Dark Blue Frost - Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Past Lives
The young man hailed from a scholarly family.
His ancestors had accumulated a modest fortune, allowing him to bury himself in books and ancient texts all day, firmly believing that “within books are found beauties as fair as jade.”
One night, as he was studying in the back courtyard study, he heard someone calling him from outside the window.
He opened the window to find a beautiful woman smiling sweetly at him.
The woman claimed to be a Peony flower demon from the garden who had come to repay a kindness shown to her by the young man in a previous life, offering herself to him in marriage.
Greatly startled, the young man dismissed her story as absurd nonsense and closed the window, paying her no mind.
For several days thereafter, the Peony flower demon continued to call the young man to open the window, but he consistently ignored her.
Left with no recourse, the Peony flower demon began to weep softly and incessantly.
The young man, exasperated, finally opened the window and asked why she was relentlessly pursuing him.
The Peony flower demon replied that if she could not repay the kindness and settle the debt, she would be unable to attain immortality.
She would instead be trapped as a demon for life, subjected to the bullying of other demons and strange creatures.
The young man found the Peony flower demon’s candidness rather endearing.
Through their casual conversations, he discovered she was proficient in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, making her quite remarkable.
He began to harbor feelings of affection for her.
After some time, their intimacy deepened, and it was only natural that their passionate desire led them to secretly consummate their relationship.
Initially, their cozy life together was pleasant, but one day, the Peony flower demon suddenly became preoccupied and secretly shed tears behind the young man’s back.
After much questioning, she finally confessed that her Heavenly Tribulation was imminent.
If she failed to pass it, she would not only fail to become an immortal but would also be beaten back to her original form.
She added that she no longer cared about achieving immortality and vowed that if she could only evade the tribulation, she would be his wife for life after life.
Having read many tales of supernatural and romantic encounters, the young man naturally believed her and was deeply moved.
He asked her if there was any way to avoid the tribulation, promising to go through fire and water for her.
The Peony flower demon carefully instructed him on what to do and gave him a sharp blade.
Subsequently, the young man followed her directions.
On a specific month, day, and hour, he pretended to be a devotee seeking the Dao and went to the Qingwei Temple on Mount Yunzhong to steal the Muxian box hidden beneath the statue.
Just as he retrieved the Muxian box, he saw a woman in red.
He drew the blade and provoked the woman to kill him.
Naturally, what else could one be but a demon or monster if they were stealing the demon suppressing artifact of the Qingwei Temple?
Without much thought, the woman in red struck him dead instantly.
Only upon examining him afterward did she realize that although the blade he wielded was an object of the demon realm and his body was tainted with a strong demonic energy, he was in fact a genuine mortal.
The young man’s soul arrived at the Nine Hells of the Underworld.
Not only did he refuse to enter the City of the Unjustly Dead, but he also, as instructed by the Peony flower demon, made a continuous and unrelenting fuss, refusing to comply with the regulations.
At that time, Bai Lian had just succeeded to the post of Lord of the Underworld.
Knowing that his junior fellow apprentice had caused trouble, he privately promised to send the young man back to the mortal world, granting him a double compensation of lifespan and fortune, only asking him not to publicize the matter, in order to keep the peace.
To his surprise, the young man sternly and publicly refused.
He only demanded that the immortal who had killed him by mistake be handed over for a life for a life, or else he would take the matter to the Nine Heavens to seek justice from the Three Pure Ones and Four Emperors.
At that moment, the Celestial Venerable Taiyi Jiuku was present in the Nine Hells to deliver souls from suffering.
Learning of the incident, he took pity on the young man and acted as his advocate, taking his soul to the Nine Heavens.
The woman in red who had mistakenly killed him was the beloved disciple of the Sovereign Changsheng of the Nanji.
Having committed the sin of killing due to a momentary lapse, she naturally could not escape punishment.
Bai Lian, the Lord of the Underworld, was also penalized for privately disregarding the law and attempting to cover up the mistake to protect his own.
As for the young man, he had assumed that after accomplishing all this, he could seize the opportunity to demand compensation, allowing the Peony flower demon to escape her tribulation.
Yet, while he was raising a ruckus in the Nine Hells, the Peony flower demon had already been captured by the senior disciple of the Sovereign Changsheng of the Nanji, and her soul and body were utterly extinguished!
