Chapter 39 - Worldly Temptations
A woman, clad in flashy attire, rode atop a chubby donkey, her legs dangling carelessly.
The evening breeze swept by, causing the bronze bells tied around the donkey's neck to jingle continuously. She gazed at the tightly shut doors of the Pei residence, shouting, "Hey, wake up!"
Her voice rippled, like a stone thrown into a calm lake.
Splash!
Water splattered everywhere.
The gatekeeper rubbed his eyes, suddenly jolted awake, "Who is it?"
...
The night initially had stars and the moon. But later, clouds obscured the moon, and the stars lost their glow. Hence, the night turned into a thick, settled ink, suffocatingly dark.
The butler hurriedly approached and respectfully paused at the door, "My Lady, M'lord, there's a peculiar woman outside claiming she can relieve M'lord's troubles."
"Relieve troubles?"
Lady Pei turned to her daughter.
Pei Xuan sat at the edge of the bed, wiping sweat from Cui Ti's brow. The household physician, stationed in the residence, was evidently helpless against Ti's ailment. Pei Xuan spoke in a heavy tone, "Let her in."
A bitter taste of medicinal soup lingered in the inner chamber. As the mosquito net was lowered, Pei Xuan turned her head to glance back.
The mysterious nocturnal visitor stepped through the door.
Under the lamp's light, her attire became even more eye-catching. She seemed to be wearing every color imaginable, dazzlingly vibrant. Her age was indeterminable; her eyes bright and black. When she laughed, it was cheeky, but one couldn't help but be charmed.
Her dress was a riot of colors, and around her waist, she wore a chubby jade carving of a crane, its eyes closed.
While Pei Xuan sized her up, the woman calmly returned the gaze.
Youthful charm, gentle and cultured. Her waist was still as slender as ever, and that upright and inviolable aura seemed unchanged over the years.
The faint air of an immortal being transformed into the vast aura of literature. She was like bamboo, her eyes starry -- a person of pure elegance, reminiscent of a bright moon on a spring evening.
She smiled, "I've come to see M'lord Pei."
Pei Xuan greeted her in return, "I wonder, dear guest, what trouble of mine do you wish to alleviate?"
"It's Lady Cui Ti's peculiar illness, of course."
With that revelation, one which outsiders wouldn't know, Lady Pei, sitting behind the screen, was taken aback, continuously pondering the visitor's origins.
Many of Da Zhao's renowned mountains and rivers secretly shelter some reclusive experts. Yet, from the sound of this woman's voice, she didn't seem like an age-old being. She sounded incredibly young.
The smile on the woman's lips never faded, looking at Pei Xuan with a gleeful expression as if she was witnessing a rare spectacle.
"If you truly possess such skills," Pei Xuan said without a shred of doubt, bowing slightly in respect, "I beg for your assistance."
"Of course."
She snapped her fingers at the jade crane hanging by her waist. The chubby crane reluctantly twisted a couple of times, almost appearing lifelike.
In the brightly lit room, Pei Xuan took a few steps forward, leading the way. With her back turned, she missed this intriguing detail.
The screen was pulled back, revealing Lady Pei, who came forth to greet the distinguished guest.
The woman nodded slightly, her gaze shifting to the bed.
As the curtain was rolled up, a worried look crossed Pei Xuan's face. "This is my wife. She was perfectly fine before, but after a fright one evening, she developed a high fever. Medication didn't help; in fact, her condition worsened."
While Pei Xuan spoke, Cui Ti, trapped in a nightmare and unable to wake, was softly whimpering. Tears streaked down her face. Seeing her trying not to sob out loud, Pei Xuan felt as if her heart was being sliced open, the pain intense.
In this somber atmosphere, the woman inexplicably chuckled, drawing puzzled glances from the 'mother-daughter' duo.
"Elder?"
Pei Xuan asked, seeking clarification.
The woman stared deeply into her eyes, as if watching some intriguing spectacle.
Sensing the carefully hidden displeasure of this 'M'lord Pei', she moved to the couch and, with exaggerated motions, began to take the pulse.
The room was so silent one could hear a pin drop, save for Cui Ti's faint sobbing and the occasional murmured "Xing Guang."
Hearing her despairing calls, Pei Xuan felt as if his heart was being crushed. Seeing the woman slowly retract her hand, he urgently asked, "What's the matter? What has happened to my wife? Is it serious?"
How could this passionate state, where one's soul seems untethered for love, compare to his previous detachment, as still as calm waters?
She marveled that even the compiler of the stars had such a fresh side to him.
"Young Lady Pei is not ill."
Pei Xuan's eyelids twitched, he pursed his lips, and the color drained from his face.
In seeking medical help, this was the last thing he wanted to hear.
"Could you please explain more clearly? If my daughter-in-law is not ill, then what is it?"
"It's not an illness; it's a curse."
"A curse?"
Pei Xuan gestured for her to step outside for a detailed discussion.
The maid served tea methodically, treating the esteemed guest with utmost care.
Once seated, with unnecessary onlookers dismissed, the woman continued, "The art of malevolent enchantment has existed since ancient times. Someone has cursed Lady Pei with this technique, causing her to be trapped in a nightmare from which she cannot awaken on her own. The most wicked aspect of this curse is that it can cause its victim to die in utmost fear."
"To die?"
"Indeed. If she does not wake up in seven days, even the mightiest of deities would struggle to save her."
She glanced guiltily at the reincarnated Wenqu(the deity associated with the study in Chinese mythology), hesitant to admit that Cui Ti had been cursed because of her own involvement.
