Half City Of Love - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
There was silence all along the way—in fact, Xuanyi quite wanted to talk, but Gu Ting kept a solemn face and remained silent, while Fucang habituated himself to playing dumb. She had no choice but to casually admire the scenery while flying.
Gu Ting suddenly said, “Fucang, you two head toward Xihe Palace. I’ll go to Wangshu Palace to test Divine Lord Feilian’s thoughts.”
Divine Lord Fucang, who had been playing dumb all this time, finally spoke up with just five simple words, “I will go to Wangshu Palace.”
Gu Ting shook his head, his expression solemn, “You haven’t dealt with Divine Lord Feilian before. He… cannot be judged by common sense. It’s safer if I go.”
Having said that, he suddenly smiled slightly and added, “Besides, going to get the solar brilliance is naturally foolproof for you.”
Previously at the Emperor’s Daughter’s wedding banquet, Goddess Xihe beat the drums while Fucang danced with his sword.
Ever since then, Goddess Xihe had harbored deep feelings for Fucang.
She was naturally straightforward and daring; no matter how many times she was ignored by his cold face, she remained undeterred, completely uncaring about the gap of over a hundred thousand years between him and her.
“Be careful not to be caught by Goddess Xihe to cry your eyes out.”
Gu Ting joked, turning around to fly toward Wangshu Palace.
Xuanyi looked at him, then turned her head back to look at Fucang. Whom should she follow?
However, neither of these divine lords apparently had any intention of paying attention to her.
Seeing Gu Ting fly until he was out of sight, and Fucang turn into a small black dot as well, she hurriedly gave chase.
Her mood brightened up again today, and she spoke with a beaming smile, “Senior Brother Fucang, what is Xihe Palace like? Is Goddess Xihe beautiful?”
Fucang remained silent. It was not until she persistently asked over a dozen times that he lowered his head to cast a glance at her, his captivating voice sounding low, “You are very curious?”
Ah, he finally spoke. Xuanyi nodded, “Of course. I have seen very little of the world, so please enlighten me, Senior Brother Fucang.”
He said indifferently, “Then watch carefully later and don’t blink. I will explain it to you place by place.”
Xuanyi smiled like a gentle spring breeze, “Would this be too much trouble for Senior Brother?”
Fucang stared fixedly at the rolling sea of clouds in the distance, saying slowly, “No trouble at all, as long as you like it.”
She always felt this fellow’s words had a hidden meaning. Flying behind him for a moment, she only felt the light before her eyes growing brighter and brighter, gradually becoming too dazzling to look at directly. Xuanyi had a rather bad premonition in her heart.
She only heard Fucang say, “Go down. Xihe Palace has arrived.”
Xuanyi landed along with him. Sure enough, right across was Xihe Palace. The steps in front of the hall were all red-gold, and in the chasms on both sides was a raging sea of fire, splashing dozens of feet high from time to time with an astonishing momentum. The entire hall shone with boundless radiant light. She immediately felt like she was going blind and hurriedly covered her face with her sleeve.
Fucang walked up the steps, turned back, and spoke in an official tone, “These are the steps. The material used is ten-thousand-year fire rock produced from the sea of fire in Qiongsang. The flames in the chasms are the fires of Ganyuan.”
The blinding light made this poor princess of the Zhuyin Clan, who could not bear bright light, wish she could wrap her entire self up with her sleeve.
Fucang glanced at her, “Didn’t you want me to explain? We haven’t even entered Xihe Palace yet, nor have we met Goddess Xihe. Put down your sleeve.”
Xuanyi’s voice sounded quite pitiful, “But I can’t open my eyes. Senior Brother, go get the solar brilliance.”
Fucang was still acting strictly by official business, “How can the task assigned by Master be abandoned halfway.”
Xuanyi did not speak. She turned around to fly away, only for the back of her collar to be grabbed by him.
His voice was neither happy nor angry, extremely flat, “I said, it cannot be abandoned halfway.”
She suddenly turned her head, the corners of her lips beneath her long sleeve lifting into a slight smirk.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard the hearty voice of Goddess Xihe suddenly ring out from inside the hall, “Who is loitering in front of the hall gates?”
Fucang cupped his hands in salute and spoke, “Disciples under Emperor Baize, Fucang of the Huaxu Clan and Xuanyi of the Zhuyin Clan, have come under Master’s orders to specifically request three rays of solar brilliance from the Goddess. We hope the Goddess will not hesitate to grant them.”
