Proofread by Zhu Yuan

He seemed to know that I’d arrived. When he turned around, all the stars in the sky became the adornments for him.

The man was like a jade and there wasn’t his equal in this world!

I was enchanted by his handsome face while he smiled slightly at me. He looked at me with his bright and clear eyes. His thin lips slightly opened, and the heavenly voice slowly sounded: “Li, you are here!”

Holding the box, I stepped forward scrupulously. Suddenly, I touched my face and asked: “Your Majesty, how do you know this is me?”

I became a stunning beauty anyway. Why was he not curious at all?

He smiled and said: “You’re Li. Even if you look different, it would not change. How could I not recognize you?”

That sounded reasonable. I showed the box to him and said: “This is a gift that Queen Mother asked me to bring to you. She said that it was the doom in your destiny. It is up to you whether you face it or not.”

He was calm and collected, and there was no mood swing when he heard what I said. He just reached out his hand to take the box.

I held the box down and asked him again: “Your Majesty, she said it was your doom. Do you still want to accept it?”

He smiled but said nothing, then took the box and slowly opened it.

I craned my neck and stared at it unblinkingly.

When it was opened, he was even more collected. But I was puzzled, because the box was empty!

“Why is there nothing? I swear I am not the thief! Fairy Pine can be my witness!” I hastened to say, for fear that he might think I’d stolen that stuff.

He looked at me with a gentle smile and said: “I know!”

I breathed a sigh of relief and asked again: “Why is it empty?”

He closed the box and said: “I’ve already understood the meaning of Queen Mother. It doesn’t matter whether or not there is anything in it.”

I was completely puzzled. As a fox, I certainly couldn’t understand the thoughts of the immortals. What destiny? What doom? They were so weird and incomprehensible!

“Li, do you think it is beautiful here?” He put the box away, turned around, looked at the dazzling Milky Way and asked.

“Very beautiful!” I nodded. Gaping after him, I thought to myself that no matter how beautiful the scenery was, it couldn’t be more breathtaking than you, Emperor of Donghua!

“Every star here represents an immortal in heaven. There used to be your star here, but since your reincarnation, it has become dim,” he uttered and pointed at it.

I looked up only to find that that star was dim, small, and huddling in the corner. Even if it could shine, it would certainly be lost in the light of other stars, and people could never find it.

I was still silent. It was a shame for an immortal to have a star like this! I’d rather be a fox, and at least a fox was much bigger than that star!

“Li, let me tell you a story!” He was still facing away from me. His gentle voice came from the front, like a slow spring breeze, which made people feel delighted.

I was all ears.

“A long time ago, there was a flower fairy in heaven. She was the most beautiful fairy in Baihua Palace and also the favourite of Queen Mother. At the Festival of Immortal Peach, every move of her would attract the attention of all the other fairies,” he paused and then continued, “and one year at the festival, she saw a male fairy…”

“I know! This flower fairy must be deeply in love with the male fairy and couldn’t control herself,” I couldn’t wait to interject since I had heard too many stories of this kind in the restaurant when I was waiting for Bai Xiaoshan.

He looked at me, smiled and nodded: “You’re right. This flower fairy indeed fell in love with him, but he was so heartless and indifferent that he had no interest in love. The flower fairy had been around him for 500 years, but he was still indifferent.”

“Gee, another story about an infatuated woman and a heart breaker!” I shook my head and said, “No, no, he didn’t have a crush on her, so he was not a heart breaker! Your Majesty, continue!”

“Five hundred years later, he descended into the mortal world and became an emperor. In order to win his love, the flower fairy went down with him and became his concubine.”

“Were they falling in love with each other?” I bit my finger, looked at him and asked.

“Yes, he even promised that he would love her forever,” after a long time, he said slowly.

“Oh, I know! This male fairy definitely betrayed her!” I immediately offered my own opinion and said. Alas, Bai Xiaoshan was right. Love was too troublesome, and one could live longer without it.

“Yes, he betrayed her,” he looked up at the Milky Way, “That year, the plague raged in the mortal world. Everyone thought that she was a demon, because she was so gorgeous and she had the remaining magic in past life. She was considered to be a demon concubine. Therefore, the emperor watched her being thrown into the plague area and burned to death!”

I thought for a long time with my head propped up and said: “This story is somehow familiar! Where did you hear that? From a restaurant?”