The eldest daughter of the Earl of Xining, born blind, had the most heartfelt wish in her reincarnated life to see her 'husband' from her previous existence.
She pleaded with all the celestial deities, but they turned a deaf ear.
Only the least respected immortal in the celestial court, Ning Hehuan, took pity on her and was willing to listen to her heart-wrenching tales.
Thus, in a dream, a celestial being came on a crane, opened her spiritual eyes, and fulfilled her deepest wish spanning two lifetimes.
As the saying goes, when gods quarrel, mortals suffer.
She had assisted Cui Ti, and when her adversaries found out, they targeted Cui Ti.
But how could this be allowed?
Not to mention that Cui Ti's fate directly influenced whether the Wenqu could successfully endure his trials. But even if one were to set that aside, Cui Ti was the one Ning Hehuan intended to save and protect. Moreover, she had grown fond of this naive young lady.
Pei Xuan's face went pale, and suddenly he threw back his robe and knelt, pleading, "I beseech you, please guide us and save my wife!"
"Please, stand up, stand up."
For Cui Ti's sake, Ning Hehuan was willing to disregard everything. She couldn't help but reminisce about the times eight hundred years ago. What was the Wenqu like back then?
Elegant, transcending the mortal realm, never tempted by worldly desires, always maintaining a pure heart.
Once, a Buddha from the pure lands came to the celestial court for a grand gathering. Upon seeing the Wenqu, he felt inferior and covered his face in shame.
Yet, who would have thought that after countless years of asceticism, the Wenqu, during one of his spiritual wanderings, would be infatuated by a rabbit spirit from Qiong Mountain?
Since then, in the celestial court, he would often spend his days and nights gazing into a heavenly mirror, observing her every move.
She had been watching him for eight hundred years, but, out of restraint, never dared to speak a word.
Throughout eight hundred years, she watched through the cosmic mirror as the girl who had just taken human form grew into a dominant hare spirit.
In a fierce battle for the mountain's supremacy, the hare spirit was ambushed by a wolf demon. Wenqu, high up in the ninth heaven, could no longer remain indifferent.
She descended to the mortal world in search of the hare.
The hare spirit tugged at her dress, crying out in pain. Wenqu was moved by earthly desires and was ensnared in the cycle of reincarnation.
The trials were formidable.
Never once did they end well.
In this life, it marked the eighth time they had failed to overcome their shared karmic trials.
For all of Wenqu's deep and earth-shattering emotions, she was indeed clumsy when it came to love, being overly cautious and indecisive.
In their first life, she watched the vibrant young hare grow old and then die, without ever confessing her feelings.
In their second life, they were born in a time of war and chaos. In such a messy world, how could they find a place to be together?
All they were left with were countless missed opportunities.
After many twists and turns, they finally reached their seventh life, the one Cui Ti had dreamt of.
In this reincarnation, Wenqu finally did something right by bringing her love home early. Close by each other's side, they even shared the same bed. Yet, they still couldn't escape the cruel fate of parting in life and death.
Thinking of all this, Ning Hehuan feigned a world-weary sigh. Pei Xuan's heart raced, and sweat seeped between his fingers.
"At this juncture, there is only one method to break this curse."
"What method?"
Ning Hehuan's eyes sparkled with mischief. Eager to give a push to the couple's tumultuous love story and to completely disrupt the upright nature ingrained in Wenqu, he whispered, "The curse begins in the heart, and it must be healed from the heart. Do you know what your wife is most sensitive about?"
"This..."
"And do you both truly share an unbreakable bond?"
"Of course!"
The young man was eager to admit.
Ning Hehuan turned to look at him, relieved to see some progress in their many lifetimes of trials. "Come closer, and I will tell you in detail."
Pei Xuan obliged.
Lady Pei observed them whispering to each other.
In her confusion, she suddenly noticed Pei Xuan's immediate change in expression. His face flushed, whether from embarrassment or anger, it was unclear. "Absurd! Is there such a way to cure someone?"
"How is this absurd? In the Western Da Ming Kingdom, there was a princess who was put to sleep by a spell. A prince rode forth and awakened her with a kiss.
"In the Yunduo region, there stands a 'Missing Wife' stone. A man, mourning his deceased wife, wept before her stone statue all night. His heartfelt emotions moved heaven and earth. One day, the stone split open, revealing a resurrected woman, and the couple were together again in a new life.
"Pei Xuan, the compiler, is knowledgeable and talented. He shouldn't be unaware of these extraordinary tales."
Were it not for Ning Hehuan's mysterious and revered status, Pei Xuan would've driven him away by now. Holding back his feelings, he said, "Elder, I'm not joking with you. Seeing my wife in this condition... this method is simply inappropriate!"
"..."
No wonder you've been toiling through eight lives and still haven't achieved enlightenment.
Ning Hehuan achieved immortality through the path of romantic love, different from the upright celestial beings like Wenqu who are in charge of literary fortunes. Her path has always been dismissed by many, but the heavens still allowed her to attain her Dao.
Her laughter was frivolous, like flowers in disarray that dazzle the eyes: "Earthly pleasures, when pursued to the extreme, can have the power to bring the dead back to life. Don't believe me? Why not try?"
She came to save Cui Ti.
Saving her was one thing.
All that plagued Cui Ti from her previous life till her death was that her husband never consummated their marriage. Now, in this life, even though they had become intimate, she was still as shy as a piece of paper.
How ridiculous!
Love and affection, if not deeply passionate, how can it go any further?
"Remember, there's only a window of seven days. Once the seven days pass, she will die of despair in her dreams. Whatever she fears, she will encounter in her dreams. Can you bear to see that?"
Pei Xuan couldn't bear it.