Alas for the young man, in the end, his efforts were all in vain, and he had senselessly lost his life!
With no alternative, he was sent to be reincarnated.
It was only then that he learned that his three ethereal souls and six corporeal souls had been badly damaged and incomplete due to being gnawed at by the Peony flower demon’s demonic energy, condemning him to suffer the anguish of a premature or tragic death for life after life.
On the Stone of Three Lives, his cycle of reincarnation continued.
After reincarnation, he was reborn as a human in every lifetime, enduring bullying and dying a terrible death in every lifetime, never even achieving a complete corpse.
However, in the final moment before his death in each life, he would catch a glimpse of the familiar figure of the woman in red.
In every life, she stood beside his bloody, scattered, and dismembered remains, sighing silently for a long time.
Then, she would meticulously collect his remnants and fragments, piecing them together as much as possible, and slowly digging the soil with her hands to properly bury his body, sparing it from the pecking and gnawing of wild beasts and birds.
In this manner, he went through ten cycles of reincarnation, eventually being reborn as Qingxuan.
It was as if he had experienced a dream, yet everything felt genuinely real, something he had truly lived through.
Qingxuan stood before the Stone of Three Lives for a long time, motionless.
He found it somewhat unbelievable that the young man who was infatuated with love and ultimately harmed himself and others was his previous life.
Even more incredible was the extent of the entanglement between him and his Master!
However, he felt absolutely nothing for the poignant affair with the Peony flower demon from ten lifetimes ago.
It was like listening to a storyteller in a teahouse spin tales of a rich young master’s romantic adventures; once the story was over, he could dismiss it with a smile and forget it entirely.
What he did not quite understand was that his Uncle master had mentioned that the person who humiliated his Master was somehow related to him.
Yet, no matter how much he pondered, he could not fathom the connection.
“Do you see clearly now?”
Bai Lian watched his rather confused expression from the side.
The turbulent light in his black jade eyes flickered before he turned his back to Qingxuan.
His detached tone was less a question and more an assertion.
“The one who collected the Peony flower demon is the ungrateful wretch who bullied your Master and caused her to become the laughingstock of the Six Realms!”
With Bai Lian’s somewhat resentful explanation, Qingxuan finally grasped the entire truth hidden behind the scenes.
It turned out that everything was a conspiracy, a planned scheme.
The Peony flower demon’s claim of offering herself in marriage to repay a past kindness was nothing more than a complete and utter lie!
The senior disciple of the Sovereign Changsheng of the Nanji was named Feng Jin, a capable person who could turn his hand to anything.
He had always held himself in high regard and believed he was the undisputed choice for the Head of the Shenxiao Sect.
However, he accidentally learned that the Sovereign Changsheng intended to bestow the position upon his Junior Sister, Qianse.
After much consideration, Feng Jin captured the heart of the innocent maiden, Qianse, through an aloof, alternatingly cold and ambiguous attitude.
At that time, it happened that the Celestial Venerable Taiyi Jiuku was at the Nine Hells delivering souls from suffering, and no one was guarding the demon suppressing artifact in the Qingwei Temple on Mount Yunzhong.
Feng Jin volunteered to go.
However, just before setting off, he complained to Qianse, claiming he felt restless lately and needed to meditate, thus tricking Qianse into actively taking his place to guard the artifact at the Qingwei Temple.
After setting the trap, he colluded with the Peony flower demon, deceiving the lovestruck young man into intentionally dying by Qianse’s Immortal Slaying Sword, thereby framing Qianse.
Afterward, seeing the plot succeed, he used a magical artifact to capture the Peony flower demon, causing her soul to disperse, destroying all evidence.
As Qianse had broken the killing commandment, she naturally lost the qualification to become the Head of the Sect.
Feng Jin naturally became the Head, fulfilling his wish.
It must be said that the scheme was extremely well laid out.
Even Qianse never suspected any deceit.
If Feng Jin had not become increasingly cold toward Qianse after becoming the Head, and if Qianse, in her confusion, had not unintentionally entered his dream, she would never have known the whole truth.
Qianse never expected the man she loved to be such a person.
She had no intention of competing with him to be the Head of the Shenxiao Sect, yet he had schemed and used every possible means to frame her.
Naturally heartbroken, she was dispirited all day.
Only after Bai Lian repeatedly asked the reason did Qianse sadly reveal everything.
