Pearl Light

Part 9 [End]

15

Someone was at the door.

It was Xie Wu Chen.

He stood there quietly, watching us laugh and play for a long time, so his clothes were covered with dew.

He was holding the basket of eggs and stood in front of me.

Because he wasn't used to being friendly, he turned his head uncomfortably:

"Your eggs, I got them back for you."

I was surprised that Xie Wu Chen would stand up for me.

He had always said he wanted to stay away from mortal affairs, so he couldn't be involved with anyone.

"Thank you, but I don't need them anymore."

"Aren't you always bothered..."

So he had known all along.

He knew how much it bothered me to be cheated out of those eggs.

I looked at the sword behind him and his spotless clothes.

I thought he might have just said a word to Zhang Ma Zi, and the man would have respectfully returned the eggs.

It turned out that what seemed so difficult for me was so effortless for him.

I didn't know why, but thinking about the past made me sad again.

"Xie Wu Chen, no matter what you do, I won't give Shen Tong Guang to you."

"But he is deceiving you," Xie Wu Chen emphasized, "I'm not asking you to trade Shen Tong Guang for me, I..."

He hesitated for a moment, then finally made up his mind to speak:

"Shen Tong Guang aside, you are my love tribulation. I learned the love of a pure heart from you. I want to return this love to you. We should be husband and wife for a lifetime.

"Chopping wood, feeding chickens, going to the market with you, whatever he can do, I can do better."

This was different from the coldness and arrogance of five years ago.

When Xie Wu Chen said this, even his ears turned red.

He had belatedly realized his feelings, but so what?

These five years, I didn't blame him for being cold, nor for looking down on me.

I saved him, and I chased after him for five years.

But feelings can't be forced. There's no principle in this world that if one gives, the other must accept.

He didn't owe me anything.

He could refuse my heart.

But he shouldn't trample on it.

"Xie Wu Chen, I don't want to be a fool. I also want to be beautiful and smart like Shi Yu.

"That day you asked me why others deceived only me and not anyone else. I've figured it out.

"In this world, where there are immortals, there are mortals. If some are to be smart, then others must be fools.

"Shen Tong Guang is good to me, so I'm willing to be a fool.

"I'm willing to be deceived by him."

When it comes to mutual willingness, all the world's reasoning and accounting become meaningless and unquantifiable.

Xie Wu Chen couldn't speak for a long time, his eyes filled with half hesitation, half regret.

He finally realized he owed me an apology.

"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way back then."

"It's okay, you saved Da Huang, so you no longer owe me."

I didn't want to hate him.

Just like worrying about whether the chicken coop would be blown open by the north wind, getting up repeatedly in the winter night.

That was too exhausting.

Shen Tong Guang, nervous, tugged at my sleeve:

"Zhen Zhu, I will never lie to you again, I swear."

16

Another winter passed, and spring arrived, filling the village with blooming peach blossoms.

A school opened in the village, and Shen Tong Guang became a teacher.

Xie Wu Chen also stayed in Li Family Village, opening a free clinic to treat and medicate the villagers.

Shi Yu came looking for him several times but couldn't persuade him to leave.

"I need to stay here to reflect on my heart, seek my Dao, and curb my arrogance and rudeness," Xie Wu Chen said. "I now understand why master wanted me to come here."

When the green apricots were still small on the branches, Shen Tong Guang and I held another wedding ceremony.

The guests, still a bit apprehensive, glanced warily at Xie Wu Chen nearby.

Xie Wu Chen treated the sick and hadn't wielded his sword in a long time.

In his simple clothes and straw sandals, he hardly looked like a cultivator.

If it weren't for him disrupting a wedding back then, the villagers of Li Family Village might have forgotten that this gentle-voiced doctor could wield a sword.

There were many guests.

Even Zhang Ma Zi came, placing two chickens down, too embarrassed to sit.

"There's a seat for you," I smiled. "A guest is a guest. Uncle Zhang, come in and sit."

Enemies should be reconciled rather than created, especially when there is no deep-seated hatred.

An old beggar covered in sores left twenty wen as a gift.

I thought carefully; he seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember who he was.

Xie Wu Chen, however, was stunned.

The old beggar waved his hand, interrupting Xie Wu Chen's astonished words:

"Mas-"

The old man brushed off his sleeve and left gracefully.

The day passed with guests coming and going. By nightfall, it was finally quiet.

Da Huang, exhausted from wagging his tail all day, lay quietly in his nest, asleep.

The room was warmly lit by candlelight, leaving just Shen Tong Guang and me.

Shen Tong Guang wore red, looking nothing like a proper teacher.

He looked more like a seductive demon, enchanting and bloodthirsty.

The red clothes made his features glow, and I couldn't take my eyes off him.

"Shen Tong Guang, have you ever done anything bad?"

I was afraid he might have done something so terrible that he'd be struck by lightning.

Shen Tong Guang panicked:

"I've never done anything bad! An evil Taotie that commits murder will be punished by the heavens!

"But the clever Taotie clan learned to use wishes to obtain hearts to eat.

"Three years ago, I finally reached the age of one hundred and could go to the mortal realm to eat human hearts. Unexpectedly, as soon as I left the mountain, I was struck by a sword from Xie Wu Chen's master.

"That old man didn't allow me to eat human hearts. He said I was foolish, that even though I had taken human form, I was still an ignorant beast and wouldn't attain Dao even in ten thousand years.

"I, being so clever, was naturally unconvinced and had to ask him.

"He said that when I encounter a heart willing to let me eat it, but I refuse to do so, then I will have attained enlightenment."

Shen Tong Guang thought for a moment and then hugged me tightly in fear:

"Thank goodness I didn't eat any hearts; otherwise, I wouldn't get to eat the sweet flatbreads you make."

I thought about it. By then, Shen Tong Guang was already one hundred years old, and he could live for another thousand years.

He had such a big appetite; what would he do if no one made him sweet flatbreads for those thousand years?

"What will you do when I grow old and die?"

Shen Tong Guang pecked my cheek:

"I've already thought about that!

"I will wait, wait until you become an old granny in a hundred years, and when you die, I'll eat your heart.

"Then I'll be the most powerful divine beast, the mighty Taotie King who can summon wind and rain!"

"The Taotie King can go wherever he wants; no one can control him, and no one can harm him."

I looked at the proud Shen Tong Guang with admiration:

"And what will you do once you become the Taotie King?"

By then, Shen Tong Guang would be so majestic.

But it seemed I wouldn't get to see it.

"The Taotie King will wait by the Naihe Bridge [1], he will wait in the mortal world, and no one will dare drive him away.

"He'll wait and wait, and people will ask, 'Whose gongzi is this? Who are you waiting for?'"

Shen Tong Guang proudly lifted his chin:

"I'm Li Zhen Zhu's gongzi, of course I'm waiting for Li Zhen Zhu!"

(The End of Main Story of Pearl Light)

Footnote:

[1] Naihe Bridge (奈何桥), "Bridge of Helplessness", a bridge every soul has to cross before being reincarnated, they are said to drink the Meng Po Soup (孟婆汤) at Naihe Qiao so they will forget everything in their current lives and prepare for reincarnation.

TL Note:

The title "Pearl Light (珍珠光, pronounced as Zhen Zhu Guang in Chinese)" does not convey any real meaning, as it is just a combination of the FL's name, Li Zhen Zhu (李珍珠), and the ML's name, Shen Tong Guang (沈同光).

If you have read this far, I recommend continuing with the extras, as they (specifically Extra 2) make this story go from good to awesome imo.