Chapter 15: Seeking One’s Wish

“Chu…”

She hadn’t finished the first word before a warm body burrowed into her arms, filling them completely.

Kunlun smiled. She ruffled the head of hair and asked, “Why are you unhappy, hmm?”

“Not unhappy.”

Kunlun parted the two eyebrows that were nearly scrunched together and echoed, “Okay. Then why did you snort and run off?”

“I was hungry. Wanted to eat.” Little Chuci said.

“Fine.” Kunlun pretended to give in, wrapping an arm around her waist as if getting ready to sleep.

“Mm.”

Moonlight filtered through the window gap, but Little Chuci still couldn’t sleep. She stared at the silver frost on the floor, lost in thought. It wasn’t that she completely distrusted Jiang Yang. From the moment she saw Jiang Yang’s true form, an inexplicable sense of familiarity had arisen within her. And what Jiang Yang said afterward—before Kunlun searched her soul, she had already subconsciously chosen to believe it.

What about Kunlun?

Little Chuci’s gaze fell upon the seemingly sleeping woman beside her. When awake, she was ethereal like an immortal, as if she might drift away at any moment. Asleep, it was the same—her fine brows and eyes hazy with the night mist, as if never truly clear.

Kunlun had known all along that she was the half Primordial Spirit of the old Chuci. That’s why she cared for her so meticulously. What if she wasn’t? And what if… that person never returned? Would Kunlun feel sad? Heartbroken?

“Kunlun, this afternoon, in the study, why were you crying?” Little Chuci suddenly asked.

Kunlun opened her eyes. Clear and bright. “Because I saw some unpleasant things.”

Lowering her voice, Little Chuci asked, “Was it about her?”

“No. About you.” Kunlun said. “You and she are originally the same person. It’s only the loss of memory and Primordial Spirit that makes you seem like someone else. She is your past. I know what you’re thinking, and I hope you won’t dwell on it. There is no ‘her’ in this world, and no second ‘you.'”

Little Chuci blinked.

Kunlun’s fingers touched her face, her expression earnest. “When you grow up, Master will marry you, okay?”

“No good. You’re not my master.”

Kunlun laughed in spite of herself. “Fine. When you grow up, I’ll marry you, okay?”

“Also no good. You have to marry me.”

Kunlun patiently corrected herself. “Alright. When you grow up, I will marry you. Does that work?”

“Agreed. No going back on your word.”

Little Chuci was satisfied. She leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

The girl’s lips were impossibly soft and fragrant.

Kunlun tilted her head to look at her. Little Chuci also turned sideways, curiously meeting her gaze. Her eyes were startlingly bright. Kunlun didn’t speak for a long time. Finally, she pulled the girl into her arms, kissed her forehead, and continued holding her.

“Kunlun, your breathing is uneven. Are you uncomfortable?”

Kunlun: “No. See? It’s better now, isn’t it?”

“Kunlun, I feel my heart beating a bit fast. Let me listen to yours too… Eh? Why doesn’t your heart beat?”

“Because it’s beating too fast, it’s racing around inside my body. It just dashed down to the soles of my feet.”

“How amazing.”

“Just moderately amazing. I’ve even seen someone without a heart.”

“What happens if you don’t have a heart?”

Kunlun looked up at the bed canopy and said softly, “I don’t know what would happen.”

Little Chuci clearly had no interest in some random person without a heart. Her mind was always full of Jiang Yang’s words. She abruptly changed the subject: “Jiang Yang says I should repair my Primordial Spirit and undo the Seal to return to the Three Realms. Do you want me to go?”

Kunlun asked her back: “Do you want to go?”

Little Chuci struggled slightly in her arms, lifting her head from Kunlun’s chest to meet her eyes. “Kunlun, if… just if… If I go, will I become another person?”

“Of course not. You’ll still be you.”

“Will you ever leave me one day? You’ll always stay by my side, right?”

“Of course.” “Of course I will.” “Of course I won’t.”

Words are such clever things. A little more, a little less—a hair’s breadth becomes a thousand miles.