Bai Lian, being hot tempered, could not stand to see the person he loved suffer such a frame up and immediately confronted Feng Jin.
Feng Jin naturally refused to admit it.
Bai Lian refused to let the matter rest, threatening to let the Sovereign Changsheng of the Nanji preside over justice.
Unexpectedly, before the matter could escalate, Feng Jin preemptively struck.
At the Shenxiao Sect assembly, he tearfully accused Bai Lian of deliberately slandering and framing him because the woman Bai Lian loved was in love with Feng Jin.
Afterward, he coldly accused Qianse of being overly infatuated and, upon failing to win his heart, attempting to sow discord between them as fellow disciples.
Bai Lian was enraged at the time and wanted to severely punish Feng Jin for his heartless ingratitude and malicious nature, but Qianse held him back firmly.
She hung her head, silent, seeming utterly disheartened and unwilling to utter a single word in defense.
Her attitude, therefore, was taken as tacit admission by the gossips.
As the story spread, Qianse became the laughingstock of the Six Realms and was branded a malicious “vicious woman” by the celestial maidens.
Following this, she left Kunlun Mountain alone to live in seclusion on Mount Yan in the Dongji.
Hearing this, Qingxuan felt even more ashamed.
He had never imagined that his actions ten lifetimes ago, which he believed were those of a love obsessed romantic, had indirectly caused his Master to be criticized and ridiculed.
However, regarding him, the fool who had been used, should not watching him suffer a terrible death life after life bring great satisfaction?
But why would his Master repay evil with kindness?
Indeed, trying to figure out his Master’s thoughts was much harder than figuring out his Uncle master’s!
After another moment of silence, Qingxuan finally raised his head, asking a question Bai Lian had not anticipated.
“Uncle master, you deliberately kept me here to tell me this behind Master’s back, didn’t you?”
Bai Lian’s posture instantly stiffened.
“That’s right!”
He spun around, glaring at Qingxuan.
His jaw was tight, and his deep, dark eyes narrowed very slowly.
“As Qianse’s disciple, if you ever get the chance to meet Feng Jin in the future, you must thoroughly avenge your Master!”
“Didn’t Uncle master say that Feng Jin is a capable person? It will take at least ten thousand years before I can even begin to contend with him,” Qingxuan chuckled dryly.
Though his words were practical, he had already made up his mind in his heart that he would definitely avenge his Master if given the opportunity.
Starting from today, he would curse Feng Jin a hundred times every night before sleeping!
“Do you think I’m truly relying on you to vent your Master’s anger?”
Bai Lian scoffed irritably.
He turned and walked away, saying as he went, “Just with a weakling like you, who knows how many thousands of years you’ll need to cultivate before you can even set foot on Kunlun…”
Qingxuan followed his footsteps.
After a few steps, he turned back to look at the Stone of Three Lives one more time, only to hear the boatman ferrying the souls across the River of Oblivion singing a long, melancholic tune:
“Ten lifetimes of burial, alas, lead to a fleeting marriage, a thousand years of good deeds, alas, the broken mirror may be rejoined…”
…
Using every trick in her book, Qianse finally brought Zi Ru’s soul back before midnight.
At that moment, Gu Huiniang’s soul had already been brought to the edge of the Hellfire and was about to undergo the burning punishment.
Expecting to be utterly obliterated, they were overjoyed to see the person they loved deeply.
Gu Huiniang and Qi Ziru naturally clasped hands, weeping tears of joy.
Watching the couple before him, Miaoguang shook his head and sighed to himself, “If they hadn’t run away together because of the obstruction of worldly customs and etiquette, how could they have encountered such a calamity?”
The ghost officers often said that separation by life and death was commonplace, yet to witness such a scene even here in the Nine Hells was truly a cause for regret.
Hearing Miaoguang’s sigh, Bai Lian, who had been sitting silently at the desk, suddenly spoke up, his words extremely blunt.
“What worldly customs and etiquette? It’s all absolute nonsense!”
Miaoguang was momentarily stunned, unsure of what he had said to provoke Bai Lian.
He instinctively tried to explain, “Lord, this is a master and a student. How can they…”
“So what? Who says a master and a student cannot be together?”
Bai Lian raised his face and glanced at him.
He then deliberately looked at the expressionless Qianse beside him.
