eyes widened, "Don't you realise the opportunity you're wasting? With her, we will have the chance to prove ourselves to the other powerful clans. To show them that we're not just some meek nature spirits, "
"There's nothing wrong with living a humble life," her mother insisted. Da Ji tried to protest, but the fox queen waved her hands, "This will be the last I'll hear of this. Leave, my child needs to sleep, "
Da Ji was clearly not satisfied, so she gave her mother a slight bow and left the chamber.
Her mother gently rocked her cradle, her soft eyes gazing down at her, "Don't listen to your aunt, my sweet. You don't need to be married off to be powerful, you forge your own destiny, "
Bai Qian didn't know how long she had been asleep. When she woke up, she found herself in a strange place.
At first, she had thought she had come back home. The peach blossom petals drifting down on her would suggest so. But why would there be peach blossoms in the middle of winter?
Bai Qian blinked out the drowsiness in her eyes, she struggled to get up. The place didn't feel like the mortal realm, the air here was much sweeter, clearly. Her surroundings were a stranger to her. It was similar to her peach orchard, but a hundred times greater.
Seas upon seas of peach trees spread out the whole valley. The whole place felt so magnificent, so eternal.
In front of her sat a man by a table. He was pouring sweet-scented wine into a small cup.
"Ye Hua..." she croaked out, wishing he was here.
The man put down his wine jug.
"I see you have awakened, my dear, " the man spoke up.
"Who are you?" She croaked out, "Where am I?"
"Your parents and I were good friends, " he told her, "It's good to see you again, Xiao Wu, "
*The sea of bitterness has no bounds, repent, and the shore is at hand. 苦海无边，回头是岸
A Buddhist saying. As long as you are willing to give up and repent, there are still opportunities for a brighter tomorrow.