Chapter 5: The First Time I Came to the Mortal World, I Met with Him (3)
Translator: Xu Kun
Proofread by Zhu Yuan

Suddenly, someone sighed slightly behind me. Looking back, I saw the man in black clothes again. He stood there silently. His tall figure gave people the impression of solemnity, and his handsome face showed some kind of compassion.

I was a little agitated by him, so I walked quickly to him and asked harshly: “Why? You don’t believe I am a fox either, do you?”

Hearing this, he frowned and stated faintly: “You are not a fox.”

I was puzzled. If someone said “you are not a fox” to a fox, it was just like saying “you are not a person” to a human being, which would definitely hurt the fox’s self-esteem.

Therefore, I grabbed his hand and headed for the inn across the road. Ignoring all other people in the inn, I rushed into a room and set up a barrier around it so that human beings could not enter. I looked at the man and said determinedly: “I’ll show you my original image as a fox and you will believe me!”

Since Bai Xiaoshan once told me not to reveal my natural self in front of mortal people, I had to carry out this great transformation plan indoors.

“You’ll see!” As soon as I stopped speaking, I instantly changed from a delicate beauty into a cute white fox.

I rolled my eyes and jumped onto the table beside me. I looked up at the man and said with great pride: “Are you scared by my transformation? Can you believe it now?”

However, to my surprise, his expression didn’t change at all. Only a hint of emotion that I could not understand was revealed in his clear eyes, and then he said in a low voice: “I believe it, and you can change it back now.”

I didn’t know why his low-pitched voice gave me a feeling of sadness. I lost the interest to make fun of him and quickly changed back to the human form.

“You …” He caught a glimpse of me and said strangely. His expression was also changed slightly. It seemed that he had seen something that he shouldn’t have.

Puzzled, I looked down, and I felt terribly ashamed! I forgot to conjure up my clothes again! In the past, in front of Bai Xiaoshan, I always remembered to wear clothes with great alertness. I didn’t expect that I forgot to dress myself in front of a strange man whom I met by chance! I was so abashed.

As I was about to conjure up my clothes in a hurry, the man already had a white robe on his hand. I hardly saw him move but he had already stood in front of me and put the robe on me. Suddenly, I was in a white dress.

He stared at me unblinkingly. To be more exact, he was staring at my forehead. It occurred to me that the day after I became a human being, a vivid image of peony suddenly appeared between my eyebrows. I washed my face hard but still couldn’t get rid of it. Did he have a crush on me? Or on my peony mark?

My mind wandered, and the man raised his hand. His slender fingers, white as snow, gently caressed my eyebrows and the delicate peony. There was somehow guilt in his eyes. “Fairy Peony, why are you so persistent?”

I was shocked, and I couldn’t help but become a little angry. I was just the alternative to Fairy Peony? He quickly stepped back and put his hand down, but I saw a hint of sadness looming over his eyebrow. However, he immediately regained his coolness.

You are a fairy!” I said with great certainty.

He hid all the expressions away and nodded in silence.

I turned to leave. Fairies and demons were quite different, so I should stay away from fairies.

“Fairy Peony…”

I stopped my steps abruptly because of his calling, but I didn’t look back. Instead, I simply replied: “You mistook me for another person!”

Having said that, I was going to open the door, but it was strange that I could not get out of the barrier I set up. There was a fairy standing behind me, and thinking of this, I was irritated. I turned back and said: “I’ve told you that you mistook me for another person. Why do you still hold me there?”

“Fairy Peony, you have been away from the celestial world for more than two thousand years, and Queen Mother also misses you very much. Do you really want to be a demon forever?” He sighed and continued.

I touched my forehead and explained to him reluctantly: “Your Highness, I am nobody but a real fox demon. I am not Fairy Peony you are looking for.”

“You are Fairy Peony.” He made a serious statement, his clear eyes staring at me. His reaction was creepy to me, and even I, myself, was suspecting whether I was a flower before.

“Well, since you claim that I am Fairy Peony, can you answer a few questions?” I decided to find out what was wrong with him.

He nodded.

“First, if I were Fairy Peony, how could I become a fox demon now? Second, you have repeatedly said that I am persistent and I want to know what I am persistent for. Third, if immortals in heaven want me back, why didn’t you come to me before? Fourth, who are you? What does all these have to do with you? Why do you come to me?” I listed my doubts one by one and saw hesitation on his face for a moment.

“If you don’t want to answer those questions, I won’t force you to do that. Being a fox demon is also quite delightful. I’ll not envy Fairy Peony for her identity.” I added. Indeed, I was afraid that he was not going to tell me the truth.

He sighed again. Since he saw me, this man seemed to sigh all the time. I really didn’t know what would worry an immortal like this.

“You were Fairy Peony in heaven, and Queen Mother loved you the best in the Baihua Palace.” He paused, turned around and looked out of the window. He continued: “Two thousand years ago, you went down to the human world to experience the planned disasters in your life. After death, you could have returned to your place in heaven, but you mistakenly stepped into the Tiryagyoni and became a white fox in Green Mound. You could have been called back earlier, but your practice was extremely slow. It took two thousand years for you to take the human form. That’s why I’ve come to you now. I’ve come here to help you become an immortal.”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but sigh again. I was indeed an immortal in my previous life. Bai Xiaoshan would be jealous if he knew this fact. However, I was so clumsy in my previous life. How could I make such a mistake to step into the Tiryagyoni?

“What about you? Who are you?” I asked him. For me, this question was the most important one. If there had been no dispute between us in the previous life, why would he appear in front of me in this life?

He turned around. It was only a tiny movement, but it seemed to bring great brilliance to him. I could see the gleam of light flowing over him at that moment. Then I saw his beautiful thin lips slightly open, and his heavenly voice sounded again: “I am Emperor of Donghua.”