A fierce fire was clearly burning in his eyes, radiating a searing intensity.
His slightly upward slanted eyes scattered a sharp chill, as if containing suppressed rage.
“To put it plainly, in the mortal world, there are only men and women. Identity and seniority are merely hats. People unite by their nature, so why do they become so affected and hesitant simply because they wear a hat they consider impressive? It’s utterly tiresome!”
Miaoguang was dumbfounded, daring not to refute a single word.
However, when he saw Qianse and Qingxuan before him, he suddenly recalled the rumors circulating in the Six Realms about the pair of master and disciple, immediately realizing that this discussion about the feasibility of “master disciple romance” was quite inappropriate.
“Uh, Lord…” He nudged Bai Lian and gestured toward Qingxuan with his eyes.
Only then did Bai Lian notice that Qingxuan was staring blankly at Qianse.
At that moment, he, too, remembered the gossip about the master and disciple.
He immediately felt that his recent words were a slap in his own face.
Having nowhere to vent his anger, he pointed at the weeping Gu Huiniang and Qi Ziru and shouted, “Have you two cried enough yet?!”
Startled by his reprimand, the two turned around to look at Bai Lian, their faces filled with terror.
Bai Lian instantly felt a perverse sense of satisfaction, feeling his anger subside slightly.
After a brief thought, amidst their panic and helplessness, he smiled maliciously and pointed at Qi Ziru: “Since you are so devoted, why don’t you suffer the Hellfire punishment in her stead?”
On the way to the Netherworld Hall with Qianse, Qi Ziru had already heard how terrifying the Hellfire burning punishment was.
Now, hearing Lord Yama say such a thing, he was so frightened that his hands and feet trembled.
All his learning was useless; he couldn’t utter a single word.
His knees went weak, and he nearly collapsed into a bow.
Seeing Qi Ziru’s demeanor and reaction, Bai Lian was very displeased. He frowned at him.
“What, are you afraid?”
Gu Huiniang, who was by the side, was more worldly.
She immediately knelt on the ground, banging her head as she pleaded, “We beg the great Lord Yama to spare our lives!”
Seeing Gu Huiniang kneel, Qi Ziru also knelt down, his head knocking the ground even louder than hers.
“Spare your lives? Hmph! You are already dead. Where is there life to spare?”
Bai Lian deliberately scoffed at Gu Huiniang’s plea.
Then, he sternly looked at Qi Ziru again, his tone unexpectedly cold and ruthless, carrying an intense warning with not a hint of humanity.
“If you are truly sincere toward this woman, take the punishment for her. Otherwise, you can just let her be burned until her soul is scattered. I don’t want to hear any other nonsense!”
Hearing such an impatient ultimatum, Gu Huiniang and Qi Ziru stopped begging for mercy.
They merely straightened up and looked at each other.
After a long moment, Qi Ziru suddenly grabbed Gu Huiniang’s hand, saying sincerely, “Huiniang, in this life and world, I, Qi Ziru, will surely never forget you…”
However, Bai Lian had a real talent for pouring cold water on people’s emotions.
Before Qi Ziru could finish his heartfelt declaration, Bai Lian curled his lips into a heavily mocking smile.
“Whether it’s you or her, the moment the punishment is received, the other will be immediately sent to drink the Meng Po soup and be reincarnated.”
He paused, adding with a touch of malicious instigation, “How long can anyone remember anyone else?”
“Senior Brother!”
Although she knew the possibility of him actually throwing Gu Huiniang into the Hellfire was low, Qianse could not stand to see him tormenting the poor, deceased lovers like this.
Just as she was about to speak in counsel, he interrupted her.
“Qianse, don’t try to lecture me with your so called merit again.”
He reined in all his intentional or unintentional emotions, raising his brow with a serious expression.
After glancing at Qingxuan, who was still staring blankly at Qianse, he finally revealed a genuinely serious look.
His tone was unprecedentedly solemn.
“I have witnessed the fool who was crazy for love. Today, I want to see how much test this common mortal love can truly withstand!”
With that, he suddenly stood up, staring at Gu Huiniang and Qi Ziru.
His chilling presence and oppressive air made him appear colder and more terrifying than before.
His dark eyes flashed with an ominous light, filled with a searing intensity.
“Speak! Which one of you will receive the punishment!?”
