“Xiao Tu, although your magic has been restored, you haven’t officially ascended, so your duties aren’t complete. The cherry blossoms of the Wan Yue Dynasty haven’t bloomed yet,” Bai Hua observed thoughtfully.
“But how can I return to the Divine Realm sooner and take my rightful place?” Xiao Tu asked urgently.
“That, no one knows. It might be soon, it might be long, or it might never happen,” Bai Hua sighed, knowing every deity sent to the mortal realm has a mission, and only upon its completion would they be summoned back, but no one knows what their mission entails.
Chapter Eight: Tears
After recovering her magical powers, Xiao Tu’s beauty became even more otherworldly, with her purple hair and eyes radiating an aura of grace. Walking on clouds with Bai Hua, she exuded sweetness and charm, while he was alluring and refined, creating a scene so pleasing that even the surrounding clouds seemed to shy away. The air was filled with the fragrance of countless flowers, and the butterflies followed, perhaps drawn by their ethereal beauty or the lingering scent of flowers. Xiao Tu was eating delicious pastries, her cheeks stuffed, holding one in each hand, her enchanting purple eyes darting around as she mumbled, “Brother Bai Hua, these pastries in the heavens aren’t as good as those from the Grand Preceptor’s mansion. The ones made by the cook there are much tastier. I’ll treat you to my favorite ‘Strawberry Cheesecake’ next time. These here are just pretty, not tasty.”
Her adorable eating manner reminded him of a little gluttonous frog. “Girl, how much have you eaten already to say it’s not good? I think you’ve eaten so much you can’t taste anything anymore,” he chuckled, genuinely wondering how much her petite frame could hold. He watched her with affection, his head lowering, unable to resist the pull. Suddenly, Xiao Tu felt warmth on her forehead and smelled a rich floral scent. Looking up, she saw an enlarged, enchanting face, momentarily forgetting to think or eat, captivated by his visage. Bai Hua’s breath was like an orchid, carrying the fragrance of a hundred flowers, intoxicating. He extended his tongue, teasingly licking the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, smiling at her stunned expression. Coming back to her senses, she saw Bai Hua licking his lips in satisfaction, saying, “A girl’s things, indeed delicious.” His red robe was half-open, revealing the smooth, pale skin beneath, as if carved from jade.
A golden cherry blossom bloomed on the seductive collarbone, freshly tattooed. The lazy, enchanting eyes squinted slightly, adding an inexplicable charm with the golden lines at the corners of his eyes. At this moment, Xiaotu finally understood why the phrase “peerlessly enchanting” was tailor-made for him. For the first time, Xiaotu felt there was something more captivating than pastries. Seeing Xiaotu’s admiring gaze, Baihua’s eyes crinkled with a smile of triumph. “Girl, why don’t you first check out the current state of the Wan Yue Dynasty?” he said after much contemplation.
Xiaotu nodded slightly, put down her dessert, and with a delicate lift of her fingers like white jade, drew a circle in the air. A scene surrounded by cherry blossoms immediately appeared. In the reflection, slowly emerged… many emaciated citizens, so thin they hardly looked human, digging for tree bark and roots to eat; in some places, within a hundred miles, not a blade of grass grew, and people, forced by necessity, scavenged for spoiled food from the rich, some even fighting wild dogs for scraps. Many children who should have been enjoying a golden childhood were following their parents, begging on the streets and suffering humiliation…
Seeing this, Xiaotu’s mind went blank; she had always been the beloved of her parents and brother, the cherished princess and little angel at school, and here in this other world, she was everyone’s darling. She had been so fortunate, and now… “Girl, what you see is just the tip of the iceberg…” Baihua knew her pain, but he had to speak because it was her responsibility. At this moment, he felt helpless and overwhelmed by a tidal wave of pain; he couldn’t help her, he was merely a “Jade Immortal of Hundred Flowers” with an otherworldly appearance, unable to save this tragic human world. Perhaps for the innocent and naive Xiaotu, reality was cruel, but she had to face it because people grow up in reality… don’t they?
After hearing Baihua’s words, Xiaotu felt as if her heart was being cut with a knife. She didn’t understand why she had left Wan Yue tens of thousands of years ago. Purple teardrops slid down her pale face like beads from a broken string, falling one by one. Strangely, her tears pierced through the illusion, turning into tiny, exquisite purple crystals that scattered over the human world. In the sky of Wan Yue, a “Purple Crystal Rain” began to fall, turning the entire Wan Yue Dynasty into a dreamlike world. The citizens exclaimed, “The heavens have taken pity on us in Wan Yue, our dynasty will be saved, the ‘Goddess’ is returning, the hard times are about to end.” Everyone wept with joy, kneeling and kowtowing towards the sky.
“Don’t look anymore, girl, don’t look. It’s my fault for showing you this.” Xiaotu’s purple tears were like invisible brands, searing into his heart. He held her tightly, patting her back gently like one would a child. “Brother Baihua, I want to return to the human world, to the Guoshi Mansion.” Xiaotu wiped her tears, forcing a smile. From now on, she, Xiaotu, would learn to be strong. She could cry, but she would not be weak, because crying does not signify weakness or defeat. After crying, everything would return to normal. “Okay, let’s go back.”
Inside the Guoshi Mansion, eight handsome men and beautiful women were in a frenzy; Xiaotu had been missing for a day. They could sense the “Spirit Cherry Goddess,” but none of the eight felt anything. The cute boy, Watermelon, had clearly cried, his eyes swollen. The handsome Crystal had not relaxed his furrowed brows. Iceberg Mint, although still the same thousand-year-old ice face, one could see the dark clouds if you looked closely. The cool Cocoa paced restlessly in the room. The four beauties had searched all over the country of Ting Yue but found nothing. Sixteen pairs of eyes stared at the cowering Ah Huang on the ground; if looks could kill, Ah Huang would have died thousands of times. The poor Ah Huang could only retreat further, already against the wall, curling up into a ball, making innocent “whimpers.”
Xiaotu descended from the sky, stepping on cherry blossoms, arriving at her residence, “Yingying Pavilion.” “Huh, where is everyone? Tiramisu, Strawberry Mousse, Milk Pudding, Peach Tart. I’m back!”
Hearing the familiar voice, everyone rushed to the “Yingying Pavilion.” Poor Ah Huang’s legs had gone soft, lying on the ground, thinking: I swear I’ll never be greedy again, what kind of damn cake is this, it could “kill someone.” “Miss…” Peach Tart, upon reaching the door and seeing the person inside, opened his mouth in surprise, and everyone behind him tripped over each other in a grand fall. But when they saw the person inside, their mouths opened wide enough to fit an egg.
“Are you the Miss? Have you regained your magical powers?” Watermelon asked in astonishment, his swollen blue eyes full of admiration.
“Yes, Brother Baihua and all the fairy sisters helped me,” Xiaotu said, blinking her large purple eyes.
“Heavens, Miss, there’s no one more beautiful than you in the world. It’s wonderful that you’ve regained your powers,” they all said sincerely, their faces brimming with joy.
Of course, there is, that would be Brother Baihua…
“555… I’m so hungry, is there anything good to eat? The food in heaven wasn’t good, I hardly ate anything,” she complained pitifully, making it seem like everyone had mistreated her. They hurriedly prepared snacks.