“Okay. Then I’ll go,” Little Chuci said.

When Jiang Yang received the answer the next day, she was practically in “tears of gratitude” (as the ancients said), even improving her attitude toward Kunlun considerably.

Kunlun asked, “You spoke yesterday of repairing the Primordial Spirit. Is there a method?”

Jiang Yang beamed at Little Chuci, answering dismissively, “There is.”

Then she offered no further explanation. She steeled herself to withstand Little King’s icy stare but still didn’t get a follow-up question from Kunlun. Finally, unable to contain herself, she asked, “Why don’t you ask what the method is?”

Kunlun: “If I ask, will you tell me?”

Jiang Yang: “That, I won’t.”

“Then why should I ask?”

Just as Jiang Yang was about to say more, Little Chuci was already impatient. She lifted her eyelids and asked, “You used to be… my subordinate?”

She now seemed to accept her past calmly. Her demeanor and attitude were exactly like Chuci’s. A little older, and she’d be a spitting image of King Chu. Jiang Yang was momentarily stunned before lowering her head and answering, “Yes, King.”

“Then this is how you treat my woman?”

Jiang Yang: “…”

Kunlun nearly choked on her breath.

Little Chuci pointed a finger at Jiang Yang. “Go. Pour a cup of water for Kun… the Main Wife.”

Jiang Yang: “…”

Kunlun waved her hands hastily. “No need, no need.”

She then cast a reproachful glance at Little Chuci, as if scolding her for going too far.

“Oh.” Little Chuci clasped her hands behind her back and drawled, “Then forget the water. Apologize to the Main Wife.”

Jiang Yang ground her teeth and squeezed out: “Divine Lord, I was wrong.”

Kunlun was mortified and quickly said, “No need, no need.”

“In the Far West, there is a mountain called Zhong Mountain. On it grows a Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree. It has round leaves and crimson stems, yellow flowers and red fruit. Ten thousand years to bloom, ten thousand years to bear fruit, ten thousand years to ripen, yielding only a single fruit each time. Pluck the Primordial Spirit Fruit and eat it.” After all the circling, they finally returned to the main topic.

“It’s that simple?”

“Of course not,” Jiang Yang said. “Back then, when Buzhou Mountain collapsed and the Heavenly Pillar broke, the landscape shifted. Many places disappeared underground, including this Zhong Mountain. Also, this mountain has a mountain god named Gu, with a human face and a dragon’s body. It also has heaven-defying, earth-shattering power.”

“When Pangu the Great God first created the world, Kunlun wasn’t the only mountain to birth a mountain god. Northwest Zhong Mountain had Gu. Southwest Xiaoci Mountain had Zhu Yan. Also Mount Buzhou, Mount Great Sequence—all gave birth to sentience, some in beast form, some in human form. Those are all Ferocious Beasts. Naturally, they can’t compare to the Divine Lord’s grace and bearing. But although the Divine Lord was deeply favored by Pangu the Great God, speaking purely of cultivation level, once you leave Kunlun Mountain, you’d probably be evenly matched with them. And Divine Lord, your power has greatly declined over the years, hasn’t it?”

Kunlun furrowed her brow. “In other words, we can’t find Zhong Mountain right now, and even if we find it, we might not obtain the Primordial Spirit Fruit.”

Jiang Yang nodded. “That’s the gist of it.”

Little Chuci’s face had changed as she listened. “If we go, will Kunlun be in danger?”

What danger could a rock be in? At most, swallowed by another Ferocious Beast. And even then, it’d be a tough, unchewable, stinky rock. Little Chuci herself, on the other hand, with her innate Demon Physique, would be a great tonic for any Ferocious Beast.

So Jiang Yang said, “The Divine Lord will be in no danger. At worst, she’s a Mountain Saint coexistent with heaven and earth. Please rest your hundred and twenty hearts, King.”

Little Chuci looked up at her. “Aren’t you very powerful? Then just go get the Primordial Spirit Fruit for me. Problem solved.”

Jiang Yang: “…”