He looked at me and smiled reluctantly: “Li, this is not hearsay.”

“Then what happened? What happened afterwards?”

“After her death, he suffered from a serious illness. Three months later, he died of grief,” his voice suddenly became low. I looked at his side face and felt that he, the storyteller, had entered the story and was completely moved by it. Fortunately, I stayed in the restaurant for a long time and I’d heard it so many times, so I still looked at him calmly.

“Then when they returned to heaven, he must know that he had wronged her. Did they get married?” I asked. According to the stereotype, the story must have a happy ending.

“No!” He shook his head, “She had not returned to heaven.”

“Ah? Where did she go?” Hearing this, I had to admit that my curiosity was finally aroused!

“She was devastated and didn’t want to be a fairy or a human again, so she drank Meng Po soup, forgot all about the past and jumped into Tiryagyoni!”

“What? She became an animal?” I was shocked. This ending was really unexpected. How could this flower fairy be so depressed? Fairies were always superior than animals!

Amitabha!

“When he heard the news, he was also very shocked. Originally, the experience in the mortal world was only an instant in his life. After that, he would return to heaven and become the careless and heartless fairy again. However, he was upset by the news.”

“What animal has the fairy become? A hen, a duck, a cow, or a sheep? A lion or a tiger? Or a fox?” I stopped talking when I realized that I was also an animal myself.

“He didn’t know. At least at that time, he didn’t know. Because she had not passed through the chamber of the Lord of Death, there was no record of her in the Life and Death Book. There was no way to find out where she was. So, he could only wait, wait for her to enter her reincarnation again. Perhaps she had become an animal kept in a family. Then, after she was killed, he could find her. Maybe she was an animal who lived in mountains and concentrated herself on cultivation. Then, after she had taken the human form, he could find her!” He said slowly, “However, he had waited for 2,000 years! Originally 2,000 years was not long for him, but it had become the longest period in his life. For the flower fairy, the experience in the mortal world had long been a thing of the past, but for him, it seemed like yesterday. He couldn’t forget it. At first, he thought it was just an interlude in his life, but later he realized that it was the beginning.”

“Was he finally moved?” I asked.

“Yes, he was moved! He thought it was just guilt, but after 2,000 years, he realized that he was deeply in love with her,” he said slowly, “Li, maybe this is his doom!”

“Did the flower fairy come back?”

“Yes. She became a white fox in Green Mound. She spent thousands of years practicing in order to take the human form. She was no longer as gorgeous as she used to be. However, she was innocent and happy. She just forgot him completely.”

I nodded and sighed: “He deserved it!”

“Yes, he deserved it.” His eyes became dim, but the smile remained, which was somehow bitter to me.

“Your Majesty, it’s just a story. You shouldn’t be too sad. You’re not the male fairy anyway!” I tiptoed and patted him on the shoulder in a comforting way. I felt sorry for him when he was so heart-broken.

He restored calm, took my hand off, looked at me and asked: “Li, did you forget that I had spent 2,000 years waiting for someone?”

I suddenly widened my eyes and covered my mouth to hold my shriek back. I stammered: “Your…your majesty, you’re the male fairy?”

He looked at me and nodded slowly.

“Well, Your Majesty, I’m so sorry about your loss. No, I mean you shouldn’t be so depressed since she’s back now. Do you want her to remember you again?” I was so nervous that I didn’t know what I was saying. I was totally wrong. I shouldn’t have said that he deserved it!

“Sometimes I hope she remembers me, but more often I hope she will never remember me! I’ve hurt her in the past two lives. I only hope to be with her, to keep her safe and secure for the rest of her life.”

My eyes suddenly shone with tears. Emperor of Donghua was really an infatuated man!

Suddenly, a startling thought just occurred to me and I asked excitedly: “Your Majesty, didn’t you say that she became a white fox in Green Mound? Hey! Is she Bai Qingqing?”

Before he could speak, I excitedly continued: “Bai Qingqing was so lucky that even you fell in love with her! You don’t have to worry about it. Bai Qingqing has coveted your handsome appearance for a long time. If she gets to know that you love her, she’ll be overjoyed, and will never refuse you!”

“Li…”

“Your Majesty, you don’t need to say anything. Don’t worry, I will keep it a secret for you!” I laughed happily. Bai Qingqing was so lucky that Emperor of Donghua had a crush on her!