Before his words finished falling, a fragrant wind swept past. Goddess Xihe rushed to the hall gates glowing with joy. She was draped in red-gold long robes, wearing fire-like earrings on her ears, her countenance exceedingly gorgeous. Seeing Fucang, her eyes filled with tears in an instant.
She grabbed his sleeve forcefully and said repeatedly, “Divine Lord Fucang! Quick! Come inside and sit! It just so happens that today is overcast with thick clouds, so the Golden Crow stayed inside the hall. I was just helping it bathe. Isn’t this destiny?”
Dragging and pulling, she forcefully shoved the two of them into Xihe Palace. Xuanyi only felt the hall filled with radiant brightness, dazzling everywhere, unable to see anything.
Just as she stood stunned in place, Goddess Xihe asked in surprise, “Why do you keep covering your face? Come over.”
Xuanyi slowly walked toward the direction of the voice, when she suddenly heard Goddess Xihe exclaim, “Be careful!”
She took a quick step back, only then realizing her hem had actually been ignited, the flames already rushing to her waist. This was her favorite dress! Xuanyi was stunned with anger.
A massive black curtain draped over the entire hall, finally blocking out the piercing glare. With a hook of Goddess Xihe’s finger, the flames on Xuanyi’s dress instantly became like a gentle cat, flying up with a rustle and circling around her fingers.
“Don’t wander around,” Goddess Xihe looked at her reproachfully, “What if you get hurt?”
Xuanyi silently looked at her charred skirt hem. Only after a good while did she let out a breath, raising her head with a smile, “Thank you, Goddess Xihe.”
The solar fire of the Golden Crow had unexpectedly only burned a charred patch on her skirt hem. Goddess Xihe’s expression instantly underwent a subtle change. Her beautiful, bright eyes stared at her for a moment, and finally, she forced a smile, “So you are that little princess of the Zhuyin Clan. Sure enough, just as the rumors say, you truly are a rare beauty. I previously heard that the Heavenly Emperor tried to matchmake you and Divine Lord Fucang, but it didn’t work out in the end. Little did I know that you would again join Emperor Baize’s tutelage together with Divine Lord Fucang.”
Her overjoyed expression from earlier had turned into resentment.
She cast a mournful glance at Fucang, took out a pair of small golden scissors from her sleeve, turned back, and walked to a high platform inside the hall. Raising both hands, she lifted a corner of the massive black curtain. Behind that high platform was actually a massive pool of fire; the last Golden Crow of the sun between heaven and earth was soaking inside, swaying up and down, looking somewhat despondent.
Goddess Xihe embraced the Golden Crow, caressing it lovingly several times, then used the scissors to meticulously snip three sections of sunlight.
“Curse that fellow Hou Yi! He killed all the other nine Golden Crows! How lively it used to be bathing in Ganyuan!”
As she snipped, she complained, “Now it’s the only one left, a lonely little thing, dispirited all day long… Sigh, I am also lonely and single, now it’s just the two of us keeping each other company…”
She seemed to recall something sad and unexpectedly started sobbing, her tears dropping into the fire pool one after another, turning into fire beads.
Xuanyi silently listened to her cry for a while, lowering her head to look at her charred skirt hem, finding it displeasing no matter how she looked at it.
She released white snow to mend those charred places completely, when she suddenly felt Goddess Xihe’s resentful gaze fall upon her again.
“You are so fortunate.”
She kneaded the three rays of solar brilliance back and forth, “So young, so good-looking, and under the same Master with him, facing each other day and night. Unlike me, out of ten Golden Crows, only one is left after being killed, forever all alone. The Heavenly Emperor unexpectedly pays no heed to such crimes!”
Xuanyi turned her head to look at Fucang. He was playing deaf and mute again, his long eyelashes lowered as if zoning out.
She thought for a moment and smiled, “Goddess Xihe, in truth, Senior Brother Fucang hasn’t put me in his heart at all. In his heart, there is only you. He even wrote a poem for you, called ‘Whom do my thoughts dwell upon? The beauty Xihe’.”
Goddess Xihe froze abruptly, her brows instantly brimming with spring again, “Really?”
Xuanyi nodded gently.
This simple-minded goddess immediately ran toward Fucang, grabbing his sleeve once more.
Fucang turned his head to cast a glance at her, but she gave him a sweet smile, “Senior Brother and Goddess Xihe take your time talking about love, I won’t disturb you anymore.”
The moment she said she was leaving, she left, flying away on the wind until she could no longer be seen in the blink of an eye.
