Pearl Light

Extra 1 (Xie Wu Chen)

I despised Li Zhen Zhu.

It wasn't just because of her foolishness, but also because my master said she was my love tribulation.

My master said I lacked understanding of emotions and did not love all beings, so the heavenly Dao wouldn't acknowledge me.

Five years ago, Zhen Zhu found me when I was unconscious.

At the first sight of her, I suddenly understood why my fellow disciples all said that love is irrational.

I knew she was pure and kind, I knew she was innocent.

But I had to tell myself that purity and kindness was just foolishness, and innocence was just stupidity.

I was Xie Wu Chen, the top sword cultivator of Lingchen Peak, admired by thousands, and I couldn't be entangled by a love tribulation.

Moreover, someone worthy of Xie Wu Chen should, at the very least, be like Shi Yu—smart, beautiful, and talented.

But Li Zhen Zhu was very stupid.

She couldn't see through others' deceit or my disdain.

Yet she still worked hard to cover for me, deceiving others and herself.

Aunt Liu mocked me for eating for free, and she lied to save my face.

Why bother lying?

I didn't care about the idle gossip of mortals.

"Xie Wu Chen, why don't I tell you my story?"

"What does your story have to do with me?"

I already knew what she wanted to say.

She would say she wasn't born this foolish, talk about her chickens, ducks, geese, and Da Huang, and how much she wanted a family.

I didn't want to listen, didn't want to have anything to do with her.

The sword pouches and tassels she made, I cut them all to pieces.

The sweet flatbreads and food she made, I called them dirty and foul-smelling.

Despite my harshness, she was still willing to help me achieve my Dao, even if it meant being a fake married couple.

She touched the wedding dress with envy, but her money was only enough to buy a roll of red cloth.

She used all the red cloth to make my clothes, only asking for a red veil for herself.

The fabric shop owner saw her longing and tried to persuade her to buy another wedding dress.

Li Zhen Zhu lowered her eyes and lied again:

"I... I don't like it."

Cultivators despise lying the most.

I had another reason to dislike Li Zhen Zhu.

When she realized she had been deceived by the beggar, the sadness on her face unexpectedly made my heart ache.

But Li Zhen Zhu, after all, was a fool. She quickly comforted herself:

"It's okay, as long as he's not sick, otherwise it would be very painful."

There was a nagging thought telling me that if I just comforted her, everything could be mended.

But I opened my mouth and said:

"Fool."

She was stunned.

I knew she was crying behind me.

I knew that if I comforted her, she would forget all my harshness.

Li Zhen Zhu's mortal husband might comfort her, but Xie Wu Chen would not.

Even if emotions surged like a boundless sea, I possessed the power to move mountains and tame the waters.

Even if the Red Phoenix Star burned like an all-consuming wildfire, I would undoubtedly extinguish it.

It was my master who saw through me:

"Wu Chen, you are afraid."

"I am not afraid."

Afraid? Yes, I was afraid.

Unknown emotions were like the unpredictable heavenly Dao, instilling fear in people.

"Without understanding emotions, without compassion for all beings, Wu Chen, you cannot attain enlightenment."

Why couldn't I attain enlightenment?

Wasn't it just because I owed Li Zhen Zhu five years of kindness?

I could just repay her!

"Master said that you did me a favor. An immortal's promise is worth its weight in gold. Whatever you ask for, I will grant it."

In truth, I had some expectations.

I knew she always wanted me to stay with her.

If she asked, I could reluctantly and justifiably stay.

But she no longer wanted me.

She thought for a long time, and when she looked up at me again, the obsession was gone.

"Just cure Da Huang's illness, and you owe me nothing."

I stared at her in a daze.

How could my heart hurt when there was no injury?

But Shen Tong Guang wasn't any good either.

Chopping wood, feeding chickens, even those silks and satins, were all just light spells.

He treated Li Zhen Zhu well only because he wanted to deceive her and eat her heart.

But Li Zhen Zhu was foolish; she couldn't see through it.

I used the magical artifact from my master to suppress Shen Tong Guang's powers.

Without his magic, Shen Tong Guang couldn't use those tricks to deceive her.

I thought this way, Li Zhen Zhu would see his true nature.

But why did it seem to bring them closer together?

Shen Tong Guang taught her accounting, carried loads for her.

But after all, without his magic, Shen Tong Guang had no way to stand up for her.

The beaten Shen Tong Guang was very embarrassed and in a miserable state.

I only said a word to Zhang Ma Zi, and he, in fear and trepidation, compensated me with eggs.

Carrying that basket of eggs, I thought Li Zhen Zhu would certainly be like me, despising Shen Tong Guang for being foolish and for making her lose face.

Then, seeing me seeking justice for her, she would abandon the darkness for the light and choose me.

But she didn't.

She supported Shen Tong Guang, and the two of them limped back together.

Despite the injuries on their faces, despite the humiliation of being beaten.

How could they still smile so happily?

What Li Zhen Zhu wanted was simple, but I never understood.

Zhen Zhu didn't hold grudges; she easily forgave me.

But I couldn't forgive myself.

I settled in Li Family Village, offering medical help to the villagers who had been kind to Li Zhen Zhu.

The gratitude in their pure eyes highlighted how shallow and arrogant the old Xie Wu Chen was.

I suddenly understood why Li Zhen Zhu would be my love tribulation.

It turned out that the pure innocence that fools are born understanding is something that the wise must spend a lifetime to grasp.

(The End of Extra 1 of Pearl Light)